Chapter Five
Janie opened the door to see Dr. Peterson standing on the front porch. His reassuring doctor grin was nowhere in sight. She looked at him cautiously, wondering if she should ask whether this was her fault.
Glancing at her troubled look, Dr. Peterson immediately put on a wan smile. "Janie, why do you look so down?"
"Just imitating you, doc. So, did I do this to him? Did the CPR break his ribs?"
"You know I can't tell you that Janie. You aren’t my patient." Dr. Peterson patted her shoulder as he stepped past her through the doorway. "Can you take me to Archer please?"
Stifling a sigh, Janie closed the front door and led the doctor up the stairway toward Archer's room. It hurt to know Archer was more injured than initially thought, and her giving him CPR was likely responsible. True, he’d probably prefer the broken rib over dying, but that didn't stop her from feeling guilty.
Janie tapped at the open doorway when they reached Archer’s room, giving a glance to the McCallisters who sat around the bed. Her eyes naturally gravitated toward Archer. Despite the problems between their personalities, he offered her a pain-filled smile. He looked almost hopeful and happy to see her. Janie couldn’t understand it. Why would he care whether she was there? After all, she was a slut whose lifestyle he found disgusting. Still, she couldn't deny that he looked happy to see her.
She stayed just outside the threshold but nodded at everyone. "Dr. Peterson's here to talk to Archer."
Now, with his cheerful, professional smile firmly in place, Dr. Peterson glanced around. "I hate to interrupt, but you all need to leave the room. I have more information on Archer's condition that I need to speak with him about."
As the McCallisters shuffled past her, Janie also prepared to leave.
"Wait!" Archer's shout sounded frantic, and he reached a hand toward her before grimacing and clutching the right side of his chest. "Wait. I don't want Janie to leave. She’s the one taking care of me. She should hear this too."
Janie gave a small shake of her head, confused. "Perhaps Larissa should—"
"No," Archer said firmly, wincing again when he spoke so forcefully. "I want you here. Please stay, Angel."
When he pleaded like that, it was impossible to say no. With a small nod, Janie entered the room and took the chair next to the bed.
Without asking, Archer reached over and wrapped her fingers tightly in his own. "I can tell it’s bad news, Doc. What’s going on?"
Dr. Peterson nodded. "You have three cracked ribs on the right side according to the radiologist who double checked the films."
"So, what does that mean?" Archer squeezed Janie's hand tighter. It was easy to sense his fear through his clutched fingers.
“I’m afraid that means exactly what you think it means,” Dr. Peterson said. “It’s a long recovery period. You’re going to be out of work for quite a while. I’d say at least four to six weeks.”
Archer let out a sharp gasp. “Six weeks? How am I supposed to keep my job if I can’t work for six weeks?”
Janie rubbed her thumb across the top of his hand, trying to comfort him. “Don’t worry. I’m sure the McCallisters will take care of you. All we have to do is let Shane know what’s going on. He’ll save a spot for you at the restaurant.”
While she tried to sound reassuring, Archer didn’t look happy. Janie figured she knew why. It would be hard to prove himself as a great chef who belonged on McCallister’s Paradise if he couldn’t work for several weeks. The most hectic part of the busy season would be half finished by the time he returned.
Dr. Peterson offered his reassurances as well. “Shane’s a good guy. Janie’s right. He’ll wait for you to get better and have a spot for when you are. If you’d like, I can talk to him about what it’s going to take to get you back on track before I leave.”
Archer grimaced. “How about you explain it all to me first? What are we looking at?”
With a nod, Dr. Peterson pulled some items from the black bag he’d carried in with him. “This device is called a spirometer. Every two hours, you will need to use it to do breathing exercises by blowing on this tube until you get this bar inside to raise to here.” As he spoke, he indicated the correct level. He then let out a wry smile and shook his head. “I’m not going to lie. This will hurt, especially in the beginning. It’d be best to put a pillow across your chest as you do it, as that could help keep things in place and dull the pain a bit.”
“It already hurts when I breathe,” Archer admitted. “I can only imagine how much worse that could be.”
Janie tried to hold back her guilt. She’d worried about the level of pain he had when trying to walk up the stairs. She should have realized then that his ribs were probably broken, and Dr. Peterson just hadn’t seen it on the films since it wasn’t his specialty.
“It will be bad,” the doctor said, not sugar coating anything. “But not doing the exercises would be worse on you in the long run. I’ve brought pain pills that will work better than the acetaminophen I had Janie give you earlier. You’ll probably want to take them on schedule for the first few days, otherwise your pain could get out of control when you start doing the exercises.”
Janie gave Archer’s hand another squeeze, feeling helpless that she could do nothing more than offer useless comfort. “What do I need to do to best help him? Is there anything I can do?”
“Sure there is,” Dr. Peterson said. “Laying around in bed all day is not good for him, even though moving his upper body and walking will hurt quite a bit and he might wish to stay in bed.”
“A bit?” Archer let out a little groan. “Walking to the bathroom a while ago nearly ended me. It hurts more than a bit.”
Janie quickly reached for the bottle of pills the doctor had set on the bedspread. “Can he have one of these now?”
“That would be for the best,” Dr. Peterson agreed. “I want him to start the breathing exercises as soon as possible but get his pain under control first. Starting tomorrow, help him take short walks as often as he can. Make sure you are there to help steady him at all times. A fall at this point could be catastrophic. If the ribs become destabilized, a shift in the bones could result in organ damage or a punctured lung. Your job, Janie, is to make sure that doesn’t happen before the ribs start mending themselves.”
Damn. This really was all her fault. She retrieved one of the little white pills from the bottle and handed it to Archer, readying his drink straw so he could easily reach it. After he swallowed the pill and she set his drink down, Archer surprised her by reclaiming her hand.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, blinking back tears. “Broken ribs in CPR is always a possibility, but it’s never happened to me before. You were...” She squeezed her eyes shut, remembering how frightening everything had been on the beach now that she had time to think about it instead of just letting her training take over and acting.
When she’d finally started CPR on Archer, he wasn’t breathing and his pulse had been undetectable. It was the closest to losing someone she’d ever come in her three years of being a lifeguard. She must have exerted a bit too much force in her desperation to save him.
His fingers threaded through hers, bringing warmth to her cold hand. “Stop blaming yourself, Angel.” His voice was firm, brooking no argument. “You saved my life. A few broken ribs are nothing.”
She could clearly see how shaken the news had made him when Dr. Peterson first arrived, so it was nice of him to try and reassure her. Maybe they could get along, even if they hadn’t been off to the best start. She owed it to him to help out until he healed, however, even if he didn’t blame her.
She gave him a tiny nod before turning back to Dr. Peterson. “What else?”
“Ice packs across the broken ribs for the first couple days will help the swelling come down and could help the pain. Twenty minutes on at a time. After that, it’s basically the exercises and the slow process of waiting for it to get better. No lifting anything heavier than five pounds for a while, of course. I’ll check in on you in a couple weeks to see how things are progressing and consider upping your activity level and lifting some restriction.” He stood up. “If I have your permission, I’ll talk to Shane on my way out.”
“Sure,” Archer agreed. “Thanks, doc.”
Dr. Peterson left, shutting the door behind him.
Archer still had a tight hold on Janie’s hand, but for some reason she didn’t want to pull away.
“What am I going to do, Janie? I can’t rely on you and Larissa for six weeks or more.”
“Of course you can,” Janie said. “If I know my bestie, she’ll insist you live here until you’re completely healed and able to return to work.”
Sure, Larissa would insist. Janie had to worry how Quinn would deal with that news, however. The eldest McCallister brother could be generous, but he was also fairly private and liked having his wife and daughter to himself. He didn’t even like Janie hanging out with Larissa too much. She wondered how he’d deal with long-term houseguests.
Not that she’d worry Archer with that for now. The man had enough on his plate without thinking about his living situation.
She finally tried to untangle her fingers from his. “I should go prepare an icepack.”
Archer locked his fingers, refusing to let her escape. “First, can we talk a bit. I’m afraid if I let you go, you’ll send Larissa and Brad up again instead of coming back yourself.”
Janie chewed on her lower lip, staring at their hands. That was, in fact, what she’d planned to do. She wanted to help Archer, but in truth she still felt salty that he’d been so harsh about her sex life. Why it bothered her so badly, she still didn’t know. Lots of people judged her, but Archer’s opinion seemed to matter somehow.
She let out a soft sigh and stopped trying to leave. “I sent them up before because I didn’t want to argue with you again. You’re entitled to your opinion. Hell, lots of people think the same as you. It’s fine. Let’s agree to stay out of each other’s private lives. I’ll help you recover and then we can go our separate ways.”
“No.”
“No?” She looked up at his face, startled at the grim determination in his eyes. His oh-so-sexy green eyes... Damn! She couldn’t look at him as an available, attractive man to have her way with. Not anymore. He’d want something more than a simple roll in the hay, and she didn’t do commitments.
“No,” he repeated. “If I’m going to be allowed to stay on the island and work once I get better, I’m going to need friends. I don’t want you to just be my rehab specialist. I want to get to know you.” His face turned slightly red and he looked down, avoiding her gaze. “You and Larissa both, I mean.”
“Don’t worry, I would never misunderstand what you meant.” Janie was surprised by the bite of harshness in her voice. Without giving him a chance to reply, she jerked her hand free. “I’ll go get that icepack and make sure everyone understands the situation. Sit tight and let your pill start working. We’ll begin those breathing exercises soon.”
Maybe she was being a coward by not hearing him out, but Janie fled the room while he sat there flabbergasted. She had to get away from him. Something was stirring in her chest and her brain felt confused. No man had ever made her question herself before, and she refused to start now.
***
Archer looked up expectantly when the bedroom door opened, but instantly felt his face fall when he saw Shane’s bright smile. Janie decided not to come back, just as he’d suspected.
“Hey, Bro!” Shane walked in, holding up something wrapped in a kitchen towel. “Janie says you need some ice. Plus, she thought we should talk.”
Silently, Archer accepted the icepack and placed it across the right side of his chest and along his sternum where he had the most pain.
“She says you’re still worried about your job,” Shane continued, as though oblivious to Archer’s disappointment that Janie hadn’t returned.
Shaking himself mentally, Archer forced himself to look at his boss and put a pleasant grin on his face. He was so preoccupied with his angel that he was letting a prime opportunity pass by while he brooded. All he’d wanted since arriving at the island earlier in the week was a chance to meet with Shane McCallister. Getting distracted right now due to his sorrow at hurting Janie wouldn’t help him any.
“I am worried,” Archer admitted. “You needed someone for the busiest months, and the doc says I’ll be out of commission for up to six weeks. Right now, I’m not allowed to lift more than five pounds, and even walking to the bathroom was difficult.”
Shane hooked a wide grin at him. “Yeah, but you saved that little girl. Larissa’s been gushing about how brave you are. I have to agree. Even Janie admitted you’re a hero.”
“She did?” Archer widened his eyes, surprised Janie had anything nice to say.
“Ah! I see.” Shane settled down in the chair next to the bed, a satisfied air surrounding him. “You like our little Janie, don’t you?”
“Who wouldn’t like the person who saved them?” Heat climbed into his cheeks and he hoped Shane didn’t notice. “I want to become friends with her, but I said some stuff about her... her, love life, and hurt her feelings.”
“Hurt Janie?” Shane snorted. “Don’t flatter yourself, my friend. Janie’s tough as nails. I’ve known her ever since Larissa and Quinn started dating. That woman isn’t so fragile that she’s going to care what one guy says, especially when she has so many waiting in line for a chance with her.”
Archer looked down, picking absently at a callus on his palm. “Maybe I don’t matter, but I feel bad for judging her. She might be tough like you said, but I’m not generally the type of guy who hurts other’s feelings.”
Shane nodded. “I see. Janie does hold a grudge, so you might be screwed, bro.” He shrugged. “Well, anyway, I just wanted to reassure you about the work. Are you still good to work at Paradise Point with me instead of the Pavilion once you get better?”
“Yes, of course. Paradise Point is my dream job. I had planned to show you how good I was over the next few days, so you’d be eager to transfer me. I admire you a lot, and I want to work with and learn more from you.” Archer shrugged. “Now... well, now I can’t prove anything to you.”
“But I still want you at Paradise Point with me. I can see what a good person you are,” Shane said. “My daughter’s nearly the same age as the girl you saved. It could have easily been her out there. I admire your selflessness. When you’re healed enough to take on some work, I’m bringing you over to start training under me and my sous chef. Davin is leaving soon to run the Pavilion when the head chef there leaves the island, so I need a replacement.”
As sous chef? Archer couldn’t keep his eyes from nearly bugging from their sockets. “A replacement for your sous chef? Oh, I’m sure there are a lot of other people who deserve that chance.”
“Of course there are,” Shane agreed. “One of my top line chefs is also training for sous chef. She has fantastic talent, and even a hero can’t displace her. However, Davin has suggested I need to train more people. He and I work like dogs, and it’s hard to take any time off. I’m not promising you’ll get a spot as a sous chef for either me or Davin, but I think you’ve proven your character is such that I’d like to give you a chance.”
“Then, I’d be honored.” He’d be a fool to turn down this opportunity. Maybe he hadn’t actually earned the spot Shane was offering, but it wouldn’t be long before Shane realized it was a great decision. Archer would work his ass off and prove himself.
“Good.” Shane stood and headed for the door. “Keep that ice on another few minutes, then try to get some rest. Janie or Larissa will come to wake you in a while to start the breathing exercises once the pain pills are working.”
As Shane left the room, Archer couldn’t help but hope Janie was the one who returned. Shane had pointed out a lot of good things. Janie wasn’t the same type of woman as Carrie, even if Carrie had played with his feelings and betrayed him. Janie was straight up about what she wanted, sex with no attachments. Perhaps he didn’t agree with having that sort of fling, but it was none of his business. He’d convince her to become friends with him and everything would be fine.
Shane was right, before long, Janie would forget that he’d hurt her feelings. She wasn’t some fragile flower who needed his approval or for him to baby her. He’d apologized. Now, he’d focus on becoming friends with her. She’d probably find that beautiful smile of hers on her own, but part of Archer still wanted to try and help bring it out.