Page 42 of The CEO

The ride to the hospital seemed to take a long time but was probably only twenty minutes or so.

Bree felt every bump, and the railroad tracks nearly killed her. She was fairly certain she had a couple of broken ribs, thanks to Simon Chandler and his misguided need to win. But he would pay. He’d be going to jail for this. Kidnapping was a federal crime, add battery to the charge and he’d be going away for many years. She figured Janie would throw a party and finally divorce him.

When they arrived at the hospital, Bree was wheeled into the Emergency Room.

Adam came in after her, but he only saw her a minute before the doctor threw him out.

Doctor Strauss was a young man, maybe thirty-five or so, with brown hair, blue eyes and a charming smile. He took her hand in his. “How are you feeling? Can you tell me your name?”

“I’m Bree Kincaid. The man you threw out was my husband, Adam Kincaid. He’ll be very angry.” For some inexplicable reason, she wanted to laugh. She managed to get out a chuckle before her ribs screamed again. “It feels like my ribs shift with every breath I take.”

“I would bet you have, at least, cracked several ribs and have possibly broken some. I’m getting X-rays done so we know for sure, although the treatment is the same.”

“Which is what?”

“Nothing. We can’t do anything. We used to wrap them but discovered that can do more damage than good, so we do nothing and let them heal on their own. You’ll probably want to sit up in bed to keep the movement as little as possible. Do you have children?”

Bree smiled when she thought of her precious Lilly. “We have an eight-month-old daughter.”

The doctor took his stethoscope from around his neck and put it in his ears. “I’m going to listen for fluid in your lungs. I want to rule out a punctured lung.”

He listened to her back and then to her chest. “I don’t hear anything, so that is good. You won’t be able to pick up your daughter for about six weeks. I know it will be hard, but you really need to do it. Your ribs should heal in that time. Pain management is crucial for the first few days up to the first week. I’ll be prescribing very strong pain medication, so you’ll probably spend most of the time sleeping, which is good.”

Her ribs hurt when she breathed but she couldn’t help the panic she felt. She was almost in a sitting position on the hospital bed. She figured it was up as far as it would go. The antiseptic smell nearly gagged her. She hated the smell of ahospital. “What about my daughter? How am I supposed to take care of her?”

“I happen to know that your husband can afford a nanny for that time. Everything will be fine. Let’s start with the X-rays.” He patted her hand. “I’ll be back after I get the test results. In the meantime, I’ve ordered you some pain medication.” He looked up as the curtain around her bed opened to allow a nurse entry. He patted Bree’s hand again. “All will be well. You’ll see.”

The doctor left.

The woman was black, with very dark skin and her hair was in mini-braids all over her head. She was quite lovely, with the most expressive dark brown, almond-shaped eyes.

She signed into the computer and then turned to Bree. “Hi, my name is Timony and I’ll be taking care of you until they move you to a room or release you.” She snapped a pair of gloves from the box on the wall and put them on. Then she picked up the needle she’d placed on the rolling silver tray. “This is a shot of morphine, Mrs. Kincaid. It will help you with your pain.” She put the medication directly into the IV line. “You should feel better in a few minutes.”

“Thank you.” Suddenly, tears ran down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s the matter with me.”

“You’ve been seriously injured, you’re separated from your husband, and generally feeling sorry for yourself, with reason. You shouldn’t feel shame at shedding a few tears.”

“Thanks, Timony. I needed to hear that.”

The woman waved off the thanks. “Sure, hon. Now, I’ll get your husband and bring him back. Apparently, he’s been somewhat of a bear, pacing and shouting at people. Luckily, we’re professionals and don’t take um…stuff…off of anyone.” She left.

Several minutes later, Adam threw back the curtain. “Bree, sweetheart, are you all right? Are they treating you well? I’ll have a talk?—”

She frowned.Why does he sound like he cares more than usual, and what is with calling me sweetheart?“Adam, shh. I’m going to be fine. The doctor thinks I have a couple of cracked ribs, but he doesn’t believe anything else is wrong. If he’s right and I do, then we’ll need to hire a nanny for the next six to eight weeks?—”

He bent over. “You, shh.” Then he placed his lips against hers.

She suddenly felt like she could take on the world single-handed. Bree lifted her arms to put them around his neck and immediately dropped them back to the bed as her body howled with pain. “Oww, damnit. Forgive me for cussing, but dang that hurts.”

“Knock, knock. Mrs. Kincaid?”

“Yes, I’m Bree Kincaid.”

A pretty red-haired woman entered. She had freckles across the bridge of her nose and was clearly used to garnering attention. She had big blue eyes that she perused Adam with before turning to Bree. “I’m Savannah, and I’ll be taking you to X-ray. You don’t have to do a thing. I’ll get all these wires unhooked, and I’ll take you right on the gurney. How’s that sound?”

“Much better than trying to get up.”

“I thought so.” She turned to Adam. “Are you Mr. Kincaid?”