Turning the Tide (Eastern Shore Swingers, #5)

by Phoebe Alexander

Dawn sharply flooded through the slats of his blinds, which he had foolishly forgotten to close before he fell asleep the night before. It took him a minute or two to get his bearings. At first he thought it was Monday. He’d panicked, worried he was running late on the day his new nurse was supposed to start. Jim and their office manager, Beverly, had hired a new nurse when he and Barbara were at their daughter’s wedding a month ago. At the time, he was grateful he didn’t have to add another task to his overwhelming to-do list.

  Curled up on the end of the bed in his usual sleeping spot, Alfie sprang to attention as soon as he noticed his master was awake. The dog stepped over Luke’s legs and gave him a giant slurpy lick right up his stubbly cheek.

  “Good morning to you too.” Luke wiped the doggy slime from his face. “Let’s get going, old boy.”

  He followed Alfie into the kitchen where he started the coffee pot, filled up the dog’s food and water bowls, and glanced at the new pile of dirty laundry Barbara had left on top of the washer. She claimed doing the laundry hurt her back.

  The truth was that anything she didn’t want to do was painful for her.

  “I know, I know, she’s sick,” he mumbled under his breath as Alfie stopped eating and glanced up at him with his head cocked quizzically. “You ready to go outside?”

  The dog bounded to his side in a heartbeat, ready to go. Luke clipped on the leash and headed back outside, the same routine he’d done after arriving home the night before. The morning air was chilly for late spring, and he was beyond ready for summer. He had a feeling Alfie was too.

  There were already boats out on the bay, and a few gulls squawked as they soared overhead. Oh, to have that kind of freedom, he reflected as he waited for Alfie to do his business. He knew his canine friend could use a nice, healthy jaunt down the block, but Luke wanted to get back inside and start in on the project Barbara had been hounding him about. He was building bookcases in the living room. If he didn’t get those finished up today, he would never hear the end of it.

  He spotted his phone on the countertop where he’d left it, and when he squinted, he saw the flash indicating a text. He rarely received text messages from anyone but Jim, the other doctor at his practice. Maybe he has information about the nurse starting tomorrow? Luke conjectured. What was her name? He scratched his chin as he ambled over to the counter to retrieve the phone. He wasn’t even sure Jim had told him the woman’s name. At least he thought it was a woman. I shouldn’t assume, he chided himself.

  The text came from a 619 area code. He didn’t know anyone with a number like that, wherever 619 might be.

  Hope you aren’t mad, but Cap gave me your number. It’s Connie.

  He nearly dropped the phone like it was a hot potato. Oh, no. No, no, no, no.

  He didn’t understand why Cap would do that to him. He knows my situation, Luke thought. He knows what’s at stake.

  Still, just the mere thought of those sparkling blue eyes and bright, playful smile did things to him. Even though he wanted to resist, the image that text popped into his mind woke up some other parts of his body he thought he’d satisfied the night before.

  He tiptoed down the hall to see if Barbara was still asleep.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, he took his shaking hand to the keyboard on his phone. This hand performs surgery. Stop being such a wuss.

  Hey Connie, he typed out.

  “Hey, Connie”? That’s the best you can do? For fuck’s sake, Dr. Cannon, man the fuck up.

  Hey Connie, he tried again. Really enjoyed our time together last night.

  He sent it before he could change his mind.

  Only a few seconds later: Me too. I wasn’t expecting to actually meet someone, so it was a pleasant surprise. Of course, now my sister is gloating and saying I told ya so.

  Their conversation continued for the next hour while he stood in the living room and tried to remember what he needed to do with the wood, screws, and screwdriver in order to actually complete his bookshelf building assignment. To say he was distracted by the messages flooding his phone at regular intervals would be an extreme understatement.

  The highlights were as follows:

  Connie: So your car didn’t turn into a pumpkin last night? You made it out in time?

  Luke: If I stayed one minute longer, I probably would have dragged you off to the Jungle Room.

  Connie: I would have had no issues playing Jane to your Tarzan!

  Luke: Or swinging on my vine? Oops, did I really say that? LOL

  The back and forth banter carved a wide smile on Luke’s face, and all sorts of happy endorphins flooded his body. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so carefree and liberated in his own home. Before he knew it, it was noon and Alfie was asking to go out again. Barbara was still asleep, and Luke had so much restless energy careening through his body he wanted to go expel some of it before she woke up and wondered what the hell had gotten into him. And yes, she will notice, he told himself. She can sniff out joy like a bloodhound and crush it like the evil dictator she is.

  “Let’s drive down to the beach, Alfie!”

  It only took the word “beach” for Alfie to woof out an excited bark and race to the kitchen to wait for his leash. That was when Luke heard a commotion coming from down the hall.

  Damn it.

  He rushed down the hallway and into Barbara’s room, where she was clutching the edge of the mattress and trying to pull herself up onto her feet. She was wearing a pair of cut-off sweatpants and a baggy, coffee-stained tank top.

  “Well, are you going to just stand there gawking at me, or are you going to actually help me up?” she barked, her green-gray eyes stabbing into him.

  He didn’t respond, just hurried to her side, where he slipped his hands underneath her armpits to pull her to standing.

  “Ouch! Damn it, be careful!” she squawked. “You’re going to bruise me!”

  “Sorry,” he muttered as he placed her upright. He continued to hold on for a moment until he was sure she’d gotten her balance. As soon as he let go, she began to wobble again.

  “My leg is asleep, you moron!”

  Her sharp words pierced his heart, and all the joy and energy coursing through his veins moments before evaporated into nothingness.

  “What can I get you?” His eyes darted between hers, trying to figure out what she wanted him to say, to do.

  She seemed to get her balance and stumbled past him, leaving him by the bed as she made her way down the hall. He heard her voice bellow like she was shouting into a tunnel, “Why aren’t the bookshelves done yet?”

  He sighed deeply, trying to muster up the patience required to deal with whatever guilt trip she was about to lay on him. “Hey, I’ll finish them when Alfie and I get back from the beach.”

  Hearing the word “beach” again caused the fluffy collie to race into the kitchen once more and pant as he stared up at his leash in anticipation.

  “Beach? You have to finish this project—”

  “We’ll be back soon.” He gave her a shrug and a smirk before pivoting toward the kitchen to clip the leash back on his dog.

  “You really don’t care about me at all, do you?” she seethed as he opened the back door and left without even saying goodbye.

  When he got down to the water, he snapped a photo of himself and sent it to Connie with the caption: “Come on in, the water’s nice!”

  It was still cold, of course, and he did worry that she might actually try to come out and meet him. “Worry” was not the right word—he was ripped in two, to be honest. One part of him desperately wished she would, while the other half was scared to death she might.

  He snapped out of his denial as he watched Alfie jumping in and out of the foamy waves that were sliding onto the cold, wet sand at regular intervals. I should probably stop talking to her. I’m just getting my hopes up for no reason. As soon as she finds out my situation, she’ll be history.

  THREE

  I told my wife the truth. I tol
d her I was seeing a psychiatrist. Then she told me the truth: that she was seeing a psychiatrist, two plumbers, and a bartender. ― Rodney Dangerfield

  Luke usually got to work early, but that morning he’d already endured three hours of chaos starting at five AM when Barbara suddenly remembered she had a doctor’s appointment in Berlin. And she couldn’t drive because of the medication she was on made her woozy. He’d gritted his teeth, swallowed down anything negative he wanted to blurt out, and drove her to the appointment, which was for 8:15.

  He listened to his wife’s doctor rattle off some new treatments she could try, some tests he wanted to run, and the name of a specialist he’d refer her to at Johns Hopkins. Barbara seemed pleased, and that made things a lot easier. If she went to an appointment and didn’t walk away with the diagnosis, prescription, or referral she was seeking, it meant the rest of his day or sometimes even the whole week was going to be miserable.

  He had to take her back to their house in North Ocean City before he could return to his office, which was also in Berlin. Sometimes the trip could take up to an hour if traffic was thick with tourists, but it being Monday morning and school still being in session, it could have been worse. He was already thanking his lucky stars for small miracles—he was unaccustomed to being on the receiving end of good luck or miracles—when he pulled into his reserved space at the practice he shared with Dr. James Thompson, a fellow ENT specialist and medical school classmate. After going their separate ways for internships and residencies, the two old friends decided to come back together and buy out the practice where Luke cut his teeth.

  “Hey,” Luke said casually to the office manager as he breezed through the back door from the parking lot. He was lucky not to have scheduled any patients until noon because he knew the new nurse was coming in for her first day, and he wanted to be there for her orientation. He figured he and Jim would take her to an early lunch, help start her new job off on the right foot.

  “About time you showed up!” Beverly fired off at him with one of her classic eyerolls and head-shakes.

  He puffed out a breath of air. “Sorry, Bev. You know how it goes...”

  He didn’t even have to finish the sentiment before she was nodding at him, tossing in a lip purse for good measure. “The new nurse is in the lounge filling out some paperwork. Jim had a 9:10 and 9:35, so he’s going to finish those up before you meet with her at ten. Sound good?”

  He glanced at his watch and found it to be 9:55. For once he had impeccable timing. “Thanks, Beverly. Has she met everyone yet?”

  “Just me. I thought you and Jim would want to do the honors.” Beverly flipped her bouncy black curls over her shoulder and gave him a toothy smile. She had a gap between her two front teeth and full lips painted a vivid fuchsia color.

  “You’re a godsend, Bev, thank you.” He smiled at her then headed down the hall toward the lounge where they had a full kitchen, a sofa, and a long table they used for meetings. It wasn’t fancy, and he and Jim had been hoping to upgrade to a bigger, nicer office with an actual conference room, but it wasn’t in the cards this year. Jim’s adult son was having some financial issues, apparently, and Luke didn’t like to pry, but he knew Jim had been helping him out.

  He saw the new nurse from behind first. She had a petite build and sunny blonde hair in long, highlighted layers that brushed the collar of her blue scrubs. He cleared his throat. “Hello, I’m Dr. Cannon,” he offered, hoping to capture her attention without startling her too badly.

  She whipped around to look at him with a smile curling up the edges of her lips. Then a shocked expression replaced the smile in a heartbeat. “Luke?”

  Oh no.

  A jolt of adrenaline shot through his heart, pumping through every square inch of his body with each powerful, racing beat. “Connie?”

  She stood up, looking a little uneasy. “I had no idea... I just knew Dr. Thompson and Atlantic ENT—”

  “I didn’t either; I knew you—”

  Their words were tripping over each other on their desperate attempts to escape their mouths. “Cap told me no one at the club really talked about what they did for a living...you know, for more privacy, but—” He whispered the word “club,” making Connie’s blue eyes widen.

  “I know, Casey told me the same—”

  “But Cap knows I’m a doctor—and he would have known you’re a nurse—”

  “He knew I was starting a job today, and so did Casey, but I don’t think I ever mentioned the doctor’s name. Or if I did, I probably said Dr. Thompson, since he’s the one who hired me.”

  Luke scrubbed his hand across his clean-shaven face, squeezing his eyes tightly closed as if he might be able to reset the situation once he opened them. But nope, the woman he’d made out with at the swinger club just two nights ago was still standing before him, looking as uncomfortable as he felt.

  “So, what are we supposed to—”

  “Oh, hey, Luke! I see you met Connie already. How’s the paperwork coming, Connie?” Jim interrupted as he strode through the open doorway.

  “Yes, we were just getting acquainted,” Luke recovered. “Connie said she moved here all the way from California.”

  “Right,” Connie nodded, “but I grew up in Stevensville, and my mom’s family was in Easton, so I’m well familiar with Ocean City.”

  “And your sister is Casey Fontaine, isn’t that right?” Jim questioned.

  “Yes, yes, she is,” Connie said with a nod. “How did you know that?”

  “When I told my wife we’d hired a nurse named Connie Stewart, she said she knew your sister. She was our realtor when we bought our house,” Jim explained.

  “Wow, okay. It really is a small world, isn’t it?” She flashed Luke an uneasy look and began to gather up the pile of papers she left on the table. “I’m all done with these. Should I give them to Beverly?”

  “Yes, please,” Jim instructed. “Well, you’ve read the orientation materials and filled out your paperwork, so I think the grand tour and introductions are next. Luke, you want to do the honors? I just need to go make a phone call, and I’ll be right back.” He gave Connie a full smile, then added, “The wife has been blowing up my phone. You know how it is!” He winked at Luke and disappeared down the long hallway.

  Oh, shit, he thought for at least the third or fourth time in the past five minutes. Jim was making a reference to Luke knowing how wives could be, and Connie still didn’t know he was married. He was convinced the comment he had made about his wife at the club hadn’t registered, or she thought he was divorced. The day before when they’d exchanged all those flirty texts, he’d wanted to tell her. But he didn’t know how to phrase it, and he preferred to do it in person. If he ever saw her again.

  In his office was not the place he had in mind.

  Though, now that it was apparent she was going to be working for him, none of that probably mattered anyway. It was just going to be extremely awkward knowing he’d kissed her and exchanged a series of flirty texts with her for the better part of one glorious Sunday afternoon. Maybe someday they’d be able to put that weirdness behind them...maybe it would even become funny as time passed?

  He looked down to meet Connie’s eyes, but they were clouded with too many emotions for him to identify. She plastered on what looked to be a fake smile and gave him an apprehensive shrug, as if she were asking, “So now what?”

  Luke swallowed down his regrets like the bitter pills they were and proceeded back up the hallway toward the reception area, beckoning for Connie to join him. Along the way, they saw Beverly again, as well as Janet, the scheduler, and the two other nurses, Yolanda and Jasmine. Connie gave them all handshakes and warm smiles. She didn’t seem put off by the fact that the other nurses were much younger than her, in their late twenties or early thirties. Beverly was in her early fifties, but she looked younger. Luke only knew because she had grandchildren whose beautiful faces were plastered all over the walls surrounding her desk area. And Janet was probably t
he senior member of their staff in her early sixties.

  “We’ve got a great group of ladies here,” Luke said, smiling as his gaze bounced between Beverly and Janet, who were still standing there looking at him with awkward smiles.

  “Do you want to show her the files and computer system?” Luke asked Beverly, hoping to have a moment to clear his head and maybe down an ibuprofen or two. His head was revolting at all the crazy thoughts swirling around, rattling against his skull, and it had begun to throb relentlessly.

  “Of course,” Beverly said, placing her hand on Connie’s arm. “Right through here.”

  Luke staggered back to the lounge where Jim was raiding the refrigerator. “I thought we were taking Connie out to lunch?” Luke questioned when he saw Jim place a glass container in the microwave.

  “Do you mind taking her?” Jim asked. “I have a one o’clock coming in, and I have to go run an errand for the wifey in a few. Sorry, man. Maybe I’ll take her later this week.”

  “Oh, okay.” Luke nodded, but his head only began to pound more adamantly. He took the bottle of pain reliever pills from the cabinet and tapped four into his hand.

  “That bad, huh?” his partner questioned with a knowing look.

  “Barbara had another appointment this morning with the neurologist.” He shrugged and then it was down the hatch with the handful of tablets. He chased it with the tepid bottle of water he’d grabbed from the counter.

  Jim rolled his eyes. “Trying a new drug this time?”

  “No, a referral to Johns Hopkins.” He forced a smile. “And an MRI. We could play Barbara’s Medical Issue Bingo, you know. Our cards would be full.”

  “So if it’s not fibromyalgia, then what is it?” Jim narrowed his gaze as if his doctor brain was scrambling for an alternative diagnosis.

  “I don’t know. We’ve been at this ten years now, and we still don’t have a solid explanation. But I think we’ve ruled out MS for sure now.”

  “That’s something at least. And Parkinson’s too?”

  Luke nodded.

  “ALS?”