Then, there was Austin. How could she possibly avoid him if she was caring for his father and uncle each day? She had no choice but to accept the offer, though.
"Joseph and George will be your main priority during this time. You'll work twelve hour shifts, six days a week. I know you've been asking for all the overtime you can get. Well, you've now gotten it. The family knows you need to sleep, but they've requested for you to stay nearby so if anything goes wrong, you can be on-call. They've been very generous with supporting the extra funding to pay for the added expense."
"I'm honored," Kinsey finally replied.
"Your shift starts tomorrow at seven. Go home, get some rest, and pack what you need. It's going to be a long week. I have a feeling this assignment won't be a short one. Although George is recovering well, Joseph … " she trailed off. No one on staff liked to jinx a patient, even if the situation looked hopeless.
"Thank you," Kinsey said before she made her way from the room. She'd just have to do the best she could for both of her patients and herself. Austin was just a guy, right? He didn't hold control over her. She could handle being around him in a professional environment. She wouldn't be affected by him. She didn't even like him.
As she gave herself a little pep talk, her stomach clenched. She knew she was lying to herself. She wanted to see him, to be near him. She just didn't want to want that.
A few hours later, Kinsey stood by as the doctors carefully removed his breathing tube, then weaned off the medicine to bring George out of his coma. As he slowly came to, his family crowded the room, worried looks on each of their faces.
"Dad?" Bree questioned as his eyes fluttered open.
"Bree?" he muttered, his voice raspy.
"Dad! Thank goodness," Bree cried as she pushed past a nurse and knelt beside her father's bed. The largest tears of gratitude, relief and thanks fell from her rounded doe eyes as a delighted smile turned up the corners of her mouth. "I've been so worried. You have got to quit scaring me like that," she demanded.
"Joseph?" he croaked.
"He's right next to you, Dad. Look to your left. See, right there," she answered while pointing to his bed.
"Okay?" he asked.
"He's stable, Dad. He's doing really well. They got the problem fixed, but he's in a coma right now. I don't want you to worry. The hospital's taking excellent care of him. He's just worked too hard for too long, and this is his body's way of telling him he needs a nice long nap," Bree said.
George had a tear in his eye, but the corners of his mouth lifted at his daughter's positive attitude. He finally looked up, and smiled more when he saw that all of his family was there.
"We've missed you, Dad. I agree with Bree. You need to start taking better care of yourself," Trenton said as he stepped forward.
"Yeah. Aunt Katherine said there are no more joy rides for you two," Max added as he came and squeezed his father's hand.
"Not unless you want to face her wrath, that is," Austin added.
"That's right, George Anderson. You certainly won't be getting any more joy rides. I can't handle seeing you in a hospital bed twice in such a short amount of time," Katherine said as she sat in the chair next to his bed. "I've missed you, my friend. Your brother is strong. Bree's right, he's simply catching up on some much needed rest. What I need from you is to not worry about him. I need you to get better, so you can help me bring Joseph back."
George's eyes filled and spilled over at Katherine's words.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered.
"You will not do that, George. I won't allow you to take any of the blame. It wasn't Joseph's or your fault. It was that disgusting man who made a conscious decision to drink too much, and then decide to get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Sadly, for his family, he won't be coming home. He was selfish and now his poor children have to bury their father. I am thanking God daily that you and Joseph are still with me. Now, I better not hear even one more apology from you," she scolded, looking him in the eye.
"I love you."
"I love you too, George. You know you'll always be one of my best friend's. For some reason, seeing you in the checkered hospital gown reminds me of when we were in our twenties, dancing all night and laughing until dawn. You must have had a button up shirt with a similar pattern. But enough of the past. We need to focus on now and getting you out of here. Do you understand?"
"Yes," he said, a small but genuine smile appearing.
"George!" Esther cried as she walked into the room, her face lit up. "You're awake," she finished as she quickly moved to sit next to Katherine.