Abiding Ink
CHAPTER 1
“Any new tattoos?” Beneath a helmet of blue-rinsed curls, Ms. Sherwin’s eyes sparkled as she sat up in her hospital bed, leaning toward Tyler.
“No, Ms. Sherwin. Just the same old ink I had yesterday.”
“Tsk tsk. I told you yesterday – call me Ruby! If we’re going to be seeing each other every day, we can at least be friendly.” As he pushed the meal cart forward, she giggled, sounding more eight than eighty or however old she was.
“I’m only volunteering here for a week, Ms. – uh, Ruby.” Six more days, counting today.
She ignored his comment, leaning forward as he approached with her lunch tray. “Ooh!” Gripping him by the wrist, she pushed up the sleeve of his thermal tee, exposing half his forearm. Her tiny, pale hand looked and felt like a child’s in comparison to his. Then again, she was maybe five feet tall, and he was over six.
“Thought I saw something new,” she said, giving his arm a surprisingly strong squeeze. “Silly me. My eyesight’s not what it used to be, you know.”
“Would you like me to hand you your glasses?” He eyed the pair sitting on the tray beside her bed, thick plastic frames with even thicker lenses.
Letting go of his wrist – but leaving his sleeve pushed up – she waved one hand. “I only use those for reading.”
A novel rested on the table, too – a thick paperback with a woman in an old-fashioned dress posing with a ripped, long-haired guy in a kilt on the cover. Tyler slid the meal tray onto the table, careful not to knock the glasses or book off the side.
“Don’t like to wear them when I don’t have to,” she continued. “They make me feel like an owl.”
“I’m sure you don’t look like an owl, Ms. Sherwin.”
“Ruby.” She tittered. “Now what did you bring me for lunch?”
Peering down at the tray, he tried to think of some way to put a good spin on the food he’d just delivered. Unfortunately, the crown jewel of it all was a cup of green gelatin with little chunks of something suspended in its depths. Pear chunks, probably… At least, he hoped so. “Just what the doctor ordered,” was his eventual reply.
A lot of the hospital patients had special dietary restrictions, and apparently Ms. Sherwin was no exception.
“Well, I hope you haven’t been naughty – you know I’ve got to watch my sugar.” She poked the dessert cup, making its contents jiggle, then smiled up at him like they shared some sort of private joke.
“I’m sure it’s sugar-free.”
She raised her thin, white eyebrows like she was about to say something else, but the sound of sneakers against tile filled the room before she could get another word out.
“Ms. Sherwin.” A clear female voice resounded. “How are we today?”
Tyler turned and felt immediately as if he’d been sucker-punched in the gut.
Holy hell. It was her. The nurse he’d noticed yesterday, in the hall. She’d taken his breath away then, walking by and leaving him to practically suffocate over his cart full of red and green Jell-O, pale yellow macaroni and whatever else patients like Ms. Sherwin were allowed to eat. He hadn’t been close enough to read her name badge then, and now, he wanted to, but it was hard to look away from her face.
She raised a brow at him and a polite smile just barely cracked her perfectly-glossed lips. He took in everything – her dark brown eyes and thick lashes, the wet look her gloss gave her mouth and the little sable curls near her temples that had escaped the bun she’d pulled her hair back into. And then his gaze dipped lower.
Okay, it wasn’t that hard to look away from her face. Even in scrubs, her knockout figure was clearly discernible. Above one shapely breast, her badge told him that her name was Mallory.
“Looks like I got here just in time,” Mallory said, sweeping past Tyler and side-stepping his cart. “Let’s check your blood sugar before you eat lunch, Ms. Sherwin.”
“I forgot all about checking my sugar,” Ms. Sherwin said. “If it’s high, blame him.” She pointed a finger toward Tyler, grinning. “He’s so sweet, I think it might’ve rubbed off on me.”
Tyler’s gut clenched as Mallory’s luscious lips curved in a little smirk. “No worries there, Ms. Sherwin. Unless you’ve sweet-talked him into slipping you chocolate, like you did that poor girl last week…”
“He would never. He’s a perfect volunteer. I think you all should keep him around for more than a week.”
“That’s not up to me, Ms. Sherwin.”
Tyler gripped the meal cart by the handle and backed away slowly, wincing as the wheels squeaked. Yeah, being around Mallory was no hardship, but Ms. Sherwin was sabotaging whatever chances he might have with the gorgeous nurse. With any luck he’d run into Mallory again … without a geriatric flirt like Ms. Sherwin around. His heart sped a little at the thought, and he cast a last, long look at Mallory’s back as he retreated.
“Any new tattoos?” Beneath a helmet of blue-rinsed curls, Ms. Sherwin’s eyes sparkled as she sat up in her hospital bed, leaning toward Tyler.
“No, Ms. Sherwin. Just the same old ink I had yesterday.”
“Tsk tsk. I told you yesterday – call me Ruby! If we’re going to be seeing each other every day, we can at least be friendly.” As he pushed the meal cart forward, she giggled, sounding more eight than eighty or however old she was.
“I’m only volunteering here for a week, Ms. – uh, Ruby.” Six more days, counting today.
She ignored his comment, leaning forward as he approached with her lunch tray. “Ooh!” Gripping him by the wrist, she pushed up the sleeve of his thermal tee, exposing half his forearm. Her tiny, pale hand looked and felt like a child’s in comparison to his. Then again, she was maybe five feet tall, and he was over six.
“Thought I saw something new,” she said, giving his arm a surprisingly strong squeeze. “Silly me. My eyesight’s not what it used to be, you know.”
“Would you like me to hand you your glasses?” He eyed the pair sitting on the tray beside her bed, thick plastic frames with even thicker lenses.
Letting go of his wrist – but leaving his sleeve pushed up – she waved one hand. “I only use those for reading.”
A novel rested on the table, too – a thick paperback with a woman in an old-fashioned dress posing with a ripped, long-haired guy in a kilt on the cover. Tyler slid the meal tray onto the table, careful not to knock the glasses or book off the side.
“Don’t like to wear them when I don’t have to,” she continued. “They make me feel like an owl.”
“I’m sure you don’t look like an owl, Ms. Sherwin.”
“Ruby.” She tittered. “Now what did you bring me for lunch?”
Peering down at the tray, he tried to think of some way to put a good spin on the food he’d just delivered. Unfortunately, the crown jewel of it all was a cup of green gelatin with little chunks of something suspended in its depths. Pear chunks, probably… At least, he hoped so. “Just what the doctor ordered,” was his eventual reply.
A lot of the hospital patients had special dietary restrictions, and apparently Ms. Sherwin was no exception.
“Well, I hope you haven’t been naughty – you know I’ve got to watch my sugar.” She poked the dessert cup, making its contents jiggle, then smiled up at him like they shared some sort of private joke.
“I’m sure it’s sugar-free.”
She raised her thin, white eyebrows like she was about to say something else, but the sound of sneakers against tile filled the room before she could get another word out.
“Ms. Sherwin.” A clear female voice resounded. “How are we today?”
Tyler turned and felt immediately as if he’d been sucker-punched in the gut.
Holy hell. It was her. The nurse he’d noticed yesterday, in the hall. She’d taken his breath away then, walking by and leaving him to practically suffocate over his cart full of red and green Jell-O, pale yellow macaroni and whatever else patients like Ms. Sherwin were allowed to eat. He hadn’t been close enough to read her name badge then, and now, he wanted to, but it was hard to look away from her face.
She raised a brow at him and a polite smile just barely cracked her perfectly-glossed lips. He took in everything – her dark brown eyes and thick lashes, the wet look her gloss gave her mouth and the little sable curls near her temples that had escaped the bun she’d pulled her hair back into. And then his gaze dipped lower.
Okay, it wasn’t that hard to look away from her face. Even in scrubs, her knockout figure was clearly discernible. Above one shapely breast, her badge told him that her name was Mallory.
“Looks like I got here just in time,” Mallory said, sweeping past Tyler and side-stepping his cart. “Let’s check your blood sugar before you eat lunch, Ms. Sherwin.”
“I forgot all about checking my sugar,” Ms. Sherwin said. “If it’s high, blame him.” She pointed a finger toward Tyler, grinning. “He’s so sweet, I think it might’ve rubbed off on me.”
Tyler’s gut clenched as Mallory’s luscious lips curved in a little smirk. “No worries there, Ms. Sherwin. Unless you’ve sweet-talked him into slipping you chocolate, like you did that poor girl last week…”
“He would never. He’s a perfect volunteer. I think you all should keep him around for more than a week.”
“That’s not up to me, Ms. Sherwin.”
Tyler gripped the meal cart by the handle and backed away slowly, wincing as the wheels squeaked. Yeah, being around Mallory was no hardship, but Ms. Sherwin was sabotaging whatever chances he might have with the gorgeous nurse. With any luck he’d run into Mallory again … without a geriatric flirt like Ms. Sherwin around. His heart sped a little at the thought, and he cast a last, long look at Mallory’s back as he retreated.