Doctor Wolf’s Human Nurse (Fated To The Wolf #9)

7. Abby

7

Abby

A bby was very confused about what happened to the shifters. She called Xyla to find out what she was doing.

“I finished with my online nursing schedule about five minutes ago. Sean is at Howlers’ for a while tonight. Do you want to come over for dinner?”

“Sure. On my way.”

Abby kicked off her shoes and plopped on the couch as soon as she walked into the door. A minute later the doorbell rang. It was the local high school kid who had delivered her food a couple days ago. He was trying to save up enough to go to college, so she, and now Xyla, gave him an extra-large tip.

After taking a bite of her food, Abby pointed her fork at Xyla. “How do you guys do it? Sean is always at the bar. When do you see each other?”

“He’s cut down the time he spends there and tries to go in only when I’m working. He finally broke down, listened to Jade, and hired another manager. The new manager has been there a long time and knows the ins and outs of running the place. He’s there tonight because they are meeting about some issues with the shifters.”

“I might know what that’s about. I guess I can tell you, without breaking the HIPAA laws that we had a couple of shifters come in who had lost the ability to shift. They had some type of virus that was quickly replicating itself. Sawyer had no idea what it was. He hadn’t seen anything like it before. The two patients reported going to a lake the previous day and walking by a couple who smelled like they had doused themselves in some kind of cologne.”

Xyla’s eyes got wide. “Oh, no. Do they think it has something to do with that new lab?”

Abby rubbed her eyes and sighed. “I don’t know, but it’s possible. It is interesting that the shifters suddenly acquired this virus soon after that place was operational.”

“That’s terrifying. If they can find a way to prevent shifters from transforming, there’s no telling what else they might come up with.”

“I know. Sawyer called in Beth, Taryn, and Savvy, but they couldn’t help the shifters. Taryn said that she could tell the virus was manmade and that it was suppressing the magic that allowed them to shift. She also said that the virus wouldn’t stop growing until it had taken over.”

“What if they had found a way to change all shifters into mundane humans?”

Abby’s heart sank at the thought.

They ate in silence for a few minutes and then Xyla asked, “What do you think about Sawyer?”

Abby wiped her mouth with her napkin and put it back into her lap. “I think about him too much. That’s what I think.”

Xyla laughed.

“We’ve gone out to dinner a couple of times, as friends or colleagues. Last night I invited him into my place afterward and we talked a little more. I’m pretty sure he was about to kiss me when his mom texted him.”

“Leave it to a mom to ruin the moment.”

Abby held up her hands and laughed. “I know, right? But seriously, I’ve had so many fantasies about him. I’m constantly thinking about him. It’s driving me crazy.”

“Sounds like love to me.”

“It can’t be love. He’s my boss.”

Xyla laughed. “I don’t think Cupid cares about technicalities like that.”

“I guess not. Look at you and Sean. He caused an avalanche just so you two could hook up.”

“So, it was Cupid and not Mother Nature who caused us to get buried in several feet of snow?”

“Yep. He shot his arrow into the right spot on the mountain in the middle of a weak spot and it all came crashing down on you. It didn’t let up until you two realized you were made for each other.”

“I guess that’s one way of looking at it.” Xyla laughed.

They talked for another hour about this and that, until Sean got home.

Abby jumped up from the couch. “Oh, my goodness. It’s getting late. I have to get home, shower, and get some sleep. I love my job, but it does wear a person out.”

She hugged them both and drove home. Abby did what she said she was going to do.

The alarm went off way too early the next morning. She shut it off, put her arm over her eyes, and groaned. Then, she forced herself to roll out of bed and plod into the kitchen for her morning cup of ambition.

Sawyer asked her to go into the supply closet and get a box of Wellbutrin for a kid who was recently diagnosed with ADHD. She looked at the supply sheet and noticed a box of the drug was missing. Her heart skipped a beat and she checked a couple of the other drugs. A box of Adderall was also missing.

After Sawyer gave the drug to the mother, with instructions on how to dispense it, as well as a prescription for more, the woman and her ten-year-old son left in silence. Neither of them liked the idea of having to take medications for the condition.

“Can I talk to you for a minute, in private?”

Sawyer raised his eyebrows and nodded. They stepped into his office and Abby told him what she had discovered.

He ran his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes briefly. “Dammit. I hate the idea that there is someone here I can’t trust. Thanks for letting me know.”

Abby nodded.

She and Jennifer had lunch together, and the two of them started talking about old injuries.

“I fell on an old floor furnace when I was a year old.” Abby held up her left hand. “I still have scars from it, on my hand, forehead, stomach, and other areas. It would have been a lot worse if our dog hadn’t pulled me off of it. Mom had just gone into the bathroom for a minute.”

“I didn’t know there were houses with those furnaces.”

“Actually, there are quite a few. There are a lot of very old houses in New Mexico.”

Jennifer nodded. “That makes sense. I guess my worst injury was when I broke my leg. I went roller skating with my best friend. She fell and I tripped over her. I tried to stand up and suffered a compound fracture in my tibia and fibula.”

Abby winced. “Ouch.”

“Yeah. There was a woman watching me. I told her to call 9-1-1 because I broke my leg. She just stood there and laughed at me. I sat on the floor for at least five minutes until the rink manager bothered to come see what was going on.”

“That sounds exceedingly painful.”

Jennifer rubbed her leg. “It was. I took a lot of oxycodone. I still have to take it once in a while when the weather shifts and the pressure changes. My leg hurts so much I can’t stand it.”

“I imagine so.”

Was she taking the drugs from the clinic to pay for her extra pain pills?

Abby hated to think that because she was fond of the woman. On the other hand, she really liked everyone who worked at the office.

After lunch, she caught Sawyer and pulled him into the supply closet.

“I feel like a snitch or a gossip, but I thought you should know that Jennifer told me that she still takes oxycodone because of residual pain from a compound tib-fib fracture.”

Sawyer patted her on the arm. “You’re only a gossip if you are repeating information maliciously.”

She tried to ignore the bolt of electricity that flowed through her at his touch. “What about being a snitch?”

He laughed. “You might qualify for that title, but if you want, we can call you a confidential informant.”

“I’m not so sure I like either title. Snitches end up dead in ditches. Confidential informants usually end up the same way.”

“At least this isn’t mob or gang-related, so you should be fine.”

Abby’s heart lurched. “We don’t know that.”

“Don’t worry. No one will know that you are telling me anything. I promise.”

“I hope not. I feel terrible about it.”

Sawyer looked at her sympathetically. “You’re not obligated to tell me anything if you aren’t comfortable.”

“But then, I would feel bad if I didn’t. Someone is stealing drugs from here and that would not only reflect badly on you, but also on me.”

Sawyer’s lips twitched. “The struggle is real.”

She growled at him, grabbed a couple packages of gauze, and left the room. He followed a minute later. Abby felt like they were a couple of lovers sneaking around, not wanting people to know they were involved. If only that was the case.

Later that afternoon, a mother came in with her nine-year-old son, Kyle.

“He’s had a lot of unexplainable bruises. I expect some, but not as many as he’s been getting. They pop up in weird places, too, such as right across his chest. He’s had several bloody noses. Kyle has also complained of headaches and he’s super pale. He’s been lethargic and says that he feels like his legs are giving out on him.” The woman gasped as though she was trying to hold back a sob. “He’s had some fevers a few times that went up to a hundred and four, accompanied by nausea and body aches.”

Sawyer looked at Abby and her heart sank. Although the symptoms could mean a lot of things, the word leukemia popped into her mind. As though he could read her mind, Sawyer nodded.

Georgia took some blood.

Sawyer analyzed it under the microscope and then looked up at Abby. “I think that’s what it is. He’ll need a bone marrow biopsy to be sure. We can’t do that here.”

They returned to the examining room, where the mom was quietly holding her son’s hand.

Sawyer sat in the chair and rolled close to the mom. “I can’t be a hundred percent sure from just a blood test, but I think that Kyle might be suffering from leukemia. The symptoms, his extremely high white blood cell count, and very low red blood cell and platelet count lead to this potential diagnosis. However, he’ll need a bone marrow biopsy to be sure.”

“No. I don’t want to die,” Kyle cried.

Abby bit her lip to hold back the tears. Her heart broke for both Kyle and his mom. She wished she could wave a magic wand and fix everything, but that wasn’t how medicine worked.

Sawyer put his arms around the boy. “Now you listen here. These days, there are a lot of treatments for leukemia, if in fact, that’s what you have. There’s no need to automatically think that you’re going to die.” He paused for a minute. “You know, I’ve been a doctor around the world, and I discovered that a person’s state of mind makes a huge difference in whether a person survives or not. If you’re strong and you want to live, you fight for it, no matter what anyone else says. You never give up, not for one second.”

Kyle looked at Sawyer with trusting eyes. “I’ll be here for you anytime you have questions or you need me. I happen to know an amazing pediatric oncologist who works at the hospital in Albuquerque. Her name is Dr. Garwood and she is the best there is. I’m going to call an ambulance to have you and your mom taken there and then I’m going to call her.”

“I get to ride in an ambulance?” he asked, wide-eyed.

“Yep.”

“Will they use their lights and sirens?”

“They might. I don’t know.”

Sawyer looked at Kyle’s mom. “Go ahead and call who you need to call to take care of things here for a few days. You’ll be able to ride in the ambulance with him.”

With trembling hands, she pulled out her phone and called her husband.

Sawyer and Abby stepped out of the room and Sawyer headed to his office.

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” she asked fearfully.

He nodded. “I think so. The doctor is one of the best in the nation.”

The ambulance arrived shortly after.

Abby looked at Kyle’s mother and handed her a card with her cellphone number on it. “I’m sure you have a lot of friends and family, but I’m here, in your corner if you just need to talk, yell, scream, vent, or cry. I believe in Dr. Cooke, and if he thinks everything will be fine, I’m sure it will be.”

She hugged Abby fiercely. “I can’t lose my baby.”

“I know. I’ll keep you in my thoughts and send you warm wishes and healing vibes.”

“Thank you,” she whispered and climbed into the ambulance with her son.

Abby and Sawyer watched them leave and sat in the lounge for a few minutes. She noticed that just being next to him had a calming effect on her. Somehow, being close to Sawyer, made her feel like Kyle would be okay and everything was right with the world.

That night, she called Xyla to ask her how she was feeling and how the baby was since she had a doctor’s appointment earlier.

“I’m great and the baby’s great. How are you?”

Abby told her about the patient, without revealing any names.

“I can’t explain it. I was upset and ready to sit down and cry. Then, Sawyer sat next to me, and I felt a wave of calmness and peace roll over me. It was as though he somehow told my soul that the child would be fine.”

“It sounds to me like he might be your fated mate.”

“My what?”

“Fated mate. All shifters have a fated mate. Wild wolves only take one mate during their lifetime. Shifters are the same. Unless something happens, like Sean’s wife died or Rory’s wife left him, they only take one mate. It is their fated mate. According to what I’ve heard, a shifter will catch the scent of his or her mate. They know immediately that they are destined to be with the other person. It’s like their souls connect and become one. Sean said he knew I was his fated mate because of my scent. Later on, he fell in love with me. Perhaps Sawyer’s ability to create a calmness in you is a sign that he’s your fated mate.”

“That can’t be,” Abby said.

“Why not?”

“Because he’s my boss and my friend. I don’t want anything to ruin that.”

Xyla’s response was a loud laugh. “It might be too late for that, my friend.”