Before she could grip her door handle, he turned off the ignition and slammed his palm onto the steering wheel with a loud thump.
“Damn it.”
Callie sat still, waiting to see if he was going to open up and vent.
“I don’t know if I can do this, Callie.” Noah stared straight ahead to the white garage wall. “I can’t work on that little boy and not get attached.”
Callie bit her lip, not wanting to interrupt.
“He sat there looking at me with all that hope in his eyes and I want to deliver on promises his mother has made to make him well again. I want to be the hero he seems to think I am.”
Callie reached over, touched his arm. “Then what’s stopping you?” she asked.
“What if I fail?”
Noah turned, meeting her gaze. And there was that pain she’d seen a glimpse of before. Now it was raw, no longer hiding, and he wasn’t trying to keep it under control.
“I refuse to fail another person, Callie.”
Another person? Who had he failed before?
“Noah—”
He got out of the car and went into the house, slamming the door as he went. Callie sighed and rested her head against the leather seat. The man was going to break. If
he didn’t open up soon, he was going to shatter, and then all of his secrets, all of his feelings, were going to be laid open for all to see and there would be nothing he could do about it. She prayed that he’d let her help, but he was too stubborn, too strong-willed.
Ironically, some of those qualities that annoyed her she could relate to all too easily.
Eleven
Over a week had passed since the showing of his home and Noah still couldn’t call his real-estate agent back with an answer. Yes, the amount the newlyweds had offered was very close to the asking price and higher than any other offers, but he just couldn’t bring himself to make that call and get the ball rolling.
Added to that, he’d talked with colleagues about Blake’s case and met with the little boy and he was certain he was the best one for the job. But the thought of being the one that little guy pinned his hope on was almost more than Noah thought he could bear. He was still dealing with Callie and all that hero worship she had in her eyes when he discussed her healing process. Both Callie and Blake were looking for something within Noah that he just didn’t know if he could give.
For right now, though, he needed to take a step back from being a doctor. He needed to get back to being Callie’s friend and letting his workload ease from his mind for just a bit. And he knew just the thing to get them back on friendly footing. He’d had something delivered earlier today and he couldn’t wait to show Callie.
She’d laid back down for a nap just after lunch when she’d taken a pain pill. She hadn’t had one in a while, but he knew she’d been in pain. She’d been trying to work on her arm exercises even when he’d told her to take it slow.
That pain medication always made her so tired and Noah encouraged her to sleep because resting would help her body heal faster, as well.
She’d taken her sling off today and had promised to go easy on her arm, but he would be keeping a close eye on her. He’d done the microdermabrasion last week and he was hoping to do more next week. If he could work on her wound as often as medically possible, perhaps her healing time would lessen and her scar would not be so visible.
It was so hard to shut down his doctor mind-set. Right now, though, he had something else in mind. Something fun.
He wanted to show Callie her surprise, but she was still asleep. He walked into the kitchen and saw the painkiller bottle on the counter. A sick feeling overcame him. For so long he’d lived with bottles floating around…usually empty ones that had just been prescribed only days before.
But this sick feeling didn’t stem from his past; it came from the fact that Noah knew he hadn’t left the bottle out when he’d given her a pill earlier that morning. He glanced at the clock on the stove and knew it was just now time for another pill, so why was this bottle out?
He twisted the cap off and counted the pills. It was two short compared to what should’ve been in there.
She’d taken that extra one the other day, which meant she’d taken another one today At this point, she shouldn’t be taking two pills in the same day. Her pain had to have significantly lightened, so she should be able to get by with just an over-the-counter medication.
He’d thought he could leave them out and not treat her like a child. Apparently, he was wrong.
Not taking any more chances, Noah put the lid back in place and gripped the bottle as he set off for her bedroom. By the time he reached the second floor, he was angry, upset and feeling a little betrayed. If she was lying to him, he wasn’t going to help her anymore. He couldn’t live like that again. Not to mention the fact he couldn’t be her doctor if she wouldn’t follow orders.
He eased the door open and saw her lying on her side, her hands tucked beneath her uninjured cheek. The covers had been kicked off and she’d opened her window to let the afternoon breeze blow in. Crimson strands danced around her shoulders and her breathing was slow, soft.