by Amy Ruttan
She had never been there for any holiday or award he’d won growing up.
He had always been envious of his friends who had mothers who loved and embraced their children. Supported them and cheered them on.
Henry was lucky to get an air-kiss as a token of affection.
His mother was cold and selfish.
“Henry, I thought you’d be in here.” She smiled brightly, and Henry walked over to give his mother a quick air-kiss.
“Mother, what’re you doing here?” he asked in exasperation.
“I brought someone for you to meet,” she whispered loudly. He was pretty sure that Kiera had heard.
“Mother, this is hardly the time and place...”
“Well, then when is the time and place? She’s standing outside.”
“You brought her here?” he asked under his breath.
“I can go and give you two privacy,” Kiera chirped up.
Henry turned around and glared at her.
“I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met,” his mother said frostily.
“No. We haven’t,” Kiera said brightly.
“Do you work here?” his mother asked.
Henry cringed. She wasn’t tactful and had no boundaries.
His mother thought she was above everything and everyone else.
“Yes, I do.”
His mother nodded and turned back to Henry. “Look, just come outside and meet this lovely woman. She’s from a good family.”
“Mother, I don’t have time for this. Father sent me here to deal with the hospital.”
“That can wait.” She waved her hand dismissively.
“Mother, I promised Father I’d take care of this, so please let me.”
“Honestly, you’re acting like this is some kind of hardship. All I’m asking you to do is cooperate. If you choose the right girl and stop with your hedonistic lifestyle it would be so much better for your father’s political career.”
“That’s the only reason you want me to get married?” Henry asked.
His mother’s expression softened, which was unusual for her, but only briefly. “It’s been eight years since Michelle and all that nastiness after her death—”
“Mother, don’t,” Henry snapped.
Why did he think anything was going to be different? Why did he think his parents would keep their promise? He should have just blown his father off, and then he wouldn’t have to be here. Listening to his parents bring up his mistakes over and over again.
Now he was angry at himself for allowing them to manipulate him.
He wouldn’t let his mother embarrass him. He refused to show any kind of emotion. The last time he did his parents had been horrified, so he kept it locked away. Now he was standing here trapped between the rock, which was his mother, and the hard place, Kiera.
Henry took a deep breath to calm his nerves.
How was he going to extricate himself?
Henry glanced back at Kiera, who was smiling, her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised as she watched the whole embarrassing situation unfold. It was mortifying. He was angry with his mother for doing this to him. They wanted him married to the perfect girl for his father’s image... Fine, he’d give them that and then some.
“Well?” His mother asked. “Surely you can give me a few moments?”
“No, Mother, I can’t. There’s no need.”
His mother looked confused. “What do you mean there’s no need?”
His ears pressurized and his pulse raced. Thundering. He glanced back at Kiera and his vision went a bit blurry. His palms were sweaty.
“There’s no need, because I’m engaged already, Mother.”
“You’re engaged? To whom?” his mother asked, shocked.
He blanked, glanced back at Kiera and took a step toward her.
“Kiera. I’m engaged to Dr. Kiera Brown. We’re engaged. It’s why I’m here in Colorado. We have to set a date.”
CHAPTER THREE
KIERA COULDN’T ANSWER right away because she really didn’t know what to say. When Dr. Baker had asked her to play along, she hadn’t been expecting to play along with this.
His fiancée? What?
Kiera had to get out of that boardroom. So that’s exactly what she did.
There was nothing to say. Let Dr. Baker try to figure out that particular problem on his own.
“Dr. Brown!”
Kiera stopped and waited for Dr. Baker to catch up to her. The last thing she needed was him shouting the ridiculous story he’d just fed his mother all over the hospital.
“Can I help you, darling?” she whispered under her breath.
Henry took her by the arm and led her into an empty exam room. When he shut the door, he let go of her arm and stood with his back to her.
“So when were you going to tell me that we’re getting married?” Kiera teased.
“I’m sorry. I panicked.” He ran his hand through his hair and turned around. “It seemed like the easy way out.”
“The easy way out of what? We’re strangers, Dr. Baker, and I think it’s safe to say that we don’t particularly like each other too much.”
Although, honestly, she really didn’t know him enough to determine whether she liked him or not. It was what he stood for.
She refused to date or fake marry someone who was concerned about the almighty dollar first and humanity second. She was not going to be with a man like Brent.
She’d seen the pictures in the tabloids of Henry with a different woman each week.
No way.
No more Greedy Guses for her.
Who said he was greedy? You don’t know him.
The anxiety rising in her since he’d told his mom they were engaged started to wane.
“Do you always have to be so flippant?” he asked, breaking her chain of thought.
“Sorry,” she said, because she did feel for him, even though he had put himself into this situation.
He had also put her into it.
The difference was that she didn’t have to take part. She didn’t have to go along with his crazy lie.
“So what’re you going to tell your mother?”
His eyes widened. “About what?”
“About what we’ve been talking about. You know, the whole she’s my fiancée thing? What’re you going to tell her now?”
“Nothing.”
“Excuse me? What?” She was in shock again. Was she hearing him correctly? She felt like she was stuck in some weird television show where soon someone would jump out at her, tell her she was on camera and throw a pie in her face.
That’s how surreal this felt.
“I’m not going to tell her anything different.” He crossed his arms in defiance.
“You expect me to do it?”
“Do what?” he asked.
“Tell your mother you lied?”
“No.”
She was confused. “What do you mean, no?”
Henry took a deep breath, looking as if he was in pain and rolling his shoulders. “Keep up this pretense and we can talk about what you want. We can talk about the free clinic and Aspen Grace Memorial Hospital.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Are you serious?”
“I can’t make any promises, but if you go along with being my fiancée while I’m here in Aspen, then I will do what I can to make sure your concerns are heard and taken care of.”
“So for the next twenty-four hours? You said something about heading back to California?”
“My trip is delayed. My father needs me here and I have a client consult now in Aspen. If, while I’m here, you agree to be my fiancée to keep my parents off my back, I’ll see what I can do about your demands.”
Something deep down inside of her told her to run, told her
not to believe him because she’d been burned before by men like him. Men like her father and Brent. Men who used and abused and never made good on their promise.
Still, this wasn’t real and she wouldn’t be hurt. She had to remind herself of that.
For whatever reason, he wanted her to pretend to be his fiancée, and though she should say no, the prize was much too great to pass up on. He’d listen to her concerns, and he was willing to work with her. That was the crux of the matter.
And really, what would it cost her? All she had to do was pretend to be his fiancée for the small amount of time he was in Aspen. He wasn’t cheating on her, or leaving her locked in some dingy hovel while he scored drugs.
Or leaving her alone at a truck stop diner in the middle of nowhere.
She shuddered as that long-repressed thought slipped into her mind.
She hated that it had come back. She didn’t want to feel like the scared, vulnerable girl she used to be.
You still are.
And she shook that thought away.
Kiera was irritated that she had been put in this position.
“Can I think about it?” she asked.
His eyes widened and he looked annoyed. “You want to think about it?”
“Yeah, I do. I mean, an engagement is a big deal.”
“You are the most infuriating woman I’ve ever met!”
“Then I’m going to have to pass.” She moved to step past him, but he stood in her way.
“I’m offering you a chance to be heard, have your concerns listened to, and you have to think about it?”
“You’re not promising me anything but listening to me. I need something more, and I really need to think about it.”
Henry’s eyes narrowed. “Fine.”
“Thank you.”
“Can I take you out to dinner tonight to discuss this further?” he asked.
The invitation caught her off guard. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been on a date.
Wait, this wasn’t a date.
Only she felt that anxious swirl in the pit of her stomach. Her mouth went dry and her palms were sweaty. All the classic biological signs of attraction.
It was infuriating.
Damn him.
Kiera was tempted to let him sweat it out, but she really did want what he was offering. She wanted her voice heard. She wanted to be listened to.
Lack of medical care for those who couldn’t afford it would be devastating.
Mandy’s father had taught both of them the power of compassion and medicine. Kiera wanted to help everyone, and the new private hospital would help only a select few.
“Sure. I would like to go out to dinner to discuss this further,” she said, finally finding her voice.
Henry relaxed. “Great. Shall I pick you up at seven?”
“Seven is good. I live at two-five-six Green Lane. It’s not far from here.”
“Green Lane. Got it.” He stepped to the side and opened the door for her.
“I look forward to discussing our arrangement further,” Kiera said brightly as she moved past him.
He grunted in response.
This was a step in the right direction. Or was it?
She shook that thought away and left Dr. Henry Baker standing in the hall, scowling at her as she left.
Kiera wanted to get back home and fill Mandy in on everything, but as she walked away her pager went off.
There was a large trauma coming in, and they were calling in all available surgeons. Henry ran up beside her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, watching her glance at her pager.
“A trauma. They’re calling for all available help to handle it.”
“I can lend a hand. I am a surgeon,” he offered.
Kiera nodded. “We can use it.”
“Lead the way.”
* * *
When they got down to the emergency room there was a flurry of activity as they tried to make space in the triage for the emergency cases that were expected in. Aspen Grace Memorial Hospital wasn’t like other larger hospitals, and they didn’t have interns or residents. They had a trauma center and good surgeons, but it meant that every available surgeon was being called in.
For the first time since Henry had arrived, Kiera was thankful he was here.
He was an extra set of hands, and this would give him the perfect opportunity to see that even though AGMH was small, it was mighty.
She got him a pair of scrubs, and they both quickly changed in the locker room.
Kiera handed Henry a yellow trauma gown and a pair of gloves.
Without her having to ask him, Henry tied her gown, and then he turned and she did the same for him, though he had to crouch slightly as he was taller than her. It struck her as odd, but also calming, which was a strange mixture, indeed.
She didn’t have to tell him what to do. There was nothing awkward or weird about this.
It was like they both knew, instinctively, what the other needed. Like they had been working together for a long time.
Other than Dr. Carr, her mentor, there wasn’t anyone else she worked with so well in the ER. Certainly not a doctor. She relied a lot on the amazing support staff. It was a bit unnerving, and her pulse was racing as she finished tying up his yellow trauma gown. Her cheeks heated. Why was something she did all the time making her feel this way?
All hot and bothered.
Her hands shook as she brushed the nape of his neck.
She finished trying the knot and took a step back.
Trying to regain some control.
She pulled on her mask and slipped on her face shield.
“Do you know what the trauma is?” Henry asked, putting on his own face shield.
“Multi-vehicle collision. Apparently, there was a patch of black ice on one of the mountain passes,” another doctor said.
Kiera winced. Black ice was the worst and, on a winding mountain pass road, a recipe for disaster. They stepped outside the ambulance bay doors. The cold wind bit her skin through the thin scrubs, but it wasn’t long until they heard the first long, whiny wail of an ambulance siren heading toward them.
Her heart was racing, but it was just the adrenaline. It was her focus. Lives were at risk and she wanted to be here to save them.
The first ambulance stopped and the back doors opened as the paramedics began to lift the patient down out of the back.
“Patient is a forty-two-year-old female passenger and was ejected through the front window. GCS was three on the scene. BP is sixty over thirty. Suspected head injuries and possible internal bleeding,” the paramedic said.
Kiera took over and helped the paramedics wheel the patient into a trauma bay. Henry was on the other side of the gurney. If there were as many injuries as she thought there would be on this patient, she was going to need all the help she could get. To her surprise she didn’t need to inform Dr. Baker of what to do, despite his unfamiliarity with Aspen Grace Memorial’s trauma room.
He just seemed to know where to go and what to do.
And that was exactly what she needed.
There was no time to explain.
Kiera palpated the abdomen and frowned when she found it was rigid and full.
“Her abdomen is distended. She has internal bleeding. We need to get her into the operating room. Stat.”
“Lead the way, Dr. Brown,” Henry said.
“Call down and have them prep operating room three,” Kiera said to a nurse. “And I’ll need a neuro consult.”
“Yes, Dr. Brown.”
Kiera continued setting up what she needed, to get the patient ready for the operating room. Right now, she and Henry had to get the patient into the operating room and try to stabilize her. She’d have a neurosurgeon in the operating room to monitor, and
then once the internal bleeding was under control they could assess the head injury.
While the patient’s pupils were still reactive, uncontrolled bleeding could kill her faster.
“You don’t need to pull another neurosurgeon in here. I’m a neurosurgeon,” Henry said.
“I thought you were a plastic surgeon?” Kiera asked.
“I’m both,” Henry stated.
“Okay. Well, that’s good to know. Let’s get her to the operating room.”
Henry nodded and wheeled the gurney out of the trauma room and toward the operating room, which was at the end of the hall from the emergency room. They handed off their patient to the operating room orderlies and made their way into the scrub room, changing out of their yellow trauma gowns and swapping for different scrub caps.
Kiera glanced over at Henry, who was scrubbing in beside her. She noticed how muscular his forearms were. She had a thing for muscular forearms, and peeking out under the sleeve of his scrubs was a tattoo. Her blood heated, and that flutter started in her stomach again.
She had been impressed by the way he had thrown himself into the fray of helping out with the trauma. He just seamlessly fit in. It was sexy as hell watching him work.
And she had a thing about tattoos. She couldn’t see all of it, but his looked like the bottom of a tree, roots in particular. It was black and intricate and completely caught her attention. She hadn’t taken him for the type of person who had tattoos. Of course, it had been hard to tell what type of person he was under the expensive designer suit.
“What?” Henry asked, noticing that she was staring at him.
“You have a tattoo.”
Henry glanced down at his arm. “I do.”
“I didn’t peg you for the tattoo type.”
A half smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “What kind of person is that then?”
“I don’t know.” She smiled. “You know, that’s the first time you’ve smiled since you got here. You have a nice smile.”
The smile quickly disappeared, and he became serious again, as if he were bothered that she’d noticed he had a nice smile, which he did.
And she quite liked the tattoo, too.
What she didn’t like was his moodiness. This hot and cold that he seemed to have. She had just met him, but she didn’t know whether she was coming or going with him. One minute he was asking her to pretend to be his fiancée and the next minute he was all closed off and serious. It was driving her crazy.
