Read Online Promise to Cherish by Elizabeth Byler Younts - Free Book Online Page B

to ensure that everyone took their medications by checking their mouths. Without being asked, he’d started taking on this responsibility his first week of work.
    “What do you think about what your pals in Ryan Hall did to get the regulars fired? Now we have four fewer workers.” Christine hadn’t expected to go at him like that, but being around him made her feel defensive.
    Eli inhaled and then he cleared his throat.
    “I’m sorry that it happened. Honestly.”
    “Which part?”
    “All of it,” he stated simply, checking a patient’s mouth for pills with the tongue depressor. “We don’t want to cause problems, just help.”
    His calm and collected attitude deflated her. She handed a patient the mini cup of medications, and she and Eli watched as he swallowed them down. She watched as Eli used the depressor with slow, careful movements, knowing that the patient had mouth sores from his latest electroshock therapy. He impressed her.
    “You’re good with the patients.”
    Eli’s head snapped to look at her. A wide smile crossed over his face. Christine turned away from him and looked back at the next patient in line, handing him his medications. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of recognizing any admiration on her part.
    “And you really don’t have previous experience?” She sighed as she resigned herself to compliment him, knowing it was the right thing to do, though it hurt her ego to do so.
    She handed Wally his meds.
    “No, but I come from a large family. I’ve watched my mom take care of us.” He shrugged.
    Wally smiled at Eli and opened his mouth wide.
    “I’m going to beat you at cards later,” Wally said. He twitched some as he spoke but his voice was clear and not slurred.
    “You’ll never win, buddy,” Eli said, patting the patient’s back as he walked away.
    “What about the magic trick?” She noted in her logbook that Wally was alert and attentive today. This was not his usual way. While she wanted to challenge Brenneman more, she found it difficult to do so when his actions were so helpful and his demeanor so polite.
    He turned again and smirked. “You saw that?”
    “Yes, it was awful.” Christine handed out the next medication. The patient took it and Eli checked his mouth.
    “Rodney,” Eli said, his voice firm. “Take a drink.”
    Rodney crossed his arms.
    “No,” Rodney said. His eyes narrowed.
    Eli took a step toward Rodney and his chest puffed. “Take a drink, Rodney. If you don’t, you know what will happen.”
    “I’m not afraid of restraints or of you.” Rodney grabbed a small cup of water and drank it. Eli checked again, using the tongue depressor to push away the pockets of his cheek.
    Eli didn’t seem to be concerned about Rodney’s distaste for him. His size alone was imposing and he seemed to take on the same no-nonsense attitude as Adkins—just enough power to remind the patient that they could be dominated.
    He nodded his head to move on.
    “Better than yesterday,” Eli commented under his breath. Christine just barely heard him.
    “You sure push your weight around. I thought you didn’t believe in fighting.” She baited him.
    “I’m not fighting,” he said simply, but Christine could see his jaw clench and relax back and forth.
    “But you were intimidating him. What if he’d refused to take his meds, then what? Would you get physical?”
    “I wouldn’t hurt him. If I have to hold him down in order to restrain him, I will, but I will not harm him—or any of the patients. That’s what Adkins has instructed us to do.”
    She held in a huffy sigh.
    “So, you said you have a big family.” Christine tried to keep the sharpness out of her voice as she moved on to the patients who weren’t able to line up. Eli continued to assist.
    “Five brothers and two sisters,” he said while checking the next mouth.
    There was a short pause in conversation.
    “Wow, five brothers.” She paused. “My two brothers were killed in the war. You