Broken Souls ... by Annay Dawson
Chapter 6
Kari finished her hike and went home for a shower and change of clothes. She still made it to the clinic before the rest of the staff. She had decided to stop in at the clinic before she went out to her first home visit just to make sure that she had done all her research. She wanted to make a good impression.
By the time Kari was ready to leave the waiting room was full and all the doctors were busy in the examining rooms. Even Jordan was busy on the phone making more appointments as she walked through, but Jordan still managed a smile and wave when Kari passed by. Since the hike this morning the thoughts of Holden Parker had been locked securely in the back of her mind. All the thoughts of the man's amazing body that looked like it had been sculpted from stone. Not that she could see much in detail because of the shadows. And even though she wasn't thinking about it she could tell that his muscles were well used and he wasn’t ashamed of them. He could certainly give Michael Angelo's David a run for his money. If she hadn’t turned around fast after his warning she would have bet that she would have been treated to looking at the rest of his impression of the statue David. None of that explained what she felt when he had touched her. It felt as if she had been shaken to her very soul; made aware of him on some level she still had trouble comprehending.
He must have felt it as well because he had quickly looked at his hands before he moved back and making sure not to get too close again. It was at that point she knew she hadn’t imagined it. She had gone over each step in the conversation knowing that he had stayed back at first only to make sure she was comfortable. He must have sensed how wary she was of him and he had made sure to not get to close. The only exception was to catch her as she tried to back away. It was then that like a clumsy elephant she had tried to retreat unsuccessfully and began to tumble over her own feet. Losing her footing she would have hit the ground unceremoniously on her rear but before she could fall he quickly moved in steadying her and then, almost as quickly, he was right back out of her space but not before the electricity zinged through them.
The one thing she couldn’t get out of her head though was his eyes. It sounded funny to even her ears when she said it. They were safe, warm eyes that instilled trust even though everything she had practiced about stranger danger over the years made her pretty sure she shouldn't trust him at all. Keri stopped and moved to the side as another three people walked into the clinic before she could get out. A thought drifted through her head; maybe it was he she shouldn’t trust.
“Hey Kari,” Jordan hung up the phone. “Do you need a cup of coffee for the road?”
“Thanks,” and Kari wasn’t sure how she had done it but she was around and out with a to-go cup in hand. “Can you use any help before I go?” Kari took a sip of the coffee welcoming the caffeine after the night of sleep she didn’t get. The hike had helped and not helped all at the same time and she still had to figure what had exactly happened with the man she had just met. The next sip she used to wash away as many of the thoughts of Holden as she could.
“No, got it under control,” and Jordan was back behind the counter as quickly as she had come out. Kari looked down at her files and nearly jumped when Jordan flew back around dropping her hand on Kari’s shoulder, “Oh and by the way Dr. McCoy won’t be back for two weeks because he’s having so much fun with the new baby,” she smiled. “His words, not mine!” and she was gone again. Kari smiled at that thought and walked out the door. That would keep this place hopping being one doctor short.
Kari got in her car and started to make her way out to the Cortez’s house. She was still nervous. GPS got rid of one worry at least. She would get to know this town soon, but she didn't know it well enough right now to do her job. Now all she needed to worry about was making a good impression. Turning down a tree lined street she took a moment to realize how beautiful this time of year really was. Each leaf contained the potential to become the most gorgeous pallet of colors. Some of them would be lost before the change and fall hopelessly to the ground without reaching their full potential. At that thought Kari felt saddened. She wondered what her fall colors would have been. it should be the brilliant reds and gold’s of fall not the dull browns of leaves that had fallen missing the most exciting part of life. Kari shook the thoughts from her head and refocused on the road.
The Cortez family lived on the edge of town in an older, smaller house. Upon arrival Kari noticed an late model pick-up parked alongside the curb. Pulling into the driveway she noticed that the house must be closer to one hundred years old. She could tell that they cared for it as best as they could with everything else on their plate. It had been recently painted and the porch had been repaired. It still looked like it could use some work but most importantly, it looked like home.
Walking up to the door she noticed there was no fence around the place. It was easy to get a good look at the front and most of the back yard. There were bikes and toys in the backyard, which meant that Daniel was not an only child, something that wasn’t in his case file but information she needed. Potted plants lined the porch and wind chimes sweetly sang. This family had the most important piece of any puzzle. They had love, and she smiled outwardly. Inwardly she wondered if she would ever find this happiness.
Remembering why she was here she realized that happiness was fragile. Raising her hand to knock she was shocked and surprised when the door swung open and out stepped the man she had run into early this morning, Holden Parker. Like earlier he nearly knocked her over, except literally this time. Kari missed a step as she tried to back out of the way. Like the gentleman he had been earlier, he reached out and caught her again with the same electric-like results only this time he didn't let go quite as fast. She looked, with both surprise and fear, at where his hand connected to her arm.
“Well how about this,” his smile was mind blowing, “I get the pleasure of catching Kari Jackson twice today,” and as he had done before he released her when he knew she wouldn’t fall over. He moved slowly, deliberately around her at the same time turning to look at Mrs. Cortez, “Let me know if you need anything else will you Lora,” and he smiled, boy did he smile. He had smiled this morning but she hadn't gotten the full measure of it. Kari turned a bit to watch him as he nonchalantly spoke to Lora and moved past her.
"I hope I get a chance to catch you again," and he winked, he couldn't help it. She smelled so good, like wildflowers. He tried not to stare as he went down the three steps and over to the truck quicker than she could recover. She was still looking at him and didn't that say lots.
“Ms. Jackson?” Mrs. Cortez turned her attention toward Kari as the door to the truck closed and the engine started.
“Yes,” and she held out her hand. She had barely recovered from her contact with Holden again. From her second encounter though she could confirm her earlier conclusion that he seemed to be as good of a man as she had suspected. This time she had some evidence to support it.
“Come on in,” Mrs. Cortez shook her hand and then moved out of the way so that she could come inside. “I take it you know Holden.”
“No, not really, just met him this morning when I went hiking,” and she walked into a living room that had two worn and tattered tan and brown love seats. It was obvious that all their extra cash went directly to help their son Daniel.
“He just shows up and fixes things when we don’t have time to. Don’t know where he finds the time or energy. I also don’t know what Neal and I would do without his help at times. He painted the house for us just last spring and he was bringing us a load of wood he chopped up this morning to help us through the winter. With Neal working two jobs and the boys in school and me taking on odd jobs here and there, he’s been nothing but good to us. Please sit.” Kari sat on the nearest couch.
“Community support is so important,” Kari was still trying to process what she was learning about Holden. What did he do for a living? How did he have all this time to help others? Why in the world would he be swimming in such cold water on an already cool morning? Also how did he have time to chop a truckload of wood this morning?
“Can I get you a cup of coffee?” Kari was shaken back to reality and noticed that Lora Cortez hadn’t sat down yet.
“No, no I’m just fine,” and then Lora sat down on the other couch. “I just wanted to come over and introduce myself. I want to work with you and your family to make sure that all your questions are answered and that we do everything we can to help you with Daniel.”
“Daniel is doing well right now,” Lora smiled cautiously as she talked. Kari noted that her positive outlook probably had a lot to do with being optimist given that she knew they were coming up to a time when Daniel traditionally ended up in the hospital for a month or more.
“I’m so glad to hear that,” and Kari made sure she matched Lora’s mood. “Does the school, his teacher, or anyone else have any questions that we can answer? I would like to do another training with them on how to work with his feeding tube. I see its been quite a while since anyone has been out there. We can also talk about how to deal with any other issues he may be having or,” and she took a breath, “we can do some work with his peers to help them better understand his issues if he is having trouble making friends or being different. I know that as kids grow up things change and being different gets harder.”
“Wow,” Lora looked a little surprised.
“Sorry?” Kari wasn’t sure where her surprise was coming from.
“The last case manager with the clinic was helpful, don’t get me wrong, but you are a real go getter aren’t you,” and Lora was still smiling.
“It’s hard when someone we love is chronically ill, so I just want to make sure we can support you with what you are already doing, and doing so well,” Kari had chosen to go the honest route. She had hated it when they had tried to tiptoe around the fact that Trevor really hadn’t had any hope of surviving from the beginning. She wasn’t going to hide anything from them, or anyone else again. She definitely was not going to do that to people that looked like they were working hard to deal with the hand they had been given and were gracefully coping.
“Some days,” and Lora looked at her hands facing the facts of what was coming for only a moment, “are harder than others. Today, thank God, is not one of them.” They talked for another hour about family and the health of each member of the family. Kari didn’t want to leave anyone out, mostly because the emotional and medical status of all of the family affected what would happen, how Daniel would respond to treatment when it came. She made sure to take good notes. Before Kari left she gave Lora her card with her cell number written down on the back. She liked them and as she got into her car she knew that this job was where she was supposed to be. It was a place she would make a real difference.
No comments:
Post a Comment