Coming Alive: Welcome to Carson, Book One

by Renee Harless

  “This is ridiculous,” he says to the room. “We’ve already waited ten minutes. Regardless of his resume or how knowledgeable he is, he is wasting our time and I have patients to see.”

  Logan storms out of the room and heads back to his office before calling the next patient back to a room. As he moves to the waiting area, he notices that Nikki has left and their nurse, Sandra, is manning the desk. Unable to waste time asking of Nikki’s whereabouts, Logan instead hurries his patient back to the exam room and begins hooking her up to an IV.

  The second interview arrives and doesn’t go as well as Logan had hoped. The applicant had just found out his girlfriend is expecting, so he didn’t think the hour commute each way to the town would work. It was unfortunate, given that the guy had a killer resume and Dr. Fields still hadn’t chosen a candidate.

  I wonder what happened to Melanie and Max? I’ll have to ask Nikki later.

  Offering that they share Mary Bell when she starts on Monday, Logan proposes he sit in on a few more interviews with Dr. Fields, but the doctor turns him down, inferring that he was just going to look through the candidates they had already seen.

  Checking his phone one last time before leaving, Logan still has no messages from Austin. Not particularly in the mood to head to the bar alone, Logan quickly changes his clothes in his office before closing up for the night.

  Passing by one of the large windows in the hallway, he takes notice of the angry storm clouds outside pouring sheets of rain onto the ground. Logan sprints back to his office to grab his umbrella, not looking forward to driving in the nasty weather.

  After locking the two sets of doors, he turns and walks directly into a small, solid black mass. Looking more clearly at the figure, Logan finds that it’s a girl hidden behind an overly large rain jacket. Not much more is visible behind the hood but the tip of her nose.

  “Are you Dr. Fields?” she asks him with a voice that is shaking from the rain and chilled weather.

  “Nope, you just missed him. Can I help you?”

  “No, I was supposed to meet him earlier today about a job.”

  Realizing that this is the interviewee that wasted all of their time today, Logan finds it impossible to hold back the lashing words as they escape from his mouth.

  “Well, Avery, was it? I’m not sure you’d be a good fit for us since you couldn’t even make it to your interview. You wasted my time, and Dr. Fields’, when we could have been helping our patients.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to waste your time.” she says through a quivering voice, trying unsuccessfully to hold back a sob. “It really wasn’t my fault,” she murmurs, obviously cowed by the roll of his eyes. “My car died and I was on the bus, but there was an accident. They wanted to take us all to the hospital, but I knew I needed to be here. They wouldn’t let me leave until I was checked out by a paramedic, which took hours. I walked here after taking a rain jacket that the man who sat beside me on the bus offered me.”

  Listening to her story, Logan glances down her body and his eyes land on her feet. Small black flats that have been torn up, clearly from miles of walking, give way to soaking wet pants.

  “Look,” she continues, “I’m sorry. I should have called, but I don’t have a phone, and,” stifling another sob, she finishes “It’s been a rough year – hell, a rough life - and I really need this job.”

  The agony in her voice literally makes Logan’s chest hurt - the pain radiating outwards to all the tips of his limbs.

  “Ok, please stop crying. Come in tomorrow at nine and I’ll get you a meeting with Dr. Fields. And I’m sorry I snapped at you after the day you’ve had.”

  Sorry? When the hell have I ever been sorry about something I’ve said or done? I live my life with no regrets. No second thoughts. Austin calls me blunt, but I say the truth and I won’t sugar coat. But seriously? This girl has me apologizing?

  “Thank you,” she replies, turning to look back out into the heavy downpour.

  Logan surprises himself again when he says, “Come on, let me take you home,” and takes a hold of her elbow.

  She hesitates at first, but then she must have decided to trust him because she easily follows his direction.

  Under his umbrella, Logan steers her towards his black BMW M3 and holds the door open for her to slide onto his leather seats. At her reluctance to sit, Logan assures her that she won’t ruin the interior.

  Jumping into the driver’s seat, he tosses his folded umbrella onto the floorboard behind his seat. Settled, he takes a deep breath and is immediately assaulted by Avery’s sweet smell. Even through the rain and a stranger’s coat, she has a fragrance of spring flowers and a hint of something else – something uniquely her.

  Logan turns to look at her, but the hood remains upright on her head, blocking his view of her profile. Taking that as his cue, he turns on the car and asks which way he needs to go. She points to the right and Logan moves the car onto the street, following her directions as she points.

  As they approach Nikki’s complex, Logan feels a strange combination of curiosity and nerves at the same time. He hadn’t considered that she might be the same girl he saw through Nikki’s window last night. Logan’s hands tighten on the wheel, turning his knuckles white, as he controls the urge to pull back her hood, see her face and delve his hands into her silky hair.

  Pulling into the parking lot, he finds a spot close to the entrance and follows Avery up the stairwell and into the apartment while holding the umbrella over both of their heads.

  “Oh my god,” Nikki screeches as she rushes forward to pull Avery into a tight embrace, knocking the offending hood from Avery’s head. “I have been looking everywhere for you! I heard about the bus. Are you okay?”

  Standing alone in the doorway, Logan strains to hear a reply, but he is met with hushed tones as she whispers softly and then turns to walk down the hall.

  Nikki’s all-knowing eyes turn towards him as she tilts her head to look at him more closely. Logan quickly explains what happened outside the office to put her at ease, but he can tell that Nikki thinks Avery is someone special and wants to take care of her. Nikki has that look in her eyes that she gets when she sees sick patients.

  She beckons him to follow her farther into the apartment, which thankfully, has been tidied up since he was here last. Situating himself on one of the bar stools, she moves into the kitchen, resting on the side of the counter opposite of him.

  “She’s delicate, Logan,” she whispers in a condescending tone.

  Startled at her assessment of the situation, Logan looks at her blankly and replies, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Just as she is about to expound on her previous statement, Avery comes walking into the kitchen and heads straight for the fridge. She grabs a bottle of water before turning around and staring in his direction, eyes as wide as saucers.

  Damn, she’s fucking beautiful.

  The dark brown hair that captured his attention last night is pulled up high upon her head, showcasing a smooth and long neck. But her face… her face renders him temporarily speechless. Her ivory skin is a blank canvas that showcases eyes the color of the Caribbean Sea. Her cheeks begin to turn a soft shade of pink and she licks her full, rosy lips before bringing the water bottle to her mouth and taking a sip, breaking Logan free of his trance.

  She walks softly in his direction and extends her hand forward.

  “Thanks for the ride…,” she trails off, prompting him for his name.

  Logan glances at her hand, then stares into her eyes as he places her delicate extremities into his larger grasp.

  “Logan,” he grits out, trying to ignore the sensation of sparks igniting through his hand as her skin brushes against his own.

  She looks intently at their joined hands before raising her gaze to meet his.

  Slightly bewildered, she responds with a shaky voice, “Uh, yes… Logan. Um, thanks for the ride,” and removes her hand from his clutch.

 
“You said that already,” he replies sarcastically, missing the feel of her touch against his palm.

  A hint of pink darkens her already tinged cheeks.

  “Yes, well…”she trails off, looking towards Nikki for help.

  Chiming in for the rescue, Nikki asks, “Logan, do you want to stay for dinner?” whilst running her hand down his arm.

  This is a familiar gesture from her that normally wouldn’t bother him, but Logan has to stop himself from twisting away at her uncomfortable touch.

  “No thanks. I’m going to head home. I’ll see you both in the morning.”

  Feeling the need to leave as quickly as possible, Logan turns towards the front of the apartment, but nearly topples over Avery. She slivers past him in the hall, but he hears her gasp as her soft breasts brush against his other arm.

  After exiting the apartment, Logan takes the steps two at a time and rushes down to his car, in dire need to return to his home and end the day.

  ONCE LOGAN STEPS INTO the building the next morning, he quickly locates Dr. Fields and explains the situation with Avery. The elderly physician nods his head in understanding and gently pats him on the shoulder.

  “You did well, Logan. Sometimes we all have bad days. It seems like you came to her rescue.”

  “I didn’t do anything but offer to take her home and to set up another interview.”

  With a shrug of his shoulders, Logan brushes off Dr. Fields’ endearing gaze. Logan’s familiar with being the asshole, not the nice guy someone can turn to.

  As the two doctors head down the hall, Logan is stunned silent when he finds Avery standing at the desk. Her back is turned to him and she has cased her hips and legs in a knee-length pencil skirt, a dark-burgundy silken shirt draping effortlessly over her chest and shoulders. Her dark hair has been meticulously twisted into a coil on the back of her head. At last his gaze drops to the black sandals strapped to her feet, the heels surprisingly taller than Logan would have expected.

  Beside him Dr. Fields coughs, breaking him of his gawking, and Logan closes his mouth quickly. Avery manages to effortlessly combine both sex kitten and girl next door – a combination that only amplifies his lust for her.

  “I’ll go greet Ms. Poindexter and bring everyone into the conference room.”

  “I think I’ll sit out this interview,” Logan says, shaking his head. “I have an appointment right now.”

  Brushing past Avery quickly, Logan grabs a patient file and calls the young man back to a room, all the while feeling Avery’s gaze on him, searing a hole through his skin.

  WALKING INTO THE MEDICAL practice behind Nikki, Avery tries hard to keep a blank yet cheery look on her face to hide her nervousness. After the catastrophe that was yesterday, she’s feeling even more apprehensive than she did before.

  Nikki leans in over her desk and whispers, “You look like you’re going to throw up.”

  “I’m so nervous, Nikki,” Avery says, trying to speak as quietly as possible, yet failing miserably when she squeaks her roommate’s name.

  “Don’t be nervous, Dr. Fields is great. Oh, look, he’s coming now.”

  Avery doesn’t have to turn around to know that Logan is with Dr. Fields. She can feel his eyes burning a hole in her skin from behind. The feeling he ignites in her is once again realized as he passes by her to grab a folder, brushing his chest against her arm. A gasp of air permeates through her lips in a whooshing sound as the feel of him against her pebbles her skin.

  There is an intensity between them when they’re in close quarters. She felt the same force yesterday in his car and again in the apartment. Avery brushed off the sensation and attributed it to the cataclysm of the day, but now she realizes that his proximity was only fuel to the fire. His touch ignites a firestorm on her skin.

  Avery stares at his retreating back as he ushers a patient into a room and continue watching long past a moment of appropriateness. A touch on her shoulder bounces her back to reality and she startles at the contact.

  “Sorry,” Nikki says with a questioning look in her eye, “I wanted to introduce you to Dr. Fields.”

  As Avery raises her hand for a polite shake, she looks at Dr. Fields and offers her name, immediately apologizing for her absence yesterday.

  “I understand, Avery. Life happens and I’m glad you were able to make it in today. I haven’t had much luck finding anyone that I’d like to work with, but I think we’ll be a good fit. If you’d follow me, some of our team has assembled to conduct the interview. It’s very informal, so don’t be nervous.”

  Already feeling at ease with Dr. Fields, Avery follows him into a small conference room where she meets three of the other physicians.

  “Dr. Chamberlin is in with a patient right now. As he won’t be joining us, we can go ahead and begin,” Dr. Fields says loudly, addressing the group.

  Her nervousness dissipates knowing that Dr. Chamberlin - or Logan - won’t be in the room. She barely has time to relax, however, before the group starts firing off questions related to her experience, schooling, and re-location. Avery does her best to keep her personal life out of the answers and, luckily, no one pries further when she explains that her re-location was only due to the need for a change.

  After the interview, Avery follows Dr. Fields back to his office where he takes a seat behind his desk and prompts her to take the seat across from him.

  “I think that went very well, Avery, and I’d like to offer you the position if you’re still interested.”

  Avery lets out a deep exhale as relief washes over her.

  “Yes, I am still very interested, Dr. Fields. Thank you so much.”

  “Please, call me Al. I do have some paperwork for you to fill out, but I’d like to ask you one more question.”

  Wringing her hands in her lap, she nervously nods for him to continue.

  “We complete background checks on all of our employees and because we’re in healthcare, you understand that they have to be very extensive. I’m the only one that has seen yours, Avery, but answer me this; why do you need this job? It seems to me you have enough wealth to own a small country.”

  Avery is embarrassed, but understands his concern. He wants to know if she received that money from shady transactions.

  “I can assure you, Dr. Fields - I mean, Al - that I want this job for all the right reasons. That money was given to me after someone I loved passed away, and I plan on using it to better this small town of Carson.”

  He notices the tears beginning to shimmer in her eyes and moves from behind his desk. He stands by his door with the paperwork in hand, effectively ushering Avery out.

  “I don’t plan on sharing this with anyone, Avery, and I can assure you that your worth is measured not by those dollar signs, but by what you do with them. Here is the paperwork: feel free to take it home and finish it up. You can bring it with you when you start tomorrow.”

  “Thank you, Al. I’m really looking forward to joining your team.”

  By the time Avery exits the office and makes her way to the front desk, her nerves are shot. Earlier this morning, Nikki had offered to bring her back to the apartment during her lunch break. Avery had planned to take a cab from the apartment to go see about purchasing a car of her own, considering her bucket of rust refuses to move from its current parking spot.

  As she searches for Nikki, she finds her tied up with a group of patients and a ringing phone. Knowing she is swamped, Avery indicates that she is going to wait on the bus by holding up her pass. Nikki nods in her direction in understanding.

  Walking absentmindedly through the sliding glass doors, Avery suddenly whacks into a large and stiff object. Glancing up, she realizes she’s run into the back of Logan as he was chatting with a patient outside.

  “I am so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention,” Avery says, embarrassed, as she nervously bites her lip and tucks a stray hair behind her ear.

  “Don’t worry about it. Wait there for a second?”

  “Um…sure?”<
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  As he finishes speaking with the elderly woman, Avery can’t help but let her gaze travel over his body. He is remarkably handsome, model worthy even. He stands tall, about six feet-four. His light gray button-down shirt is pulled taught against his arms and chest, showcasing his well-developed muscles. She can tell he spends quite some time at the gym. He has changed out of his black slacks from earlier and replaced them with well-worn, dark denim jeans that fit snugly against his legs and behind. Avery returns her eyes to his face and realizes his attention is back on her, and that he has caught her ogling his body.

  “See something you like?” he asks, a smirk flitting across his face and a small dimple forming on his left cheek.

  Words don’t begin to infiltrate her mind. All Avery can think about is how she wants to gaze into his comforting hazel eyes, run her hands through his short, slightly wavy dark hair, and divulge all her deepest secrets.

  Realizing he is casually waiting for her response, Avery quickly stutters, “No. I was just staring off into space. I do that sometimes.”

  Avery mentally chastises herself.

  Great. He’s going to think I’m a loon and who wants a loon working at a medical practice?

  He cocks his gorgeous head to the side, looking at her intently before coming to his own conclusion.

  “So, Avery,” he pauses. A breath, then he continues, “did you pass the test?”

  “I did. I start tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to it.”

  “Congratulations. Welcome to the team. I’m heading out for some lunch; would you like to join me? I can give you a ride home.”

  Avery hesitates when he offers lunch. She’s sure he means it as a simple, innocent invitation, but she can’t ignore her heart pounding in her chest.