The Doctor's Redemption

by Susan Carlisle

  “It’s just down the street on the right. The Silver Spoon.”

  Mark pulled into the small parking area in front of a nineteen-fifties-style café that had seen better days.

  “You want to eat here?”

  “Sure. They have the best pecan waffles in town.” Laura Jo was already getting out of the car. She looked back in at him. “You coming?”

  Mark had been questioning it. He wasn’t sure the place could pass a health inspection.

  “Yes, I am.” He climbed out of the car. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  She was already moving up the few steps to the front door.

  * * *

  Because all the booths were full, Laura Jo took an empty stool at the bar. She didn’t miss Mark’s dubious look at the duct-taped stool next to her before he took a seat.

  “You don’t frequent places like this, do you?”

  “I can say that this is a first.”

  She grinned. “I thought it might be.”

  Mark picked up a plastic-covered menu. “So I need to have the pecan waffles.”

  “They’re my favorite.” She was going to enjoy watching Mark out of his element.

  “Then waffles it is. You do the ordering.”

  “Charlie,” she said to the heavy man wearing what once must have been a white apron, “we’ll have pecan waffles, link sausage and iced tea.”

  “Coming right up, Laura Jo,” Charlie said, and turned to give the cook her order.

  “I see you’re a regular,” Mark said.

  “I come when I can, which isn’t often enough.”

  Charlie put their glasses of iced tea on the counter with a thump.

  “I don’t normally have iced tea for breakfast.” Mark picked up his glass.

  “If you’d rather have coffee…” Laura Jo made it sound like a dare on purpose.

  “I said I wanted the same as you and that’s what I’m having. So how did you find this place?”

  “Charlie gave one of the mothers that came through the shelter a job here after her baby was born.”

  “That was nice. I’m impressed with what you’re doing at the shelter.”

  “Thanks. But it never seems like enough. You know, I really appreciate you helping me out with Anna and Marcy. I hated to call you but I knew I couldn’t get her to the hospital and I was uncomfortable with how Marcy looked.”

  Mark really had been great with Anna and Marcy. He’d stayed to give moral support even when he hadn’t had to. Maybe she had better character radar than she believed.

  “I’m glad you thought you could call.”

  She’d been surprised too that she hadn’t hesitated a second before picking up the phone to call him. Somehow she’d just known he would come. “Were you always going to be a doctor?”

  “I believe that’s the first personal question you have ever asked me. You do want to get to know me better.”

  Laura Jo opened her mouth to refute that statement but he continued, not giving her a chance to do so.

  “Yes, I had always planned to go into medicine. My parents liked the idea and I found I did, too. I’ve always liked helping people. How about you? Did you always dream of being a nurse?”

  “No, I kind of came to that later in life.”

  “So what was your dream?”

  “I don’t know. I guess like all the other girls I knew we dreamed of marrying the Mardi Gras king, having two kids and living in a big house.”

  He looked in her direction but she refused to meet his gaze. “Marrying the Mardi Gras king, was it? So did you dream of marrying me?”

  “I don’t think your ego needs to be fed by my teenage dreams. But I’ll admit to having a crush on you if that will end this conversation.”

  “I thought so.”

  “Now we won’t be able to get your head out of the door.”

  Charlie placed a plateful of food in front of each of them with a clunk on the counter.

  “Thanks, Charlie.” She picked up her fork and looked at Mark. “You need to eat your waffle while it’s hot to get the full effect.” She took a bite dripping with syrup.

  “Trying to get me to quit asking questions?”

  “That and the waffles are better hot.”

  They ate in silence for a few minutes.

  “So I remember something about an accident and then I didn’t hear much about you after that. I later heard you’d left town. Did you get hurt?”

  Mark’s fork halted in midair then he lowered it to the plate.

  Had she asked the wrong thing? She looked back at her meal. “You don’t have to tell me if you’d rather not.”

  “I wasn’t really hurt. But my friend was. I had to leave a few days later to start my fellowship.”

  “What happened?”

  “It’s a long story. Too much of one for this morning.”

  So the man with all the questions was hiding something. Minutes later she finished her last mouthful. Mark said something. She turned to look at him. “What?”

  He touched her face. His gaze caught and held hers as he put his finger between his lips. Her stomach fluttered. She swallowed. Heaven help her, the man held her spellbound.

  “You had syrup on your chin.”

  “Uh?”

  “Syrup on your chin.” Mark said each word slowly, as if speaking to someone who didn’t understand the language.

  “Oh.” She dabbed at the spot with her napkin. Mark was starting to shatter her protective barriers. “We’d better go.”

  She climbed off the stool and called, “Thanks, Charlie.” She was going out the door as Mark pulled a couple of bills out of his wallet.

  Her hand was already on the door handle of his car as Mark pulled into a parking place at the shelter. She needed to get away from him. Find her equilibrium. That look in his eye as he’d licked the syrup on his finger had her thinking of things better left unthought. She stepped out of the car. “Thanks for helping out last night. I don’t know how I’ll repay you.”

  “No problem.”

  “Bye, Mark.”

  Why did a simple gesture from Mark, of all men, make her run? She had to be attracted to him for that to happen. Surely that wasn’t the case.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  FOUR DAYS LATER, as Laura Jo was busy setting up the med tent on North Broad Street, she was still pondering how to raise the money needed for the single mothers’ shelter. The grant they were hoping for had come through, but with a condition that the board match the amount. There were only five more days of Mardi Gras season, then things would settle down. After that the city would place the house on the market. She couldn’t let that happen. They had to move out of the too-small building they were in now.

  She didn’t want anyone to get hurt at the parade but if she was busy tonight it would keep her mind off the issue of money…along with the thoughts of how agreeing to go to the dance with Mark just might solve her problem.

  Think of the devil and he shows up. Mark rode over the curb of the street and up onto the grassy lot where the med tent was stationed. His tight bike shorts left little to the imagination and there was nothing small about the man. He unclipped his helmet and set it on the handlebars, before heading in her direction. For a second her heart rate picked up with the thought that he’d come to see her. She wasn’t sure if it was relief or disappointment that filled her when he stopped to talk in depth to one of the ER doctors working with her. Mark should mean nothing to her. She shouldn’t be feeling anything, one way or another.

  Laura Jo returned to unpacking boxes, turning her back to him.

  A few minutes later a tenor voice she recognized said, “Hello, Laura Jo.”

  She twisted, making an effort to act as if she hadn’t been aware of where he’d been and what he’d been doing during the past ten minutes. “Hi, Mark. I didn’t expect to see you today.”

  “It would be my guess that if you had you’d have seen to it you were reassigned to another med tent.”

  “You k
now me so well,” she quipped, returning to what she’d been doing.

  “I wish I did know you better. Then maybe I’d understand why I find you so fascinating.”

  A ripple of pleasure went through her at his statement. She resisted placing a hand on her stomach when it quivered. “It might be that I don’t fall at your feet like other women do.”

  “I don’t know about that.”

  “They used to. I figured now wasn’t any different. In fact, I saw and heard the ER nurses swoon when you came in the other day.”

  “Swoon. That’s an old-fashioned word.” He leaned in close so that only she could hear. “Did you swoon over me, too, Laura Jo?”

  She had but she wasn’t going to let him know that. Straightening and squaring her shoulders, she said with authority, “I did not.”

  He grinned, his voice dropping seductively. “Something about that quick denial makes me think you did.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. “Would you please go? I have work to do.”

  He chuckled. “I’m flattered. I had no idea girls swooned over me.”

  I bet. Laura Jo glared at him.

  “I’m going. I wouldn’t want to keep you from your work. See you later.”

  She glanced up to see him disappear through the crowd. Their conversations had been the most thought-provoking, irritating and stimulating ones she’d ever experienced. And that didn’t count how he’d made her feel when he’d kissed her. She had to think fast to stay ahead of him. Somehow that made her life more exciting and interesting.

  * * *

  Mark made one more circle around his patrol area along the parade route. He’d not worked patrol in three days and his muscles were telling him they had noticed. Busy at his practice, getting his patient load up, it required late hours to accommodate people coming in after work hours. As the newest man in the six-doctor general practice, it was his duty to cover the clinic for the hours that were least desirable.

  He was pulled out of his thoughts by a boy of three or four standing in the middle of the street. The child looked lost. Mark parked his bike and scanned the crowd for some anxious parent. Finding none, he went down on his haunches in front of the boy. “Hello, there, are you looking for someone?”

  “My mommy.”

  “Can I help you find her?”

  The boy nodded.

  Mark offered his hand and he took it. They started walking along the edge of the crowd, Mark looking for anyone who might claim the boy.

  A woman clutching her cell phone stepped out from behind the barriers just ahead of them and hurried toward them. “Lucas, you shouldn’t have walked off.”

  The woman looked at Mark. “I was talking on my phone and then he was gone,” she said with a nervous little laugh.

  Mark nodded. “I understand. Little ones can get away from you when you aren’t paying attention.”

  The woman’s lips tightened. She took her son’s hand and left.

  He went back to patrolling. Returning to Mobile so close to Mardi Gras season, he had social obligations to consider. He’d been king the year he’d left and now that he was back in town he was expected to attend certain events. He’d once lived for all the fanfare of the season but now it held no real thrill for him. Still, certain things were expected of him. He just wished doing so didn’t bring on such heavy guilt.

  Mark hadn’t expected to find Laura Jo working the same parade as he was but he wasn’t disappointed either. He’d missed their sparring. It was always fun to see how she’d react to something he said or did. Especially his kiss. He’d kissed enough women to know when one was enjoying it.

  He wasn’t disappointed with her reaction today, either. When he’d asked her about swooning over him he’d have to admit her pretty blush had raised his self-esteem. She had been one of those teens who’d wanted to be noticed by him. The sad thing was that he would’ve crushed her admiration with the self-centered attitude he’d wore like his royal cloak if he’d even noticed her.

  Clearly he had noted the woman she’d become. There hadn’t been another female who kept him on his toes or stepped on them more than she did. There were so many facets to her. He still didn’t understand what made her tick. He couldn’t count the number of times she’d been on his mind over the past few days despite his efforts not to let her intervene in his thoughts.

  He compared the mother who’d been too busy talking on her phone to show any real concern for her child with Laura Jo’s motherly concern over a skinned knee. She won. Laura Jo had seen the humor when he’d had to carry Gus. He could still hear her boisterous laughter. Under all that anti-society, I-can-do-it-on-my-own attitude, she hid a power to love and enjoy life.

  From what he’d heard and read between the lines, she hadn’t had much opportunity to take pleasure in life in a number of years. She been busy scrapping and fighting to keep Allie cared for. To go to school, then work and start a shelter. It had to have been hard, doing it all without family support. What was the deal with her family anyway?

  No wonder she was so involved with the single mothers’ house. She identified with the women, had been one of them. As if she didn’t have enough going on in her life now, she was trying to raise funds to buy the house. Was there anything Laura Jo couldn’t do?

  Mark made another loop through his section of the parade route. He wasn’t far from the med tent when he pulled over out of the way to let the parade go by. One girl in a group of dancers he recognized from other parades. She was limping badly. Seconds later, the girl left the line and collapsed to the curb.

  To help her, he had to cross the parade route. He raised his hand and the driver of the next float stopped. Mark pushed his bike over to where the teenage girl sat. She was busy removing her tap shoe. Mark noticed that her foot was covered in blood.

  He parked his bike and crouched beside her. The girl looked at him with tears in her eyes. “I just couldn’t go any further.”

  It wasn’t unusual to see members of the dance groups abusing their feet. Some of the dancers did up to four parades a day when it got closer to Fat Tuesday. More than once Mark had wondered how they kept it up. Almost everyone in the parades rode while these girls danced for miles.

  “I don’t blame you. That looks painful. How about we get you cleaned up and ease that pain?”

  The girl nodded then started to stand. Mark picked up her discarded shoe and placed his hand on her shoulder. “The med tent isn’t too far. Do you mind if I carry you? That foot looks too painful to walk on.”

  The girl nodded. Mark handed her the shoe and scooped her into his arms. The crowd parted so he could get through. “Would someone please follow us with my bike?”

  A middle-aged man called, “I’ll bring it.”

  Mark headed for the med tent a block away. As he walked people turned to watch. He was within sight of the tent when he saw Laura Jo look in his direction. It was as if she had radar where he was concerned. She seemed to sense when he was near. He would have to give that more thought later. He hefted the girl closer in his arms. This was turning into a workout.

  Laura Jo moved away and when he saw her again she was pushing a wheelchair across the dirt and grass area between them. Mark faltered. The girl’s arms tightened around his neck. The blood drained from his face as Mike crossed his mind.

  When Laura Jo reached him, he lowered the dancer into the chair.

  Laura Jo mouthed over the girl’s head, “Are you okay?”

  He nodded. But the look on her face had him doubting he’d convinced her.

  “What happened?”

  “Blisters.”

  “I’ll get things ready.” Laura Jo turned and hurried back toward the tent.

  Mark let his hands rest on the handles of the chair for a moment before he started pushing. He wished he could have let Laura Jo do it. Bringing the wheelchair up on its two back wheels, he maneuvered it across the rough ground. When he arrived at the tent Laura Jo was waiting with a square plastic pan filled with what must
be saline. He lifted the footrest off the chair. Going on one knee, he removed the girl’s other tap shoe. Laura Jo then slipped the pan into position and the girl lowered her feet into the water with a small yelp of pain.

  “Do it slowly and it will be less painful. It’ll hurt at first but as soon as they are clean we’ll bandage them and you’ll feel a lot better. Are you allergic to anything?”

  “No,” the girl said.

  Laura Jo then offered her a white pill and a small glass of water that had been waiting on the table beside them. “That should ease the pain.” She looked at him. “I’ll take care of her from here, Dr. Clayborn.”

  Had he just been dismissed? He had. Grinning at Laura Jo and then the girl, he said, “I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Nurse Akins.”

  “Thank you,” the girl said.

  “You’re welcome. I hope you get to feeling better. I’ll miss seeing you in the parades.”

  The girl blushed a bright pink then looked away.

  Laura Jo gave a dramatic roll of her eyes.

  Mark smiled. He looked around to find his bike leaning against a nearby tree. He climbed on and prepared to ride off. He glanced back at Laura Jo. She looked away from caring for the girl’s feet to meet his gaze.

  He grinned. Maybe he could still make her swoon.

  Two hours later, after the last parade of the day, he pulled up beside the med tent. He would leave his reports of the minor injuries he’d handled with them. The city officials liked to keep a record of anything that happened during Mardi Gras season in order to plan for the next year.

  Allie came running toward him. “Hey, did you bring Gus with you?”

  “No, not today. I couldn’t get him to ride the bike.”

  Allie giggled.

  “Had any king cake this week?”

  Allie nodded. “I even found the baby.”

  “Then I guess you’re planning to take a cake to school.”

  “We’re out of school today. It’s our Mardi Gras break.”