Saving Sarah (The Gold Coast Retrievers Book 1), page 5
“Yeah, well… I guess you know everything about me that’s worth knowing now,” he said as he reversed the car out of the parking spot and away from her apartment complex.
She hadn’t expected him to pay her back with a compliment but still felt disappointed when one didn’t come. Perhaps the fact that they were here together now was enough. “I doubt that,” she said after a pause. “People are more than their Google search results, you know.”
Finch scoffed. “Not anymore. Not in today’s day and age.”
“Now you sound like one of my patients,” she said, rolling down the window and allowing her hand to ride on the breeze as they drove. “I like that.”
“Have you always been super into old people?”
She stared at him for a second, then burst into laughter so fierce she couldn’t even try to silence it.
“That came out wrong,” he said, laughing, too. “You know what I meant to ask, so just answer that question, okay?”
She sobered up, sadness overtaking the effervescent laughter. “Not always, but since I was about twelve.”
His voice softened as he cast a glance her way. “Why? What happened?”
“I… I don’t want to talk about it.”
Sensing her apprehension, Lucky whined and stuck his head over the center console so Sarah could stroke his fur. “It’s okay, boy,” she cooed.
Finch’s voice became so quiet, Sarah had to strain to hear it over the whooshing wind outside. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get into anything too heavy. Obviously you don’t have to share if you don’t want to. Just trying to fill the time between here and the big city.”
“You’re fine,” she said with a deep sigh. “Maybe someday I’ll tell you, but not today if that’s okay.”
“Uh, yeah, of course.” Finch frowned and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Tell me something else then. Talk to me about Lucky.”
“Now that I can do…”
Finch laughed in all the right places as Sarah described Carol Graves and her over-the-top commitment to staying in touch with every puppy that had ever been born from her kennel. He even threw in a few stories of his own about the cat he’d had while growing up. If discussing work and family was hard, then talking about their pets was like breathing in clean, sweet air.
If only it could always be this easy. If only she could one day love and trust a person the way she did her dog. Might today be a step in that direction?
Before she had time to contemplate the possibilities, Finch pulled into the sprawling hospital complex… and the easiness between them vanished into the endless summer sky.
Finch tightened his grip on the steering wheel and let out a long, slow breath. They’d arrived, and yet he still had no idea what he really hoped to accomplish here.
“Are you ready?” Sarah asked, a waiting hand hovering over her seatbelt buckle.
Her dog Lucky panted excitedly in the back seat as all three of them took in the massive hospital complex before them. People died here, were born here, found out life-changing news, said final goodbyes, and maybe even learned long-hidden truths.
What would their visit bring?
He tried to push all these nagging thoughts aside and put on a reassuring smile, but Sarah saw right through him.
“Hey, it will be okay,” she said, brushing her fingers against his forearm and igniting a spark that made the fine hairs stand on end.
Whatever happened next, he had Sarah at his side. It was funny how much that meant given they’d only met each other the day before. And while he craved the company of this new acquaintance, he feared what others might be brought into his life as a result of solving Eleanor’s family mystery.
“Let’s go,” he said at last, swinging both legs out of the car before he could change his mind. He waited for Sarah to hook Lucky onto his leash, then the three of them marched toward the swinging glass doors.
Was it possible a whole new existence waited on the other side for Finch? Or would it only be more disappointment?
Predictably, nothing earth-shattering happened—only that they were greeted with scattered stares the moment they strode through those doors. Lucky wore his red harness identifying him as a therapy dog, so at least nobody gave them a hard time about bringing an animal into the hospital.
Finch paced to the greeting desk with far more confidence than he actually felt.
“How can I help you today?” a plump woman with short curls and a tired smile greeted him.
“I’m looking for information about my grandmother,” he said with a nervous smile.
The receptionist nodded and sat up straighter in her chair. “Oh, is she a patient here?”
“No, but she was born here in 1946.”
“Oh, okay…” She hummed a beat, put on a fresh smile, and asked, “What information do you need?”
“Everything. Whatever you have.” He startled when Sarah squeezed her shoulder.
“I’m not going far,” she whispered, leaving him on his own at the front desk. He began to watch them clack away, but the perturbed receptionist broke his concentration almost immediately.
“Is this an estate issue?” she asked for what Finch assumed was at least the second time.
“No, I’m just trying to…” He let out a deep breath and sunk both hands into his pockets. He felt so vulnerable standing her alone, demanding secrets he didn’t know how to put into words. “To learn about my family,” he finished at last.
The woman’s smile wavered as she began shuffling papers on her desk. “I’m afraid you’ll have to put in a special request and provide proof that you’re next of kin. We don’t have digitized records that far back, so it won’t be easy to find what you’re looking for. And we just don’t have the extra staff to—”
Finch raised a hand to cut her off. “It’s fine. I get it. What about paperwork on my aunt? Eleanor Barton?”
This time she didn’t even try to disguise her sigh before asking, “Is she a patient here?”
“No, but she would have been more recently.”
“Okay…” She clicked a few keys on her computer, then handed Finch a print out. “You’ll need the patient’s written permission, proof of relationship, and-or power of attorney. Then we should be able to get those for you.”
Finch rolled the papers into a tube and resisted the urge to give up and walk away. “Is there any way I can have any of these records now? We’re kind of in a hurry.”
“Not without the proper authorization. Hospitals have gotten in big trouble before for far smaller privacy violations.” She spoke slowly as if it were the only way to make him understand. “I’m sorry, but there’s really no way around the rules here.”
“It’s fine. Thank you.” Finch let out a long, irritated sigh.
It wasn’t the receptionist’s fault, of course, but still. They only had one clue that made any sense, and it led to a dead end. Eleanor had been cagey about offering even the smallest of clues, so how would he ever get her to agree to sign the consent form?
And how would he get the needed proof to access his grandmother’s records when it had been years since her death? Even if he got it, how long would it take for the hospital to find and deliver the files? And could he handle all that time knowing, but not knowing?
He turned back toward Sarah at a loss, hoping she would have the answers he was missing. But she and Lucky weren’t standing where he’d left them. Instead, they had journeyed down the hall and were standing beside a small child wearing a hospital gown and sitting in a wheelchair.
Finch immediately noticed the short, patchy hair and the dark purple bruises beneath the child’s eyes, but he couldn’t tell whether the child was a boy or a girl—only that he or she was very, very sick.
Lucky sat, wagging his tail gently and allowing the child to press a hand between his eyes. The sharp squeal of a giggle that followed made Finch’s heart break and melt at the same time.
“Lucky, shake,” Sarah commanded, and obediently the dog offered the child its paw.
“His name is Lucky?” the child asked in a voice that now very clearly belonged to a girl and to one much older than he had expected—perhaps eight or nine instead of the five or six he’d assumed.
“Sure is. And what’s yours?” Sarah said, crouching down so she was eye to eye with little girl in her wheelchair.
“Sara,” the girl declared with a smile.
“Hey, that’s my name, too!” Do you have an H at the end?”
The younger Sara shook her head and giggled. “Nope.”
“See, I do,” Sarah said with an infectious smile that Finch found himself loving more and more each time he saw it. “Which is good, because now nobody can get us confused.”
Both Sarahs smiled at each other, and Finch could only watch in amazement.
Sarah Campbell didn’t just have a calming effect on him—she had it for everyone. It wasn’t in his head or imagined. She truly was the most amazing woman he’d ever met—and he felt himself falling for her faster than ever.
Chapter Eight
Sarah jumped when Finch put his hand at the small of her back. She’d been so caught up in speaking with the young girl in the wheelchair that she hadn’t even noticed he’d finished at the registration desk.
Now that he was here, she felt herself relax into his presence. As awkward as things often were between them, she’d come to appreciate the way the air hummed melodically, the way her heart sped up before she’d even fully realized he’d returned.
Finch leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “I have an idea. Play along.”
She nodded and gave little Sara a hug goodbye. “It was so nice to meet you, Sara without an H. Lucky, wave buh-bye.”
The Golden Retriever did as instructed, eliciting giggles from both the patient and the nurse pushing her chair.
She smiled to herself at having made a new friend. As much as she enjoyed working with the elderly, there was something very special about sick children. The juxtaposition of innocent potential and the grave awareness of one’s own mortality sent chills through her. Still, little Sara seemed so full of hope, as if death weren’t even an option for her.
She said a silent prayer that this would prove to be true, that the sweet child would grow up to have and appreciate every experience life had to offer. Never mind that Sarah had chosen to forego many of the standard rites of passage herself.
“Bye, Sarah with an H!” the little girl called as she and her nurse continued their journey down the hallway.
Finch motioned for Sarah to join him back in front of the registration desk, and she did so without question. What kind of plan had he cooked up in the brief moments they’d been apart? She looked forward to discovering whatever his creative mind had concocted.
“Look,” Finch told the woman sitting there. “I know you couldn’t help me, but we were hoping we could help you while I’m here.”
The receptionist’s eyes widened, but her mouth remained pressed in a flat line. “I’m not sure I follow, and the hospital definitely doesn’t take bribes.”
Finch laughed a bit too spiritedly for the situation. “You thought?” He shook his head as the chuckle faded away. “No, I’ll be back about that later with the proper forms. But my friend here is a therapy dog.”
He motioned to Lucky and suddenly Sarah understood. He needed a distraction. For what, she didn’t know, nor did she really want to find out. Sarah played by the rules, plain and simple.
Finch, on the other hand, continued with gusto. “He usually works with the elderly, but he just loved meeting that little girl. Perhaps you saw?”
The receptionist smiled, for the first time looking genuinely happy to be in their company since they’d arrived. “It was very sweet,” she agreed.
“Would it be okay for us to stop in for a quick hello at the children’s ward? We did drive all this way, and we would love to put some smiles on faces while we’re here.” He regarded the comely woman with a smile, the same smile that made Sarah’s heart twist and leap with nervous anticipation. No woman in her right mind could resist that smile.
And sure enough…
The receptionist hesitated, and a coquettish expression overtook her features. “I don’t know. We don’t have a therapy dog on the schedule for today, and besides, we’ve never worked with you before.” She turned to Sarah with a much sharper, accusing tone. “How do we know you have the proper certifications?”
“Do me a favor,” Sarah said, recognizing that the situation was headed in a very different direction than Finch wanted. “I’m a nurse at the Redwood Cove Rest Home. Lucky works with me there. Give them a call and they’ll tell you what you need to know. We can wait while you check with the nurses on your ward, too.”
Sarah took a step back and Finch followed suit.
“We’ll just be in the waiting room. Whenever you’re ready,” Sarah informed them both.
Finch pumped his head in agreement. “We’d so love to see the kids. Wouldn’t we, Lucky?”
Lucky thumped his tail and let out a soft bark, eliciting smiles from both the receptionist and Finch.
“What’s your big plan?” she whispered to him once they’d taken a pair of seats at the far end of the waiting room.
His voice came out so quietly she had to strain to hear it. “I asked about my grandmother and Eleanor, but I can’t get records for either without jumping through a bunch of hoops.”
“Okay, so where do Lucky and I fit into this?” she asked, dread beginning to pool in her stomach.
Then his smile lit up again. This time its full force was directed squarely on Sarah. “Too much red tape. I’m going to see if I can find someone who has scissors.”
She turned away from him and tried to think logically. Despite how much she wanted to solve this mystery, there was the right way to do things… and then, apparently, there was Finch’s way.
He placed a hand on her arm, drawing her gaze back in. For a moment, she knew how Adam must have felt when Eve offered him the forbidden fruit. But it only took a second to find her center again. “No, Finch. This is wrong. You’re going to get us thrown out of here.”
“So what if I do? We’re at a dead end anyway. Might as well see if we can turn this around. Besides, the kids will be so happy to see Lucky.”
Well, now what could she say to that? She did want to help the children, but…
“I really don’t know,” she stalled, trying and failing to think up a more cogent argument. “There’s gotta be another way.”
That was when the receptionist appeared at the edge of the waiting room and motioned them all over. “We’re ready for you now,” she said without taking her eyes off Finch for a single second. “You can go on back.”
So much for talking him out of it…
Finch didn’t love that he’d needed to resort to using the sick kids to pull one over on the hospital, but really… what else could he do? Sure, he’d call his attorney once they got back home, but would his corporate lawyer even know where to begin in order to get him the proper clearance? It’s not like Finch had anyone in his family he could ask for help, either. The only family he had besides Eleanor was either dead or—apparently—missing.
He trailed behind Lucky and Sarah as a resident nurse led them to the children’s wing. Despite the unplanned nature of the visit, the children and staff were both all too happy to meet Lucky. They soon learned that a Bichon Frise named Frankie visited the ward on most Fridays, meaning they already had protocols and procedures well in place for therapy dog visits.
With all the focus rightfully on Sarah and Lucky, Finch had no trouble slipping away. The problem came in deciding where to go and who to talk to. At first, he tried to find someone within the children’s ward itself, but he quickly abandoned that idea, not wanting to embarrass Sarah—especially given her disapproval of his rule-bending plan.
Ultimately, he turned to the cafeteria, figuring an off-duty healthcare worker would be more amenable to his advances than someone rushing to tend to their patients.
Once there, he zipped through the food line and loaded various lunch items on his plate in order to appear as if he belonged, then wandered between the tables waiting for someone to cast an inviting look his way.
You can accomplish anything with a smile, his mother had taught him long ago. It was a lesson he never forgot, especially in moments of need.
And, sure enough, it didn’t take long to find a kind-looking woman wearing scrubs that stood out bright and blue against her dark skin. When she glanced up from her meal tray, he saw that she, too, wore an arresting smile and had pointed it directly at Finch. She also appeared to be about his age.
“Mind if I join you, doctor?” he asked, holding his tray at waist height while awaiting her response.
“Sure thing.” Her smile widened and she kicked out the chair across from her, motioning for Finch to join. “Thanks for not assuming I’m a nurse just because I’m a woman.”
“You have a very doctor air about you,” Finch said, biting into the sandwich he’d picked up without even noticing what kind it was. Egg salad, as it turned out. Not the worst thing in the world.
“I’m Nakeesha,” she said between bites of a pear. “And you are?”
“Finch.” He extended his hand and she accepted with a quick shake.
“Jameson, right? I thought you looked familiar. And I always thought the media was unfair to you.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.” He smiled again. If not for his new infatuation with Sarah, Nakeesha would normally be the type of woman he’d ask for a date. It had been such a long time since he’d had a romantic encounter of any kind, and he couldn’t imagine breaking his unlucky streak with anyone but Sarah Campbell, even if she didn’t like his plan.
They ate in silence for a few moments while Finch worked up his nerve. This whole thing would be much easier if he could genuinely flirt with Nakeesha, but he’d just have to settle for being friendly instead.
