The Doctor Who Made Her Love Again

by Susan Carlisle

  She suddenly had all his attention. “Why is that?”

  Heaven help her, she’d said too much. She didn’t want to talk about the past now or even later with this man.

  “Come on, I’ll show you the stage area.” China started moving again.

  They walked further down the beach and far enough that the crowd swelled out. They began to have trouble moving around without running into someone. China stumbled when the smooth sand rolled under her foot. A hand grabbed her arm, steadying her. Payton’s hand.

  “Thanks,” she mumbled. When they reached the barriers the security guard stopped them. They flashed their badges, and he smiled and walked away.

  “This really is a major production. I had no idea how large it was,” Payton said.

  “And it’s a really great thing these celebrities do for the coast. They not only bring money in, they get us noticed in the headlines. We need to start back.”

  He nodded.

  When they’d come up off the beach and had reached the area where the concessions were located, China sat on the low curb and begin taking off her tennis shoes. Payton followed suit and they emptied sand out of their shoes. Done, and standing again, Payton said, “Hey, let’s grab a bite to eat before we go to work. I bet we won’t have a chance later.”

  “You mean this type of food?” She waved her hand around at the tents and food trucks lining the way. “These menus rely heavily on frying, which might not meet the specifications of your discerning palate.”

  “My, do I sense some sarcasm in that question? Just so you know I can eat good, unhealthy food with the best of them on occasion, come on, I’ll buy.” He headed down the lane.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “You know you want some. It’s just your type of food,” Payton called back over his shoulder.

  “Please don’t imply that you know me so well.”

  He stopped and looked at her. “Oh, I would never make that mistake. Okay, if I can’t convince you to eat with me then at least suggest which truck might be the best.”

  She pointed toward the bright orange moving-van-sized truck with slide-up sides. A large shrimp was painted over most of the passenger-side door and overlapped onto the hood.

  “Sid’s is the best.”

  “Then Sid’s is the place. What do you recommend?”

  She looked at him as if he had three heads. “No self-respecting Gulf coaster would have anything but shrimp, hush puppies and fries. Ours is the best in the world.”

  Payton stood amazed at how animated China became about eating at Sid’s. This was obviously serious business to her. For once she wasn’t uptight around him. He liked this China a lot, wished he saw more of her.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to get you a basket?” Payton asked.

  “I’m sure.”

  “Okay, but it sounds like your loss.”

  He stepped to the window but before he could place his order a man almost too large for the space he was standing in said in a booming voice, “Hey, my China doll. Come to have some of Sid’s famous shrimp?”

  “Not tonight, Sid.”

  “But you are my best customer,” the man complained. His smile was so large Payton felt such there wasn’t a single tooth in his head that wasn’t showing.

  “I know, but my...” she hesitated a second as if searching for the right word “...friend would like to have your shrimp basket.”

  So now China considered him her friend. He’d certainly moved up in the world.

  “Shrimp basket coming up.” Sid turned around.

  “So I’m your friend now, uh?” Payton asked in a teasing tone.

  “Only as long as you like the same kind of food as I do.” She grinned at him for the first time ever where it really reached her eyes. He couldn’t help but stare.

  A flash of yellow caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Flames filled the space in front of where Sid stood. A curse word ripped the air as the blaze grew. Sid backed away, at the same time dropping the metal frying basket. He held his hand and doubled over in agony. A guy in the truck with him rushed to the fryer with a fire extinguisher. After a couple of blasts from the container the flames died out. Steely-colored smoke billowed out the serving window. The smell of sodium bicarbonate filled the air.

  “Sid!” China’s shout of alarm added to the chaos.

  “China.” Payton caught her before she rushed inside the truck. “Run to the med tent and get us two bottles of saline and bandages.”

  She didn’t argue or question, was gone before he could say another word.

  Payton hurried to the end of the truck and entered the doorway left open for ventilation. As the air cleared he could make out Sid, holding his hand wrapped in his apron. He moaned with pain.

  “Sid, I’m Dr. Jenkins. Let me have a look at that.”

  The man’s face, which had been rosy minutes before, had taken on a pale pallor. Payton’s lips tightened into a tight line. Burns like this hurt like the devil.

  “Push that stool this way,” Payton barked to the young guy pinned in the truck because Payton and Sid filled the space between him and the door. The young man did as directed.

  “Sid, you need to sit. I don’t need you to pass out on me.”

  The man took the seat, moaning softly, his face contorted in pain.

  Payton glanced at the helper, gaining his attention. “Get some cool water, not cold. A lot. We need to get Sid’s hand in it.”

  The guy did as Payton said without question, thankfully. The helper handed Payton a cooking pot filled with water.

  “Okay Sid, I need to see your hand. Be careful when you take it out of the cloth. We don’t want you to lose that skin covering your wound.”

  Carefully Sid unwrapped his hand from the apron.

  Payton examined the red injured skin. There was no blister present. A second-degree burn at least. “I don’t think this is going to require a trip to the hospital, but you were close.”

  They had just finished submerging the hand in water when China returned.

  She entered and unceremoniously placed the supplies bundled in her hands on the counter. “I also brought some dry clothes.”

  He glanced at her. “Good girl.” A look of surprise and then satisfaction flickered across her face. “We need to get the hand clean and dry. We’ll have to work fast because it will hurt like hell when it is out of the water.”

  Payton sat on his haunches in front of Sid. China brushed Payton’s shoulder with her thigh as she maneuvered around him in the tight space.

  “How are you doing?” China put her hand tenderly on Sid’s forehead, pushing the tuft of almost nonexistent hair back.

  “I’ve been better,” he said through clenched teeth. “This is the worst burn I’ve had in a long time.”

  “We’ll have you fixed up in no time, and you’ll be frying shrimp for me again,” China assured him.

  Payton watched the interaction with interest. China cared about this man. But, then, China cared about everyone. She tried to make things better for each person she met. His mom had shown that same type of compassion until he’d announced that he wanted to do something different with his life. Then she’d not been pleased.

  “Okay.” Payton brought their attention back to him. He nodded toward the young man with the stricken look on his face. “Sid, we’re going to let your help step out of the truck before I get started.”

  China brushed past him again as she exited so the helper could get by. When the man was gone, China returned, her thighs brushing his shoulder again. The space was unquestionably too tight.

  “China, get a pan and fill it with soap and lukewarm water. We’re going to have to get all the oil off. We’ll do this once and do it well, so put plenty of soap in the water.”<
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  China went to the tiny sink and did as Payton asked. Bringing the pan back, she maneuvered around the other pan and placed the one she carried on the floor.

  “Sid, I can’t lie. This is going to hurt, bad. As soon as I’m done, back into the cool water it’ll go,” Payton said.

  Sid nodded. Sweat covered his forehead.

  “Okay, China, hold the soap pan up.”

  She put a knee on the floor and bent the other, picking the pan up she’d just prepared and holding it steady. Payton lifted Sid’s hand out of the water and placed it in her pan. Sid hissed.

  “Hang in there, Sid.” Payton begin to scoop water over the angry wrinkled skin of Sid’s hand until all the grease had been removed.

  A long sound of discomfort came from Sid as the air hit the wound.

  Payton placed the hand back in the cool water. China sat the pan down on the floor, splashing soapy water on one of his shoes. She stood and put a hand on Sid’s beefy back, slowly moving it in a reassuring pattern over his shoulders.

  “Sid, I’m sorry but we’ll have to go at it again,” Payton said. “I have to run saline over the area just to make sure it is clean. We can’t have it get infected. When you’re ready, let me know.”

  China picked up the soapy pan, went to the sink and emptied it. She returned with the pan and grabbed the two dry towels off the counter where she had left them. Going down on one knee, she placed the towels on her leg and held the pan in position to catch the saline.

  Payton gave her a nod and a reassuring lift to his lips. She returned a thin-lipped smile. “This time we’re going to dry it off and bandage it. Dry and clean is the ticket to no infection,” Payton explained to Sid.

  He nodded and lifted his hand out of the water. “It’s easing some.”

  The look on his face was telling a different story. “I’ll give you something for pain in a minute and then write you a prescription for something a little stronger to take if you need it.” Again the man bowed his head.

  Slowly Payton poured the saline over the hand, making sure it went between the fingers. He took a towel from her thigh. She was the most intuitive nurse he’d ever worked with, having everything prepared and within reach. He patted Sid’s hand dry and examined for broken skin.

  “Believe it or not, it looks good. The pain should ease and it should heal well.”

  The man had his mouth so tightly pursed that his lips were white.

  China took the pan to the sink and left it there. She returned and placed a hand on Sid’s shoulder again and squeezed. It was a soothing gesture, not over-the-top dramatic. Janice hadn’t been capable of doing something as simple as that, just being there for him. China didn’t even have to say anything to let Sid know she cared.

  She handed Payton the roll of gauze and he begin wrapping Sid’s hand, making sure he went between each finger. He finished by encasing the complete hand in gauze. With a grunt Payton stood and stretched. He’d been in a squatting position for too long.

  “Can I still work? This is one of our biggest money events of the year.”

  “I don’t think you need to be the fry cook but you could sit here and give orders.” Payton offered him a smile. “But that hand must remain clean and dry.”

  “That’s the best you can do, Doc?”

  “Yeah, that’s it. And I want you to stop by the clinic on Monday morning and let me have a look at your hand.”

  “You’d better do as the doctor orders,” China said, giving the man a hug. She wasn’t showing pity but practical concern.

  China wasn’t someone who ran from a storm but stood against it. He appreciated that about her. In fact, he was finding a number of things he liked about China.

  “I promise,” Sid said softly, giving her a one-handed hug back.

  China gathered the leftover supplies. When she had them together she leaned over and kissed Sid on the forehead. “I’ll check on you tomorrow.”

  Sid gave her a weak grin. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I will anyway.”

  Payton stepped out of the trailer and China followed. China stopped when they were a few feet from the truck. She had an earnest look in her eye when she said, “Thanks, Payton. I’m glad you were there when it happened. That man is important to me.”

  He shrugged his shoulder. “You’re welcome. So how do you know Sid?”

  “He was my father’s best friend when I was a kid.” She walked on as if she’d said all she was going to say. There was more behind that statement, he just didn’t know what.

  * * *

  China and Payton were late arriving for their shift but it was for good reason. Sid’s burn issue could have been far worse if Payton hadn’t been on the scene to care for it so quickly and carefully. He’d been proactive and sure of himself. In an emergency he was just the type of person needed in a leadership position, someone you could depend on.

  Her heart had soared at Payton’s praise. They had been partners, each appreciating the other’s abilities. He’d moved up in her estimation.

  When they arrived at the medical tent there were three patients being seen and another two waiting. It was much like that for the next three hours until the concert wound down and the crowd made their way home. Even then Security brought a middle-aged woman who had slipped and twisted her ankle when trying to load a bus. It took another half an hour to stabilize the joint by wrapping it. Security saw that the woman and her husband got to their car.

  She and Payton still had to pack medical supplies and break down the portable examination tables and chairs and return them to the clinic before they could go home.

  “You ready?” she asked Payton thirty minutes later.

  When he didn’t immediately reply she glanced at him. She was worn out but even in the dim light his shoulders slumped and he was moving more slowly. He was exhausted.

  “You okay?”

  “Sure.” Payton lifted a large plastic box into the back of the van. Minutes later, with everything packed, he closed the doors of the van. “I’ll drive,” Payton said.

  China climbed into the passenger’s side before he offered to help her. The extra time they’d spent with their last patient had allowed the traffic to lessen and they made it back to the clinic in good time, but it was still well past midnight. They unloaded and she put away the medical supplies while Payton stored the folding chairs and exam tables in a small storeroom near the back door.

  She was more than ready to go home. They’d had a busier night then she’d expected. They’d not even had a chance to grab something to eat or drink. Done, she walked to the back of the building to see if she could help Payton. It had been quiet for some time so she expected to find him waiting in the office. He wasn’t there when she looked so she continued toward the back door.

  Payton sat on the floor with his back against the doorjamb, as if he’d slid down the wall. She rushed to him, kneeling beside him. “What’s wrong?” Instinctively she reached out to touch his forehead. He turned away, not allowing contact.

  “Go away. I’ll be all right,” he growled.

  “Did you fall?” China looked for any obvious bumps or bruises.

  “No, I didn’t fall. Go on home. I’ll be right behind you.” He still refused to meet her gaze.

  “I’m not leaving you like this.”

  “I don’t want your help,” he hissed.

  “You might not, but you’re going to get it. I’m positive you need it.”

  “I don’t need anyone fussing over me.”

  “I find you sitting on the floor, and you think I’m fussing over you?” she asked incredulously. “What kind of nurse would I be if I left you here?”

  His eyes were diamond hard when he said, “Go away. I’ll be fine in a minute.”

  “No. So what happen
ed?”

  “I’m just tired and hungry.”

  “It looks like more than that to me. I think I should get you to the E.R.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  PAYTON WISHED CHINA would just leave. He felt humiliated enough as it was. Why wasn’t he surprised that the stubborn woman wouldn’t do as he asked? “I am not going to the E.R. for a little dehydration.” His voice held a touch of disgust. “I was dizzy, that’s all.”

  “Dizzy?”

  “Is that the new nursing practice? Repeating everything the doctor says?” What would it take to get her to leave? Could he make her mad enough that she’d just go?

  She blinked. Climbing to her feet, she said, “I’ll get you a sports drink out of the break room. Then I’m going to examine you.”

  “I’d appreciate it if you would leave me some pride,” he mumbled as she left. He hated being weak. How had be managed to let this happen? Not being used to warmer weather and no food had taken its toll and here he was in a pool of mortification. He’d worked hard to put those days of illness behind him, had started over with a vengeance. Yeah, right. That was working well at this moment.

  Less than a minute later China returned with the drink and a stethoscope circling her neck.

  “I’ll drink this and be able to drive home. It’s late. You need to be in bed.” He took a swallow of the liquid.

  “I’m not leaving you until I know you can get home safely.”

  “Go home. Doctor’s orders.”

  “Really? That’s the best you’ve got?”

  The woman had spunk. He took another swallow of the drink. The quicker his electrolytes stabilized the sooner he could gather his pride.

  China placed her hand on his forehead. Her fingers were cool and dry. Somehow he felt more invigorated by her simple touch.

  In complete nurse mode, she picked up his wrist and checked his pulse. How many times in the last year had that been checked? He’d been poked and prodded until he couldn’t stand it anymore. He’d turned into a nasty patient but he’d been unable to stop himself. Fed up, angry with himself and life, he’d lashed out.