Mine at Last (2 page)

Lindy shrugged. “Yeah, they’re all nice. Well, most of them. They’re cool, and yeah, they’re professional and they know their jobs. They pay attention and do their best to take care of patients when you come in here. But you know there’s always craziness going on behind the scenes.”

“You mean the lawsuit that’s been in the news?” Shauna said.

“Yeah, that and also I hear the hospital is going broke. I hope not. It would be a shame if they close it down,” she said, looking around slowly.

“Sounds like you come here a lot,” Shauna said. Lindy nodded. “Did you know Dr. Bowman?” Lindy shrugged hesitantly. Shauna could tell she didn’t want to answer her. “You mentioned that you’ve been waiting a long time. How long have you been sitting here this morning?” Shauna asked.

“About two or three hours,” Lindy said nonchalantly.

“What, you’ve been sitting here for over two hours?” Shauna said in complete astonishment as she quickly made a notation on the computer tablet. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Nah, it’s no big deal.”

“Actually, it’s a huge deal. That’s not supposed to happen. When someone comes into Emergency, they’re supposed to get timely medical attention. No one should have to be here that long.”

Lindy shrugged. “It’s okay. I’m usually here much longer,” she said, taking another bite of her apple. “You don’t work here and you’re not sick, so what are you doing here?”

Shauna decided to hedge and be as vague as possible with her response. “I’m just looking around, checking the place out.”

“Oh, I get it. You’re one of those.”

“One of who?” Shauna asked.

“Hey, look, I know you have a job to do and all—I get that. But seriously, I don’t know why y’all keep coming here and hanging around asking questions. What are you looking for? What’s wrong with this place?” Lindy asked while looking around. Then she turned for an answer.

Shauna realized her question wasn’t rhetorical. Her first instinct was to sidestep the question again, but given the circumstances, she told the truth. “What’s wrong with it—I don’t know yet. That’s why I’m here, to look around and find out,” Shauna said. Just then, there was a commotion at the main check-in desk.

A man was taking pictures. Two security guards were called over to confront the man, who seemed adamant about staying. Security was equally determined to make him leave. A few minutes into the dispute another man walked up. The man began taking pictures again and yelling about freedom of the press. The guards eventually escorted the photographer out of the building. Shauna watched the situation play out. “I wonder what that was all about,” she said.

Lindy had also shifted her attention to the front area. “Believe it or not, that has happened a lot lately. That same guy was talking to me earlier and asking questions about the E.R. doctors and nurses just like you. Wait, do y’all two know each other?” Lindy asked, looking at Shauna suspiciously.

“No, I’ve never seen him before,” Shauna said defensively.

“Huh,” Lindy said, then looked back to the front. “Oh, good, there he is,” she said excitedly. “I have to go. I need to talk to him.” She quickly gathered her things back into her bag.

Shauna glanced around, then stopped when she saw a man standing at the check-in desk talking with the nurses and security guards. He was tall, dressed in dark pants and a dark-colored shirt with a hospital badge on his pants belt. He was turned to the side, so that was all she could really see of him. “Does he work here?”

“Oh, honey, does he ever. He is
the
doctor here. You can forget about all those McDreary, McScary, McWhatever knuckleheads playing doctors on those TV shows. He’s the real thing. He’s gorgeous with money and a heart of gold. Everybody adores him.”

“What’s his name?”

“I gotta go before he gets away. He’s a busy man. It was good talking to you,” Lindy said. “See ya.”

“Um, maybe we can talk again later,” Shauna said quickly, but Lindy had already hurried away. She was headed straight to the check-in desk. She called out just as the doctor was about to walk away. He stopped and turned. Shauna watched, then frowned. Lindy had stepped right in the way and she still couldn’t see his face, but there was something about him that seemed very familiar.

A few seconds later, she went back to taking notes specifically centered on tightening security in the E.R. waiting area. Afterward she looked around. Everyone who had been waiting when she arrived was gone and a few new people sat waiting. She noted the time, made a few more notes, then glanced up again.

Lindy was still talking with the group at the check-in desk. Shauna smiled at seeing her. She was in full animation mood with her arms waving and her head bobbing. She laughed loudly and smiled as if she was a teenager again. Then she went quiet and looked at Shauna and nodded her head and smiled. Still watching, Shauna half smiled, then looked down when she heard her cell phone’s email message beep again.

She grabbed her phone and checked the message. It was the email she was expecting. She’d gotten the okay she needed to proceed. She replied, outlining the schedule she intended to follow. Just as she pressed the send key, she saw someone standing in front of her. She looked up. Tall, handsome and drop-dead gorgeous was definitely an understatement. He had said something and was waiting for her reply. All she could say was “Huh?”

Chapter 2

Dr. Dominik Coles knew it was going to be one of those days, even before he walked out of the door this morning. He had back-to-back meetings scheduled all morning and afternoon. Bearing that in mind, he stopped at his sister’s café before it opened to the public. He took a few minutes to chat and pick up some coffee and pastries for the hospital staff.

The weather certainly didn’t help matters much. The hospital was just getting back on its legs after last week’s near-miss tropical depression.

Storms threatened and the temperature was headed near ninety degrees again today. There were heavy clouds looming overhead and the threat of a tropical storm in the Gulf turning into a hurricane. This would make people anxious. And with anxiety came mistakes and accidents and inevitably a full E.R.

He stifled a morning yawn as he pulled his car into the reserved lot and parked in his usual space. He shut off the ignition and removed his cell from the car’s phone system. He grabbed his case, his coffee and the pastries from the passenger seat and paused a second, feeling the last remnants of cool air-conditioning before opening the car door. As soon as he did, the morning’s swell of mugginess hit him. It was barely dawn and the weather was already miserable.

He sighed heavily knowing there was no preparing for the busy day ahead. He locked the car and headed across the empty lot. He looked up at the familiar illuminated sign as he approached the E.R. entrance—Key West Medical Center. This was his home away from home. Pride filled his heart. He’d done good work here and he had saved many lives within these walls and intended to save many more. Just as he passed the sign, it twitched and blinked. He shook his head, making a mental note to call maintenance as soon as he got to his office.

Granted, the hospital wasn’t much to look at. The building had problems. It was old and close to falling down around them. Conservatively, it needed a five-million-dollar infusion of cash to get it anywhere near updated. But there was nothing he could do about that. All he could do was help his patients as best he could with optimum care and make sure the numbers balanced at the end of the quarter. Of course, both had become increasingly difficult with everything that had gone on in the past few months.

The previous E.R. director, Harris Bowman, had resigned and then retired amid allegations pertaining to a number of malpractice suits leveled against him. Dominik had taken over as acting director. His new position was a thankless title that afforded him all the perks and gratitude usually reserved for beggars on the street. But feeling sorry for himself wasn’t his style. He chose this. He could have refused the post, but doing that would have certainly closed the E.R. and eventually the medical center. He wasn’t about to let that happen. The community needed Key West Medical and he intended to keep it open as long as possible.

This morning he needed to take it one step at a time, which meant focusing on the day ahead. His job entailed maintaining a clean working environment and to ensure high-quality patient care. He also reviewed scheduling of his primary-care directors; checked the supply room to make sure the stock was adequately shelved, organized and up-to-date. These were his responsibilities between meetings.

He walked into the E.R. There was a confrontation going on between a man taking pictures and two security guards. It was getting out of hand. “What’s going on?” he asked.

Everyone stopped and looked at him. The man with the camera pushed away from the security guard and stepped up to Dominik. “Dr. Coles, I have a few questions for you. Is it true that you knew Dr. Bowman was too old and making sometimes fatal medical mistakes? Were you covering for him, and if so, how long has this been going on?”

“Sir, do you require medical attention?” Dominik asked.

“What? No. I want to know...”

“Then you have no business here. You’re gonna have to leave.”

“Hey, you can’t throw me out. Haven’t you ever heard of freedom of the press? I’m within my rights to be here.”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I have heard of the First Amendment. Have you ever heard of trespassing, loitering and illegal entry? Have a nice day,” he said, nodding to the guards to continue. The man shouted the whole time. Dominik waited a few seconds as the man continued yelling and then angrily walked across the parking lot.

When the guards returned, he asked if everything was okay. He got a quick report from the nurse at the check-in desk. Satisfied that everything was back to normal, he turned to go to his office. He stopped when he heard his name called.

Dominik turned, recognizing the voice and, of course, the shortened pronunciation of his name. Few called him Dom, usually just his family. But there was also Lindy.

“Dr. Dom, good morning.”

He turned, smiling. “Good morning, Lindy. How are you today?”

“Not so good. I’ve had this pain in my side all night. I came in a few hours ago, but they couldn’t find anything, so I thought I had better wait around here and see if it comes back. Also, there’s a woman over there writing about you.”

“Excuse me?”

“I think she’s a reporter,” she whispered.

Dominik looked around the waiting room and instantly spotted a woman sitting alone in the back of the large open area. She was focused on writing something on her computer tab. He took a deep breath, then exhaled in exasperation. Her head was down, focused on what she was doing. She wore jeans, T-shirt and a cap pulled low to obscure her face. “Excuse me, Lindy.”

He walked over to the woman. She didn’t look up. She was still too engrossed in what she was writing on the tablet. She hit one last key, then seemed startled to see him standing there in front of her. She looked up quickly and gasped as her jaw dropped.

He half smiled. He certainly didn’t expect to find this stunning beauty beneath the ridiculous disguise. She had no makeup on and still her honey-toasted face shone with brilliant radiance. Her almond-shaped eyes and high cheekbones gave her a decidedly exotic look that always attracted him. Her hair was long and pulled back in a thick ponytail and shoved beneath a cap that had three letters imprinted on the front—
CMG.
But it was her mouth and full lips that drew his immediate attention. Open in the perfect O shape, instantly giving him all kinds of ideas. His body twitched and his pants pulled tight across the front. His physical attraction to her was strong, immediate and unprecedented.

He’d known a few reporters—his sister, Tatiana, was a reporter—and they were a tenacious group whose only focus was the story they were currently chasing. It was a shame because he certainly would like to get to know this one better. But if she was a reporter, he didn’t have a choice. She had to go. “Can I help you with something?” he asked, already knowing what she wanted.

Shauna hadn’t recovered yet. Her jaw was still dropped and her heart jumped, skipping a few beats. Her stomach lurched and crumbled as if she’d been tossed off the Empire State Building in free fall. She stared up at his half smirking, half stoic expression as the air around her seemed to evaporate. It was him. She knew him from a long time ago—Dominik Coles. He repeated his question. “Huh?” was the best she could muster at that moment as gathering coherent words was apparently impossible.

His eyes narrowed. He wasn’t smiling now. “My name is Dr. Coles. Do you need emergency medical attention?” he asked her.

She swallowed hard, finding it difficult to speak. She shook her head, then finally answered, “Um, no.”

“Are you waiting for someone who’s being seen in the back?”

“No.”

“Then may I ask why you’re here?”

She considered telling him and then changed her mind. She wasn’t ready to end her observations. “I’m just here looking around,” she said simply.

“Why?” he asked.

“It’s my job.”

Dominik took a deep breath and shook his head. Ever since Harris Bowman’s lawsuit and the ensuing scandal, the hospital had been crawling with reporters. “Well, you’re gonna have to do your job someplace else. This isn’t a library, a social club or a coffeehouse media center. You can’t just walk in, have a seat and chill out. So, come on, get your things. It’s time to go.”

“Wait, are you kidding me?” she said. “You’re throwing me out of the E.R.? You can’t do that.”

“Do I look like I’m kidding? You don’t need emergency service, so you can’t just come in here off the street and have a seat. This waiting room is for our patients and their families. Government regulations do not stipulate reporters are allowed to harass patients in my E.R.”

“Reporter, no, you don’t understand...”

“As a matter of fact, I do understand,” he interrupted. “You’re here staked out to try to get a story, just like your photographer friend we just escorted out. Put your tablet away, get your things and leave here before I ask security to escort you out, too.” He glanced down at her computer tablet, the hospital’s name typed prominently across the screen. “And whatever it is you want to know, I have no comment and neither does anyone else.”