CHAPTER TWO

      THAT EVENING LUCY arrived home later than she’d planned. To be at the hospital early for four mornings out of the week meant she had to stay late in the evenings to prepare. On top of that there was the time she spent getting to and from work. Accustomed to the freedom of driving a car, she found using the subway system restricting and oftentimes frustrating. Never good at reading maps, she had a tendency to take the wrong train far too often. This was one aspect of living in a huge city that she’d not thought through.

      Her heavy-set, dark-haired landlord, who was standing outside the building, called, “Hello,” as she started climbing the stairs to her studio apartment.

      “Hi, Mr. Volpentesta,” she returned with more enthusiasm than she’d had in a long time.

      He presented her with a big, white, toothy smile.

      Lucy made her way up to the third floor above the Italian bistro. She didn’t mind the climb. It was good exercise and she’d always enjoyed being fit. Staying in shape and eating right were important to her. She sucked in a tight breath. That had been one of the many reasons she’d had no trouble carrying Emily.

      Emily. The hurt throbbed deep. She had to get beyond the pain somehow.

      Unlocking the door, she pushed it open and stepped into the studio apartment. A nice window allowed light into the space. A bed faced it and there was a small sitting area. In one back corner was a kitchenette, functional but tiny, and in the other corner was the bathroom, which included a tiny closet.

      She’d managed to make the place homely with the few things she’d brought with her. When she had time she’d give it the care it deserved. It wasn’t much by most people’s standards but she enjoyed the multicultural, tree-lined neighborhood. She’d been lucky to find a place within her budget.

      Alexis, her sister, didn’t understand Lucy’s need to move so far away and Lucy had no intention of ever sharing the real reason she’d left. It was her deepest shame. It had almost killed her but she’d had to get away. It was better for everyone that she leave, despite how much she missed her sister, and Emily. She wanted Alexis and her family to be happy. For her to hang around, wishing she was a part of their close-knit group, hadn’t been healthy for any of them.

      Dropping her purse on the table, which had obviously been confiscated from the bistro, she put the kettle on to heat water to make tea. Sweet iced tea was her drink of choice. No matter where she lived she took that small pleasure with her. Even in the cold early spring weather she couldn’t give up that small part of her growing-up years. It was one of the passions she and her sister shared. She wouldn’t go there. Spending her evening crying wasn’t part of her plan.

      Taking a deep breath, she moved to her bed, pulled off her business suit and replaced it with sweatpants and sweatshirt, then she tugged on slouchy socks.

      The streetlight below her windows flickered on, washing the room in a warm glow that only added to her loneliness. She clicked on a lamp on her way back to the stove and after pouring the hot water over the tea bags and sugar she reached for a can of soup from the open cabinet.

      She’d gone from carrying a baby and living in her sister’s home, where love abounded, to a shabby room in an enormous impersonal city. She sank into one of the two chairs she had and put her face in her hands.

      Stop it. Get a hold of yourself. You can survive this. You have to make your own life.

      * * *

      The next afternoon, she entered Daniel Hancock’s room to find Ryan leaning back in a chair as if he made social visits to the teenage boy’s room regularly. Ryan had removed a tumor from the sixteen-year-old’s brain stem the week before.

      “Ah, Ms. Edwards, just the person we were looking for,” Ryan said, as if he was genuinely glad to see her, which created suspicion in her mind.

      He’d made it clear the day before that he wasn’t interested in her being involved in his cases unless he thought she was needed. Now he acted as if they were old friends and he was planning to ask her a favor. She was unsure how to read his attitude change. Up until this moment she would have characterized their relationship as two dogs circling each other, trying to decide how not to get in each other’s way.

      She’d play along. Approaching the end of the bed, she smiled at Daniel. “What can I do for you two gentlemen?”

      “I was just telling Daniel that he can’t return to school right away. That he’ll need to be home-schooled for a while until his site heals. Can you help to arrange that?”

      “I’ll see about it right away.”

      “Did you know that Daniel’s the star of his high-school baseball team?”

      “I had heard that.” In fact, his future had begun to disappear when he hadn’t been able to control his hand movements. Now, because of Ryan’s skill, Daniel had a chance at his dream again. She could forgive some of Ryan’s brashness for that alone. He might lack empathy at times but he had major surgical skills.

      Ryan stood and, grinning, said to Daniel, “I hope to see you playing for the Yankees one day soon. I’ll leave orders for the teacher to be cute and like baseball—how does that sound?”

      Daniel gave him a weak smile but seemed pleased.

      Ryan offered his hand to the teen. Lucy appreciated the way Ryan showed his respect for the young man by treating him as an equal. It was a way of giving Daniel a sense of control in a place where he felt he had none. Why hadn’t Ryan given the same consideration to the mother the evening before?

      She followed Ryan out of the room. “You know, Lucy, having you readily available may be a good thing after all.”

      “It isn’t my job to be at your beck and call.”

      “Maybe not, but so far it’s working out well.” He grinned and walked off.

      And she’d thought moving to New York was going to make her life easier. How long was this coordinated patient care agreement supposed to last?

      Hours later all she wanted to do was go home and fall asleep. Instead, she was hunting down Ryan for a signature on a couple of forms. She knew the vicinity of his office but she’d never been there.