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“I love this movie.”
Harlyn startled and sat up straight. “Jesus,” she gasped. “I didn’t even know you were there, Dr. Clark.”
I had actually been standing there a good five minutes watching the movie. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen it, and it was at the most romantic part when the prince swept her up on his horse in the middle of a crowded street. A definite swoon-worthy moment, even for a divorcee of forty-one. “Didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just coming around for my final rounds.”
Harlyn stretched her arms over her head and yawned. “He’s been passed out for about an hour, and I was about two minutes away from joining him.”
I grabbed Roc’s chart from the end of the bed and glanced over it. There really wasn’t any improvement or anything going on since the last time I had been in here. Unfortunately, broken bones don’t heal over a couple of days. “By Monday, he’ll be discharged.”
“Discharged?”
I nodded and made a few notations in his chart. “Yep. He just needs to heal now. He’s going to need to take it easy and will eventually need rehab.”
“Uh, you’re sure he can’t just stay here while he heals? I’m afraid once I bust him out of here, he really isn’t going to listen to a word I say.”
I snickered and put the chart back. “He’s actually listening here?”
The few times I had interacted with Roc, he seemed to be rather resistant to anything that had to do with him staying in bed.
Harlyn laughed. “Well, sort of. Having the nurses backing me up helps. He doesn’t have a problem being a jerkass to me, but he seems to check himself a bit when others are around.”
I grabbed my stethoscope from around my neck. “I saw you have Sara and Jan as nurses today. I will say, those are two I wouldn’t want to mess with.”
I pulled back the covers a bit and pressed the end of the stethoscope to Roc’s heart.
Harlyn stood up and stretched. “Yeah. You think maybe they can do house calls when he insists on being stubborn?”
Roc stirred, and his eyes popped open. “What the hell?” he grunted.
I leaned back and smiled. “Sorry, Roc. I was just trying to get some vitals without waking you up.”
He grunted and pressed his finger to the button to raise the back of the bed. “I was just resting my eyes.”
I hid my smile and turned to look at the machines that were hooked up to him. “Tonight, they’re going to wean back your meds. With you going home next week, we want to see just what the right amount of medicine is for you.”
“Turn it all the way off. All it does is make me tired.”
And ward off the pain in both legs.
“Eventually.” It wasn’t like we were going to go cold turkey on them and expect him to be good. “I’ve already talked to the doctor taking over. We both think you’ll be out of here by next week barring nothing pops up.”
I never wanted to say anything was for certain because I had learned very early on in my career that anything was possible when working in a hospital.
“Just let me go home now,” he grumbled.
Harlyn stepped to the other side of the bed and rested her hand on Roc’s arm. “Dad. Would you just chill out? It’s not like you’re going to be up to much when you get home.”
“I’m not gonna sit around like a bump on a log, Harlyn. I can go to the garage and help the team get ready for the race.”
“Uh,” I hummed. “I’m not quite sure you should be heading back to work so quickly. You do have a sprained elbow and along with a bunch of other bumps and bruises.”
“I feel fine,” he insisted.
“That’s good, Roc. But we want to make sure you’re on the right path before we release you and get you back to normal.”
All of his vitals were looking good, and considering what he had been through, he really wasn’t on much for pain.
Harlyn's phone rang, and she stepped out to answer it.
“Can’t you just scribble on your notepad that I’m good to go and get me out of here, Doc?” Roc muttered softly.
A slight smile spread across my lips. “I would gladly do that if you have a private nurse with you for the month, at least. You’re doing fine, but your daughter says you live alone.”
“I’ve lived alone for over twenty years. Pretty sure I’ll be okay.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Under normal circumstances, I’m sure you’re fine, but I don’t think you’re quite grasping the severity of having two broken legs.”
“Pretty sure I get it, seeing as I’m the one laying in the bed,” he growled.
There was the grump ass. “Monday, Roc.”
“What if I get a nurse? Someone to stay with me?”
I sighed and hung my head. “Honestly, you’re going to be dealing with a new doctor this week, seeing as I’m on vacation for two weeks after tonight. You’re going to have to run it past them.”
Roc grumbled under his breath about being a cripple.
“Hang in there, Roc. This will all be over before you know it.”
I had taken two steps toward the door when his words halted me in my tracks.
“What if you stay with me?”
“What?” I gasped. Maybe the small dose of pain meds he was on was actually going to his head.
“If you know so well what I need, then you would be the best one to stay with me.”
I turned around and looked at him. He appeared to be of sane mind, but the fact that he basically just propositioned me to come be his personal maid knocked me speechless. “I’m a doctor.”
“Kind of figured that out from the white coat you wear.”
I grasped the lapel of my jacket. “How astute of you.”
“I’ll pay you. Well.”
“I’m a doctor,” I repeated.
Roc huffed. “Got that, Doc. Think we can move on from that?”
“You know absolutely nothing about me, and we’ve spent maybe a combined thirty minutes together the past three days. How is this idea even entering your mind right now?”
Roc leaned forward. “I’m having this idea cause I want the fuck out of here and you seem to be the person who can make that happen.”
Never, in my fourteen years of being a doctor, had someone propositioned me to come live with them.
“Your idea is asinine.”
“Whoa,” Harlyn muttered behind me. “What the hell is going on?”
“I’m getting my ass out of here, and Dr. Clark is going to make it happen,” Roc said matter-of-factly.
“Uh, I feel like I missed so much while I talked Remy through turning on the dishwasher.” Harlyn moved next to me and rested her hands on her hips. “Anyone care to clue me in?”
Roc’s eyes connected with mine, challenging me.
“Your father wants me to come stay with him while he heals.” It sounded simple enough coming out of my mouth, but it was crazy.
“Uh,” Harlyn looked from Roc to me. “Come again?”
“She says I can’t be alone. I need a nurse. I choose Dr. Clark.” Roc leaned back against the bed. He folded his arms over his chest as if he had just solved all of the world’s problems.
“She’s a doctor, Roc,” Harlyn pointed out just as I had.
“Then her helping me shouldn’t be a problem.” Roc seemed to be the only one who thought this was a good idea.
“She works.” Harlyn paused and looked between Roc and me. “As a doctor.”
“I broke my legs, not my fucking brain, Harlyn. I know that.” Roc sighed and pushed back the covers. “I wanna go home, but I can’t go home unless I have someone to take care of me.” He looked at Harlyn. “You ready to move back in with me for a few months?”
“I...ah...well,” she cleared her throat and took two steps back. “You know, with Remy and you not being at work...”
Roc pinned me with his gaze. “I’ll pay you two grand a week.”
Holy freakin’ hell. Roc was possibly insane.
“I’m on vacation the next two weeks, Roc, and that is entirely too much money. You could find a health home nurse that would help you for much less.”
“You going somewhere? I also don’t want some random nurse. I want the best. I’m willing to pay for it.”
“You know...I...there were some things I wanted to do.” Binge watch Game of Thrones, eat my bodyweight in ice cream, and possibly go to the aquarium. Important things. Though I wasn’t getting paid two grand a week to do them.
“Do them at my house,” he insisted.
“Dad, you can’t be serious right now,” Harlyn insisted. “Stay here until Monday, and then we can worry about you coming home later.”
“I’m not laying here for four more fucking days, Harlyn. I want to go home,” Roc growled.
“This isn’t something that needs to be decided right now,” I interrupted. “It’s not like I could even get Roc discharged tonight.”
Why did I even say that? It made it sound like I was considering it.
Was I?
“Then in the morning. I want to be out of here in the morning.”
“Dad,” Harlyn whined. “Why can’t you just lay in bed, be lazy and enjoy it. I would love to be laid up for a couple of weeks with nothing to do other than watch TV and sleep.” Harlyn tried to reason, but even I knew Roc was not the type of man who would be content lying in bed for weeks.
“Let me sleep on it.” It was like I didn’t even know what was going to come out of my mouth. I was seriously considering this. Roc was a straight-up grump but there was something telling me that this was a good idea.
Harlyn gasped, and Roc crossed his arms over his chest with a satisfied grin on his face.
“You can’t be serious,” Harlyn called.
I wasn’t entirely sure I was serious, but I knew I needed to think about this by myself.
I was going to say no, right?