Zane Wayne Pt. 02

"You both deserve a night on the town for everything you have done this summer. We know how hard tomorrow is going to be so we thought we would give you two some alone time. Now get going."

I looked at Lindsay and the realization of what was happening hit home. Her face teared up in agony as the tears started in earnest. I opened my arms for her and she threw herself against me sobbing into my chest.

"Shhhhhhh"

I just held her in my arms as tightly as I could. Holding her, soothing her, rocking her. Finally her sobs subsided and I whispered in her ear.

"I am going to put your stuff in the truck, I will be waiting when you are ready."

I pulled the truck up to the house, put her luggage in the back seat and waited outside. They must have been saying their goodbyes all afternoon because she came out in no time at all.

I opened my arms and greeted her with a very soft, slow, sensuous kiss.

"Are you ready my love?"

"Yes."

"May I ask a favor of you?"

"Of course."

"This will be our last night together for the next five weeks. Promise me you'll try to enjoy it. This is a celebration, not a funeral."

"I will try, it is just so hard thinking about being away from you."

"We will be fine my dear. We have the rest of our lives, a few weeks here and there is not going to kill us."

"Speak for yourself, it might kill me not to get those good night kisses."

"You will just enjoy your welcome home kiss that much more then. ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

I drove us the hour to Cheyenne, neither of us had much to say. We were both content in the moment, her by my side with her head laying on my shoulder.

I took us to the Hilton first and got us checked in. Normally having her alone in a hotel room would be time for instant sex, but neither of us were feeling amorous at the moment.

It was a short walk to the Metropolitan, an upscale restaurant in downtown Cheyenne. Looking at the prices, I was thankful Ron had insisted I use his credit card for everything.

Lindsay ordered a nice bottle of wine, and I ordered a double shot of crown on the rocks. We were sitting beside each other, always touching neither of us wanting to let go yet.

We decided to be adventurous and try new things. Neither of us had eaten calamari before, so we ordered that as an appetizer and slowly sipped our drinks. We had nothing on our agenda tonight so we took our time.

We were talking quietly when we heard a voice.

"Lindsay, sorry to interrupt but I just wanted to say hi."

"Dr Sands, hello how are you?"

"I am fine thanks, are you taking any contracts yet?"

"I am flying out for my first one tomorrow in New York City."

"Wow, the big apple, well enjoy and remember I will always have a position for you here in Cheyenne if you ever get tired of traveling."

"Thank you Dr Sands, that is very flattering."

"No problem at all, you are a natural and we would be lucky to have you. I will let you get back to your dinner, good luck."

"Thank you."

I looked at Lindsay and raised my eyebrow.

"That is some pretty high praise. I am proud of you."

"Thanks, I loved working here, hopefully every hospital is half as good."

****************************

As much as I hated leaving Zane, I was starting to get excited for my first trip.

I was lucky enough to get a window seat on the short flight to Denver. I felt the plane lurch forward and start hurdling down the runway, suddenly the noise dropped off and I felt us lift into the air. I looked down and thought about Zane down there watching me fly away.

I felt the plane turn hard, I gripped my armrest in fear. I looked around and saw everyone else didn't seem concerned so I tried to calm myself. Not only was this my first time on a plane, it was one of the few times in my life I had even been out of the state, and that was only a few trips to Denver.

I caught my connecting flight in Denver, texting back and forth with Zane during my layover. Then came the long flight to NYC. I was speechless when the plane finally landed at JFK. I had never seen so many people in one place in my life, and none seemed very friendly.

I took an Uber to the extended stay hotel the travel nurses were all staying at. The hotel was only a couple blocks from the hospital and I was awed by how huge it was. Standing in line to check in, I couldn't help but smile. The realization of a lifelong dream was finally upon me.

"Hey, are you the fresh meat?"

I turned to the voice, not sure if they were talking to me or not. Standing before me was a stocky black woman with short hair, piercings in her ears, nose, lips and god knows where else.

"I am sorry?"

"Are you the new NICU nurse?"

"Yeah, I am Lindsay."

I stuck out my hand and she took it in her hand.

"Qwanta, Is this your first gig?"

"Yeah, you can tell?"

"Girl, we need to talk! Let's get you checked in and I will show you around."

Qwanta helped me get checked in and settled in my room.

"I am sure you have a fairy tale about how much fun you are going to have, but you need to steel yourself to the reality that this is going to be really hard on you."

"Why?

"This is an inner city hospital, which means lots of low income patients who will treat you like shit. Most would just as soon steal everything they can rather than get the care they need. Speaking of which, leave all your jewelry locked in your room safe. If you wear that bling you will be molested nonstop until it's stolen from you."

Unconsciously I reached up and rubbed the pendant on the necklace Zane had gotten me, and shuddered at the thought of having them taken from me.

"Thank you for helping me, what else should I know?"

"The hospital doesn't care about you at all. They will use you and abuse you. They know your contract in and out and will exploit every loophole they can find."

"I'm confused, like what?"

"Don't plan on a day off for a while, and if you get one you will be too exhausted to do anything fun."

"Not me, my contract says I am capped at sixty hours a week."

"Read the small print. It says unless it directly impacts patient care. Trust me, they say it always impacts patient care. I have been here three weeks, had one day off and averaged eighty hours a week."

"How long have you been doing this?"

"Three years now, my wife is a travel nurse too. We are banking as much as we can now so we can retire when we are thirty with five million in the bank. We will probably take a contract every few months in places like Hawaii or Monterey Bay."

"Do you like it?"

"For the most part yeah. I try to take an easy hospital every other contract. The hospitals that pay the most you know are going to be the worst. That is why this one pays eighty. A good one in a nice city only pays sixty."

"The things they never tell you."

"No they don't. I will try to help you out as much as I can, but I am only here three more weeks. Come on, let's go grab some food."

I was heartbroken, I had a full list of things I wanted to see and do while I was here. Monday came and I did indeed have my eyes opened.

The permanent staff was overworked and unfriendly.

Instead of dealing with preemie babies, or ones with heart defects, almost all of them were the babies of drug addicts.

They were addicted themselves so we had to wean them off the drugs the mom was on. We also had to deal with the resulting birth defects.

I cried myself to sleep every night after my call with Zane. With the time difference I was going to bed shortly after he was done with dinner. It was usually the only highlight of my day.

Qwanta was right, I didn't have my first day off until I was twenty days in. Then, the only thing I wanted to do was relax and sleep.

Maybe between one of my contracts I could bring Zane here and we could enjoy the sites together.

Oh how I longed to be home again......

****************************************

I paced nervously at the gate waiting for Lindsay to show. Her flight had been delayed twice. She was originally supposed to land at five, looking at my phone I saw it was almost ten.

Finally I saw her coming down the aisle, to say I was shocked would be an understatement. Lindsay always had a nice trim figure, but now she looked almost gaunt. She had lost fifteen to twenty pounds that she couldn't afford to lose.

As soon as she saw me she started running, dropping her bags several feet away she threw herself onto me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. I could feel the desperation in her embrace. This was not the embrace of two lovers, this was holding someone who had been through hell.

I felt guilty, Lindsay had hinted at staying, but she needed to experience her dream. Who knew her dream was actually a nightmare. The words the doctor said to Lindsay the night before she left ran through my head.

"Come my love, do you want to eat first, or just go to the hotel?"

"Hotel please."

We gathered her luggage and I lugged them out to the truck. It took a real effort since Lindsay had a death grip on my arm.

When we finally made it to our room, it was past eleven and I could tell she was exhausted. Both mentally and physically.

"Do you need a shower, or right to bed."

"Bed."

I nodded my head, quickly brushed my teeth and started undressing. She started doing the same, until she got down to her bra, then she hesitated.

"Zane, I know it has been five weeks, but can you just hold me tonight?"

My heart hurt for her.

"That is all I wanted to do tonight too dear."

She unhooked and removed her bra, and I handed her the t-shirt I had just taken off. She loved sleeping in my unwashed t-shirts, loving the smell of me around her. She had me save up several for her to take on her trip. After two weeks she had complained that my scent had worn off.

One of the only happy calls I had from her was when she got my package containing several more of my worn smelly t-shirts.

We crawled into bed and she molded herself to me wanting as much physical contact as possible. I just held her in my arms as tightly as possible. The one time I got up to use the bathroom she whimpered when I pulled away from her.

When we arrived back at the ranch Lisa and Grams immediately saw what I did. They both went into mother mode pumping food into her. The first week she was home she rarely left my side.

The evenings after dinner we spent in my bed or up on the ridge. Usually just chatting and holding each other. We made love regularly, but it was always slow, passionate, and emotional.

She had already signed a contract with a hospital in Los Angeles. Thankfully it was only for four weeks.

One night, we were laying in bed snuggling, listening to some music when I decided to broach the subject with her.

"Lindsay, have you signed another contract yet?"

"No, although they have been pushing me to. NICU nurses are in really high demand right now."

"I have no right to ask this, but would you hold off signing one until you get back from LA?"

She leaned over and gave me a soft kiss.

"You have every right to ask, our lives are intertwined. But I have to ask, why?"

"I don't want to see you end up with another New York. Let's see how LA goes and reevaluate how you chose contract locations."

"Ok, that sounds like a good idea."

The night before she flew out, we stayed at the same Hilton and had dinner at the Metropolitan.

The two weeks had flown by, and thankfully Lindsay had regained most of the weight she had lost. A few good nights of sleep and healthy meals and physically she was back to normal.

Mentally I wasn't so sure. She had been away from home the last four years at college, that wasn't the issue. She had told me about the babies hooked on drugs, the indifferent mothers, and the uncaring staff. Lindsay was a great nurse because she truly cared about the babies and the mothers, and to see the neglect and indifference really tore at her heart. I wasn't sure she could take another contract like that before it started to affect who she was.

The next morning at the terminal gate, I held her for as long as I could.

"This one is only four weeks babe, you will be back in these arms before you know it."

"I know, but a day without you seems like a year."

I kissed her and watched her walk into the terminal.

I had to make a quick stop downtown and check in with my parole officer. When I came out I saw the jewelry store that I had bought her graduation present from. With time to kill I decided to see if anything caught my eye.

The same ancient sales lady was working when I entered. She noticed me right away and smiled.

"Why hello young man, did she like the necklace and earrings?

She may be old, but her mind was sharp. I had only been here one time and that was several months ago.

"Yes she loved them."

"And now you are here to keep your promise?"

"My promise?"

"Yes, when the time came, you promised that you would buy the engagement ring from me."

"Ah, I am not ready to fulfill that promise yet, but when the time comes, I won't break it."

"I know you won't, I can see that in you."

***************************

LA proved to be better than NYC, but not by much.

Lindsay called me nightly. I could tell by her voice that she was still not enjoying herself, but at least the pace was more manageable, they weren't working her to death. The patients there had their own issues. Mainly they were poor hispanics, and many of the mothers were very young.

I thought of our future together, and knew that she would not be able to be happy and healthy with a career as a travel nurse. I didn't want to be the one to tell her, but I think she had already figured it out.

Her third week away, I was awakened by her call in the middle of the night.

"ZANE!"

I could tell she was sobbing on the other end of the phone

"What is it Lindsay?"

"A g-g-girl came in today. She had a baby, a preemie."

"Ok."

"She was twelve Zane, fucking twelve. How can a fucking twelve year old have a baby?"

"Oh Lindsay."

"Zane, I can't do this, please don't make me take another contract. I just want to come home and stay home."

"Of course dear, I would never make you do anything you didn't want to do."

"You said you would go back to Texas if I didn't do it."

"Yes, but that was to make sure you at least tried it, but if you don't like it I won't make you keep doing it."

"You won't?"

"Of course not dear. When you come home, go see Dr Sands. I want you to be happy more than anything"

"Zane, if I come home, I am not sleeping in the house anymore, my place is with you."

"I can't think of anything better, as long as your family is ok with it."

"Mom and Grams couldn't understand why I wasn't there already. Grandpa may start cleaning his shotgun as a show, but he will be fine."

"OK baby, get through another week. But can you take a week to recover before you start at Cherokee?"

"Yeah, I am going to need some serious you time."

"Well, you will get plenty of it from now on."

"I love you Zane."

"I love you babe."

"Goodnight."

The next morning at breakfast I was a little nervous, but I knew I had to be a man.

"Ron, Lindsay is coming home next week of course. She told me that she wants to live with me in the apartment."

He didn't say anything, just raised his eyebrow at me to continue.

"If she does, I want her to be there as my fiance, that is if you approve."

He tried to hide it, but his eyes started tearing up.

"There is nothing that would make me happier than to give you my blessing."

"Thanks Ron, that is a huge relief. Can we keep it between us for now? Just in case she says no."

Ron started busting out laughing at the absurdity of the thought. Grams came in to see what the ruckus was about but he just told her it was a man joke. She rolled her eyes and went back into the kitchen.

"Zane, you have brought nothing but happiness to this home since the day you arrived. It is comforting to know you will always be part of the family."

*************************

Once again I paced nervously at the gate waiting for Lindsay to appear. Since she was coming from LA, she was able to get a flight that landed at eleven.

I was worried about the toll this contract took on her mind and body. I was sick to my stomach with nerves with what I was about to do.

When she finally started down the gateway, my relief was immediate. Instead of welcoming a worn out haggard woman like last time, I welcomed a happy beaming woman instead. She never took her eyes off me, just walked up to me, dropped her bags, wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a long passionate kiss.

After she pulled back I looked at her in surprise.

"I am not complaining, but that is a different greeting than last month."

"That is because the thought of never leaving your side again made everything right in the world. I have been looking forward to tonight since you agreed with me moving in with you."

"Ah, so you are looking forward to a good night's sleep in my arms tonight?"

"Babe, I hate to break this to you, but we aren't going to be sleeping tonight, so you better eat a good dinner."

"Speaking of eating, can we have lunch before hitting the road back to the ranch?"

"Sounds great, I am starving actually."

Thankfully, my plan was working out. There was a little cafe right next to the jewelry store I had planned on taking her to, hoping she would be in a good mood and hungry.

We had a long enjoyable lunch, making small talk. She was all smiles, giving me hungry sexy looks. Every once in a while she would lick her lips while looking into my eyes. I was so relieved the old Lindsay was back.

When we finished and paid the bill, I took her hand as we walked out of the cafe. Instead of walking her to the truck, I walked her next door to the jewelry store.

"Where are we going?"

"We have to stop in here, there is a promise I have to keep."

The End

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