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Authors: Lurlene McDaniel
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bare skin.
He couldn’t stop staring at her. She was so beautiful….His head swam and heat spread through his body, hot fingers of need. “You make me happy too. I—I love you, Sloan.” He’d never said that to a girl, but it was true. He loved her.
She threw back her head, smiled, and looked back down at him. “So then let’s be happier together.” She kissed him, lowering her body onto his. Skin pressed against skin. Breath mingled with breath.
On the wall, the TV announcer told the viewing audience good night and Happy New Year. Dawson fumbled to find the remote, and when he did, the screen went dark and the room went quiet, bathed only in the colors of Christmas past.
CHAPTER 12
“Y ou have a true affinity for this place, don’t you?”
Lani was busy gathering vials of blood specimen results in the lab for delivery to various departments. She smiled at Cassie’s question. “I’m a medical junkie. I’ve wanted to be a nurse for years, so it never seems like work to me. I love it here.”
In the three months Lani had been a volunteer, she had learned every nook and cranny of the hospital, from the ER to the surgery rooms, from the chemo center to the newborn nursery and pediatrics, along with the floors of patient rooms and central staff centers on each floor. The ICU, radiology, imaging, labs, the gift shop, and staffing rooms where she had her own locker were as familiar to her as the rooms in the house she’d grown up in.
“Years?” Cassie, a third-year student and Lani’s friend at the hospital, offered a wry smile. “What are you…all of seventeen?”
“I’m an old soul, trapped in a teen’s body. I know what I want. How ’bout you? Why are you here?”
“I took care of my mama for years before she died. I knew I could do this…take care of sick people. All I needed was the classroom credits and I could have a career. What’s your story?”
“I caught the nursing bug the summer my cousin died. She had cancer and spent days in bed, too sick to get up. I liked making her comfortable.” Even now, the memory of that thirteenth summer brought tears to her eyes. “Before she…left us, she told me how much it had meant to her to have me around when most girls my age were off having fun.”
“Well, you’re good at it,” Cassie added quickly. “Plus the floor nurses really like you—some of them are real crabs too. Some even ask for you to work with them. A huge compliment, you know.”
“My secret is chocolate. I bring in bags of it and stuff it in the nursing station drawers. A person can make a ton of friends with free chocolate.”
Lani grinned and Cassie laughed. “I’ve wondered how the stuff keeps magically appearing. Keep up the good work.”
Lani picked up her lab deliveries and hurried out the door. She couldn’t wait until May and graduation so she could spend even more time in the hospital. She had cut back on her hours at Bellmeade but had promised Ciana she’d teach a riding class in the coming summer. At school, her senior class was counting down the final days too. Many had already signed letters of intent to different colleges. Kathy would go to University of Florida: “And par-ty!” she’d said with a whoop. Three football players had signed with University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Others had plans to join the military, go to community colleges and tech schools, but Paulie had won the college lottery with a full ride to MIT in Boston. “Genius trumps us all,” Lani told Kathy.
“Nerd. How about Dawson? Heard where he might be going?”
Kathy took pleasure in needling Lani about her crush, which she’d been unable to hide from Kathy’s X-ray vision. Lani shrugged it off. “Doesn’t matter. I’m sure it won’t be MTSU.”
“Wonder what Sloan will do? They’re always hanging on each other. Bet you couldn’t slide a butter knife between them.”
“No idea.” Lani didn’t want to talk about either Dawson or Sloan, although Kathy’s
He couldn’t stop staring at her. She was so beautiful….His head swam and heat spread through his body, hot fingers of need. “You make me happy too. I—I love you, Sloan.” He’d never said that to a girl, but it was true. He loved her.
She threw back her head, smiled, and looked back down at him. “So then let’s be happier together.” She kissed him, lowering her body onto his. Skin pressed against skin. Breath mingled with breath.
On the wall, the TV announcer told the viewing audience good night and Happy New Year. Dawson fumbled to find the remote, and when he did, the screen went dark and the room went quiet, bathed only in the colors of Christmas past.
CHAPTER 12
“Y ou have a true affinity for this place, don’t you?”
Lani was busy gathering vials of blood specimen results in the lab for delivery to various departments. She smiled at Cassie’s question. “I’m a medical junkie. I’ve wanted to be a nurse for years, so it never seems like work to me. I love it here.”
In the three months Lani had been a volunteer, she had learned every nook and cranny of the hospital, from the ER to the surgery rooms, from the chemo center to the newborn nursery and pediatrics, along with the floors of patient rooms and central staff centers on each floor. The ICU, radiology, imaging, labs, the gift shop, and staffing rooms where she had her own locker were as familiar to her as the rooms in the house she’d grown up in.
“Years?” Cassie, a third-year student and Lani’s friend at the hospital, offered a wry smile. “What are you…all of seventeen?”
“I’m an old soul, trapped in a teen’s body. I know what I want. How ’bout you? Why are you here?”
“I took care of my mama for years before she died. I knew I could do this…take care of sick people. All I needed was the classroom credits and I could have a career. What’s your story?”
“I caught the nursing bug the summer my cousin died. She had cancer and spent days in bed, too sick to get up. I liked making her comfortable.” Even now, the memory of that thirteenth summer brought tears to her eyes. “Before she…left us, she told me how much it had meant to her to have me around when most girls my age were off having fun.”
“Well, you’re good at it,” Cassie added quickly. “Plus the floor nurses really like you—some of them are real crabs too. Some even ask for you to work with them. A huge compliment, you know.”
“My secret is chocolate. I bring in bags of it and stuff it in the nursing station drawers. A person can make a ton of friends with free chocolate.”
Lani grinned and Cassie laughed. “I’ve wondered how the stuff keeps magically appearing. Keep up the good work.”
Lani picked up her lab deliveries and hurried out the door. She couldn’t wait until May and graduation so she could spend even more time in the hospital. She had cut back on her hours at Bellmeade but had promised Ciana she’d teach a riding class in the coming summer. At school, her senior class was counting down the final days too. Many had already signed letters of intent to different colleges. Kathy would go to University of Florida: “And par-ty!” she’d said with a whoop. Three football players had signed with University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Others had plans to join the military, go to community colleges and tech schools, but Paulie had won the college lottery with a full ride to MIT in Boston. “Genius trumps us all,” Lani told Kathy.
“Nerd. How about Dawson? Heard where he might be going?”
Kathy took pleasure in needling Lani about her crush, which she’d been unable to hide from Kathy’s X-ray vision. Lani shrugged it off. “Doesn’t matter. I’m sure it won’t be MTSU.”
“Wonder what Sloan will do? They’re always hanging on each other. Bet you couldn’t slide a butter knife between them.”
“No idea.” Lani didn’t want to talk about either Dawson or Sloan, although Kathy’s
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