“Nah, that doctor reminds me of a toddler. I’m afraid to let him touch me. Where did he get his diploma? The Romper Room?”
Jeff sighed. “Frank, there’s only so much I can do for you here.”
“You talk to me, and that’s more than anyone else does.”
Jeff faced Frank and used his official doctor voice. “Make an appointment with your regular doctor.”
“All right, Doc. I’ll try to get in to see him. But I’ll be back if it doesn’t work. Or if I get the rash back.”
“And I’ll probably be here.”
“Right. Where else would you be?”
As he undressed in the locker room, he thought about the fact that Ivey knew where he’d originally been accepted for residency. But if she’d been keeping tabs on him—which he found . . . interesting—she’d missed an update on the past year.
When news got around to his family that he’d been recommended for a resident position at St. Vincent’s, they’d waged a campaign for his return to Starlight Hill. Granted, he hadn’t been back for much more than a short visit in the past few years, but his niece and nephew Becky and Liam were getting older, and his sister Ali wanted their only uncle around more often. Little did she know someone would have to be injured to see much of him.
He supposed it made sense that Ivey was back for a visit, but applying for this job meant she wanted to stay. Maybe things hadn’t worked out with Computer Guy. Or maybe they’d worked out great, and for all he knew they’d moved their family to the best small town in Napa Valley to raise a family.
He didn’t know, and neither should he care. All he wanted now, besides a few hours of uninterrupted sleep, was to get through this punishing residency and secure his future. He hadn’t been through eight years of school to give up now, even if at times he wondered if he was doing any good at all.
At St. Vincent’s he’d become accustomed to the regulars, Frank being one of them. There was also the usual quirky small-town mix he’d come to expect——people he’d literally grown up around, like Ed, the accident-prone owner of the hardware store in town; the occasional migrant worker who’d met with the wrong end of a shovel; Marci, the hypochondriac; Eleanor, the pack-a-day smoker who insisted that he “do something” about her diabetes but refused to quit smoking or watch her diet; and the occasional wayward teen with alcohol poisoning.
Frank concerned him the most. It didn’t take a psychiatric consult to see that the man was lonely. Jeff wasn’t supposed to concern himself with how his patients did after they walked out the doors of the ER, once he’d pronounced they weren’t in imminent danger of death. But he couldn’t help being protective of Frank, who lived in assisted living and took too many trips to the ER.
Sooner or later, Jeff would need to get to the bottom of it.
****
Ivey unlocked the door to Aunt Lucy’s condo with shaking hands, closed it quickly, and leaned against it as though she could barricade herself inside from the rest of the world. The world in which Jeff lived in Starlight Hill again, breathing and eating and sleeping and Lord only knew what else.
And still looking too good while doing it.
One thought immediately sprung to mind: I’m going to have to tell him.
“What on earth?” Aunt Lucy stared from the couch where she lay splayed among magazine issues of People. “I saw a girl with the same expression you have on your face right now, but she was running through the woods from a madman who had an ax.”
“I thought I told you not to watch those kinds of movies.” Ivey walked to the TV and shut it off. She was the only one who could handle crime shows, and Aunt Lucy needed to stick to a steady diet of romantic comedies.
“Well thank goodness you’re back. It itches again.” Lucy shoved a pencil deep into the cast that covered her from knee to toe, thrust it up and down, grimaced for several seconds, and then sighed.
Ivey winced. “I don’t think you should put a pencil down there.”
“When you break your leg, you can talk. Lordy, when I get this cast off next week, I might kiss Dr. Stein.”
“Please don’t.” Hadn’t Ivey endured enough embarrassment when Lucy asked the doctor how a woman could have sex with a cast on her leg, and if he could recommend what position might work best?
“I’m kidding. He’s not my type.”
Not at all. Unfortunately he was at least thirty years older than her type, which lately tended towards thirty-something unemployed men. Not a bad thing, except for the fact that her aunt was fifty-eight.
The problem was that Aunt Lucy’s priorities had changed when she’d won the California lottery ten years ago, and now she seemed determined to suck the marrow right out of life.
When she’d phoned about the broken leg she’d suffered skiing in Vail on the constant vacation she called her life, Ivey rushed back from Los Angeles to help. Aunt Lucy had once helped Ivey during a difficult time, and at least now she could pay back her kindness by tending to her every need. Even if every one of those needs was getting on Ivey’s last nerve.
“How did it go at the hospital? Did you get the job?”
“No. I’ve been put on a subcommittee with one other doctor. Together we’re supposed to come up with a recommendation for the board next month.” Ivey grabbed a soda from the fridge and held it for a second against her flushed cheeks. Then she plopped down on the couch next to Lucy.
“A recommendation for what?”
“Whether they should even hire midwives for the women’s center. I guess some of the doctors have objections.”
“Oh they do, do they? Well la-di-da. So who is this doctor you’re going to be working with?”
“Jeff Garner,” Ivey said flatly, hoping she’d successfully removed every ounce of emotion from her voice.
Aunt Lucy’s eyebrows went up to her forehead, and that was hard to do with all the Botox. “Oh. Oh, dear.”
“Yeah.”
Aunt Lucy fanned herself with the latest edition of her movie star magazine, and a picture of a smiling Brad Pitt and his arsenal of children waved in Ivey’s direction. “It’s for the best. Time you told him everything.”
“No! It’s not.”
“He has a right to know.” Aunt Lucy had always believed that, but she’d supported Ivey’s decision.
“What do you think I should tell him? Hey, Jeff, five years ago when I left town I was pregnant with your baby. thought you should know. So have a great day.”
“I never said it would be easy.”
“I don’t need to make enemies at the hospital, and he’ll hate me.”
“Or it will finally make sense to him that you took up with someone on the Internet and left town like you had something to hide. I wish you’d come up with a better story than that one. Everyone in town talked about you for weeks. Took sides and made me crazy. What a ditzy move that was.”
Ivey threw her hands up in the air. “Why is it so crazy to believe I met someone on an online dating service? Hundreds of millions of people have found love there, or so the commercials say. And that’s where I met Joe.”
“Joe? I thought the name you made up was John.”
“Don’t you think I can remember the name of my own fake boyfriend? It was Joe. I’ve always liked that name. Joe’s always a good guy. You can count on Joe.”
Aunt Lucy shook her head. “You better make sure you keep that name straight if you want to keep up this ruse.”
“I don’t need to talk about Fake Joe. It didn’t work out.”
“If Jeff’s like most men, the last thing he’ll want to do is talk about your ex-boyfriends. Fake or otherwise.”
“I’m not going to talk to him.”
“How will you communicate? Sign language?”
“No. I’m going to get off this subcommittee.” Ivey stretched her legs out on the couch. “It’s the only way, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
No way would Lillian make her do this. She’d be there bright and early tomorrow morning
and explain everything. Maybe even throw in a little tear or two. Those weren’t all that hard to call up when she thought about the past and how badly she’d screwed everything up.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. If you want this job, fight for it. Don’t let him chase you out of town again.”
“He didn’t chase me out of town. I went willingly.”
“Because you didn’t want to be a glitch in his schedule. Well, Missy, it took two to make that baby.”
“You don’t have to tell me that.” As it so happened, she had a distinct memory of the event, and she definitely hadn’t been alone. Not that she wanted that image in her head right now.
But Aunt Lucy did have a point. She wasn’t going to go anywhere, not this time. If it would be difficult for Jeff to have her stay in town, too bad. She was not going to accommodate him anymore. “I want the job. It’s not that. I only want off the subcommittee.”
“Fine. But what’s he going to think about that?”
“You know what? I don’t care.”
With a little more effort, Ivey might be able to convince herself of that.
Chapter 3
Eight hours of fitful sleep were not enough, especially when Ivey had invaded half of Jeff’s dreams, but they’d have to do.
Still, when he opened the door to the conference room at precisely nine o’clock the next morning, he’d half convinced himself that yesterday had been a nightmare. He wasn’t really going to be on this subcommittee with his ex-girlfriend-slash-first-love.
But no, she was here. Not a figment of his imagination. He rubbed an eye with the back of his hand, more exhausted than disbelieving.
“What’s the matter? Didn’t sleep well last night?” Ivey looked up at him from her seat at the long conference table.
“Something like that.”
“None of this bothers me, in case you were wondering. I slept like a baby,” Ivey said.
“You always did. More like the dead, actually.” He took a seat. “You shouldn’t see me as the enemy. I’m the sucker that got appointed to this. I honestly don’t care what happens with the women’s center. They could hire a fleet of clowns and I wouldn’t care.”
Ivey eyed him with the Death Stare. “Are you comparing midwives to clowns?”
Yeah. He should have thought that off-the-cuff comment through a bit better. Blame it on the lack of caffeine, because there wasn’t enough in the state to keep him firing on all cylinders.
“No. I’ve always liked clowns.” Sue him. He couldn’t resist.
Ivey stood. Today she wore a white ruffled top that went up to her neck, and her long hair in a tight bun. If it wasn’t for the pencil skirt, she’d look like a prairie woman. And what was up with that?
“Let’s go.”
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to talk to Lillian. I’m going to tell her I can’t do this, and I want you there when I do it.”
“What can I say? I’m honored.” He held the door open, and followed her out, trying like hell not to check out her ass while he did. Epic fail. Dammit, even dressed like Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman she managed to arouse him.
Which would mean he’d stepped into a time machine, because that shouldn’t be happening.
Usually the hospital smelled like antiseptic and on a bad day in the ER like blood, but at the moment all he could smell was Ivey. Standing near her in the elevator, he swore he could smell the soft scent of vanilla. Did she still wear the same body spray he’d bought her years ago? The one that tasted as good on her as it smelled?
“It doesn’t have to be like this,” he finally said after a few more minutes of silence. Maybe they could at least put up the appearance of friendship.
Her shoulders seemed to relax an inch or two below her ears, but then she looked at the floor. “You were supposed to be in Maryland.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.”
“I didn’t mean—” She stopped midsentence. “Look, my Aunt had an accident and she needed me. I didn’t know you were in town. Then this opportunity came up.”
“You should take it if that’s what you want. Couples break up all the time, and it doesn’t mean one of them has to leave town. That was your choice.”
She seemed to swallow hard at that. “I’m aware of that.”
The elevators doors opened, and Ivey continued walking towards Lillian’s office, so he followed. If she wanted off this committee, they’d probably appoint someone else. Meanwhile he’d be stuck with the responsibility. Hopefully the new subcommittee member would be ugly.
Ivey knocked once on Lillian’s door, then hesitated and knocked again.
Lillian opened the door, tissue in hand. “Come on in.”
It appeared that the medical director had been crying. Her eyes were red and her cheeks blotchy. But that couldn’t be, because there was no crying in medicine. Only patients were allowed to cry. Sometimes.
So far this day was not shaping up to be any better than the last forty-eight hours.
“Is everything okay?” Ivey asked.
“Wonderful. I just have something in my eye. I’ll need to find a new babysitter though. My son hid the babysitter’s dentures. I could barely understand the woman when she called to quit on me. This is the third babysitter we’ve been through. Did I mention that? But you don’t need to hear my problems. What can I do for you?” Lillian sniffed into her tissue and offered them a brave smile.
Jeff turned to Ivey and didn’t say a word. It was for the best that he remain mute.
“I wanted to tell you that—” Ivey began and then stopped. Glanced at him.
For help? Really?
“Yes? What is it?”
Ivey let out a breath. “I’m going to enjoy working with Dr. Garner. I think we’ll make a good team.”
The director sighed deeply. “That’s what I like to hear. Finally some good news. You’ve made my day.”
On the way back down in the elevator, Ivey pointed a finger in his direction. “Not a word. It’s hard for a working mother to find good help. Besides, we can make this work, can’t we? If we sit on opposite sides of the table and divide up the work.”
Funny how Ivey behaved, when she’d been the one to leave him. Suddenly he’d had enough of her games. “Explain why you’re so pissed when you’re the one who broke up with me.”
“That’s good, Jeff. Are we now going to rewrite history? Let’s go ahead and get rid of the Vietnam War while we’re at it. You broke up with me.”
“Speaking of rewriting history, you just did that.” He stepped off the elevator and walked briskly ahead of her to the conference room.
He opened the door and stood aside for her. Ivey started to walk through, then stopped. She took a deep breath and then gave him a long look with those blue eyes that sometimes looked violet, depending on the light. “Before we walk in there, we have to agree to leave our personal lives outside. That’s the only way I’ll do this.”
He nodded. “You got it.”
“Good.” Ivey walked to the conference table and opened her tablet. “Let’s get started.”
Jeff went ahead and pretended that magical pixy dust had settled over them the moment they crossed the threshold. For the next two hours, they talked birth statistics, labor and delivery, and emergency C-sections. Ivey’s cheeks got a little pink every time they discussed a woman’s pregnancy and risk factors, a bit strange for someone who claimed to be a midwife.
“I’m sure your part in all of this is to sway the board that it might be best to keep midwives out of a hospital,” Ivey said, tapping away furiously on her tablet.
“Wrong again.” He leaned back. “My part in all of this is to remain objective and give an honest recommendation.”
And he would try like hell to remain objective, even if all he wanted to do was take her home and show her how much he’d missed her. Then do it all over again.
She raised a single eyebrow. “And you think you can do that?”
Maybe. Probably. Oh hell. No. “What part of ‘I’m not the enemy’ do you not understand?”
Ivey shook her head. “Sorry.”
“Dr. Allen Stewart.” She should know the name of her real enemy, and it wasn’t Jeff.
“Who?”
“He thinks the hiring of one midwife is the beginning of a long, slippery slope in which he ends up destitute on the side of the road.”
“He’s not any different than most doctors I’ve known.”
“How long have you been a midwife?” He changed the subject, hoping she wouldn’t notice he’d taken a tangent leading toward the personal. In the past, biology had never been her strong suit, unless you counted the time they’d spent in the bedroom.
“I worked as an apprentice midwife for Babs Holiday, and for the last two years I’ve been on my own.”
“Why not work as a home birth midwife?”
“I want to work in a hospital. We need to stop acting like doctors and midwives are mortal enemies and learn to work together.”
“It’s not going to be easy. And Stewart is a hard-ass.”
“So you don’t think I can handle him?”
“I didn’t say that.” Jeff didn’t like this little semi-friendly exchange. It was easier to keep the emotions bottled up and tamped down tight where they couldn’t bother him. Right now they were rising to the surface and annoying the hell out of him.
Just because he was lonely and couldn’t remember the last time he’d been laid, it was no reason to take up with the ex.
Ivey shut her tablet. “Why don’t we end for today?”
“Good idea. My shift starts in an hour, so I’m going to grab lunch.”
“Another long shift?”
“Yep.” Right about now, Ivey would be counting her blessings that she hadn’t wound up with him. Maybe whoever she’d wound up with could give her more than two hours a day of his time. “At least you’ll know where to find me.”
“Right.” Ivey glanced up at him, the hint of a smile on her lips. “Will you be in the cafeteria? I mean, in case I need you. To ask you a question.”
All of Me Page 2
