Chapter 4: Wheelchair
1870 Words
Clearing my throat, I finally spoke.
“Erin, I hope you know how grateful I am that you’re willing to stay with Ethan until we’re seen.”
I took a slow breath, trying not to let the pain in my ribs steal my voice.
“But my mother…” I sighed. “Protecting her grandchild is her favorite full-time job. She isn’t going to make this easy on you.”
I glanced between Erin and the nurse.
“I know he’s just trying to do his job, so let me help by stating one very important fact.”
Another wave of pain shot through my side.
I winced.
“Please… help me before I start crying from this damn pain.”
That did the trick.
Erin didn’t argue anymore.
Without another word, he carefully took my phone just long enough to get my mother’s number.
Finding Mommy in my contacts wasn’t exactly difficult.
Using his work phone, he immediately started a video call.
The second my mother answered, Erin looked like he regretted every decision that had led him to today.
“Where’s my daughter?”
“How’s Ethan?”
“Has he been seen yet?”
“What are the diagnoses?”
“What treatments have they started?”
“Does Ethan have a room?”
“What do you know about my daughter’s condition?”
Each question came faster than the last.
Poor Erin barely had enough time to blink.
With every new question, his expression looked more and more like a man realizing he’d accidentally walked into a firing squad.
I almost felt bad for him.
Almost.
Then again…
I knew my mother.
If she could have reached through the phone and bitten his head off, she probably would have.
Meanwhile, the ridiculously attractive nurse wheeled me farther into the emergency department.
Once we reached the nurses’ station, he greeted the other nurses working his shift.
It didn’t take a genius to notice several of them had a thing for him.
I mean…
Who wouldn’t?
However, what the nurse did next left me hurting even more.
And completely caught me off guard.
Instead of immediately asking me questions or checking my injuries, he disappeared for a few seconds before returning with a folded hospital blanket.
Without saying a word, he carefully draped it over my legs.
I looked down at it.
Then back at him.
“…It’s the middle of summer.”
The nurse froze.
He looked at the blanket as if he’d only just realized he’d put it there.
His ears turned slightly red.
“I…”
He scratched the back of his neck.
“I honestly don’t know why I did that.”
Despite the pain, I couldn’t help smiling.
“I’m anemic.”
His eyebrows lifted.
“You are?”
I nodded.
“I’ve been stealing blankets from hospitals since I was a kid. People are forever trying to keep me warm.”
A grin slowly spread across his face.
“Well…”
He shrugged.
“At least I accidentally looked smart.”
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
The movement immediately reminded my ribs they were still injured.
“Ouch…”
His smile disappeared instantly.
“I’m sorry.”
“No,” I answered, still smiling despite the pain. “That one wasn’t your fault.”
He carefully knelt until we were eye level.
“My name’s Kyle.”
“Mirella.”
“I know.”
I blinked.
“…Right.”
“You’ve got the advantage,” I muttered. “Everyone around here keeps learning my name before I learn theirs.”
That earned another smile from him.
“I’m Kyle Beaumont.”
I repeated it quietly in my head.
“Kyle…”
“It suits you.”
He looked genuinely relieved.
“I was worried you were going to say it sounded like the name of someone who still lived with his parents.”
I laughed again.
Then immediately regretted it.
“There go my ribs again.”
Kyle looked horrified.
“I think your ribs hate me.”
“My ribs hate everyone today.”
That seemed to relax him.
“Good.”
I tilted my head.
“Good?”
“I’d feel pretty bad if they only hated me.”
For someone who looked like he belonged on the cover of a medical school brochure…
He was unexpectedly funny.
Behind us, I heard Erin clear his throat.
Not loudly.
Just enough.
Kyle slowly looked over his shoulder.
The smiles disappeared from both men’s faces.
Neither spoke.
Neither moved.
For a brief second, it felt like they were arguing without using a single word.
I looked from one to the other.
“…Did I miss something?”
Neither answered.
Men.
Weird creatures.
Kyle didn’t miss the opportunity.
The moment the conversation ended, he smoothly took over as if he’d been doing this his entire life.
“You can bring the child into this room,” he said calmly, gesturing toward the open door. “We’ll leave the door open so both of you can see each other. That way, you both know you’re close, but we’ll still be able to treat each of you individually.”
His voice was gentle.
Confident.
Reassuring.
There wasn’t an ounce of panic in it.
He didn’t order people around.
He simply made everyone want to follow him.
Watching him step into that role was…
Unexpectedly attractive.
At the very same time, Erin was already making sure Ethan felt safe enough to follow him into the room without another meltdown.
Neither man was trying to impress me.
Kyle was focused on taking care of me.
Erin was focused on taking care of Ethan.
And somehow…
Watching one man protect me while the other protected my son made them both look ridiculously attractive.
I honestly didn’t understand how that worked.
Five minutes ago I had been in a car accident.
Now I was sitting in a wheelchair wondering how two complete strangers had managed to become the hottest men in the room simply by doing their jobs.
Maybe I had hit my head harder than I thought.
Or maybe competence was just unfairly attractive.
Either way…
The tiny masochistic corner of my brain decided this was the perfect time to remind me I was, in fact, still a woman.
Fantastic timing.
I mentally shoved that thought into a tiny box labeled Deal with this later.
Preferably tonight.
Alone.
With my vibrator.
Right now, my priorities were still my bruised ribs…
And the injuries my son was sustaining.
Kyle took a moment to check my general condition.
While he did, he somehow managed to keep me talking without making it feel like an interrogation.
The conversation flowed naturally.
Comfortably.
He asked me simple questions that had nothing to do with medicine one minute and then checked my ribs the next, helping me shift carefully whenever I needed to move.
Every warning came before he touched me.
Every movement was slow.
Every movement was gentle.
Every movement somehow made me relax.
I really didn’t want to think this kid had a crush on me.
But if he did…
Come to mama.
The thought almost made me laugh.
Almost.
Instead, I mentally reminded myself that I was thirty-four years old.
Kyle looked like he had barely graduated high school.
There was absolutely no way he was flirting with me.
…Right?
Somehow, though, he always managed to be the one assigned to Ethan and me.
Whenever someone else started heading our way, Kyle already had a reason to step in first.
I wasn’t complaining.
He started asking me questions about Ethan.
Not because he had to.
Because he genuinely wanted to know.
“What helps calm him?”
“Does he have any sensory triggers?”
“What should we avoid doing while treating him?”
“How do you normally help him when he’s overwhelmed?”
He listened.
Actually listened.
He didn’t interrupt me.
He didn’t correct me.
He didn’t act like he knew my son better than I did.
For the first time in years…
I felt understood.
The lump in my throat grew so quickly I almost cried.
When the police arrived, Kyle smoothly stepped into the conversation before they could start asking me questions.
“She’s still in pain and undergoing evaluation,” he explained calmly. “Her son is also being treated. I’d appreciate giving us enough time to complete their assessments before taking statements.”
He looked toward Erin.
“The other driver has already accepted responsibility for the collision. If charges need to be pressed, they’ll be handled accordingly. At this time, both the mother and the child are victims of the accident.”
I swear…
If I could have kissed this guy, I would have.
Unfortunately, I was way too old for him.
Whatever my imagination was trying to convince me of…
It had to be one-sided.
A little while later, Kyle walked back into my room carrying my orders.
“Well,” he said with that smile that should’ve come with a warning label, “I have your MRI orders.”
He looked over the chart before glancing back at me.
“Erin has agreed to pay for anything you need that’s related to the accident he caused.”
Then he offered me his hand.
“Let’s get you to MRI.”
He smiled again.
“And I promise to be gentle.”
Why did that sound so…
No.
Absolutely not.
My brain needed to behave itself.
He carefully helped me from the hospital bed into the wheelchair.
One hand supported my back.
The other rested against my waist just long enough to keep me steady.
His hands were everywhere they professionally needed to be.
Or…
Was that just my imagination?
By the time we reached the MRI room, my brain still hadn’t decided.
Kyle helped me onto the table with the same slow, careful movements.
He made sure I didn’t twist my ribs.
He adjusted my shoulders.
Supported my back.
Steadied my hips so I wouldn’t lose my balance.
Every touch had a purpose.
Every touch was completely appropriate.
So why in the world was my body reacting like this?
Think of anything else.
Anything.
Konstantin.
Living with my ex.
Remarrying the devil.
Every argument.
Every broken promise.
Every disappointment.
Just like that…
The s****l frustration disappeared.
Thank God.
Unfortunately…
Kyle apparently had an entirely different plan.
Once the MRI was finished, he helped me back into the wheelchair.
As I stood, his hands steadied me again.
This time, they rested firmly against my thick thighs just long enough to keep me from collapsing while my injured ribs protested the movement.
The touch wasn’t lingering.
It wasn’t inappropriate.
Yet the way he looked at me while doing it left me with absolutely no doubts.
Either I had completely lost my mind…
Or this eighteen-year-old was genuinely interested in a divorced thirty-four-year-old single mother.
Fuck my life.
By the time Kyle wheeled me back into my room, the police officers had already finished with Erin it seems.
Once he helped me settle back into my assigned bed, they introduced themselves and began asking me general questions about the accident.
- Writer
