Kathleen Pickering - A Man to Believe In

Man. He had it bad.

Not until she walked away, leaving Brenda to show him how the computer entries worked, was he able to focus on the task at hand. Holy smokes. If Cassie continued to have that effect on him, he’d never be able to work with her as a teammate. He’d be too wrapped up in her to concentrate. Or maybe he’d get used to her in time. The infatuation would die and she’d just be another coworker. No. Maybe not.

Twenty minutes later, Doc appeared at the nursing station. “Cassie said you were here. Showing up to help before your start date is a great way to brownnose the boss. Well done.”

Peter laughed. Brenda did, too. He stood up from his seat to shake hands. “I was going stir-crazy at the hotel. Been hunting for an apartment. Got frustrated there, too. Couldn’t think of anywhere else to go.”

Doc held up a hand. “Oh, come on. Tell me you’re so dedicated you couldn’t stay away. That’ll improve your job review.”

Both men laughed, then Peter asked, “So, how’s it going today?”

Doc and Brenda exchanged glances. “Pretty quiet so far, but it’s only Thursday.”

“Believe it or not, Mondays are our busiest,” Brenda said.

“Oh, I remember well from the E.R. in Los Angeles. Everyone nurses their problems through the weekend so they won’t blow their days off. Then, Monday morning hits and the E.R. becomes jammed.”

“Exactly.” Doc waved for Peter to follow. “If Brenda’s finished with you, join me. I’ll show you the trauma unit.”

“He’s all yours,” Brenda said.

As the two men walked, Doc asked, “Did you get a chance to look around?”

“A bit. Nice facility. Great waiting room.”

“The trauma unit is state-of-the-art. Everything is on wheels so that we can move the equipment wherever we need it.” He led Peter down another hallway into a room with glass partitions that opened into an identical adjoining room, both holding a bed, supply cabinets and a monitor station with an overhead operating light.

Doc motioned to the partitions. “That wall opens in case we get hit with multiple trauma victims. We can fit up to four beds in here.”

“Looks great.”

“Rachel will get the protocol list to you. You’ll see. Our routine is pretty straightforward.”

“Do nurses work rooms individually or as teams?”

Doc met his gaze. “Usually depends on the day. If we’re crowded, we work solo, unless help is needed. On quiet days, we’ll attend patients in teams. Keeps the experience fresh and two sets of eyes can observe more. Helps to double-check charting.”

This all sounded routine to Peter. “I’m clear on that. A second observation helps prevents oversights. Important in today’s litigious world.”

Doc grimaced. “My worst nightmare. We’ve been lucky so far in avoiding lawsuits. Let me show you our new CT scan.”

Peter followed Doc to the tech room. Passing a treatment room, he saw Cassie dressing a patient’s wound. She must have heard their voices in the hall because she glanced up as they passed. Doc stuck his head in. “All good here?”

The patient, a young woman who was watching Cassie’s ministrations with concern, pouted when she saw John. “It still hurts.”

“We’re almost finished,” Cassie added.

“Sue scalded herself with boiling water. Second-degree burn,” Doc explained to Peter. He returned his attention to the patient. “If you don’t want to change the dressing yourself, come back in. We’ll help. Don’t get it wet. You have to treat this wound gently.”

She smiled. “Okay.”

Doc waved. Peter followed suit. Cassie’s smile when their eyes met hit like a punch to his heart, which cinched his decision. He’d ask her out before leaving. Made no sense to wait. Just thinking about being one-on-one with her again made his pulse race while his mind settled into liking the idea. So much for backing off.

Luckily, tech-geek that he was, he became distracted by Doc’s new toy. They weren’t five minutes into checking out all the features of the CT scan when Doc got called for patient aid. When he took his leave, Peter went in search of Cassie.

He retraced his steps to the last spot he saw her. The patient room was empty. Next step would be to document Sue’s treatment. He made a mental note to recall the woman’s name should she show up next week. Nothing like fostering good patient-hospital relations with name recall. He liked doing that. Remembering names to faces was like a game to him. And, folks always seemed to appreciate being recognized. He headed for the nurse’s station in the back. Cassie glanced from the computer as he walked up before returning to her task.

“My goodness. I already recognize the sound of your steps,” Cassie said as she typed in a sentence.

“That’s impressive.”

She shrugged. “You start to use all your senses around here. Matter of survival.”

He leaned both elbows on the high counter to watch her work. “I understand.”

She raised a brow. “Do you?”

Of course he did. Not only from working the E.R. in Los Angeles, but also from listening to cars pulling into his driveway as a kid, or the footsteps on the walkway up to the door announcing friend or foe. He’d know the sound of the social worker’s footsteps in his sleep. He grinned. “Sure. I’ll tell you all about it sometime.”

She stopped what she was doing to meet his gaze. “Okay.”

“How about tonight. Dinner?”

She shook her head, an odd look in her eye. “Sorry. Working ’til midnight.”

He shrugged. “I don’t mind eating late.”

She laughed. “Thanks, but I’ll pass. Another time. Okay?”

Damn. Shot down. He gave her what he hoped was a careless smile. “I’ll hold you to it.”

The sinking feeling disappeared once he noticed the rising color in her cheeks. What did that mean? She certainly wasn’t shy. Hmmm. Maybe he had a chance here, but didn’t want to spook her. He’d play on his need for help since she’d chided him about that the other day.

“I spoke to Mike before coming here.”

Bingo. She seemed to relax once more. “I’m guessing you’ll need a ride to work on Monday.”

“Actually, the entire week.” When she looked at him again, he wasn’t sure what the look on her face meant. Surprise? Satisfaction? He held up a hand. “But, I can walk if that’s too much.”

She frowned. “It’s almost a half hour to get here on foot from the Oceanside.”

“So?”

“I don’t know about you but a half hour extra sleep is like gold around here.”

He jumped at her reasoning. He wanted the ride. “True.”

“Give me a second to finish logging this chart. We can see if we can coordinate our schedules.”

He couldn’t keep the grin from his face. “Thanks. That works for me. I’ll wait for as long as it takes.”

CHAPTER FOUR

CASSIE AND ELLEN herded the girls onto the beach around eight o’clock on Friday morning. The beach was quiet since the tourist season hadn’t yet begun. But in a few weeks, the Hither Hills campground would swell with campers and families. Kids from all over would fill the beach to compete with the local residents for the children’s sand-castle competition. Right now, it was easy to scout out a spot to sit. When the competition started in June, getting a strategic corner of sand close to the high-tide line would be tricky. The right spot gave the competitors quick access to the water, but also ensured the tide wouldn’t wash away their hard work.

Ellen had learned a few years ago, that if they made one or two outings before the competition, the twins learned two valuable lessons: one, how to prepare for testing or performing; and two, how to relax and have fun achieving goals by being prepared ahead of time.