Family Secrets: Books 5-8

by Virginia Kantra

  That doesnt mean

  Compile that list we talked about over dinner and then go home, Dr. Winston, she said calmly. Ill have a nurse call if I need you.

  I will not go home, he said, leaning down to place his face closer to hers. Faith Martin was about five foot seven, maybe a little taller, and he didnt have to lean over very far. Her scent was intense when he stood this close. Some fancy shampoo, he decided, if shed been telling the truth and really wasnt wearing perfume.

  He hadnt been this close to a woman who wasnt a patient since Karen had died. That was why Dr. Martin smelled good. That was why she made something in his gut react in a perfectly understandable way. He ignored the smell, his gut, and the way his fingers itched.

  These are my patients, he said sternly, this is my clinic, and

  No, she said, completely unaffected by his intimidating posture. By the authority of the federal government, these are now my patients and this is my clinic. Go home. You look like you havent slept in a week.

  Dr. Martin, he seethed, I am not going home.

  Dr. Winston, she countered calmly, when you pass out from sheer exhaustion, neither my associates nor I will be able to take care of you. We have more important things to do here.

  I dont need anyone to take care of me, he answered.

  Do what you want, then, she said, before turning her back on him. I dont have time to argue with you anymore.

  She was almost at the end of the hallway when she muttered, Jackass.

  Such a common word coming out of such a prim, serious mouth made Luke grin for the first time since this disease had shown up in his county.

  The smile didnt last long.

  It was well past midnight when Faith stepped into the babys room. At last check, the child had been responding well to the antibiotic treatment. A quick peek to make sure all was still well, that was what she intended. There were two other affected children in another hospital room, but the more severely ill Benjy had a room to himself. One of the nurses was always with him. None of the R.N.s working in the Carson County Clinic had any specific training on the care of critically ill infants, but they were doing a fine job.

  Tonight there was no nurse on duty in Benjys room. Dr. Winston sat in the rocking chair by the baby bed. Benjy, swaddled in a blue blanket so that everything but his little face was covered, slept in the arms of his doctor.

  Dr. Winston lifted his head slowly, and Faith prepared herself for another argument. The man was impossible! He seemed determined to fight her every step of the way. Well, she could be just as bullheaded as he, if the situation called for such a response.

  Faiths plans to meet Dr. Winston head-on died rather quickly. It was difficult to remain angry with a man who held a small child this waywith strength and tenderness. Maybe it wasnt always a bad thing to care too much for ones patients. If he wanted to rail against her for coming in and taking over, she could take it. Maybe venting would make him feel better.

  Thank you, he said, his voice soft and deep.

  His thanks took her by surprise, and she was at a loss as to how to answer. Finally she said, Hes responding very well. We shouldnt get our hopes up. This is a treatment. We cant know yet whether or not it is a cure. The success of the treatment does buy us some badly needed time. And with the information on the patients you compiled so quickly, well be able to track and eradicate the source of the virus.

  Dr. Martin looked down at the baby. The lights in the room were low, so his expression was shaded, a dark shadow hiding much of his face from her. When you arrived this afternoon, I was trying to come up with an acceptable way to tell Benjys mother that he was dying. Thanks to you, I wont have to.

  Im just doing my job, Dr. Winston, she replied, uneasy with his gratitude.

  Luke, he said. Call me Luke. Everyone else does.

  Calling him by his first name would be much too personal. The very idea gave her cold feet.

  She would bring the epidemic under control, treat the patients as needed and study the virus. Perhaps there would be an opportunity to research and develop a vaccine, in case this virus should spread, but that sort of research usually took years. Her job here was to stop the spread of the disease before it got out of hand. When that was done, shed leave this cold little Montana town for another disaster site. That was her life. She did not make friends along the way, nor did she find herself admiring country doctors who took every case to heart. But Luke Winston asked so sincerely, and he cared so deeply.

  All right, she said. Luke. Now will you go home and get some sleep? You truly do look terrible.

  He lifted his head and looked at her. How do you know I dont look this terrible all the time?

  Just a hunch, she answered.

  Dr. WinstonLukestood carefully and laid Benjy in his bed. His hands were large, especially when compared to the size of the child. But those hands were capable, talented and caring. The baby stirred but did not awake.

  Maybe youre right, Luke said. I want to get scrubbed up, put on some clean clothes, go home and hug my daughter. Then maybe Ill sleep.

  Her heart sank, just a little. A daughter. Of course he was married! Men like Luke Winston didnt live alone. They didnt dedicate themselves to their work, to the exclusion of all else.

  Your wife must be frantic, with all the hours youve been away from home lately, Faith said casually. Im sure shell be glad to see you.

  Even in the dim light, she could see the sudden and distinct change in Lukes expression. There was no longer any ease on his face or in the way he held his body. My wife is dead, he said simply.

  Im sorry, she whispered.

  He didnt offer any details. How long had he been a widower? To lose a wife so young was surely horrible. Faith could only imagine what it would be like to love someone so much and then watch them die.

  It was obvious that Luke did not want to talk about his late wife. He ambled toward the door. Ill be back tomorrow morning, bright and early, he said, his eyes on the door.

  No rush, Faith said. Take whatever time you need. Tomorrow morning the new shipment will arrive via military helicopter and all the patients will receive the antibiotic treatment. Once thats done, well concentrate on finding the source and completing the genetic analysis of the virus.

  In other words, you dont need me here, he said as he came to a stop beside her.

  Thats not what I said.

  Luke looked down at her, and the inflexibility she had seen in him just a moment ago was gone. He remained tired, though. In fact, he was dancing on the edge of sheer exhaustion. This man needed a shave, a haircut, a shower and a couple days of sleep. So why was there still an indefinable strength in him? If she wasnt here, if Benjy hadnt taken a good turn, if he thought his presence in this clinic would serve any purpose at all, he would be here through the night. Again.

  His eyes flitted over the lines of her face, then finally found and held her eyes. He didnt turn away, didnt move his gaze to a safer, more polite place. Neither did she. Faith held her breath. No one had ever stared at her quite this way, as a man might stare at a woman he found interesting.

  Does anyone call you Faith? Or are you always Dr. Martin? He didnt wait for an answer. You look more like a Faith than a Dr. Martin, especially in
this light, with those big eyes and that cute nose and all that hair. You have great hair, by the way.

  Her first response was not at all appropriate. My nose is not cute. At least she managed to stop the words before they poured out of her mouth. Dr.Luke, she said, this really isnt

  Dont tell me, he interrupted. Im out of line. Im behaving badly. This is very unprofessional of me. Youre going to have someone come drag me away and toss me in jail for telling you that you have great hair.

  Of course not.

  The truth is, you were right all along. About the treatment, about the disease itself, about the fact that I need to get out of here and get some sleep. I have a feeling youre one of those women whos always right. Doesnt that get boring after a while?

  She opened her mouth to tell him to stop this, but she didnt have a chance to speak.

  Im tired. No, Im way beyond tired. Im punchy and weaving andempty. A half smile flitted across his face. Im so out of it, I open my mouth and whatevers on my mind just spills out. Did I tell you that you smell good?

  Dr. Winston, Faith said sharply, taking a single step back, this is entirely inappropriate.

  I know, he said. Maybe tomorrow Ill care. He ambled toward the door. Maybe not. He opened the door and, without glancing back, said, Good night, Dr. Martin.

  The door swung closed and Luke was well down the hall before she realized that she should have instructed him to call her Faith. Too late. The moment had come and gone.

  Three

  S ince coming to Carson County five years ago, Luke had lived in a cabin within walking distance of the clinic. Hed loved that house from the first time hed walked through the front door. His home was solid, warm, big enough to suit him, but not too big.

  A memory hed rather forget teased him. Karen had hated the log house. Shed sometimes talked about building something nicer, something befitting his position. More often shed talked about moving to the city, being a real doctors wife, spending the big bucks he would make in a big hospital. Shed hated it here. He hadnt realized how much until it was too late.

  Luke tried to push aside the memory of his last conversation with his wife, the day shed died. Thinking about what he could have done differently, what he should have done, was his own brand of self-inflicted torture. The guilt he suffered wasnt as bad as it had been in the first three months following Karens passing, but it was still with him. Every day, every night.

  He drew in a deep breath of cold air as he walked to the clinic in the morning light. He could almost smell the coming snow on the wind. Many of the places hed lived while growing up didnt see snow all year, much less this early in the fall. Texas, Florida, Mississippi. But then there had been years when theyd lived in Virginia and Michigan, and he did see snow. Hed never known where hed be, from one year to the next.

  Maybe that was why he loved his home here so much. His electrician father had traveled constantly, taking his family where the work was. Rockland was home, the first real home hed ever known. He loved it here. Hed put down solid roots and hadnt been willing to give them up for Karen.

  The memories he tried to push deep came surging back. Would his wife still be alive if hed given in to her demands and left Carson County behind years ago?

  Straight ahead the clinic loomed before him, and Luke turned his mind to more immediate problems. He remembered last nights conversation with Dr. Martin, but he wished he didnt. He was a grade-A nitwit. Shed probably had him barred from the second floor! The military shed threatened to call in was probably already in position and would keep him out.

  No way. It didnt matter who Dr. Martin was, or what kind of power she wielded. The people in that clinic were still his patients. He needed help, but he did not need a bossy woman to come in and take over.

  Luke unnecessarily prepared himself for battle. The deputy at the elevator tipped his hat and said good-morning. There were no armed soldiers waiting to stop him on the second floor. Apparently there had been no command to shoot him on sight.

  The vision of Faith Martin, standing toe to toe with Sheriff Talbot, was intriguing enough to make him smile. Talbot was six foot three, overweight, balding and lazy. Dr. Martin had her feet planted and her chin tipped up to look the lawman in the eye. A white lab coat draped her slender body; Talbot was in khaki strained to the max, as usual. They had been arguing. She was winning. Luke could tell by the red splotches on the sheriffs face.

  A good nights sleep hadnt dulled Lukes fascination with Dr. Martin. He was still oddly drawn to her. She certainly hadnt had a good nights sleep. Under her lab coat, those were the same clothes shed been wearing last night, baggy, shapeless and dull green. Had she spent all night in her laboratory? Or had she passed the hours looking in on and treating his patients?

  He might have spoken too freely last night, but hed been right about at least one thing. The name Faith suited this woman much more than a stern and impersonal Dr. Martin. A Faith would take down her hair and shake it out. A Faith would smile now and then. A Faith would be soft and gentle, at the right time and place. Luke closed his eyes. This wasnt right; not here, not now.

  Maybe Nelda, his nanny and housekeeper, wasnt full of crap after all. She kept telling him that one day hed wake up and realize that it wasnt natural for a healthy thirty-seven-year-old man to live alone. She also kept telling him that Abby needed a mother, that he needed a wife, that one of these days he was going to forget and forgive the past and move on.

  Hed fire that meddling Nelda today, if Abby didnt love her so much.

  As he stepped closer to Dr. Martin, he could hear the conversation. You dont have any choice, Sheriff, Faith said in a surprisingly strong voice.

  Little lady, I told you a hundred times, I dont have the manpower to go poking around the homes of twenty-two sick people looking for dead critters.

  Luke wondered if shed smack the sheriff for calling her little lady.

  Find the manpower, she insisted. I dont care if you beg, borrow or steal it. And tell your men you are most likely looking for infected birds or mice. Its imperative that they wear protective gloves, masks and gowns at all times.

  The sheriff began again. I dont

  Im sure you realize that twenty-two infected does not equal twenty-two residences. Many of those who were afflicted lived in the same home. A mother and son, sisters, a husband and wife. But you do need to also inspect the workplaces of those who became ill.

  Theres no way! Talbot thundered.

  Fine, Faith said calmly. Ill call the governor and tell him the sheriffs department here in Carson County is inadequate. Im sure there are ways in which he can assist you.

  Talbot took a step back. He obviously did not want the governors attentions turned in his direction. Ill see what I can do.

  Today, Faith insisted.

  The lawman grumbled, Today.

  Luke joined them. The confrontation was over. Faith had won. He was not surprised. Good morning, he said.

  The sheriff glared at him. Doctor, he said curtly, and then he stalked toward the elevator.

  Luke looked down at Faith. There were circles under her eyes, an unnatural paleness to her cheeks. W
hats wrong? he asked.

  Nothing, she insisted.

  He shook his head. You send me home and order me to get some sleep, and then you stay here and work all night.

  A new element had been added to her tired face. Frustration. Theres something odd about this virus, she said softly. No matter which way I look at it, its just not as it should be.

  I think its time for you to get some sleep. Luke took her arm and tried to lead her toward the elevator. Do you have a room at the motel? Carson Countys poor excuse for visitor lodging was twelve shabby rooms. Each room had one double bed and mismatched furniture and opened onto a small parking lot. The Rockland Motel wasnt fancy, but Faith didnt need fancy right now. She needed a bed and a few hours of peace and quiet.

  Yes, but

  No buts. Get some rest and everything will look different when you get back. He smiled at her. I promise you.

  She still balked. The shipment of antibiotics will be delivered in three hours, and I need to be here. I also need to take another look at the last specimen

  Stubborn woman! Dammit, FaiDr. Martin, he corrected himself quickly. Not quickly enough. Take your own advice. No one around here will be available to take care of you if you pass out from exhaustion.

  I do this for a living, she insisted. Ive gone days without sleep with no ill effects. I certainly dont need you telling me how to take care of myself in this situation.

  He dropped his hand from her arm. Fine. Work yourself into the ground. Just dont make a mistake on one of my patients because youre sleep deprived.

  She looked rightfully insulted. I do not make mistakes.