by Molly Evans
“I’m sorry, Taylor,” Piper said, and escorted him to the door. “This wasn’t the night I had…hoped for.”
“Me, either, but I’ll survive.” He gave a quick smile and a kiss on her nose. “Weather’s supposed to be good, so I think I’ll go jump out of an airplane.”
Piper laughed at his go-with-the-flow attitude, wishing she could be more that way. “Just don’t forget to open the chute,” Piper said, feeling somewhat better having talked to Taylor.
“I won’t.”
“Thank you for listening. I needed it.” She pulled him down for a hug, warmed when his arms wrapped her up for a squeeze and went no further. He was becoming a friend, more important to her than she had anticipated. And that…surprised her, scared her, and made her wonder if there could be anything else between them. As she watched Taylor from the doorway, she wondered if she was deluding herself. A man like Taylor didn’t settle for women like her. Men like him needed more excitement than she was capable of offering. Maybe cooling things between them would be better for both of them, rather than looking for opportunities to heat things up.
Though her time here in Santa Fe was limited, it wasn’t out of the question for her to extend her contract or even take a permanent job in Santa Fe. There were definite possibilities, but she didn’t want to set herself up for heartbreak. Was she asking too much of an affair with Taylor? Could she just take what he had to offer and leave it at that?
Someday she wanted a family. Someday she wanted a relationship that would stand the test of time. Someday she wanted to stay in one place and put down the roots that she hadn’t been able to.
Closing the door, she sighed. Someday was getting closer every day.
CHAPTER TEN
PIPER returned to work on Monday morning exhausted. She’d spend Saturday and most of Sunday with her sister in Phoenix, returning to Santa Fe late Sunday evening. They’d fought, they’d yelled, they’d cried, they’d made up. She’d let go. Elizabeth was on her own, standing tall beside a man she professed to love, who seemed to adore her, as well. That was more than Piper had in her own life, something she’d put off in order to see Elizabeth cared for. A small thorn of jealousy stuck in her side for the trip back to Santa Fe.
Although she knew that Elizabeth was diving head-first into dangerous waters, Piper finally realized that she had to let her, couldn’t stop her anyway. She wasn’t Elizabeth’s mother or guardian anymore, and as Taylor had said, Elizabeth was of age to make her own decisions, good or bad. She was the one who had to live with the consequences, not Piper. Sighing, Piper had resigned herself to being there to pick up the pieces when Elizabeth’s world came crashing down around her. Maybe after the restaurant venture failed, she’d go back to culinary school the way she was supposed to have done in the first place.
Thirty seconds into Piper’s shift, a cardiac arrest, a car crash victim and a woman in late labor all arrived in a car, an ambulance and a taxi.
“I’ll take the crash,” Taylor said, steering away from the pregnant woman. “Piper, you’re with me.”
Relieved, she followed Taylor into the trauma room where she forgot everything else except the patient and her work, and the symmetry with which she and Taylor moved together. She removed the ambulance crew’s monitoring equipment and hooked the patient up to the room’s equipment.
Though her hands trembled slightly with the unexpected intensity of the situation, this anxiety was familiar and something she could deal with. Much better than personal trauma any day.
Taylor listened to the man’s lungs, then immediately palpated the man’s throat. “He’s got a deviated trach.”
“Chest tube set-up?” Piper spun around without waiting for Taylor to answer and extracted a large procedure tray from the cupboard, opening it as she turned back.
Taylor whipped off his lab coat and thrust goggles over his face at the same time. As soon as Piper opened the sterile gloves, he shoved his hands into them. “Betadine,” he said, and held out a wad of gauze.
“Yes, Doctor.” Piper squeezed the skin prep solution onto the gauze, then cast a glance at the monitor. “BP and oxygen saturation are okay, but his heart rate is creeping up.”
Arturo, the respiratory therapist, stood at the head of the bed, pumping oxygen into the man’s lungs. “He’s getting a little harder to ventilate, too. Not good, man, not good.” He shook his head as if he knew something was going to happen.
Sweat broke out between Piper’s shoulder blades. A deviated trach indicated tension pneumothorax. If not corrected immediately, it could lead to further life-threatening problems. As she looked at Taylor, her pulse evened out and her breathing no longer seemed tight. Though he moved quickly, every move had purpose and was extremely efficient. He exuded confidence and absolute certainty in what he was doing. Just watching him calmed Piper. Taylor knew what he was doing, and he was going to save this patient’s life. There was no doubt in her mind.
“Once we get the pressure off his heart, that should improve.” Taylor finished scrubbing the skin on the outside of the patient’s left ribs and tossed the gauze away. Keeping his eyes on the chest, he palpated the ribs with his left hand and held out his right to Piper. “Blade first, then the tube with stylette.”
Piper placed the items into his hands and watched as Taylor nicked the skin with the scalpel blade, then placed the tip of the chest tube in the small opening. With his strong right forearm, he forced the tube through the patient’s ribs and into the pleural sac over the lungs. Piper held her breath as she watched Taylor’s focused motions, knowing this was a painful procedure for the unconscious patient, but a lifesaving one.
As soon as the tube reached its destination, Piper’s breath burst from her lungs. She connected the external end to the chest tube set-up filled with sterile water. “Bubbles. We have bubbles, Doctor.” Piper gave a small smile. The procedure was a success.
“Good.” Taylor nodded and wiped his forearm on his forehead. “Always makes me sweat getting those tubes in.”
“A little sweat saves a life. No problem.” Standing on her toes, she mopped his forehead. Their eyes connected for a brief second and a flash of heat consumed her. Piper moved away, then handed him the suture kit to secure the tube to the patient’s skin. If the tube became displaced, the patient would be back to critical in seconds.
Taylor palpated the man’s throat again and nodded. “Looks like that did the trick. Everything’s back where it should be.”
“I’m always amazed at what air in the chest cavity can do.”
“Air where it doesn’t belong causes all sorts of problems. Air where it belongs is just fine.” Taylor took the dressing that Piper handed him and applied it to the chest tube site. “Go ahead and call Radiology. We need a head CT, spinal films, probably chest and abdomen, too.”
“Got it.” Piper reached for the phone.
Taylor walked to the sink to scrub and removed his goggles as he listened to Piper’s brisk voice. She knew her stuff, he had to admit that. Casting a glance her way, he wondered how her weekend had gone with her sister. Shrugging, he turned back to the sink. If she wanted to talk, she would. It wasn’t any of his business unless she wanted to make it that way.
Despite his attraction to her, he really needed to cool things off between them. She was such a responsible, conservative person, she didn’t need him in her life. Not that he was irresponsible. He simply didn’t want any romantic entanglements at this point in his life. Sure, he liked her, she’d helped him with Alex, was beautiful, more fun than any woman he’d dated for ages, and…Was he trying to talk himself out of being attracted to Piper? With a frown, he scrubbed at the sink, and tried to keep his mind focused on the work in front of him. They were getting along great right now, but sooner or later their friendship was going to head south. Always did with him. Relationships never lasted more than a few months with him. Somehow, he always found a reason to move on.
Hours later, Piper handed the patient over to the IC
U nurse and gave report. Chest trauma and lacerations were his biggest problems. “Head CT, spinal and abdominal films all negative. Got a pneumo on the left. Chest tube placement confirmed by X-ray.”
She glanced at the man who was now rousing in the bed with his concerned family hovering around him. “He’s darned lucky.”
“Yeah. We don’t see many drunk-driving accidents early Monday mornings. They’re usually the Friday- and Saturday-night types,” the ICU nurse said as they finished report.
Piper returned to the ER and for the rest of the day dealt with the mundane complaints more usual for a Monday. As she wearily slung her bag over her shoulder and headed out the door, she could think of nothing better than filling her tub and her wineglass to the top and diving into both. Which made her think of the hot tub at Taylor’s house and she flushed with the memory. Since he’d adjusted her back, she’d had no stiffness and the cuts and scrapes had healed nicely. Not even on the flight to or back from Phoenix. Though they had been only hour-long flights, seats on commercial flights weren’t known for their great comfort.
Guess the man with the magic hands knew what he was doing there, too.
It seemed that her thoughts conjured him as Taylor walked into her peripheral vision.
“Hi, Piper. Heading out?”
“Yep. Been a long day. You?” She heaved a heavy sigh.
“Yep. Alex stayed after camp for a birthday party, so I’ll pick him up, then head home.”
“How much longer until your sister returns?”
Taylor consulted his watch. “A few weeks.”
“Fabulous. Then what will you do with your free time back?”
They strolled to the parking lot together as staff hurried by on their way home, too.
“Climb mountains, jump out of airplanes and various other super-hero stuff.”
Piper laughed. The sensation felt good in her chest. It seemed that Taylor knew just what to say and when to say it to draw her out of her doldrums. That, she appreciated more than he knew. He was so out there sometimes. She needed her feet firmly on the ground. In that they were polar opposites, but they had somehow made a connection that she was reluctant to see end. After his sister returned, he probably wouldn’t need her help with Alex any longer and then where would they be? The boy had been somewhat of a buffer between them, serving as common ground, something they could talk about if things got uncomfortable between them. Would things be the same between them when life returned to normal? Or would her greatest fears be realized? Her world was so normal and Taylor’s as big as the sky. She had to make a decision.
“So, did you go skydiving over the weekend?” she asked.
“Hang gliding.”
“You lead a dangerous life, Doctor.” Piper shook her head. What an adrenaline junkie he was. Trauma patients, hang gliding, parachuting and helping to raise his nephew. Couldn’t get more dangerous than that.
“It’s not as wild as it seems,” he said, and shifted his position. “At least, not most of the time.”
“Ri-ght.” They arrived at her car, and she leaned against it.
“How’d it go with your sister?” Though he’d told himself to wait, he apparently wasn’t listening to himself.
“Well.” Piper curved her hair around one ear, something he was recognizing as a nervous gesture, something he found endearing. “She’s determined to go through with her plans with Eduardo.” Shaking her head, she looked away from the intensity of Taylor’s eyes. “I met him. They took me to the place they’re opening. They have big plans.”
“How are you doing with all that?” he asked, and took a step closer to her.
“Oh, well, that’s going to take some getting used to.” She finally met Taylor’s gaze. “They certainly think they’re in love and are going to be successful together.”
“They could be.”
“And they could fail miserably.”
“They could. But together they might accomplish more than either of them alone.”
Piper paused a second, staring at Taylor, surprise in her eyes. “That’s exactly what they said.”
“Then maybe they’re smarter than you’re giving them credit for.”
Piper sighed, then stuffed her belongings into her car.
“You look tired.”
“It was a long weekend, then a long day today. I work the next two days, so I don’t think I’ll be catching up on rest until then.”
Taylor started to reach out to her, then clenched a fist and resisted the temptation. She wasn’t his to fix or comfort or anything like that. She was just a nurse he worked with. Just a woman he’d had the most incredible sex with. Just someone who was getting under his skin in a way he didn’t understand and wasn’t comfortable with. Just someone he was starting to think of as a friend. And more. And he didn’t like it. His idea of a long-term relationship was a four-day weekend at a ski resort when the skiing was bad. Something about Piper was changing that perspective and he resisted, though part of him wanted to embrace what she offered. Something about her resounded inside him, silently melding with the torn and hurt parts buried deep inside him, healing the things he hadn’t even known were broken.
“I’m working those days, too, so I’ll probably see you.”
“I’ll be there for green chile cheese fry day on Wednesday.” Piper gave a small smile. “You’ve got me hooked now. I may have to stay in Santa Fe forever because of those darned fries.”
Taylor smiled. “Good. Green chile is good for all that ails you.”
“Wouldn’t it be nice if that were true?” she said with a tired smile.
As she climbed into her car, he squatted down beside the door as she rolled down the window. “I know you’re too tired tonight, but maybe Wednesday after work we can meet up at the park for a run.” Taylor told himself he wasn’t pursuing her, just wanting some company for some exercise. Give himself something to look forward to over the next couple of days. That’s all.
“Just no coyotes, okay?”
“Okay.” He grinned, then stood, and he watched her drive away.
The woman intrigued him. He knew she was all about long term, commitment and loyalty. Those were things that he had taken great pains to avoid in his life, but now they weren’t looking so bad. Maybe he was changing. Maybe being around Piper had changed him. Maybe he’d had a long day and his defenses were down, and he didn’t know what the hell he was thinking. Maybe a drink with some friends would relieve the loneliness that lived inside him.
Loyalty and commitment were starting to look more appealing than they ever had.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
NOT having made any firm plans with Taylor for the park on Wednesday, Piper drifted toward the place after work. Changing into her walking shoes was about all the energy she had left after three grueling days at the hospital. Twelve-hour shifts weren’t for sissies. Every cell she had seemed to have had gone on strike. Even her eyelashes hurt. But she supposed that a little exercise and fresh air was going to do her good. She certainly couldn’t feel any worse than she did now.
Summer evenings were longer now, but remained somehow cool, though July was nearly on them. She supposed that was one of the perks of living at high elevation in the desert. Warm days and cool nights were just about perfect to her. She stretched her muscles while waiting for Taylor, but he didn’t show. So she started her first lap around the track, continuing the warm-up without him. Somewhat disappointed that he hadn’t come, deep down she’d known that he was going to revert to his normal life at some point and leave her behind. Seemed like that was the story of her life. She was just a side dish in life’s buffet, something to keep a man from starving but not enough to sustain him. Though disappointment churned in her stomach, she kept going. That’s always what she did, she just kept going forward no matter what.
The quick footsteps of a runner behind her made her move over to let the person by.
“Hi, Piper!” Alex said as he jogged in place beside her. He was red-fa
ced and sweaty, but he looked like he was enjoying himself.
“Hey, kiddo. What are you doing here?” Where Alex was, Taylor was sure to be close by. Anticipation hummed in her belly and some of her fatigue mysteriously evaporated, as did the disappointment and her somber mood.
“Uncle T. tortured me until I came.” He grinned, jogging backward so he could see her.
“Tortured you? With what, a book?” She laughed.
“Oh, man, you guessed. It was either read or come to the park. At least this way I might see a rabid coyote.”
“Not if you’re going backward,” she pointed out with a laugh.
“Oh, yeah.” He turned around, glancing at the path ahead of them.
Piper laughed, suddenly glad that she’d pushed herself a little and come. Glad for the company of a child who didn’t expect too much from her and had a way of looking at things that was totally foreign to her. Alex was a great kid. When she had children, if she had children, she hoped they would be as nice as this one.
“So where is he?” She glanced ahead on the trail, but didn’t see the familiar form.
“Right behind you,” Taylor said.
Piper jumped. Her nerves shot to full alert, but she congratulated herself on maintaining a calm facade. “There you are. I thought I beat you here. I had decided you weren’t coming, so I started without you. Then when Alex caught up with me, I realized that you’d started without me.”
“I am a man of my word. I never break it,” Taylor said, and slowed his pace to match theirs.
Piper cast a doubtful glance his way as they rounded a sharp curve in the trail covered with river-bed rocks. “Really?”
“Really.”
“He’s right, Piper. Uncle T. never breaks his word. And sometimes that’s not good.” He gave her a serious look.
