Cedar Bluff's Most Eligible Bachelor (Cedar Bluff Hospital) (9 page)

Hailey had been so excited about working she’d forgotten she didn’t have a bike. “I’ll be there,” she rashly promised.

She’d crutch-walk the three miles if she had to.

But, of course, Simon called her back almost immediately after her conversation with Theresa. “Hailey? I’ll be there at twelve-thirty to pick you up.”

“I’ll be ready,” she assured him. “And, Simon? Thanks for going to bat for me.”

“Anytime,” he said gruffly.

Wearing scrubs, the wide pants legs just barely fitting over her cast, she couldn’t hide her relief as she and Simon walked into the busy emergency department. Because Theresa was busy trying to fill a sick call, Simon took her into his office.

“Here’s a list of cases I’d like you to review.” He handed her a slip of paper with ten patient names on it. “Go through the computer records and let me know if you think the medical staff and nursing staff provided appropriate care.”

“All right,” she agreed. “Is there a reason to believe the care wasn’t appropriate?”

He hesitated. “I’d rather not answer that until you’ve reviewed them with fresh eyes.”

She could see his point. If she knew his opinion, she’d likely look at each patient’s record differently. He was asking for a nonjudgmental approach. “Where would you like me to work?”

“You’ll have to find a workstation out at the main desk by the unit clerk,” he said, glancing toward the arena just a stone’s throw from his office. “I have some things I need to do in here.”

“Okay.” She ignored the flash of disappointment that they wouldn’t be working more closely together. What did it matter where she worked? She was truly grateful for the paperwork assignment that would help pay her rent.

She sat down at the only empty computer, not far from the unit clerk. There was so much activity, though, that she quickly became distracted by the orders that came flying toward the poor woman. Orders for labs, X-rays, consultants—it seemed like the list was never ending.

“Would you like some help?” she asked Mary, the unit clerk on duty. The woman was close to her own age, but looked older because of her bleached blonde hair, which was cut short and was spiky with gel. Her green eyes were too bright to be real, so they had to be from colored contact lenses. She’d tried to befriend the woman, as Mary was also relatively new to Cedar Bluff.

“No.” The rude response took her by surprise, especially when the woman pretty much ignored her. “I don’t need your help.”

Okay, then. With a shrug, Hailey turned her attention back to the task at hand. She made a Herculean effort to block out all the noise around her, concentrating on the notes in the patient’s chart.

Her elbow was roughly jostled by someone next to her and she looked up in time to see the tech, Bonnie, trying to reach around her, holding a full glass of water. One moment the cup was in Bonnie’s hand, the next it had been dumped into her lap, soaking her scrubs and the computer monitor.

Hailey leaped up from her seat, trying to shake off the water pooling in her lap, but forgot about her cast until pain shot up her leg as she put her full weight on it. She fell against the edge of the desk with a cry.

Pain reverberated down her hip to her leg, her scrub pants were soaked and the computer screen had gone completely blank.

“I’m so sorry!” Bonnie exclaimed in horror.

S
IMON
overheard a ruckus out at the main desk in the arena, and as he couldn’t concentrate, thanks to distracting memories of kissing Hailey, he came out to investigate.

Hailey was leaning heavily against the edge of the desk without her crutches, her expression a pained grimace as she tried to shoo several well-meaning staff members away. The dampness of her scrubs and the upended cup of water lying on the computer keyboard bore testament as to what had happened.

“I’m fine,” she insisted, using the paper towels someone had brought over to mop up the mess. “But we need to call a tech from IT to fix the computer.”

He came over at the same time Theresa approached from the opposite direction, her brows pulled together in a deep frown. “Hailey? You don’t look very good. Are you sure you didn’t injure yourself?”

Hailey’s smile was strained and he suspected the pain was far worse than she was letting on. “I didn’t hurt myself, Theresa, but unfortunately the water took out the computer monitor.”

For a long moment Hailey and Theresa stared at each other, until Theresa finally glanced away. “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”

Hailey paled, her blue eyes standing out starkly against the rest of her features. Simon had the uncharacteristic urge to reassure her that everything would be okay.

“Theresa, please,” she said a bit desperately. “I swear this wasn’t my fault. It was an unfortunate accident with a bit of spilled water, nothing more.”

Simon readily jumped to Hailey’s defense. “I’m the one who told Hailey to come out to the front desk to work. I should have let her use my office.”

Theresa looked torn. He understood. As the nurse manager for the area, she shouldered a heavy responsibility. “I don’t know, if Hailey hurts herself while working here…” She didn’t finish the thought but he knew exactly what she meant. He’d learned all about worker’s compensation laws when one of the residents had been injured on duty.

Theresa didn’t want the hospital to be legally responsible for adding to Hailey’s injury. He could respect that.

“She won’t hurt herself doing chart reviews,” he said firmly. “I’ll get the computer fixed and from now on Hailey can sit in my office to complete the reviews.” He was determined to make this work out, so Hailey would have some sort of income, as it was primarily his fault that she was unable to perform her normal duties as an ED nurse.

He’d find something to occupy his time elsewhere. Heaven knew, his office was not big enough for the both of them.

Another long silence hung in the air, before Theresa finally nodded. “All right. I guess she can do the chart reviews in your office.”

“Thank you, Theresa,” Hailey murmured, her relief and gratitude evident. “I promise you won’t regret this.”

The wry expression on Theresa’s face betrayed how she pretty much already regretted the arrangement, but she didn’t say anything.

“Call the IT department,” Simon instructed Mary, who seemed to be watching the interaction with frank curiosity rather than pitching in to help. Maybe someone needed to explain the teamwork concept to her. “Tell them to replace this unit and send the invoice to me through the medical staff office.”

“Simon, that’s really not necessary,” Theresa interjected. “The ED budget can handle the replacement of a keyboard and monitor. Hopefully the hard drive is still intact.”

“Let me know if it isn’t.” He turned toward Hailey. “Come on—let’s get you settled in my office.”

Hailey picked up the list of names, which were now barely legible as a result of being soaked with water. She wiped the list against the only dry spot on her pants leg, and then followed him back through the ED arena.

In the privacy of his office, he urged her to sit down in his chair behind the desk. “How bad is it?” he asked.

She momentarily closed her eyes. “Hurts a little,” she admitted.

“I can tell that your leg hurts much more than just a little,” he argued. “You stood on your injured leg, putting all your weight on it, didn’t you?” When she didn’t respond, he leaned forward earnestly. “You can be honest with me, Hailey. I’m on your side.”

“I appreciate that, Simon. But I really am fine.” She tilted her chin stubbornly and he had the wild urge to kiss her again. “Like I told Theresa, spilled water isn’t the end of the world. I feel bad about the computer, though.”

He could tell she was determined to downplay what had happened. He sighed and straightened. “Fine. I’ll be right back with a hefty dose of ibuprofen and a dry pair of scrubs.” He left before she could try to argue with him again.

As he made his way back through the ED, Bonnie came up to him, putting her hand on his arm. “I’m so sorry, Simon. I hope Hailey is all right.”

For a split second the way she put her hand on his arm with such familiarity reminded him of Erica. But he quickly dismissed the unfair comparison, as he’d noticed most patient care providers had a touchy-feely approach to people. He couldn’t help leaning back, as she was too close to his personal space. “She’s fine, don’t worry. Could have happened to anyone.”

“Good. I’m so glad.” Bonnie smiled and he was relieved when she dropped his arm and walked away.

He returned to his office with the promised ibuprofen, water and fresh pair of scrubs, to find Hailey already logged onto the computer, reviewing one of his patient’s charts. He set the pain reliever and the water a good distance away from the keyboard. No sense in pushing their luck! She paused long enough to take the medication, reinforcing his belief that she hurt worse than she was letting on.

“Do you need anything else?” he asked.

“No, thanks.” She flashed another strained smile, but then immediately turned her attention back to the chart. “I’ll have these chart reviews finished as soon as possible.”

“Hailey, take your time. There’s no rush.” He stood there for a moment, but as he couldn’t come up with any other reason to hang around, he turned to leave.

“Simon?”

The way Hailey said his name caused an immediate physical response. One he really needed to get control over, and quickly. He paused at the doorway, and then turned to glance at her over his shoulder. “Yes?”

“Thanks for supporting me with Theresa,” she said slowly. “If you hadn’t, I don’t think she would have let me stay on. I owe you one, Simon, big time.”

You owe me, Simon. Don’t leave like this. You owe me!

He blanched, echoes of his disastrous relationship with Erica reverberating through his mind. “No! You don’t owe me anything,” His tone came across more harshly than he’d intended. “Nothing! Understand?”

She stared at him in shock. “No, Simon. I don’t understand. If you don’t want my gratitude, why did you bother sticking up for me in the first place? Out of guilt? I already told you the accident wasn’t your fault. I don’t need your pity. I can handle things just fine on my own.”

“I’m not helping you out of guilt,” he protested, even though he suspected that it was, in fact, part of the reason. He struggled to get a grip. His issues with Erica and his mistakes of the past had nothing to do with Hailey, none of this was her fault. He tried to soften his tone. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. Chalk it up to lack of sleep.”

She arched a brow at him, as if she didn’t believe a word he was saying.

He tried to smile but his face felt frozen. “I’ll come back to check on you later, all right?”

“Don’t bother,” she muttered.

He opened his mouth to argue again, and then realized he should quit before he only made matters worse. “I’ll see you later,” he said. He left, closing the office door behind him with a sense of relief.

When he walked back into the arena, he became keenly aware of several curious pairs of eyes focused on him. He stifled the urge to shout at them to mind their own business. But he knew, better than most, how working in the emergency department was equivalent to living in a fishbowl.

That was exactly why he needed to stay away from Hailey.

No matter how desperately he wanted to see her again.

Hailey managed to get some work done, although it wasn’t easy. Simon’s scent permeated the office and while she was undeniably annoyed with him, she couldn’t seem to prise him out of her mind.

Thanks to the ibuprofen he’d brought for her, the sharp pain in her leg had receded to a dull ache. After he’d finally left her alone, she’d gratefully changed into dry scrubs, wincing with the effort. Stupid of her to forget about her broken leg when she’d jumped up from her seat like that. Maybe she was cursed. It certainly seemed as if she was experiencing an unusual run of bad luck.

Once she was dry and feeling a little better, she went back to work, completing several of the chart reviews. One in particular bothered her. It seemed as if one of the physicians had totally missed several key symptoms on a patient, who had returned to the emergency department a couple of days later, only to end up emergently intubated and in the ICU. She placed her notes for that chart review on top, so Simon would see them right away.

When her four hours were up—Theresa had made it clear she could only work four hours a day and not a minute more—she logged off Simon’s computer, feeling at least somewhat of a sense of accomplishment. Certainly completing chart reviews was better than sitting around at home all day, doing nothing.

It wasn’t until she picked up her purse that she remembered Simon had given her a ride to the hospital. And she needed a way to get back home.

After the odd reaction he’d had when she’d tried to thank him earlier, she was loath to seek him out now.

He was obviously afraid she expected something from him. After that kiss down by the lakefront her attempt to thank him for his efforts had freaked him out.

She might be having a run of bad luck, but she wasn’t pathetic enough to think that one kiss between two adults carried any sort of importance.

No, there was no way in the world she was going to wait around for Simon. And because Rachel was working too, her friend wasn’t able to drive her home either.

Mentally she debated her options. Crutch-walking three miles to her apartment was not a smart choice. She’d thought she was in relatively good shape but soon discovered going long distances on crutches made her upper arms ache. She could call a taxi, but taking taxis to and from work each day would defeat the purpose of saving up money in order to pay her rent and the rest of her bills.

Before she’d bought her bike, she’d mapped out the bus routes to and from the hospital. The biggest problem with the bus routes in Cedar Bluff was that they weren’t at the most convenient locations. At least, not for her. The closest bus stop to her apartment was a good four blocks away. And the bus stop here at the hospital was also several blocks down the road. At the time, riding her bike had been the best answer all around.

However, the bus was probably her only viable option now that she couldn’t ride her bike. Surely the more she used the crutches, the more strength she’d gain in her arms?

For a moment she considered going to find Simon to let him know her plans, but she instantly dismissed the idea. He’d said he’d come back to check on things, but he hadn’t.

No doubt, he was looking for ways to avoid being alone with her. She understood he didn’t want her to get the wrong idea about their…
friendship.

She was a capable adult, one who could certainly find her own way home.

The bus stop was located at the farthest corner of the road that came right up to the main lobby, so she left the emergency department through the back way, taking the long, winding corridor down to the main lobby. From there, she slowly made her way down the street to the bus stop. Thankfully it was nice outside, if a little breezy, and not raining.

Impossible to carry an umbrella and use crutches at the same time.

After glancing at her watch, she realized she had no idea when the bus was due to arrive. With a sigh she lowered herself down onto the bus stop bench, grateful to take the pressure off her arms even for a short while.

She had no idea how much of a time lag there was between buses. Thirty minutes? Forty? Surely not more than an hour?

She should have brought something to read. Sitting around doing nothing was going to drive her crazy. An hour would feel like an eternity.

Ten minutes into her wait, a familiar low-slung black car pulled up in the bus lane. The passenger window was lowered, revealing Simon’s dark scowl as he leaned over the passenger seat from the driver’s side to talk to her. “What in the world are you doing out here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” she asked mildly. “Can’t you see this is a bus stop? If you’re looking for the quality review report, I left it on top of your desk.”

If anything, his scowl deepened. “Hailey, don’t be ridiculous. I’m not here for the stupid report. Get in the car. I’ll drive you home.”

“No, thanks.”

The way Simon scrubbed his hands over his face would have been comical if she weren’t so annoyed with him.

“Hailey, please. I’m going right past your house on my way home. Let me give you a lift.”

She knew she should simply ignore him, but there were already a couple of cars coming up behind Simon, waiting impatiently. Simon completely ignored them, as if he couldn’t care less how he was blocking the lane. One of them leaned on their horn.

Simon didn’t even glance behind him, but waited patiently, looking at her expectantly. When the driver hit the horn the second time, she caved in. “Fine.” She stood up, grabbed her crutches and crossed over the sidewalk to yank open the passenger door. Simon took the crutches from her and tucked them into the backseat as she slid in beside him.

Neither one of them spoke, not a single word, as he drove the few miles to her apartment building. Hailey had to admit that somehow riding in a car with Simon wasn’t bad at all.

Maybe she was slowly getting over her stupid fears.

Even once they’d arrived, Simon simply hauled the crutches out of the backseat, before coming around to help her out of the car.