by Molly Evans
“Okay, thanks.” She smiled at him and swallowed down the bubble of attraction that wanted to surface. “Ready to go, but you’ll have to lead the way. I don’t know where the OR is.”
“Happy to.” Taylor grabbed a rail on the stretcher and assisted Piper to push the patient down the hall where an OR team waited to put him back together again. Taylor gave his verbal report to the surgeon, and Piper gave hers to the anesthesiologist.
After handing the patient off, Taylor was ready for a break. The new nurse had certainly had her trial by fire and survived, so he was sure she could use a break, too.
“Ready for a cup of coffee?” he asked, and led the way back to the ER and to the staff lounge.
“I should really check in with the charge nurse and let her know I’m here.”
They entered the staff lounge. Someone had brewed a fresh pot, as the bright fragrance of exotic coffee hung in the air. Piper sniffed appreciatively, and her eyes went soft. “Oh. I suppose one cup first won’t hurt, will it?”
“Hardly.” Taylor poured for them, and Piper fixed hers with milk and half a packet of sweetener. “It’s not like you weren’t working. Emily just didn’t know it.”
“Emily is the charge nurse, then?” Piper asked, and plopped down into a chair.
“Yes. She was with one of the other traumas that didn’t survive.” He hated that. Hated that he couldn’t fix each and every patient that came through his doors no matter the cause.
“Oh. It’s tough to lose patients that you work hard on, isn’t it?” There was something in her eyes that was vulnerable, painful, but it wasn’t any of his business.
“Yes, it is. Especially when the problems could be prevented.” Taylor sat beside her and tried not to think of the two patients he’d lost that morning. Though the odds had been stacked against survival from the start, he still felt like a failure when patients under his care died right in front of him. He didn’t like to lose.
His cellphone rang.
“Dr. Jenkins.”
He listened for a moment with his eyes closed and a finger pinching the bridge of his nose. “And just how messy is it, Alex?”
Pause as he listened. “Can you clean it up by yourself?”
More listening. Bigger headache forming behind his eyes.
“I’ll come home at lunch. Don’t worry about the stain on the carpet. Or the walls. Or the couch. It’s okay. See you at lunchtime.”
Amusement fairly sparkled off Piper as he looked at her.
“What?” There was nothing amusing about his end of the conversation.
“Nothing.” She sipped her coffee, but couldn’t hide the gleam in her eyes. “Your son home alone?”
“Nephew. Staying with me for…” he looked at his digital watch “…five more weeks and six days.”
“Not counting down the days, are you?” she asked.
“No, just the seconds.” He showed his watch to her and the time counting down every second of that period.
“You’re serious. You’re really counting down the time like that?” Her blue eyes widened as she looked at him in surprise.
“I’m doing my sister a favor, and that’s when the favor ends.” Not one moment longer. He had a life to live, airplanes to jump out of and mountains to climb, all before the summer ended. Putting his life on hold was a temporary measure. Very temporary.
“I take it you aren’t happy your nephew is with you?” she asked, then paused. “Not that it’s any of my business, I realize.”
“It’s not that I’m not happy. It’s just a completely different way of life than I’m used to. People here are taking bets on how long it will be before I drag my sister home from California to take Alex back.” He leaned his head on the back of the couch and groaned. There were headaches and then there were headaches.
“Oh, that’s so sad,” she said, but laughed.
“No, what’s sad is that he opened a grape soda on my couch, carpet and walls.” Not that it was a huge deal, but it was going to be on the couch and carpet for a very long time. From his memory of being a kid, grape stains came out of nothing.
“They aren’t white, are they?” Piper asked, and a sneaky little smile curved up the corners of her lips.
Was she psychic or something? “Not everything. Just the walls and beige carpet. Couch is light brown.”
“Oh, dear.” Her eyes widened abruptly. “You can’t let that sit, or you’ll never get it out. Call him back. Do you have any peroxide or seltzer water at the house?”
“Peroxide, I think.” He was hardly there, so he really didn’t know what might be in his cupboards. Hadn’t he bought a bottle of peroxide about a year ago when he’d sliced open his hand on a piece of broken climbing rigging?
“Call him back and tell him to pour half the bottle on the carpet stain and half on the couch. The walls should be okay. At least you can paint over them.”
“Why?”
“Getting purple stains out is like getting blood out of your clothing. Peroxide might take it out.”
He opened his mouth to protest and then thought of how much more difficult it would be to argue. “I’ll call him.”
Piper stood. “And I’ll check in with Emily. Thanks for the coffee.”
CHAPTER TWO
PIPER had survived her first very long day at the hospital. The high desert capital city of New Mexico was lovely with its classic southwest architecture and way the city seemed built into the cliffs and hills rather than taking over the landscape. No highrises here. Living at 7000 feet was going to be a challenge for her, having come from sea level at her last assignment. The air was much thinner at elevation and would take some getting used to.
Piper sighed. Exploration would have to wait for another day as she was scheduled for three more days of work before her first weekend off. Some of the staff had given her information on must-see places and restaurants around the area, so she had a plan for when her time was free. Santa Fe was starting to look like a great assignment. Her travel nurse assignments satisfied her need to travel and explore exotic places that she wouldn’t otherwise be able to visit. Most of the time she stayed close to her sister, but some assignments were too good to resist.
New Mexico so far seemed a spectacular mix of cultures from the old-world Mexican and Native American that had blended over the years to form a new culture altogether, one unique to the area. No wonder people were drawn here, as she had been. There was magic in The Land of Enchantment, as the state motto claimed. She was thoroughly looking forward to getting to know this place before she moved on to her next assignment. If there was another assignment. Though she had hoped to find a place to settle down eventually, the lure of travel and another city to discover seemed firmly enmeshed in her blood. She loved the travel and had no reason to put down roots yet.
As she entered the ER the next day, a small case of nerves shot through her. This would be a quick assignment. Just six weeks, then she’d be off somewhere else. Eventually she’d have to find a place to settle down for good. She’d put her life on hold long enough. Her own needs had always taken a backseat to those of her sister. Now her sister wouldn’t need her financial support any longer, and she could…have a life of her own. What a concept. She’d been so dedicated to supporting her sister and providing financial stability for Elizabeth that Piper hadn’t really had her own life in a long time. Except for one disastrous relationship that still stung her ego, she had remained relatively free of entanglements. Even thinking of her ex-boyfriend made her clench her jaw and narrow her eyes.
She sighed, trying not to think too hard about him and his wandering ways. After this assignment her responsibility would be over. Then what? She tried to put the question out of her mind when voices from behind her interrupted her train of thought.
“I’m sorry you feel that way, Alex, but I have no choice today.” Dr. Taylor Jenkins and a boy she assumed to be his nephew entered through the doors right behind her.
Turning, she took in
the sight of the very tall man dressed in scrubs and the tousle-haired boy dragging his feet beside him. Once again, she noticed what an incredibly handsome man Taylor was. Part of being a nurse was paying attention to details, and she noticed every detail of him. Part of her wanted to allow her eyes to linger on his tall, lithe form, but another part of her shuddered. Finding a man attractive and being attracted to a man were two different things. She was too far into the being attracted to Taylor, and every red flag in her system was waving.
He was danger on a grand scale. Attraction was what had gotten her into trouble with her last failed relationship. Being attracted to Taylor was out of the question. She’d sworn to herself, never again. Unfortunately, it appeared that never had arrived.
Attraction needed to leave her alone, but she had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen. Especially as that little flutter in her stomach grew wings.
“It’s way early, Uncle T. I should be in bed, sleeping away my summer vacation, not hanging around a gross hospital all day.”
“Be that as it may, this is where I work, and where you are going to spend the day. The babysitter wasn’t available and, frankly, after yesterday’s fiasco, you can’t be trusted at home by yourself.”
“But it was an accident, I told you that. I said I was sorry.”
Clearing her throat, Piper caught their attention, watching as the two males who couldn’t have been much more different in physical appearance entered the lobby. “Hi, guys.”
As if just noticing he was about to plow her over, Taylor stopped a few feet from her. “Oh, hello, Piper. Back for more?” he asked, but his eyes were distracted.
“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away.”
“They could drag me away. Pu-lease.” Alex made a rude sound deep in his throat.
“Piper, this bundle of enthusiasm and joy is my nephew, Alex.”
“Nice to meet you, Alex.” The kid couldn’t be more miserable looking. He didn’t look at her and kicked at the floor. The backpack slung over one shoulder looked weighty. She supposed that he had every book for summer reading in there.
“Hi.”
Hearing the tension in his voice, she fished into her purse and extracted a large mixed package of bubble gum and candy. “I was going to put this in the staffroom, but I’ll bet you’d like some.” Piper tore the bag open and offered it to him.
“Whoa, yeah. Awesome.” Alex took two packs of gum and a few wrapped candies, and for the first time looked up into her face, his dark brown eyes intelligent and curious.
“What do you say?” Taylor prompted.
“Thanks.” Ducking his head, he flushed and looked away.
“See you inside, Piper,” Taylor said with a sigh.
“Okay.” Piper followed a few paces behind.
As they walked away, Alex leaned closer to Taylor, who bent over to hear what he had to say. “Wow. She’s hot.”
Taylor straightened with a look of amusement on his face and turned to Piper with an extremely male glance. “Yes, she is.”
At that moment, Piper heard her name paged overhead. “Oh, gotta go.” She dashed around the two and hoped that Taylor hadn’t seen her flush. She colored ridiculously, and it was something she had tried to overcome, but couldn’t.
Arriving at the nurses’ station, she found Emily.
“Oh, you are here. I was hoping that we didn’t scare you off yesterday with that wild start to your contract. Some nurses would have headed for the hills.” She shook her head and her straight black hair bobbed around her shoulders.
“Not me. I’m tougher than that.” She’d had to be. When her parents had been killed, she’d had little time to feel sorry for herself or grieve the loss. So she’d found strength that she hadn’t known she’d had. Anything else, compared to that, well, just didn’t compare.
“Well, good. I’d like to pair you up with one of the nurses for the orientation you were supposed to have yesterday, and then we’ll go from there. After yesterday, I’m certain you won’t have any problems.”
Emily introduced her to her preceptor, and she spent the rest of the morning familiarizing herself with the ER.
At lunch, she entered the staff lounge to find a sullen-faced Alex sitting with a book on his lap.
“Hey, kiddo. What’s wrong with you?” she asked, and took a seat beside him. He looked as if he was about to have a meltdown.
“I’m s-o-o-o bored.” He snapped the book shut and held it out to her to see. By the look of Alex, it certainly was going to be a long, hot summer. “Reading isn’t part of my summer plans. Uncle T. gave me this. Said it was a good book, but I just don’t get it.”
“I don’t think I got it when I was your age, either. Might have to be a little older to appreciate it. What grade are you going into?”
“Sixth.” He folded his arms over his chest.
“What do you want to do instead of reading? Anything?”
“Yeah, I want to skydive, and climb mountains and ride a motorcycle really fast, just like Uncle T.” For the first time today excitement shone in his eyes, and he came alive right in front of her.
“He does all that, does he?” She was beginning to see worship of Uncle Taylor, Super-Hero, in Alex’s eyes.
“Yeah, and a whole lot more really cool stuff, like base jumping in Norway. He took videos and it was so awesome.” Alex flopped back against the couch. “But I never get to do anything. I’m gonna be stuck inside all summer.”
Taylor opened the door to the lounge to check on Alex, but stopped when he heard Piper’s voice. It was soft and filled with compassion. Knowing he shouldn’t listen, he seemed powerless to stop himself.
“Maybe there’s a day camp you could go to. My younger sister used to go to one when I worked back in San Francisco,” Piper said.
“Did she like it?” Doubt was heavy in the boy’s voice.
“Sure did. Had to drag her out of there every day.”
There was a momentary pause. “What kind of stuff did she do?”
“Biking, hiking, crafts, and maybe some sewing, I think.”
“Those are girl things. I want to do guy stuff.” The sigh that followed said it all.
“Why don’t you talk to your uncle when he comes for lunch?”
Another pause. “I don’t think he’ll listen to me. He’s kinda like my dad that way. He doesn’t listen, either.”
Taylor closed his eyes and allowed the door to shut silently. Caroline’s parting words had been not to disappoint Alex as his father had done. What had he done so far with Alex? Total disappointment.
Determined to fix it right now, he coughed loudly and entered the staffroom.
“Hey, Alex. How’s it going?” Taylor asked, and glanced between them.
“I’m sick,” Alex said, and made a face, then clutched his abdomen.
“Sick?” Taylor frowned and grew concerned. The kid hadn’t been feeling poorly that morning, just ornery because Taylor had dragged him out of bed at the crack of dawn. Maybe bringing him to the hospital had been a bad idea after all. Though he’d been here just a few hours, there were all sorts of bacteria in hospitals that he could easily pick up. “Sick how?”
“Sick of being here. Can I go back to your house if I promise not to spill anything again? I won’t drink anything. Not even water, I promise,” Alex said, his dark brown eyes beseeching in a way that cut right through Taylor. He ran a hand through his hair. He wasn’t prepared for this. He couldn’t work sixty hours a week and care for a child. That camp thing Piper mentioned might have potential, though. Dammit. He just didn’t have it in him. The family he’d grown up in was no role model to draw from, either.
“You just can’t sit at my house and play video games all summer, Alex.” Taylor ran a hand through his hair, more than frustrated already and Alex had only been with him a few days.
“Why not?” he said, and gave Taylor a very adult look. “It’s what I do, Uncle T.”
“Didn’t you just say you wanted to climb moun
tains and jump out of airplanes like your uncle?” Piper asked from her seat beside Alex.
“Piper,” Alex whispered out of the corner of his mouth and cast her a conspiratorial glance. “He wasn’t supposed to know.”
“So how are you going to do any of this stuff if no one knows about it?” she asked, her manner totally at ease while talking to Alex. Taylor wished he could be that way, but his experience with kids was limited to birthdays and holidays and presents sent from far away.
Apparently, Alex had to think about that a moment because he didn’t have his usual snappy comeback ready. Then he shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Why don’t we go get a burger and fries and talk about it?” Taylor asked. “I’m sure there’s something we can fix you up with that we can both agree on.”
With only a sullen expression on his face and a noncommittal shrug, Alex tucked his belongings into a worn backpack. “Okay.”
“Want to join us, Piper?” Taylor asked, hoping she would.
“I brought a sandwich.”
“You can have that any day. Today is green chile cheese fries day at the cafeteria.” For whatever reason, he really wanted to have lunch with this woman. She’d offered him some hope in dealing with Alex and he’d…needed that.
“Sounds like death by french fry.” But she stood and followed them from the room. “But I’m game.”
Taylor slowed as Piper tugged on his sleeve and pulled him back.
“Just so you know, a bored kid is a bad kid. Especially the really smart ones.” She nodded at Alex who continued down the hall in front of them.
“So, tell me about this camp business I overheard,” Taylor said, and ushered Piper forward. “I ran wild on military bases as a kid, so I don’t know anything about how they work.”
Piper smiled up at him, and Taylor took a second look at her. Though not beautiful in the classic sense, her heart-shaped face and full lips were definitely attractive. But her warm blue eyes that sparkled with suppressed humor intrigued him more than anything. Straight caramel-colored hair in a shoulder-length bob swung enticingly as she moved. She was tall and trim, but curvy in the right places. Though he’d observed those things yesterday, he really hadn’t noticed them. Too busy with patients and work as usual.
