Caro Carson - The Doctor's Former Fiancee

“Think about it, Braden. Your Lana is young enough to be called in to work the E.R. when we’re shorthanded. Financially, I gather from Quinn that times have been tight for the hospital.”

It was Braden’s turn to raise an eyebrow. Finances were his area of expertise. West Central looked prosperous on the surface, but it was possible the accounts didn’t paint the same rosy picture.

“Lana’s age might have been a bonus,” Jamie said. “She’s young enough to have the stamina to cover for docs like me, and despite her years in research, she’s still considered inexperienced enough to not expect a salary like Montgomery was pulling.”

“If she does his job, she should get his salary. Just because she’s young doesn’t mean she isn’t competent.” Competent was a lukewarm word to describe the woman Braden remembered. She’d been the sharpest person in the residency program—except for himself. They’d been in hot competition, vying for the best ratings, competing for the highest evaluations. She’d kept him on his toes. She’d been his match in more ways than he could count.

“Now she’s competent and not too young after all?” Jamie laughed a little. “Quinn’s not an idiot. Even if Lana is getting Montgomery’s salary, the hospital gets extra coverage for the E.R. out of the deal.”

Braden didn’t want to stand here and discuss Lana Donnoli, not when he should be preparing his family to meet Claudia. A change of subject was in order, and as brothers went, he was being a lousy one by not asking after his new nephew. “You’ve got a point. So, how’s Sammy?”

“Fine. Better than fine, making up for lost time now that all his surgeries are behind him. He’s walking now. When you feed him, he tries to grab the spoon out of your hand to feed himself.” Jamie’s love and pride came through with every word. His infant son had been facing medical hurdles when he’d first arrived in the States, but Jamie and his wife had helped their son leap them all.

Braden was glad to hear it. He liked kids, and he’d always expected to be a father someday. Just because it hadn’t happened with Lana didn’t mean it wouldn’t happen. Surely Claudia would want to have children after they married.

“I think taking care of the baby while we were on our honeymoon was more than Mom could handle,” Jamie said. “Call me after you see her. I want to know if she’s still fatigued. Tell me if you think she’s exhibiting muscle weakness—or anything else you notice.”

The worry in his brother’s voice was as unmistakable as his earlier pride in his child had been. Braden was instantly worried, too. Worried, but on a schedule.

“I’m flying back to New York now. This was just a fly in, fly out.”

“Nothing’s a ‘fly in, fly out’ anymore. Not when there’s a two-hour security wait before every flight.”

“PLI has a few private jets. Don’t give me that look. It’s a business necessity, not a luxury.”

Jamie whistled softly. “You flew here in a private jet just to see Dr. Montgomery? It would have been a lot more interesting if you’d come to see Lana.”

“I don’t waste company resources.”

But he had. He’d come to say farewell to Lana. Not the real woman, of course, but the memory of her. He’d failed to execute that step, but the rest of his plan was still in place. “I was going to spend Valentine’s weekend at the ranch. Do you think Mom’s health is too frail?”

“You should check on her. Go back to New York tomorrow. You can sleep at my place, if Mom’s not up to company. My guest room’s empty.”

“No, thanks. The last thing I want is to be around a couple of newlyweds cooing over each other.”

“If marital bliss makes you queasy, then Quinn’s got a pullout sofa.”

Braden just raised an eyebrow in the way he knew made him look like their father. “I’ll be at the Four Seasons.”

Jamie raised an eyebrow in return. He could do the MacDowell look as well as Braden could. “The Four Seasons in New York?”

“In Austin.”

“Good.”

Braden left the hospital through the ambulance portico as he phoned his executive assistant. She would contact the hotel and the pilot. There was always a packed suitcase on board the plane, one which would be delivered to the Four Seasons with no inconvenience to himself. Braden mentally adjusted his schedule before his assistant could answer. He would use this unexpected layover in Austin to execute another key step in his plan.

He wanted to use an Austin jeweler to create the perfect engagement ring for Claudia. Nothing in New York had seemed appropriate. But first, he’d visit his mother to be sure her health would allow her to meet the perfect potential daughter-in-law.

Valentine’s Day. He was a businessman who set goals and timelines. His life would finally move on, come Valentine’s Day.

Chapter Five

Lana couldn’t focus on the pink paper hearts that Myrna was sticking on the door to their office. She watched Myrna painstakingly frame the square window that made up most of the top half of the door. Hopefully, a ten-second break from her computer screen was all Lana’s eyes needed.

It didn’t work. When she looked back at the monitor, the numbers quickly began jumping on the screen once more. They blurred before her tired eyes. Maybe she needed reading glasses. Maybe Dr. Montgomery had left an old pair behind.

Her hand reached for the desk drawer even as her eyes filled with tears. The thought of needing reading glasses made her cry, even if Braden MacDowell didn’t.

“Am I that old?”

Lord, she felt it. Old and tired. It was a natural consequence, she was certain, from running for too many days on too little sleep. Packing up in D.C., driving halfway across the country and taking over a department in disarray left no time for rest. Of course she couldn’t focus. She was tired. Not old and tired. Just tired.

But she needed to focus on these numbers. She needed to win another research contract with PLI. Braden MacDowell’s company.

Braden. He was why she felt so old. Six years had passed, but they felt like sixty. Seeing Braden had been a shock, but it was already over, and Lana would be dealing with Cheryl Gassett from now on. Myrna already knew the PLI representative, in fact. It was quite possible that Lana might never see Braden again.

The thought almost made her sad. Braden was part of her lost youth.

Lost youth? She was only thirty-four. This pity party had to stop. She had a job to do.

Lana crammed her feet back into the pumps she’d kicked off. She sat up straighter in her chair and tugged her dress into place.

My completely unsexy, strictly business dress.

What had Braden thought of her severe appearance? Had he wondered what had happened to his former bed partner? Had he thanked his lucky stars that he hadn’t been saddled with her as a wife after all?

God, she felt old.

She turned away from the monitor and flipped open the three-ring binder that held the paperwork for the patients in the migraine study. They’d have to be contacted, asked to return early, and their remaining pills—whether active or placebo dummies—would have to be retrieved. Lana ran her finger down the page of names. Instead of numbers, letters jumped and swam on the page. So many people, so little hope for them. How could Braden be so heartless?

He hadn’t always been. She’d been engaged to a man who’d been gentle with the patients in this hospital, gentle with the horses on his ranch, gentle with her when the grueling process of becoming a doctor consumed her life. Then he’d left her and their dream of working together behind, and she’d been heartbroken that her fiancé had been driven by the need to make money.