The Surgeon's New-Year Wedding Wish by Laura Iding Page A

thereafter, Seth pulled Quinn aside.
    “Her heart is throwing some premature beats, so we’re going to work her up for an MI. We’ve called the cardiologist, just in case.”
    Damn, Delores’s illness was more serious than he’d thought. He’d shrugged off her symptoms as flu but he should have insisted on bringing her in right away. “All right, keep me posted.” He walked back into her room to fetch Danny, anxious to protect his son from the seriousness of his aunt’s illness. “Come on, let’s take a little walk. I’ll show you where I work.”
    Cool .
    He took Danny through the main arena, introducing him to some of the staff, and then took him into the staff lounge area, thinking there had to be something back there to help keep the boy occupied for a while. There were snacks, of course, the ED staff always had snacks, but he finally unearthed a deck of playing cards and showed Danny how to play solitaire the old-fashioned way, rather than on the computer.
    “Dr. Torres?” Susan poked her head into the staff lounge about fifteen minutes later. “Dr. Taylor wants to talk to you.”
    “Stay here for a few minutes, Danny, all right? I’ll be back shortly.”
    Danny nodded, his attention on the game.
    Quinn hurried to find Seth. “What’s wrong?”
    “Well, the good news is that so far Delores’s cardiac enzymes and her troponin level aren’t too high. We’ve given her a little fluid and she’s been feeling better. But given her age and risk factors, the cardiologist would still like to do a cardiac catheterization, just in case.”
    “Has she agreed to the procedure?” Quinn asked.
    Seth grimaced. “No. We could use your help with that. Michael Hendricks, the cardiologist, tried to get her consent but she refused.”
    “I’ll see what I can do to convince her,” Quinn said, knowing the woman could be pigheaded and stubborn. He pasted a smile on his face as he entered her room. “I hear you’re feeling better.”
    “Well enough to go home.” The spark was back in her eyes. “I guess I was dehydrated, my electrolytes had gotten out of whack. Tell them to let me go home.”
    “Don’t be too hasty,” Quinn chided. He knew IV fluids would make her feel better, but right now flu was the least of her concerns. “Your heart put out a few irregular beats, and they’d like to do a procedure just to be sure you’re all right.”
    “I don’t need a procedure.”
    “Delores, you were sick half the night. It might be a sign that something is wrong with your heart. What if you get sick again and I’m not there to help with Danny?Then what? Are you willing to put Danny through that again?”
    The argument was enough to make her snap her mouth shut. After a long moment, she sighed. “Do you really think this heart procedure is necessary?”
    Quinn didn’t hesitate. “Yes. I do.”
    “Then I’ll have it done.”
    “Good. Danny and I can wait here for you.”
    “There’s no need to wait,” she immediately protested. “I’m sure they’ll call you when I’m finished.”
    He wasn’t going to argue about that, either. They’d wait, even if he had to fudge the truth. “All right, then, we’ll see you when you’re finished. Take care of yourself.” He leaned over the bed and pressed a kiss to her cheek.
    “Thanks, Quinn.”
    He gently squeezed her hand and then went back out to find Seth talking to the tall, dark-haired man he recognized as Michael Hendricks. “She’s all yours,” he said.
    Seth and Michael took over Delores’s care while he went to find Danny in the staff lounge where he’d left him. When he came closer, a familiar voice made him slow down and pause just outside the door.
    “How do I say, How are you? Like this?” Leila’s voice asked.
    Danny nodded eagerly, using his small fingers to help Leila’s hand form the correct sign of sweeping two fingers up and out from the chest.
    “Okay, let me try that again.” She pursed her lips in concentration and then