Tempting Doctor Forever (Barrett Ridge Book 2)

by Holly Cortelyou

  A glimpse of her teal-colored SUV trundling along the road raised his spirits. He idly chatted with Nana and flattered her with outrageous compliments while she flirted back with a few naughty remarks. Ethan hid a grin. She must have been a firecracker back in her prime.

  Nana waved as Sam parked her car in the double-wide driveway.

  “Is this my own personal greeting party?” Sam came around the back of the SUV with only the keys in her hand.

  Sunlight gleamed off her golden hair and the trio of gold and white crystal necklaces nestled between the curves of her breasts. She wore an oatmeal-colored, snug turtleneck and a long sweater with a deep brown pencil skirt. She was shapely in all the right places. Lucky Mateo getting to stare at her during class. Ethan hoped his lower jaw wasn’t hanging slack.

  “Sam, you remember our neighbor, Mr. Novak, right? He’s showing me the way to Mary’s house.”

  Sam’s head cocked and then she shifted her surprised gaze to his. “Ethan?”

  “Let’s get her into the house and sort it all out,” he said. He shot her a reassuring smile.

  The two of them ushered Nana up the trio of steps and then into the house and the front living room. Sam flipped the switch to the gas fireplace as Ethan settled Nana into a high-back upholstered chair.

  “Are you thirsty? I can fetch a glass of water.”

  Nana picked up her knitting bag and commenced working on a small baby-blue circlet that must be a cap for a newborn. At least that was the best that Ethan could figure out.

  Sam tugged on his arm, and they moved to the hallway.

  “What happened? What’s wrong with her? You don’t look anything like Adam Novak. He’s short, bald, and about seventy.”

  “She seemed a little out of it the other day in the backyard. When we met.”

  “She’s been getting a little spacey sometimes, but nothing like this. She’s forgetful, but aren’t we all?”

  “Have you been finding things stored in weird places in the house?”

  “Like?”

  “Car keys in the freezer. Laundry in the pantry. Difficulty finding words or following a TV show. Unusual mood swings. That type of thing.”

  “I found all her makeup in her knitting bag two days ago.” Sam twisted a necklace chain around her fingertip.

  Ethan glanced back toward Nana who hummed under her breath as her knitting needles flew. “Has it been getting worse over time?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t noticed anything unusual. Until about two or three weeks ago.”

  “Did she take a fall or have an accident?”

  “Not that I remember. Not a fall.” Doubt and confusion were heavy in Sam’s voice.

  Ethan ran his thumb and index finger along his jawline. “Do you mind if I ask her some questions?”

  “Is she all right? Could she have dementia? How could it happen so fast?” The questions tumbled out in rapid fire, but in a hushed under voice.

  “Don’t jump to conclusions. We don’t know anything yet.”

  Ethan scooted a straight-back chair closer to the fireplace and directly across from Nana. She looked up through her wire-rimmed glasses with clear blue eyes.

  “Ethan. How nice to see you again.”

  “How have you been feeling lately?”

  “I’m getting old, and my knees creak, but I still know how to laugh.”

  Ethan chuckled. “That’s good to hear. Is there anything unusual? Something that’s different? Does food still taste good? Have you had any headaches?”

  Sam leaned against the doorjamb, and Ethan swore she wasn’t breathing.

  “My head does hurt sometimes. I’m not prone to migraines, but I’ve been taking a lot of aspirin. I guessed it was just changes in the weather.”

  “Do you remember that I’m a doctor? A neurosurgeon, actually.”

  “Of course I do. That’s a silly question.”

  “I’m going to touch your head and check for any bumps or bruises.”

  “Suit yourself.” Nana folded her hands primly in her lap, atop the blue yarn.

  “Have you taken a fall?”

  “Nana, didn’t you stumble on the stairs a couple of weeks ago.” The alarm in Sam’s voice picked up a notch.

  “I did, didn’t I? My foot took off from under me. I slid at least halfway down.”

  “You said you’d only stumbled and bruised your arm on the railing.” Guilt and worry filled Sam’s expression.

  “I didn’t want you to worry. I might have hit my head. I don’t rightly remember.”

  He checked her eyes for dilation and reaction time. No issues. She still had good motor skills based on the tiny stitches making up the baby cap. Ethan used a soft, firm touch as he covered every inch of her head. Ah. A swollen mass. Nana twitched.

  “Do you have any ringing in the ears.”

  “I suppose I do.” Nana clutched at the skein of yarn.

  “Mrs. Barrett, I think we need to get you to the hospital. Today.”

  Sam’s eye’s widened, and the color leached out of her cheeks.

  “Oh, I don’t want to go there.” Nana smiled. “I’ll be fine.”

  “You have a nasty knot on your head that might be hiding a problem from us.”

  “The hospital is expensive. I don’t want to go.”

  “We need to do what Dr. Cordero recommends,” Sam said. “He’s the expert. Don’t forget that he’s Austin’s friend. He’s trustworthy.”

  “I suppose. If you insist.” Nana tucked her needles and yarn into her cloth craft bag.

  “Do we need an ambulance?” Sam’s fingers tangled together until she stilled them by digging her nails into her palms. He had the urge to fold her into his arms and embrace away her fears.

  “Take her straight to the ER at the medical center. Tell them her symptoms. Tell them that I did a preliminary exam, and that I recommended immediate attention.”

  “I can do that.” The rattle in her voice firmed into determination.

  “I’m going to drop Mateo off at my dad’s, and then I’ll come directly to the hospital. She may need surgery, or she may not. But if she does, I’ll make sure I’m the one doing it. I’ll call ahead.”

  “What do you think is wrong? How can a lump on her head be causing forgetfulness?”

  “Nothing has been diagnosed, but she may have fractured her skull and be experiencing a brain bleed or pressure and swelling on her brain. It can mimic dementia. We’ll know more after a preliminary CT scan.”

  “I should have been paying more attention.” Sam gulped back tears. “Asking more questions.”

  “Stop it. We’ve discovered it now. Recriminations solve nothing.”

  “You’re right. If Nana didn’t tell me the whole story, there isn’t any way I could have guessed.”

  “Exactly.” Ethan touched her arm and electricity sprung between them. A wave of need washed over him. A need to hold her in his arms. Assure her that Nana would be fine. To kiss the frown and worry from her mouth.

  Their gazes held until Nana coughed.

  Shit. He’d lost his mind. Pull it together, man.

  He patted Sam on the arm and backed away. “I’ll see you within the hour. I’ll make sure the ER knows what to do.” He’d best keep it professional. Neighborly.

  Sam’s smiled wavered, but she straightened her back.

  “Help me get her into the car, and we’ll be off.” She chewed her lip. “I’ll send a message to my sister, Jami, and she’ll round up all the family.”

  “Perfect.”

  Within minutes, Sam was backing onto the street and zipping away to the Alton Medical Center. Nana had gone without an additional protest.

  Now, to tell Mateo that plans had changed. That was the life of a doctor’s kid.

  He glanced at the receding speck of Sam’s car. His gut told him that indeed, plans were changing.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  SAM FIDGETED IN the surgery waiting room and glanced at the time on her phone for the milliont
h time. Her sister, Jami, and her fiancé, Beck Kavanagh, held hands and touched shoulders as if drawing strength from each other. Her other sister, Jo, had just arrived from Portland and had wandered down to the cafeteria with their brother, Dillon.

  She wished Anna, Kyle, and Austin were here, too, but they all lived too far. D. C., San Francisco, and Denver might as well be the moon in a family emergency. They’d only come if Nana took a dire turn.

  Her phone chirped. A message from her stepmother.

  Your father and I won’t be able to make it until tomorrow. The girls aren’t feeling well.

  “No Dad or Caitlynne. Not until tomorrow. She says that the twins are under the weather.”

  Jami rolled her eyes. “Twins, huh? It’s Dad. He doesn’t do sickness, does he?”

  “I think Caitlynne hates the fluorescent lighting,” Sam said, trying to make light of it.

  “He should be here.” Jami’s voice hardened.

  “Who should?” Jo arrived with a tray of cups filled with steaming coffee and tea.

  “Dad.”

  “They’re a no-show?” Dillon asked with a brief head shake.

  “Bingo.”

  “He doesn’t do hospitals anymore.” Nope. Her father had sworn off hospitals and doctors since he’d lost his first wife, their mother, to breast cancer. As a matter of fact, Sam had had her fill of them, too, but it didn’t change the fact that family in need trumped her likes and dislikes. Seriously, who liked to go to the hospital?

  Sam clasped her hands around the hot cup and let the blessed warmth seep into her chilled, stiff fingers. She shivered. She hadn’t realized she was cold.

  “The reader board says that Nana is still in surgery,” Jo said. “Sam, did you hear how long it might last?”

  “Ethan thought maybe two to three hours, but not to get worried if it was longer.”

  “Of course we’ll worry.”

  “It’s nice knowing that Nana’s in good hands. I looked up the doctor’s records online,” Jo said.

  “You remember him, right? He was Austin’s buddy in high school.”

  “I know, but I wanted to make sure he was still legit.” Jo smiled. “He graduated from UCLA and then went to Stanford Medical School and did his residency at Johns Hopkins.”

  Dillon whistled through his teeth. “I lost track of him a few years ago, but I heard he was at University Neurosurgery in L. A. I wonder why he moved here?”

  “His son was having problems in school, and he wanted to be closer to his dad here in Barrett Ridge.”

  “Didn’t his wife die a year or two ago?”

  “In a car accident. They were separated. Almost divorced.” Sam drummed her fingers on the side of the cup. In truth, that was all she knew. Only a few, bare-bones facts that she’d learned from Mateo during their dog walks.

  “That sucks,” Dillon said.

  “Can we talk about something more cheerful?” Jami interrupted.

  “Like your upcoming wedding?” Dillon laughed.

  “That wasn’t what I meant, but it will work.”

  “Did you want my help on picking colors or flowers?” Dillon’s tone was joking, but as he was a landscape architect, he had some expertise.

  “I haven’t made up my mind. October is a ways away.”

  “It will be here before you know it.” Jo flung herself on a lumpy couch and studied her empty coffee cup.

  “It will.” Beck leaned in closer and kissed Jami’s cheek. Their hands squeezed tighter, and Jami flushed.

  Sam grinned at the lovebirds. Who would’ve guessed that the sworn enemies could have turned into an adoring couple during Anna’s island wedding last May?

  She smiled to herself. She was a sap for weddings, and she couldn’t wait for Jami and Beck’s nuptials.

  “Hey! The color code on the reader board changed. Nana’s in recovery now.”

  They hugged and cheered in relief and then settled in to wait for their debriefing with the surgeon. Jo texted her siblings, and Sam sent one off to her dad, and then added Caitlynne’s name to the distribution list. There was no point in being petty or resorting to her stepmother’s lame games.

  Twenty minutes later, the waiting room attendant ushered them all into a private consultation room, and then Ethan walked in. Her heart skipped a beat. His hair was mussed on the top from what she assumed was from his surgical cap.

  “The surgery went well with no complications.” Ethan glanced around the group and made eye contact with each of her siblings. He nodded to Dillon and exchanged a quick handshake. She smiled back at Ethan, but his expression remained neutral. “She’s in recovery and waking up from the anesthesia. As the scans showed, she had a depressed skull fracture with an intracranial hemorrhage. It was only a tiny piece, but there was swelling and a slow bleed. I’m glad we caught it now. I think she should make a full recovery.”

  He went on to explain in detail how he and his team had repaired the injuries and her short-term prognosis.

  “How long will she have to stay in the hospital.”

  “Maybe a few days. We’ll have to see how she is once she’s fully alert. The brain is delicate and sturdy at the same time.”

  “Nana’s a tough bird,” Jo said. “She’ll be fine. I know it.”

  Sam slipped her arm around Jo’s waist. She wasn’t sure if she was trying to steal some of her sister’s assurance and hope or if she was bolstering her sister’s convictions.

  “We’ll keep a careful watch over her for the next couple of days. Then we should know what type and level of care she’ll need.”

  They all asked a round of questions that Ethan answered patiently. A few creases showed up at the edges of his eyes, and he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

  “You’ve had a long day,” Sam said. “Don’t let us keep you anymore, but we can’t thank you enough for what you’ve done for our family.”

  “From what Sam told us,” Jo said, “you kept Nana from wandering the neighborhood and getting into heaven only knows what kind of trouble.”

  Jami stood on tippy-toe and pecked Ethan’s cheek. “I always knew you were my favorite of all Austin’s friends.”

  “Thanks, man.” Dillon slapped Ethan on the back. “We owe you one.”

  “Today is a success. Let’s just take it one day at a time.” Ethan nodded to them, but as he turned away, Sam caught a note of concern in his voice.

  Nana’s recovery might take a long time, and there might be unknown complications. At least unknown to her, but Ethan knew.

  Sam shoved those worries aside. They were for another day. Worry didn’t make anything better. She’d just have to play the cards that were dealt and make the best of them.

  The babble of her sibling’s chatter filled the compact consultation room, and Sam kept her gaze on Ethan’s retreating back. He hesitated at the doorway.

  He glanced over his shoulder and locked eyes with Sam. The tiredness and tension in his expression eased.

  Sam mouthed the words, “Thank you.”

  Ethan gave a sheepish half-smile and a quick dip of his head. “All in a day’s work.”

  Sam pressed her hand on his arm. A tingle of energy seeped through her fingertips and shimmied along her every nerve ending. She fought off the urge to throw her arms around his neck and pull his mouth to hers.

  Ethan tilted his head ever so slightly closer to her as if he was pulled by the same frisson of electric need. He knit his brows and then backed up a step.

  “Good night.”

  With that, Ethan disappeared down the hospital corridor, and Sam poured herself into a chair. The good doctor was too damn appealing. She’d best get her crazy teenage crush under control.

  And by the way he beat feet away from her, she’d be wise to take the hint. He was not interested. In fact, she had the impression that her attraction was the last thing he wanted.

  ***

  With arms laden with files, books, and her lunch cooler, Sam wished her car had that mag
ic toe kick function that opened the trunk of her car with a dainty push from her boot. Her phone rang in her oversized black bag. She fumbled to click her key fob to unlock the doors. Whoever was calling would have to wait.

  The phone quit ringing and must have gone to voice mail. She disentangled from her mound of paperwork as the books and files slithered into the back seat of her aqua SUV in the teacher’s lot at Regis Academy.

  She slipped into the driver’s seat and pulled out her to-do list and made a face. Seven items that had to be done by the end of the week. A set of papers to grade, an extra credit assignment to create, two class preps, groceries, her annual exam at the lady doctor, the eye doctor for a new set of reading glasses, two birthday presents for her twin half-sisters, and groceries.

  She’d already seen Nana at the hospital before school, and Jo had hung out during the morning while Jami was due to spend a few hours with her this evening. That left her free to work on the other jillion items on her list.

  Sam tucked her notepaper back into her purse and decided to drive directly to the store. Groceries and cake were the first items on the list. She owed Ethan a ginormous thank-you for saving Nana’s life, and cake was the only reasonable way she could think to express her joy. Nobody turned down cake. Especially not a man with a growing teenager.

  The phone rang, and Sam tapped on her wireless earpiece.

  “I’m on my way north right now,” Jo’s cheerful voice rang out, “but I wanted to let you know that Nana is doing well today. She’s off the serious pain meds and a whole lot less loopy.”

  “That’s a relief. I was beginning to worry that she wasn’t quite right.”

  “Ethan stopped by on rounds, and I had a good long talk with him.”

  Sam’s ears pricked up and a teensy bolt of jealousy poked at her solar plexus.

  “I’d forgotten how nice he is,” Jo added.

  “What did he tell you?”

  “We gossiped a little about some mutual friends, but mostly he talked about Nana’s prognosis and what we need to watch for.” Jo then rattled off all sorts of signs and symptoms that Sam should keep alert for once Nana came home.