as the staff finished stabilizing the boy to transfer him to the pediatric ICU. There was always hope. There had to be for him to carry on with this work as a healer, a physician, as a human being. If there was no hope, what was the point in even trying? Even when his fiancée, Valerie, had been near death, he’d had hope she’d survive. Unfortunately, he’d been wrong that time.
“Where will you be working?” Curiosity made him ask.
“Here. In the ER.” The sideways smile she gave said it all.
Duncan nearly chuckled at the irony of the situation, but held back. This was no laughing matter, and he could see in her expression that she thought the same thing. “Quite a trial by fire you hadn’t expected.”
“It’s the life of an ER nurse.”
“Yes, for ER doctors, too. I’m Duncan McFee, one of the physicians here in the ER.” He paused a moment and watched her soulful green eyes follow the child as he was wheeled toward the elevators. “How are your hands?” He gestured for her to hold them out.
“My hands? What do you mean?” She frowned and looked down at them.
“Your palms, I mean.” He placed his strong hands over hers and turned them over. His touch was firm and warm and a little tingle she hadn’t expected rushed through her. “You pushed the glass in with your hands, and I’d like to make sure you don’t have any cuts. Glass can go deep before you even know it.”
“I did? I don’t remember doing that.”
“You did.” He stroked his fingers over the heels of her hands and her palms, using his sensitive fingertips, looking for any irregularities. “Guess we’ll be working together if you stay.” He released her. “Looks good. What’s your name?”
“I’m Rebel Taylor and what do you mean, if I stay?” Rebel raised her brows and leveled her intense eyes on him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good. Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Don’t worry about the paperwork. You can finish up in the morning. Go home and de-stress after this. You need it.”
After a deep sigh, Rebel’s shoulders drooped. She knew the benefits of letting go or destressing or whatever you wanted to call it, after such an event. Time to take a breather on duty was often a luxury, rather than the necessity it should be.
“Maybe you’re right.” Conceding felt like weakness, but her mind overrode the emotions. She wasn’t officially an employee yet, so she had no real place here.
“I’ll walk you out. I have to recover my briefcase anyway.”
“I hope it’s still there. My backpack is there, too.” She shook her head, having forgotten about it in the rescue crisis. What a pain that would be to replace all of the items in her wallet if it had been stolen.
“I’m sure it is. This hospital complex doesn’t have a lot of crime and there were plenty of people around.”
As they approached the exit, Duncan turned to her. “So where’d you get such an unusual name? You don’t look like a rebel to me.”
She smiled, some of the tension lifting, even though she recognized his distraction technique. She’d used it many times on her patients, and she appreciated his efforts for her now. “It was something my father gave me when I was a kid. Apparently, as a toddler, I was quite the rebel and the nickname stuck.” She gave him a slant-eyed glance. “My given name is Rebecca, but if you ever call me that, I’ll slap you silly.”
Duncan laughed and some of the tension seemed to let go of him as well.
“Agree.” He offered an arm for her to move ahead of him. “I think Rebel suits you better anyway. Rebecca is too tame for all that wild hair.” Curiously, that hair made him itch to touch it, feel its texture and softness. Check that. Not gonna happen.
They left via the double doors that whooshed open on quiet hydraulics. They approached the parking lot, now alive with police and security.
“Wow.” Rebel looked at the area now packed with fire trucks, rescue vehicles, an ambulance and a police aid directing traffic away from the area. “Guess we’ll have to file a report, won’t we? And someone’s got to find out who that baby belongs to.” The person probably worked in the building and had forgotten to leave their child with the sitter.
From behind them, Rebel heard a gasp. A young woman dashed past them toward the car and the police officer putting up yellow tape.
“What happened to my car?”
The officer faced her. “Is this your vehicle, ma’am?” He set down the crime-scene tape and stepped closer to her, the sun glinting off his reflective sunglasses. He removed them and wiped his forehead.
“Yes, what happened?” She gestured to the mess it had become.
“Can I see some ID?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” She dug into her purse as Duncan and Rebel moved closer. “Someone breaks into my car, and I’m the one who has to show ID?” She shook her head in obvious disgust. “I was only at work for half an hour and someone broke into my damned car.”
“We broke into your car,” Duncan said, his voice soft, and Rebel shivered with anticipation as to what his next words would be.
That confession got the officer’s attention, and he looked between Duncan and Rebel, keen eyes putting together the scenario.
“You broke into my car?” The woman looked him up and down, then at Rebel, completely baffled. “Why?”
“Because your son was in there.” Even though his voice was as soft as silk, the words were hard to hear.
Rebel took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, certain she’d have knots in her shoulders later. Duncan held her gaze and gave her a nod and she moved a little closer to him. The close proximity brought her some comfort and feeling some of his strength made her realize she was going to get through this difficult situation. With the power this man exuded, she thought she might just be able to get through anything.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, my son? Eric’s at daycare.” She swallowed, her blue eyes wide with fear and uncertainty. She looked between Rebel and Dr. McFee trying to figure out if they were telling the truth or if this was some sort of sick joke.
“No, ma’am. Your son was discovered in the backseat of this vehicle.” The officer took her ID from her limp fingers.
“N-no, he wasn’t. He’s at daycare.” She looked at Rebel and Duncan, and then at the car as she put the pieces together and completed the horrifying puzzle.
The back door hung open.
The car seat was empty.
The diaper bag lay upside down on the floor.
She focused on Rebel. “Isn’t he?”
“Did you forget to stop on your
