Love's Redemption

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Why would Conrad call me this late at night?

I was still questioning the odd timing when Brandon said, "Oh, he sent you a text, too."

I blinked as he handed me the phone. I was still drained and admittedly out of it. Noticing this, he pointed out helpfully, "You don't have to answer if you

I was in the middle of deciding when the phone went silent after the call was automatically

declined. I took the phone and scrolled through the messages, the ones I had left unread since morning.

"Maddie, can we meet?"

"There's something I need to tell you, but I don't know I should."

"Text me back when you get this."

Conrad followed up with two texts in the afternoon.

"I'm still waiting for your text, Maddie."

"Are you busy, Maddie?"

I could feel his anxiousness through these messages and that he had been waiting for me to reply. If there was something he needed to tell me and he In the years since I had known Conrad, he had protected and watched over me like an older brother. He wouldn't tell me anything if he thought he cou

After a moment of hesitation, I returned his call. He picked up almost instantly. "Maddie, where are you?" "Conrad, what's wrong?" I cut to the chase. He was quiet for a beat or two. I was about to repeat my question when he asked, "Are you all right?"

He must have heard how weak I sounded over the phone, but I was more anxious to know what he had to say. "I'm fine, Conrad. What did you want to tell me?"

"Can we meet?" he asked.

I was lying in a hospital bed, so meeting him was an impossibility for now. Just as I was about to ask him to tell me over the phone, the door opened. Lisa came in and snapped at me when she saw me speaking on the phone. "What business could be so important that you simply must get on the pho

I covered the phone, hoping to muffle her words before Conrad caught them. However, it was too late. He asked frantically, "Are you sick? Are you in t couldn't keep this from him any longer, so I said, "I had a dizzy spell. It's no big deal."

Conrad made no reply, but before I could ask him what he wanted to tell me, he said, "Get some rest."

He hung up after that. I had no choice but to set my phone aside, only to find Lisa already pulling out her stethoscope.

“Dr. Carline, last I checked, you were a gynecologist," I joked.

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"Shut it," she snapped at me again.

I kept my mouth shut and let her listen to my heartbeat for a long moment. She then straightened up and kept the stethoscope. "Your heartbeat sounds normal. You

should be all right."

After that, she shot me a dirty look and retorted, "Also, just because I'm a gynecologist, it doesn't mean I can't handle minor conditions like yours." Minor conditions. I knew she had said this to keep me from worrying. This was typical of Lisa, who was often brash on the outside but considerate with

I hooked my pinky around hers and asked softly, “Are you working the night shift?"

"No, I'm getting off work as soon as I'm done examining you," she said, and I sputtered.

I joked, "I thought you'd stay to keep me company!"

Lisa jutted her lower lip in Brandon's direction. "It seems someone else beat me to the job."

If I were being honest, Lisa would make a better and more practical company than Brandon right now. didn't know why I felt this way. Perhaps it was because my

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relationship with Brandon had yet to be defined, or maybe I simply didn't want him to see such a pathetic side of me.

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I nodded, and Lisa gave me yet another incredulous look as if to say that if Krefused to let Brandon

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caretaker for the night, he might very well take it the wrong way.

Im going to bring up the takeout I ordered and give you ladies some privacy," Brandon offered when he sensed the wordless conversation between me

As soon as the door closed behind him, Lisa jabbed my forehead with a finger. “I'm starting to think your moral code is a little twisted, you succubus."

I laughed. "It's hical to scold the invalid. Also, my moral code is far from twisted, and I'm not a succubus!"