A Man to Believe In

“Dizzy?”

He shook his head. “No. Hungry.”

“Where are you staying?”

“Booked a room at the Oceanside Resort.”

She pulled his satchel from the closet. “That’s pretty close. Do you need help dressing?”

All sorts of inappropriate answers flew through his mind. “I think I can handle it.”

“I’ll be happy to drive you to the Oceanside.”

* * *

CASSIE WAS HALFWAY down the hall before she realized she was holding her breath. Oh. My. God. They sure knew how to grow men in California! Peter Chapman had rocked her balance from her first glance of him out on the road. Now that she’d seen him up close and personal, heard the deep timbre of his voice then had a chance to lose herself in those smoking dark eyes, her knees practically shook.

It was bad enough his brief smile had practically knocked her off her bike this morning. One glance at the California license plates had her sending a small prayer skyward that maybe he’d be the new coworker they were expecting. Witnessing him crash his truck had been surreal. She’d seen him watching her in his side-view mirror and felt guilty for distracting him.

His dark blond sun-bleached hair and tanned body, built and muscled like a man used to physical activity—and lots of it—had her wondering just how much work she could get done in close proximity to him. He was freaking hot and she couldn’t catch her breath.

She hadn’t had a reaction to a man so deeply in over a decade. That thought turned off her come-on button like a flicked switch in a dark room.

Kyle. She’d reacted to Kyle like that once. Then he was gone. Literally. He’d been swept off her father’s fishing boat during a late-summer squall. They never recovered his body, and his death had created a living hell that had lasted years for all concerned.

Cassie hadn’t had the courage to give anyone her love since. Instead, she had plenty of casual dates. She broke hearts, unintentionally of course, but whether her emotions had shut down or she just hadn’t met anyone who invoked the same feelings she had for Kyle, she hadn’t settled with one man. At twenty-nine, Mercy Hospital’s E.R. was her life. She was happy here. She also had wonderful friends, both guys and gals, and her occasional dates seemed to be enough.

“Cassie, you okay?” The charge nurse, Rachel, frowned as Cassie approached the nursing station. “You look flustered.”

One of Cassie’s curses. Her thoughts always showed on her face. “Is John around? I’d like to take Peter Chapman home and can’t until John signs the release.”

Rachel grinned, showing the small space between her front teeth. Her smile was her signature.

“Doc is stitching up Lou Anderson again. You planning on hiding Chapman in your closet?”

She waved a hand. “Not to my home, silly woman. To the Oceanside. Besides, our new coworker is off-limits for me.”

Rachel smirked. “Are you sure? You took time from your day off just to attend to him.”

“Hey, you’d do the same.”

Rachel’s eyes narrowed. “Hmm. You looked pretty interested when Doc was cutting off his clothes.”

“Can’t fault me there. Every woman present was.”

Rachel’s gaze drifted in the direction of Peter’s room. “If I were single and younger, I’d take a chance with that one.”

“Well, then, it’s a good thing you’re not. Don’t think Huey would be too happy.”

Rachel laughed. “Huey wouldn’t take his eyes off a football game long enough to notice.”

Cassie glanced at the clock on the wall behind the nurses’ station. “When Doc finishes, send him back. He wanted to meet Peter awake.”

“Okay. I’ll cover for you if you get...delayed.”

“You have an overactive imagination, girl!”

Cassie headed for her locker, distressed by Rachel’s comment about Huey. Did she ever want to get married if long-term relationships grew stale? Definitely not.

She grabbed her purse from the locker and closed the door. Amazing how a new curiosity like Peter Chapman arriving in Montauk caused such a ruckus with her female coworkers. She’d met him first, albeit through his accident, so felt a sense of proprietary interest in him. She’d flirted with him against her better judgment because, hell’s bells, he was just too handsome to resist. After hearing the other nurses’ chatter, it was time to rely on reason and behave. Taking Peter Chapman to his hotel and leaving him there seemed like the next best thing to do.

No matter how capable Peter was, hospital rule insisted that a patient be wheeled to the door. Pushing a wheelchair toward his room, she convinced herself that if Peter’s professional bedside manner proved to be anything like his charm, they’d be working together for a long time. Might as well not ruin their budding friendship by stepping over boundaries.

She inhaled a fortifying breath and whispered, “I can do this.”

She wheeled the chair into the room to find Chapman dressed and sitting on the end of the bed, hands on his knees in easy posture, talking with John, who everyone affectionately called Doc. John was of medium height, lean, middle-aged, with a full head of russet hair and a perfectly manicured beard. Dressed in his usual white doctor coat, worn open over a blue man-tailored shirt, striped tie, jeans and well-worn cowboy boots that he insisted were more comfortable than sneakers, John had his hands hooked in his pockets as they chatted.

His smile reached his warm, brown eyes while he concentrated on what Peter was saying. Doc had been head of Mercy Hospital’s E.R. for ten years running. Before taking charge, he was a resident doctor. Cassie’s mom had worked with him before Cassie attended nursing school.

Their friendship was one of the perks of small-town living. Doc’s first wife, who was a friend of her mother’s, had died of cancer. He’d since remarried a lovely woman ten years his junior, and before becoming a nurse, Cassie had babysat their two daughters. Cassie also became friends with Ellen Bailey since she was closer to Cassie’s age than her mother’s. The two loved the beach. Wore similar clothes. Biked together early on Tuesday mornings and liked to share gossip over mocha lattes Ellen would make in her kitchen while the kids played at their feet. Such was life in a small village. You worked and played with your neighbors. The bond kept life predictable, despite the occasional drama between locals, and was especially important for a tight-knit fishing community that entertained seasonal tourism and was a haven for celebrities.

Doc waved her in. “Hey, Cassie. Peter says you’ve taken good care of him.” He gave her a pointed look. “If you’re finished, I’d say he’s ready to go.”

The heat of a blush immediately burned her cheeks. Doc was baiting her because a year ago she had dated an intern, breaking his heart so badly that he had quit and moved to the city. She had no doubt that Doc was making sure she’d leave Peter Chapman alone so he would stick around.

She waved a dismissing hand. “You did all the work, Doc. I was merely the first face he saw when he woke up.”

Doc smiled, clearly enjoying her willingness to banter even though he made his point. “Peter will make a good addition to our crew.”

She met Peter’s gaze and forced herself to breathe slowly. Doc had spoken highly of Peter when he’d decided to hire him. He’d graduated at the top of his class, spent two years working in Los Angeles and came with excellent references. Amazing that an offer for a job could be made and closed by online conferencing these days. Neither man had to spend precious time or money traveling for the interview.

Cassie had been impressed by Doc’s description of Peter’s abilities. In person, he became sheer firepower in a glance, but the real test would be watching him in action. She’d seen it before. Book smarts, no matter how impressive, paled in comparison to bedside manner, fast thinking in a crisis and an ability to get along with one’s peers. For her, the jury was still out. Sure, Peter had charm. But, could he insert an IV into an unconscious and severely dehydrated patient, or anticipate a doctor’s call for meds required for a trauma victim, or accurately assess who needed attention first when multiple trauma victims arrived at the same time? His résumé said he had the experience. Now he had to prove it. Mercy Hospital worked hard to establish its reputation as a state-of-the-art facility, especially with the celebrity population in Montauk. Cassie was curious to put him to the test before she made any definitive conclusions.

Peter pointed to the wheelchair. “I’m not riding in that thing.”

Doc clapped him on the shoulder. “Sure you are. Cassie has a license to drive wheelchairs. You’re safe in her hands.”

Peter stood. “I’m fine. No wheelchair.”

Cassie wagged a finger at him. “Now don’t be a difficult patient.”

Doc put an arm around her shoulder. “You’d better not cross her, Peter. This woman is my best nurse.”

Grateful for the compliment, especially in front of the new guy, she made light of his kind words. “John says that to all his nurses when no one else is listening.”

Doc looked at his watch. “I have to go. Cassie, when Peter comes in next week, I’d like you to show him around the E.R. I want him totally comfortable before Easter.”

One-on-one with the surfer stud. Could she handle it? Inwardly, she scoffed. Of course she could. They’d be working together now. It was just a matter of getting used to a new employee. She shot a casual look in his direction. “Think you can make the grade?”