Handle With Care (4 page)

The tightness in her chest disappeared, and her shoulders relaxed. She managed a small smile. “Thanks.”

At home, Lauren didn’t mention Shane, but Josh brought it up right away.

“Did you see him, Mom? Did you ask?”

“Yes, honey. He brought a patient in, and after we took care of her, I had a word with him.”

“You did? Awesome! You’re the greatest mom in the whole wide world!” Josh jumped up to give her a hug, and accidentally knocked over the enormous Lego building he’d been working on. It must have been an all-day project, with his arm in a sling.

“Josh, he hasn’t given me an answer yet. He said he had to see if he could clear his schedule.” She bent over to kiss his cheek. “I know how much you want this, and I don’t want you to be disappointed if it doesn’t work out. I could always go with you.”

“I know. It’s just that everybody else has a dad.”

She bit her bottom lip, her breath catching. His comment sliced right through her, as it always did. “You have me.” She smiled, blinking back tears. “You’re my whole world, sweetheart.”

“But I want to be like other kids, Mom. I want to have a dad too.”

He’d only started asking for a father in the past few months. Around the time she stopped letting him see Gary from the Brothers organization. She wondered if Gary had given him the idea, but it didn’t matter who or why. He was now obsessed with wanting a father. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

“That’s okay, Mom. We’ll find me a dad—don’t worry.”

“Oh, hon. You have me and Julie and two sets of grandparents. For now. One day I hope you’ll have a father too.” Unfortunately for all of them, her parents lived in Phoenix, and she and Josh only saw them a few times a year. Her in-laws had moved to the west side of Florida and rarely came to visit. She didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so they weren’t any little cousins running around. They were pretty much on their own.

“Can it be soon? I want a real dad to do stuff with.”

“Okay. We’ll put that on my shopping list.”

The next day Shane delivered a patient to the ER and then checked to see if Lauren was working. He found her standing outside a patient’s bay, making notes on a chart.

He walked over to her and said in a low voice so he wouldn’t be overheard, “I’ll do it.”

She jumped in surprise and quickly turned to him. “You mean the ballgame? Friday night?”

“Yup. I managed to rearrange my schedule.” He glanced at Rick, still talking with another doctor about the patient they’d brought in, to avoid looking at her. “I know what it’s like not to have a father.”

“You do?”

She tilted her head to look at him, and he noticed, once again, how pretty she was. Until the accident on the boardwalk, he hadn’t really seen her. How had he missed that sleek, shiny hair, the glow of her skin, the little mole above her lip? Now, he wondered what it would feel like if he ran his tongue over it.

“Shane, you grew up without a father?”

He nodded. “He walked out when I was three, and eight years later Mom remarried. So I know how Josh feels.”

She touched his arm. “This means so much to him. I can’t thank you enough.”

“No big deal.” He stood close enough that he picked up a scent. She smelled like gardenias. He wondered if it was perfume or shampoo. Then he stepped back, effectively shutting off his senses. Didn’t matter that she was pretty. Didn’t matter that he hadn’t been with a woman since .…

“It is to me.”

Her eyes were shining, and she looked all flushed and excited. He gritted his teeth. The last thing he wanted was her damn gratitude. He didn’t know what he wanted, but it wasn’t that. “Well, I’ve got to get going. More lives to save,” he added lightly, poking fun at himself.

She smiled. “Would you like to meet him at the game or pick him up?”

“Depends.” He shifted his feet, wishing she would stop looking at him like he was the answer to her prayers. He had no answers, not for himself or anybody else. “Where do you live?”

“Not far from where we ran into each other. Our home is a few blocks off the beach.”

He gave it a moment’s consideration before committing. “My condo’s pretty close. What time should I be there?”

She pulled out a pad and scribbled down her address and home number. “Six?”

“Sounds good.”

He took off before she got all gushy and embarrassed both of them. It was plain to see how much this favor meant to her and how important the night was to her son.

Shane felt good about helping out, but he had to ask himself—was he doing this to cheer up a fatherless boy or trying to score points with the kid’s mom?

When he got home from his shift, he took Major out for a walk along a nature trail. They were trotting along nicely until Shane stumbled over the lead. He unleashed the pup so he wouldn’t keep tripping over him, and just then a raccoon shot out of the bush. Major gave chase.

“Major, stop! Heel!” When the dog ignored his commands, Shane had no choice but to run too.

He was sucking air in open-mouthed gulps by the time Major gave up on the raccoon and loped back. He wagged his tail and butted his head against Shane’s leg.

“You want me to pet you?” Shane gasped. “You’re a very bad dog.”

Major licked his hand, and Shane sat down on a large boulder next to the path and gave him a hug. He took a deep breath and mopped his brow. “Sit down, boy. Let me get my wind back. I’m not as young as you.” He petted the dog. He took a moment to get his breathing under control, then spoke softly. “You have a nice house to sleep in, good food every day, and me to keep you company. I wasn’t that lucky. No. I spent a whole year living on the streets. Woods too, just like this one.”

He looked into the dog’s eyes. “After I lost my hand, I went into a major funk. Got really screwed up in the head. Couldn’t hold a job, not that I spent much time searching. I was too busy trying to drink my sorrows away.” The dog whined and put his head in Shane’s lap. “Yeah, I was a miserable son of a bitch. A real head case. Didn’t care if I lived or died.”

He kissed the dog’s head. “What I’m trying to say to you, is that you need direction, Major. You got to be more than you are, a better dog, so to speak. You have to focus and set your sights high. You and me—we’re two of a kind. We weren’t born to be a hero, but we have to fight to become one. I’m willing to try. How about you?”

Major got on his haunches and tugged on Shane’s sleeve. “You want to go home?” He stood up. “I hear you, buddy. Let’s get some grub and a warm bed.”

As they headed back, his thoughts returned to Doctor Reynolds, raising her son alone. She was much too young to be a widow, and too darn pretty. Being an ER doctor, she probably didn’t have time to meet men and date. Heck of a thing for the boy. Growing up without a father was not easy, not by a long shot.

Going to a ballgame with the boy was the least he could do.

S
hane had had a helluva day. A dead battery in his Jeep made him late for an exam. He’d missed fifteen minutes, which made him rush through the questions and doubt his answers. He was an undergrad at UCLA, and it was too expensive to flunk out. If he failed this— no, he couldn’t think of failure. He had to pass with honors and get into a great medical school. Nothing else mattered.

By the time he’d finished the exam, he had a massive headache, and then he got stuck in traffic on the way home. Now he was late picking up Josh, and Lauren would probably be thinking the worst.

God, but she was a looker. Her chin-length, chestnut-colored hair looked silky to the touch; she had classic cheekbones, a cute upturned nose, and blue eyes that could be cold as ice or warm as a sunny day.

He figured he knew which expression he’d be seeing when she opened the door.

Once he located her house, a nice-looking bungalow with a fenced-in backyard and flowering bushes and plants in front, he parked next to a Cadillac SUV and rang her doorbell.

He heard Josh yell, “He’s here, he’s here!” before the kid opened the door.

“Hi, Josh. Sorry I’m late, but I got stuck in traffic.”

“That’s okay.” Josh grabbed his artificial hand and pulled him into the house.

Shane stood in a large open room that must have originally been a formal living area but was now converted to an office and playroom. Bookshelves lined two walls, and standing in front of them was a mahogany desk with a leather chair. The front of the room had a big bay window and had been sectioned off with children’s furniture and Josh’s toys.

“We’re in here,” Lauren called from the back of the house.

“Come on,” Josh said, leading him past French doors and into the family room.

Shane noted one overstuffed sofa and two comfortable chairs that faced the large plasma TV. “Hey, everybody,” Josh shouted. “This is Shane. I don’t know his last name.”

“Dawson. Shane Dawson.”

“Hi, Shane. Glad you could make it.” Lauren took his arm and introduced him to Kevin Henderson and his son Brad.

He shook hands with Kevin, a tall, fit-looking guy, who studied him with curiosity. “I’ve been hearing all about you. War hero, huh?”

“No, I’m certainly not a hero.” He hated that title. What did it mean, anyway? “No more than anyone else who served.”

“No need to be modest. Lauren was telling me how you got captured in Iraq and lost your hand.” Kevin nodded to the i-limb. “She seems to think you’re quite the guy.”

His tone was rather sour, which should have been a welcome change from the fawning some people did, but Shane sensed a faint and puzzling hostility from the other man.

“That’s not what I said,” Lauren protested.

“Close enough,” Kevin answered, and Shane saw a look pass between them.

Feeling awkward, he looked around to see where Josh had disappeared. He and the other boy, about Josh’s size but with darker hair, were lying on the floor, playing a game on an iPad.

“Well, I’m sure Shane doesn’t want to sit around and discuss his war stories. Right?” Lauren smiled at him. “Kevin has the tickets, and he’s offered to drive. Is that okay with you?”

“Sure. Easier than taking two cars.” He stood there, feeling like a second wheel, and wondered why the heck he’d agreed to come. If Kevin and Lauren were such good friends, why didn’t Lauren just go to the game?

She grabbed Josh’s jacket and helped him into it, careful not to jar his arm. After a big hug, she said, “Hope you all have a wonderful time. Go Dodgers!”

The two boys ran through the house and outside, the screen door slamming behind them.

“Too bad you can’t come along,” Shane said, glancing at Lauren’s flushed face. Why was she all pink cheeked around this guy? Wasn’t the man married? Maybe he was, but looking for some action with the grieving widow? Or he might be a single dad, too. Wouldn’t that be convenient?

“No, thanks,” she said. “I’m going to enjoy a night by myself. Watch a movie or read a book.”

Kevin stepped close and whispered something for her ears only. She smiled and dropped her eyes, like a girl on her first date.

The skin prickled on the back of Shane’s neck, and he asked himself what the hell his problem was. It didn’t matter if they were sleeping together or not. He had no personal interest in Lauren. He was doing the kid a favor. Payback, remember?

But why had she asked him to take her son to the ballgame? Why not let hot-to-trot Kevin be surrogate dad for the night?

Kevin talked about himself all the way to the game. A lawyer in some big firm, someone had given him the tickets. Premium seats and complimentary parking too.

The stadium was packed. Once they found their seats behind home plate, they returned to the concession stand for hot dogs, French fries, and water for the boys.

The game started off slow. The pitchers did a better job than the batters, which meant nobody was doing much scoring. Ho-hum for the spectators, and the boys were getting antsy.

During a break in the play, Shane slipped out. He returned a few minutes later with two large bags of popcorn and two new Dodgers caps for Brad and Josh.

The Dodgers were trailing by two for most of the game, but when Andre Ethier hit a home run with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, the crowd jumped to its feet.

Josh reacted like the rest of the hometown fans, jumping around and screaming with excitement. In his wild exuberance, he knocked his bag of popcorn over someone seated one row ahead.

The man, wearing a San Francisco Giants’ hat, jumped up as popcorn rained down on him, knocked over his beer, and swung around to face Josh. Seeing the size of the boy, he unleashed his fury on Shane. “Can’t you control your son?” he snapped. He stood up and turned, gesturing to his wet jeans. “Kid made me spill my beer. Got half of it on my pants.”

“I’m sorry,” Josh whispered, turning beet red. “I didn’t mean to do it.”

“I have popcorn down my neck, my jacket. Now I’m wearing the beer too,” the man grumbled. “Even my shoes.”

“I’ll buy you another beer.” Shane waved to a girl selling beer in the aisle and stuck out his wallet.

“I don’t want a beer from you,” the man said. “These kids have been a royal pain in the ass. They’ve been kicking the back of the seats and yelling in my ear all night, and you’ve done nothing to stop them.”

“Back off, buddy,” Kevin said. “This is a family event, and the kids are having a good time. Let’s leave it at that.”

“I’m sorry,” Josh said again, looking terrified.

The burly man was still on his feet, and he leaned toward Josh. “If you kick the bottom of my chair one more time, I’ll—”

“You’ll do what?” Shane said. He stood as well, shielding the two boys with his body. “Don’t threaten these boys. We’re all here to have fun.”

“What did you say?” The man’s bulbous nose grew redder as his temper soared.

“I said to leave the boys alone.”

“Listen, you.” The guy grabbed Shane by his jacket. “You need to teach your boy some manners.”

“And you, sir, have had too much to drink.”

“Like hell I have!” He glared at Shane. “Damn ass punk.”

“Calm down, both of you,” Kevin snapped. “Take your seats before we’re thrown out.”

Shane locked eyes with the man. “Kid said he was sorry, and I offered you a beer. That’s the best we can do.”

“Go to hell,” the man said and slugged Shane.

Security guards surrounded them in seconds. Kevin tried to explain, but tempers had flared, and the incident got out of hand. Other fans and Giants supporters tossed around insults, and a few more punches were thrown. Within minutes, all of them were escorted out of the stadium.

Kevin didn’t say a word, but his body language spoke volumes of his displeasure. He marched the boys to his SUV, and as they climbed into the back, he turned to Shane.

“Why couldn’t you just let it go? You’ve ruined the night for the kids.”

“I’m the one with the black eye.” He stuck his good hand in his pocket and took a couple of calming breaths. He wasn’t pleased with the way Kevin was shoving the blame on him. He’d done nothing but defend the boys.

Josh jumped out of the SUV and threw himself at Shane. “I still like you, even if nobody else does.”

Shane ruffled the boy’s hair. “Sorry, kid. But that guy was a bully and a loser.”