Broken dreams, p.2
Broken Dreams, page 2
part #1 of Monroe Family Series
Shane Reinhart’s death was his fault.
Chapter Two
A little girl with blonde pigtails ran out of the house, banging the screen door behind her. “Aunt Amber, Grandma wants to know what's taking you so long.” Her eyes rounded with shocked surprise when she saw Nick sitting there. “Aunt Amber! Don't you know you're not supposed to talk to strangers?”
“Yes, Beth. But Dr. Tanner isn't a stranger, he's a friend.” Nick almost smiled at how Amber stretched the truth for the child's benefit. “Tell Grandma I'll be in soon.”
“Okay.” The little girl spun like a top and dashed inside.
With an apologetic glance at him, she said, “Mom broke her hip a month ago and she needs help getting around.”
And that was his cue to leave. He managed a smile. “Shane mentioned how the Monroe family was closer to him than his own. I can certainly see why he felt that way. Please, give your parents my regards.”
“Why don't you stay for dinner?” Amber stood with a fluid movement he sorely envied. “My brother Adam will be here. He was a good friend of Shane’s. I'm sure he'd love to talk to you.”
Sucking in a deep breath to ward off the anticipated pain, he pushed himself to a standing position. A dark red hot jolt of pain flashed before his eyes, momentarily blinding him. Wow, something as easy as standing shouldn't be so difficult. To distract himself from his weakness, he focused his gaze on Amber's youthful face as he recited her sibling’s names. “Aaron, Adam, Alec, Austin, and Amber. Don't tell me, let me guess. You guys are the A-team.
Amber laughed, the simple motion lit up her whole face, making him suck in another quick breath. “What can I say? My parents have a strange sense of humor. You forgot my sister, Andrea, she’s between Aaron and Adam. Beth is her daughter. I have the dubious privilege of being the youngest. My sister has carried on the tradition, her children are Bethany and Benjamin. We can only pray she doesn't have four more. I'm not sure our family gatherings could take the noise.”
He thought her family sounded wonderful. He'd heard bits and pieces about the Monroe family from Shane. Guilt over his death returned in full force. “You're very fortunate to have such a large family.”
Her expression softened. “Yes, I know.”
“Amber?” A booming male voice came from inside the house. “Beth tells us your boyfriend is here. Why don't you invite him in?” As he spoke, her father opened the door and stepped out on the porch. “You know your friends are always welcome. Hi. My name is Abe Monroe. My wife, Alice is inside.” Her dad held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Nick Tanner, and it's nice to meet you too.” Nick shook Amber's father's hand, subtly shifting his weight to ease the pain in his left leg before it buckled and he embarrassed himself by doing an ungainly nose dive off the side of the porch.
“Nick is Shane’s friend.” Amber rolled her eyes at her dad's assumption they were seeing each other. “He's a surgeon too, and was training with Shane over in Beijing. I just invited him to stay for dinner.” She glanced over her shoulder while opening the door. “Dad, talk him into staying, while I run up to check on Mom.”
“Really?” The older man's eyes brightened with keen interest as he gazed at Nick. Amber grinned slyly as she left him alone with her father. “You were with Shane in Beijing? I'd love to hear about your time there, if you don't mind.”
Nick could swear he heard the clang of a jail door slamming shut behind him. How was he going to get out of this? For a moment, he considered simply walking away. But then realized he owed the Monroe clan more than a couple of minutes of his time. Shane had called them his surrogate family. So what if he didn't have his pain meds and muscle relaxants with him? They didn't work all that well anyway. He could suffer a few more hours.
To be honest, he didn't have anywhere else to go. Except back to an empty motel room. For years he'd roamed the world thriving on his independence. But since his accident he'd become keenly aware of his lack of a home. Of a family.
“No, sir, I don't mind at all.” He forced a smile. “I'd love to stay for dinner.”
“Great! Come on in.” Abe gave a hearty laugh and opened the door gesturing for Nick to follow. “I'll tell Andrea to set another place at the table.”
He followed Amber's father inside the house and immediately felt surrounded by the warmth of the Monroe family. One entire wall of the living room was covered with framed pictures of the children, including he saw with a grimace, several pictures including Shane.
And of course, dozens of Amber.
In his humble opinion, she was the cutest of the bunch.
He felt like a traitor stepping into this wholesome homestead. When he heard the tinkling sound of Amber's laughter, he knew he was sunk.
His mission of returning the cardboard box to Amber had been completed. He had no intention of telling the family the graphic details about the plane crash that had nearly killed him and had stolen Shane’s life. The hotel had sent his bags to the hospital upon his transfer back to the United States, but had mixed up some of his and Shane’s belongings. He wasn't even sure how it happened, some phrase had caught his eye and he ended up reading part of a letter. Then another. Then all of them. Every letter and email Amber had sent to Shane.
Then he'd suffered complications from surgery that had extended his stay in the hospital for another two months. If he was brutally honest, Amber's letters were the only thing that kept him from losing his mind during the long, painful weeks of rehab. He'd read each letter and e-mail so often he could quote them by memory.
Bad enough he'd betrayed her privacy. What was he doing hanging around here?
Meeting Amber in person hadn't helped exorcise his demons. In fact, just the opposite. Now that he'd met her in person, he only wanted to stay.
Amber couldn't concentrate on taking care of her mother, not when she could hear the rumble of Nick's deep voice downstairs as he spoke to her family. She was more than a little intrigued by the tall, dark-haired stranger.
Although he really wasn't a stranger, she silently corrected. That hadn't been just a line to satisfy her niece. Shane had mentioned Nick several times in his letters, how they'd go out and play tourist in Beijing after putting in long grueling hours in the operating room. Shane had also been impressed by Nick's skill as a surgeon. It was such a shame he'd been injured.
“Ouch!” Her mother yelped.
“Oh, I'm so sorry.” She winced and turned her attention back to the task of getting her mother out of the bathtub. “I didn't mean to bump your knee like that. Here, wrap your arm around my shoulder so I can support your weight off your hip.”
“That's all right, dear.” Her mother flashed a forgiving smile. “Did you have a rough day at work?”
“No more than usual.” With caution, she helped her mother stand then step out of the bathtub. According to the physical therapists, they weren't supposed to rely on the automatic lift anymore, even though her mother preferred the ease of using the supportive equipment.
“I'm falling,” her mother cried, waving her arm in panic.
“Don't worry I have you.” She spoke in a soothing tone and tightened her grip on her mother's tiny frame. Thankfully her mother was small boned and didn’t weigh very much. “You're doing great, Mom. A few more weeks and you'll be getting in and out of the tub on your own.”
“I'm not so sure about that.” Her mom dropped into the chair with a sigh. “Maybe you should put off leaving for another couple of months. You know, Andrea could help use your help with the kids once in a while with her husband away on his business trips.”
Amber bit back the automatic protest. She knew her mother wasn't trying to make her feel guilty. But the end result was a pretty impressive guilt trip, just the same. She managed a smile. “Here, let's get you dressed. We have a guest for dinner.”
“Really?” Her mother perked up, diverted by the prospect of company, as she had hoped. “Who?”
“Dr. Nick Tanner. He's a friend of Shane’s.” She wrapped her mother in a large bath towel. “Let's get you into the bedroom and you can tell me what you'd like to wear.”
“A friend of Shane’s?” Her mother used the walker to make her way from the bathroom into the bedroom. “Oh my.”
Oh my, was right. Her impression exactly, she thought with a wry grin. Men had not been high on her list of priorities after Shane's passing. Yet she wouldn't be a female if she hadn't noticed the extremely handsome Nick Tanner.
Not that she was interested in anything except hearing about his travels. Her pulse quickened at the thought. Beijing! How she'd longed to see the Forbidden City in the Ming Tombs that Shade had described in his letters. She could just imagine what it must have been like to travel through a country where you couldn't speak the language. For too long now, she lived vicariously through others.
Five more weeks and she'd start her traveling nurse assignment. She'd be happy to at least see the breadth of the United States, but she'd already begun to save money to travel overseas as well.
Her feet itched to shake off the Wisconsin dust once and for all. Not that she wouldn't return home for visits. Yet, as the youngest, she'd been forced to wait as one by one her siblings and of course, Shane, had taken off for adventures unknown.
Andrea had come back once since she decided to marry Stuart, and still Amber hadn't managed to find her way across state lines. First she'd needed enough nursing experience to qualify for a traveling nurse assignment. Then Shane’s death, followed by her mother's broken hip, had postponed her plans. She hadn’t minded helping out. But now, it seemed as if her family was determined she should never leave. As much as she loved them, they'd keep trying to run her life, refusing to believe she was capable of surviving on her own.
As far as she was concerned, she'd be just fine without them. She longed to get away. She could practically taste the spicy southern cuisine, feel the salty spray on her face as she stood on the sandy shores of the Gulf of Mexico.
Her heart raced with anticipation. She could hardly wait.
Amber listened in awe as Nick described his and Shane’s trip to the Great Wall of China. She imagined how the winding wall must have looked, zig zagging like a snake through the green, hilly mountains. Suddenly, moving to Florida sounded far too tame.
Maybe she needed to reconsider her initial goal of seeing all fifty states. There would always be plenty of time to travel her homeland, but going overseas now, while she was young enough to explore the sights, sounded like a much better plan. Were there traveling nurse assignments available overseas? How different could the nurse’s responsibilities be? She thought about some of the European medical articles she'd read and inwardly grimaced. Even some routine medical phrases different, and she had to assume the duties were, too.
Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea after all.
“Thanks for dinner.” Nick’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “I very much enjoyed the home cooked meal.” Her sister, Andrea preened at his praise. “But I really need to get going.”
Amber could tell her father was disappointed, but he gave in gracefully. “Of course you do. How long will you be in town?”
“I'm not sure, probably only a few days.” Nick flashed an apologetic smile. “If I have time, I'll stop back before I leave.”
“If you do, Dad will just ply you with more questions about what it's like to live in Beijing,” Adam warned.
“We’d love to have you again, if you have time.” Her father seemed mollified by Nick's halfhearted promise.
“Did you park your car nearby?” Amber thought back to how she'd found him standing outside their home. She didn't remember seeing any strange cars parked on the road, but she could have missed it. “I'll walk you outside.”
Adam raised a brow. “I'll come with you.”
Oh please. Like she needed a chaperone for this? “I can handle it.” Her narrow glare told him to back off. Her brothers and their protective attitude had worn thin years ago. They always found fault with the guys she dated, except for Shane. And while Shane had kissed her prior to his trip overseas, he hadn't actually asked her out. Not for lack of trying on her part.
Her brothers routinely interfered with other aspects of her life as well. Even when she had gotten her own apartment, Alec, a cop with the Milwaukee Police Department had moved into the same building to keep an eye on her. He claimed the area had a high crime rate. Yeah, right. She’d learned he’d promised her parents he’d look after her. Honestly, she needed to gain independence from her family. Being forced to temporarily move in with her parents had not helped.
“I didn't drive here.” Nick's smile seemed strained. “The motel I’m staying at isn't far.”
Normally she would have agreed. It was a nice summer night for a walk after all. But she'd noticed the lines bracketing next mouth had grooved deeper as their dinner had worn on. She'd worked with enough patients experiencing pain that she recognized a man in agony when she saw him. She wondered if he'd brought any medications with him, or if he'd left them back at the motel.
He stood and swayed slightly before using one hand to force his knee into a locked position beneath him. Yep. Definitely left his meds at the hotel, she decided. Stubborn man, not to have said anything sooner.
“I'll walk you out,” she repeated, ignoring her brothers. For a second she thought Adam was going to follow, but he didn't. Thankfully Alec was working or for sure he would have. Alec saw violent crime everywhere he looked, making him twice as cautious at home. As she strode past the door, she lifted her parents’ car keys off the hook mounted on the wall.
She'd sold her car, intent on buying another once she'd settled in Florida. If she needed one. The condo she would be staying in was located close to the hospital, so she doubted she would. Maybe she'd buy a bike instead. Or an electric scooter. Something she could use to ride down to the beach.
Outside, Nick stiffly crossed the porch, then descended the stairs, one painful step at a time.
“Hop in and I’ll drive you to the hotel.” She gestured to the vehicle parked in the driveway.
“I can walk. Thanks again for dinner.” His tone was abrupt, almost rude.
If she hadn't been so accustomed to taking care of people in pain, she might have taken his dismissal personally. However, dealing with her patients and the Dr. Rolands of the world, she'd grown tough.
“Don't be an idiot. Get in the car,” she said sharply. “Do you think I can't see how badly you're hurting?”
He paused then turned to look at her as if he couldn't believe her gall. Then understanding dawn. “That's right. I forgot you're a nurse.”
Her smile was not a bit sweet. “Yes, and if you know what's good for you, you won't argue. Especially now when you look as if one little push would send you sprawling flat on your face. And I have to tell you, there’s no way I’ll get you up off the street by myself. My brother and sister will have to help.”
His jaw tightened and she knew he hated every minute of weakness. But hallelujah, he didn't bite her head off. He turned and hobbled toward the car. “Fine, you can drive me back.”
She stood, waiting until he'd slid into the passenger seat, before climbing in on the driver's side. She adjusted the driver’s seat forward then backed out of the driveway.
“So, where are you staying?” She kept her tone mild, ignoring the resentment radiating off him in waves.
“A place called The Cozy Inn. It's just six blocks east and one block south of here.”
The Cozy Inn? She glanced at him in surprise. “That's right across the street from the VA hospital where I work.”
His gaze was enigmatic. “Yeah. Although I didn’t know you worked there.”
She was dying of curiosity. “What are you doing here in Milwaukee? Other than returning a box of personal mementos, that is.”
“Nothing much.” He stared out the window as if avoiding her gaze. “I told you, I'm not practicing as a surgeon. I'm still in physical therapy.”
“I see.” But she really didn't. Drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, she sent him a sidelong glance. Had he come to Milwaukee for a second opinion? She wanted to ask, but that would be rude.
Wouldn't it? Yes. Definitely rude.
“Here we are. The Cozy Inn.” She pulled into the motel parking lot. “Where is your room?”
“Ground level, number ten, the room on the end.” The motel was small, only two rows of rooms. The upper level sported a covered walkway. In deference to his discomfort, she pulled into the parking slot closest to the doorway near room ten.
She watched as Nick opened the passenger door and tried to swing his legs out of the car. As he struggled, he never uttered a sound, but his forehead was soon covered with a fine sheen of sweat.
Ridiculous. The guy would fall on his backside before requesting a helping hand. With a soundless sigh, she slid out from behind the wheel and stalked around to the passenger side.
“I can't stand it.” She glared at him. “It's your left side giving you problems, right?”
Remaining mute, lips compressed in a tight line, he nodded.
“That's what I thought. I'll pull you up then I want you to lean on me.” She used both of her hands to clasp his right hand and used her weight to lever him up and off the seat.
He was several shades paler by the time he managed to stand upright. She took a moment to grab his cane, then braced her body under his good arm so that she didn't stress the injured muscles of his left side. Keeping her pace slow, they walked or maybe stumbled, toward the doorway.
He was heavier than he looked, probably because of his height. She wasn't sure how they managed but soon they were standing in front of his motel room door. He had his room key and was swiping it in front of the sensor with his left hand, trying hard not to sway. She imagined anyone walking past them would think Nick was intoxicated or using illegal drugs.
