A couple of days later, Luke stepped into the break room at work to grab a quick snack. So far, the morning had been pretty slow, which only made the day drag on. As much as he hated when there was an overflow of patients, he thrived on the adrenaline. That was why he loved being an emergency room doctor. Maybe, someday, he’d get into private practice, but that wouldn’t happen for a long time.

Since Luke had a few minutes to kill, he pulled out his phone to see if he’d missed anything important.

What the hell?

There were seven missed calls from Elise within the last twenty-five minutes. Since there were several other people in the break room, Luke went to find a place where he could talk to her in private.

Finding an empty ER room, Luke dialed Elise.

“Lu-Lu-ke?”

Damn. She was crying.

His heart went into his throat. “Elise, what’s wrong?”

“My-my dad. Can you come here?”

Luke closed his eyes. Crap. He had almost six hours of his shift left. “Lise—”

“Please. I need you. My dad is really si-sick. I don’t know what to do.”

Shit.

If her dad was really sick, then he should be brought to the hospital.

“Can you bring him here?”

“No. He’s—” She didn’t finish because she started crying harder.

Fuck.

He couldn’t stay here when something was obviously wrong. With her father’s history, he was at risk for so many serious conditions.

“Baby, listen, I’ll be there as soon as I can, okay? Are you at your parents’ house?”

“No-no, mine.”

What was her father doing at her house? Had he gone over there because he didn’t feel good? Or had something happened while he was there?

Elise would never forgive herself if she thought she was to blame.

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Th-thank you.”

Luke hit End on his phone and went to talk to his coworkers. He needed to let them know that he had to leave for personal reasons. Now, he was thankful the morning had been slow. Hopefully, it would remain that way until someone came in to cover for him.

Luke didn’t even change his clothes before leaving and heading for Elise’s. If he had a patient to look after, he might as well keep his scrubs on.

Climbing into his SUV and taking off, Luke tried to keep all negative thoughts out of his mind and concentrate on his soon-to-be patient, but he couldn’t deny that he was feeling uncertain. He understood that Elise trusted his skills as an MD, which he really did appreciate, especially after dating Ava. But would she have called him to come if he wasn’t a doctor?

He knew that wasn’t the important thing. Her father’s health was, but he just couldn’t ignore the doubt that lingered in the back of his mind.

Damn, am I turning into a woman? He might have to check his pants later to see if his dick was still in there.

Luke got to Elise’s house in record time, hitting all green lights on the way. At least, now, he was in full professional mode, forgetting all about his qualms.

He knocked on Elise’s door, wanting to be quiet at first in case her father was sleeping, but when she didn’t answer, he rang the doorbell. When she still didn’t come to let him in, he tried the knob to find it unlocked.

“Elise?”

No answer.

He walked through the whole main level, softly calling her name. Still nothing. He went upstairs and saw her bedroom door was slightly ajar, and he had a moment of hesitation about what he would find in there. He would hate to walk in and see something that Elise couldn’t come back from, like her father dying.

He pushed the door open. Elise was lying on her side, facing away from him. He quietly approached the bed. She was sleeping. But, even in slumber, she looked tense. She had dark circles under her eyes and was frowning. It wasn’t a peaceful nap.

He sat on the edge of the bed and shook her shoulder. “Elise?”

She slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times from the bright sunlight streaming through her window. When she saw his face, the relief that fell over hers was so obvious that he couldn’t help but feel humbled.

He rubbed a hand over her hair. “Hey.”

Her lower lip quivered.

“Where’s your dad, honey?”

She flew upright, threw herself into his arms, and started bawling.

Realizing he wasn’t going to solve the mystery of her missing father with her so emotional, he pulled her onto his lap and held her close. He rubbed her back and tried to offer comforting words.

After most of her crying was finished, she pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes. Luke snatched a tissue from her nightstand, so she could blow her nose.

She was sniffling some, but she was able to speak at least. “He’s at Mayo.”

Understanding struck Luke, as he realized that Elise hadn’t called him to check on her dad. She had called him because she wanted him. Just him. Not the doctor.

He wanted to kiss her, but now wasn’t the time.

“What’s wrong?” he asked instead.

“My dad’s really sick. He just had a small cough, and then he started to feel worse last night. He refused to go to the hospital because he had a doctor’s appointment today, saying it could wait. My mom was barely able to wake him up this morning. He basically went from the bed to the car. But, instead of taking him to the local ER, she drove two hours away and had my dad sit in the waiting room for another half an hour. Thank God his oncologist took one look at him and had him admitted. But I can’t help but be angry with my mother for being so negligent with him. If only I hadn’t moved out…”

Luke met her eyes. “Hey. You are not blaming yourself.”

“But—”

“No. This is not your fault.” He raised his brow. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’m serious, Elise.”

He wanted to tell her that it wasn’t really her mother’s fault either. Most people who weren’t in the medical field didn’t have the education to recognize certain things. He was sure Elise’s mom was beating herself up pretty badly all on her own. But he wasn’t going to say that to Elise. She was worried, and from having a mother and two sisters, he knew she just needed someone to listen to her.

“I tried to go and see him,” Elise told Luke, putting her head down. “But, every time I tried to drive there, I would start crying and couldn’t see anything. I didn’t want my mother to have to visit someone else in the hospital.”

Poor Elise.

She was feeling responsible for moving out and not being there last night, and now, she felt guilty for not going to the hospital.

“Do you want me to drive you?”

Her head whipped up. “You’d do that?”

“Course. Just let me change real quick.”

She brushed her lips across his. “Thank you.”

He kissed her back and moved her from his lap to the bed. “I’ll be ready in five minutes.”

She nodded, and he went to fetch his clothes from his vehicle.

Four and a half minutes later, they were pulling out of her driveway.

The drive to Rochester was about two hours, which seemed like a long way to go when there were numerous hospitals in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. But, considering that people came from all over the country and sometimes all over the world to visit the Mayo Clinic, two hours was nothing.

“Why don’t you try to nap some more?”

“Okay,” she agreed as she put her seat back.

He turned up the stereo in his SUV, hoping the music would help lull her to sleep, but she continued to fidget every few minutes.

Keeping his eyes on the road, he took her hand and pulled her toward him. She didn’t protest or question his motives. She laid her head down in his lap and adjusted her seat belt to make herself more comfortable. She still didn’t fall asleep right away, but she did eventually let slumber take her.

When they only had about a half hour left of the drive, Luke’s stomach rumbled. He remembered that he’d never eaten anything on his morning break, so he hadn’t eaten anything since about five a.m. It was close enough to lunchtime that he decided to stop and get food.

He searched for the closest drive-through, so they wouldn’t have to waste time in getting to Elise’s dad. He ordered food for both of them because, surprisingly, Elise didn’t wake up the whole time he picked up their food. The guy at the drive-through window smirked when he saw Elise’s head in his lap, but Luke ignored him. Teenagers.

When they were only ten minutes away—thank you, GPS—Luke woke Elise.

“Hey. Elise. It’s time to wake up.”

She stirred, and he put his hand on her hair.

“Be careful. Don’t hit the steering wheel, babe.”

Elise slowly sat up, still groggy. The circles under her eyes had lessened but were still there.

He reached into the fast-food bag and pulled out the cheeseburger he’d gotten her. “Here. I didn’t know exactly what to get you.”

She pushed his hand away. “I’m not hungry.”

“Lise, you need to eat. When was the last time you ate?”

She scowled but snatched the burger from his hand. “Fine.” She unwrapped it and took a big bite. She looked pained, but she chewed it up and swallowed. “Are you happy now?”

“No, but I’m better,” he told her. “I don’t want to worry about you getting sick, too.”

He saw some of the anger leave her body as she took another bite—this time, with no coaxing.

He stared straight ahead at the road and told her, “Thank you.”

“Humph. You’re a meanie, Dr. L.”

Luke chuckled. “As long as you’re healthy and happy, you can call me whatever you want.”

Elise didn’t reply, but she took his hand and laced their fingers together while she managed to eat her entire sandwich..