The Runaway Nurse

“So do I. Grace touched a lot of lives. Mine included, when she endowed me to go to medical school.” “She did that for you?”

Rick nodded. “At the time, I didn’t even know I wanted to be a doctor. I was in college, not majoring in anything. Kind of on the verge of washing out, actually.” He smiled. “Let me rephrase that. I was being a real screw-up. Mad at my mother, mad at the world in general. On academic probation, on disciplinary probation. Probably days away from being kicked to the curb. Then one day, Grace showed up at my dorm room, walked right in and made me an offer. Get my act together, start taking pre-med classes to see if I liked medicine. If I did, she’d send me to medical school.” He didn’t talk about himself much. No reason to. People here either remembered him as a kid and held onto their prejudices or accepted what he’d become, or they’d come to know him as an adult only and based their opinion on what they saw. He did his job, raised his kid, kept to himself. That was his world, and that was all he wanted in his world. But something about Summer compelled him to be, well, a little more loquacious than he normally was. In fact, Summer was the first person he’d ever told about Grace making his medical education available to him. He wasn’t even sure Rafe and Jess knew, and didn’t feel inclined to mention it to them.

“So, just like that, you changed your life?”

He shook his head. “Not really. I gave it some thought. Didn’t like the idea of all the years of study I’d have ahead of me. I wasn’t very focused then so I turned her down. In due course, I grew up some, and got a little more serious about my studies … at least, enough so I wasn’t in imminent danger of getting myself kicked out. Then about a year later I went home on semester break and she offered me a one-week job at the hospital. Hard work, no pay, was what she said.” He chuckled. “I’d always had free access to the stables and the horses. She told me for that door to remain open during my holiday, I had to work that week at the hospital in exchange for my privileges. No hospital, no horses. So I took on the hospital. Did grunt work, nothing glamorous. It nearly broke my back. In fact, I was so tired I never rode once during that week. But after one particularly rough night, where I actually assisted in a resuscitation … I was the one to do the chest compressions that helped save the patient’s life … let’s say that my life changed. It was the first time I’d ever done anything I considered worthwhile, and I floated around on a high from that for weeks. I saved a life. The rest is history, and here I am. Thank God for Grace Corbett and her phenomenal insight into people.”

“I wish I’d known her longer, but she …” Summer paused, drew in a ragged breath. “Taking care of her all those months when she was dying, it was never like I was really working. It was more like being part of something important. And she was so good to Alyssa … I didn’t know Grace as long as everybody else around here did, but I don’t think I’ve ever respected anybody more in my life.”

“She was one of the truly good people.” He licked his ice-cream cone, then pointed to the blue melting down the side of Summer’s cone. “You’d better get after that blue stuff fast,” he said, handing her a napkin. “And in the meantime, while I’ve got you distracted, I’m going to make that offer again.”

Summer shook her head. “No, Rick. Don’t do it, because I haven’t changed my mind. I like my working situation as it is. Being a temp nurse is … good.” Kept her largely unnoticed, off to the side, which was exactly where she wanted to be these days. She raised her daughter, she worked occasionally. It was enough. Although she did have to admit that she missed full-time involvement. Missed the financial security, too. Maybe again someday …

“But it doesn’t pay you as much as you could earn coming on staff as a full-time RN, and you’re a damned good nurse, Summer. I wouldn’t be asking you to head the pediatric ward if I hadn’t already seen how you work. The hospital needs you and I think you need the hospital.”

“See, that’s the thing. I don’t need the hospital. At least, not in the capacity you’re offering me. Coming in occasionally, working wherever I’m needed … that’s all I want to do.” She glanced over at Alyssa, then back at Rick. “I value my time with my daughter, and a full-time job would take too much of that away from me.”

“Like my job as chief of staff takes too much time away from me. But I make it work, Summer. Sometimes I don’t like all the hours I have to put in, but at the end of the day, it works out.”

“I’m glad it does. But I can’t do it.”

This was the third time he’d offered her this position, and had been turned down that many times. Yet he still wanted her in that job. Hadn’t even considered looking for someone else yet. Summer was a good nurse. No, she was great. She had the right instincts as well as a natural gift with children. Maybe her greatest ability was the way she put people at ease. As far as he was concerned, she was the only person he wanted, and he wasn’t going to be deterred by what he was sure was going to be his next rejection. “Look, I don’t know what’s stopping you. If it’s someone reliable to look after Alyssa, bring her to my house. Mrs. Jenkins is there looking after Chris, and—”

Summer thrust out her hand to stop him. “That’s not the point, Rick. I … I can’t get that involved right now. Not with anything.”

“What if I sweetened the pot by telling you that we’re going to start a day-care program for employees’ children? Alyssa could be included in that program, and you’d get to be with her throughout the day. So, would that be enough to make you consider accepting?”

She hesitated. Narrowed her eyes. Didn’t refuse right away, which gave him his first glimmer of hope.

“It does make it more intriguing,” she admitted.

Finally, he was making headway. Letting his hopes rise just a little bit.

“But not enough to accept the offer. I’m sorry, Rick. I can’t do it.”

Hopes dashed to pieces again. But he’d almost hooked her, which meant he wasn’t giving up. Summer was odd, though. Intriguing. Beautiful, with her long blonde hair, her ocean-blue eyes. And she was frustrating as hell. He wanted her, and the more she refused, the more he wanted her. “Well, I’m not giving up. You’re the right person for the position, and I’m pretty damned stubborn.”

“So am I,” she said, smiling. “If you still want me to temp, and I hope you do, I’ll be glad to do that occasionally. But I don’t want … responsibility. Not the kind you’re offering me.”

Yet when she stepped into a position, even a temporary one, she assumed the responsibility like nobody he’d ever seen. It was her nature. The people around her looked to her for leadership. Unfortunately, this was not an argument to wage today. There would be no giving up on her, though. There would be other days, other opportunities, other trips to Benson’s Ice Creamery, he hoped as he watched the children playing together. Watched with pride as his son stood right up for Alyssa, showed her the so-called ropes of Kiddieland.

Summer saw the children’s relationship going on. In fact, she was paying more attention to the children than she was to him which was, admittedly, a little bit of a blow to the ego. Even though he wasn’t interested in Summer that way. But to get upstaged by the children? He could feel the slight sting of it. “Of course I still want you as a temp. But this isn’t over, Summer. Not by a long shot.” In fact, for a moment the thought of a real date with her passed before his eyes. He had to blink pretty hard to get rid of it, though. Because that wouldn’t work. He didn’t have time. He didn’t want the drama either, and one way or another those kinds of relationships always led to drama. For this part of his life, he was dad first, then doctor after that. That’s all. “So I’m warning you …”

Summer laughed, but kept her eyes focused on the children. “You got your way with the blue goo. What more do you want?”

What more did he want? The sun, the moon, and Summer Adair. His hospital needed her, and what was good for the hospital was good for him. So now all he had to do was find a way to convince Summer she needed what he wanted.

As it had turned out, the evening had been nice. Rick was very good company in spite of how he’d pestered her again about the pediatric job. Alyssa had certainly enjoyed playing with Chris. Then, on top of all that, sprinkles became the most important thing in her daughter’s life. She’d asked if she could have them on her breakfast cereal in the morning and on her peanut-butter sandwich for tomorrow’s lunch.

It was her daughter’s horizons broadening. Made Summer proud, scared her, too, as it changed their direction. Turned one step forward into something a little unsure simply because Alyssa had asserted herself today. Under other circumstances, Summer would have been excited about that. But under these circumstances, her real inclination was to pull her daughter closer, protect her a little more.

In a sense, Summer did feel guilty sheltering her daughter the way she did. When they’d lived with Grace she’d had Molly to play with. Still did, whenever she took Alyssa up to Gracie House for either Edie or Mrs. Murdock, the housekeeper, to watch. And now Chris Navarro was in her life. So Alyssa’s world was definitely expanding. But was that enough for her? Summer did worry about that. Worried about Alyssa picking up her anxieties, too.

“So maybe taking that job at the hospital and giving Alyssa the chance to interact with all the children in the day-care center would be a good thing,” she said to Clancy. He was the huge orange tomcat that had adopted them when they’d moved into the cottage. Apparently, he’d called it home for quite a while before she and Alyssa had arrived, and had no problem at all sharing it, especially with people who fed him on a regular basis. A gentle soul, really, he snuggled into Summer’s side when she plopped down on the sofa and picked up a medical journal to read. “She just lights up around other children,” she continued to the cat. “Loved playing with Molly and Chris this evening. So tell me, Clancy. Am I being too over-protective? I mean, this is Lilly Lake, New York. It’s safe here. Out of the way. Who’s going to come here looking for me?”

Who, indeed. Maybe an ex-husband? A thought that chilled her to the bone. Only thing was, thinking about the job Rick had offered warmed her. So did the image of Rick that popped into her mind.

“Besides, I’d really love to work again. Have a permanent position. And Rick’s offer …” She scratched Clancy behind the ears, eliciting his purr. “Sure, life is easy for you. You have someone to take care of you. Don’t have to worry about anything because it’s all being provided for you, you lucky cat.”

In a sense, though, Grace had done the same for her. And it was Grace on her mind when she picked up the phone quite a while later and dialed Rick Navarro’s cellphone.

“Hello,” he said, his voice thick.

“Hi, Rick. It’s Summer. Did I wake you?” She glanced at the clock, surprised to see that it was well after eleven.

He cleared his throat before he answered. “You’re not craving more blue goo, are you?”

He always did that, always made her smile. “What I’m craving is a meeting in the morning. One where we discuss the terms of my new job.”

“Well, that was definitely worth waking up for,” he said, suddenly sounding alert.

The thing was, she was having quite the opposite reaction. Now that she’d committed herself, all she wanted to do was go curl up for a nice, cozy sleep. Something she hadn’t done since she couldn’t remember when. Normally, her sleep was rigid, interrupted, unrestful. But something about her decision, something about hearing Rick’s voice the last thing in her day … definitely a good night’s sleep ahead.

CHAPTER TWO

“IT’s a pretty straightforward idea, Summer. We want to expand the pediatric department, integrate more kinds of medical services, especially rehabilitation.” Rick pushed a rough-up of the floor plan across the desk to Summer. “We’ve got the space allotted, and the architects are working on some ideas to maximize the space we already have so they can integrate that into the new space we’re going to build. In total, we’re going to double the square footage and bring in an additional five services we haven’t offered before. In size, this expansion equals what we’re doing in trauma, and it’s going to give us the largest pediatric service in the region.”

She studied the plan for a moment, liked what she saw. Lilly Lake Hospital, as it operated now, had a tidy little pediatric department that offered the basics. It was good already, but what Rick had in mind was going to make it great. Being part of it excited her. More than that, it revived the passion she’d once felt for medicine, passion she’d lost during her marriage and had never recovered. Now she could feel the tingle. But she had to keep it reined in until she was actually hired, and Rick did still have to go over her credentials. That made her nervous. They were solid, no faking her background, but would they be enough for him now that she was under the microscope, so to speak? “I’ve never run an entire department. Just an intensive care unit. Is that good enough for you?”

“Grace found you and hired you, so that’s good enough for me.”

“And the day-care unit?”

“Maybe not a top priority, but we can get it launched in a small capacity almost immediately.”

It was sounding more and more appealing.

“So, what aren’t you telling me?” There was always a catch, wasn’t there? That little hidden bit of information that didn’t come out until after the fact. Like a husband who enjoyed beating his wife but hadn’t shown the proclivity until after they were married.

“Nothing that I can think of.”

She looked hard into Rick’s eyes, studied them for a moment, then nodded. “OK, then …” She saw no guile there. Saw no mean spirit. “With the provision that there will be a day-care program, I’ll take the job.” And just like that, she was committed. Also excited.

“Done deal, then.”

“That’s too easy,” she quipped.

“It was meant to be. I realized somewhere between your second and third refusal that we had to figure your daughter into the equation. I have a great housekeeper and nanny looking after Chris, but if I didn’t, I’d want him here, with me. So I put myself in your position and saw that someone to care for Alyssa was probably the only thing stopping you from accepting.”

“That’s being overly optimistic, don’t you think?” Or extremely observant.

“Maybe. But the gamble paid off, didn’t it? I’ve done the preliminary work toward getting the day-care center off the ground, and you’ve accepted the job.”

“I’m not really that easy,” she said, feeling flattered, and a little awkward about how well he could anticipate her.

“Not easy at all. You’ve caused me to lose sleep, Summer.”

“Let me guess. You lay awake at night, trying to figure out what it would take to persuade me to accept the position. Right?”

He grinned. “Something like that.”

“Well, then …” She stood, not sure what else to do at this point. “I’ll start tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow. Oh, and day care will be open. I hired someone to watch the children until we’re fully functional and have a real staff in place.”

“Qualified?”

“Eminently. She was my third-grade teacher. Retired now. I’ve put her in charge, temporarily, with the option of staying on to head the program, if she’s as good as I think she’ll be.”

A new job, a place where Alyssa would be safe … Just like that, her life had changed yet again. But it was a good change. This time. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself all the way home.

Jess Corbett plopped down in the chair across the desk from Rick. “You look like you just opened a whole bunch of Christmas presents,” he said, smiling. “All of them good.”

“In a way, I did,” Rick said. “Summer’s finally consented to being head nurse in Pediatrics.”

“Well. I’ll be damned. It only took you, what? Three months? Julie said she wasn’t sure Summer would ever do it, but I figured if you wanted her bad enough, you’d figure out a way to get her. So, what did it take?” Jess stretched out his long legs and leaned back in the chair, cupping his hands behind his head. “And is this going to be a long story? Because I’ve got to go see a patient on my way out, go home and have breakfast with my lovely wife, then teach a class on CPR.”

Rick was beginning to like Jess. Not completely there yet, but working on it and trying hard to get over that last hurdle of trust. They had history, most of it pretty bad. Jess and his older brother, Rafe, had been the bullies, and he their favorite victim, when they were kids. Kids’ stuff, most of it, but pretty hurtful at times, since his mother’s livelihood had depended on their father employing her. Which meant he himself had had to sit back and take it. And they had known how to dish it out, Rafe physically, Jess verbally, all of it owing to the abuse they’d suffered at the hands of their father. When he’d been a kid, Rick hadn’t known the whole psychological profile of how abuses often begat abuses. All he’d known had been that Rafe and Jess had come at him whenever they’d had a chance, and he’d hated them for it.

Well, it was all in the past now. They were adults. Rafe and Jess had apologized many times over. More than that, their earnestness came through in their actions toward Rick. They owned the hospital, but had turned it over to him to run the medical aspects of it. More than that, he had equal weight in all the decisions. They treated him fairly. “Not so long as it is complicated. And it only took me two months, not three.”

Jess chuckled. “Isn’t that always the way when a beautiful woman’s involved? I mean, look what happened to me when I got involved with my beautiful woman. All the things I swore I’d never do … well, I’m doing them. And I’m very happy with my life since I met Julie. So tell me, what’s your beautiful lady got you caught up in?”

Rick shook his head, conjuring up a quick flash of Summer when she’d flounced out his door. And flouncing it had been. Or maybe he’d wanted her to flounce, fantasized her flouncing. Whatever … “Well, she’s not mine, not going to be mine. Did that once, and my ex was beautiful, but I’m not going to let my head be turned like that again with anybody else. My marriage woes aside, though, this particular beautiful woman wanted a little extra incentive to come and work here.”

Jess arched amused eyebrows. “Let me guess. A day-care center for hospital staff? Julie’s mentioned that to me a time or two and, so you’ll know, she’s pretty well lined up with Summer on this one. She wants a day-care program, too, for when we get started on the family situation.”

“So you knew this was going to happen?”

“You want Summer. We all want Summer. And Summer’s all about her little girl. According to Julie, she has the worst separation anxiety she’s ever seen. It’s so bad she nearly has panic attacks when Alyssa is out of her sight. Plus, she’s got a pretty short list of people she trusts to watch Alyssa when she’s working. So, yes, I figured it was going to happen sooner or later. You know, give a little, get a lot.”

“But it’s a good move for the entire staff, too,” Rick explained. “Not just Summer, and not just for Summer. As we expand our services, we’ll be bringing in more people to work. To get the best-qualified people we can, we’ve got to offer them the perks that other hospitals our size don’t. Salary and nice facilities aside, it has to be about the human touch … our day-care program, for starters. Then other quality-of-life issues. And before you tell me this is something I should have discussed with you and Rafe …”

Jess thrust out his hand to stop him. “Your decision, Rick. If you think we need it, then we’ll do it. You don’t need our permission to dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’. OK? And for what it’s worth, I’m with you on it. Rafe will be too, although he’s probably too tied up with Edie right now to care about much of anything going on around here. He’s taking these last days of pregnancy much harder than his wife is. But he’ll be behind you when he’s not so distracted, because he’ll understand the benefits of this, too.”

You don’t need our permission … That was the part of his job he was still getting used to, the part where he had all the authority. The Rafe and Jess Corbett he’d spent half his growing-up years fighting and hating trusted him implicitly with their hospital. They’d even mentioned bringing him on as a full partner at some point, an idea he couldn’t quite wrap his psyche around because sometimes it still felt like he was treading on eggshells, waiting for them to resort to their old selves. They were the ones who were past all that, though. Which made his trust issues entirely his problem as there were still days when he woke up wondering if this would be the day they pulled the rug out from under him.

“Well, I’m glad you’re good with this because Summer’s going to start tomorrow, and our new day-care programs starts tomorrow, too. Anita Johnson will head it up to begin with and with any luck maybe permanently. Remember her?”

Jess arched his eyebrows. “I’m impressed. She was probably one of the best school teachers I ever knew. But I thought she was retired.”

“Retired, and bored. So I thought who better than to take care of the kids of the kids she taught?”

“You cover all the angles, don’t you?” Jess asked, chuckling.

“As many as I have to.”

“Good. I’m glad we’re moving forward. Aunt Grace put her trust in the right man when she hired you.” He stood. “Anyway, like I said, I’ve got to teach a class in two hours, and I’ve got a lot to do before that.” Jess was a part-time trauma surgeon as well as paramedic trainer and second in charge of the Lilly Lake Volunteer Fire Department, walking the line between the two careers. One of those rare individuals who could do it all.

“How’s the program coming?” Rick asked, referring to the paramedic training that was actually a hospital and fire department cross-over program.

“Got three people in it right now. Give us a few months and I think we’re going to have a good team in place and an even better training program going into our next round. I’ve got about a dozen people interested in taking the upcoming class. A few of them coming in from other towns.”

Times were changing in Lilly Lake, Rick thought as Jess headed out. Suddenly, he was excited. The times really were changing, and he was cautiously optimistic. And smiling. Although that smile had more to do with Summer than anything else.

“Oh, my,” Summer said, placing a pillow behind Edie Corbett’s back. “I think you’ve doubled in size since I saw you … when was it? Day before yesterday?”

“Not doubled. Tripled. At least, that’s what it feels like.” She sank back into the pillows on the couch and very gingerly lifted her feet. “You know I’ve been pregnant for two and a half years, don’t you?”

Laughing, Summer sat down in the chair across from her. “My last month carrying Alyssa was miserable. Everything was swollen, including my fingernails. And it felt like there were forty-eight days that month, thirty-six hours in each and every day.”

“Well, if nothing happens in the next couple of days, they’re going to induce labor.”

“But everything’s OK, isn’t it?” Summer asked.

Edie nodded, grimaced, then smiled. “Everything but my mood. I’m being grumpy. That’s why Rafe took the girls down to the stables. He told me I could use some alone time. Loosely translated to mean he needed to get out of the house and Molly needed a break from my last few days of jitters.”

“Is Alyssa going to ride?” Summer asked, growing concerned with the idea.

“Rafe promised to put her up on a pony. Molly wanted to give her a tandem saddle and the three of them go up to Hideaway Bluff, but Rafe’s pretty cautious when it comes to putting the kids on the horses. So right now they’re out in the smaller paddock, going round in circles, and Alyssa’s riding with Rafe until he thinks she’s safe to do tandem.”