Second Chance (Crystal Lake Series Book 6) Read online

  “I like them both,” Devon said firmly. “Seriously, you pick.”

  “I’ll take the chicken sandwich,” she said.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I was just giving you a hard time.” She picked up the sandwich and silently thanked God for providing them with food, before taking a healthy bite. “Hmm, this is great. How did you know I was hungry?”

  “I assumed that taking care of a sick kid would be time consuming and that you might not have remembered to eat dinner. Besides, I was hungry, too.”

  Janelle stared down at her sandwich for a minute, before raising her gaze to meet his. “It was nice of you to think about me, Devon,” she said in a soft tone. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had done something nice for her. Certainly not Lane, since he’d always been primarily concerned with himself. Something that should have clued her in much sooner than it had.

  “You’re welcome,” he responded lightly, although his intense gaze held hers for a long second.

  Flustered, she pulled her gaze away and focused her attention on eating, knowing that she couldn’t afford to read attraction into Devon’s kind gesture. He was being a good friend, nothing more.

  She didn’t have time for anything else, even if she wanted to get involved in another relationship. Which she didn’t.

  Nothing was more important than Sebastian’s health and well-being. Certainly not her personal life.

  The little boy deserved every ounce of her attention, and then some. Maybe she hadn’t helped as much as she should have while Lisa was still alive, but she was bound and determined to make up for her lapse in judgment now.

  No matter what the cost, personally or professionally.

  Chapter Two

  Devon tore his gaze from Janelle’s, staring blankly down at his cheeseburger for a long moment. What was wrong with him? Why was he suddenly so acutely aware of Janelle?

  And where on earth had that flash of sizzling attraction come from?

  He gave himself a mental shake, trying to get things back on an even keel. He needed to stop thinking about how beautiful Janelle looked and concentrate on keeping her in the friend category.”So how long do you think your nephew will have to stay in the hospital? Did Dr. Gabe give you any sort of timeline?”

  Janelle let out a heavy sigh. “I’m not sure, I’m hoping he’ll be able to kick this infection pretty quickly. But that might be simply wishful thinking since Gabe mentioned there is a possibility of Sebastian needing surgery.”

  “Surgery?” he echoed with a frown. “For what?”

  “He has a catheter in his abdomen which is what I use to infuse his peritoneal dialysis solution. If the infection in the catheter site doesn’t clear up, they may need to put in a new one.”

  “Poor little guy,” Dev murmured. He wasn’t an expert on medical issues, but obviously, the boy’s condition was more serious than he’d realized.

  “Yeah, I know.” Janelle set her chicken sandwich down, as if she’d lost her appetite. “And if that happens, he might need to go on hemodiaylsis, which is something I can’t provide for him at home. He’s not having any significant problems as a result of his peritoneal dialysis, and I’ve heard the side effects are worse with hemodialysis. I guess at this point, all I can do is hope and pray he gets the opportunity for a kidney transplant, soon.”

  Devon glanced up in surprise, somehow he hadn’t known that was an option. “I take it you’re not a match?”

  Janelle shook her head slowly. “No, although you have no idea how much I wish I were. Apparently he’s blood type B negative, which is relatively rare, something heinherited from his father.”

  Devon scowled. “And his father won’t donate?”

  Janelle grimaced. “His father used to be an IV drug addict, so he’s not eligible to donate. Which is fine, since I don’t really want Sebastian to have anything to do with his father. I don’t trust Grant one bit. He’s in jail because he physically abused Lisa and Sebastian, then took all her money and valuables. I’m afraid if he gets out of jail, he’d only try to use the situation to his advantage.”

  Devon shook his head. Hard to believe how much little Sebastian had the deck stacked against him. “I’m sorry, Janelle. All of this must be tough to deal with.”

  She abruptly straightened in her seat and picked up her sandwich with determination. “I’m fine and so is Sebastian. I firmly believe God is watching over us. Sorry if I was wallowing in self-pity there for a minute.”

  “You weren’t,” Dev protested, impressed with her inner strength and fortitude. He wasn’t so sure he believed God was watching over her, though. Debra had believed in God, but that hadn’t prevented her from dying too soon, taking their unborn child with them.

  They ate in silence for a few minutes, before one of the nurses poked her head into the break room.

  “Janelle? Sebastian’s been assigned a room on the third floor. I’ve already called a report up to Shannon, the nurse who will be admitting him. We’re pretty much ready to leave as soon as you are.”

  “I’m finished,” Janelle said, jumping to her feet and quickly wrapping up what was left of her sandwich. “I’ll eat the rest, later.”

  Devon rose to his feet, wishing there was more he could do for her. “Please call me if there’s anything else you need,” he murmured.

  “Thanks Dev.” She gave him a brief hug before turning to follow Phoebe towards Sebastian’s room.

  He watched her from the doorway, the faint citrus scent of her still clinging to his skin. He told himself that he should go home and get some rest. But for some reason, he couldn’t seem to force his feet to move.

  He stayed right where he was, watching as both Janelle and the gurney carrying Sebastian moved out of sight.

  Janelle didn’t get much sleep that night, waking up every couple of hours when the nurse came into the room to check on Sebastian. His fever broke about six in the morning, which was a huge relief.

  But she knew the little boy wasn’t out of danger, yet. The fact of the matter was that he was four and a half years old and no matter how many times she told him to leave the catheter alone, she still found him picking at it, sometimes unconsciously.

  Was Sebastian destined to have more infections then? If so, then maybe hemodialysis was a better option. She’d be willing to do whatever it took, even driving an hour one way to Madison three times per week.

  “Nana, I’m hungry.”

  “Okay, let’s order breakfast, shall we?” She was glad Sebastian was hungry. “What would you like? French toast sticks?”

  “Yeah!” Sebastian nodded eagerly.

  She placed a double order, so that she could share with him, and then decided she may as well give up on getting any more sleep. Besides, nothing else mattered as long as Sebastian was feeling better.

  She was washing up in the bathroom when Sebastian’s physician arrived. When she heard talking out in the room, she tossed down her hairbrush and quickly joined them.

  “Hi, I’m Janelle, Sebastian’s guardian,” she introduced herself.

  “Dr. Rawlings, nephrology specialist,” he said giving her hand a shake. “I see you recently transferred Sebastian’s care here.”

  She bit her lower lip and nodded. “I live here and work here, so I thought it was best to transfer his care. Why, is that a problem?”

  “Not a problem, exactly, but you do realize if a kidney becomes available, you’ll need to take him to Madison.”

  “Yes, I’m aware of that,” Janelle said, meeting Dr. Rawlings serious gaze with one of her own. “However, I was led to believe it could take years before a kidney might become available.”

  “True, blood type B negative is a difficult match,” Dr. Rawlings agreed. “And Sebastian isn’t very high on the list at this point, since he’s been tolerating peritoneal dialysis so well.”

  “I don’t necessarily agree,” Janelle said, trying not to display her frustration. “He’s only four and keeping his catheter s
ite clean is a challenge.”

  She thought Dr. Rawlings would argue, but he nodded his agreement. “I know, and I’m sure you’re doing the best you can. But the fact is, his kidney failure just isn’t bad enough right now to move him up the list.”

  She was glad Sebastian’s kidney failure wasn’t that bad, but the thought of waiting years for a transplant was just as daunting. She let out a heavy sigh. “I understand. What about hemodialysis? Is that an option?”

  Dr. Rawlings hesitated, then shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Again, his creatinine, BUN, and electrolytes just aren’t bad enough for that either. Truly his best option is to continue with peritoneal dialysis.”

  “All right,” she murmured, determined to do whatever was best for Sebastian.

  “Has the fluid been dwelling in his abdomen all night?” Dr. Rawlings asked.

  “Yes. I was waiting for you to arrive before draining the fluid in case you wanted to see it.”

  “Great, then let’s take a look, shall we?”

  Janelle washed her hands and then manipulated the peritoneal dialysis catheter so that the fluid that was in Sebastian’s abdominal cavity could drain out. This was the least invasive of the treatments available for kidney disease, and while it wasn’t at all difficult, she still hadn’t found anyone willing to do the task while she was at work.

  “Looks good to me,” Dr. Rawlings said, as the clear yellow fluid drained into the bag.

  “Do you think we need to send it for culture?” Janelle asked.

  “No need, probably won’t grow anything with the antibiotics on board but I’d like him to get one more dose of IV antibiotics before you head home.”

  “Home?” Sebastian echoed, his attention momentarily deviating from the Disney channel when he heard the doctor’s news. “We get to go home?”

  Janelle’s heart swelled at the excitement in Sebastian’s eyes. She was so glad he was settling into his new life here in Crystal Lake. She sat down on the edge of his bed and gathered him into her arms. “Yes we do. Isn’t that great news?”

  He nodded and nestled against her. “After breakfast?” he asked.

  “Maybe after lunch,” Dr. Rawlings corrected as he logged into the computer to write his note.

  “But that means I can’t go to school,” Sebastian protested, his lower lip trembling.

  “Today is Saturday, there’s no school on Saturdays remember?” Janelle reminded him. She was glad that Sebastian liked the four-year old kindergarten program she’d enrolled him in. The hours worked perfectly with his dialysis schedule, and so far the kids seemed to have accepted him, catheter and all.

  “Can I play wif my friends?” he asked.

  “We’ll see,” she promised, hoping that one of the little boys who lived close by might be able to come over for a few hours at least.

  “Any other questions?” Dr. Rawlings asked as he logged off.

  “No, I don’t think so,” Janelle said slowly. “He was so sick last night, I’m amazed at how well he’s doing this morning. And I was afraid he’d need a new catheter.”

  “Kids are pretty resilient,” Dr. Rawlings said. “They get sick fast, but then get better fast, too. Still, I’d keep a close eye on his temperature for the next few days, just in case. And make sure you give him all the oral antibiotics until they’re gone.”

  “I will, thanks.” When she was alone in the room with Sebastian, she tried to think of how she’d manage when she had to return to work next week. She’d used up every vacation day she had, and had dipped into her meager savings account too. Even if her boss did extend her leave of absence, how much longer could she go without a paycheck?

  Not very long, that was for sure.

  She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, reaching out in prayer. God would show her the way. She just had to trust in Him and continue following His path.

  When breakfast arrived a few minutes later, a sense of peace settled over her. Watching the way Sebastian dug into his meal with enthusiasm was enough to make her smile. Obviously Dr. Rawlings was right. Amazing how quickly Sebastian had returned to his old self.

  The day shift nurse came in to check on Sebastian’s abdominal dressing and to do a brief assessment. “Are you feeling better, Sebastian?”

  He nodded, his eyes glued to the Disney movie on the television hanging on the wall.

  “He’s much better, thanks,” Janelle said. “Dr. Rawlings mentioned being discharged after lunch.”

  “He gets his last dose of antibiotic around one o’clock, so as soon as that’s infused you’ll be able to take him home on oral medication.”

  “Sounds good,” she agreed, even though she knew it wouldn’t be easy to get Sebastian to take the oral medication in liquid form.

  Shortly after the nurse left, there was another knock at the door.

  “Come in,” she called.

  Her jaw dropped when she saw Devon enter the room, smiling sheepishly as he carried a huge box. “Hi,” he greeted her awkwardly.

  “Hi, what’s in the box?” She rose to her feet and crossed over to greet him, surprised he’d come back to visit.

  “This is a Play-Station that I had lying around, thought Sebastian here might be able to use it.”

  “Play-Station?” Once again, Sebastian’s attention was pulled away from the television. “Can I see it?”

  “Absolutely.” Devon pulled the console out of the box and handed over the remote controls. Janelle didn’t know much about how they worked, but clearly Sebastian knew all about them as he helped Devon put the pieces together.

  “There, now you’re all set,” Devon declared with a grin.

  “Aren’t you gonna play with me?” Sebastian asked.

  Devon glanced at her, with a questioning look in his eye.

  “It’s okay if you have things to do,” she said, letting him off the hook. “I’m sure Sebastian can teach me how to play.”

  “I don’t have to work until later this afternoon,” Devon said in a low voice. “And I’m happy to play with Sebastian for a while if you have errands or something that you need to get done.”

  His generosity was touching. And even though he was giving her some free time, at the moment she couldn’t even think of one thing that needed to be done. “Thanks Devon, I’m sure Sebastian would love to play with you for a while.”

  “Okay, Sebastian pick your game and I’ll take you on.”

  “Goody!” Sebastian jumped up and down on the bed with enthusiasm. “Mario! I wanna play Mario!”

  “You got it,” Devon said picking up the game and inserting it into the console. He pulled up a chair next to Sebastian’s bed and within minutes the two of them were in the throes of the video game.

  Janelle ran her fingers through her hair, feeling self-conscious. Maybe she should take advantage of Devon being here with Sebastian. She could run home, take a shower and change out of her wrinkled clothes.

  It took her a minute to realize that she secretly wanted to look nice for Devon. Which was ridiculous. He was here out of friendship, after all, she knew only too well that men weren’t interested in a woman who happened to be the legal guardian to a young boy with special medical needs.

  So instead of running home, she stayed where she was, curled up on the sleeper sofa that doubled as a twin bed for parents staying overnight. She dozed off for a while, startling awake when the nurse came into the room, interrupting the marathon game.

  “Time for Sebastian’s peritoneal dialysis exchange,” Andrea announced.

  Janelle rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “I can do it,” she said stretching out her cramped legs.

  “No!” Sebastian shouted, his gaze glued to the game. “Don’t wanna do my exchange. Me and Dev are playing a game.”

  “We can pause the game, Sebastian,” Devon explained in a low patient voice. “We’ll start right back up where we left off.”

  “Don’t wanna,” Sebastian repeated stubbornly.

  Janelle stepped forward, putt
ing a reassuring hand on Sebastian’s back. “Come on, Sebastian, you know doing the exchange only takes a few minutes.”

  Devon hit the pause button, despite Sebastian’s protest. “You need to listen to your Aunt Janelle, Sebastian.”

  Ironically, the authoritative tone in Devon’s voice worked. “Okay,” Sebastian repeated reluctantly.

  “Game time is just about over anyway,” Janelle said as she set out the supplies she’d need. “We need to eat lunch and then once you get your last dose of antibiotic we can go home.”

  “Hey, that’s great news,” Devon said. “That means no surgery, right?”

  “Right.” She concentrated on making sure she didn’t contaminate the catheter tip as she connected the new peritoneal dialysis solution so that it could slowly infuse into Sebastian’s abdomen. A process that didn’t hurt him at all, so normally he never seemed to mind.

  Janelle was keenly aware of Devon’s gaze watching her. She’d done this exchange three times a day for the past three weeks, but her fingers suddenly felt awkward and clumsy.

  “So the fluid stays in his abdomen for the next few hours?” Devon asked, the expression on his face showing genuine interest.

  “That’s right,” she said with a smile. “Then we drain out the old fluid and infuse a new bag that dwells overnight. Since Sebastian’s kidneys don’t work as well as they should, this helps draw toxins out of his blood stream.”

  “Amazing,” Devon murmured.

  She finished her task and then cleaned up the supplies and washed her hands. “What would you like for lunch, Sebastian?”

  “Chicken fingers,” the boy said automatically picking his favorite.

  “Why did I bother asking?” Janelle asked with a sigh. She glanced at Devon. “We’re allowed to order parent trays, I’m happy to share one with you.”

  “No thanks, I ate a huge breakfast before I came and I like to eat just prior to the start of my shift. But please, eat something. You didn’t get much last night.”

  The memory of the simple meal they’d shared in the break room of the ER flashed in her mind. The sudden intimacy that sprang between them had lingered in her mind, long after he was gone.