Page 72 of Consuming Logan

“Don’t hurt your hand,” Ava cried, grabbing a pew to steady herself.

Silence fell. No one acknowledged that as a surgeon with an injured hand, he could be more high-risk than his pregnant fiancée. He heard what they were thinking. How would he keep Ava safe when he harbored a real fear of permanent damage to his hand?

Chapter 26

Logan sat alone in the SCMC clinic. The temporary distance between him and Ava unwelcomed. He considered giving her a call, but the look she’d given him as he walked out the chapel said he should appreciate this cease fire. He glanced at the Rolex on his left wrist. Franklin should have arrived fifteen minutes ago. His pulse thrummed with chained up excitement. The decision made during this appointment would determine if he could return to the operating room. If he could clear this hurdle, then the board would have no reason to withdraw his package for chief surgeon.

Loud footsteps and rushed conversation could be heard through the adjacent wall. Whoa. Whatever was going on had the hospital staff on high alert. Rising from his seat, Logan moved toward the exit. Something had happened.

Suddenly, the door was opened. He pulled to an abrupt halt to avoid a collision with Franklin. He guessed Dr. Pierre was too busy to see him, yet again.

“Dr. Masters,” Franklin rasped, as if he’d been running.

The healthy warm olive color of his skin had disappeared. His eyes were widened, the look of a spooked gelding. A pale, ashen look marred his normally stoic features.

“You need a minute?” Though technically the patient, his attending physician needed the medical attention.

Franklin blinked a few times as if seeing Logan in the room was an aberration.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Franklin muttered, clearly distracted. “Did she tell you about me?”

A rock formed in Logan’s gut and started rolling around. Had his recent MRI revealed a problem with the healing tissues?

“Franklin,” Logan growled. “Tell me what’s going on with my hand or get someone who will.”

Logan inhaled a note of calm but frowned when he got a whiff Franklin’s syrupy-sweet scent. A second ticked by before the doctor acknowledged his comment. Okay, this was more than a difficult patient encounter. Logan recognized the emotion for what it was, fear.

Taking a cautious step forward, Logan took the chart from the other man. “Doctor Xavier,” Logan noted the thin sheen of perspiration to the doctor’s face, neck, and hands. He was under the influence of a drug? Maybe, insulin or a blood pressure medication. “What did you ingest?”

The man took a few deep breaths and Logan braced his feet apart prepared to catch him if he lost consciousness.

“I’m not going to hit the floor, Logan.”

Thankful for that, Logan relaxed. “But, please have a seat.”

Logan felt a sense of foreboding settle in his chest, a crushing weight. Braced for the final blow to his career, Logan leaned against the sink counter.

Franklin sat at the computer terminal, but he didn’t log on to show Logan his films. “Your latest MRI.”

Logan forced himself to relax, leaning casually onto his elbow. He probably looked foolish, but better to be remembered an arrogant fool than a blubbering coward. He would deal with the prognosis. Would Ava? She’d fallen in love with a surgeon. Now, who was he?

“Tell me,” he barked, steeling himself for the blow.

“The hospital suffered a security breach,” he began.

Logan forcibly exhaled. “Seriously?” This fool had scared ten years off his life because some visitor walked out the emergency exit door.

“What about my hand?”

An electronic chirp sounded. Franklin reached into his pocket and withdrew a cell phone. Logan waited, impatiently, as his doctor read an incoming message.

“Oh, that,” he said distractedly.

Logan didn’t think it possible, but Franklin looked downright ill. What the hell? Oh that, like his career was of little consequence. If the guy wasn’t such a good doctor, Logan would level him flat.

“Yes, that,” Logan frowned, “the reason why I’m here.”

“The hand has healed quite nicely. Your rehab will continue, but you can resume a limited role on the surgical staff.”