Chasing Air

Chasing Air

Chasing Air

by

DeLaine Roberts

©Copyright 2013, DeLaine Roberts

ISBN-13: 978-1492994909

ISBN-10: 1492994901

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system—except by a reviewer for the purposes of a book review only—without permission from the author.

CHAPTER ONE

“Mmm, hello, Dr. Holder speaking.” Makenzie spoke in a sleep deprived fog because of a busy night in the ER. She finally had a chance during a calm spell to go lie down for a few minutes and had drifted off quickly. Sleep had been a luxury the past week while she worked double shifts to cover for a colleague on vacation.

“Doc, Metro is rolling this way in full trauma code with a kid shot in the chest. I’ve notified the trauma team.” Veronica’s normally calm manner was full of anxiety.

“Thanks, Veronica. Please let Dr. Trynn know. He’ll be pissy when you wake him up because he just left an hour or so ago, but he’ll get over it.” She quickly hung up the phone, grabbed her hairbrush and pulled her hair into a ponytail.

The night had finally quieted down in this busy little hospital just north of Dallas. Accepting the position over nine months ago, she thought that the small size and location of the facility might make for less activity so she opted for the night shift, hoping for a little trauma excitement from time to time, but
having no idea it was going to be all-night excitement almost every night. But truthfully, she loved it.

When she approached the trauma room, Makenzie
hadn’t prepared herself for the scene that faced her. The paramedics unloaded a young female patient, a victim of a drive by shooting on the freeway. 

“Doc, large caliber gunshot wound to the upper left chest. She hasn’t breathed on her own since we arrived on scene,” the paramedic said. He continued to give Makenzie the report while they moved the girl to the trauma bed. Makenzie looked at
the girl and her heart caught. Her blonde hair, creamy skin, and clear blue eyes were surrounded by medical equipment, so young and innocent, practically angelic.

“She coded
twice on the way in,” the paramedic continued to report.

The team worked with the girl for quite some time trying to stabilize her enough for surgery.

“Can I help you?” Veronica asked a woman who approached the desk.

“Yes, my daughter. She’s here somewhere.”

“Ma’am, who’s your daughter?”

“I don’t know where she is.”

“Yes, I see. What’s your daughter’s name? Maybe I can help.” Veronica held the woman’s hand in an effort to console her.

“Serena. Serena Turner. Is she here?”

“Yes ma’am, come with me. Dr. Holder will talk to you in a few minutes.”

Once Serena was stabilized, the team took her up to surgery, leaving Makenzie to finish up the paperwork. She stood in the trauma room making notes from the monitor strips. Deep in thought, she didn’t realize that someone was standing in the room.

“Are you Dr. Holder?” the gentleman asked.

Makenzie turned to around to find a man and woman staring at her. “Yes, I am. How can I help you?”

“Serena is our daughter. Can you tell us how she is? They asked us to sign papers for surgery, but we want to know how she really is.”

Somehow in the midst of everything, the parents
had wandered out of the private family waiting room and found Serena’s trauma room without being noticed. They were completely unaware that they were walking into a bloody and cluttered room.

“I can understand that you both have a million questions and I...,” she tried to find her compassion through her anger at such a horrible act, but she was rudely cut off.

“Mr. and Mrs. Turner, I need to ask you a few questions about the car that carried the people doing the shooting,” a man rudely interrupted as Makenzie spoke to them about their daughter’s life, barely hanging in the balance.

“Please excuse us just one moment,” Makenzie uttered under her breath as she squeezed the mother’s hands. She turned to the officer and grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Officer, please come with me.” She escorted him and his partner to a tiny private room behind the admissions desk. The room was tight even for one person, three people made it more than uncomfortable.

Makenzie slammed the door and spoke in a low, but very controlled, angry tone. “The next time you interrupt me with my patient or a family, you’ll need to seek treatment for yourself. They’re more than likely going to say good-bye to their daughter tonight. Any questions you have for them are less important at the moment. My ER, my rules. And stay out of the way of patient care. Are we clear?”

Ryler noticed everything about her. She stood with her hands on her hips, her chest protruding forward and fire blazing from her dark eyes, aimed right at him. Even with her svelte frame, she postured towards him like a linebacker ready to rumble.

“Whoa Rye, looks like there’s a new sheriff in town and she has your number,” Detective Christopher Maxwell teased his partner, but then quickly lost his smile when Makenzie cut her eyes at him and he realized she wasn’t playing.

“Excuse me, there’s no room for humor here,” Makenzie barked.

“Chris, shut up. I’m truly sorry, Dr. Holder. We’re just trying to get an adequate description of the car. We have varying accounts from witnesses and I need a clear understanding of the car and shooter.” He stopped to raise his hands in an act of surrender. “It won’t happen again. And, it’s ‘detective.’ Detective Ryler Buchanan and my partner, Detective Chris Maxwell.”

He softly smiled as he extended his hand to Makenzie. She wanted nothing to do with him however, and quickly turned her back to him so that she could exit the tiny room. When she moved, she felt his breath close to her neck, causing her senses to alert. She got a whiff of his clean, masculine scent. It was more than she wanted to think about at that very moment.

Makenzie shook her head and left the room without looking at or speaking to the detectives again. She joined the family of the young girl, completely dismissing Ryler and his partner.

“Wow, Rye, she’s a total babe. Did you see the way she looked at you? That gal is smokin’ hot and she obviously works out. I bet she could kick your ass.”

Ryler used his elbow to nudge his partner, who was enjoying a laugh at his expense. “Dude, cut it out. She was right, we were outta line. Shit. I’ll be lucky if the family doesn’t report me to the department.” He paused, showing remorse for his actions. He pulled out a chair and removed his suit jacket. “Grab some coffee. I have a feeling it’s gonna be a long night.”

They helped themselves to stale coffee from the break room and continued working the case.

Dr. Holder
returned to the family upstairs, waiting outside the surgery department. She found them huddled together and praying silently, awaiting any news of the young girl, Serena. When she approached them, Mrs. Turner stood and rushed her, anxiously anticipating her words. Her face wet with tears. Her eyes swollen. Quiet sobs came from the crowd that had now gathered to support this precious family.

“Mr. and Mrs. Turner, I don’t have any news at the moment. I just came to check on you both and ask if there was anything that I could do for you or get you while you wait. It may be awhile, would you like some coffee? Can I call someone for you?”

The parents nodded, their faces wrought with fear. Mrs. Turner gripped the Bible in her hands. Mr. Turner had his arm tightly around his wife’s waist, supporting her small frame.

Makenzie phoned the nurses in the ER, letting them know her location should they need her. She also inquired about the rude detectives and confirmed that they were still perched in her temporary office.

Just great, I’d like to go rest, but my lounge is occupied by Detective Knowitall
, she thought to herself.

She decided to remain with the family, avoiding the detectives and their inquiring minds.

Why is it that police officers are always so sexy?
she thought to herself. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of such thoughts. Those two were both gorgeous, but they reeked of trouble and the last thing she needed was a detective nosing around in her business. There were too many skeletons to keep hidden. But Detective Buchanan’s breath on her skin, his scent...it stirred something in her.

After several hours, Dr. Trynn came out to speak with the family. “Sweet Serena is holding on at the moment,” he said.

He didn’t make any unreal promises to them, but the next twenty-four hours would be telling. “Give the nurses a few minutes to get her settled, then you both should go in together to see her.” He hugged the parents in an act of compassion. He turned, “Dr. Holder, can you join me in a walk to the ER?”

“Sure, Dr. Trynn.”

“Makenzie, you’re settling well in the ER. The teams love you and have given you a great deal of praise over the last nine months. The board met recently and decided that we would like to make you an offer of Chief of Emergency Medicine. I was saving this conversation for Monday’s staff meeting, but since we’re both awake, we might as well discuss it, if you have the time?”

Makenzie looked up at Dr. Trynn and smiled.  Finally, a Chief position and a place to call her own. No more temporary doctoring. “Phillip, I’m thrilled. It’s an amazing offer and I’d love to accept.” She shook his hand and started to walk away.

“Makenzie, there are a couple of things that I need to clear up, maybe you can answer a few questions I have for you. And don’t you have some questions for me?” His tone made her stop dead in her tracks. Questions? What questions would he have? The thought of him having questions made her heart race and her breath quicken. Geez, it was amazing that she could start sweating so quickly.

“Sure, I have a question. When will I see my million-dollar pay raise?” she asked in a tease. Her intent was to divert his questions if she could.

“Well, I can’t say that there’s a million-dollar package,” he smiled humbly, “but you’ll see an increase in your salary for sure. Your schedule will change as well with most weekends off, one of the luxuries of being the Chief ER Physician. I’ll have Lola in administration contact you regarding your faculty headshot. But I’m most curious about your resume’.” He paused and raised an eyebrow to Makenzie. “You were Chief Surgery Resident and had a successful Surgery Fellowship at Columbia. Why are you not exploring your obvious talents?”

Makenzie took a deep breath and paused to construct a convincing answer. “Phillip, things have happened in my life that triggered a desire to work in the ER. I love what I do and I get to set the patients up for a great surgeon like yourself. Besides, I get to work my shift and go home. I love truly being able to treat patients, not being on call and dealing with all the healthcare reform stuff.” She smiled and walked away, back to her private quarters in the ER.

Makenzie realized that she wouldn’t be able to keep curious minds away forever. Lead ER Physician was a great position, but it meant that they would put her picture and information on the hospital website. This meant unprotected exposure. “Shit, how do I get out of this one,” she mumbled to herself aloud.

After a few minutes of thought, she began to doubt her decision to accept. A great opportunity offered an even greater risk. Her shift would end soon and she decided to mull over the idea with a hot bath when she got home.

Her thoughts about the hot bath interrupted by someone opening her door. “Sorry to bother you, Mak, but can you please come speak with the detectives so they will get away from my desk?” Veronica asked with a prickly attitude. For a charge nurse, she was usually very restrained, but the detectives must’ve gotten on her nerves and too much in her way.

“Sure Veronica, I’m right behind you.” Mak walked to the control desk and found herself face to face with the
sexy law man.

“Officer, hmm, sorry, Detective Buchanan, the patient made it through surgery, but she’s barely hanging on by life support. She’s in ICU and her parents are with her now.” Taking a note pad from the counter, she scribbled a phone number down and handed it to Detective Chris Maxwell, avoiding contact with Ryler completely. “If you call the ICU desk, they’ll ask if the family wants to speak with you. Is there anything else that I can do for you?” Makenzie made eye contact with Veronica, then David, one of the other nurses on duty sitting just to her right behind the desk. She could tell by Veronica’s demeanor that she had something to say and was patiently waiting her turn.

“No ma’am. We’ve pieced together a description of the car and shooter. There was another incident on Central Expressway just moments ago. Fortunately, no one was injured at that scene. We need to move on our end, but if you hear anything about Serena, please call us.” Ryler spoke softly and she appreciated the change in his demeanor. She noticed his bright blue eyes twinkled when he looked at her.

Ryler handed Makenzie his business card. He noticed that she studied the card, while he took a good long look at her. His curiosity about her peaked, but he chose to walk away quietly.

When the officers were clearly safely beyond hearing range, Makenzie turned to Veronica and David, but she was verbally accosted before she was able to speak.

“Whew, that man has the hots for you, Mak. I know for a fact that he’s single. Um, hmm, single and gorgeous.” Veronica snickered as she picked up a chart.

“You called me back down here so that he could see me again, didn’t you?” Makenzie asked her with bantering tone.

Veronica didn’t answer, she simply snickered.

David motioned for her to come close. “Mak, Ryler is a good guy. He’s had a hard life and sometimes he gets pushy trying to do his job, but he’s really good at it. He felt really bad about interrupting you with the Turner family. Don’t judge him too harshly, give him a chance.”

“Guys, I just met him. But for the record, I’m not available and not looking to be, so drop it. I don’t want to hear any more about it, if you don’t mind.” Makenzie raised her hand to silence the personal exchange. “Now, do you have any patients for me to see?” She took on a commanding posture.

“Yep, I’ve got a gentleman who needs stitches in his foot in room five,” David cocked a grin and handed Makenzie the chart.

“Seriously, who needs stitches in their foot at not even five o’clock in the morning?”

“Some dad stepping on his daughter’s tea set in the dark before his morning coffee,” David uttered under his breath as he accompanied Makenzie into the next room.

They both tried hard to stifle their laughs.