Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 506(@200wpm)___ 405(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Aiden smiles gratefully. “Yeah? You can do that?”
“Sure,” I reply with a shrug as if it’s no big deal. I actually have a shit ton of stuff to do as we’re leaving tomorrow morning for an away game, but that’s not as important as this. “Are you allowed to leave your room?”
“Yup.”
“He needs a gown and mask,” Lori says, her gaze cutting over to Aiden. “Want to walk or ride?”
“I think it’s a ride kind of day,” he says, indicating he’s tired and probably couldn’t walk far.
I wink at Aiden. “Let’s get you in the wheelchair and go pop wheelies down the hall when Lori’s got her back turned.”
The nurse shoots me a mock glare and I wink at Aiden, which causes him to snicker.
“Or… a leisurely roll down to the café for some ice cream,” I amend.
Lori smiles. “That’s more like it.”
“Come on, kid,” I say, scooting off the end of the bed where I was sitting. I move the rolling table that holds the game and push it into the corner. “Let’s go harass some people.”
Finished hooking up his new meds, Lori unplugs Aiden’s IV pole and I step out of his room to get a wheelchair. There’s a big storage closet down the hall that keeps a few extra ones as well as chairs for additional visitors.
By the time I get back to Aiden, Lori has him in a paper gown and mask with gloves, ready to go on an adventure.
“We’re twins,” I note as he settles slowly into the chair.
I try not to notice how much thinner he looks since before the transplant and the way he pants a little from the minimal effort. Lori attaches the infusion pump to a bracket and the bag to the small pole on the back of his wheelchair. I know from experience we have hours of battery life on this pump but I’m guessing Aiden won’t last but about thirty minutes. Good thing we need to eat ice cream fast.
“Where to?” I ask dramatically as I push him out of the room.
“Let’s go check out the pretty nurses in the first-floor café,” he says as we stroll down the hall.
Chuckling, I take a right turn at the next intersecting hall that will lead us to the patient elevators. “How about we go for an ice cream in the café?”
“And if there happen to be pretty nurses… bonus.” Aiden twists his neck to grin at me over his shoulder.
“You’re too young to be noticing that,” I chastise.
“You’re the one who checks them out, not me,” he replies with a smirk.
Shaking my head, I reach the elevator alcove and press the down button. “I know we’ve only known each other a few weeks, but are you always such a smart-ass?”
“Language, Mr. Rivers,” he chides, something I’ve said to him on occasion when he cusses. I’m not overly stern about it though because the kid has good reason.
The elevator dings and I take hold of the handles to push him in. The doors slide open and a woman is waiting to get off. I start to pull Aiden’s chair back a little to give her room but stop when he exclaims, “Lilly!”
I had only given her a passing glance but my eyes snap back to the woman I know to be his sister since he talks about her all the time. I’ve never met her since she works a lot.
Her light blue eyes—duplicates of Aiden’s—flick to me and then back to Aiden with a warm smile. “On an escape mission?”
“Going for ice cream,” I say, leaning forward and reaching my hand out to her. “I’m Boone Rivers and you should join us.”
“No thanks.” She accepts my hand for a quick shake, then waves us away. “I’ll just wait in your room.”
“Come on, Lilly,” Aiden says as the doors start to close on her. They bounce back open as she holds out an arm. “You deserve a break. Come have ice cream.”
Deserve a break?
That’s an interesting phrase and indicates she’s a woman who doesn’t slow down for much. She seems to be wearing a work uniform—jeans and tennis shoes, but her dark green T-shirt has a logo on the front that reads Moni’s Deli, LILLY printed on a plastic name tag. She’s also got on a matching green ball cap with the same logo and her long brown hair is in a ponytail threaded through the back.
“Yeah… come have ice cream,” I mimic Aiden’s request. “My treat.”
Lilly mulls it over for only a moment before she smiles, “Okay. Yeah… sure.”
She steps out of the elevator and holds the doors open. “You two head down. I’ll go get gowned up.”
I wheel Aiden in as Lilly walks back toward his room where a metal casing is attached to his door that holds gowns, masks and gloves. We’re silent as we ride down to the lobby level, although I have a dozen questions about his sister. I don’t ask them though, instead getting him settled at the table while I order three soft cones.