by Dianne Drake
“I thought I heard you say something.”
She shook her head. “I was just…taking a walk, trying to get a little exercise, and I think I got myself turned around.” Well, that was a bit of a lie as she knew exactly where she was. “I stopped for a moment to get my bearings and you probably heard me muttering to myself. Bad habit. I do that when I’m nervous.” Better to admit that than to tell him she was engaged in a debate with her unborn child, and her unborn child seemed to be winning the argument at the moment. Muttering made her look eccentric, debating with an unborn baby made her look just plain odd.
“You’re staying up at Laura’s lodge, aren’t you? I thought I saw you there last night.”
Gabby nodded. “It’s up at the top of the hill, isn’t it?” she said, pointing in the direction she knew perfectly well. Was that really her, feigning the helpless woman? Good thing she had pregnancy hormones to blame it on, because there wasn’t anything helpless about her. Her father had raised her well in that aspect, and she took great pride in her independence.
“It’s a pretty long walk, going uphill the whole way. Maybe I could call someone to come get you? A friend, a husband…”
“It’s not so bad,” she said. “Besides, I’m here by myself.”
He glanced at his watch, then at the hospital. “How about I get my car and drive you back? It’ll only take five minutes.”
This would have been such a nice meeting had she not been pregnant, but she was, so this was only about chivalry. He was a pleasant man coming to the rescue of a damsel who didn’t need rescuing. End of story. “Thanks, but I’ll walk.”
“Then maybe you should come inside and sit down for a few minutes before you attempt going back up.” He gestured to the hospital. “Ten minutes. Find a nice, comfortable chair, put your feet up…”
“My doctor thinks I should be a little more active than that. She’s of the opinion that healthy, pregnant women should be active women. But like I said, thanks.”
“Then I’ll walk with you.”
“Because I’m pregnant? Are you one of those people who believes a pregnant woman isn’t capable of doing anything? Because if you are…”
He thrust his palm out to stop her. “Whoa, I was only trying to be polite. Something my mother taught me.”
“Maybe she should have also taught you that pregnant women can take care of themselves just fine.”
He chuckled. Deep, sexy. “Actually, she did. And she’d send me to bed without supper for acting the way I have been.” He took a step backwards and thrust out his hand. “Hello, my name is Neil Ranard. Can we start over?”
Gabby took his hand and nodded. “And I’m Gabrielle Evans. People call me Gabby…even the ones who accost me, then try to lecture me on the street.”
“Then I’ll have to call you Gabrielle so you won’t be reminded of this rather inauspicious first meeting. It’s nice to meet you, Gabrielle.”
Gabrielle…it sounded so nice the way he said it. Sounded almost right and, strangely, she didn’t object. Didn’t object to the twinkle in his eyes either. Sexy, but mischievous. And, yes, even at her rather advanced stage of pregnancy, those thoughts still did pop into her mind. A good-looking man was a good-looking man and even her whacked-out hormones wouldn’t deny that. Neil Ranard was handsome and, like she’d thought yesterday, something about him seemed vaguely familiar. “Do I know you?” she asked. “Have you come to Chicago for any reason lately?” It had to be something in Chicago as until yesterday she hadn’t left the city for nearly two years.
“Actually, I’ve never been to Chicago, outside a layover in the airport, and that was probably five years ago. Maybe six.”
“You’re not famous, are you? I wouldn’t have seen you on television, or in a magazine?” Or on the cover of a romance novel?
“Sorry. I’m only famous in my own mind. And even then, it’s highly overrated, if not totally ignored, except by my mother and her sister.”
“I guess you’ve got one of those faces, then,” she said, still wondering why she couldn’t shake herself of the feeling. “Look, I appreciate you being concerned about me, but I’m fine, and there’s no need to help me get back to the lodge.”
“What if I said that Laura makes the best cheesecake in White Elk Valley, and you’re my excuse to go have a piece?”
“Then I’d say you’re a terrible liar. But I appreciate the gesture.” With that, Gabby turned and started the climb back up the hill to her cabin. She’d only gone ten steps, though, when she stopped and spun back around. He was right on her heels. “Are you following me?”
“Actually, I thought I’d go to the lodge and have a piece of cheesecake. Talking about it made me hungry for it.”
“Liar!” she exclaimed, fighting to control the laugh bubbling up inside her.
He arched playful eyebrows. “I’d never lie about a good piece of cheesecake.”
“But you were looking at your watch just a minute ago, which tells me you’re in a hurry to get back to work. So you really don’t want that cheesecake right now, and you’re using it as a pretty lame excuse to make sure I can get myself back up the hill. Which I can do perfectly well without anybody’s help.”
His face went serious. “I know it’s none of my business, but how long has it been since you’ve seen a doctor, Gabrielle?”
“If I’m not mistaken, I’m looking at one right now.”
“I mean an obstetrician.”
She smiled. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re looking at one right now.”
“No kidding? You’re an obstetrician?”
“No kidding. And if I’m not mistaken, you might be in need of one here for a few weeks. According to Debbi, at Handmade for Baby.”
Obvious surprise blinked across his face. “You’re applying for a job?”
“Not really a full-time job. But I could fill in until your new obstetrician arrives. As it turns out, I left my old position a few weeks ago, so I’ve got the time.”
“I’ve got to admit, you’ve caught me off guard. We were just having a staff meeting, wondering what we were going to do, and here you are, on our front walk.”
As they always said, timing was everything. She hadn’t meant to apply for a position, although she’d thought about it. Hadn’t meant to stay here in White Elk, although she’d thought about that, too. Yes, after Debbi had mentioned that their former obstetrician had just left, the idea of staying awhile had tempted her. Now here she was, making it happen. “Well, I do come with an obvious condition.” She raised her hands to her belly. “Two months to go. But I’m healthy, fit to work, and if you need me for a while…”
“Do we need you? Our obstetrician’s been phasing himself out without phasing someone else in to take his place. We thought he had a while to go before he finally left so we weren’t too worried, then one morning he woke up and just couldn’t do it any more. It was time for him to leave.”
Something she understood all too well. That’s exactly what had happened to her in Chicago. She’d known she was going, hadn’t known when, then one day it had been time. “Well, my credentials will check out, and I can give you some personal references.”
“We’ll need you for six weeks at the longest. I’ve got someone else coming in to take over after that, on a temporary basis until we can find someone to fill the full-time position. But we had this big gap between Walt and the temp.”
“Six weeks sounds good.” So did temporary. And this was perfect timing, wasn’t it? She could work for six weeks, part-time, have her baby after that, and put off trying to figure out, for a while longer, what came next in her life. “Unless something unforeseen and early changes my plans.”
“In which case, I’ll be glad to deliver your baby.”
An offer she could hardly refuse. Pregnant and employed again. If only for a little while for both conditions. She liked it. In fact, she was excited to be working again, and didn’t doubt for a minute that she could handle it. So she extended her h
and to the incredibly handsome Dr Neil Ranard, and instantly a little chill shot up her arm. “When do I start?” she asked, her hand lingering in his just a fraction of a second longer than it should have.
“Five minutes ago OK with you?”
Reluctantly, she pulled her hand from his and crammed it into her jacket pocket. “Five minutes ago is perfect.” Then she shivered again.
Just the chilly air, she told herself. What else could it be?
CHAPTER TWO
WELL, it wasn’t a busy schedule. Fallon O’Gara, the nurse practitioner—a bright-eyed woman about Gabby’s age, with wild red hair streaming down her back, a wide, cheery smile that came naturally and a laugh that bubbled through the air—handed Gabby a schedule with all of two afternoon patients for her to see. “That’s it? Just two?”
“Walt Graham did help in the emergency department when he wasn’t busy, but I’m not so sure we should put you on that schedule, too. Neil…Dr Ranard…said he wants you on obstetrics only, and I can’t change that without his authorization. So, until I hear further, yes, that’s it, unless someone else schedules an appointment with you.”
“But can I change the schedule if I want to? Or maybe wander down there and put myself to work?” Sitting around all afternoon, twiddling her thumbs, would make her feel useless, and since she was on a campaign to prove that pregnancy in the workplace still had a place, she decided she was going to have to change some minds here. Or, at least, one specific mind.
Fallon laughed. “He warned me that you were a little headstrong. Told me to hold my ground with you.”
“Not headstrong. I just like to work.” She patted her belly. “We like to work.”
“Well, Neil wants me to do a physical on you before you start anything. I know you’re only a short-time, part-timer, but he’s pretty stringent about keeping his staff healthy. And since you’re so far along, I think it’s best.” She thrust out her hand to stop Gabby before she could protest. “I know you’re an obstetrician and you know better than any of us how you’re feeling and what you can handle, but rules are rules, and like I said…”
“Neil is pretty stringent.” Translated to mean thorough. In her estimation, that made him a good doctor.
“On the bright side, if I don’t find any problems, I’ll bet you can talk him into letting you take your turn in Emergency.”
“So let’s do this check-up.” To be honest, she hadn’t had one in a few weeks, and she was due for one. “But can we do it after I see my first patient? It looks like her appointment was thirty minutes ago, and unless another one of your staff has already seen her, I don’t want to keep her waiting any longer.”
Fallon waved her off when a mother wrestling four little ones came through the door. They were carrying balloons and painted drawings and a vase with flowers, on their way to visit daddy, who was resting comfortably in the orthopedics ward with his leg in traction. Happy, eager, smiling faces… When she’d been young, she’d always said she wanted lots of children when she grew up. Being the only child of a single father, she’d thought a large family would be nice. She still believed that, but she was contented with one child. Elated, actually.
“So, how are you feeling today, Mrs Blanchard?” Angela Blanchard, who was sitting on the edge of the exam table, covered only in a blue paper exam gown, looked…frustrated. Not unhappy, but not happy, either.
“Not as good as you, since you’re working and I’m not,” she snapped. “Sorry. I’m not having a good day.”
“Understandable.”
“Is there some way to get this thing delivered early? Induce labor, maybe?”
A quick survey of Angela’s chart revealed she was due two weeks after Gabby. She was healthy and there was nothing of alarm going on except, perhaps, her attitude. “Would it make any difference if I said that you’re over two thirds of the way there and the rest is downhill from here?”
A laugh broke through Angela’s mood. “The one thing I could always count on with Doc Graham was that he would be at least as grumpy as I was. And now I’ve got a doctor who smiles. Guess that means I have to smile, too, doesn’t it?”
“It helps. You ought to try it.” Gabby sat the chart aside and extended her hand to Angela. “Hi, I’m Gabby Evans, and I’ll be smiling at you for the next few weeks. Five or six, if I’m lucky.”
“So we’re due almost the same time,” Angela responded, taking Gabby’s hand. She was a small woman, with short-cropped brown hair and dark brown eyes. Almost a pixie…a pixie with a sizeable tummy spread, side to side.
“Just a few weeks apart, and I know what you mean, wanting to get it over with. There are times I’d really love to see the floor again.” She wrapped the blood-pressure cuff around Angela’s arm and pumped it up. “Or my ankles. But I guess that comes soon enough, doesn’t it?” Then she listened for the dull sound of the blood pressure through her stethoscope. It was high. Not alarmingly so, but enough that Gabby took a second reading to make sure. Again, it registered barely on the high end of normal.
“Did Doc Graham ever diagnose you with hypertension?”
Angela was instantly alarmed. “No, why?”
“You’re on the verge. Nothing to worry about yet, but I want to keep an eye on it. So, do you live far from here?” she asked Angela.
“No, about twenty minutes.”
“Good, then I’d like you to stop in tomorrow for another blood-pressure check.”
“Should I be nervous about this?”
Gabby shook her head. “Could be nothing. Could be because you’re stressing. Of course, even bringing it up puts you under more stress, which could raise your blood pressure. But I want to stay on top of this, keep it under control if it’s the start of something, or rule it out if it’s not.” The only real concern was that, according to Doc Graham’s notes, Angela’s blood pressure had been normal all along. “And in the meantime, reduce your salt intake, stay away from highly processed foods with a lot of sodium in them, and if you’re not walking, walk.”
“I walked. In fact, that’s all I did until Doc Graham made me quit working. I manage the kitchen up on the older Sister…”
“Older sister?”
“The mountain peak to the south. It’s the older Sister. The one to the west is the middle Sister, and the one to the north is the younger Sister. Anyway, I’m at Pine Ridge Ski Resort up on the older Sister. Head chef, temporarily sidelined to paperwork. Which is driving me crazy, making me grumpy, probably responsible for raising my blood pressure.”
“So besides the obvious, let me guess. When you’re at a desk, you’re not exercising, and probably eating away your frustration? And getting angry thinking about what you’d rather be doing?”
Angela laughed. “Something like that. And I should know better, being a chef and a dietician, but I’ve been having a craving for salty things lately.”
“Well, elevated blood pressure isn’t necessarily a problem when it’s still in the high normal range the way yours is, so don’t stress over that. But like I said, I want to keep an eye on it and make sure it isn’t about something other than your change in lifestyle and…” Gabby smiled, thinking about the chocolate craving she’d been having for a while “…bad habits. So, for the next few days I’d like to see you every day to get a reading. Oh, and get back to the kitchen, at least on a part-time basis. Cook a little and use common sense.” She scribbled a hasty note on her prescription pad. “According to your chart you’re perfectly healthy, and I think it’s good to stay working as long as you can. Light duty, though. Maybe some baking. The note gives you permission to get back into the kitchen on a limited basis, and I trust you’ll use good judgment in deciding whether or not you feel like it.”
“Really?” She read the note twice, blinking her surprise both times. “You’re going to let me go back to work?”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not particularly an advocate of inactivity during pregnancy. People treat pregnancy like it’s an illness, bu
t I prefer to treat it like a normal condition, one the body’s prepared to deal with.”
“But Doc Graham said…” She stopped, frowned, then smiled. “I can work a little?”
Gabby laughed. “There’s old-school and new-school thinking here. My dad, also an obstetrician, was a brilliant doctor, but he was very old school. Like Doc Graham. He thought pregnancy was a time when a woman should rest, put her feet up, be pampered. I, on the other hand, believe in the benefits of working through a pregnancy, if a woman’s physical condition allows it. And studies back that up. My dad and I used to argue over this all the time.”
“And who won?”
“He did with his patients. I did with mine.” And neither of them ever budged from their position. “So, in other words, be indulgent. Of course, you’re the one who has to define what indulgent is, according to your condition. Now, how about I do the rest of your physical, then we’ll talk about the really important things, like decorating baby’s room.”
“So tell me about your hospital.” Gabby caught up to Neil in the hall and fell into step with him. Big steps, tall man. Broad shoulders that swayed naturally with his steps. Neil Ranard had an impressive stature, and for Gabby to notice was something out of the ordinary. Usually she didn’t pay attention, because most men looked her directly in the eyes, and she had a definite preference for tall. But he was tall, taller than Gabby by a good head, which put him well over six feet. Nice, considering how her five-feet-eight height towered over so many people. And intimidated so many men. “Tell me the five most important things I need to know in order to succeed here.”
“Well, the first is that coffee breaks are essential. Do you prefer your coffee with, or without, cream and sugar?”
“We’re on our way to a coffee break? That’s why you’re in such a big hurry?”
“Believe me, at the end of ski season, you look for any excuse you can find to take a break. For five months we’re ridiculously busy. There’s hardly enough time to catch your breath. Never enough time to sit down and put your feet up. Sometimes you’re on call for days. Meaning, no coffee breaks whatsoever. Then the season changes and there’s time to take a break, so you do even if you don’t necessarily want one, because you know that will change in due course and soon you’ll bemoan the fact that you don’t have time to take a break. The two phases of our medical life here—with, and without, coffee breaks—are a vicious cycle.”