for a moment, admiring her silky straight black hair, pulled back into a long braid. Leila was beautiful in an ethereal way, but as much as he’d enjoyed her company on the few dates they’d had, there hadn’t really been a spark of attraction between them. Since they shared a mutual respect of each other’s abilities, though, they’d decided they were better off remaining friends.
Besides, he’d often sensed Leila’s dark troubled gaze held secrets she wasn’t willing to share.
The doors to the trauma bay burst open and their newest arrival was wheeled in. It took him only two seconds to recognize Kylie, although she wasn’t in her usual paramedic uniform. She wore a soft butter-yellow sweater smeared with blood and a pair of figure-hugging jeans.
“Six-year-old hit by a car while riding his bike. He has a laceration over his left eye and a minor concussion. His pupils are unequal but react to light.” A tall male paramedic rattled off the detailed information. “He also has a possible fracture in his left arm.”
Seth stepped forward to lift the blood-soaked towels to see the laceration, and winced when he saw the gap was large enough that he could see all the way into the child’s orbital eye socket. “Back or neck pain?”
“Ben denies back or neck pain,” Kylie said.
The paramedic glanced at her, and then added, “Ben has some minor scrapes on his left leg, but no other obvious signs of injury. The vehicle was backing up, so it wasn’t going very fast.”
He noticed the way Kylie clung to the boy’s hand. “We’ll need to get a stat CT of his head, and X-rays of his extremities, but I want to stitch up that head wound first.”
Kylie paled at his words, but didn’t let go as she met Seth’s gaze. “I’m staying.”
“Are you his mother?” he asked.
When she nodded, he didn’t show his surprise, but took her arm to draw her away from the bedside. She reluctantly let go of Ben’s hand.
“Is Ben’s father on his way, too?” he asked, thinking that Kylie could use some support.
“No. His father left a long time ago.” Her tone was matter-of-fact, with no sign of bitterness.
“Is there someone else I can call for you?” he persisted. “A friend? Anyone to be here so you don’t have to go through this alone?”
“No, there isn’t anyone to call. We just moved here a few weeks ago.” She was barely paying attention to him, her gaze going back to her son. “I’m fine,” she insisted, tugging to free herself from his grip. “But I’d really like to be there while you stitch him up.”
Sometimes parents didn’t do well when they stayed to watch, but knowing Kylie’s paramedic background he quickly relented. “All right,” he agreed, releasing her arm.
Kylie didn’t hesitate, but went straight back to Ben’s bedside, taking his hand and leaning down to press a soft kiss on her son’s forehead.
Seth knew Kylie was distraught. She hadn’t caught her slip-up, but he had.
She didn’t have a man in her life.
But she did have a son.
Seth let out a sigh. He loved women, and loved having fun, but a family—especially a single mother with a young son—wasn’t a part of his future.
He strode to Ben’s bedside, calling for the facial suture tray, realizing Kylie was very much off-limits.
At least for him.
CHAPTER THREE
WATCHING Seth suture the laceration in Ben’s eyebrow was the hardest thing she’d ever had to do.
But she hadn’t made a fool of herself by passing out, although she’d definitely felt woozy for a few bad moments. Which was odd, since she’d seen her fair share of blood while on duty. No wonder they always asked family members to leave for these types of procedures. She’d felt every one of those five tiny stitches Seth had placed more than Ben had, since he’d been given lidocaine to numb the area.
Fighting nausea, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Seth had deemed Ben stable enough to be moved out of the trauma bay, and after the CT scan of his head they’d ended up in a small private room in the ED area. It felt strange to be sitting at his bedside, watching the activity all around, instead of being the one bringing patients in.
Now they were simply waiting for the CT scan results, and for the orthopedic surgeon to cast Ben’s left arm. The break was actually fairly minor, not complex at all, but Ben would need to wear a cast for the next four to six weeks.
She closed her eyes and tried not to succumb to the overwhelming wave of guilt. Ben was okay. He wasn’t hurt badly. He knew the rules—knew he shouldn’t have been riding his bike on the road. She didn’t blame Missy Clairmont, because the real fault was hers. If she hadn’t been trying to impress Seth with having a hypothermia protocol finished in record time maybe she would have stayed outside to watch the boys herself, instead of depending on Joey’s mother to do it.
“Kylie?” Seth called from the doorway.
She lifted her head and struggled to smile. “Hi. Do you have the CT results yet?”
He shook his head. “No, but I would like to put the cast on Ben’s arm, if you don’t object. The orthopedic surgeon is pretty far behind. He’s telling me it’ll be another couple of hours before he can break away to come down here.”
Hours? Good grief—she and Ben had already been here for two and a half hours. At this rate it was amazing Cedar Bluff ever got patients out of the ED.
“I don’t mind.” The break was simple, and she didn’t doubt that Seth wouldn’t have offered to place the cast if he didn’t know what he was doing. He might have an ego where women were concerned, but so far, from what she’d seen, his medical skills were solid.
“Great, I’ll be right back.” When he returned, he was pushing a bulky cart into Ben’s room. “Hey, Ben. How are you feeling?”
Her son glanced over at Seth with his good eye. His left eye was swollen and partially covered by the dressing over his incision. “Better,” Ben answered, although his voice was a little slurred.
She sent Seth a wry look. “They gave him something for the pain and he’s been a little loopy.”
Seth grinned. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being a little loopy.” He turned his attention back to Ben. “So, Ben, tell me your favorite color. You get to pick what you want for your cast. Or—” he paused dramatically “—we can put this special Green Bay Packers gauze on. What do you think? Pretty cool, huh?”
Ben’s brow puckered as he solemnly surveyed the options on the cast cart. “Doncha have Chicago Bears gauze?”
“Chicago Bears? What? You’re kidding me, right? Chicago Bears?” Seth clasped his chest dramatically, staggering back a few steps as he stared at Ben in mock horror. “This is Wisconsin, son. What are you thinking? The Chicago Bears are the archenemy.”
Ben giggled, as Seth had meant him to. “I like the Chicago Bears.”
“You do realize Green Bay is only seventy-five miles north of here, don’t you? Heck, the stadium is practically in our backyard.”
Ben shrugged. Kylie doubted her son even understood how far seventy-five miles was. “I don’t care.”
“A Bears fan living in Cedar Bluff.” Seth shook his head from side to side, pretending to be upset. “What is the world coming to? Sorry, Ben, we don’t have any Chicago Bears gauze. But we do have navy blue and we do have orange.”
“Yeah?” Ben’s eyes lit up. “Blue and orange, the Bears colors. That’s what I want on my cast.”