The Neurosurgeon's Unexpected Family

by Deanne Anders

  “She was the first employee I hired when I opened the practice. She’s very dedicated.” William took a seat behind his desk. “I checked on Avery and her teacher said she was doing fine.”

  “I told you she’d be okay. I’ll call a little later to see how she’s doing. That way it won’t look like you don’t trust them,” Hannah told him as she looked at her watch. Though working with Marion had been trying, at least the time was passing quickly.

  “Good, and thank you. I’ll drop her off tomorrow by myself.” William sighed. “None of this is going to be easy, is it?”

  “Not really. It’s always harder than you think it’s going to be,” Hannah said, “but you’ll get the hang of it. What did I tell you was the first rule of parenting?”

  “Don’t let them see fear? I think it might be too late,” William joked, smiling at her. “Knowing that you are looking out for Avery so I don’t make any major mistakes means a lot, but I also know you have a child of your own and your courses. If it becomes too much, just let me know. Angela’s at the house two days a week, so at least that’s taken care of—”

  The door to his office flew open. “I need you in the waiting room,” Marion said before turning and running back to the front of the office.

  Hannah and William rushed out behind her.

  Hannah immediately recognized the young man on the floor. Zach had been in a car accident several months earlier and she had been his neuro nurse. Kneeling at his side, she noted that his eyes were open but not blinking, his muscles taut as violent spasms racked his body. Resting her hand on his chest as best she could, Hannah checked his breathing while William examined the bleeding cut on his head.

  Remembering where she had seen the dressing tray, Hannah ran to the supply room and returned with some four-by-four gauze pads and wrap.

  “Call 9-1-1 for an ambulance. Tell them he’s having a grand mal seizure and I want him taken to the ER,” William instructed Marion in that calm voice that Hannah had always admired.

  She felt Zach’s body go limp beneath her hand and was relieved to see his chest rise with a deep breath.

  “Will he be okay?” a voice asked.

  Turning her head, Hannah saw Zach’s wife, Sheri, standing behind her, eyes full of tears.

  Hannah left the young man’s side as Marion made the call and William rechecked his vitals. She knew how scary it was to watch a loved one suffer while their life was in danger. All you could do was stand on the sidelines and wait.

  “Yes, he’s going to be okay. He had a tonic-clonic seizure, what they call a grand mal. He could be out for a while now that it’s over, but his breathing is good. See how his color is all pink? That’s a good sign,” Hannah reassured her as she took the woman’s shaking hands. “Has he done this before?”

  “No, nothing like this. He’s had those small ones like he had in the hospital, but he’s been taking his medication just like the doctor ordered,” Sheri said, absently rubbing her small baby bump. She looked up at Hannah. “What if I had been at home alone? What would I have done?”

  “You’d do just what we did—call 9-1-1,” Hannah said, turning to look at William as he came up behind her.

  The door opened to the waiting room and the few people in the waiting room stepped aside as two EMTs pushed a stretcher into the room.

  “I’ve already called and talked to the doctor in the ER that will be taking care of Zach,” he told Sheri. “They’re going to take him to CT as soon as he gets there. I’ll be in to see you and Zach as soon as the results are back.” At her nod, William stepped away to talk to the EMTs.

  For the next hour, Hannah and Marion worked hard to get the last of the patients seen before lunch so that William could leave to check on Zach. She couldn’t hide her excitement when William invited her to accompany him. This was what she had looked forward to—being able to see the patient from the perspective of the doctor.

  “Avery’s teacher says she’s doing great, by the way,” Hannah said as she climbed into William’s car. “There was apparently a tussle between her and a little boy when he tried to take a toy from her, but no blood was shed and Avery maintained her control of the fire truck. So, it’s all good.”

  “Blood? Is she okay?” William asked with that deer-in-the-headlights look she had come to expect from him whenever they talked about his little sister. He was so scared he was going to do the wrong thing. He was like a new dad, only he’d missed the newborn stage that would’ve helped prepare him for what was ahead.

  “I was joking. It was just two toddlers wanting the same toy,” she said.

  “Maybe I should go back to my original plan and call the agency to have someone come into the house.” He maneuvered the car onto the road.

  “Let’s try this first. I really think it could be good for her to be around other kids her age. There were times when Lindsey had to have home care because of her medical condition. It was hard for her to watch all the kids out playing and not be able to join them. Which reminds me of something I wanted to ask you,” she noted as they neared the hospital. “Does Avery have a pediatrician here in Houston?”

  “Yes, I had Shelley take her to Dr. Anderson in the pediatric clinic. One of my father’s lawyers had her pediatrician in Dallas email her records over. And yes, I know I should have been the one to take her,” he said as he pulled into the staff parking lot at the hospital.

  “We’ll go together the first time. And it’s fine if you need help sometimes. Just because you’re going to be a single dad, doesn’t mean you can’t have some help from your friends.” Hannah felt her heart squeeze. Hopefully, she would be one of those friends.

  * * *

  William was glad to see that Zach was awake when they walked into his room. The CT results had come back and, fortunately, there had been no damage as a result of him hitting his head on the office floor during the seizure.

  “Hey, Doc,” Zach said when he spotted them. “Hannah? It’s nice to see you. Are you working in the ER today?”

  “No, I’ve taken some time off so I can concentrate on school,” Hannah said as they approached his bedside, “and Dr. Cooper is helping me get my clinical hours in neuro surgery. I was at the office today when you had your seizure.”

  “You’re looking better than when we last saw you,” William noted as he examined the sutures on the side of Zach’s head. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m a little freaked out and very tired, to be honest,” Zach admitted, reaching for Sheri’s hand. “We both are.”

  “Did the CT show anything? He fell pretty hard. I tried to grab him,” Sheri said, her voice breaking on a sob.

  “It’s not your fault, honey. There’s no way you could have kept me from hitting the floor,” Zach said then raised her hand to his lips for a kiss. “Besides, you have more than just me to worry about right now.”

  William looked away from the young couple. He’d never been one for public displays of affection. He heard someone sigh and looked over at Hannah, whose eyes were brimming with tears.

  He leaned closer to her. “Do I need to get you a hankie?” he whispered, surprised to hear the tease come out of his own mouth.

  “Even you have to admit that they’re a sweet couple. They’re going to make great parents,” she said softly before sighing again.

  William straightened and cleared his throat. “There’s no change on the CT from the last one you had, but I want to admit you at least for one night. I’m going to adjust your dose of anti-seizure meds and hopefully that will take care of the problem. If not, we’ll look at changing the medication to see if that helps. Right now, I want you to take it easy for the day and I’ll—” he looked over at Hannah “—we’ll be in to see you later.”

  They left the couple arguing about whether Sheri would spend the night at the hospital. William helped Hannah transcribed a note for Zach’s chart and exp
lained the admissions orders.

  He wasn’t surprised at how quickly Hannah caught on. She was smart and already familiar with the hospital’s computer system. What did surprise him was how many of the ER nurses stopped to talk to her.

  “Did you ever work in this ER?” he asked after another nurse stopped by.

  “Worked here? No. Spent a lot of time here? Oh, yes. Before Lindsey received her new heart, she was in and out of the hospital so much that we both knew all the nurses.”

  “It must have been hard being a single parent of a child as sick as Lindsey,” he said. He hadn’t lasted three days with a soon-to-be toddler and that was with Shelley’s help. He couldn’t imagine what it had been like for Hannah all on her own.

  He’d wanted to ask her several times about Lindsey’s father, but as someone who wasn’t comfortable with people querying his own private life, he didn’t think it fair to ask questions about hers. Still, from what he had seen, Hannah had handled everything life had thrown at her and her daughter by herself. He just hoped he could do half as well with Avery.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  HANNAH FROZE, STUNNED by the sight in front of her. She needed a fan, a glass of water—anything that would cool her heated body and quickly.

  Standing in the middle of the staircase that led into the basement, she had the perfect view of flexing muscles and a hard, bare chest that any man would be proud of. How had she not known what this man had been hiding under his lab coat?

  Her breath caught as she watched William lift the heavy weighted bar over his head, giving her a view of sweat-drenched abs and a small line of hair that led to a pair of low-waisted gym shorts. She knew she couldn’t just stand there and ogle the man, but her legs refused to continue down the stairs. And she certainly wasn’t going to leave now. Her poor neglected body wouldn’t have let her anyhow. It hadn’t been this close to an undressed man, not intimately at least, in more than...was it four or was it five years? And she had never seen one like this.

  A shudder ran through her as hot need settled in her lower abdomen and the parts of her body that she’d ignored for too long protested. Could a woman orgasm just by looking at a man? If it was possible, this would be the man that could make it happen.

  The loud clang of metal brought her back to her senses just in time to see the man she was openly lusting after run a towel over tight, damp abs before moving to some type of leg machine that had him on his back. He started pumping strong thighs up then down.

  Hannah realized she couldn’t just stand there. At some point he would look over and see her, and there was no way she’d be able to hide the reaction that had taken control of her. She had two choices: sneak back up the stairs or walk down and face the temptation.

  Who was she kidding? There was no way she was strong enough to leave now. She just had to make sure William didn’t notice how the sight of all him hot and sweaty affected her.

  She pushed back against all those long-ignored hormones fighting to free themselves. She could do this. She’d been without a man for a long time and survived. She’d just ignore him. It would be easy. All she had to do was to pretend he was naked...wait, what? No. God no, that was what you did if you were nervous giving a speech, not lusting after a man. It was hopeless. She needed to leave.

  “Are you coming down or are you going to run away?” William quipped as he walked toward her.

  She would have probably run if it hadn’t been for the taunt in his voice. And was that a smile on his lips? In all the years she’d worked with him, she couldn’t remember seeing Dr. Cooper smile like that. But this wasn’t Dr. Cooper. This was William, and she had an uneasy feeling that this man was a lot more dangerous than the Ice Prince of the OR.

  “I didn’t want to disturb you.” She forced the words out over parched lips. She really did need that glass of cold water. She remembered the monitor in her hand. “And you forgot this.”

  “Sorry. I haven’t gotten used to needing a monitor yet. And you’re not disturbing me. There’s enough equipment here for two,” he said before running the towel down the length of his body.

  Hannah closed her eyes and bit down on her poor lip to keep a moan from escaping. Surely he didn’t mean that the way it had come out. It had to be her sex-fogged mind that had turned his words into innuendo. She had to leave before she did something that would embarrass both of them. Hannah looked down at the baby monitor clenched between her hands. Water, she needed water.

  She cleared her throat. “I’m going to run back up to the kitchen and get a bottle of water,” she said and turned, fighting the urge to run.

  “There’s plenty in the fridge over in the corner. Hold on, I’ll get you one,” he said.

  It was no use. The man was determined to torment her. It was okay. She deserved it. She should have run the moment she’d seen him. Instead, she’d stood there like a hormonal teenager.

  Hannah walked down the stairs, reaching for the bottle of water he held out to her as she passed him. Twisting off the cap, she upended the bottle and drained half of it before pausing. She put the lid back on and then, straightening her back and holding her head high, walked to a stationary bike and sat the baby monitor and bottle of water down beside it. A few miles on the bike should be enough to cool her traitorous body down.

  Four miles later, she was feeling much better. The bicycle faced a glass door that lead to the backyard and she’d forced herself to keep her eyes trained there. Behind her, bars and weights rattled and clinked together, but she refused to look over at the man who used them. By the fifth mile, the embarrassment was gone. Why was she feeling guilty of something? Okay, maybe she was guilty of a little innocent gawking. But if the tables had been turned, she was certain he would have done the same thing. Right?

  And wouldn’t it be fun to turn those tables on him? She waited for the voice inside her head to tell her not to do it. Apparently, her mother had been shocked speechless. It was a good thing, too, because Hannah had no intention of listening to her voice of reason.

  * * *

  William couldn’t keep his eyes off the woman that had showed up in his home gym. Dressed in a tight exercise tee and shorts and sitting on the bike in front of him, he was tortured by every twist of her hips as she pedaled her way into dreams he had no business dreaming.

  He’d taken her into his home and office, but he could not let her any closer. He had very precise conditions for the women he spent time with, and the first one they clearly understood was that there would be no happily-ever-after with him. He’d always been up front about that, and had otherwise provided them with all the things that he could give them. Yet Hannah was not the type of woman who would accept expensive jewelry or exotic trips instead of love and a future. He had neither of those things to give.

  Dropping the weight in his hand, he reached for a towel at the same time Hannah stopped pedaling.

  Good. Maybe now she’ll leave.

  He shouldn’t have teased her, but when he’d turned to see her standing there, a look in her eyes that invited him to take everything he wanted from her, he’d had to change the mood. He knew he’d embarrassed her, and had assumed she’d run. It wasn’t until she’d marched down the stairs and mounted the bike that he’d realized his mistake.

  A deep moan echoed across the room and he felt his groin tighten with the sound. Oh, he’d definitely made a mistake in teasing her. She stretched her arms up and arched her back, shaking out golden hair that hung down her back in thick waves. Thoughts of knotting his hand through those waves and baring her neck for his lips were enough to have him turning away from her and looking for his bottle of water.

  He let the cold fluid run down his throat and then splashed some across his face. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Hannah had moved to the chest press. He watched as she propped one long leg on the seat and ran the towel up and down from ankle to thigh. She then repeated the proces
s on the other leg before looking over at him.

  “I’m sorry, did you want to use this?” she asked.

  She wasn’t playing fair and she knew it. He waited until she sat back on the bench and raised her arms to grab the handles before he pounced.

  * * *

  Hannah let go of the grin she had been hiding. She would have to be blind not to see that William had been just as affected by her as she had been by him.

  Yeah, stud, let’s see how you like it.

  She felt the heat of his breath on her neck before she heard him.

  “You’re playing a very dangerous game, Hannah. You might want to make sure you understand the rules before you go any further.”

  She closed her eyes as his whispered words shivered down her spine. Her breath caught when she opened them. He was gone.

  She waited until she heard his footsteps on the stairs before turning around. Her body trembled with a need she had never felt before her breathing was ragged and irregular. What had he meant? Games? Rules? The only thing that was clear was that he didn’t play fair. She had only thought to get some of her pride back after being caught staring at him.

  No, that wasn’t true. She had wanted to see how he would respond to her. And he was right. She had no idea what the rules were for playing games with a man like William. But she was a quick learner when it came to something she was interested in. And she was finding herself more and more interested in this new Dr. Cooper. Besides, right now, they were just doing some innocent flirting. Lots of people flirted without things going any further. And if things did go further? Well, she’d worry about that later. What she needed was a cold shower, which had nothing to do with her workout.

  * * *

  William plowed through the long line of patients scheduled for the day. Unable to sleep the night before, he’d prowled the banks of the lake until early morning. He’d thought to scare Hannah off when he’d approached her with his words of warning in the gym. He’d wanted her to understand that she was playing way out of her league. Only, that wasn’t what had happened. From the moment he’d caught her standing on those stairs with those deep blue eyes trained on him, he’d known that he was the one in trouble.