Beautifully Awake

by Riley Mackenzie

  “Nice work, Dr. Petit,” Chase said sincerely. “Why don’t you go help Guy and Jackson with post-op checks. I’ve got this.”

  “You’re sure?” Sam sounded shocked that his attending wanted to stay behind and transport the patient to recovery.

  “Yes. Go,” Chase instructed. “Ms. Porter. Walk with me.”

  My stare wandered down his sick body, imagining every hard curve. Flashes of our first night together in my hallway against the glass ran through my head.

  Catching me in my seductive act, his devilishly sexy smirk appeared. “Um ... Ms. Porter, would you like to ... come?”

  “Um ... of course,” I muttered, not even sure if it was comprehensible. Please, please don’t let there be a wet spot on these damn paper-thin scrubs. I needed more than a pantiliner around this man. The two older nurses in the room shot each other a knowing look, before blushing themselves. Sure—they completely ignored the boys’ shenanigans, but now they were completely tuned in. My luck.

  “Shall we?” Extending his hand toward the door, Dr. Playful made his first public appearance at work. The nurses looked like they might have wet their pants too, he was just that damn sexy.

  After arriving at recovery and before I embarrassed myself further, I left him with his cockiness to finish some paperwork. I chatted with Kate, who seemed in a much better mood today. Things must have improved with CJ for now. It was hard to keep up with their saga.

  Suddenly, a strong presence slipped in right behind me. Incredibly close behind me. So close no one saw the firm hand that slid its way down to rub my ass. I held my breath. One wrong move and there was no more hiding anything from anyone. Definitely not Kate.

  “Hi, Dr. Colton,” Kate said meekly. She didn’t know Chase all that well. No one at the hospital did. Hell, I barely knew him and I was sharing his bed. Aside from being new, he gave off a very intimidating, distant vibe. Add that to being hurt-your-eyes gorgeous, most of the female staff were easily flustered by him. Present company included.

  “Nice to see you’re back, Kate.” After the last CJ fiasco she took a couple of much needed “mental health” days. “Now that you’re feeling better, tell me who I need to speak to—I’ll make sure you’re assigned to all my cases from now on.”

  She looked a little green with Chase’s acknowledgement of her impromptu hiatus after seeing her hot mess display. “Umm, why? Did anything go wrong this week?”

  “No. Just not a fan of people rotating. That’s when mistakes happen. I need to know who I’m leaving my patients with … that they’re on my page, doing things my way. I understand residents need to rotate as part of their training, but otherwise, I want my own team. Jackson’s got it covered in the OR and I want you in recovery. So again, who do I need to speak with to make that happen?”

  Kate looked like she just won the Golden Globe for Best Nurse, if such existed. Meanwhile Chase’s assault on my ass continued, as if I needed reassurance. There was nothing suggestive in his tone, only professionalism. Dr. Sexy was all mine. I had no doubt.

  “Probably the recovery room coordinator. But I’m not sure how that would work. It’s always been the nurse who is free takes the next patient. I don’t think you can choose.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. Yes, I can.” Dr. Bossy was very matter of fact. “Just do me a favor. In the future, give me some notice before you take time off so I don’t schedule any of my high risk cases then.” Coming from a world-renowned neurosurgeon, the compliment was huge. Her personal life was circling the toilet, so a professional boost couldn’t have come at a better time. And it was well deserved; she was a kickass nurse. Clearly Chase was stacking his team with the best.

  “Sure. You got it.” Kate looked adorable, smiling ear to ear.

  “I’ll make it happen.” Of course he would. Who was going to say no to this man? Brain surgeon, inventor, sex god. “But if you don’t mind, Ms. Porter and I have some details to bang out.” He grabbed my ass harder, pressing his fingers low between my cheeks. Kate was too distracted by the new company standing next to Chase to notice my gasp.

  “Your patient’s stable, told you there was nothing to worry about.” The awful expression on Dr. Jenning’s face mimicked the strained sound of his voice.

  Kate, visibly uncomfortable by the hostility between Chase and Carl, retreated to the supply closet. If Chase’s hand weren’t now snaked down the back pocket of my shit brown scrubs, I would have done the same.

  Chase shook his head in disgust. He had zero tolerance for incompetence and clearly thought the dry anesthesiologist sucked at his job. I half expected him to berate Carl Jennings right there for existing, but Chase was too professional for that. Without another word, Carl strolled away, leaving Chase and I standing uncomfortably close in a room full of people.

  “Um ... that was awkward.” I widened the space between us. Chase’s hand slipped from my pocket.

  “No. He’s a fucking moron. Awkward…” he said, parting his lips into a one-sided half smile that stirred my butterflies. “Awkward was hearing my team talk about my girl’s clear skin.” His accentuation of “clear skin” made me bite my bottom lip. No argument there. That was definitely awkward.

  “Um, trust me. Just be glad you walked in then and not before. That would have redefined awkward.” The heat hit my cheeks a-freaking-gain.

  Chase tipped his head back and snickered. “I don’t think I want to know. I’m sure you realize, baby, I won’t be leaving you alone in my OR with the boys again.” Welcome back, Dr. Possessive. The humor behind his eyes turned sultry. “Now I’m pretty sure, you agreed to ... come with me. Or do you need our OR nurses to remind you?”

  Mortified, I chewed my lip harder. “You, Dr. Colton, are an Asspuck.”

  “Well you, Ms. Porter, are beautiful. And if you keep biting that lip, our little secret is not going to be a secret anymore when I kiss that sassy mouth right here.” His volume was two decibels higher than I would have liked, but the sexy sweetness in his eyes melted me. I almost wanted him to kiss me. Almost. “Let’s go back to my office. We’ll pound out those details and I’ll order us some food. Sushi?” He was so just one of the boys.

  Luckily, we left the recovery room without any PDA and pressed for the elevator. Remembering the new piece of Chase’s puzzle I discovered today, I hoped his playful mood might open him up to me a little, so I went for it. “Hey, when did you have the time to invent that equipment you were talking about? You were one of those child prodigy kids, weren’t you? I should call you Doogie Howser, hmm.”

  “You can call me anything you want, as long as it’s my name you’re moaning when I’m between your legs.”

  “Chase!” I squealed and scanned the hallway to make sure no one heard him.

  “That’s more like it, baby.”

  His amusement was infectious, and damn, those bedroom eyes killed me. It was a welcomed change to see him this relaxed and playful at work.

  “No, really. Why didn’t you ever mention inventing equipment before—was that the Boston company Asher was talking about that night at dinner?”

  His demeanor shifted ever so slightly, but it shifted. “Never came up. Let’s get back to what you want to order. I already know what I’m going to eat.”

  As much as Chase’s flirting turned me on, he was avoiding the topic. I understood not wanting to talk about his dead sister, but why dodge a career question? Chase was passionate discussing all things medicine. It made no sense. Before I could press the issue, the steel stair door swung open and Guy walked out looking content with himself.

  “Hey, case all done? I’m looking for Petit, got some scut for him to finish.” Thankfully, he wasn’t interested in asking where we were headed.

  “No you don’t, I want you both rounding on the kid hooked up to the KimCore. He should be in the ICU by now.” Chase easily snapped back into business mode.

  “Why? He’s not our problem. He’s on the trauma service. You just showed them how to put the cath
eter in, right? That doesn’t make him a neuro case.”

  “First of all, if I tell you to round on someone, you do it. No questions asked. Second of all, if we lay so much as a finger on a patient, they become our fucking problem. Understand? I don’t care whose service they technically fall under—you’ll make sure you put a goddamn note in the chart every day. That’s how I run my service.” Dr. Intensity resurfaced. I lingered back, speechless, while Guy’s face had what the fuck crawled up your ass written all over it.

  Guy’s common sense kicked in and told him not to debate hospital policy technicalities with Chase. He was never going to win. “Whatever you want, Chief.” He held both hands up in surrender. “I’ll add the kid to the list, make sure we round on him.”

  “Actually, any patient on the KimCore gets added to the list. Starting now,” he barked.

  Guy had to be mentally counting down the days left on this rotation. Him and me both. But for polar opposite reasons. Jackson was spot on when he said Guy rubbed Chase the wrong way, so I couldn’t blame Guy for wanting off this service. I, on the other hand, had enough sneaking around pretending to only have a professional relationship with my boss.

  “Sure.” Guy didn’t bother to hide his eye roll when he answered Chase’s last demand. I wondered if Chase was punishing Guy or if he really believed the KimCore patients needed neuro’s attention. Chase’s attention. God, I hoped it was the latter; otherwise my sweet, sexy boyfriend was just being a dick. What the hell was KimCore anyway?

  When the elevator opened, I gave Guy a sympathetic wave before stepping inside. Chase wasn’t done.

  “And while you’re at it, Dr. Hunter, remember your job is to actually teach the intern something, not just scut him out. Why don’t you give it a fucking try? You have time for sex tales in my OR; you have time to teach. Understand?” Point made. Loud and clear. Dr. Possessive was totally not over it.

  Guy, being Guy, ignored Chase’s spanking and got the last word in. “Enjoy the elevator ride, Chief.”

  Luckily, we didn’t speak about Guy or anything else from the morning during lunch. In fact, we skipped speaking in general. Instead, Chase did as he promised if I came with him, and fed me some delicious sushi.

  15

  Papers

  “So, Lee, you need to keep the weekend of August twenty-first open for Sierra’s baby shower.”

  It was a little before nine and the rest of the team was at surgical grand rounds.

  “Weekend?” Leanne questioned.

  “The shower is going to be in Cape Cod.”

  “As in, Massachusetts? What, Arizona was too far?”

  I ignored her sarcasm. “It’s gonna be Jack and Jill, so you can bring your flavor of the month.”

  “You mean Jack and whore.”

  Oops, she wasn’t feeling my humor.

  “You know I’m teasing. What? You can dish it out but can’t take it, huh?”

  Leanne continued to pout despite my joke. Okay, it probably wasn’t all that funny.

  “Whatever,” she caved and sighed.

  I laughed. “Anyway, it’s going to be at the Wychmere Beach Club in Harwich Port.”

  “So you’re basically telling me I need to sit in the car for six hours or probably more because we’re gonna hit a shitload of traffic to prance around at a fancy beach club.” This time she feigned annoyance.

  Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sierra’s parents bought plane tickets for all of Sierra’s friends, but I didn’t say that. “Oh come on, it will be a blast. We’ll head up Friday after work, go out, have some drinks … and after the shower, we can hang on the beach, and work on our tans. It’ll be fun.”

  “Okay, okay. You had me at sun and tans. I’m in, now I just have to find a date.”

  “What about Jack? You guys have been eying each other up and down for weeks.” I swore Leanne’s cheeks turned magenta; I didn’t think she had it in her. “Leanne Crowley, are you blushing?”

  “Don’t you have something better to do? Discharge someone, call an insurance company, whatever the hell you do.” She waved me off as she stood and circled the counter, attempting to busy herself.

  “I hit a nerve,” I said, chuckling. “He’s hot, Lee, and genuinely awesome, you should totally work that.”

  Leanne immediately twirled her long blonde hair. She was definitely considering, or reconsidering, Jack.

  “Excuse me, sorry to interrupt.” A tall, thin suited gentleman approached us at the nurses’ station. “I’m looking for Ms. Lili Porter. The security office sent me to this floor.”

  I shifted uncomfortably. He looked very official carrying a large sealed envelope.

  “Can I help you? I’m Lili Porter.”

  “Yes. I’m a process server, and I’m here to deliver you official court documents.” A small, familiar lump formed in my throat. He handed me the envelope. “I need your signature here, please, just verifying you received the documents.” I took his pen and scribbled my name on the line. “I recommend you review them as soon as possible. They are usually very time sensitive. Any questions you might have, I would encourage you to contact your attorney.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “Have a pleasant day.” He strode directly away without a backward glance.

  “What the hell was that about?” Leanne looked shocked. “You’re being subpoenaed? For what?”

  I tore the large familiar envelope open and removed the single sheet of paper.

  You are commanded to appear before Judge Wilson of the Superior Court of the State of Pennsylvania for Wrangel County at the County Courthouse, 15 Main St. Wrangel, PA, on Friday, July 28 at 9 AM to testify on behalf of the plaintiff and to remain in attendance until you have given your testimony or have been dismissed or excused by the court.

  “I was a social worker at a children’s crisis center back in my hometown. Unfortunately I have had to testify my fair share. Mostly family court stuff, but also a few child abuse cases. They can take forever to go to trial, guess this is one finally coming to fruition.” I sighed. “Can you tell the team I had to take care of something? Gonna run and make a few calls.”

  “You okay?” Leanne looked concerned.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. It’s more annoying than anything.” The thought of another innocent child being abused made me sick to my stomach.

  “Okay. I’ll let them know.”

  “Thanks.” I grabbed my bag from my office and headed for the river’s edge. Call me naive, but I planned to never set foot back in Wrangel. Now I had no choice.

  “Hey Asspuck,” Sierra answered on the first ring. “Aren’t you working or did Dr. Hot-as- Balls give you the day off?”

  “I have to go home.” The words singed my tongue.

  “Explain home?” Sierra demanded.

  “I have to be in Wrangel by nine AM Friday morning,” I paused. Shit, saying it out loud made it real.

  “Wrangel. You’re not going back there. What are you talking about?”

  “I have no choice. I was just served papers to testify in a child abuse case from years ago.”

  “You’re kidding. What the hell? You’ve been gone more than three years.”

  “Yeah, but you of all people know how long it takes for some of these cases to come to trial.”

  “This is ridiculous.”

  “Ya think?” Stealing Chase’s favorite line almost comforted me. Almost. “Shit, Sier, what if I see him … I can’t see him, but you know how freaking small our town is. If word gets out I’m coming home ... he’ll totally track me down. You know he will.” My phone chimed. Perfect timing for a pause.

  Where are you?

  What papers were you served?

  Call me. Xo.

  Grand rounds must have ended and I guessed that Leanne didn’t waste a second opening her mouth.

  “Lili, talk to me,” Sierra pleaded.

  “What? Sorry. I’m here, just reading a text from Chase. He’s looking for me.”

 
“Can’t you get out of this? I’m gonna call Dodd to see what he can do.”

  “No, you’re not. I’m probably just overreacting. I just needed to vent. It’ll be quick. I’ll fly out tomorrow night and fly back late Friday night. Really, I’ll be fine.”

  A familiar hand squeezed my shoulder before I felt his breath bathe the back of my neck. “Beautiful?”

  “Um, Sier, I have to call you back. Chase just got here ... yeah, call you later, bye.”

  “Why have you been ignoring your texts? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  I removed my sunglasses from my face “Well, I’m right here.”

  “Okay, fill me in then. Want to tell me why someone served you legal papers?” He looked tense.

  “Chase, it’s no big deal. I told you what I used to do back home and unfortunately, testifying was a part of my old job.” My throat burned when I uttered the word “home” out loud a second time. There was nothing homey about it anymore. “Just haven’t had to do it in a few years, so it sort of caught me by surprise.”

  Revisiting all my suppressed memories was the real issue, but that I kept quiet. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his hip against the back of a bench.

  “When do you have to go?”

  “I have to be there Friday morning, so I’ll probably head out tomorrow.”

  “We’ll head out.” He didn’t hesitate.

  “Chase, that’s crazy, you’re not going to just up and leave, you have cases.” And there is no way in hell you’re coming with me. He dropped his arms and walked toward the water, pacing back and forth a couple of times before his eyes commanded my attention. “That’s sweet, but it’s no big deal. It’s less than twenty-four hours I’ll be gone, you can’t just leave.” I repeated, trying to get Chase to see how crazy he was being.

  “Yes, I can. I can do what I want, Lil, that’s one of the perks of being Chief of the department.” Well hello, Dr. Cocky.