The Maverick Who Ruled Her Heart

“Hey, how’d it go this morning? Did you meet the new doctor? He’s the talk of the hospital.” Molly picked up her sandwich.

“That’s not a hard thing to be. This hospital isn’t that big and most of the people who work here have known each other most of their lives.” Except Jordon, who had no idea who she was or the part he’d played in her young life.

“So are you going to tell me what you think about him?” Molly studied her.

Kelsey was well aware of who Dr. King was. Too aware. She didn’t want Molly to know everything she thought about him. “He’s nice enough and seems to know his medicine.”

Molly put down her fork and looked at Kelsey like she had two heads. “That’s all you’ve got to say? Kelsey Davis, I’ve known you since middle school and that’s the least I’ve ever heard you say about a male. He must have really done something wrong.”

Molly had no idea. She’d moved to town the next summer. About Chad and how she’d felt about J-man were the only secrets she’d ever kept from Kelsey. “Okay, okay. What do you want? That he’s the best-looking man I’ve seen. Dark hair, hazel eyes, shoulders from here to eternity and a butt to die for!”

Molly giggled. “That’s more like it but I detect a note of cynicism. Problem?”

“No. He just reminds me of someone I used to know.”

“Someone you didn’t like.”

She’d liked him too well. “I liked the person just fine but it was during a bad time in my life.”

“Hello, beautiful ladies. Mind if I join you.”

Kelsey looked up to see Adam standing there. He worked in X-ray and had gone to school with her and Molly.

“Sure,” Molly said. She nodded toward the other bench.

Jordon followed Mark to the only outside table available. He took a spot opposite him, gave the food on his tray a dubious look and made a mental note to remember to bring his lunch as often as he could.

A loud burst of laughter came from the table to their left. Jordon knew without looking that Kelsey Davis was there. He’d noticed her along with another blonde with long hair, and he wasn’t surprised to see a man sitting with them. Was every man drawn to her?

His mother had the same personality. People gravitated toward her, especially men. His father had proudly said more than once that “his Margaret was the life of any party.” Jordon had loved to hear her laugh. It had always made him smile. Until that night when the sound had woken him. Her tinkling lilt had drawn him to her until he’d realized she’d been talking suggestively on the phone to a man other than his father.

He glared in the direction of the other table.

“Kelsey and Molly seem to be having a good time. They must be up to something.”

“Up to something?” Jordon took a bite of his oven-baked chicken.

“Yeah, they’re always planning a party or some outing or something.”

Jordon grunted acknowledgement.

“You’ll like working with Kelsey. She’s a lot of fun.”

“What’s her story?”

Mark shrugged. “I don’t know. The usual, I guess. Grew up here, lives here and will die here.”

“You knew her before you started working here?”

“Yeah. We went to high school together. She has a bit of a reputation as a party girl. She enjoys having a good time but I never hear anyone saying anything but good things about her now.”

“Does her family still live around here?”

“I don’t know. Why?”

“She looks so familiar. I used to know some Davises, I just thought she might be kin to them.”

“Why don’t you ask her?”

“Maybe I will.” He glanced at Kelsey’s table again. But this woman couldn’t be the young girl he’d once known. She giggled at something that had been said then turned, meeting his gaze. Time ground to a halt as they stared at each other before he forced his attention back to his unimpressive meal.

Either way, she wasn’t someone he needed to get involved with.

That evening he was walking toward his car when he saw Kelsey getting into an aging small compact that didn’t fit the persona he’d seen so far. It was nothing flashy, as he would’ve expected. She pulled out of her spot and passed him with little more than a glance. How could he be so aware of her when she didn’t seem to even notice him?

CHAPTER TWO

MIDMORNING THE NEXT day Jordon’s cell phone rang while he was familiarizing himself with some paperwork. Tapping the icon, he said, “Dr. King here.”

“This is the E.R. clerk. You’re needed here.”

“On my way.”

Rushing down the stairs, he made one turn and headed along a short hallway. He grinned as he walked. The last hospital he’d been affiliated with had been so large it had taken him five minutes to go from his office to the E.R.

He stepped up to the circular desk and said to the person sitting there, “I’m Dr. King. You paged me.”

“You’re needed in exam room three.”

He look around.

The clerk pointed and said, “Down that way.”

“Thanks.”

Voices came from behind the closed curtain that hung across a metal rod. This was another reminder that he’d left a more modern facility behind. There the patient examination rooms would have had been enclosed. Golden Shores might not be up to date on their buildings but by all accounts the hospital provided excellent medical care and had a clean report as far as any medical malfeasance was concerned. He had no intention of letting what had happened in Washington occur again. He’d been embarrassed and publicly humiliated on too many levels for one lifetime. He’d make sure this time not to get involved with anyone or anything looking remotely illegal.

One of the voices coming from the other side of the curtain sounded familiar. Pulling the striped material back, he saw a woman who looked to be in her late seventies lying on the gurney. Kelsey sat next to the bed and held the older woman’s hand.

Was she destined to turn up everywhere he went?

He raised a brow in her direction and made an effort to concentrate on the patient. Before he could ask a question a nurse rushed in.

“Dr. King, here’s the chart.”

He looked at the front page and said, “So what seems to be the problem Mrs.?” He glanced at the chart again. “Ritch.”

“Young man, you may call me Martha.”

He raised a brow. “Okay, Martha, what brought you in today?”

“I was playing bridge, as I always do over at Edith Hutchinson’s house, and I just blacked out.”

“Did you fall out of the chair?” he asked, concerned the she might have a concussion.

“More like slipped, Myrtice said as I was being put into the ambulance. Which is going to cost me my entire war pension.”

Kelsey patted the woman’s arm. “Now, Martha, that isn’t the important thing. We’ll take care of it.”

Jordon cringed. That was what his lover and partner had said just before they’d arrested her for insurance fraud. He wouldn’t take a chance on being involved in anything like that again. Jordon gave Kelsey a questioning look. Why was she here? She returned an unwavering gaze. Had she seen him wince at her words?

“Martha is one of my diabetic patients. She asked the nurse to call me.”

He nodded. “So did you feel like your blood sugar had dropped?”

The woman hung her head. “I knew when I ate Sally’s petits fours that I’d be in trouble.”

“Martha! We’ve talked about this!” Kelsey exclaimed.

“I know, hon. But there’s nothing like Sally’s petits fours. You can’t eat just one.”

Jordon cleared his throat. “Well, then, young lady …”

Martha giggled. Kelsey smiled, which captivated him.

A few seconds later Martha made a huffing noise. “You do know I’m the patient, don’t you?”

Jordon blinked and looked at her. “I’m well aware you are my patient. And apparently you don’t follow doctor’s orders. I’d like to keep you overnight and give you a good checkup just to make sure we have your blood-sugar level back in line.” He looked at Kelsey. “I also would like Ms. Davis to give you a refresher course on what to eat and not eat. Just in case there’s something that wasn’t covered.”

He noticed Kelsey stiffen but he wasn’t sure why.

“I understand,” Marsha said, with just enough humility to make him believe she might be more cautious about the number of petits fours she ate in the future.

“All right, I’ll get the paperwork started to have you admitted.”

“At least that isn’t committed,” Martha said.

Jordon chuckled. Martha reminded him of Ms. Olson, one of the patients he’d had to leave behind in DC. He’d miss her and what he’d worked so hard to build.

“I don’t think your infraction was that serious but you can’t keep eating petits fours. The nurse will be in to see about getting you admitted to the floor. I’ll check in on you this evening before I leave.”

Jordon pushed the curtain back and stepped out into the large open space of the ER. Before the curtain fell back into place Kelsey joined him.

“May I speak to you a moment, Doctor? In private.”

She didn’t wait for him to respond before she started out the double doors of the E.R. Left little choice, he followed her. She glanced back as she rounded a corner but continued on. He had a nice view of her high tight behind incased in blue pants that defined it to perfection. When he saw her again, she was standing beside a door. She pushed it open and entered as he approached.

Kelsey had no idea what she’d been thinking when Jordon had entered the small consultation room. Suddenly there hadn’t been enough space or air. She hadn’t been rational, she’d been too angry. She couldn’t afford anyone to imply she didn’t do her job well. He had inferred just that.

The chance of getting the job in Atlanta was far too important. If that got back to the administration of the new hospital she’d never have a chance at the position. It was hard enough to overcome the past, she didn’t need anything else to stand in her way. Some of the administration staff had known her as a kid and still had a hard time seeing her as a responsible employee.

The second the door clicked closed Kelsey turned to face him and took a step closer, putting only a foot between them. Looking up at the tall and rather large man, she questioned her decision-making. He gazed at her with complete innocence, which fueled her ire to the point she gritted her teeth to stop herself from doing something far more stupid and unethical.

“Back there it sounded as if you might be implying that I hadn’t done my job,” she hissed. “That I am responsible when a patient doesn’t follow dietary directions outside this hospital. I assure you that I instruct to the best of my ability but I cannot make anyone do what they don’t want to do.”

To her amazement, he looked surprised, maybe slightly annoyed.

“I didn’t mean to imply—”

“Whether you did or didn’t, it came out that way. You’ve not been here long enough to make any assumptions about my work. I don’t need there to be any insinuations or suggestions that I don’t do my job well.”

“I didn’t do either!”

“Just know I don’t appreciate what you said. You’re the new guy here and I’m going to let it go this time. If this happens again, just know we will be having another discussion. We have to work together and I’ll be professional and I expect you to be the same.”

He stepped toward her.

She’d made an uncalculated mistake. He stood squarely between her and the door. She wanted out and he was as formidable as a Stonehenge boulder.

“Are you finished?” he growled, his eyes narrowing.

Kelsey forced herself not to gulp.

“I don’t know what you think I did,” he continued, “but I assure you I didn’t say that you were responsible. I know how rumors and unsubstantiated statements can damage a career. I would never do that to anyone. As for not appreciating something, I haven’t allowed someone to harangue me in this manner since my mother caught me stealing money out of her purse when I was a kid. So, Ms. Davis, you can give it a rest.”

He turned, jerked the door open and was gone before Kelsey could form a parting word. She scowled at the closed door.

Jordon drove home down Bay Road toward the house he’d rented in a “snowbird” deal. He would live there through the winter months while he looked for a place to buy. As a kid, his house had been a part of a subdivision located further inland. He’d always envied his friends at school who lived on the water so that was where he planned to get a place. When he’d returned to town he’d decided against one of the large condos on the ocean side and had opted for a place on the bay.

Pulling the SUV into the white crushed-shell drive and beside the one-floor bungalow, he turned the engine off and looked out at the water beyond. The sea grass waved gently in the wind. Yes, he’d done the right thing by coming back here. Not all the memories were great but the ones before his parents’ divorce outnumbered those afterwards.

Hardy, his chocolate Labrador, barked his welcome as he climbed out. The dog already had a stick in his mouth, waiting for Jordon to play.

“Hey, boy.” He leaned down and gave the dog a good pat on the side. “Let me change and we’ll go to the water.”

Opening the door to the house, he stepped straight into the kitchen area. The place had been built in the sixties and little had changed. Dark paneling, overstuffed furniture with wooden armrests and laminated floors in an unappealing green didn’t deviate from the traditional décor of the times. The house wasn’t attractive but it was clean and functional. The only concession made to change was the large TV on a stand in the corner. Jordon didn’t plan to miss a single Washington Redskins’ football game if he could help it.

He pulled his knit shirt over his head as he went down the hall to the larger of the two bedrooms. Throwing his shirt in the corner, he pulled on a well-worn T-shirt. It was nice not to have to wear a dress shirt and tie to work. The causal, more laid-back coastal lifestyle suited him just fine. Best of all, no white lab coat was required. Shucking his tan slacks and stepping into his favorite jeans, he pulled them into place, zipped and buttoned them.

Not bothering with shoes, he’d take his chance on not getting sand spears in his feet just to feel grass between his toes. He walked across the cool floor back to the kitchen to pour himself glass of tea. He’d always like sugar sweet tea and that was something he couldn’t get north of the Mason-Dixon line. Back in the Deep South, if he asked for tea, it came sweet. One more perk about moving home, and that was just what he’d done—come home. He didn’t plan to ever move again.

With glass in hand he called, “Come on, boy, let’s go play fetch.”

Despite it being late September, the weather was still plenty warm. Hardy pranced at Jordon’s heels as he strolled to the dock where an Adirondack chair waited. Sitting facing west with a sigh of pleasure, he waited for the sun to set. Hardy dropped his stick to the wooden planks of the pier beside the chair and whimpered.

“Okay, boy. I’ll play with you if you promise to watch the sunset with me.” Jordon threw the stick out into the water. In a flash, Hardy sprang off the dock. Paddling, he reached the stick, grasped it in his mouth and headed back. Once on shore again, he shook himself and came running back to Jordon.

“Good boy.” He patted the wet, wiggling dog and willingly took the shower of water when the dog shook himself again.

Hardy barked and Jordon sent the wood out over the water again. Hardy didn’t hesitate before jumping from the dock and swimming toward his stick. A blaze of color caught Jordon’s eye, pulling his attention away from the dog. A woman in a large pink-brimmed hat on her head strolled out onto a pier a couple of doors away. Jordon forgot the sunset and Hardy as he watched the woman pull off her cover-up and let the mesh jacket drop to the planks.

Yes, undeniably he was going to enjoy living here.

The hand with his drink in it stopped in midair as he studied her. She had smooth curves in all the right places. The tiny blue bikini she wore accented them perfectly. As she turned, then bent to adjust the lounge downward, he caught a glimpse of her face.

Kelsey Davis. How had he not recognized those curves from earlier? Maybe he’d been distracted by all that golden skin.

Did she live two doors down? Surely she was just visiting a friend.

As if she’d become aware of someone watching her, she glanced around. Her body stiffened the second she realized his gaze was on her. She hurriedly sat in the chair.

To his horror, Hardy came out of the water and didn’t look right or left before making a beeline toward Kelsey’s pier. As if in slow motion, Jordon stood and started moving as Hardy ran the length of the dock, dropped the stick beside Kelsey and shook himself. Water droplets filled the air, glistening in the early evening sunlight, to fall over Kelsey like rain.

Jordon ran and called Hardy, to no avail. He had made it to the entrance of her dock in time to hear Kelsey squeal then yelped when Hardy’s wet tail ran across her thigh and up over her belly. In her effort to roll away from the dog, she toppled the lounge and fell to the pier. By the time he’d sprinted to the end of her dock, Kelsey lay on her side on the rough planks, pushing Hardy away, while the dog tried to poke his nose in her face.

“Hardy,” he snapped.

The dog looked at him as if to say, Get your own girl.

Jordon chuckled.

“Are you laughing at me?” Kelsey’s eyes had turned cavern dark in her anger. That emotion was familiar. He seemed to elicit it from her with little trouble.

“No, I’m just laughing at the picture you two make.” Jordon grabbed Hardy’s collar.

“It figures this monster would be yours.”

He looked pointedly at her. “You don’t like dogs?”

“I like dogs fine. I’m just not wild about showers given by them or sloppy kisses.”

“I’ll remember that.”

Her eyes grew wide. Why had he said something so suggestive? He had no intention of sharing a shower with her, much less kissing her. She wasn’t his type. Even if she had been, the sting of betrayal still smarted. It was best she remain on her dock and he on his.

Kelsey started to rise.

Jordon offered her a hand. “Here, let me help you.”

After a second she took it and he tugged her upwards.

He sucked in a breath. As amazing as she’d looked from his dock, she was breathtaking up close. The bikini showed off most of her body but he still wanted to see more. Her breasts were full and high. His fingers itched to stroke them, just once.

“Can’t you handle your dog?” Her eyes snapped as she glared at him.

“I guess he appreciates a pretty woman as well as the next male.”

She squared her shoulders, which thrust her barely covered breasts upward. He couldn’t help but stare.

“Surely you aren’t flirting with me?”

Jordon couldn’t pull his gaze away from the beauty before him. “What if I was?” he muttered. What had made him ask that? A half-naked woman had never made him lose his mind before. For heaven’s sake, he was a doctor. Was his thirty-seconds-ago vow to keep his distance already going by the wayside?

Kelsey picked up the cover-up from the dock, giving him a fine view of her behind before she pulled the jacket on and tied it. “Don’t.”

Hardy bumped her leg. She leaned down and took his face in her hands. “So what’s this guy’s name?”

Jordon had to give her points for being a good sport. No other woman he’d known in the past or present would’ve taken Hardy’s antics so well. “Hardy. As in Laurel and Hardy. Mr. Personality he is.”

“You have beautiful eyes,” she cooed.

How ridiculous was it to be jealous of his dog? Hardy seemed to melt like chocolate on a warm day under her ministrations. Jordon might have too, except he couldn’t seem to get any positive attention from Kelsey.

“I had a dog almost just like you when I was a kid.”

She stopped petting Hardy and straightened. It was as if her enthusiasm had suddenly waned. There was a sad note in her voice as if she’d remembered something she didn’t want to. Had something happened to her dog when she’d been a kid? Wanting to change the subject, he asked, “So, do you live here?”

“Yeah.”

“We’re neighbors. I’ve got the place a couple houses over.”

“Great,” she said, with less gusto than he would have liked to hear. Why did it matter what she thought?

“Well, I guess we’ll let you get back to your sunbathing or whatever you were doing. Come on, Hardy.”

The dog looked from one to the other then sat beside Kelsey.

She said with a smirk on her lips, “I guess your dog likes me better.”

Jordon picked up Hardy’s stick and threw it in the direction of his dock. The dog jumped into the water.

“See you later, Kelsey,” Jordon tossed over his shoulder smugly, as he walked up the dock toward the shore.

Back on his own dock, he threw the piece of wood two additional times for Hardy, in an effort to forget Kelsey only yards away. It didn’t work. His attention kept slipping back to her. It wasn’t just that she was a beautiful half-dressed woman within eyesight but Kelsey intrigued him on a number of levels. She was plain old-fashioned interesting. Something that women he was acquainted with weren’t.

Hardy, finally worn out, lay down beside him. Jordon absently rubbed his ear. “Thank you for being such a turncoat.”

The dog said nothing and Jordon continued to watch Kelsey as she read a book, the sunset no longer of interest. At dusk Kelsey folded her chair down, gathered her belongings and headed toward the house.

“Good night, Kelsey,” Jordon said softly.

He stayed until the night swallowed up the last ray of light then made his way inside with Hardy at his heels. “I hope the view is as good every night,” he said to Hardy, not sure if he meant of Kelsey or the sunset.

The next morning Kelsey tried her ignition switch one more time. Nothing. Was it just a dead battery or something more?

How was she going to get to work? Molly had a doctor’s appointment and had left earlier. Great. It wouldn’t look or sound good when her superiors were contacted by someone in Atlanta and they had her being late to work fresh in their memory. She needed a ride quickly. Looking two driveways over, she confirmed that the blue SUV was still sitting in the drive.

She grabbed her purse from the passenger seat, stuffed it under her arm and started in the direction of Jordon’s bungalow. It would have been nice if one of the other houses around them was occupied but they were only used seasonally so she had no choice but to ask Jordon for help. She wasn’t looking forward to asking him for a ride, but she had little choice unless she walked, and she would be late for sure if she did that.

She stepped up to Jordon’s door. Her hand faltered before she knocked. Barking preceded the door being pulled open. Behind the screen door, wearing no shirt, stood Jordon.

“Well, good morning,” he drawled in an exaggerated tone.

Why did the man manage to set her teeth on edge? Taking a deep breath, she said, “My car won’t start. Can I get a ride with you?”

He grinned, “So what you’re staying is you’re not angry with me anymore.”

“I knew you wouldn’t be a gentleman about this.”

Jordon clasped his hands over his heart. “That hurt. Of course I’ll be glad to give you a ride.” His grin grew and he pushed the screen door open and used his leg to block Hardy from exiting the house. “I’m almost ready. Want to come in and wait?”

Her gaze found his chest. “I’ll just wait out by your SUV.”

He shrugged and let the door slam. “Suit yourself.”

The guy was so smug. What was it about her that made him so rude?

She’d been acutely aware of him behind her while she’d sat on the pier the previous evening. It had taken all her willpower not to glance behind her to see if he was watching her. She’d read the same three pages of her book five times and she still couldn’t have told anyone what they’d been about. All she’d been able to think about had been what Jordon had been doing.