“None taken,” Gideon replied, trying to avoid the flirtatious glances from Shiloh.
“Do you really think he’ll get better?” Shiloh drawled, taking hold of Gideon’s arm.
“With the valve repaired, if it goes like we think, your grandfather should see a marked improvement in his strength and energy.”
Shiloh smiled widely, showcasing perfect teeth, and looped her arm through Gideon’s. “If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll lead with that because Granddad really wants to go fishing again more than anything else. Did I mention that you’re such an improvement over old Doc Smithy?”
Gideon scowled. “Doc Smithy?”
Shiloh squeezed his arm with her free hand. “Back on Cutter Mountain. He’s old and unsteady on his feet most of the time. Not like you at all. And since I’m new to the area and living here these days, I should make an appointment to see you right away.”
“Are you in need of a surgeon? Because I don’t see patients outside the hospital,” Gideon explained, doing his best to loosen the woman’s grip on his arm. “Quentin Blackwood does, though. His clinic is over on Tradewinds. At Beach Street. You can’t miss it.”
Shelby looked amused at the overly friendly Shiloh. “Will Tahoe really be able to get around better? Because right now he’s short of breath and looks like he could collapse at any minute.”
“Right now, his valve isn’t functioning properly. I think I can fix it. And if it goes according to plan, he should see a marked improvement to his quality of life,” Gideon assured everyone again. “With ACE inhibitors added to his medications and correcting the flow of blood, Mr. Jones should be free to do whatever he wants, be able to resume his normal activities in no time.”
Landon pumped Gideon’s hand again. “I knew we did the right thing bringing him all this way to Pelican Pointe. Tahoe’s my oldest friend in the world. I need him fixed up. How long will it take to get him back to full strength.”
Gideon nodded. “That depends on several factors and how the procedure goes. But I expect a smooth repair. He’ll get there. I’m assuming Mr. Jones has a place to recuperate locally?”
“Absolutely,” Shelby said. “Shiloh’s been living here since February. He’ll stay with her until he’s able to go back to Cutter Mountain.”
“Can we see him?” Landon asked.
“Sure. But one at a time. Until your friend has his procedure, he’ll need the next couple of days to go smoothly without stressing or elevating his blood pressure.”
Shelby patted Gideon’s arm while at the same time tried to loosen Shiloh’s grip on the doctor. She gave Shiloh a little push toward the hallway. “You go and see your granddad. Go on. Do as I say.”
Shiloh finally let go, but she still looked up adoringly at Gideon. “I’m just happy he’s in such good hands.”
Shelby stepped between the girl and the doctor. “I suppose that leaves out bringing him food from home.”
“I’m afraid so. Mr. Jones is on a strict diet. If you have any questions about the procedure, just ask one of the nurses to ring me up, and I’ll try to go over everything again in detail.”
Shiloh took that as an indication she needed to stay put.
But Shelby got her moving toward the hallway again. “Later. For now, let’s go see your granddad. You go in first.”
After Shiloh sauntered off, Shelby turned back to Gideon. “Sorry about that. The girl means well, but she’s never been off Cutter Mountain for very long. You see, we put her to work at the nursery because she needed a job. Poor thing thinks Pelican Pointe is the big city.”
“I’d hate to see her go off to the likes of San Francisco,” Landon stated. “She’d be eaten alive there in short order. That’s why we put her up in our carriage house for now. We know she’s a pain, Doc.”
“No problem. I’m sure Shiloh will find people her own age here very soon.”
Shelby smiled. “That’s what we’re hoping for, too. We’re so glad we brought Tahoe in. We know you’ll make him better.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“And how’s Faye?” Shelby wanted to know. And when she got a weird look from the doctor, she added, “It’s a small town. Word travels.”
“I’m about to find out if her symptoms have improved any since her brother brought her in,” Gideon explained, moving toward the hallway. “All I know is that Gilly had to practically forcibly remove Beckham from the premises last night. It’s in her notes.”
“Yeah, well, I heard Quentin took care of that,” Shelby stated. “The kid didn’t want to leave his girlfriend here overnight.”
“Young love,” Landon crooned, wrapping his arm around his wife. “I know how Beckham feels. I wouldn’t want to leave Shelby here all alone, either.”
Shelby patted her husband’s chest. “Same here. If that were you, I’d take up residence in the lobby and not budge an inch.”
Gideon shook his head at the couple’s antics. “Hospital staff doesn’t deliberately keep couples apart. But in Faye’s case, she needed her rest. That meant without Beckham sleeping in a chair next to her bed.”
Landon chuckled. “See? Sounds like young love to me.”
“They’re smitten with each other,” Shelby agreed. “If Faye needs surgery, Beckham will be a basket case until she’s in the clear.”
By that afternoon, Faye had responded well to the antibiotics, enough that her white cell count had gone down. Gideon postponed the surgery. “Let’s nudge up the ertapenem dosage and add in metronidazole to the IV and see if we can beat down the inflammation without operating.”
“Good call,” Gilly muttered as she left the room and headed to the drug cabinet.
Gideon turned to the patient, a skinny girl with black-spikey hair and big brown eyes. She seemed scared at the prospect of undergoing surgery. Her anxious brother, Andy, wasn’t much better. Standing by her bed looking worried, Andy gripped the girl’s hand.
It was time to put them at ease. “Look, as long as Faye’s white count keeps dropping, there’s no need for surgery,” Gideon explained. “If the antibiotics keep working, she’s out of the woods.”
“Really? Are you sure?” Andy stated in disbelief. “You’re not just saying that because we just recently got insurance, are you?”
“No, I’m not just saying that. My approach to appendicitis is antibiotic treatment. Unless it’s a bad case of inflammation or an emergency situation, I take a wait and see approach. If the drugs work better, I prefer that to an invasive procedure.”
Convinced, Andy nodded. “How long will she be in here then?”
“Another two days so she can benefit from the intravenous ertapenem. After that, when she’s discharged, I’ll give you a prescription for a week’s worth of levofloxacin and metronidazole to take orally.” He eyed the teenager. “See that you don’t miss a dose.”
Andy answered for her. “She won’t. Should I keep her out of school while she’s on the meds?”
“Not at all. She can most certainly go to school.” Still trying to get Faye to answer for herself, Gideon prodded, “Is everything okay at school? Is there any reason you don’t want to go? Any problems you want to talk about?”
“No.”
The girl wasn’t exactly a chatterbox, Gideon concluded. He tried again. “Can you tell me your pain level right now? On a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst.”
“My stomach stopped hurting about two hours ago. I could go home today, right now, even.”
“Nice try,” Gideon said with a smile. “But you’re staying put until at least Saturday. Then on Monday if there’s no fever present, you can attend your regular classes. No P.E., though, not for another week. I know how gym classes go, and they’re usually strenuous. A lot of running. That’s the last thing you need right now.”
“Okay,” Faye said in a quiet tone. Turning to her brother, she was more vocal. “You’ll have to feed Putney for me. Either that or let Beckham do it.”
“Who’s Putney?” Gide
on asked, pleased that the girl was at least speaking up.
“Her turtle,” Andy replied with a grin. “I think I’ll give that job to Beckham. The thing just won’t eat for me, turns up his nose at whatever I put in his enclosure.”
“That’s because you never tried to get close to him like Beckham.”
“I built the house he lives in,” Andy protested. “He likes that well enough.”
The squabbling siblings seemed reasonable enough, even somewhat normal, to Gideon. Satisfied that nothing was wrong at home, he shook hands with Faye and Andy. “I’ll leave you two alone to figure out Putney’s situation.”
By this time, Gilly had come back into the room to make adjustments to Faye’s IV. “This will make you feel a lot better.”
“You guys are awesome,” Faye gushed. “I’m not as scared as I was.”
“Good. Because we like to hear you’re more comfortable,” Gilly returned while inserting the drugs into the tube of the IV. “We don’t like knowing you’re scared about anything. That’s why you should always level with Dr. Nighthawk or any of the other nurses about how you’re feeling.”
“I will.”
Gideon waited outside the room until Gilly emerged. “Let me know if she complains of pain again. We might have something else going on?”
“Will do. But what is it you think is going on?”
“No idea. Just thinking in precautionary terms. I’ll make a note in the file so that Aubree and Sheena will keep their ears open as well. According to Quentin, her home life seems fine. It could be nothing more than issues at school.”
“Issues at school could lead to major health problems,” Gilly said. “I’ve seen it before, especially if she’s being bullied.”
“That was mentioned, but it took place a while back in San Sebastian. Since changing schools and starting here, Quentin says that hasn’t been a problem for either Beckham or Faye.”
“Then we’ll just watch and see. Maybe she’s stressing over grades. Kids put an awful lot of pressure on themselves these days.”
“Exactly. Let’s just keep an open mind and see if the pain returns after we release her.”
Seven
At seven Friday morning, Tahoe Jones went into surgery. Gideon and Quentin made a good team. While Gideon stood at the operating table marking the chest at precisely the points needed to make the incisions, Quentin sat at a console viewing a high-resolution 3D image of the patient’s heart.
The procedure required concentration and focus. Gideon used a thoracoscope and working port to go through the ribcage. When the time was right, he would position a robotic arm and work on the valve. In Tahoe’s case, the mitral valve was the problem. It wouldn’t close properly and kept regurgitating blood back into the cavity.
While both doctors worked, the only sound in the room was the whirr of the heart-lung bypass machine as it pumped blood back into the body.
“There’s the issue,” Quentin pointed out, using the monitor to show Gideon. “Definitely a prolapse.”
“I see it. I think I can cut away the deteriorated tissue, stitch it closed, and then suction it off.” Gideon proceeded to make his incision into the left atrium to get to the mitral valve. He worked to cut away a wedge-shaped section that was the weak tissue. Quick, efficient strokes made with a steady hand provided a neat opening.
Quentin studied Gideon’s handiwork on the monitor. “Good job. I love this. No cracking open the chest through the breastbone. Instead, small incisions through the ribs. I could do this every day.”
“You wish,” Gideon muttered as he inserted material to help support the broken band he’d sliced into. “Chordae in place. No noticeable bleeding. Tidy incisions. Valve repaired. Heart beating on its own. Turning off the bypass machine. And we’re done.”
“I love it when it’s a wrap. I’m just grateful for the state-of-the-art equipment.”
“Yeah, how is it we came by this again?”
“Logan Donnelly is our major benefactor. The man is a walking catalogue as to what the hospital needs. I make a wishlist and he figures out how to pay for it.”
“Who knew sculptors were so flush with cash? Although…my aunt always did encourage me to stick with my art classes.”
“Right. Like you could sculpt or draw anything worth a dime.”
Gideon laughed as he let Sydney into the room. “You can take Mr. Jones into recovery now.”
“You guys are amazing,” Sydney said as she took the patient’s blood pressure and vitals, then noted them down on the chart. “You both have done a marvelous job expanding your training to go from one specialty to another. You guys cover so much that we no longer have to send people over to Santa Cruz. I don’t know many doctors who would bother.”
Quentin winked at Gideon. “See? We’re legends.”
“Yeah. In your own mind.”
Sydney listened to the two old friends trade barbs with each other. “How long have you two been doing this?”
“Fourteen long years,” Gideon retorted. “And your husband has only gotten more insufferable during that time.”
Sydney cracked up. “You do know Quentin.”
“Hey, you’re supposed to be on my side,” Quentin argued.
“No way Syd can defend you because she knows I’m right,” Gideon quipped, leaning over a still-sleeping Mr. Jones to recheck the incisions for bleeding. “How’s our guy doing?”
“He’s breathing fine on his own. Everything checks out,” Sydney confirmed, wheeling the patient out of the room. “Which one of you is meeting and greeting the family?”
“That would be me,” Gideon offered as he went into the pre-op room to shed his mask and to wash up. “Are you sure Beckham is right about Faye?”
Quentin gave him a sour look as he followed him to the sinks. “I’m telling you the boy says Faye is as happy at school as she’s ever been. The girl is doing better than ever before.”
“No sweating over grades?”
“I don’t know how many ways I can say it. Faye’s stomach pains aren’t from stress or anxiety. She’s a happy girl around us. And she’s over at the house all the time.”
“Okay, okay. I believe you. It’s just that when I saw her in the ER, she seemed…troubled.”
“She had an elevated white cell count and a physical ailment,” Quentin pointed out. “Faye came off as troubled because she wasn’t feeling well. It’s just that simple. Not everyone is like your mystery woman.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Problems. In spades,” Quentin explained as he dried his hands. “After what you told me happened to her family, and to her, she has issues. So save your analysis for her. She’ll need it. I know because I certainly did after I got shot. It’s obvious to me she’s still dealing with survivor’s guilt.”
“I really want to argue, but I know deep down you’re right. I don’t think she wants to talk about it, though.”
“Who would? You interested in her?”
“She’s my patient—”
“You know what I’m talking about,” Quentin snapped. “Don’t pretend with me.”
“Since you brought me here, there’s not a lot of prospects.”
“Maybe not. But this one will break your heart. She’s not interested in the long-term.”
“How would you know that? Have you even met her?”
“Sydney has. From one woman to another, if my wife says Marley Lennox has issues, I listen. You should, too.” But Quentin could tell by the expression on Gideon’s face it might already be too late. “Don’t say you weren’t forewarned.”
“Look, just because I read an article online about what happened to her, it doesn’t mean I know her whole story. Not from one lousy piece. She has issues, anyone can see that, but I happen to think she’s making progress. Maybe it’s not as fast as people would like, but she’s doing it on her own terms. Not everyone heals at the same pace. You of all people should know that.”
“I’m trying to
look out for you. I don’t want to see another ‘Patricia’ break your heart.”
Gideon wadded up a towel and tossed it into the laundry bin. “That’s where you’re wrong. Patricia did not break my heart. She took my money and my self-esteem, but she didn’t touch my heart because a soulless bitch never does. Patricia was like a cancer, and I’m lucky to be rid of her. Besides, it was a long time ago. I’d appreciate it if you’d stop bringing it up. I don’t go throwing Melanie in your face as a failure. Now do I? Didn’t I encourage you to take this job despite Melanie and your own misgivings? Look at you now. Successful town doctor, just like your dad. No, better than your dad. Look around you. This hospital is your doing. Who else could pull this together in such a short amount of time? We’re treating patients the way we always talked about doing. You made that happen right here in a town this size.”
“No, it’s your success, too. Without you, we’d be stuck without a surgeon. What talented sawbones wants to give up a seven-figure salary to live in Pelican Pointe? Don’t ever forget you’re the glue that holds this place together.”
“The entire staff holds this place together. We make a damn good team. We even have each other’s backs. What kind of hospital staff can say that these days? It’s why I’m proud to be a part of it. But don’t go thinking you know what’s best for me when it comes to my personal life. I’m not the same naive person I was when we were back in medical school. The University of Chicago was a long time ago. You’re different, I’m different. I’m thirty-eight years old for God’s sake and living like a monk.”
Quentin chuckled. “I get it. Okay, I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
Gideon let a long sigh escape from his lips. “You don’t have to worry about me. For the record, Marley Lennox hasn’t shown one bit of interest in that regard. I’m the one who should take a hint.”
With that pronouncement, he left the washroom and headed out to the lobby to deliver the good news to Tahoe’s friends and family.
But before he got there, he had to pass the nurses’ station. He overheard the staff buzzing about Marley. He lasered his eyes on Aubree, who seemed to know more than Sheena. “What’s going on?”
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