by Leann Harris
“It went fine. We were able to repair the artery and replace the fluid Derek had lost quickly enough that he should completely recover.”
Beavins held out his hand. “I want to shake your hand, ma’am. You kept your head in a mighty explosive situation. Your clear thinking saved Derek’s life.”
The agent’s words made Alex stop and think about what had happened. She realized she had acted quickly, without hesitation. Never once had she been other than focused on saving Derek’s life. There had been no doubt about her competence or her skill. She had simply done what she had been trained to do. And if she was asked to do it again, she knew she could.
Alexandra took the man’s hand. “Thank you.”
The sheriff held out his hand. “I’d like to shake your hand, too.”
Beavins leaned against the wall. “I also heard one of the nurses tell Dr. Shelly that you did a mighty fine piece of surgery.”
A chuckle escaped. “I bet that made his day.”
Beavins frowned. “He did have a peculiar look on his face, like he’d gotten hold of a sour pickle.”
When they had wheeled Derek into the Alpine hospital, Dr. Shelly had told her he would do the repair surgery. But she had calmly informed him that because she had done countless emergency surgeries to repair blood vessels and organs during the past year, she had more experience in this area. And she would be the one to operate. Dr. Shelly had allowed her to do so, but hadn’t bothered to hide his antagonism.
Besides, Alexandra had known she couldn’t allow anyone else to work on Derek. She glanced down at her sweat-stained scrubs. “I’d better change.” Of course, her clothes were in worse shape than these scrubs.
“Before you do, there’s someone who wants to see you out in the parking lot,” Beavins said.
“Who?”
“Why don’t you go see?”
Beavins led Alex to the door where Sarah stood waiting in the cool night air with Todd and Cathy Grey. The instant the girl saw Alex she rushed from her aunt and uncle’s side into Alex’s arms.
Alex held her close.
“Is he going to be all right?” Sarah sobbed.
At that instant Alex knew that she had found the one place on the planet where she belonged. She also knew she had found her family. And she had found love.
Alex tilted Sarah’s chin up. “Your dad is going to recover completely.” She looked at Todd and Cathy. They both seemed to collapse with relief.
Sarah’s chin quivered. “Thank you for saving him. I wish you would stay with us forever.”
“Would you like that?”
Sarah’s eyes widened. “Yes.”
“I’ll see what I can arrange.”
Sarah squealed with joy. “I knew it.”
Alex grinned at the girl’s reaction.
“Can I see my dad?”
“Not now. You haven’t been on your medication long enough for us to chance it. But I’ll go check on him, and if he’s awake, I’ll have him wave to you from the window.”
“Okay.”
Alex motioned to Todd. “Why don’t you come with me?”
They walked down the hall to the recovery room, only to discover Derek was still asleep. Watching Derek sleep peacefully, Alex turned to Todd. “You know that ad the folks of Saddle have been running for a doctor?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t need to run it anymore. I’m applying for the position. Think there’s any chance I’ll get it?”
“I don’t doubt it, Alex. You see, Derek is the one who’s responsible for hiring.”
* * *
Derek slowly opened his eyes and tried to make sense of his surroundings. His gaze traveled around the room until he saw Alexandra slumped in a chair beside the bed. The pain shooting up his leg reminded him of what had occurred. Simon Moore had shot him.
He remembered Alexandra’s worried expression as she had hovered over him, pressing her weight against his aching thigh. But he had seen something else in her eyes that had warmed his heart. He had seen a concern so deep that if it wasn’t love, it wouldn’t take much more effort to turn it into love.
There were dark circles under Alex’s eyes, and it appeared she hadn’t had much rest over the past few hours. He reached out to touch her. The sound of the IV tube in his arm bouncing off the metal stand mixed with her startled intake of breath.
“You’re awake,” she said, sitting up. She checked his IV, then looked into his eyes with her little flashlight. As she reached for the blood pressure cuff, he grabbed her wrist.
“Quit fussing.”
She gave him a frosty look. “Who’s the doctor here, Deputy?”
“All right.” He surrendered his arm to her. He watched in amusement as she listened for his pressure and counted his heart beats.
“Do you give this kind of treatment to all your patients?”
She took her fingers away from his wrist. “No. I only give this kind of treatment to someone I love.”
That shut him up. Dumbfounded, he stared at her.
He saw her fingers tremble as she fiddled with the stethoscope around her neck.
The door swung open and Wesley Clayton walked in. “You’re awake. You gave us a mighty big scare, Derek.”
“It didn’t set well with me, either, Wes.”
The sheriff grinned. “Well, I’ll tell you, you lucked out. Your Dr. Courtland is the talk of the hospital, the way she took charge and operated on you. The lady’s got some skilled hands.”
Derek’s gaze rested on Alexandra. He knew for a fact how skilled her hands were. “You operated yourself?”
She appeared uncomfortable with the praise. “Yes.”
“Why didn’t you let someone else do it?”
“I was more qualified.” She tried to step away, but he caught her hand. The significance of what she’d done—saving his life—hit him like a moving freight train.
“How is Simon?”
“After his arm was bandaged, I put him under armed guard here at the hospital,” Wes answered.
“Martinez?”
“Dead.”
“Wes, I need a few moments alone with my doctor.”
“Sure, Derek. I’ll check back with you later today.”
Once they were alone, Derek tugged Alex closer. “You said you loved me. Did you mean it?”
She looked as if she regretted having admitted to the emotion. She stared at the wall, swallowed, then looked him in the eye. “Yes.”
He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. “That is the sweetest word I’ve ever heard, Alexandra.”
“What?”
“I’ve known for some time that I loved you, only I was too scared to tell you. Afraid I might run you off.”
“That’s what you were holding back?”
“Guilty.”
“Oh, Derek, I thought you were trying to tell me you didn’t want to get married again.”
He captured her face between his hands.
“I want to marry you, Alexandra, and I want us to grow old together and watch our children have children. Do you want that, too? Do you want to have my children?”
“More than anything.”
She leaned down and tenderly kissed him. When she tried to pull back, he slipped his hand behind her neck.
“I think Sarah’s going to be pleased,” he said between kisses.
“I already have her approval.”
“You do?”
“I do. And I’d better warn you that I’ve already accepted the job as doctor for Saddle. You can quit looking.”
Derek couldn’t keep from grinning. “Sweetheart, I quit looking the moment I laid eyes on you.”
* * * * *
ISBN: 978-1-4592-8736-5
Trouble in Texas
Copyright © 1995 by Barbara M. Harrison
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