Dragan's Redemption Book One of the Manor at Echo Lake Trilogy (2 page)

Jennifer
watched
as the doctor stood to his
impressive 6’
4
”
height
.  With appreciation
,
she took in every movement he made.  He was absolutely
delicious
to look at with
his
thick
,
jet
-
black hair, Mediterranean skin
and strong chiseled
features.
There was not an ounce of fat on his body, and there
were
many times she fantasized about what was under that shirt.
Beauty
could always be appreciated for just that
,
but
this man exuded something that was intangible
,
something that made woman want
to
beg. 
Jennifer
knew
there was not one nurse, including herself
,
in the hospital that did not know who Dr.
Reynolds
was
or vie for his affections.  When it came to
the good doctor
, it did not matter if you were married or not, you wanted to be close to him
any way you could
.  You wanted him to look at you with that devilish smile of his.  There were some, mostly
men, who
said he had to be
gay
.  H
e never dated in the medical circle
,
as many of them did
,
and no one could
ever
remember him speaking of a significant other
.
  He always came alone to all of the holiday parties
,
and he left the same way
.  As
Jennifer
watched his massive fo
r
m
walk over to
the
locker, remove his white coat from the
hanger before shrugging
into it, her breath caught watching his muscles rippling underneath
the fabric
.  There was no way he could be ga
y
.

“Can I get you anything
,
Dr.
Reynolds
?”  Please say me, please say me, she chanted in her head.

Dragan
walked over to where she was still standing in the
doorway;
his eyes made contact with hers while a slight smile
appeared
on his face.
  Looking down at her,
Jennifer
’s breath caught in her throat as he leaned in.  “I would love a cup of coffee from the cafeteria.  Please tell Daphne that it is for me.  She knows how I like it.  Oh, and
Jennifer
–
in the future
when you are waking me up, please call me Dragan.  I prefer it.”  Brushing past her, he strode into the hallway.

Jennifer
raised a shaky hand to her throat, feeling her heart beating wildly.  “Yes
,
Dr.
Reynolds
.  Anything you want
,
Dr.
Reynolds
.  Lord have mercy
,
” she muttered under her breath. 
“There’s
no way that man
is
gay.
”

“Mr. and Mrs. Wallace, you requested to see me?”  The
middle-aged
couple looked startled.  They did not even he
a
r him approach.

“Yeah, over an hour ago!”

“Henry, please.”

“I apologize, I just learned of your
request;
otherwise I would have been here to see you sooner.  Is there something wrong?”

Henry Wallace had to tip
his head back to look into the doctors eyes
feeling
at a disadvantage.  “I want to know why there have not been any changes in my father
’
s condition.  You said that you felt it would take about 10 hours
,
and it has been over
20
.  Is
the medicine
working or not?”

Dragan’s many years as a physician saw past the anger immediately to the fear in the man standing before him
.  His compassion flowed through him
.  “Mr. Wallace, these things take time.  Your father’s stroke was quite massive, and it will take a bit for the medicine to have any affect.  However, due to your quick action in getting here
,
and with the new drugs we were able to give him, I believe the damage of the stroke will be minimal.  We are doing the best that we can.  I do have complete confidence that he will come out of his coma very soon.  Only when he wakes will we know if the drug has worked.”

Taking Mrs. Wallace’s arm, he directed them both to the room
where the patient was lying
.  A nurse was busy changing the IV bags and adjusting the bedding.  She
shook
her head at him as the
y
walked
through the door
letting him know that no changes had occurred.  He nodded back to her as he continued speaking to the Wallace’s.

“I would recommend that you both go home and get a good night
’
s rest.”
Raising his hand to stop Mr. Wallace from speaking
,
Dragan continued, “Cots have been provided for you both if you do not want to go home and prefer to sleep here.  I would encourage you
to both
try
to
get some rest.  If you need anything, the nurses can assist you.”

He placed a hand onto the older man’s shoulder as if to give whatever comfort he could.  “Mr. Wallace, your father is very blessed to have you as a son.”  Tears immediately sprang to Henry’s eyes.  “Thank you
,
Dr.
Reynolds
.”

“You are more than welcome.”  Turning
,
Dragan left the room as the Wallace’s and the
n
urse stood transfixed watching him leave.  Mrs. Wallace turned to the nurse.  “Oh my, he certainly is charming isn’t he?   What a wonderful doctor.”

“He certainly is, I am lucky to work with him.”

Dragan walked into the hallway.  He liked the nighttime
routine
at the hospital
because of
the quiet. 
His senses
heightened
, he h
ear
d
the scratching of the pen on paper
.   Looking
over at the nurses’ station
,
Tina hunched over the desk
busy catching up on the paperwork. 
A further distance away, he could hear
a
cart
being
wheeled from
room
to
room.
  Blood would be drawn and tested.  He grimaced at the thought. 
Hearing
his stomach rumble, he strode quickly to the elevator to find his coffee and get a bite to eat.  The fire in his veins would have to wait a little bit longer
,
but the one in his stomach could easily be satisfied
.  Pushing the down button, he watched as the numbers lit up above the elevator doors, each ding
echoing
like a cannon in his brain.  He stepped in just as Jennifer
was
stepping out and they collided.  In a flash he snatched the large container from her hand before it spilled onto her skin, then caught her with one arm
steadying
her.

“Oh, Dr. Reynolds, you scared me
.”
Staring
at the cup that was now in his hands
,
her voice trailed off.  “How?”

“Thanks for the coffee
,
Jennifer.”  The elevator closed in her face.
  Reaching the first floor quickly
,
a voice greeted him before he could step off.

“You are starving
,
Dr. Reynolds.”

“Obviously my senses are weakened, if I did not hear you
,
Daphne.  You are the loudest person in this God forsaken place.”  Looking affectionately at his favorite person standing in the hallway
 
h
olding a very large non-descript bag.  He
inhaled the
delicious aroma coming from inside
of it
.  She watched his eyes check
ing
out the bag frowning.  “This is not the only thing you need my old friend.”

He reached out to take it from her hands
,
but she pulled it out of his reach.

“When are you going to feed?”

Before she could blink, he
was
in front of her taking the bag out of her fingers
gently
.  Patting her on the cheek with
ice-cold
fingers, he mimicked her frown.

“Stop worrying about me.  I am heading home soon and will take care of it then.  All I need right now
is
some of your delicious cooking.”  Placing one arm around her shoulders, he hugged her large frame gently while steering her back to the kitchen
.  K
nowing that her concern was
valid,
he
wanted
her to know it
did not go un
appreciated
or
unnoticed.

“When are you coming to work for me at my
house
,
Miss Daphne
,
so that I can eat like this all of the time?  You know the marriage offer is still there if you ever want to leave Mr. Daphne.”

Pushing him away, she
blushed
at his compliment.  “Never in my
lifetime
you big flirt
.  That
may work with the other
woman in this place but not me
,
and besides, I am sure your chef would not appreciate me in his kitchen.
”  Staring at him, she sobered.  “Please, go home soon.  You need to
start taking
better care of yourself.”

Dragan returned her stare wishing she did not know his secret.  “Thanks for the food my love
.
”
Planting a kiss on
her che
e
k
,
he
headed
back to his room to eat the food provided.

Twenty minutes later, he felt like a new man with food in his stomach.  Glancing at the clock by the cot
, he
saw that it read 4:00 a
.
m.  It was
definitely
time to g
o home.  Taking off his scrubs
,
Dragan
slipped into his jeans and white tee shirt before putting on his leather
jacket.
  Reaching into the
side
pocket
, he
took out his
car keys
before stepping into the hallway.  Hesitating for a moment, he turned and headed to t
he Wallace room
for one more look
.  Peering in
,
he saw
Henry and Anita fast asleep on the cots
provide
d
.  Turning
his gaze to the bed
, he
was s
tartled
when
he made contact with a set of eyes.  Peter Wallace was awake.

Quietly, he strode over to the bedside reaching for his patient
’
s hand
squeez
ing
gently. 
Keeping h
is voice
to
a low whisper so to not wake the others
,
he leaned in so the old man could hear him
.  “Peter, can you hear me?”

Reassured at seeing the nod
,
Dragan continued. 
“
My name is Dr. Reynolds.  I have been
helping
take care of you.  Do you know why you are here
,
Mr. Wallace?”

His heart leaped at seeing another affirmative nod, then to his relief sa
w
him try to speak.

“Yes.  I had a heart attack.”

P
atting his hand Dragan shook his head.  “No, you had a stroke, but you will be fine.”  The old man smiled
,
and his eyes slowly closed.

“
Tired
.”