Heart Surgeon, Hero...Husband?

“I’ve got the latest blood work on the Quinn kid. You wanted it ASAP.”

Scott took the lab sheet and studied it. “We shouldn’t have a problem listing him right away.”

“None that I can think of.” With a purse of her lips and a glint of questioning in her eye, Andrea said, “I know I came into the meeting late, but I’ve never known you to call a parent by their first name. So I’m assuming you two know each other.”

“Yes, we met while I was in med school, just before I left for my surgical training.” Meeting her look, he refused to give any more information.

Andrea raised her brows. “Oh. Interesting spot you’re in, Doc. She didn’t sound particularly happy to see you again. History coming back to bite you?”

Few others would’ve gotten away with such an insubordinate question.

At his huff, she grinned and slipped back out the door.

Scott might have found some absurd humor in the situation if it wasn’t such a serious one, and if he hadn’t been so afraid that Andrea was right.

Hannah was the one nurse that had mattered, too much. The one that had gotten under his skin, making him wish for more. He’d pushed her away because she’d deserved better than he’d been able to give. He still couldn’t believe Hannah had re-entered his life and, of all things, as the mother of one of his patients. Life took funny bends and turns and this had to be one of the most bizarre he’d ever experienced.

But it didn’t matter what their relationship had been or was now. What mattered was that her son got his second chance at life.

Hannah made her way to the snack machine area on the bottom floor during the afternoon shift change. She was sitting in a booth, dunking her bag in the steaming water, when Scott walked up.

Her breath caught. He was still the most handsome man she’d ever known. His strong jaw line and generous mouth gave him a youthful appearance that contrasted sharply with the experienced surgeon he surely was. There was nothing old or distinguished about him, not even a gray hair to indicate his age.

He still wore the Kelly-green scrubs covered by a pristine white lab coat, which meant he’d been in surgery. She couldn’t see the writing on the left side of his coat, but she knew what was printed above the pocket.

Embroidered in navy was “Scott T. McIntyre, MD” and under that was “Department of Thoracic Surgery.” Reading those words over and over during their meeting had been her attempt to disconnect from the surreal turn her life had taken. She’d almost reached across the small table and traced the letters with a finger. He’d gotten what he’d wanted. She couldn’t help but be proud for him.

Scott stepped to the coffee-dispensing machine and dug into his pocket. Pulling his hand out, he looked at his open palm, muttered something under his breath and spilled the coins back into his pants.

“Here.” She offered him some quarters in her outstretched hand.

Blinking in surprise, he turned. “Hey. I didn’t see you sitting there.”

“I know. You were miles away.”

With a wry smile, he accepted the change. His fingertips tickled the soft skin of her palm as he took the money.

A zip of electricity ran up her arm. It was a familiar, pleasant feeling, one that her body remembered. But her mind said not to. She put her hand under the table, rubbing it against her jeans-clad leg in an effort to ease the sensation.

Scott purchased his coffee then glanced at her, as if unsure what to do next. She couldn’t remember seeing him anything but confident. He appeared as off-kilter as she.

He hesitated. “Do you mind if I join you?”

“You know, Scott, I’m not really up to rehashing the past right now.”

“I really think we should talk.”

Hannah took a second to respond. Could she take any more emotional upheaval especially when she’d just started believing she could breathe again after their last meeting?

Her “Okay” came out sounding unwelcoming.

One of his long legs brushed her knee as he slid into the booth. That electric charge sparked again. She drew her legs deeper into the space beneath the table.

“I’ve just seen the psychologist. Is Jake listed?” Hannah asked into the tense silence hovering between them.

“I put him on a few minutes ago.” Scott’s tone implied it was no big deal, an everyday occurrence, which it might be for him. For her, it was a major event.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

Scott sipped his coffee, before setting the paper cup on the table. He looked at her. “I have to ask: where is Mr. Quinn?”

“That’s not really your business, is it?”

“Yes, and no. If he’s going to be coming into the hospital and making parental demands and disrupting Jake’s care, yes, it is. For the other, I’m just curious.”

“There’s no worries where he’s concerned.” Her look bored into his. “He left us.”

Scott’s flinch was barely discernible. “When?”

“Just after Jake was born.”

“You’ve no family?”

“None nearby. My sister is living in California now. I told her to hold off coming. I don’t know how long we’ll have to wait on a heart.”

His sympathetic regard made her look away. “There’s no one that can be here with you?”

“No. When you’re a single parent with a small child, relatively new to town and you have to work, it leaves little time to make friends.”

“I understand. Doctors’ hours are much the same way.”

“As I remember it, you didn’t have any trouble making time for a social life.” She softened the dig with a wry curl of her lips.

He chuckled. That low, rough sound vibrated around them and through her. She took a sip of her tea.

Scott drained his cup before looking at her again. “Uh, Hannah, about us …” “There is no us.”

“You know what I mean. You have to admit this situation is unusual at best.”

She placed her cup on the table. “Scott, the only thing I’m interested in is Jake getting a new heart. Whatever we had or didn’t have was over and done with years ago. You’re Jake’s heart surgeon. That’s our only relationship.” She probably sounded bitter, but she didn’t have the energy to deal with her emotions where he was concerned. Particularly not today. She needed time to think, to sort through her feelings. Scott twisted his coffee cup around, making a tapping noise on the table.

“Hannah, I shouldn’t have left like I did. I thought I was doing the best thing for you. I was wrong not to tell you I was leaving town.”

She put up her hands. “Let’s just concentrate on Jake. I don’t have the energy to rehash the past.”

He gave a resigned nod, but she didn’t think the subject permanently closed.

“Then would you at least tell me why you’re not nursing?”

“I took a leave of absence when Jake started getting sicker. I didn’t think he needed to be in a day-care situation, and I couldn’t find private care close enough to home to make it work.”

“That’s understandable. I thought you had quit altogether. I remember how much you enjoyed it. What a good nurse you were … are.”

“Yeah, I still love it. I’ll get back to it when Jake’s better.”

He’d made no attempt to be a part of her life in the last eight years, and now he was interested in her personal life? Picking up a napkin on the table, she wadded it into a ball.

Hoping to avoid further questions, she asked, “How about you? Where did you go … uh … for your surgery residency?” She’d almost said “after you left me alone in bed. Without saying a word.”

He pulled his legs out from under the table, extended them across the floor, and crossed one ankle over the other.

“Texas, then to Boston for a while. I took a position here a couple of years ago.”

“You always said you wanted to be a heart surgeon. You didn’t change your mind.”

“No. After hearing my first baby’s irregular heartbeat during my cardio rotation I’ve been set on it. It took me years to qualify, but it was the right move.” His gaze met hers. “But it meant making some tough decisions.”

“So, is there a Mrs. McIntyre and any little McIntyres?”

Hannah held her breath, waiting for his answer. A part of her wished he’d found no one special, while another part wanted him to be happy.

“There’s no Mrs. McIntyre or children.”

Hannah released the breath she’d held. Why’d she feel such a sense of relief? “Why’s that?”

“A surgeon’s life doesn’t lend itself to a peaceful private life. Somehow my patients always take precedence over anything or anyone else.”

A dark shadow crossed his face that she didn’t quite comprehend. Had he almost married? What had happened?

“As the mother of one of your patients I’m grateful you make them a priority. I believe that would be a part of being a great doctor.” She took a sip of tea. “So, are you still seeing a nurse on every floor and in every department?” The question had a sting to it that she couldn’t help but add.

He chuckled. “You don’t have a very high opinion of me, do you?”

Hannah chose to let that question remain unanswered. “Did you know that the joke in the nurses’ station was that, when you had rotated to our floor, you’d asked for an alphabetical listing of all the single nurses and were working your way through the list?” “I did not.”

“What? Know or ask for the list? Because you sure as heck worked your way through the staff. I watched you. With the last name of Watson, I had time to see you coming.” Heavens, she’d gotten what she’d deserved. She’d seen for herself what a player he had been.

“Yeah, and you refused to play along. That was one of the many things I liked about you. You made me work to get your attention.”

“I wasn’t interested in being another nurse you scratched off your list.”

Scott’s hand covered his heart. “Ouch, that hurt.”

She grinned. “That might have been too harsh.”

He smiled, oozing Dr. McDreamy charm. “Same Hannah. You never cut me any slack. But as it turns out, believe it or not, being a surgeon doesn’t leave me as much free time as being a med student did. As for an answer, I hope I’ve grown up some.”

“I know I have. I understand things I didn’t use to.” Like how it felt to be drawn to the bright fire that was his charisma and get burnt. He was speaking as if they’d shared nothing more than a casual meal all those years ago, instead of a friendship that had ended with a night filled with passion. She had repeated the same mistake with Jake’s dad.

“I’m sorry, Hannah, for everything.” His beeper went off, demanding his attention. “I have to see about this. Thanks for the coffee.” He picked up his cup, crushed it and pitched it into the nearest trash can.

Scott moved down the hall as if he was a man in command, a man on a mission. He’d been intense and focused as a medical student. That didn’t seem to have changed, but he also had the ability to laugh and smile effortlessly, which drew people to him.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly released it. She needed to think. Put things in some order in her mind.

Jake. Heart transplant. Waiting. Cost. Die. Scott. The words ping-ponged off the walls of her mind.

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