around three years old. So a size three should do it. Get some underwear and socks too, okay?”
Kids’ clothes sizes ran by age? Who knew?
“I’ll meet you back at the clinic in an hour or so.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”
The doors to the ambulance slammed shut and the vehicle sped away from the building, lights flashing, leaving him standing there alone.
Just as well.
He needed time to untangle exactly what had happened here tonight. And why the fishing hook he’d been toying with a few hours ago at the restaurant had just been suddenly and expertly set by some distant fisherman, leaving him little or no chance of escape. Not without inflicting some major damage to some of his internal organs. Although, if things got too bad, he might have to just rip free of the line and hope for the best.
* * *
Adam Walker met her at the door.
Mila tried to calm her still shaking legs. She’d been shocked that Tyler had rushed over to Bright Hope to try to help. Especially with James there. She’d felt guilty enough for breaking things off with him. She certainly hadn’t expected him to show up right after she’d been wined and dined by her other ex.
Lord.
It was over. With both of them. She had nothing to feel guilty about.
And yet she did. That line of guilt ran from her to each man, and she wasn’t sure which side made her feel worse.
Neither. And her mind should be on Leo right now, who needed her help.
“Let’s get him to an exam room.” Adam stretched his palm toward the boy, who, seated in a wheelchair, hesitated for a split second and then placed his small hand in the other man’s. With kind eyes and tightly curled brown hair, the orthopedic surgeon had worked with children before. It was there in the easy grip of his fingers, in the way his right shoulder stooped low so Leo’s arm wouldn’t be stretched too high by the difference in their heights as Mila pushed the wheelchair.
Mila smiled, despite herself. Whereas James had seemed vastly uncomfortable in the boy’s presence, Adam was a natural. Judging from the gleaming gold band on the man’s left hand, he might even have children of his own at home.
They got Leo up on the exam table, and while a nurse worked on getting the boy’s vitals, Adam rolled the bottoms of the child’s threadbare jeans up a few inches to get a better look at his feet and ankles.
His jaw tightened as he examined the twisted appendages and slid his gloved hand along the outside edges of Leo’s feet. “They’re both fixed in the varus position.”
Mila knew that there were two main forms of club foot, equinus—when the toes were pointed toward the ground—and varus, when the bone malformation caused the outer portion of the foot to swivel downward, forcing the toes toward the center. “I haven’t seen him walk yet. I’m not sure if he can.”
“You may not have seen it, but he does.” Adam gestured her closer. “See this callusing over the tarsal and metatarsal? He walks on the edges of his feet.”
“Wow. It should have been corrected when he was a baby.”
Adam shrugged. “I’ve seen more of these cases in developing countries than here in the States, where corrective surgery is the norm. Maybe his folks couldn’t afford it. Or maybe they immigrated here from somewhere else.”
“He only speaks Spanish, from what I’ve seen. And he said his uncle left him at my clinic. The authorities are still trying to locate him.”
The surgeon rubbed a hand behind his neck. “I can fix his feet. But we’ll need permission from someone before I can do anything.”
“I’m scheduled to speak with a social worker tomorrow. Surely they’ll make a way, even if we can’t find the uncle. He can’t stay like this.”
“I’ve done a few pro bono cases that have come through the courts when the system’s doctors were inundated and couldn’t get to them.” He gave the boy’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll be happy to help in any way I can. Just get me the release forms.”
“I’ll get to work on it.”
James pushed through the door, his arms loaded with packages. Not from the local store but from one of the upper-end clothing chains in the area. The orthopedist’s brows went up, bland amusement sliding through his eyes. “Doing a little late-night shopping, James?”
“Sure. That’s what I normally do with my free time.”
His voice was a little sharper than she’d expected it to be, and she blinked up at him. Maybe he really had minded going to the store. She could have asked Tyler to go, but since they were no longer an item, she hadn’t felt right doing so. She didn’t want to give him any false hope.
So why had she been okay with asking James? Maybe because she hadn’t been worried about him getting the wrong idea. He’d been the one to break off their engagement, not her, so he wasn’t likely to want to rekindle anything at this late date.
And neither was she.
Oh, maybe she’d taken one look at that rugged face and piercing blue eyes and had seen stars for a second or two. But that had been pure fantasy. The real-life version of that relationship had gone up in smoke. And if she were stupid enough to harbor any ideas, she’d better snuff them out now because the man hadn’t wanted her back then, and he undoubtedly didn’t want her now.
Adam filled James in on what surgery to Leo’s feet would entail and how long it and the ensuing recovery would take, while Mila peered into the bags of clothes.
Hmm. Superheroes. She never would have pegged James for a superhero kind of guy, although he was aloof and secretive. And he never snatched at publicity. In fact, he’d always shunned it while they’d been together, even though reporters had dogged his every step back then.
Was it because he hadn’t wanted to be seen with her?
He’d asked her to marry him, for heaven’s sake.
And yet he hadn’t been able to go through with it in the end. How humiliating it had been to see cringe-worthy pictures of herself beneath headlines that had screamed things like “scorned” and “dumped.” She’d fled to Brazil to get away from the onslaught...and the pain.
Pulling her mind from the past, she ripped open the packages, instead. “I wish we could run these through the washer before putting them on him, but I guess it’s better than staying in the filthy things he has on now. I’d like to get him to a room and get him cleaned up, if we can.”
James pulled his cell phone from his pocket and made a quick call. “Okay, mark the suite as occupied. Oh, and, Stella, make sure you have an extra trundle bed set up.”
Good, he was taking her at her word that she wanted to stay in the room with Leo.
“Yes, I’m aware that the room already has one. I need an extra, in case there are any problems.”
“Problems?”
