A Soldier's Secret

by RaeAnne Thayne

  The butterflies that had been dancing in her stomach since earlier on the beach seemed to pick up their pace. “The substitute doctor is Dr. Sanderson’s son, Eli.”

  “Whoa! Did your fall make you psychic or something?” Tiffany asked with much more respect than she usually awarded Melissa.

  “In a way, I guess you could say that. Sort of. I bumped into him on the beach this morning. He was a firsthand witness when I made my graceful face-plant into the sand, and he ended up kindly helping me up.”

  The memory of the concern in his blue eyes and of his strong fingers holding her hand, his skin warm against hers, made her nerve endings tingle.

  She firmly clamped down on the memory. She would have to work closely with him for at least the next few weeks while Wendell recovered. It would be a disaster if she couldn’t manage to keep a lid on her unexpected attraction to the man.

  “I keep forgetting you grew up in town,” Carmen said. “You must know Eli, then.”

  While Cannon Beach could swarm with tourists during the summer months, it was really a small town at heart. Most permanent residents knew one another.

  “We went to school together. He was older. I was a freshman the year he was a senior. I didn’t know he was going to be filling in until I bumped into him this morning. Last I heard, we were getting a temp from the Portland agency.”

  “That’s what I heard, too,” Carmen said. “I guess we have to roll with what we get.”

  “I’m pretty sure plenty of women in Cannon Beach will want to roll with Doc Sanderson’s son when they see him.” Tiffany smirked.

  Melissa turned her shocked laugh into a cough. “He told me he wasn’t sure until the last minute whether he’d be able to make it back to fill in.”

  “You know where he’s been, right?” Carmen asked.

  “Some kind of war zone,” Tiffany said.

  Wendell had told her something about what his son was doing, how since finishing his internship in emergency medicine several years earlier, Eli had been on a special assignment from the military to work with aid agencies, setting up medical clinics and providing care to desperate, helpless people whose countries were in turmoil. He had been deployed almost constantly over the last five years.

  Wendell had been so proud of his son for stepping up, even though his service put him in harm’s way time and again. He had also been worried for him.

  “He feels things so deeply,” her boss had said. “I can’t imagine it’s easy, the kinds of things he has to see now.”

  She remembered feeling great sympathy for Eli and admiration for him, though at the time she had pictured him as the nerdy, scholarly, skinny teenager she remembered, not the buff, gorgeous man she had encountered that morning on the beach.

  “One thing I need to ask, though. Maybe you know the answer,” Carmen said. “How can he just show up in Cannon Beach and start practicing medicine here? Do I need to check with the licensing board? Doesn’t he need an Oregon license or something?”

  “Fun and interesting fact. The particular license given to U.S. Army doctors allows them to practice medicine anywhere.”

  Melissa could feel her vertebrae stiffen and nerves flutter at the deep voice from behind her.

  Oh, it was going to be a long two or three weeks if she didn’t take control of this ridiculous crush she had suddenly formed for Eli Sanderson.

  “I guess that makes sense,” Carmen said.

  “Yes,” he answered. “Think how confusing it would be if an army doc had to go before the licensing board every time he was called to an emergency or had a new assignment.”

  “That would be a serious pain.” Melissa hated the slightly breathless note in her voice. She sounded ridiculous, like the kind of brainless bikini-clad groupies who used to follow the pro surfers on the circuit.

  She cleared her throat, wishing she could clear away her nerves as easily.

  “Good to know. I’ll file that little tidbit away, in case I’m ever on a game show where ‘Army Doctors’ is a category.”

  Tiffany snorted, and Eli’s mouth quirked up into a little smile, teeth flashing. She had the strangest feeling he hadn’t found that many things to smile about lately, though she couldn’t have said exactly why she had that impression.

  “That would be the most boring game show ever,” he said. “Unless you love learning about regulations and protocol.”

  “I really don’t. As long as you can legally see your father’s patients, that’s all I care about.”

  “I’ll do my best. I know he’s been worried about his caseload.”

  “Your dad is a great doctor, but he worries too much about his patients,” Tiffany said.

  “Is that possible?” Eli asked.

  “He should have worried a little more about himself. He could barely stand up the last few weeks before the surgery.”

  Tiffany was a bit rough around the edges but like everyone else, she adored Dr. Sanderson and frequently told patients how cool it was that she now worked for the doctor who had delivered her twenty years earlier.

  “Your father was so worried about taking time away from his patients he almost didn’t have the surgery, though his specialist has been urging him to for months. At least as long as I’ve been here,” Melissa said.

  “Longer,” Carmen said, her expression exasperated. The older woman liked to mother everyone, even their boss, who was at least two or three years older than the office manager.

  “I think he would have continued putting it off and hobbling around if he hadn’t injured the right one so badly two weeks ago,” Melissa said. “Then the surgery became not only urgent but imperative.”

  “Everything worked out for the best,” Eli said. “I was able to create a gap in my schedule and here I am, at least for a few weeks.”

  Yes. Here you are.

  She had thought him gorgeous in skintight workout clothes. That was nothing compared to the sight of him in khaki slacks, a white exam coat and a crisply ironed button-down shirt a few shades lighter than his blue eyes.

  She had been a nurse for years and had never been particularly drawn to a physician, until right this moment.

  “How’s the wrist?” he asked.

  At his words, the pain she had been staving off seemed to rush back. She held up the brace and wriggled her fingers. “Still aches but it’s bearable. I agree with you that I should hold off a day or two before I have it x-rayed.”

  “Did you have any time to put ice on it?”

  “A few minutes. Which is the main reason I’m late.”

  “Good. That’s the best thing you can do.”

  They lapsed into silence and she tried to keep from gawking at him. She loved her job, working with Wendell Sanderson. The man had been nothing but kind to her since the day she’d come back to Cannon Beach. She hated thinking things would be awkward and uncomfortable with Eli here.

  She could handle anything for a few weeks, Melissa reminded herself. Even working for a man for whom she had developed a serious thirst.

  “Can you give me the charts of those who have appointments today? I’d like to try familiarizing myself with their files.”

  His words were directed to Carmen yet still provided Melissa the reminder she needed. He was her boss and she couldn’t forget that.

  “I’ve already pulled the charts of those coming in this morning. They’re on your dad’s desk, since I figured you would be setting up in there,” the office manager replied. “I’ll find the rest and bring them in for you.”

  “Thank you.” He gave the woman a polite smile, and Melissa could swear she felt her ovaries melt.

  When he walked back down the hallway toward his office, Melissa slumped into one of the chairs in the waiting room.

  Oh, this was not good. At all. She might have silently wished for a man this morning, but in truth she didn’t have time for that kind of complication. She had Skye and work and friends, not to mention the online classes she was taking to work toward her nurse
practitioner license. There was no room left for her to be stupid about Eli.

  “Are you okay?” Carmen asked.

  “I will be.”

  Eventually.

  “He seems nice, doesn’t he?” Tiffany said. “Dr. Sanderson talks about his son like all the time, but I always pictured him different, somehow. Since he’s in the army, I thought he’d have a buzz cut and be all harsh and by the book.”

  She hadn’t pictured him at all, hadn’t really given Eli Sanderson much thought over the years. Now she was afraid she would be able to think about little else.

  Even her throbbing wrist couldn’t seem to distract her.

  * * *

  “How did your first day go? Any problems or unique diagnoses you think I need to know about?”

  Eli adjusted his dad’s pillow, giving him a stern look. “Your only job right now is to focus on healing from this surgery. I can take care of your patients, got it? You don’t need to worry about them.”

  “I have no concerns on that front,” Wendell assured him. “You’re a better doctor than I ever could have dreamed of being at your age.”

  Eli knew that was far from true. How could it be? His own dreams were haunted by the ghosts of all those he couldn’t save. Miri. Justine. Those ghosts at least had names and faces, but there were scores of others who drifted through, anonymous and lost.

  He let out a breath, wondering when the hell the sense of guilt and loss would leave him. It had been six months but still felt like yesterday.

  He turned his attention back to his father, instead of that war-battered market town.

  “Dad, I could never be half the doctor you are. We both know that. I’ll be trying my whole life to catch up.”

  His father rolled his eyes. “We could be here all day patting each other on the back, but I know what I know. And what I know is that you’re a damn fine doctor and I’m proud to call you my son. There’s no one else on earth I would trust more than you to fill in for me while I’m laid up. When I ask about my patients, it’s only because I’m concerned about them, not because I don’t think you can care for them the way I would.”

  His father had been the best doctor Eli knew. Wendell and his genuine concern for his patients had been the main reason Eli had gone to medical school in the first place. He had wanted to help people, to deliver babies and diagnose illnesses and give little kids their first shots.

  He had never expected that his first years of practicing medicine would be in a series of emergency shelters and refugee camps, but that was the path he had chosen and he couldn’t regret it.

  “If I’m not mistaken, that sweet Julia Garrett was supposed to come in today for a prenatal checkup. She and Will had an early-term miscarriage during her last pregnancy, so I’ve been watching her closely. How did things look today?”

  Though he instinctively wanted to tell his father to put all his patients out of his head, Eli knew that wouldn’t happen. Wendell wanted to stay current on all the people he had cared for over thirty-five years of practicing in Cannon Beach. Eli had a feeling that was the only way his father would be able to endure the long recovery from his double knee replacement.

  “Everything looked good today. The baby measured exactly where she should be at this stage in the pregnancy, the heartbeat sounded strong and steady, and Julia appears healthy and happy. She didn’t report any unusual concerns.”

  “Oh, that’s good. This is her fourth pregnancy—fifth, if you count the baby they lost and sixth if you count the fact that her first were twins—and I wanted her to feel confident and comfortable.”

  As far as Eli was concerned, his father was the iconic family physician. Wendell was dedicated to his patients, compassionate over their troubles and driven to provide them the best possible care. He had delivered some of his own patients—like Will Garrett—and was now delivering the second generation and providing care over their children.

  Those patients had saved his father, plucking him out of the deep depression Wendell had fallen into after Eli’s mother died following a short but hard-fought battle against breast cancer when Eli was twelve.

  They had both been devastated and had dealt with the blow in different ways. Eli had retreated into books, withdrawing from his friends, from baseball, from social activities. His father had done the same, focusing only on his patients and on his son.

  The pain of losing Ada Sanderson had eased over the years but hadn’t left completely. Eli suspected it never would.

  “And how are you, son? I mean, how are you really? You haven’t talked about what happened with that friend of yours, but I know it still eats at you.”

  The question, so intuitive, seemed to knock his own knees out from under him. It had always seemed impossible to conceal his inner struggles from his father’s gimlet gaze. Still, Eli did his best. He had never told Wendell how close he had been to Justine, or how her death and Miri’s had been his fault.

  Somehow he managed to summon an expression he hoped resembled a smile. “I’m good. Why wouldn’t I be? It’s a beautiful time of year to be home in Oregon. I don’t remember the last April I was here. I’m not sure what I’m looking forward to more—watching the spring storms churning across the water or savoring the explosion of flowers.”

  Wendell saw right through him, as usual. His father gave him a searching look even as he shifted on his hospital bed to find a more comfortable position.

  “After all the exotic places the army has sent you, are you sure you won’t be bored out of your mind treating cold sores and high blood pressure?”

  “No. I’m looking forward to that, too, if you want the truth. It will be a nice, calm change of pace. Just what I need to decompress.”

  “Maybe this will help you figure out whether you’re going to stay in the military or settle down somewhere and open a practice. Or maybe join a practice that’s already busy with tourists and locals alike.”

  Since the day Eli finished his residency, Wendell had been after him to become his partner here.

  It had always been in his long-range plan, but how could he walk away now, with this heavy sense of responsibility he carried everywhere? He felt the weight of it even more on his shoulders now, after what happened to Justine. She had been dedicated, compassionate, completely driven to help those in turmoil. Her dedication had been silenced forever and she could no longer carry out her work. He had made a vow to carry on in her place.

  “Tell me how they have been treating you here,” he said to change the subject. “Have you already charmed all the nurses?”

  “Not all of them. A few of these nurses have been coming to my office since they were children. I’m afraid they know all my tricks by now.”

  Wendell was regaling him with a story about the surgeon who had operated on him when Eli heard a slight knock on the door.

  A moment later, it was pushed open, and a delicate-looking girl of about seven held the door open while cradling a huge cellophane-wrapped basket in the other.

  “Hi, Dr. Sanderson,” she said cheerfully, giving his father a winsome smile.

  Wendell beamed back at her. “Well, hello there, my dear. Isn’t this a lovely surprise?”

  She gave a grin, missing her two front teeth, and held up the basket. “This is for you. My mom was busy talking to her friend at the nurses station and I got tired of waiting for her, so I told her I would come by myself. This thing is heavy.”

  “Eli, help my friend Skye out and take that big basket from her before her arms break right off, will you?”

  He dutifully rose so he could take the basket out of the girl’s arms and set it on the small table next to his father’s bed.

  While he was occupied, the girl stole his chair, the one right next to Wendell’s bedside.

  “That stuff is all for you” she said, pointing to the basket. “Even the candy. My mom and I went shopping in three different stores, trying to find all the things you love.”

  “That is so sweet of you. Your mother
is a treasure and so are you, my dear.”

  She giggled. “My grandma says I’m a pill and too big for my britches.”

  “I don’t doubt that’s true,” Wendell said.

  The girl turned to Eli with a curious look. “Hi,” she said brightly. “I’m Skye Fielding. What’s your name?”

  When she identified herself, he gave her a closer look. Skye Fielding. This had to be Melissa’s daughter. He should have picked up the resemblance before she even identified herself. Now he could see she shared the same vivid green eyes with her mother and the same dimple that appeared and disappeared on one side of her mouth.

  “This is my son, Elias Alexander Sanderson.”

  “Whoa. That’s a big name. It’s...” She counted on her small fingers. “Ten syllables.”

  Yes. He was fully aware. Try filling out all those letters on military forms designed for guys named Joe Smith. “You can call me Eli,” he said.

  “Hi, Eli.” She settled deeper into his chair, perfectly at home, which he found more amusing than anything he’d seen in a long time. With nowhere else to sit in the room, he leaned against the sink.

  “Mom says you got brand-new knees because your old ones hurt you all the time,” she said.

  “Old is the key word there,” Wendell muttered.

  His father wasn’t that old. He was only in his early sixties and vibrant for his age. Why hadn’t Wendell started dating and married someone? His father was still a handsome man. Judging by all the flowers and cards in his room, he was fairly popular around town, too. Maybe Eli could work on that while he was home.

  “My mom says you have to stay here for two whole weeks!”

  She seemed positively aghast at the idea.

  “It’s not that bad. They have fun things to do all day long. Games and movies and music time. Plus, they serve good food and have free popcorn in the cafeteria.”

  Eli had a feeling Wendell was trying to convince himself as much as he was the little girl. His father wasn’t thrilled about the time that loomed ahead of him in the rehabilitation center, but that was the price for his impatience and desire to do both knees at the same time, when he needed daily therapy and his house wasn’t fully accessible.