Read Once More (Mercy Heart #1) Online
Authors: Madeline Rooks
Once More (Mercy Heart #1)
Once More
A Mercy Heart novel
By Madeline Rooks
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Madeline Rooks
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding rights, please contact the author.
Edited by Madeline Rooks
Cover design by Dwayne Design
Manufactured in the United States of America
First edition April 2016
The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of the following mentioned in this work of fiction: Starbucks; University of Arkansas; Sigma Tau Theta; Apple Computers;
For the love of my life, who inspires me to write about romance and passion in fiction that in no way rivals what I experience every day in your arms.
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CODE BLUE X-RAY **
Katelyn Williams’ text notifications going off at quarter to six in the morning meant getting ahead before her day got started was no longer an option. Patients weren’t scheduled to be in radiology this early, so whatever was happening was not routine. Walking briskly into the hallway, she stopped in her tracks when she saw two x-ray techs racing towards her with a man on a gurney. The body was lifeless, his pallor graying, and he was clad in doctor scrubs and a lab coat. Katelyn grimaced. Nope, definitely not routine.
As they passed, Katelyn turned and jogged alongside. “How long has he been out?”
The young male tech that was pushing the cart and squeezing the manual resuscitator spoke first. “Just a few minutes.”
The female tech that was also pushing the cart agreed. “Yeah. He said he wasn’t feeling well and then he just collapsed.”
Katelyn grabbed his wrist as they raced through the hallway, but felt no pulse. “We need to start chest compressions.” The gurney jerked to a stop. Katelyn slammed the rail down and jumped up on the side, kneeling next to the sick man. “Now GO!”
The techs abruptly jumped into action once more, rolling the cart towards the emergency department. Katelyn began chest compressions, counting the motions soundlessly. It may have been awhile since she’d been involved in direct patient care, but CPR was still second nature to her after all these years.
They reached the back door to the ER. One of the techs entered the key code and then they were rolling once more through the hallway towards the nurses’ station.
“I need an empty room now!”
The charge nurse looked at a large screen on the wall. “Eleven. First room on the right.”
The techs quickly pushed into the room, and Katelyn continued compressions from atop the gurney. The ER nursing team rolled in a crash cart and got to work setting the man up on the monitors. “Push ten of epi.” A large male nurse moved like clockwork, getting the IV started swiftly to deliver the medicine.
Dr. Fisher strolled in, carrying the EKG from the printer outside. “He’s in v-fib.” Looking at the patient for the first time, he realized it was a colleague. “Damn, it’s Lawson. How long has he been down?”
“Just a few minutes.”
Dr. Fisher grimaced. “We need to defibrillate. Charge to 200.”
Katelyn stepped back and let the team get to work. She ushered the two techs out of the room, sliding the door closed behind them, though they didn’t get far away. She comforted them, offering words of praise for getting Dr. Lawson help as rapidly as they did.
Finally, the door slid open and Dr. Fisher walked out. Katelyn walked towards him to get the news first. “How is he, Doc?
Dr. Fisher exhaled a long breath. “He’s stable for the moment, though he’s still unconscious. We’ll continue to monitor and get some tests started until we can get him transferred to a room upstairs. I’m going to call his wife and then I’ll put in the order for an ICU bed.” Katelyn nodded, and Fisher turned to go, but then he abruptly turned back around. He walked past Katelyn to the two techs still standing by the desk. Reaching out, he shook the young man’s hand, and then squeezed the shoulder of the young woman. “You both saved Dr. Lawson’s life today. If it weren’t for your quick action, he would not have made it. He’s a good man, a good doctor. I know his family will appreciate it. I sure as hell do. Thank you.” With tears streaming down their faces, the techs could only nod to convey their understanding and relief at his kind words. Sliding their arms around each other, they turned and walked back out the way they had entered the ER.
Turning back towards Katelyn, Dr. Fisher paused just once more. “You too, Williams. Nice to know riding that desk in admin hasn’t made you completely useless to this hospital.”
The cocky grin on his immaculately chiseled face could be considered irresistible to some, but Katelyn was immune to his charms, though she was definitely in the minority. Sure, she found him visually appealing. Even in scrubs his masculine form was a sight to behold, the short sleeves stretched around his tan, muscular biceps and the pants hanging just right on his sculpted behind. However, Katelyn had no desire to be another nurse picking her scrubs up off his bedroom floor. Professionally, it would put her even farther behind all of the men she was struggling to keep up with and prove her worth to in executive administration. She came in early and stayed late to make sure she was on top of her tasks and responsibilities. As the youngest member of executive administration, and the only woman, it felt like she had to work twice as hard to garner the same level of respect the men got. Emotionally, she still couldn’t bring herself to open up to anyone like that again. Dejectedly, she wondered if she would ever be able to. Shaking her head to dismiss that depressing train of thought, Katelyn rolled her eyes but smiled at the familiarity of the good-natured ribbing she had grown accustomed to, and truthfully sometimes missed since she wasn’t working the floor anymore. “Is that what passes for a compliment around here? No wonder nurse turnover is so high.”
Walking backwards to the Fish Bowl, which is what the staff called the area where the physicians sat to chart and coordinate patient care with other physicians, Dr. Fisher held his hands out to the side in exaggerated bewilderment. “First you people tell me I can’t be too nice to them because it might be misconstrued as sexual harassment, and now you’re saying I am too mean. What the hell do you want from me?” With a wink, he turned and disappeared around the corner.
Katelyn checked her watch, figured her early morning wasn’t going to work out the way she had planned and decided to grab some coffee instead.
Once outside the ER, the aroma of commercial cleaners hit her instantly, a scent some might find harsh, but to her it was the sign of a job well done by the overnight housekeeping staff, doing their part to decrease the risk of hospital acquired infections. She entered her office and was reaching for her wallet when she heard the door to the office suite open. The faint jingle of a charm bracelet alerted her to who had just entered.
"Good morning, Margaret," Katelyn called out to her executive assistant. "I'm getting ready to walk over to Starbucks. Do you want anything?"
Margaret Anderson dropped her things at her desk and walked through Katelyn's door with a grande Mocha Latte in her hand, the bracelet on her arm growing louder as she got closer. "There won't be any need. I went ahead and stopped on my way into the office. And there is an extra shot in there too, to make sure you stay awake for the all day kick off meeting with the consultants from McKinley Technologies."
"Margaret, what would I ever do without you? You do know you can never retire, don't you?" Katelyn playfully asked. She couldn't help but smile when she looked at Margaret, a petite woman in her early sixties, with her grey hair styled in a pixie cut and a vibrantly colored peasant top paired with a flowing broomstick skirt, staples in her wardrobe that Katelyn had termed career hippie chic. Two years ago, Margaret had been Katelyn's secretary in the Emergency Room when she had first become the director of that department. When Katelyn was promoted to Director of Nursing for the entire Mercy Heart Health System, Margaret moved right along with her. As the youngest and only female director in executive administration, it was comforting to have a familiar face to work with.
Margaret shook her head, playful laughter in her Southern drawl. "You say that now. Just wait till some computerized robot can fetch Starbucks for you. You can ship me off to an old folks’ home. Just remember to come by and pluck my chin hairs. What time did you get here this morning, anyway?"
"Bright and early at 6 am. I had planned on getting ahead on some work since I’ll be tied up all day, but there was an emergency in radiology, so the work will have to wait till later. And speaking of which,” with a glance at her watch, “I’d better head over there now."
As Katelyn made her away across the hospital campus, she went over her list of requests for the software consultants. She had attended plenty of conferences, viewing demo after demo of this software. She was excited about the possibilities that it had to offer. McKinley was a fairly new player in the market, so there wasn’t a lot of feedback to be had by other health systems yet. Katelyn was a little shocked Mercy Heart had taken the risk with McKinley instead of going with a more well-known company, but it wasn’t her choice to make, and she’d heard that a steep discount had come out of the negotiations.
In the large conference room, the guys in ties, as she and Margaret liked to call them, were huddled in a group. She heard someone mention a golf game and decided to steer clear. Setting her things down, she continued to read through her paperwork. Distracted by her lists, she was unaware anyone had sat beside her until he leaned in close and spoke quietly next to her ear.
“Good morning, Katelyn. Are you ready for an exciting day of Power Point presentations and technical jargon?” said Marc Crawford, the director of the business office, and the man currently occupying her time in her off hours. Though his business suit made him look like all the other stuffed shirts in the room, Katelyn found his warm smile and buoyant personality much more appealing. Their relationship wasn’t what she would consider serious. They shared a lot of the same interests and she enjoyed his company, but, for Katelyn, there was no chemistry, even though he was very attractive and certainly met her need for physical attention, which hadn’t yet resulted in getting into her bed, though not for his lack of trying. An avid triathlon competitor, his body was sculpted for speed and power, with long, lean muscles that even his suit couldn’t mask. He gave her a wink, which was the most affectionate display she’d allow at work. Her reputation of professionalism meant so much to her, a trait he found very admirable.
“Good morning, Marc,” she said with a smile, holding up her cup. “Margaret brought reinforcements in the form of an extra shot of caffeine from Starbucks, so yes, I do believe I am up for the challenge.”
From across the room, she heard Max Reed, the director of IT for the health system, mention her name.
“My ears are burning, so I guess it’s my turn to meet the consultants,” Katelyn said as she stood up.
“I’ll come with you,” Marc replied, as he stood and straightened his tie. “I’m hoping that this change will be as painless as possible. We’ve been pretty spoiled having a programmer update and manipulate the system for us right here on site, and I am worried about going with a product with few customizations. I have a hard enough time getting claims out the door in a timely manner.”
As she walked by, Dr. Allman, the medical director for the hospital, pulled her aside for a moment. Grasping her hands in his, he spoke softly. “I hear you assisted with saving Dr. Lawson’s life this morning. It seems so inadequate to say this, but thank you.”
Shaking her head, Katelyn smiled. “Those techs deserve all the credit. He was already in capable hands. Just another example of the exceptional staff we have here.” Squeezing his hands just once more, she continued on, looking back to Marc, who winked at her with an expression of admiration on his face. Others in the room who had heard about the excitement of the morning also congratulated her on a job well done, but she humbly replied with just a nod of her head. Marc leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Sounds like you’ve had an eventful day already, darling, and it’s barely started. Could you be any more amazing?”
Her cheeks were flush with embarrassment at all of the attention and she couldn’t contain her smile at hearing Marc’s sweet words. As Katelyn and Marc approached the group, Max turned around and said, “Here’s the little lady now. Katelyn Williams, I’d like you to meet the CEO of McKinley Technologies, Clem Bryant.”
The sound of that name wiped the smile right off her face and caused her to stop in her tracks. She looked from Max’s face to the face of the man standing next to him. It had been seven years since she’d seen that face. His smile brought back memories of that mouth and the things he had so expertly done with it, causing a rush of heat to flood through her usually tepid body. She stood there staring at him for what seemed like hours, willing her vocal cords to work and say something, anything, so that this awkwardness would pass.
“Katelyn,” Clem said, her name on his lips in the exact same way she remembered him saying it, “it’s wonderful to see you again. I’m not surprised you’re director of nursing. Sounds like you’re still running to everyone’s rescue.” He reached for her hand, and covered it with his other. She could barely contain the shivers that ran up her spine at his touch. Embarrassment, along with being more turned on than she had been in years, turned her neck and face bright red, as she was certain everyone could see her physical reaction to being in his presence.
“Clem. I-it’s good to see you,” she finally managed to force out.
Marc looked from Katelyn’s face to Clem’s. He cleared his throat to get someone’s attention, but neither broke eye contact. “Kat? Do you two know each other?” he questioned, his failure to hide the jealousy in his voice causing Katelyn to cringe inwardly.
“Yes, we went to college together, right here in Fayetteville,” Katelyn replied, her words coming out with a tremble, her whole body betraying her attempts to act unaffected by Clem’s presence. She yanked her hand from his grasp, but kept her eyes locked onto his.