Read Online An Unexpected Kiss by Cindy Roland Anderson - Free Book Online Page B

listening to each side, he ruled out
pneumonia. “How long has she been sick?”
    “Her
cough started about five days ago but she’s had a cold for about two weeks. We
just moved here, and I’m still trying to get settled. I just kept hoping they’d
both get better.”
    “Hailey’s
illness most likely started out as a virus, so bringing her in sooner wouldn’t
have helped.” Cole stood up and picked up the portable oxygen saturation
monitor. “She’s got bronchitis which should get better with antibiotics. I just
need to make sure she’s getting enough oxygen.”
    Cole
crouched down low. “Hailey, will you let me put this on your finger? It won’t
hurt and you’ll be able to hear your heart beeping.”
    Allie
helped her daughter hold out her small hand. Cole put the monitor on her finger
and watched the numbers on the display. Hailey’s heart rate clipped along in a
healthy rhythm and her oxygen levels were in the high nineties which was right
where they should be.
    “Good
job, Hailey.” Cole removed the device and turned it off. “Her O2 sats are
great, Allie. Do either of your children have any known drug allergies?”
    “Not that
I know of.”
    “Good,
I’d like to prescribe a broad-spectrum antibiotic for both of them.” Right
away, Cole saw a new stress press down on this already burdened single mother.
“I’m going to have my nurse get a weight on Hailey while I go into our supply
room. Our pharmaceutical rep left us with a good supply of medication last
week, and I should have enough samples for both kids so we can start treatment
immediately.”
    “Thank
you. That would really help.”
    Cole
exited the room and asked his nurse to weigh Hailey. He went into the supply
room and found enough of the medication for both kids. He also grabbed samples
of children’s ibuprofen and cough medicine. Putting everything into a bag, he
made his way back to the examination room. Cole gave Allie the medication and
wrote the instructions down for each child. “If you don’t see a change over the
next four days, I want you to call me, okay?”
    “I will.”
She put on her daughter’s coat and handed TJ his coat. “Thank you so much, Dr.
Taggart. You’ve been really kind.”
    Cole
smiled, but his chest tightened with emotion. TJ’s coat was obviously too small.
The coat was clean, though, and Cole knew Allie was doing the best she could.
    “You’ve
got a couple of great kids.”
    He opened
the door and instructed the nurse to let the children choose something from the
treat basket. He planned on getting a vending machine with small toys the kids
could buy with a token. It was just another thing on his list to update Uncle
Will’s practice.
    Cole saw
the last two patients of the day, grateful they were both follow ups which
didn’t take long. Uncle Will’s office was closed on Fridays, something Cole
liked and planned on keeping. The patients already were accustomed to this, and
Cole saw no reason to change it.
    As soon
as the receptionist and the nurse left, Cole located Lucy’s records and found
her cell phone number. He knew he could get into trouble, since his reasons for
getting the information had nothing to do with her health. But he knew Lucy
would understand.
    She
answered right away. “Hello.”
    “Hey,
this is Cole Taggart.” He cringed. She already knew his last name.
    “Well,
hello, Cole Taggart,” she said with a small laugh.
    “Hi.” He
suddenly felt like a dorky teenager who didn’t know how to talk to a pretty
girl.
    “Hi,
yourself.”
    Cole
laughed. “I’m not usually this awkward when I call a girl.”
    “I make
you nervous?”
    Yeah, now
that he thought about it. “A little.”
    “It’s my
mother, isn’t it? You don’t want her hitting on you for me, right?”
    He
laughed again. “Actually, that’s not the reason. But speaking of your mother,
why didn’t you want to be seen with me last night?”
    “Seriously?
Don’t you know I was trying to protect you? If