Paige Cameron Read Online Free Page B

“Yes, I’m crazy, mad, and scared. I’ve been here all day, and you come prancing in wanting attention. Go away. I’m not interested in you anymore. My friend may be dying.” He glanced around at the hospital corridor and its light-green walls. “I hate hospitals, the smell, the noises, and the people hustling here and there like they’re so important. And my friend’s life is in another man’s hands, and I can’t help. I’m worthless to save him.”
    As though he’d run out of words and strength, Cody slid down the hospital wall and sat. Tears swam in his eyes.
    Averil sat beside him. She put her arms around him and he buried his face in her lap. Having heard their raised voices, several members of the family came to the waiting room door. Averil waved them back into the room. Her fingers brushed through his thick dark-brown hair.
    “It’ll be okay. We’ll concentrate on sending Payton a message that we’re waiting for him. He’ll feel us if we do it together.” Any other time she was sure Cody would grin and make a smart remark. But he squeezed her hand tight and nodded yes.
    Cody gradually moved away and sat straight. He stared off in the distance. “When I was ten, my father went into the hospital and never came home. I didn’t understand what was happening until my mother started crying and said my dad had died. Ever since, being in a hospital makes me a little crazy. I avoid them, if I can.”
    Averil wanted to take hold of his hand again, but he held himself stiff and had tightened his jaw. The moment to give him comfort had passed.
    Her heart had softened when she held him. He’d gotten inside the guard she’d put around herself to protect her from hurt, and she wasn’t sure if she could resurrect her defenses.
    He stood and looked down at her, then put his hand out and helped her up. “Let’s go get coffee for whoever wants some.” He walked to the doorway then turned back as the elevator door opened.
    Averil saw a tall, dark-haired man dressed in surgery scrubs step out. His face was stern and his eyes cold. He must be the surgeon. Had something gone wrong? Her heart froze. Cody took her hand as the rest of the family moved toward the doorway.
    The man stopped in front of them. “I’m Dr. Rexford.” He looked around the group and spotted Payton’s parents. He motioned them forward and the others moved aside.
    “We’ve finished the surgery. He’s doing well considering the complications we ran into. The bleed occurred in a portion of the brain where I had to move slowly and carefully to try and not damage other areas. I believe Payton will be fine, but we won’t know for sure if he has any deficits until he wakes. He’ll be in ICU for several days.”
    “Thank you so much, Dr. Rexford. When can we see him?”
    “You and your husband can come with me to the ICU now.” Dr. Rexford raised his head and looked at the others. “Once he’s awake one person at a time can visit every hour, for ten minutes, until you’ve all seen him. If the visits seem to disturb him, they’ll be cancelled.” He motioned for Mr. and Mrs. Camilius to follow him. Then he turned and walked off down the long corridor toward the Intensive Care Unit.
    “He’s the coldest man I know and also the most gifted,” Bud Bevyns said as they all watched the three disappear around a corner.
    “Who wants coffee? Averil and I will go downstairs to the small cafe.”
    “We’ll all go and stretch our legs.” Averil’s mother put her arm around her daughter and they walked to the elevator. She whispered in Averil’s ear. “He’ll be fine, honey. I just have a good feeling about him.”
    Averil hugged her mom back. “Thanks, Mom. Mr. and Mrs. Camilius must be upset with me.”
    “Not at all. She said she understood completely because she’d pushed his dad a few times when he tried to make up her mind for her.” Averil’s mom smiled. “She said she wanted Payton to have a strong wife.”
    “I’m not