Last First Kiss (44 page)

“
I could use some,” she said as he rose to get her a cup.

He sat down at the table and placed the coffee in front of her. “Man, that Dr. LeBlanc. She’s a piece of work, isn’t she?”

“
I like her. What did you say to upset her?”

“
Honestly, I don’t know. I thought she was a nurse.”

“
Did you assume she was a nurse because she’s a woman?”

“
No!
She looked too damn young to be a surgeon. Four or five years of nursing school, compared to twelve years of pre-med and medical school, and however long she’s worked here. It was deductive reasoning on my part. She only looks about twenty-two.” He snorted, “She told me I was wasting her time.”

“
She’s thirty-six.”

“
I know that...now. I asked her.”

“
Oh? How did you ask her?”

He repeated the conversation he’d had with the doctor.

Giselle particularly enjoyed Dr. LeBlanc’s comeback about his age. She popped out a “Ha!” before she could stop herself.

“
Gee, thanks, Giselle,” he said, with a smirk.

“
Red, she’s been a surgeon at this hospital for eight years. She’s done the procedure over a hundred times and said if anyone can save his leg, she can. I like her confidence.”

“
I don’t have a problem with confidence, but I do have a problem with over confidence. She seems full of herself.”

“
She seems very capable to me, and when it comes to taking care of Jackson, that’s all that matters.” She pointed her finger at Red. “Don’t you dare upset his surgeon by acting like a male chauvinist, I’m warning you.”

“
If I showed one ounce of chauvinistic tendencies, I’d get my ass kicked in seven different ways by my five sisters and both my parents. I thought she was too young to be a surgeon.” He threw his hands up in exasperation. “It was an honest mistake, and she didn’t have to be so damned rude!”

Giselle smiled, remembering a discussion she’d had with Carrie about six months ago, when she said almost exactly the same thing about Jackson. “Red, try to see it from Dr. LeBlanc’s perspective, would you? She’s been performing complex surgeries for eight years, building a reputation in a male dominated occupation. She has had to be outstanding in her field. That’s why I know she’s the right doctor for Jackson. I
want
you to
cut
her some
slack.
” Her eyebrow rose dangerously as he clamped his jaw shut.

“
I’ll
try,
” he said.

“
Oh, you’ll damned well do more than try,” she snapped, angrily.

He shook his head and laughed. “Okay...I give up,” he said, raising both hands. “I can see you won’t let anything get in the way of Jackson’s well being.” He smiled and pulled her to him for a hug. “I’m so glad he’s got you in his corner. He’s going to be just fine.”

They passed the next hour talking about Red’s family. He told her about his grandfather who was the first of his line to come to America from Scotland. She laughed when he said his grandmother called her husband a ‘Red-haired, blue-eyed devil’.

“
It must be wonderful to have that connection to family. Being adopted, I’ve never known that. I can’t have a connection to the past, but you know what? I will have a connection to the future, and I can live with it, as long as Jackson’s a part of it.”

“
He will be.”

“
Thanks, Red. Now I know why your mother is so terrified that you won’t procreate before she dies. She wants more of you...Another handsome, red haired, blue-eyed devil, and who can blame her? Once Jackson’s home, it’ll be time to find someone for you.”

“
Don’t waste your time, Giselle. I sure as hell don’t have time for a commitment right now,” he said as he got up from the table.

They walked upstairs to the waiting room and convinced the others to walk out and stretch their legs.

She sat down on the couch next to Red. “So, tell me more about what it was like going to college with him.”

“
I was a sophomore Jackson’s freshman year. We were the only two underclassmen who started on the team, so we had a blast. Coach asked me to show him the ropes, and we became friends right away. After Jackson’s injury, he buckled down and got serious about his studying. At first, I thought he was depressed about not being on the team anymore, but he wasn’t. He just shrugged it off as if it never mattered to him in the first place. I, on the other hand, loved playing baseball. My sports scholarship served me well.”

“
What position did you play?”

“
First base...I played it all four years.”

Giselle remembered something Jackson had said at the Mother’s Day barbeque.
All I’d ever wanted to do was pitch; besides, they already had the best possible first baseman.

“
You have a business degree and your club. What’s next?”

“
More clubs, I guess. It’s what I do, for now. It keeps me from being bored.”

“
With your Hugh Hefner lifestyle?” she teased.

“
Don’t judge me because of the grotto. The closest it ever came to being ‘broken in’ was by you and Jackson,” he smirked.

She grinned. “We didn’t.”

“
I figured that out when I saw him hit that waterfall and you exhaust yourself swimming laps. I had the grotto built that way so it would be cool. This is south Louisiana, and when it’s a hundred degrees outside, it feels good to sit in there and relax.” He leaned forward, braced his elbows on his knees, and grinned at her. “I’m not the dog Jackson thinks I am, you know. You do remember that I didn’t have a date for my own club opening?”

Giselle nodded then walked over to the window to answer her ringing cell phone. She spoke to Lauren, giving her updates on the surgeries, then spoke to each of her girls. She ended the call and stood quietly, staring out the window, before she wiped her eyes and turned to meet Red, seated on a sofa. She plopped down next to him for another round of tears until she got it out of her system.

“
Mac and Lexie said to tell him they love him a bunch, a bunch.” The tears rolled down her face. “That’s something the girls and Toby used to say to each other before bedtime.” She paused to wipe her eyes. “He’d say, ‘I love you munchkins a bunch, a bunch’ and they’d say it back to him.” She turned her tear-filled eyes to him. “I want us to be a family, Red.”

He hugged her and smiled. “You will be.”

CHAPTER 27

Sam, Carrie, Bill and Gwen re-joined Giselle and Red, and they all spent another agonizing hour waiting for some word. Finally, the doors opened, and Dr. Leblanc scuffed in, still in her scrubs, head cover, and disposable shoe booties. She pulled the cap from her head to free her blonde pony-tail. Giselle got up immediately to go meet her, but Dr. LeBlanc motioned for her to stay where she was, as she walked over to the entire group.

“
It went better than I expected. I believe we managed to clean up the area enough to stave off any bone infection, and the heavy doses of antibiotics will help.” She picked up one foot to slip off a bootie then stood on the opposite to pull off the other. The second one got caught on her laces, and when she jerked it, she lost her balance and instinctively reached up to the nearest arm to steady herself. “Oh, thanks,” she said as she looked up into Red’s face.

“
That’s quite alright,
doctor
,” he answered.

She pulled her eyes away from him and sought Giselle’s gaze again. “His heart is in excellent shape, as well as the rest of him. He should do well with his physical therapy...Giselle, is it?” she asked, with a smile.

Giselle nodded and wiped the tears from her face.

“
I’m optimistic that the bones will fuse with no problems. From here on out it’s vigilance that counts. Keep it clean, keep it immobilized, and keep him infection free. I don’t know if the other surgeons told you or not, but we’ll need to keep him for at least a week. We need to monitor the head injury, the spleen, and the leg. If he’s here, we’ll have a much better chance of stopping any kind of infection before it gets too bad. Before this is over with, his broken arm may be the biggest inconvenience for him; he won’t be able to use crutches. It’s in a plain old cast...Just like in your day, Mr. Broussard,” she said, grinning at Bill.

“
Thank you so much Dr. LeBlanc. You’ve been wonderful. It was so nice to meet you,” Giselle said.

She flashed a brilliant smile at Giselle. “Oh, you haven’t seen the last of me. I monitor my patients closely.”

“
Excuse me, doctor,” Red interrupted, “I know you’re not the surgeon who worked on his head injury, but maybe you’d know. Is there a chance he could be in a coma for a few days? My sisters tell me sometimes it’s part of the healing process while the swelling goes down. They’re not surgeons, but one’s a physician’s assistant, and one’s a nurse practitioner,” he said.

Dr. LeBlanc’s eyes twinkled with laughter. “Well, normally I’d say your sisters are right, but not in this case. After I left you, we prepped him for his leg surgery.” She turned to grin at Giselle. “He woke up, and told the anesthesiologist that he sure could go for a big, juicy steak...and some Giselle. That’s how I knew your name. They’re still talking about it back there. Everyone’s curious about Giselle.”

“
Oh, my God!” Giselle covered her face and cried tears of relief as joyful laughter erupted from the group.

Carrie hugged her. “Jackson never liked to miss a meal and we know how he feels about you. He’s going to be just fine.”

Giselle nodded and wiped her eyes. “Can I see him?”

Dr. LeBlanc reached over and placed a hand on her arm. “He’s still asleep in recovery, but as soon as he’s fully awake, I’ll bring you to see him.”

“
I know you must be busy, you can send someone else,” Giselle murmured.

“
He was my last surgery, and it’ll be worth it to be the one to bring you back there,” she said, laughing.

Red opened his arms to Giselle and spun her around, making her laugh. When he put her down she turned and noticed Dr. LeBlanc standing at the double doors watching them with a half smile on her face. She gave her a small nod before disappearing through the doors.

Dr. LeBlanc returned in fifteen minutes to collect a beaming Giselle for a visit with Jackson. She brought her into a room where she could see a body covered with blankets except where his left shin, all wrapped up with surgical gauze, had a metal contraption sticking out of it. She walked up to the bed and bent low to whisper in his ear. “Jackson...I’m here.”

Jackson opened his one good eye and focused on her.

“
Hey baby.” Tears rolled down her face.

It took him a moment to speak. “Giselle,” he croaked. “Will you marry me?”

She beamed at him and nodded. “Yes Jackson, I’ll marry you. And don’t think you can get out of it, either. I have all these witnesses,” she said, waving her hand to encompass the hospital staff.

“
Won’t try to,” he said, through a mouth still dry and fuzzy from surgery. “Let’s do it now.”

“
No, babe, we’re going to get you better first. Mac and Lexie said to tell you they love you a bunch a bunch.”

He smiled. “Tell ‘em...I love ‘em too...a bunch a bunch. And tell Red...my best man.”

Giselle looked up as a smiling Dr. LeBlanc told her it was time to leave. “I’ll see you when they bring you to a room of your own. I love you, Jackson.” She placed a soft kiss upon his swollen lips as he squeezed her hand.

“
Love you, Giselle.”

Giselle walked back and pushed through the double doors. “Well he looks like crap, but he’s conscious and talking,” she told Bill as she gave him a hug.

“
Did he know you?” he asked her.

“
I sure as hell hope so...He asked me to marry him.”

“
Did you give him an answer?” Red asked.

“
I said yes, of course.”

“
Good!” Bill told her.

She hugged Carrie, Sam, and Gwen then turned to Red, who wore the biggest grin of all.

He hugged her tightly. “No eloping, either. I want to be there for this wedding.”

“
No eloping. It may not be a big wedding, but I’d like to have some kind of ceremony. Your services as best man will be required. I just hope Jackson can dance at our wedding.”

“
He will, I’ve seen him recover from a surgery, remember?”