The Runaway Nurse

“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.”