Kathleen Pickering - A Man to Believe In

“What makes you think it’s hot?”

“You have a twinkle in your eye.”

“Mom, can we have an ice pop?” Amanda spoke for her sister as well, both showing anticipation in their sweet faces.

“Sure, honey. Help yourselves. Sit at the table to eat them.”

The girls peeled the wrappers off the pops. “Can we go on the swings?”

Ellen pointed to the pink baseball caps hanging on pegs next to the door. “Of course. Put on your hats to protect those gorgeous noses from the sun.”

Through the glass door, Cassie watched the girls run to the swings, hats on, pops in hand, their opened hoodies flying behind them. She shook her head. “Oh, to be so carefree.”

“What? You carrying the world on your shoulders?”

Cassie blew on her latte, then sipped. “Mmm. Yum.”

Ellen watched Cassie from over her cup. “Something bothering you?”

“No.”

“You thinking about this morning?”

Cassie put her mug down. “Yes, but it’s not what you think.”

“What am I thinking?”

“You’re thinking a new guy is in town so he becomes a prospect for me.”

“Do you like him?”

Cassie met her friend’s gaze. “I feel a bit guilty because he crashed his truck because of me.”

“Really?” From the look on her face Doc had told Ellen more than she was saying.

“I think Doc is concerned I’ll fool around with this one and he’ll quit like the intern from last year.”

Ellen grinned. “I heard there was something about deer involved in your meeting.”

“He’s a good-looking man. We were smiling at each other without knowing who each person was. He didn’t see the deer until too late.”

“I’m getting the picture here.”

Cassie held up both hands. “No. You’re not, Ellen. If you witnessed an accident where the patient was rendered unconscious you would have stayed involved, too.”

Ellen nodded. “You’re right.”

“I ended up spending most of the day with him because one thing led to another. I’d just left him at the Oceanside when you pulled up behind me. He’s a bit aggressive, and I don’t like that. We’ll probably get along fine working together, but I have no intention of dating him.”

“John says he seems like a nice enough guy to match his qualifications.”

Nice enough? He was charming as hell and so damned gorgeous he made her salivate. But none of that mattered because she was not getting involved. Cassie shrugged. “Saw his résumé. Now I’ve met him. He’s pleasant. Easygoing. Let’s see how he does under pressure. Paper qualified means nothing if you can’t perform under fire. Who knows why he left his first job? Only time will tell.”

* * *

PETER COULDN’T BELIEVE he’d slept away the rest of the day on Tuesday, and most of yesterday. When he woke up late yesterday afternoon, he’d felt more than rested. And the first person to cross his mind was Cassie Michaels. Wouldn’t it have been nice to wake up one more time with her watching him?

Sheesh. He needed to get a grip. It had been way too long since he dated. Now he was full of energy, ready to roll and upset for wasting a day. He’d spent most of today walking around town, or grabbing taxis to check out apartments for rent. He hadn’t realized when he scoped out rentals during the winter that even though it was spring, the summer season prices had kicked in. Finding decent housing at a reasonable price was proving impossible. He mentally kicked himself for not securing a place before arriving. Today, he had way too much on his plate to be thinking about a beautiful woman.

The taxi dropped him off at the repair station. He’d slept through Mike’s call yesterday. Mike was sitting at the service counter, wolfing down a sub, when Peter walked in.

“Hey, Mike. Thought I’d stop in since I missed your call.”

Mike wiped his mouth with a paper napkin. “Hi, Pete. Got good news and bad news.”

The men shook hands. “Okay. Bad news first.”

“The radiator needs to be replaced. Waiting for the parts and repair will take you late into next week. I’m sorry, man.”

Peter held up a hand. “No worries. Expected as much. So what’s the good news?”

Mike slid a sheet toward him. “Insurance will pay for all of it, minus the deductible.”

“That is good news.” He pulled out his wallet. “Let me pay that now, so you can order the parts and we can get moving on this.”

Mike grinned. “Already ordered the parts. You might be new here, but you’re part of Doc’s team. Makes you family, hands down.”

Peter appreciated being accepted without having to prove himself. “I knew from the minute I drove into town that I would like this place.”

“Hey, nurses are like heroes, man.” Mike shuddered. “I can’t take looking at blood, let alone fixing someone up. That’s the good thing about cars. They don’t bleed.”

Peter laughed. “Well, you’ll have to let me buy you a beer sometime.”

“Sure! I know this hole in the wall where the beer is ice-cold and they serve lobster rolls the size of your hand.”

“Deal. I’ll check in with you in a day or two to see how things are going.”

He left Mike’s feeling like one problem would soon be solved. He’d have to take up Cassie on her offer of rides to work. Not that he’d have a problem with that arrangement. Now, he just had to find a place to live.

Working his way toward the hospital, Peter ducked into a pizza place to grab a slice. A few mothers and their kids sat around an outside table eating a large pie that was three quarters finished. The boys were fooling around shooting spitballs through straws at the girls across the table. Instead of complaining, the girls shrieked with laughter, ducking and shooting back with their own straws. No one, including the mothers deep in conversation, noticed the youngest girl busy chewing her pizza.

As Peter watched, he saw the girl try to swallow, then struggle. Her gag reflex kicked in. Peter rose to attention, ready to help, but didn’t want to interfere if the mothers were going to give her aid. The girl’s face reddened. Panic lit her eyes. Clearly, if she couldn’t speak she was choking and no one was noticing.

The server slid Peter’s slice on the counter. Without looking, Peter said, “Just a second...”

The mothers noticed him approaching then realized his focus was on the girl, who was silently gagging. The mother across the table said, “Oh, God! Jenny!”

Peter pulled the girl into his lap, opened her mouth, holding her jaw open, and reached thumb and forefinger to grab the wad of cheese he saw caught in her throat. As he pulled, the cheese came out first in a clump, then stretched like a long string. Peter reached in again, grasping as much of the cheese as he could. The girl continued to gag, stiffening with fear.

“Easy, honey. We’ll get this out. Shhh. Just relax...” He didn’t want the cheese string to break, leaving pieces lodged in the kid’s airway.

The girl seemed to realize Peter was her only hope. Tears running down her face, she stopped struggling. For five years old or so, she seemed pretty smart, and Peter was grateful as hell. He didn’t want to have to call an ambulance and administer the Heimlich while waiting. This kid was small. He might crack a rib. One last gentle pull and the final wad of cheese came out.

“Got it!” He said, triumphant, and tossed the cheese onto the girl’s plate. The girl started to cough from the gag reflex.

“Jenny!” The mother grabbed the girl from Peter’s lap. “Oh, honey. Are you okay?”

The table had fallen silent, the girl’s siblings watching with dropped jaws before breaking into bedlam.

“Did you see that? Jenny almost died!”