Authors: Vanessa Devereaux

Alex (10 page)

“I guess I’ll see you when I come
back for Sasha’s kindergarten tea party,” she’d told him so casually that it
had almost hit him like she’d thrown a brick into the center of his chest,
aiming at his heart and finding it on the first attempt.

“I guess so.”
He’d
played it the same way, twirling the pen around on his desk wanting to tell her
that he’d made a huge mistake. A summer fling
wasn’t
what he wanted after all. He wanted to make this relationship permanent, which
meant
they’d
have to figure out who was going to draw
up the schedule on who traveled to see who on what weekends. He also wanted to
tell her
they’d
be no other woman for him now that
he’d met her. Could he ask the same of her?
What if she met
some handsome, wealthy coworker who swept her off her feet in the Mile High
City?
Bile had risen in his throat just imagining her with someone else.

“Have a safe journey and I hope
the new job is all that you’d hoped it would be.”

Shit, it had sounded stilted, sarcastic
almost, but
he’d
ended the conversation on that awful
note.

****

Eva still
couldn’t
get use to the size of the hospital in Denver, and she’d gotten lost twice in
the first week.
She’d
put it down to the learning curve,
but her mind hadn’t been on the job she’d coveted for the last year or so. She
missed Alex, plain and simple. She had to get her head together because
patients were counting on her. The next one was an
eighty
-year-old
who’d been brought in because she’d lost weight and her daughter had said she’d
hadn’t been eating much in the last month or so.

“Hi Ruth, I’m Dr.
McQuire
,”
said Eva putting out her hand. The woman slipped hers into her palm. It was
cold and Eva felt every bone. She pulled up a chair and sat by the bed, noting
Ruth’s
collarbone’s
jutting out from the hospital
robe. Her skin looked pale and her hair unkempt.

“I’m here to figure out why
you’ve lost so much weight, but I suspect that maybe you’re not eating as well
as you once did. Maybe it’s a digestive issue or…”

“Nothing physically wrong with me
it’s just not worth cooking for
myself
anymore.
I’ve
tried, but I just can’t bring myself to do it so
sometimes I just skip a meal.
It’s
that plain and
simple. I’ve no idea why my daughter’s making such a big fuss about a little
weight loss.”

Eva had noted that Ruth had
become a widow ten months ago.

“No, there’s nothing wrong with
it but you can’t afford to keep losing weight or you’ll become malnourished.”

“Well, at least I’ll speed up my
death. I miss my husband so much, and I’m getting depressed.” She shrugged her
shoulders. “I don’t know if it will pass or maybe you should give me some pills
to help.”

Broken heart, no medication for that.

“I can certainly do that but
sometimes they take the edge off your appetite so I’d like to try a few other things
before we go that route.” Eva crossed her legs and made a few quick notes to
herself so
she’d
remember who to contact once she left
Ruth’s room. “I’m going to make a referral to a social worker and also Meals on
Wheels and that way you won’t have to worry about cooking for yourself.”

“It’s not the cooking part; it’s
the eating alone that isn’t much fun.”

This
lady
was almost fifty years Eva’s senior, but she knew exactly what Ruth was talking
about. Since
she’d
met Alex, eating on her own had
somehow lost its charm. No conversation, no witty banter, no sneaky glances
across the table, no winking, and no foot sliding onto your own, her foot
inching up under the hem of his jeans.

“The social worker might be able
to help you find a senior’s group. Sometimes being with other people in the
same situation can help you adjust.”

“Adjust, I’ll never do that. The
perfect man only comes along once in a woman’s life.”

Eva looked up from the notes she
was making.
She’d
been on the line about actually
taking this job or staying with Alex, but she’d kept quiet about it. Not
telling her mother, Mike or Missy and no, she
hadn’t
said one word to Alex. What if she gave this up this opportunity at one of the
best hospitals in the West, and it
didn’t
work out
with him?
She’d
end up regretting it for the rest of
her life.
She’s
hate herself and maybe Alex too. On
the other
hand
if she didn’t take a chance on her and
Alex and being in a long-term relationship with him, she’d also regret that
until she was this patient’s age.

She looked at Ruth who she was
sure was reading her mind. How crazy was that?

“You’re in love with someone,”
Ruth finally said.

Eva nodded. She had fallen in
love with the sheriff from the small town in Montana. He had every single
quality she had on her must have list so it was inevitable
he’d
steal her heart.

“Then you know what I’m talking
about?” asked Ruth.

“I do, yes, and I’m going to help
you in every possible way I can.”

Eva stood. “I’ll have the social
worker stop by and together we’ll set out a plan to get you back on track.”

Eva left the room and walked
toward the elevators.
She’d
made up her mind what her
next move would be.

Chapter Eight

Alex nodded to the
waitress
as she topped up his coffee. He skimmed through the
paper and thought back to how calm it was in
McQuire’s
Café. Complete opposite to that morning when he first set eyes on Eva.

He’d
called her last
night, but all he managed to reach was her voicemail.
He’d
left two messages and by the third call he’d opted not to do it again, just in
case he came across as needy. Maybe
she’d
had a date.
Bile rose in his throat, bringing it up into his mouth, and leaving him with a
bitter taste.

His brother’s death had taught
him there
weren’t
many second chances in life. Take
the opportunity while you can. He wanted something permanent with Eva and he
had to tell her that. Even if she told him no, he
wasn’t
the right man for her. He had
to at least tell
her
before she found someone else.

He pushed away the half-eaten Café
Classic and folded up his newspaper. He glanced at his watch. Alex had some
vacation time due him for all the extra hours
he’d
worked. He could drive to Colorado, but he wanted to get to Eva as soon as he
could before he lost his nerve again.
He’d
go to his
office, book a flight to Denver, rent a car, head to the hospital where she worked,
and spill out his heart. Whether he came back here a broken man, well, that was
worth every chance.

****

Eva
hadn’t
even had an opportunity to check her voicemail. Being a doctor in a busy metro
hospital was more hectic than
she’d
ever imagined. She
sat down, rubbing her feet, suddenly missing small town Montana. Today she was
working the
ER which
added to the craziness of her
job.

“Dr.
McQuire
,
you have a patient in cubicle five who’s complaining of chest pains.”

“I’ll be right there.” She put
her shoes back
on and took the folder from the nurse
and headed to the examination area thinking her break wasn’t going to happen
anytime soon.

Eva had her head down looking at
the notes as she walked along.
Male, aged thirty-five.

She pulled back the curtain still
not looking up until a man’s voice said.

“Hello, Dr.
McQuire
.”

It sounded a lot like Alex’s, but
that was impossible. Guess she was imagining things, which meant she missed him
more than
she’d
originally thought. When she looked up,
there he sat with his legs dangling over the side of the table holding a bunch
of red roses.
Her favorite flowers.

She smiled. “I take it you’re the
man with the chest pains.”

“Broken heart I think, Doc. Ever
since this gorgeous lady left town.”

He put the flowers on the table
beside him and reached out for her.

They kissed and then he rubbed
his nose against hers.

“You think you can help me, Doc?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Hearing the lady say it wasn’t
just a summer fling.”

Eva closed her eyes.
She’d
so wanted to hear that, but she’d been scared to be
the first one to say it.

“Definitely not a fling,” she
said.

“So how are we going to handle
the long distance thing?” he asked.

“We won’t have to.”

“You think I can get a job in the
police department in Denver?”

“You don’t have to because I want
to be a small town doctor. I spoke with Dr. Jackson and he said
he’s
been thinking about taking on a partner before he
retires next year. Job’s mine if I want it.”

“Really?”
“
Really.
Plus with being a small town doc your feet
hurt a lot less, you know everyone, and best of all, small towns have sexy
sheriffs.”

He pulled her in closer and
squeezed both her butt cheeks.

“Any chance of
you giving me another physical while I’m here?”

“
You going
to be put up another fight?”

He burst out laughing. “No more fighting
on my part. Anytime you want to check me out my body’s all yours.”

“Um, I like the sound of that.”

“So when you coming home?” he
asked her.

“When are you going home?”

“I’m booked on a flight at 5:00
p.m. tomorrow.”

“Then I guess that’s when I’m
going home too.”

The End

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