Read Online Winter Wonderland by Heidi Cullinan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Heidi Cullinan
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the freezer, and while it heated, he cracked a beer and dug out the holiday romance DVD set.
A Boyfriend for Christmas sounded like a great thing to be busy with for the evening.
When Corrina stopped by the care center Saturday evening, Kyle leaned over the nurses’ station, looked her dead in the eye, and said, “I want to kiss him.”
“You will, dear. But if you want to kiss him more than once , you’ll do as I say.” When Kyle protested, Corrina, still in her winter gear, aimed a red-gloved finger beneath her no-nonsense expression. “Don’t give me any guff, young man. You may have fantasized about him since you were old enough to know you could, but I have been mothering that boy since he started hanging out with Arthur. I know what it will take to win him.”
It was hard to argue with that, which made Kyle fantastically grumpy. “ Why can’t I kiss him? And how long is this moratorium going to last?”
“It’s difficult to say how long exactly. With proper attention, you should be kissing by Thanksgiving for sure.”
Kyle groaned and slumped forward onto the station.
Corrina patted him on the arm. “There, there. It might be earlier. I was giving you worst-case scenario. You have to understand how skittish and contrary Paul can be. The more he can’t have something, the more he wants it. And in addition to his hang-ups he has about your age, he was most unfortunate in his parental lottery.” She looked at him over her half-rim glasses. “Are you still watching the Christmas movies?”
“I figured I had the general gist of them, so no.”
“Can you tell me why he watches them yet?”
Kyle fumbled for a response most likely to get him out of more movies. “The romance?”
Corrina tweaked his nose. “I’ll tell Gabriel to pull you a new set.”
A patient call button rang, and Corrina waved goodbye to him as he went to the intercom system to answer. It was one of those nights , where everyone was agitated and needed special attention. Mr. Haverson, a ninety-two-year-old man with Parkinson’s and severe dementia, kept triggering the alarm on his chair because he was convinced he had to go out and check his cows. He scolded Kyle for making him sit in his chair, called him Bobby and told him it was well past time he got his act together and got a job. Bobby Haverson was his son, dead of a heart attack five years ago.
Kyle didn’t point this out, only patiently told Robert Senior over and over that he was doing his best to do his job, but for that to happen, Mr. Haverson had to stay in his chair. About the time that nonsense settled down, Hettie Lansing started screaming because her roommate was moaning in her sleep. During all of this, nice Mrs. Matherson, who was perfectly lucid but needed care while she recovered from the flu, waited forever for a cup of water because her throat was dry, all because she wasn’t a melting-down mess like the rest of the care center.
The CNAs and the other nurses on staff did their best to help, but there was so much chaos, they all ran themselves ragged. His shift was technically over at three, but it was quarter to four in the morning before he was able to trudge to his car. When Kyle finally got home, he peeled out of his clothes, left them in a heap, and fell asleep as soon as he crawled under his comforter.
He slept without dreaming until he woke because someone was gently but insistently tapping him on the arm. He opened his eyes to see Linda Kay’s face peeking over the edge of his mattress. Smiling sleepily, he fumbled a hand out from the blankets to honk her nose. “Hey, pretty lady.”
She rose enough so her chin could rest on the blankets. She wasn’t smiling. “Mom said I can’t wake you. But there was an accident.”
Kyle sat straight up, holding the comforter to his naked waist. “What happened? Is anyone hurt?”
Linda Kay’s eyes filled with tears. “Dad and Rob threw snow over the fence and wrecked the dragon and the ice
A Boyfriend for Christmas sounded like a great thing to be busy with for the evening.
When Corrina stopped by the care center Saturday evening, Kyle leaned over the nurses’ station, looked her dead in the eye, and said, “I want to kiss him.”
“You will, dear. But if you want to kiss him more than once , you’ll do as I say.” When Kyle protested, Corrina, still in her winter gear, aimed a red-gloved finger beneath her no-nonsense expression. “Don’t give me any guff, young man. You may have fantasized about him since you were old enough to know you could, but I have been mothering that boy since he started hanging out with Arthur. I know what it will take to win him.”
It was hard to argue with that, which made Kyle fantastically grumpy. “ Why can’t I kiss him? And how long is this moratorium going to last?”
“It’s difficult to say how long exactly. With proper attention, you should be kissing by Thanksgiving for sure.”
Kyle groaned and slumped forward onto the station.
Corrina patted him on the arm. “There, there. It might be earlier. I was giving you worst-case scenario. You have to understand how skittish and contrary Paul can be. The more he can’t have something, the more he wants it. And in addition to his hang-ups he has about your age, he was most unfortunate in his parental lottery.” She looked at him over her half-rim glasses. “Are you still watching the Christmas movies?”
“I figured I had the general gist of them, so no.”
“Can you tell me why he watches them yet?”
Kyle fumbled for a response most likely to get him out of more movies. “The romance?”
Corrina tweaked his nose. “I’ll tell Gabriel to pull you a new set.”
A patient call button rang, and Corrina waved goodbye to him as he went to the intercom system to answer. It was one of those nights , where everyone was agitated and needed special attention. Mr. Haverson, a ninety-two-year-old man with Parkinson’s and severe dementia, kept triggering the alarm on his chair because he was convinced he had to go out and check his cows. He scolded Kyle for making him sit in his chair, called him Bobby and told him it was well past time he got his act together and got a job. Bobby Haverson was his son, dead of a heart attack five years ago.
Kyle didn’t point this out, only patiently told Robert Senior over and over that he was doing his best to do his job, but for that to happen, Mr. Haverson had to stay in his chair. About the time that nonsense settled down, Hettie Lansing started screaming because her roommate was moaning in her sleep. During all of this, nice Mrs. Matherson, who was perfectly lucid but needed care while she recovered from the flu, waited forever for a cup of water because her throat was dry, all because she wasn’t a melting-down mess like the rest of the care center.
The CNAs and the other nurses on staff did their best to help, but there was so much chaos, they all ran themselves ragged. His shift was technically over at three, but it was quarter to four in the morning before he was able to trudge to his car. When Kyle finally got home, he peeled out of his clothes, left them in a heap, and fell asleep as soon as he crawled under his comforter.
He slept without dreaming until he woke because someone was gently but insistently tapping him on the arm. He opened his eyes to see Linda Kay’s face peeking over the edge of his mattress. Smiling sleepily, he fumbled a hand out from the blankets to honk her nose. “Hey, pretty lady.”
She rose enough so her chin could rest on the blankets. She wasn’t smiling. “Mom said I can’t wake you. But there was an accident.”
Kyle sat straight up, holding the comforter to his naked waist. “What happened? Is anyone hurt?”
Linda Kay’s eyes filled with tears. “Dad and Rob threw snow over the fence and wrecked the dragon and the ice
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