Winning the Doc's Heart

by Jennifer Youngblood

  P. J. shrugged. “There are some other fellows who would love to have my position as Dr. Stone’s personal assistant, but this close to graduation, it would be next to impossible to start someone new to replace me.” Her features hardened. “I think I know who stirred this up, and he’s just getting started with his fellowship. His position is a lot more precarious than mine. The worst that could happen would be a demotion out of the transplant program and into a regular cardiothoracic position, which is still nothing to sneeze at. I mean, even without doing transplants, I’ll still get a great job when I finally decide where I want to settle down.”

  Kyle ran this brain through everything she said. “Who do you think is behind this?”

  “Ascott Carson.”

  A white-hot anger instantly seared through Kyle. “Maybe it’s time that Ascott and I had a little talk,” he growled. He should’ve clocked that weasel when he had the chance. He’d known from that day at the bowling alley that Ascott wanted P. J. for himself. Then, at the hospital, the look that Ascott gave him. He’d thrown down the gauntlet. This wasn’t about some hospital ethics committee. This was personal.

  P. J. put a hand on his arm. “No, that would only make the situation worse.”

  He took in a deep breath, trying to calm his anger. He met eyes with this incredible, brilliant woman. “I don’t want to hold you back.” He couldn’t be the cause of P. J. getting transferred out of the transplant program. What kind of life would they have? Him knowing that he’d come between her and her life’s calling, as her dad referred to it.

  Tears glittered in P. J.’s eyes. “Hold me back?” Her eyes locked with his. “Kyle, you’ve given me wings.”

  “What if the establishment makes a stink over it?” Mom asked. “Are you going to risk your career for it?”

  P. J. stabbed her knife into the chopping block. “Let them try. I’m willing to fight over this. It’s not like Kyle and I are running off together or anything.”

  Kyle wouldn’t have minded running off together, but that was beside the point.

  She jutted out her chin, fire flickering in her eyes. “I should be allowed to be friends with anyone I want.” She looked at Mrs. Thornton. “Your surgery’s over and the cardiology department is handling everything from here on out. If I have to, I’ll argue that I’m out of the picture as far as your treatment is concerned, so I’m free to spend all the time I want with Kyle, and for that matter, with you.” She pounded her fist on the countertop.

  A trickle of awe ran through Kyle. She was something. The kind of woman a man could wait several lifetimes for. He reached over and confiscated her knife. “Now don’t get too feisty there. You might get a little dangerous with this thing.”

  She smiled and took a deep breath. “Yeah, well, a surgeon with a knife is probably a lot safer than a nerd is, even when she’s having a bad day. Give me back that thing.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he quipped.

  They chopped celery and carrots, diced chicken thighs, sliced potatoes, and measured everything into the pot. Mom looked on from the periphery but didn’t get too close. All the while, Kyle’s mind kept running through everything P. J. had just said. He kept coming back to the part about how she felt like he’d given her wings. His heart swelled ten sizes. When he lost Annie, he felt like his life was over. He’d resigned himself to being alone, thinking that he’d never find anyone he cared about as much as Annie. It was interesting, the feelings he had for P. J. in no way diminished his love for Annie. A testament of how much love the human heart was capable of.

  Kyle was still worried about P. J.’s career. He wished he could run out this very instant, find Ascott, and pound the living daylights out of him. What kind of man went to such lengths to try and pursue a woman who didn’t even want him? Ascott had said that P. J. was way out of Kyle’s league. That might be true, but for some crazy, wonderful reason, she cared about him. And, Kyle was going to do everything in his power to keep her in his life. He just didn’t want to do it at the expense of P. J.’s career.

  Kyle put the stew in the oven and started making the dumplings he would add when the stew was partway done. He spread flour on the countertop and when he plopped the dough down to roll it out, it shot a cascade of flour onto P. J.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry,” he said, straight-faced. She’d looked so contemplative, so forlorn that he wanted to do something to lighten the mood.

  Her eyes rounded to large jade buttons. “Sorry? For this?” She picked up a big pinch of flour and tossed it back on him. He sneezed and blinked it out of his eyes.

  “No, not for that. For this.” He flung a glass of water onto her. She brandished a carrot and attempted to rush him, but he parried her attack with a stalk of celery. They were two musketeers, fencing each other until he knocked the carrot out of her hand and stabbed her in the neck.

  She shrieked and ran behind Mom, who was trying hard not to laugh. She didn’t succeed. P. J. held Mom’s shoulders and crouched down, but Kyle towered over his mother and dropped a raw dumpling onto P. J.’s head.

  “Oops. That’s going to be hard to get out of your hair,” he guffawed.

  She leapt out from behind Mrs. Thornton and grabbed Kyle’s arm. “Oh, yeah? Well, it’s nothing a little soap won’t take care of!” She grabbed the dish soap next to the sink and squirted it onto his shirt.

  Mrs. Thornton laughed. “All right you kids, cut it out. I’m hungry. Let’s get to work on those dumplings.”

  Out of breath, P. J. collapsed against Kyle’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her for a few seconds, then reached up and started picking dough out of her hair. It felt good having her in his arms—both intoxicating and comfortable, like the two of them fit perfectly together.

  “Can we just stay here like this?” P. J. murmured as she looked up at him. Her expression spoke volumes. For all her brave talk earlier, she was worried about what would happen if she continued dating him. Kyle’s heart seized. The right thing to do here would be to end the relationship before things got stickier. He just didn’t know how he could make himself do it. P. J. was a ray of sunlight in his gray, overcast world, and he didn’t want to give her up. There had to be another solution. There just had to be!

  An hour later, they sat down around the table for dinner. Kyle looked at his mother and she reached for his hand. P. J. took his other one and they bowed their heads. Kyle spoke. “Dear Father, thanks for this meal. We acknowledge thy presence in our lives. We thank thee for bringing us together, and for P. J. being here with us to eat dinner today. And like we’ve said so many times before, we thank thee for preparing her so she was able to do so much for our family.” He coughed slightly to hide the slight quiver in his voice as he closed the prayer. He owed P. J. so much. Was it selfish of him to put her in a position where she might be unable to help other people?

  “Amen,” Mom said.

  “Amen,” P. J. repeated with an appreciative smile. “I never thought of it that way. I was just doing my job for your mother. I had no idea what a wonderful person I was operating on. Now that I’ve gotten to know you both, I’m really glad it was my turn to work on you that morning.”

  As Kyle dished up everyone’s stew, Mom remarked, “I’m glad too. It feels good as can be.”

  “And like I said before,” P. J. quipped with a grin, “we’ll see if you still feel that way when you get my bill.”

  Kyle laughed, P. J.’s wisecrack dissolving some of the tension inside him. “I was hoping we could pay a portion of it with some extra dumplings.”

  “I’ll certainly consider that.”

  It was nearly nine o’clock when they finished eating. P. J. stifled a yawn. “I hate to be a party pooper, but I’d better get going. I have to start early in the morning.”

  “Do you have to go?” Mom protested.

  Kyle bit back a smile. Before the transplant, Mom could hardly hold her eyes open past eight p.m. Now here she was, still going strong.

  “We’ve got a couple of pre
tty sick people in the hospital right now. I’ll have to be on duty bright and early, or dark and early, I should say.” She grinned at her own joke.

  Mom sighed. “Well dear, thanks for your help. It was delightful to see you again.”

  “We’ll probably be on the road pretty early ourselves. I’m going to try and get Mom home by lunch time,” Kyle added. A sudden thought struck him, sending a chill down his spine. Tonight was heaven, but they couldn’t go on like this. Eventually, he and P. J. would have to make some hard decisions. Every moment P. J. spent with Kyle put her at risk. She could claim all day long that the two of them were just friends, but no one would buy it. The very looks that passed between them spoke otherwise.

  As Kyle walked her to the door, P. J. glanced sideways at Mom, who announced, “I’m going to go get myself ready for bed,” as she left the room.

  They paused in the entryway. Kyle’s gazed moved to her beautiful face, committing her features to memory. “Thanks for coming over tonight. I sure wasn’t expecting it.” His hand went to her cheek, the sides of his fingers trailing over her silky skin.

  She sighed wistfully. “I wish you didn’t have to be gone so long, but on the other hand, I want you to make sure your mother is taken care of when you get her back home.”

  “Oh, she’d be fine, but it wouldn’t be right to just drop her at her front doorstep and leave. I’ll hang out there for a few weeks and get the house in shape, then come back.” He reasoned that it was good he was going to Clementine. It would give him and P. J. time apart …. time to evaluate the situation in a level-headed way. Right now, all he could think about was her luminous jade eyes and how they drew him in. Her high cheekbones were brushed with just the right amount of pink and framed by her lustrous copper curls. His gaze went to her perfectly molded, supple lips. He was falling hard for her.

  “All right,” she sighed softly. “I’ll be waiting.” She stood up on her toes, put a hand on the back of his neck, and pulled his mouth down to hers. Her lips were insistent, hungry. Desire pulsed a hot trail through him as he met her full force, trying to hold onto this moment.

  The only thing that pulled them apart was the shuffling of his mom’s slippered feet up the hallway.

  P. J. stepped half a step back from him. “Thanks for dinner, Kyle.” Her expression was tender, her lips swollen from their heated kiss. “Call me while you’re away.”

  “I will,” he promised.

  With that, he opened the door for her. A pang shot through his heart as he watched her walk away with light, nimble steps.

  He had no idea how to navigate the situation with P. J.’s work. He had no idea what the future would hold. All he knew was that now that P. J. had entered his life, he couldn’t let her go.

  14

  The following morning, P. J. looked glumly at herself in the locker room mirror. Kyle and his mother would no doubt be on their way to Clementine by now. It was crazy how much she was missing Kyle, especially since she’d only just seen him last night.

  Something was brewing in his head. She could tell from his kiss and the look in his eyes. Was he having second thoughts about the two of them? Was it Annie? Or concern over what could happen with her career? P. J. was worried about what could happen if she continued her relationship with Kyle but being with him was the only thing that felt right. Even now, when she was supposed to be focused on work, all she could think about was that Kyle was gone. That he would be gone for several weeks. How was she going to stand it?

  She blew out a long breath, trying to clear her mind. Those two patients who needed valve replacements this morning weren’t going anywhere until she was finished with them. She walked out of the locker room and down the hall to the scrub sinks.

  The next two days dragged by. By Thursday, she couldn’t take it anymore. She called Mrs. Thornton. “Hello. This is P. J. Bandy.”

  “Oh hi, Doctor,” she said warmly. “So nice to hear from you. To what do I owe this honor?”

  “It’s a personal call, not a professional one. Please call me P. J., or Priscilla if you prefer.”

  “P. J. sounds just fine. And, you can call me Marigold.”

  “Marigold,” P. J. mused. “What a beautiful name.” Funny, she’d never even wondered what Mrs. Thornton’s first name might be. She was such a distinguished lady that Mrs. Thornton seemed more fitting.

  “I’m afraid Kyle’s not here right now. I sent him over to the drug store at Fairhope to get some of my pills.”

  “I’m glad you’re taking your medicine. Do you know if he has any plans tomorrow evening?”

  “I’m sure he doesn’t. I’ve had him replacing some siding on the house that got damaged in a big storm last fall. We had one of those miniature tornadoes come right up to the yard and break a big limb of my oak tree. He’s ripped the siding off the west side of my house and put up new. He’s going to paint it tomorrow.”

  “He sounds pretty handy.”

  “Oh, he is, and not just on a computer. Want to come down?”

  Anticipation stirred inside P. J. “Sure. My afternoon is pretty light. I only have two appointments. I think I’ll have the scheduler move them both up to right after lunch, and then drive down. Don’t tell him, though. It can be a surprise.”

  “That sounds lovely. If you like, my friend Coralee has a spare room, and I’ll ask her and her husband to let you sleep there overnight and then you won’t have to drive back to Birmingham so late. They just got married not too long ago.” She chuckled coyly. “But they’re my age so I doubt that having company over would interrupt any newlywed games.”

  A smile spread over P. J.’s lips. Mrs. Thornton—Marigold—was a character. “I’ll come prepared. Thank you so much.”

  As she hung up the phone, P. J.’s heart swelled. She’d heard it said that if you’re in with the mama, then you stand a really good chance with the boy. And she felt like she was in with the mama.

  That night she packed her bag so she would be able to leave right after office hours ended. Friday clinic usually wasn’t all that busy.

  The next day, P. J. couldn’t get finished with patients fast enough. She worked through lunch to get all her morning charts done. She saw her one o’clock and one-fifteen patients efficiently, no chatting or socializing. By one-thirty, she had her purse and briefcase and was headed for the parking garage when someone called her name.

  She turned, irritation trickling down her spine as she met eyes with Ascott Carson.

  A friendly smile curved his lips, revealing sparkling white teeth against his tanned face, as he approached. “Hey, you,” he said in tone way more familiar than she was comfortable with. “Where are you going in such a hurry?”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him it was none of his stinking business, but she decided it was better not be rude. “I just have somewhere I need to be,” she said evasively. She couldn’t help but contrast Ascott with Kyle. Ascott was a pretty-boy type who exuded a superficial charm, whereas Kyle’s features were more chiseled and rugged. Kyle was more of a man’s man. The type of guy who’d grown up in the country and didn’t mind getting his hands dirty. As Marigold so aptly described, Kyle was handy. P. J. suspected that Ascott had never done a day’s worth of hard labor his entire life. He was too smooth and polished for P. J.’s taste. Kyle didn’t mind rolling up his sleeves and working on houses, and he made a mean chicken and dumpling stew. A smile touched her lips thinking about the night before.

  “What’s so funny?”

  P. J. jerked. “What do you mean?”

  “From the way you were smiling, I just wondered what was going on in that curly head of yours.” He gave her a lingering look. “I was hoping you’d let me in on the secret.”

  She straightened her spine. “There’s no secret.” Was Ascott the one who raised the concern? Should she confront him about it? No, that could make things worse.

  “Hey, would you like to grab something to eat tonight? I know this great little seafood restaurant that�
��s on—”

  She cut him off. “Sorry, I can’t.” His jaw dropped like he couldn’t believe she’d had the audacity to turn him down.

  “How about tomorrow night?” he pressed.

  “No can do.”

  “The night after?” The corner of his jaw twitched.

  Sheesh. The man was relentless. “I’m headed out of town.”

  “Oh? Where to?”

  “That’s none of your concern,” she replied, fighting to keep her voice conversational.

  The edges of his eyes tightened. “I see. Is this about you and the computer guy?”

  That’s all it took for her body temperature to rise several degrees. “What’re you talking about?” she demanded.

  His eyes widened as he rocked back. “Hey, take it down a notch,” he said easily. “Why’re you getting so worked up? It was just a simple question.”

  “What I do on my personal time is none of your business,” she clipped.

  “Okay.” He gave her a placating smile. “I get it. You and Thornton are an item.”

  It pinged through her mind that Ascott knew Kyle’s last name, meaning that he was keeping tabs on the situation. She leaned forward. “What do you know about me and Kyle?”

  He held up his hands, a friendly smile on his face. “Just the rumors that have been floating around.”

  “What rumors?” she fired back.

  He tipped his head, his eyes flashing something she couldn’t discern. “You know,” he mused, “it’s probably not wise to be dating a patient’s son.” An edge of warning slipped into his voice. “That could cause you all sorts of problems.”

  Heat flushed through P. J.’s body as her nostrils flared. “Are you the one who raised the concern?”

  He blinked, looking floored. “What concern?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me. It was you.” She wanted to rush at him, claw his eyes out.

  His head swung back and forth, a mirthless smile tugging at his lips. “I have no idea what you’re talking about here. But seeing as how you’re about to blow your cork, it must be a doozy.”