Книга - Safe In The Surgeon’s Arms

Safe In The Surgeon's Arms
Molly Evans


Healed by his touch… Nurse Emily Hoover has returned to Williamsburg a new woman! She’s no longer the shy and retiring girl next door, but strong, independent and ready for anything… Her only weakness… ? Handsome Dr Chase Montgomery!Whilst the sparks flying between them are as powerful as before, the attack in Emily’s past still threatens to come between them. Chase is determined to show Emily that in his arms she’ll always be safe. But is she ready to open her heart once more and fall in love all over again?







Emily was the last person Chase had expected to see after coming in on the trauma chopper today.

When she spoke the tone of her voice, its soft, dewy vibrations, cut him to the core—as if only yesterday she’d meant something to him. He hadn’t been expecting her and he hadn’t prepared himself to see her there. Surely someone could have told him she was coming. He could have prepared, could have hardened his heart and his emotions against their first meeting, put up boundaries—not been broadsided, unprepared. He’d never imagined she’d come back here, where it had all begun for them.

That was probably the biggest shock. She’d come back to where he was when there were other hospitals in the area. So why here? And why now? That was a puzzle he intended to solve and then get on with his life.

There was an answer for everything, and he was going to find this one.




Dear Reader (#ulink_b5b9feb1-910e-57d7-b7be-318b135d8c89),


Thank you for picking up my new book! It is set in one of my favourite towns—Williamsburg, Virginia, USA—where history and fantastic foods are just steps away, no matter where you are in town.

This story is important to me as I’m a sucker for a tortured hero and I adore the strong women who love them.

We never know what we are capable of until we are put in a position to rise to challenges we never expected in life. These two are stronger together than either of them are alone.

I hope you enjoy the emotional journey these two characters take as they find love in each other’s arms again.

Please visit me at mollyevansromance.wordpress.com (http://mollyevansromance.wordpress.com).

Regards

Molly Evans


MOLLY EVANS has taken her experiences as a travel nurse across the USA and turned them into wondrous settings for her books. Now, living at six thousand feet in New Mexico is home. When she’s not writing, or attending her son’s hockey games, she’s learning to knit socks or settling in front of the kiva fireplace with a glass of wine and a good book.

Visit Molly at mollyevansromance.wordpress.com (http://mollyevansromance.wordpress.com) for more info.




Safe in the Surgeon’s Arms

Molly Evans







www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


This book is dedicated to my friend, fellow Hurricane Hugo survivor and Williamsburg, VA, explorer: Jesse Bustos Nelson. You’ve been there with friendship and support since the beginning. Thanks, my friend!




Table of Contents


Cover (#u54041e33-ab55-5f50-99b3-5dbee7183ceb)

Excerpt (#u866b2f1f-ee58-5d3b-aa46-6369642766a7)

Dear Reader (#ud1f4101c-9fc5-5eea-8beb-0437183a61ab)

About the Author (#u6a8f106a-6dcc-524a-bf9e-5b27ce368e98)

Title Page (#u0868d019-ad93-5410-a34e-351f96d1441d)

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_190246bf-ba26-5431-b68c-1930e65a3b11)

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_cf3ee6c6-0dff-5dbd-9b88-b6c1ebcbcc35)

CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_191e0856-7e1f-5091-8a09-a37aa8d5803c)

CHAPTER FOUR (#ulink_6a453e35-e973-5371-8e85-d2b80251c1ff)

CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)




CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_b10ee6c3-ead5-55b7-aef3-bdcf232d74eb)


EMERGENCY NURSE Emily Hoover pointed the way to the trauma room as an air-ambulance crew surged through the department. She’d heard the radio announcing the arrival of the rescue chopper as it had landed on the roof and had even smelled the diesel exhaust through the HIPPA air-filtration system that was supposed to remove it.

Those were all expected, anticipated and not uncommon events in a hospital close to a major highway. Where there was trauma there was a busy ER and one of the reasons she’d come back here to her hometown. Reclaiming her life was the first reason. Working great trauma was the second. At least that was what she told herself as the crew swept past her.

What she hadn’t expected to see was an emergency surgeon riding atop the gurney, straddling the patient, both of them covered in blood. Her limbs began to tremble and sweat popped out on her back. Oh, man. The heartbeat she usually kept calm with meditation now raced uncontrollably in her chest as she recognized the man behind the dirty scrubs. He’d aged little in three years and was as handsome as ever. A tightness in her abdomen surged to join the erratic heartbeat. Fierce intensity showed on his face and confidence she’d never seen in him before. His hair, dark brown with a tendency to curl, was a mess. Those intense blue eyes blazed with a fire she’d never forgotten despite three years of separation.

“Get three units of whole blood going now. I need a central line placed and get OR on alert.” Trauma surgeon and emergency doctor Chase Montgomery gave orders as the entourage rolled through the door. Staff scrambled to the first trauma room that had been set up for the arrival of this patient.

Emily choked down her anxiety, shoving it aside in the face of a true emergency, and grabbed the cardiac leads, placed them on the patient so his heart could be monitored and placed the blood-pressure cuff on the only arm he had left. The trembling in her hands was likely not noticeable to the others, but to her it was. This wasn’t who she was, a nervous nurse on the first day of work. Like there weren’t ten years under her belt already. But this place. This man. Those were the things that made her tremble now. Thoughts of how they’d been together in the past made her quake.

“Get anesthesia in here. He has to be intubated now.”

“There was just an overhead page, Chase. They’ve been called to a code on the floor.” Liz, the charge nurse, supplied the answer, but picked up the phone on the wall. “I’ll see if there’s someone else who can help out.”

“Page any surgeon overhead. I’ll intubate, and someone else can do the IV placement. We need a central line right away.”

“Got it.” Liz made the call.

“IV set-up tray is ready, Doctor, but if you’d prefer to intubate first, I’ll get that one ready.” Though keeping her focus on the patient, Emily spoke in the direction of the doctor leading the situation. He stood with his back to her and was in the process of removing his lab coat when he froze.

Then spun.

Clearly astonished at her presence, he stared at her with his mouth open for a few seconds as he tried to force his mind to accept what his eyes were seeing.

Emily’s stomach tightened again; her heart beat as erratically as the patient’s. Chase had never looked better, and her heart was out of control. A look of stunned shock crossed his face for a second or two. His eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped and he jumped as if he’d been pinched. Only a few seconds of lapsed control, but she saw it, felt it in her chest. The depth of pain mixed with his surprise at seeing her would be etched in her mind forever. She’d done that to him. She’d caused the hurt he’d momentarily betrayed. Except for the shock on his face, he hadn’t changed in the three years since they’d broken up. Since she’d walked away from him.

“Emily?” He took a halting step toward her then stopped. “What are you doing here?” His blue gaze raked her from top to toe as if his brain still couldn’t comprehend what his eyes were telling him. “What happened to your hair?”

Before she could answer, what seemed like an army of people burst into the room and the focus returned to the critical patient in front of them. This was apparently the entire team of surgeons, from the senior fellow down to the first-year resident. At a teaching hospital staff seemed to move in large herds.

“Who called for a surgeon? We’re here.”

As the physician in charge, Chase forced his focus from Emily to the surgeon. “We need better IV access immediately. Can one of you put in a central line? Anesthesia’s tied up, and I’ll have to intubate.” Chase whipped off the bloody lab coat he’d worn to the crash site and threw it into a corner of the room.

The most senior member of the group emerged and nodded to Chase. “Sure thing.” He removed his lab coat and handed it to a student to hold.

“I’ll assist, Doctor.” Emily made the offer so she would be away from Chase’s penetrating glare and the waves of hostile energy flowing off him to flood the room. There was enough tension in the room already without adding more fuel to the fire she’d not been prepared for. Even though she’d known it would come, she wasn’t prepared for it on the first day. “I’ve got the tray ready.”

“Okay. Great. I thought this was going to be something difficult,” he said with a grin, and winked at Emily. Emily never knew whether to be relieved at the confidence of surgeons or shocked at their outrageous arrogance. “Hey, don’t I know you? Didn’t you work here a while back?” He, too, frowned, trying to make sense of his memory in the present situation.

“Yes, I did. Came back for more. Over here, Dr. Blaze.” Emily motioned him to the opposite side of the patient, and he moved around to where she stood. Relief overwhelmed her that he only remembered her from being an employee, not the rest. Or, if he did, he had the good graces not to say anything.

“Dr. Blaze. Ha! I haven’t been called that in years.”

“I remember with you everything was an emergency, wasn’t it? You flashed through rounds like your tail was on fire.” Emily smiled and her peripheral vision caught the glare Chase threw her way.

“Oh, those were the days.” He shook his head at the memory. “So what happened? He’s missing an arm.” He looked to Chase for answers.

“Trauma. Pinned under his truck. Had to amputate in the field.” Chase supplied the information, reinforcing one of the highest rules in trauma care: a limb for a life. Focus. That was what he needed right now—focus. Nothing mattered right now except saving this man’s life. That was why he was there.

It didn’t matter that he’d just had a bomb go off in the form of his ex-girlfriend appearing right in front of him in the middle of a trauma. He had to focus right now and ignore the kick in his pulse and the pain in his heart. He continued speaking to the surgeon, though he focused on aligning the patient’s head in the correct position for putting in the airway tube.

“Once he’s stable you can take him to OR and clean the arm up. It was pretty quick and dirty out there.” As an emergency surgeon, he was called on to perform such procedures as well as his normal shifts in the ER.

Though he would sound like he was in control to the others, Emily heard the tension in his voice, noticed the hardness in his eyes and the twitch of a muscle in his jaw. Always had been giveaways to his mood. He was brittle, and her shoulders tensed, waiting for him to snap. At her. She deserved it for not warning him she was going to be working with him again. But she’d been too chicken to call him and hear the intimacy of his voice in her ear and remember how that had used to feel. Now she could see it would have been better for her to have had someone let him know.

“Gotcha.” The chief surgeon turned to face Emily and accepted her assistance to don sterile garb.

“Liz, let’s get him intubated. Has next of kin been notified?” As the leading doctor in this case, Chase directed the care and the flow of procedures. This was his patient and his case until he turned it over to another physician.

“Family’s on the way in.” Liz expertly opened the tray and prepared it for Chase.

“Let’s get a line in this fellow, and you can get that blood into him, shall we?”

Though Emily had assisted in this procedure many times in her career as a nurse and had been a travel nurse in all manner of hospitals from small community centers to large teaching hospitals, she’d never had the added pressure of having her ex-boyfriend breathing down her neck. After a deep breath in, she let it out slowly, trying to calm her nerves, which had shot out of control. Why had she thought this was a good idea again? Facing fears and all that? What rot that was. Right now, on the edge of panic, she’d be happy to spend the rest of the shift hiding in a dark closet somewhere.

The procedure went as planned and as soon as the surgeon had secured the line with a few stitches she connected two pints of blood and opened the tubes full blast. The sooner she restored the depleted amount of blood the man had lost, the better his chances of survival.

The hum around her was comforting and familiar, even though some of the staff were strangers. As they moved past the trauma room she recognized people with whom she’d previously worked. Some excitedly waved to her; others waved, then a memory surfaced in their eyes and their smiles stiffened. Coming back here, she’d known it would be a risk to her privacy. Some people would only remember working with her; some would only remember what had happened to her.

Regardless, staff had jobs to do, and everyone seemed to be able to do it while talking about mundane issues like the weather or the upcoming sailboat races in the Chesapeake Bay. Now that the most emergent procedures had been carried out, they could take a breath and relax a bit.

Except for Emily. She could never relax. That word was no longer part of her vocabulary, and she didn’t anticipate it ever being again. Some days it was all she could do to focus on her work and not let the demons hiding behind every curtain or closet door terrorize her. Though three years had passed since the incident that had changed her life, there were times it felt just like yesterday.

“Liz, do you want me to call OR again?” She made the offer, hoping she could leave the room and make the call at the desk, give herself a bit of physical distance between her and Chase and draw a deep breath. Since the trauma she’d suffered three years ago, she had difficulty facing crowded rooms and tight spaces. Add stairwells and dark hallways to the list. Anxiety had been her dark shadow, and she hadn’t managed to kick it. Yet. Now, with Chase in close proximity, that dark demon had a choke hold on her and wasn’t letting go. She swallowed, trying to force down the memory of hands closing around her throat, assaulting her body. She coughed once, forcing her throat open, and clenched her hands into fists.

“No, you stay here and monitor the patient. I’m going to call them back. Their transport team should have been here by now.” She reached for the phone just as the corner of a gurney poked through the entrance to the room.

“We’re here. No worries.” One of the large men in scrubs held up his hands in surrender. He looked around the room. “Looks like you’re still at it. We’ll wait outside.”

“No, take him now. I’ll go along and give you a report on the way.” Chase spoke to the surgeon. “He was involved in a rollover crash that threw him from the wreckage, pinned his left arm beneath the vehicle.” He shrugged into his crumpled lab coat as the crew prepared the patient for transport.

“You must have gotten there pretty quick to get him here in time.” The surgeon also donned his lab coat and straightened his collar as if he were preparing to go to his office rather than about to perform a complicated emergency surgery. The man must have nerves of steel.

“I went in the chopper. That helped.” Chase took a deep breath, as if some of that memory bothered him, but she knew better. Nothing really bothered him. Not back then and probably not ever. He must be part duck, because everything just seemed to roll right off him. Not that he was cold or unfeeling; he just compartmentalized things. And she’d been shoved into a compartment that hadn’t fit her after the incident, and it was one she couldn’t remain in and survive. She’d broken out and run until she couldn’t run any longer.

Running never solved anything, but she’d had to figure that out on her own.

“Good times. Did you bring the limb with you? We might be able to reattach it. Vascular team is stellar.” Chase nodded to the heavy-duty cooler on a counter behind him and one of the transport team picked it up, put it beneath the gurney. Both men grabbed opposing ends of the stretcher and moved with the patient toward the elevators, with the entire surgical team streaming down the hall behind them. Their voices faded into the distance as Chase and the surgeon continued their dialogue.

“Emily? You okay?” Liz asked, as she began to clean the room, preparing it for the next patient. “Hey, there. You okay?”

“What?” She blinked, took a breath and realized she was staring after Chase. “Oh, yes. I’m good.” To hide her discomfiture, she shoved a handful of used gauze dressings into the hazardous waste can. Good thing it was a big one. “I can clean the room if you have other things to do.” She’d appreciate a moment alone after the shocking experience she’d just had, and she didn’t mean the patient.

“Let’s work together. That’s how we do things around here.” Liz carefully picked up the needles from the tray and disposed of them in the puncture-proof container hanging on the wall. “You might be used to getting all the crappy jobs as a traveler, but here we treat travel nurses the same as permanent staff.” She smiled at Emily. “Right off the bat you caught a tough case, so I’ll try to give you some lighter patients for the rest of the day. Not a guarantee, but I’ll try.”

“Thanks.” It gave Emily a surge of warmth in her chest to hear the unit philosophy hadn’t changed since she’d last worked there. She smiled and felt a little bit lighter as she talked, a little more at home.

Together they finished tidying the room and preparing it for the next patient. There would always be a next patient, a next trauma, a next disaster, and they had to be prepared for every kind that rolled through their doors.

“So, the next question is that you seem to have recognized Dr. Montgomery. Am I right?” Liz had the skills of a trained ER nurse and no denial was going to get past her. She’d see right through it. “And some other staff seemed to know you.”

“Yes. I used to work here with him. Three years ago.” She looked down and tried to control the beating of her heart. At one time Chase had been her heart, her life and her future, but that had all changed when she’d walked away from him. Though she hadn’t wanted to, she’d had to. “And there are other staff I know, too.” Some had saved her life in this very ER.

“There seemed to be more than just a recognition of a former coworker, though.” Compassion and curiosity hung in her words, as if she suspected what Emily was going to tell her.

“There was.” How much to tell without giving away her life story? “We dated at one time. But it was a while ago.” What seemed a lifetime ago. No need to tell Liz they had been a serious couple before she’d been brutally attacked by a serial rapist and had been forced to radically change her life. Without Chase.

That stopped Liz. “Is it going to be an issue between you? I mean, are you going to be able to work with him? He’s one of our finest doctors and if you can’t get along with him, we’ll have to reconsider your contract, maybe place you in another unit or something.”

“Oh, no. I’ll be fine. I’ll be nothing except professional with him. I’m certain he’ll be cordial, as well.” Work had always come first with him. His career, his work, saving lives had always come before her.

“If you’re certain.” Liz jerked the curtain back as the last gesture of room readiness. “I will trust you to let me know if that changes.”

“I will. I appreciate it.” She shoved her hands into the pockets of her scrubs. She was an adult, and she would behave like one. Chase would probably just ignore her, anyway. Her brother had told her he’d been dating other women, many other women, so she was probably nothing but a blip on his radar at this point. “Now, what else do we have to do? I need to keep busy.” Keeping her hands busy kept her mind busy and prevented her thoughts from taking her down the rough road of her past and the never-ending trail of what-ifs and if-onlys.

“There’ll be plenty to keep you occupied here. This isn’t a big hospital, but it sure is a busy one. As you know, we’re right off the interstate, so we have trauma on a daily basis.” Liz led the way to the nurses’ station and Emily followed, eager to get on with her orientation. “If trauma’s not your bag now, by the end of your assignment it certainly will be.




CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_c78ddfe5-591c-57fa-a46a-b0a69573b400)


CHASE RETURNED TO the ER, kept his pace slow, his thoughts on his work and tried to remain calm, despite the churning in his gut. But the second he saw Emily take a seat at the nurses’ station, his nerves shot into overdrive. What the hell was she doing here? In his ER? Not that it was really his ER, but it was his by default, since she’d left it to pursue a travel-nursing stint.

She’d packed up her apartment, stuffed everything in a storage unit and driven away, not caring that he’d suffered in a way she couldn’t imagine. Had she blamed him? He didn’t know because she’d never said, but he damned sure blamed himself for not protecting her and for not being what she’d needed. Whatever that was. Seeing her now brought up so many feelings he’d buried, having been unable to work through them at the time. He didn’t need this now. He didn’t need it ever.

She was the last thing he’d expected to see after coming in on the trauma chopper today. When she spoke, the tone of her voice, the soft, dewy vibrations cut him to the core, as if only yesterday she’d meant something to him. He hadn’t been expecting her and hadn’t prepared himself to see her there. Surely someone could have told him she was coming. He could have prepared, could have hardened his heart and his emotions against the first meeting, put up boundaries, not been broadsided, unprepared. He’d never imagined she’d come back here where it had all begun for them.

That was probably the biggest shock. She’d come back to where he was when there were other hospitals in the area. So why here? And why now? That was a puzzle he intended to solve and then get on with his life. There was an answer for everything, and he was going to find this one.

When she’d left for her travel assignment he hadn’t expected to ever see her again. Their breakup had been bitter, doubly so due to the assault and rape he hadn’t been able to protect her from. That was the sorest spot, which had never healed.

He blamed himself.

She’d been unprotected because of him and had nearly died as a result, sustaining permanent scars inside and out. He hadn’t known how to help her afterward, had been unable to help her, and when he’d been unable to face his own failure he’d backed away from her. He’d meant to give her some time and space, but not for all eternity. Her brother was a good friend, but Danny hadn’t mentioned she was coming back. Maybe Danny hadn’t wanted to upset him or had thought perhaps he’d moved on, and she no longer mattered to him.

He had moved on when she’d burned him back then. He’d been hurt and angry and hadn’t been able to cope with his failure and the loss of her. Guilt had nearly eaten him alive. He’d dated women left and right. Sometimes for fun, sometimes for sex and sometimes for spite. Some had been gorgeous, some had been entertaining and some for no reason at all, other than convenience.

Unfortunately, none of them had been Emily. No woman had ever measured up to what he and Emily had had before the event that had fractured their lives. Neither of them would be the same again. Obviously. The incident hadn’t just happened to her, it had nearly destroyed him, as well. It had taken him years to crawl back to where he felt human again and now, in an instant, everything had imploded.

The moment he’d heard her voice in the trauma room his soul had reacted with utter joy and then utter sorrow. Her voice and those big, expressive eyes of hers hadn’t changed and his body had reacted to her with vigor. Embarrassing in a room full of people in an emergency, but he’d never been able to control himself around her before, so why should it be different now?

He closed the door to the charting room with disgust and sat down at the computer terminal to write up his notes from the morning’s trauma. The coffee sat untouched beside him, and the words blurred together on the screen. Nothing made sense at the moment, and he pressed his fingertips to his eyes, wanting to rip out the image of her standing there with all that spiky hair, looking so different yet much the same and so very beautiful.

Why had Emily come back?

Seeing Chase right off the bat this morning had shaken her, torn up the defenses she’d worked so hard to build. She’d hidden it well, or so she thought, from the others, but now the shakes had set in. She hadn’t expected to see him first thing, first trauma of the day, but that was life.

What had she thought when she’d returned to this hospital? Had she just come here to test herself for some stupid reason? She had just thought she was going to waltz in there and never see him, never have him recognize her despite the changes to her hair, her body, her life? She snorted in self-disgust. Apparently, that was what she’d hoped, whether it had been conscious or unconscious in its creation. Reclaiming her life wasn’t going to be as easy as it sounded.

If she were being honest with herself, she wanted to see him, wanted to see if there was any spark left between them. She’d healed so many parts of her life, but this one had been the biggest wound to her heart and her soul and it had been left cracked, bleeding and raw. So she’d come home to make amends with Chase and get over him for good. One way or another, it had to be decided or she couldn’t get on with her life. She was stuck. Stuck on Chase.

Denial was a wonderful thing, which helped people cope with tragic situations. It also helped them be stupid a little too long sometimes. Like her. She’d needed it in the beginning, when things had been very bad. Over the years she’d thought she’d kicked her dependence on it, had been able to stand up on her own. She’d changed her life and had thought she’d changed who she was on the inside, too.

Chase had seen right through her little masquerade to the heart of her the second he’d leveled those surprised laser blue eyes of his on her. That had rattled her as nothing had in three years. Over that time she’d thought she’d forget about them, about him, and move on, the way she knew he’d done. She’d thought she’d been prepared to see him, to be coworkers again. But her plan had backfired the moment she’d seen him. Kapow!

The guilt and somehow the bitter relief of their breakup had hurt and rocked her world, but she’d been able to crawl out of the hole finally.

Nothing had rocked her world the way it had when his eyes had met hers this morning.

Nothing.

And now she had to reconsider this assignment, this idea of hers to return to her home and make a new life, to make a place for herself again. Her family was here. Her friends were here. And her memories were here. Maybe Liz was right. Maybe she needed to be assigned to a different unit so she didn’t have to work with Chase every day. Was the answer just to avoid him and enjoy the rest of her assignment? She could still catch up with friends, with family, visit old haunts like the James River, the Chesapeake Bay and enjoy socializing again. That sounded like a fine plan.

For someone else.

Although she’d left the area after her assault, she didn’t consider herself a coward to run away from things or run away from people. This return to her home was the last part of her healing, of coming full circle to where things had begun, and to come face-to-face with her fears, her anxiety, and spit in the eyes of the demons that had haunted her for three years.

It was time. She was ready. It was the last step to recovery. Today, she’d stepped into the pond, and she’d see if she could swim again.

A month ago, when she’d been talking to her nurse recruiter, the idea had sounded like the right idea at the time. Go home to the Tidewater area of eastern Virginia, reconnect with her roots, be near her family for the fall and spend the holidays together. Her parents had been thrilled, and it had all seemed a good idea. Her brother, Danny, a firefighter, seemed to think it was a good idea, too. Time to come home and reclaim her life. Full circle.

That was the trouble with brilliant ideas. They always seem good at the time you cooked them up, but then, when the bacon hit the pan, you needed to expect some sizzle and smoke.

There was definitely sizzle when it came to Chase Montgomery. Lots of sizzle. That hadn’t changed, but now she wasn’t certain she was prepared to face it, to face him knowing she had been responsible for their breakup.

“You ready?” Liz asked, interrupting her train of thought.

“Sure. What are we doing now?”

“Computer training. That’s probably new since you were here. Half the staff still don’t know how to use it. Training has been a real pain.”

“I’ve used a couple of different kinds of software, so maybe this one will be something I already know.”

“Wouldn’t that be great? Save us both some headaches.”

Emily reacquainted herself with the computer system, and how the charting requirements had changed since she’d previously worked there. Then the moment she’d dreaded happened.

She came face-to-face with Chase in the hallway by the staff lounge. Alone.

“Oh. Hi there.” Flustered, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Or she tried to. It was an old habit she hadn’t dropped when she’d cut her hair short. The last time she’d seen Chase her hair had been halfway down her back. Now it didn’t even cover her ears.

“Hi.” Chase looked as if he was surprised to see her as well. He cleared his throat, and his gaze skittered away from hers. “Uh … you cut your hair.”

“Yes. Yes, I did.” How awkward was this? Very!

“It looked better long.” He looked at her as if remembering or trying to remember how it had looked on her before.

“Yes, well. Suits my lifestyle now.” She tried to walk around him at the same time he tried to walk around her, and they ended up bouncing off each other.

“Sorry.”

“Sorry.” She stomped a foot. “This is so annoying.”

“What is? Running into your old lover or being told you look better with long hair?” Chase took a step back and paused, interested in hearing the answer. He crossed his arms and waited for her, knowing he wasn’t going to like any reason she had. Why should he? She was the one interrupting the status quo of his life. That didn’t come without risk or consequences. Did she think he was just going to accept her unexpected presence with open arms and forget how she’d destroyed his life? She was the one who’d walked away, not him. If he admitted his part, that he’d let her go, that he hadn’t chased her down and made her stay, he’d have to look too closely at things best left in the past. At least, that was what he felt right now.

“Well, both, but mostly running into you when I hadn’t expected it.” Okay. There it was, out in the air between them. The honesty he could appreciate.

“Imagine my surprise when I saw you in the trauma room.” He raised his brows and looked down at her. In the past he’d considered her height cute. She was short, but she’d hit him at just the right place when they’d been wrapped up in each other. He blew out a breath at the unexpected memory.

“There was no way to avoid it.”

“Seriously? I had no advanced warning. You could have called me.” Dammit. Someone should have called him and let him know she was coming.

“And what? Warned you I was going to be working in the ER and might run into you? For all I knew, you weren’t even here, or were married with six kids.” Big. Fat. Lie. She still had friends in the hospital, and they’d let her know he was still there. Still single. Still hot. Very hot.

“I see.” He stiffened, and his eyes went icy. “Danny could have told me.”

“Why? We’re old news, right? Now we’re just two professionals working together, and the rest doesn’t matter, does it?” What mattered was that her heart was palpitating, her breath was tight in her throat, and her legs didn’t want to move. Old news. Right. Denial was her BFF.

“Yes. Well. I can be professional, and I’m certain you will be, too.” The ice hadn’t left his veins, but at least he was being civil. That was more than she should expect from him. And there was nothing he could do about her presence. She was a good nurse, so he’d have to keep his personal reasons to himself. They had no bearing here.

“Of course. I expected nothing less. I’m sorry. I should have gotten word to you.”

“Yes, you should have. It would have been simple courtesy.”

At least she’d apologized and some of his irritation dissolved. Maybe he could overlook it, maybe not, but it was a situation he was going to have to deal with.

“Again. Sorry.” She glanced away. “I was going to grab some coffee then head back out there.”

“Pot’s on the right. Creamer and sugar in cupboard above.” Dammit. Why had he said that? He didn’t care how she took her coffee any longer. Why had he told her that when he hadn’t meant to?

“You remember how I take my coffee?” Surprise showed in her eyes. Blinking those big blue eyes of hers, she held his gaze for the first time since he’d seen her again. What was she looking for? Hell, what was he looking for? The past revealed in each other’s eyes? Hardly.

“I never forgot.” He paused for another second and took a long slow look over her. “Anything.” With that declaration he pushed away before he said something truly stupid and headed into the main part of the ER. How in the world was he going to get through three months with her underfoot, under his skin? Had he just lied to her and himself by telling her he could be a professional? The way he felt now was nothing close to it. What he felt was … ripped open. Raw in a way he hadn’t allowed himself to feel in the years since she’d broken him and left town.

He was a physician, an ER doctor and an emergency surgeon, and proud of what he’d accomplished in his career. He was a professional, and he saved the lives of trauma victims every day. That was why he was here in this hospital. But if he were being honest with himself, so was Emily. She was a damned good trauma nurse with excellent skills. The hospital had had a turnover of staff in the last few months, and they needed quality staff, hence the number of travel nurses presently in the hospital. Experience didn’t come easily or without cost. He knew that, and he was forced to admit she’d worked damned hard for hers.

She also had the unfortunate, firsthand experience of being on the receiving end of a terrible trauma, which made her uniquely qualified to be doing the kind of work she did.

Not wanting to travel down that bumpy road again right now, he moved forward, moved toward the next patient, the next chart, the next issue in front of him, despite his memories wanting to drag him back into the past.

The day progressed more slowly in the afternoon. Staff came to him with more mundane issues that kept him busy, but he still felt as if he were walking through water up to his chest. Slowly, trudging along. The oppression of the past weighed heavily on his mind and his spirit.

“Dr. Montgomery? Chase?” The words eventually penetrated his brain that someone was calling to him.

“Yes?” He frowned as Liz and Emily stood beside him.

“I was going to introduce you to our new travel nurse, but I think you’ve met before, right?”

“Correct.” That was the simplest, most unemotional way to present it. Dry.

“Okay. One less thing on the checklist to do.” She gave an awkward smile. “I see. Sorry to bug you.”

“No problem.” Keeping all expression and emotion from his face was getting harder to do, and he felt himself gritting his teeth. Thankfully he had a good dental plan, because he would probably be doing that for the next three months.

“Actually, I had a question for Dr. Montgomery about a new patient.” Emily spoke to Liz, but looked at Chase. Professional. Cool. Fine.

“Sure. What’s up?” He could do it, too. Really. He leaned back in the desk chair and raised his hands over his head, waiting for her to speak.

“I’ll catch you later,” Liz said, and moved away.

Emily filled him in on the background of the patient in question. “This is a twenty-five-year-old male who is accustomed to being in the outdoors, hunting, fishing and camping. He’s complaining of joint pain, fatigue, and general malaise. I’m going to put in a lab request for the usual workup, but I was wondering if we should test for Lyme disease as well.”

Chase frowned as he thought about the details of the case and processed the facts. Concise, important symptoms, and a little detective work to boot. Smart, beautiful and still sexy as hell. Dammit. “Is he running a fever?”

“On and off for a few weeks, since his last camping trip in western Maryland.” She didn’t face him but stood beside him, facing the computer. “He also noticed a classic bull’s-eye rash on his leg and got worried when it didn’t resolve right away.”

“That’s ground zero for Lyme exposure.” He nodded. “Go ahead and add the panel, but explain to him it’s a two-part test and it will be a week before we get results.”

“I will. Thank you, Doctor.” She nodded, keeping her eyes downcast as she walked away.

So it was going to be the cool doctor-nurse relationship between them. He could do that, too. He watched as she walked away. Her body had changed since back then. There was something different about the way she walked, more confident, more sure of herself, and her posture was definitely more upright. She actually appeared to be a little taller than her five-foot-five, petite frame, which had fit him perfectly. Now he’d have to reconsider that. Not that there was going to be an opportunity for her to fit to his body anymore. Ever.

An hour later she approached again. He was still in the same position at the computer console, having gotten no further in his documentation. “Can you see this patient now? The possible Lyme guy?”

“Sure. Are labs back?”

“Yes. Chest X-ray, too.”

“Let me have a look at them first.” He clicked a few times, certain he was following the right pathway to the test results, but there was no X-ray. “It’s not here. Are you sure you ordered the right tests on this patient?” Irritation crept into his voice, despite his desire to not react to her at all. “Being timely is important around here, Emily. We don’t sit around—”

“Yes. I’m sure. I printed them up if you’d like to look at them the old-fashioned way.” She gave a tight smile. “Might be easier for you.”

“No.” Focusing on the screen, he gave an irritated sigh, then clicked and clicked again, with no better results. “Dammit.”

With a sigh, Emily leaned over his shoulder and took the mouse from his right hand. “Let me see. Oh, you’ve got the wrong patient up, that’s all.” She masterfully clicked here and there and in seconds had the proper patient with the labs and X-ray reports side by side on the screen. “There you go. Easy.”

He cast a baleful eye at her and really wanted to feel irritated, but the fact was he hated this computer system and had refused to spend the time to learn it properly. As soon as he did that, it would be changed to something else, so why bother?

“Show-off.” The second he turned to glare at her he knew it was a mistake, making him grit his teeth again. The fragrance he’d never been able to get out of his mind filled his senses and images of her in his arms hit him like a ton of bricks. The memories came over him hard and fast. The body wash she loved to use in the shower, her long hair slicked back from her pretty face, the water sluicing down her body, over the curves of her breasts and hips. Jeez, his thoughts were inappropriate. So much for being a professional.

His gaze dropped to her mouth, as lush and full as he remembered it. The smile on her face froze as she met his gaze full on. Her pupils dilated, and he knew she was thinking the same thing. Would there be anything, any spark between them again? Could there be? Then she straightened and took a step back.

“Yes. Well. There they are, Doctor. I’ve used this system a few times at other hospitals. Pretty simple once you get to know it.” She dropped her gaze and blew out a quick breath.

“I see.” Clearly, she was not unaffected by his presence and not as cool as she pretended to be. But that was not his problem.

Nothing Emily Hoover did was his problem. Ever again.




CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_fcad1bc6-bfcb-5966-8fa1-a4a1cda67c16)


THE SOUND OF raised voices generally got some attention, even in an ER full of chaos. This one was in relation to Emily’s last patient of the day, who had come in thirty minutes ago. A woman, in her midforties, had said she’d tripped over her cat and hit her cheek on a doorknob. Emily had seen plenty of trips and falls and doorknob injuries, but this was not one of them. The woman had warned Emily her husband was going to be making an intoxicated appearance. He stumbled his way through the automatic doors right on cue.

“I don’t care who you are—I’m going in there to see my wife.” The man was a belligerent one, not used to a woman who had her own power and didn’t care one whit about his. He was used to getting his way by bullying and it wasn’t working, which only made his color go from pink to a florid red.

“Sir, your wife doesn’t want to see you right now. You’re drunk and—”

“The hell you say.” Unable to stand up without swaying only added proof to her statement. Emily kept him in full view of the security camera so there would be plenty of evidence if needed later.

“I don’t say. She says, and what she says goes. Got it?” Emily stood her ground, facing the large man dressed in hunting camo. This wasn’t the first time she’d had to handle an upset family member, so she called on her years of ER experience to remain calm and keep the upper hand. She cast a glance at one of the staff members and nodded. It was a silent signal to notify Security they were needed in the ER immediately. Her job was to keep him distracted until they arrived.

“Get out of my way, bitch.” The man reached out to grab Emily by the shoulder, obviously intending to shove her out of the way.

Emily had good reflexes and jumped back so he couldn’t touch her, but Chase hurried over to her, putting himself between her and the drunk. The man was huge, and towered over Chase by a foot.

“Don’t touch her.” He spoke forcefully to the man and tried to calm his nerves at the sight of him reaching for Emily. “Don’t touch any of our staff, or you’ll be looking at assault charges.” Chase didn’t know if the words were penetrating the man’s whiskey-soaked brain cells but he had to try.

“Like I care.” He glared at Chase, but didn’t move to touch him.

“Sir, I said your wife doesn’t want to see you right now, and if you continue to resist, you’ll be hauled out of here by Security.” Emily spoke from beside Chase. She’d moved forward to stand beside him, providing a unified front with him. Other staff members eased closer. If the man lunged for Emily again, they could jump him without anyone getting hurt.

“You got no reason to keep me from my wife.” The man was sweating, his face was red and he stunk to high heaven.

“Actually, we can. You can’t be in here drunk. Security’s on the way, and they’re going to call the police to haul you off to jail.” Chase experienced significant satisfaction that the situation was going to end without incident. Having Emily assaulted in front of him would not have been good. Just thinking about it brought back all sorts of horrid images he’d buried. Or so he’d thought.

“What? You can’t have me arrested.” The man started toward Emily again and tried to kick her, but she avoided his inaccurate jabs. Chase held his hands out to the sides and jumped to block him from getting any closer.

“Dr. Montgomery, he can’t get to me. Don’t worry,” Emily said. She gave a quick grin in his direction, and his heart reacted against his will. That impish grin had never left his mind and, combined with the short, spiky hair, she looked like a little fairy with a bad attitude.

Two muscled security team members, dressed in black, arrived and joined Chase. “We’ll take it from here.”

“He’s all yours. I have patients to wrap up before the end of shift,” Emily said, and stepped around the man, but he took a swipe at her and missed. Again. Nerves calming, Chase watched as Emily easily avoided the man’s giant hand and wondered what she’d been doing to gain such reflexes.

“You little bitch. I’m gonna get you for this.”

“Is that a threat? Are you threatening her?” Chase stepped forward, all amusement gone. “I think you’ve just threatened a staff member here. In front of witnesses and on security cameras. We’ll add that to the trespassing charges already on the list.”

“Oh, man.” He began to whine and snivel. “I just wanna see my wife.” Stomping his foot, he looked like a petulant toddler held between the security guards.

Chase approached and put his face as close to the drunk as was tolerable given the fumes emanating off him. Fortunately, it was a no-smoking hospital or they could have gone up in flames. “I believe you’re the reason she’s in the ER in the first place, are you not?”

Pause. “Yes.”

“Did you drive here?” Chase asked.

“If it’s any of your business, yes.” He tried to spit at Chase, who moved deftly out of range.

“Fellows, let the police know to add impaired driving to the list.”

“Got it.” They hauled the man out of the ER to await the police.

“Are you okay? Really?” Despite himself, Chase moved toward Emily, concerned that the threat might trigger memories of her assault again, the way they were starting to in him. No matter what he felt for her now, he didn’t want to see her hurt by anyone. This time he’d been able to help out, even though it had been a small effort.

“Nah, I’m good. I have new ninja reflexes. He didn’t even get close.” Demonstrating her technique, she jumped around in front of him looking quite like a ninja in scrubs.

She gave that grin again and his heart now seemed to have no immunity against it. “I see.” He cleared his throat and clamped down his anxiety for her safety.

That reflex hadn’t gone away just because they weren’t a couple anymore. Of course, he probably would have reacted the same no matter what staff member had been involved in the kerfuffle. At least, that was what he told himself.

Turning away from the scene, Emily rolled her shoulders a few times then picked up her clipboard. “Okay. Dr. Montgomery, can you see this patient now?”

“Uh, sure.” He stepped closer, more comfortable with the doctor-nurse role. “Is this the wife?”

“Yes. Superficially, she looks roughed up a bit, nothing serious, other than needing to get away from her husband.” Emily shook her head. “Can’t say I blame her.”

“You think he beat her up?” Anger flashed hot and fast inside him. Women and children were precious, and were to be protected, not used as punching bags by drunken men who couldn’t control their tempers.

“She won’t cop to it, says she tripped, fell into a door. It’s mostly the face. Black eye on the right, swollen shut, cheek bruised and swollen. Not sure if it’s fractured, but it won’t hurt to have an X-ray of it.”

He followed her without comment to the patient room and when Emily held the curtain back, Chase’s stomach clenched. The image of the woman before him sickened him. She was in her midforties. Her face was so swollen she looked as if she had been in a car accident and it instantly reminded him of the night he’d seen Emily in a similar condition. Trying to remain in that professional space, he took a quick breath and stepped close to the gurney. Emily was right. He didn’t even need the X-rays to know she’d been beaten up. In their line of work they’d become unfortunate experts on the topic.

“Mrs. Billings? I’m Dr. Montgomery. Nurse Hoover has made some recommendations for your treatment, and I’m inclined to agree with her.” He trusted her nursing experience, if nothing else.

“Like what?” She turned a defeated gaze to him. The sound of her voice was slow and thick. She’d probably bitten her tongue during the assault.

“Facial X-rays, possibly a CAT scan of your head to look for fractures in the sinuses and the left side of your face.” He moved closer, and she jumped. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” More carefully, he approached her and focused on keeping everything slow, his voice soft. She’d obviously been conditioned to watch out for any sudden movements her husband made.

“Go ahead.” She closed her eyes, as if trying to shut out the world. “I don’t care.”

“Are you in pain?”

She nodded and tears began to overflow. “Don’t be nice to me, Doc. I can’t take it.” She sniffed. “I don’t know what it’s like.”

“Then I’ll try harder to be mean,” he said, and received a crooked smile.

“Thanks.”

He looked at Emily, who looked pale and a little wide-eyed. “I’ll get right on those orders, Doctor.” Then she turned back to the patient and the moment was gone, if it had been there at all. Maybe he’d only imagined the haunted look on her face as she’d watched her patient.

Avoiding Chase and the look on his face was her goal. Seeing this woman had brought back memories for both of them that neither of them cared to have. Caring for this woman was her job, and she would do it well, but making eye contact with Chase would be her undoing. She had to avoid it. Like her patient, she couldn’t deal with his compassion for her pain. What she needed to do was keep busy and focused on her work. The rest would eventually go away. It always did. Situations like this brought everything back to slam her right in the gut when she wasn’t looking.

Trying to stop the trembling in her hands, she prepared the lab tubes and labeled them appropriately, but her mind was elsewhere.

Night, being alone in the dark, was the toughest. Night was when the shadows darkened in her mind and the whispers of her attacker infiltrated her barriers. Bitch. I’m gonna get you, bitch. Sometimes all it took was hearing that word bitch to send her all the way back to that dark awful night.

She applied the tourniquet to Mrs. Billings’s arm and inserted the needle into the vein. Emily swallowed hard against the sudden dryness in her mouth. She filled each tube the way she was supposed to and applied a small dressing to the tiny puncture site of the left arm. Focused. Clinical.

Emily placed the tubes filled with blood for testing into a zippered lab bag for transport. After setting them in the lab pick-up rack, she realized her heart hadn’t settled down and the tightness in her chest hadn’t eased. Was it Chase? Was it the husband? Was it this patient? Maybe all of it combined in such a short time worked together to rob her of her strength.

Making her way to the supply room, she checked to make sure she was alone then removed her lab coat, placed a towel on the floor, sat cross-legged on it and closed her eyes.

There was a place she liked to go mentally when stressed and it was a place from her past where she’d been happy, walking alone on the sand at Virginia Beach, feeling the warmth of the sun on her skin, the salt on the breeze and the coarse sand on her feet.

This was the place where she let go of stress, released it to the ocean waves and found some peace.

Until Chase walked into the supply room.

“What are you doing?” He stopped short just inside the doorway.

Startled, she opened her eyes. The serenity that had been on her face vanished and it was his fault. Dammit. She’d looked so peaceful for a second, and he’d ruined it.

“I was meditating.” She blinked a few times, as if coming back to herself from wherever she had been.

“Now? In the middle of the shift?”

“Yes. I’m entitled to breaks. Several, in fact, over the course of twelve hours. What I do with them is my business.” Closing her eyes again, she tried to ignore him, but it was impossible.

“Yes, that’s true.” He squatted down beside her, too close for her senses. “You never used to meditate.” Obvious irritation showed in the frown between her delicate eyebrows and the downward turn of her mouth. Not that he blamed her.

“I never used to do a lot of things.” She looked up at him, held his gaze, almost challenging him. “I’ve acquired some new skills.”

“Like your new ninja reflexes? Are you taking karate or something?” He’d never seen her move so fast. That had impressed him.

“Not karate. If I had used karate I’d have taken out his knee first, but you got in front of me.”

“Judo?” He really didn’t know about martial arts and had just exhausted his knowledge.

“Hardly. In judo, I would have—”

“Whatever. Clearly, you’re an expert now.” And he’d had no clue.

“No. Just determined.” There was an aura of steel about her now. And, yes, determination showed in her eyes. That was the difference he’d been sensing in her.

“To what?” He really wanted to know the answer to that. Genuine curiosity had been roused in him and for the first time today he could set aside the pain.

Without answering the question, she unfolded her legs and stood. “Did you come in here for something or just to annoy me?”

“I saw you come in here and after the day’s events I thought you looked a little off.” That was okay. Looking after a coworker?

“Off? No. I’m fine.” Turning away from him, she began to scan the shelves as if looking for something. “Gauze, suture materials, IV supplies over here. Good to know.” She took a step to the next shelving unit. “GI supplies over here—oh, look, enemas. Never know when you need to get rid of some—”

“Stop it. You’re not fine. If you’re meditating in the middle of a shift, that must mean you’re upset about something. Possibly nearly getting assaulted not long ago?” He let the question hang in the air between them.

She gave him a glare then kept scanning. “Maybe we need to order extra-large enemas for special cases.” The glare she leveled on him left no doubt as to who she would use them on.

“Emily.” Chase intended to make her face him, make her turn around, and placed a hand on her shoulder. Then squealed like a girl and nearly dropped to his knees in pain. “Augh!”

“Don’t touch me, Chase.” Again, her speed defied logic. He had been unprepared for her ability to take his wrist in her hand, apply pressure and leverage to the point of pain, yet she hadn’t batted an eyelid. In fact, she looked calmer than she had since he’d entered the room. The control in her eyes impressed him and maybe scared him a little.

“Okay, okay, okay. Let go. Let go. Ow. Ow. I have to do surgery with that hand.” She released him and the relief was great.

“Unless you want to have both hands in casts, don’t ever try to touch me again.” The calm, serious look on her face was something he never wanted to see aimed at him again, as if she were contemplating squishing an insect.

He shook his hand, grateful she hadn’t really wanted to hurt him or it could have gotten ugly. Baffled, he looked at her as if seeing her for the first time, and maybe he was. Giving her a little space, he took a step back. “Where’d you learn all that stuff?” That was the change in her body he hadn’t been able to identify before. She was muscular and toned in a way that wasn’t from a weekly aerobics class. Yowza, she was strong.

Now she faced him fully, the brunt of her anger unleashed on him. “‘Stuff’? Seriously?” Though half a foot shorter than he, the power of her was unbelievable and gloriously arousing. “That ‘stuff’ saved my life more than once. That ‘stuff’, as you call it—” she tossed her head “—has kept me sane for the last three years, and that ‘stuff’ allows me sleep at night.”

She nearly trembled with rage, and he could see it unfold within her. Her blue eyes sparkled, her face was flushed and pink, her chest rose and fell quickly. She was beautiful, and he did not want to see it, to feel anything for her, to be the recipient of her rage. But he couldn’t help himself. He stood there in awe for a few seconds before he could speak.

“Are you okay?” His voice was a hoarse whisper that he barely recognized as his own. “Seriously?”

Then Emily blinked a few times, shook herself and let out a long, slow breath. “I’m fine. The meditation helped and now I’m ready to go out there and see if my lab results are back yet.”

She tried to move past him, but he placed his hand on her arm. She stopped, looked at his hand then up at his face, calm and cool. Hastily, Chase extricated his hand.

“If you wish to continue to do surgery without having it yourself, I suggest you don’t lay a hand on me again. Ever.”

“Sorry.” Point made.

“I’ll let you know about the labs as soon as they’re back.”

“O … kay.” Reaching out, he opened the door and watched Emily walk away.




CHAPTER FOUR (#ulink_6502f574-d7ac-5a3b-bdd6-37b2b5214aeb)


TREMBLING SUBSIDING, Emily returned to the nurses’ station and logged onto the computer, pulled up the lab results, reviewed them and clicked the print key. She would have to return to Chase, Dr. Montgomery, as she needed to remember to notify him of these results. The woman had obvious issues with her husband, but she had deeper problems, too, and it showed clearly in her lab results.

“Dammit, I don’t want to talk to him anymore today,” she grumbled aloud.

“And who would that be?” Liz asked, and plopped down in a chair beside her.

“Oh!” She whirled. “I thought I was by myself.”

“In this place? Never.” She patted Emily on the arm. “Now, tell me how you are and who you don’t want to talk to. I came to check on you after the incident, but you disappeared for a while.”

“Yeah. I was taking a few deep breaths in the supply room.” No harm in admitting that, regardless of what Chase thought. “A little decompression.”

“I see. Good.” Liz nodded. “And the rest?”

With a sigh and a downward turn of her mouth Emily leaned back in the chair. “I’ve got labs to review with Dr. Montgomery, but I don’t want to talk to him right now.”

“Why not?” Liz held out her hand, and Emily gave the lab reports to her. She took a few seconds to scan the numbers, automatically interpreting. “Everything looks good.”

“Next page. Hematology.”

“Oh, I see. Anemia and indications of infection. You’re wondering if she has an underlying pathology you’ll have to discuss with him.”

“Yes.” Thankfully, Liz understood. Maybe she would talk to Chase.

“I don’t understand, though. Did he say or do something to you that upset you? He seemed impressed with how you handled the drunk husband.”

“Really?” Now, that surprised her. He’d never been impressed about anything she’d ever done. Or at least he’d never admitted it.

“Yes. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was concerned for you. But then he turned around and was the same old Chase.”

“Same old Chase? What do you mean?” Despite her resolve, she was curious. After all, three years had passed since they’d seen one another and although her brother was good friends with him, he’d respected her boundaries and not mentioned Chase. Maybe she could surreptitiously get some information on Chase and it would satisfy the curiosity that had been plaguing her for the last year. Was he the same as she’d remembered?

“He’s a regular guy—fun, friendly—but when it’s time to be serious, he is.”

Emily gaped. “Chase? Fun? Since when? He was never fun.” She clamped her mouth shut and a knowing light entered Liz’s eyes. “He was serious most of the time. Work came before everything else.”

“I thought there was something serious between you two. You didn’t just date a few times, did you?”

Keeping secrets was apparently not her forté, and she shouldn’t look forward to a career in the international espionage field. Damn. Maybe Liz could keep a secret.

“It was a long time ago.” But was it really?

“Not that it’s any business of mine, but it doesn’t seem like business is over between you two. If the air needs to be cleared for you to work together, then I’d suggest having a chat with him.” She sighed. “I’d suggest it to anyone who was having a difficult working relationship. If needed, there’s always mediation.”

“Mediation? No. We were done three years ago. And it was a bitter breakup.”

“I’m sorry, Emily. It’s none of my business, like I said, but if you ever need to talk, I can listen and it won’t go anywhere.” She had the calm eyes and demeanor of a true leader.

“Thanks, but I just need to pull myself together and be an adult about it.” She’d put her big-girl panties on a long time ago. They just needed a little straightening now and then.

“Okay. The offer stands.” She handed the papers back to Emily. “And I think Chase should see those right away.” She nodded over Emily’s shoulder.

“I should see what?” Face serious, he moved closer. The cologne he wore hadn’t changed and it caught her by surprise. She’d loved that on him. Then.

“Labs here indicate some infection and something going on with her hematology.” She shrugged, looked away and placed the printout on the counter in front of him so there was no accidental touching of skin to skin.

Without touching the papers, he leaned over and read them, nodding and focusing on the numbers in front of him, then turned his attention to her. “So what do you think we should do?”

“Me? You’re the doctor. You should examine her and then decide, but it appears she’s losing blood somewhere.” She stiffened at being put on the spot. “Although she didn’t complain of any abdominal pain, and we were more concerned about her head trauma, it’s possible she took a few hits to the abdomen and either her spleen or liver is leaking.”

Just then the alarms in Mrs. Billings’s room began to chime in earnest. Emily looked at the monitor beside her at the station displaying the vital signs in bold green numbers.

“What?”

“BP taking a nosedive and pulse shot up.” She looked with concern at Chase and met his gaze full on. “She’s in trouble.”

They all raced into the room just in time to see the patient’s eyes roll back in her head, and she lost consciousness. “Dammit,” Chase cursed, and he rarely did that in front of a patient, no matter what the circumstance. “Call a code.”

Emily hit the specially designed button on the wall behind the patient’s head while Liz ran for the crash cart, the large tool chest on wheels housing lifesaving equipment.

People began arriving in droves to assist with the code. Thankfully, in a code situation no one was ever alone. Chase was in charge and ran the operation, but Emily was next in command and delegated tasks to other staff members if she wasn’t able to perform them herself.

“Let’s give her some fluids, wide open,” Chase instructed, “then epinephrine IV push.” He kept his gaze on the monitor, watching everything the heart did.

Emily didn’t have to call for it as Liz had it prepared in a few seconds and handed it to her. Pulling the cap off, she connected the needleless system and pushed the medicine in as quickly as possible. The patient’s heart rate suddenly paused, then dropped dramatically.

Chase whipped off the stethoscope from around his neck and listened to the patient’s abdomen, and then used his hands to palpate it.

“How’s her belly?”

“Rigid. Think you’re right, Nurse Hoover. She’s got a cracked liver and is bleeding into her abdomen. Call OR and tell them we’re on the way up now. No time to wait. I’ll have to operate, but call the surgical team for backup.”

“Now I wish I’d hit him,” she muttered beneath her breath, and jerked the receiver off the wall.

“What?”

“Nothing. Got it.” She dialed and informed the OR of the situation of an emergency patient coming their way.

Staff scrambled to get her to the OR. Emily trotted along next to the stretcher as the crew moved down the hall to the OR, which was on the same floor but through a maze of hallways and double doors.

“There’s something wrong in your abdomen, Jenny, so Dr. Montgomery is going to operate on you.” She stroked the woman’s hair. Sweat had popped out on her face and neck. Emily knew it was from shock and the compensating mechanisms her body was engaging in. The heart raced to make up for in rate what it lacked in output, due to low blood volume.

And then Mrs. Billings was gone. Emily handed her over to the pre-op nurses. Watching through the slight opening in the doors, she watched Chase approach the stainless-steel sinks, pull on a hair cover, mask, and begin to scrub. He wore the green, sterile scrubs required in the OR and was ready to roll.

Back in the day she’d used to love watching him scrub, knowing he was entering a world all his own in surgery, knowing he was going to drag a patient back from the edge of death.

Back then he’d been her superhero. Saving everyone and everything.

Only he’d failed her when she’d needed him the most. Nothing in life had ever disappointed her more. Time had helped her realize he was just a man and no cape could turn him into what she’d needed. But right now that man was going to bust his butt trying to save this woman. If nothing else, she had to respect him for that.

The remainder of the day passed with much less fuss than the first part of it. A few coughs, colds and possible flu filtered in, but her mind was never far from thoughts of Chase and the work he was doing on their patient.

At the end of shift Emily gave in to mental and physical exhaustion, allowing it to wash over her as she exited the building out into the staff parking lot. Fortunately, it wasn’t a long walk.

This was the kind of situation that could lead to an assault on a woman who was not prepared the way Emily was now. Women left their jobs after long hours, eager to get home, their senses and muscles weakened by their work, not paying attention to the immediate surroundings. And alone. That was a sure setup for an attack.

Now Emily was different and more prepared than she’d ever been. Though exhausted, her senses, her self-protective instincts she’d honed over the years surged within her, brewing just under the surface, reaching out into the night, as if sentient. Sounds came to her from the twilight. The abrasive whirring of a cicada attracted her attention to the tops of the trees. Crickets trilled from the grass along the edge of the parking lot. A flock of pigeons overhead swooped past in search of a roosting place for the night. A lone seagull hung on an updraft long enough to decide whether she was edible or not.





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