The Creek Series: Complete Set: Parts I, II, & III Read online

  I went outside and grabbed my purse. With phone in hand, I took several pictures of the list and decided the time had come to cover it. The easiest way would be a new piece of drywall and a few screws, so it wasn’t damaged, just not visible to anyone else. I was curious if Justin had any left over from his new house, so I gave him a call.

  “Hey, do you happen to have any plasterboard left over?”

  “What are you building?”

  “Just repairing. I’m at the cabin. Do you have a four by eight piece and some white paint?”

  “Yes, I’ll bring it to you.”

  He arrived about thirty minutes later, driving the ranch truck, and brought in all sorts of supplies like caulk, hammer, nails, etc. I told him about the writings and how I was just going to put a piece of drywall over it and paint it, nothing fancy.

  “Don’t read it,” I warned.

  “Okay,” he agreed with a laugh.

  Within an hour, we had it covered up and started a fresh coat of paint for the whole closet. No one but us and maybe Analina would know it was ever there. She hadn’t mentioned it, but I was pretty certain she’d seen it.

  “He was crazy about you. Talked about you constantly.” Justin was standing on the stool to paint the ceiling, and I was beneath him, painting around the bottom.

  “Yeah, that’s what everyone tells me.”

  “This place would make a great hunting lodge.”

  “I hadn’t thought about that. Good idea.”

  It was a light bulb moment. I could rent it out as a hunting lodge. Hunter’s Paradise. Five acres wasn’t anything to hunt on really, but other land around was leased out for hunting, that much I knew. “I’ll give that some serious consideration.”

  While we waited for the paint to dry, we sat out on the deck. I began to get the closure I needed and the final step toward healing. I no longer slept in his flannel shirt, which took me weeks to wash, and I’d stopped listening to his voice mail messages and reading his text because the counselor said those things were holding me hostage. I was grateful for the people in my life who had given me enormous support and solid advice at every turn.

  Karina was right, I held the power to move on. History could not be repaired, but I needed the lesson to live the rest of my life.

  Chapter 17

  Toward the end of October, Darlie told me there was going to be a position posted in her department she thought I’d love, working as a patient care assistant. Basically, it was a jack-of-all trades, anything and everything asked, kind of job. I wouldn’t work for her, but it would get my foot in the door for a nursing position in oncology when I graduated, if one became available.

  I took the proper steps and spoke with Becky about it, and she agreed it was a great move for me, and while she would be sad to lose me from her team, she thought the change would be great and would definitely set me up for what I wanted to accomplish after graduation.

  “I’m bummed our schedules won’t be the same, but it will be good for you,” Karina said around her toothbrush.

  I sat down on the end of her bed while she washed her face. “It’s less hours and no weekends, but Becky said I could pick up weekend shifts, if I wanted to, from her crew, and since my grades have come back up, there shouldn’t be a problem with my advisor.”

  “Graduation will be here before we know it. You are such a genuine, caring person. I know you’d make a great oncology nurse.”

  I applied for the position and was transferred without a waiting period the second week of November. The following Monday after class, I reported to my new assignment and was giddy with excitement as I waited to meet with my new boss, Edgar Walls, Director of Oncology.

  “We’re thrilled to have you on the team, Wrenn. Our mission here is simple; it’s always the small things that move the most mountains. Always keep that in mind and you’ll do well. I know you’re friends with Darlie already, but I’ll give you the nickel tour and introduce you to everyone else.”

  After a brief jaunt around the department, we arrived to the area that would be my work station and introduced me to Margaret, who was going to be my trainer and immediate supervisor. At first, Margaret seemed kind of grouchy, and I wondered what I’d gotten myself into, but I hoped for a turnaround.

  As it turned out, Margaret was a patient herself, having recently finished her treatments for lung cancer and had decided it was best to retire. Her position was the one I was taking. Her attitude was a blend of emotions; after all, her life had been drastically altered.

  It took about a week to get into a new rhythm, but once I had, I was very happy with my decision. I had more free time, but I used that to study and also sign up for an online class that would apply to my graduate program.

  I sent Dr. Palmer an email about my decision, and his response to me confirmed that we both understood I wouldn’t be working for him after graduating, as I’d originally planned to do.

  I’m extremely pleased with your choice, Wrenn. You are a very congenial caregiver, and that type of personality is desperately needed in the healing arts of cancer. It is an emotional journey with each patient and one I think you would excel at. Since we don’t have a cancer center close, I’m certain that the area you are in will provide adequately for employment post-graduation, but I’ll miss not having you working by my side. I know your mother is very, very proud of your accomplishments and the strides you are taking, just as I am. I’m proud to think I nudged you enough that you finally took this step in your life. I look forward to seeing you the next time you are home, and as always, Sara Beth and I send you our love.

  Dr. P

  In a way, the note was sad, but in another, it was more closure to my painful past and a positive take on my future.

  I’d been in the cancer center over two months when I met Mr. Asher Lawrence, a sweet elderly man who had come to us for treatments and would be undergoing both chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Walking was difficult for him, so I meet his assistant out at the car with a wheelchair. He was quite the flirt, and I enjoyed him. While his body was failing him, his mind still appeared very sharp.

  “Your mother must love birds,” he said one day as I pushed his chair inside.

  “She does and has quite the sense of humor,” I joked in regards to the correlation of nature to my name, printed on the badge hanging around my neck.

  “Well, I for one, think it’s lovely.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Lawrence. You seem to be feeling well today. What’s got you so chipper?”

  “My grandson returns home this weekend from our corporation in China. I haven’t seen him in several months.”

  “China? Wow. I’ve never been there. Does he go there a lot?”

  “In and out practically the entire past three years and he hasn’t been happy about it.”

  Small talk was great at keeping the patient’s mind removed from what we were doing, and I seemed to keep them chatting very well. Some of the patients told me the same stories day after day, which had me performing a serious act at pretending. Reminded me of the movie Fifty First Dates with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.

  Mr. Lawrence was a talker. In fact, he was rarely quiet, and I soon discovered he was a billionaire and also a big philanthropist, donating millions of dollars to the hospital in honor of his late wife Valarie.

  “We are into global technology and have a micro-chip company there.”

  “That’s got to be interesting.”

  “Are you married?” he popped off one night as I took him out to his car.

  “Are you asking?” I teased him.

  “I might be,” he continued to joke. “No, you just seem like a sweet young lady, and I was curious if you had a husband to rush off to at home.”

  My heart was shredded, and I began to sweat profusely even in the cold wind, but I kept my stoic face as best I could and leaned down to lock the wheelchair, so he couldn’t see me or my reaction to his question.

  “No, Mr. Lawrence, I’m not married.�
��

  “No one at home who you have to rush off to, so have dinner with me.”

  “I’d love to, but I have a roommate from the nursing school, and we’re studying tonight for a big test.”

  He covered his chest with both hands. “Ouch, I’m rejected. Maybe next time, my dear.”

  “Perhaps.” Shameful of me to tease an old man, but I didn’t have the heart to spill my guts with my amount of baggage.

  I was perplexed why he only had hired help with him and never any family, but it wasn’t my place to ask.

  “Next week, I’m bringing my grandson for you to meet.”

  “I look forward to that. What’s his name?”

  “Dane.”

  “Well, I’ll see you and Dane on Monday then.”

  I said goodbye to Mr. Lawrence and finished my shift, after which, Darlie and I picked up Chinese takeout and went to my house to share with Karina before we settled in for a weekend of studying.

  “I’m having an adult libation with dinner, celebrating having received the crankpot patient award today,” Karina bellowed as she plopped on some pillows by the coffee table.

  “Oh no, what happened?” Darlie asked.

  “A four-year-old little boy told me I was no longer his friend when I had to stick his finger for the third time in one day to check his blood sugar.”

  “Wow, Karina, that’s really sad. You lose friends on a daily basis, don’t you?” I teased.

  “Well, at least your patients don’t stick their tongues out at you every time you come in the room,” Karina joked and got up to throw her container in the trash.

  “No, they are sweet, and most of them are scared to death,” I yelled out to her.

  “I think the move was a good one for you. You’ve come a long way, and I’m proud of you,” Darlie offered.

  “Me too,” Karina echoed from the kitchen.

  “It’s hard to believe that almost a year has gone by. I miss him so much, and sometimes, I still pick up the phone to call him. It so damn weird, like I live in a time warp, but yes, I’ve come a long way and can finally see I’m ready to move on with my life. I know it’s what he would’ve wanted.”

  “Does that mean date?” Darlie asked, grabbing my forearm for added attention.

  “Maybe. It just means that today when Mr. Lawrence asked if I was married, it hurt, you know. But I realized I’m going to get that question often, and one of these days I do want to be married and have a family, so it made me realize that maybe I’m open to it.”

  “That’s awesome,” Karina said. “I’m gonna go get ready. Aaron’s picking me up. I can’t wait to tell him you’re on the market. He’s got some cool friends.”

  “See, that’s the shit I’m talking about,” I groaned.

  Darlie just laughed when I rolled my eyes.

  Chapter 18

  My intercom buzzed. “Wrenn, Mr. Lawrence is here.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right there.” I left my desk and went to the side entrance with the wheelchair, but there was no sign of Mr. Lawrence. I walked to the front reception, and there he sat ready to go.

  “Well, you’re a magician today. Already in a chair. Poof.” I threw my hands up.

  “No, Dane helped me, and then he had to run an errand, but I want you to meet him. I’ve told him all about you.”

  “Oh, you did, did you? Well, I bet that was interesting, since you and I have only been dating for a week now, and you already want me to meet the family.” I pushed him back for his chemo treatment.

  “Young lady, you are adorable and the highlight of my day, every day.”

  “Well, I feel the same way about you. When are we getting married?”

  “Tomorrow soon enough?” he teased.

  “Tomorrow, it is.” I left him with the nurse for his treatment and went to my desk to work on charts. A little while later the nurse called and asked me to come back to Mr. Lawrence’s room. It wasn’t time for him to leave, and I rushed back, thinking something was wrong.

  When I opened the door, he was sitting there all chummy, talking to a man dressed in a suit, but I didn’t focus on the man in the corner, I only had concern for my patient.

  “Mr. Lawrence, did you want to see me?” I asked, approaching his bedside. “Is something wrong?”

  “No, I wanted you to meet my grandson, Dane.”

  I turned around to see the man he wanted me to meet, extending my right hand. “Hi, I’m—”

  “Wrenn, I know.”

  I paused and stared—a very long stare I’m afraid. He was genuinely handsome and looked familiar. Then it hit me. “A.D.?”

  “Yes. Asher Dane Lawrence is a mouthful, but it’s me.”

  “You look—different. A suit, no beard…”

  “It’s been over a year, and you never called. You still owe me a date.”

  “Wait, she’s my girl. We’re getting married tomorrow,” Mr. Lawrence professed.

  I turned my head quickly to Mr. Lawrence and then back to Dane. “He’s right. I’m spoken for. I was supposed to meet the family.”

  “Well, now you have,” Dane quipped.

  I laughed and the gentlemen chimed in. I leaned against the wall next to Mr. Lawrence’s bedside.

  Dane took his seat again in the chair. “What happened? I seriously thought you’d call, and I was looking forward to it.”

  “You two know each other?” Mr. Lawrence asked, confused.

  “No,” I answered.

  “Yes, we’ve met. A year ago, so that means I saw her first, Grandfather.” Dane teased.

  “Look, the past year… My life… It’s a story, and one I can’t tell right now. Can we talk later?” I chewed at my bottom lip and crossed my arms.

  “Yes, what time do you get off? I’ll be back to pick you up.”

  “No, I can’t tonight, but give me your number again and I’ll call.”

  “Okay. Give me your hand.”

  I approached the chair where he was still sitting and presented my left hand. Thinking he was going to give me a business card, you can imagine my surprise when he wrote his number on the back of my hand.

  “A temporary tattoo?”

  “Yeah, hopefully one you won’t lose until you can put it in your phone.”

  I laughed at his witty commentary.

  Later, I was standing in Darlie’s office after Mr. Lawrence and Dane left, telling her the story of my dead battery and meeting A.D., who was actually Dane, Mr. Lawrence’s grandson.

  She laughed at me. “So, you know this is karma, right?”

  “How do you figure?”

  “When you met him the first time, you wouldn’t have been ready for a relationship. But now…”

  “I’m not ready for one now.”

  “But you said last week you were.”

  “I said ‘maybe’. Good grief, I give you and Katrina an inch and you both take liberty. She’s already got Aaron fixing me up with a blind date.”

  Darlie and I clocked out and walked outside to the parking lot. As we approached our cars parked fairly close to one another, I noticed my car had a tall man leaning against it. This time he was wearing jeans, sweatshirt, and a ball cap turned backwards.

  “Is that him?” she asked softly.

  “Yes.”

  “Oh. My. God. Looks like ‘maybe’ isn’t waiting. You’re going and that’s all there is to it.” She veered off toward her car, but kept turning back to watch me as I walked toward mine.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I saw this car from the frontage road and knew it had to be yours. I’m not waiting for you to call. A deal is a deal.”

  “Look, Dane, I’ve got a plethora of baggage, and it’s been a hell of a year. Now’s not the time.”

  I watched as his eyes looked down my body to my shoes and back up to my eyes. “You going in that or do you want to go change?”

  “You’re a pain in the ass.”

  He shook his head, but bore a really cute grin. “Already callin
g me names?”

  “Fine. Yes, I want to change out of these scrubs. I need to go to my house off highway 288.”

  “Lead the way.”

  After following me to my place, he waited patiently in his car for me to freshen up. When I returned outside, he got out of his fancy black sports car and opened the door for me.

  “I thought you told me you were into American made and organic?” I popped off.

  “The car was a gift from Grandfather, and since he’s ill, I couldn’t exactly say no. I have to pick my battles with that man. But organic, yes, and you can tell me yourself how much you love it after we eat. I love to hear how right I am,” he joked.

  “You’re sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

  Dane glanced in my direction, raising his brows in a comical gesture and smiled. “Is there any other way to be?”

  He took me to a quaint little restaurant in the back of a strip mall off Interstate 35. There couldn’t have been more than fifteen tables and booths total inside. When we initially arrived, I heard the guys behind the counter call him by name, suggesting he was a regular customer, so the food had to be good to keep him coming back.

  We were seated in a back corner booth that had plenty of leg room for him.

  “What kind of pizza is your favorite?” he asked.

  “Anything, seriously. Even anchovies.”

  “That’s a pizza lover right there. I can’t do them. I’ve tried. Okay if I order for us?”

  Seeing as how we didn’t have any menus, that was going to have to work. “Sure.”

  He asked what I wanted to drink and placed our order. “So, you said the last year had been a booger. What happened? School kickin’ your ass?”

  A lump appeared in my throat the size of a small lemon and cut off my airway along with my cognitive thinking. Instantly, I broke out in a cold sweat. When my eyes met his, I found him watching me intently, but I was certain he was unprepared for any kind of honest answer I could throw out at him.