In some ways, I was like another son. I hadn’t treated Jane when she was brought into the emergency room after her accident, but I’d held her hand in the hospital as we waited for Jim and Eli to arrive. She was wheeled into surgery before they got there. She died on the operating table. Eli blamed me for that as well, even though I wasn’t her doctor.
I shook my head at the memory. It was so fucking sad, and made me wonder why medicine could fall so short. But thinking of Mia, Eli and Jane reminded me that I should check in with Jim. Because Eli hated me still, my friendship with Jim was on the downlow, but we did get together at times to play chess or I’d take him fishing.
“Did Joyce succeed in getting a date?” Peggy Shoals, an emergency room nurse asked, getting a cup of coffee after me.
I laughed. “Not with me.”
“Do you think her insurance has raised her deductible for all the trips she makes here?” Peggy sat with me at the table.
“Not so much that she stops coming.” I sat at one of the three tables to relax for a few minutes.
“What are you going to do when she comes in worried about a lump in her breast?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m going to have Alice examine her,” I said of Dr. Alice Kramer.
“That’ll teach her,” Peggy laughed.
I finished my coffee, and rose from my chair to rinse my cup out. “Back to work.”
“I’ll be right behind you.”
I walked out of the lounge and headed back to the emergency area. Before I could reach the corner, Dick Waterson, the hospital administrator walked around the corner. Following him, a woman also rounded the corner. I stopped in my tracks and my heart made a hard thump in my chest.
She stopped, too, and stared at me.
“Ah, Dr. Foster,” Dick said to me. “I’m glad we caught you. I’d like to introduce you to the new hospital lawyer, Mia Parker.”
2 Mia
I wasn’t surprised to see Nick at the hospital. I knew he worked there. Even if he didn’t, Goldrush Lake was a small enough town that I’d run into him somewhere, sometime.
Even though I knew I’d see him, having him standing there in the flesh, was a shock to my senses. Could he be even more handsome than before?
His blond hair was shorter on the sides while still longer on top. His youthful face was no longer clean shaven, but instead had the groomed stubble that was deliciously sexy. I clasped my hands behind my back to keep from reaching out to touch his cheek.
His green eyes flashed with surprise as if he didn’t expect me. In a small town, I’d have thought my arrival home would have made the rounds. Although I’d only made my decision a week ago, and arrived home yesterday to start my new job today.
He looked at me and then at Dick Waterson who’d been giving me a tour of the hospital before turning back to me. He smiled, but it looked as awkward as I felt.
“Mia,” he finally said. He stepped forward, opening his arms. I moved closer, accepting his hug. It didn’t feel like a hug from a former lover. It felt like the hug a man gave to his best friend’s little sister, which isn’t to say that my hormones didn’t go crazy at the feel of his strong chest under his doctor’s coat or the scent of him; a mixture of mountain air and Nick.
“You know each other,” Dick said. “Of course you do, I forgot, you grew up here, Ms. Parker. I’m always surprised at how everyone knows everyone.”
Dick wasn’t from Goldrush Lake. He’d told me he’d moved up a few years ago when he and his wife started thinking about retiring.
“How are you, Mia?” Nick asked. He’d always had a way of saying my name like it was chocolate on his tongue. It sent another shiver through my body.
“Good, Nick. And you? You look good.” Inwardly, I groaned. For one, I appeared to suck at small talk and two, he didn’t need to know I thought he looked good.
His eyes drifted down my body and back up again. “You do too. I didn’t know you were moving back.”
I nodded. “It was a quick decision. My dad is starting to have more difficulty.”
Nick gave a sad smile. “Yes.” And then as if catching himself said, “So I’ve heard.”
I studied him, wondering about his comment. In a small town, he’d know my dad had Parkinson’s but how would he know my father was getting worse? I knew he and Eli weren’t friends anymore, a fact I felt guilty about.
“I’m giving Ms. Parker a tour of the hospital. She’s going to make sure all our legal i’s are dotted and the t's are crossed,” Dick said.
“Dr. Foster,” a nurse from behind me called. “We’ve got a baby with one-hundred and two fever.”
“Excuse me,” Nick said. He looked like he wanted to say more, but instead, he hurried past me and Dick toward the emergency area.
“He’s one of our best,” Dick said to me as we watched Nick round the next corner.
“Hmm.”
We finished the tour and Dick brought me back to my office. “I hate to throw you into the fire on your first day, but we
