Mother's Promise (7 page)

“Well, granted I was only with her a short time, but I have to say she doesn't strike me as someone on a mission to convert anyone.” He touched Darcy's arm. “Look, you protected the hospital's interests when you insisted on a four-month probation while she gets her state certification. If she doesn't work out, you can let her go.”

This reminder seemed to give Darcy some comfort. She lowered her voice. “Oh, don't mind me. The stress gets to me sometimes. I need to make sure that this place succeeds in a market already crowded with other facilities.” She smiled apologetically. “You know what a worrier I am. How about meeting me after work for a pizza? We could decompress.”

“I'll take a rain check,” Ben said. “I promised Sally that I'd bring over Chinese. The kid is counting the days until she can be out in the world again.”

“But until that day, you insist on bringing the world to her, right? You spoil that child shamelessly,” Darcy said, but he understood that she was really praising him.

“Don't have kids of my own to spoil, and Sally's the only niece I've got.”

“There's a remedy for that,” Darcy teased. “You could settle down and get married, and have a house filled with kids.”

“Like you, I'm already married to my work.” He checked his watch. “Have to run. I'm holding you to that pizza,” he called as he turned the corner.

Chapter 4

D
arcy Meekins had fallen hard for Ben Booker the first time she met him. He wasn't like many of the other doctors she'd known over the course of her career as she worked her way up the administrative ladder of hospital management. All too often the medical degree seemed to come with an attitude of authority. Darcy thought of it as the I'm-the-doctor-and-you're-not syndrome.

But Ben Booker was different. He wore his medical expertise as a responsibility, not an entitlement. He respected the contributions that others could make. It didn't matter to him if he was dealing with the security guard on duty in the lobby after hours or one of the aides who provided more than half the actual hands-on care a patient received during a hospital stay. He showed them the same consideration as he did any of his professional colleagues. Ben was an equal-opportunity guy when it came to his curiosity about others. That only added to his appeal for Darcy. She wasn't used to being around men who cared what others thought—especially the women in their lives.

Her father had been a bully of the first order, always ordering others around, making fun of their failures, and taking personal credit for their successes.

But Ben was not anything like her father, and Darcy could only imagine how he must have charmed the Mennonite woman. In the course of a walk from the hospital entrance to the chaplain's office, he would have put her completely at ease. To that end, Darcy supposed that she owed him a debt of gratitude. Putting people at ease was not her strong suit.

As Ben had pointed out, they were both workaholics. They spent hours together in meetings when the hospital was being built. Before the hospital food service was up and running, they had shared meals and coffee at a local neighborhood café. They had never had an actual date, but Darcy had high hopes that now that the hospital was open and fully staffed, that would change. Her invitation for pizza had been her first step in a targeted campaign to take her business relationship with Ben to another—more personal—level.

The door to the office for spiritual care services was ajar. She could hear Paul Cox's assistant, Eileen Walls, laughing. She tapped on the door and then entered the reception area. “Hello, Eileen,” she said before turning her attention to Rachel. “I'm Darcy Meekins, hospital administrator.” She extended her hand to the woman dressed in the garb of her faith. “And you must be the newest member of our team.”

“Yes. Rachel. Rachel Kaufmann. I'm so glad to meet you in person,” the woman replied, pumping Darcy's hand once and then releasing it.

“I've been filling her in while we wait for Pastor Paul to get here,” Eileen explained. “That man needs three clocks to keep him on schedule.” She sighed.

“I'm here,” a male voice boomed as Paul Cox came huffing his way through the door. He was a large man in both height and weight, and with his bushy gray hair and his pulpit voice, he had a way of filling up whatever space might be left in the small room of the outer office.

Eileen made the introductions, and Darcy saw by Rachel's broad smile that she was not any more immune to the minister's charisma than anyone she'd ever seen him meet had been.

“Now aren't you just a breath of sunshine,” he exclaimed as he smiled down at Rachel. “It's got to be ninety degrees out there and here you are looking fresh as a daisy.”

Darcy stifled a groan. Paul Cox was given to clichés. It was part of the aw-shucks folksy persona that had made him so successful in his previous position at Sarasota Memorial Hospital before Ben persuaded him to jump ship and head up the team at Gulf Coast. Paul opened the door to his office and stepped aside to allow Rachel and her to enter ahead of him. “Hold any calls, Eileen,” he said, “unless …”

“How many years have I been working for you, Pastor Paul?” Eileen said sweetly.

Paul chuckled and gently closed the door. “Have a seat, ladies. Can I get anyone anything? Glass of water? How about a peppermint candy?” He indicated a covered dish on his desk filled with individually wrapped candies.

Darcy was impatient to get down to business. She had another meeting in twenty minutes. She checked her watch and was a little annoyed that Rachel accepted the offer of water. But then Darcy glanced at her and realized the woman was nervous. And why not? Rachel Kaufmann had accepted a job by phone from over a thousand miles away and was only now facing the realities of that decision.

“So, Rachel, how was your flight?” Paul asked as he handed her the water then sat down in the swivel chair behind his desk.

“We did not make the trip on an airplane,” Rachel said after swallowing a sip of the water. “We came on the bus.”

“My goodness, that must have taken days,” Paul exclaimed. “Have you had some time to rest up and get settled into—where are you living now?”

Rachel smiled. “My son and I arrived on Friday. We are staying with friends. We had the weekend to rest.”

“That's right. Hester Steiner mentioned you were going to bunk in with her and John when I was there last week for the co-op board meeting. All settled in then?”

“Our stay with the Steiners is temporary. Tonight Hester is taking me to look at a cottage that Mr. Shepherd has for rent.”

“Malcolm Shepherd?” Darcy asked, her attention now riveted on this quiet-spoken woman, surprised that she had already connected with Ben Booker and Malcolm Shepherd. She felt a familiar tingle of alarm. Darcy had worked hard to establish herself in a career where she was in charge, where she reported only to the board of trustees. She was fiercely protective of that position. It had taken her some time to win the respect and support of Malcolm Shepherd, the president of the hospital's board of directors.

Now this woman was possibly going to be living next door to him? On his property?

“You've met Malcolm?” she asked while at the same time assuring herself that Rachel with her prayer cap and her hands now folded piously in her lap was of no possible threat to her.

Rachel smiled. “Only in the way I met both you and Dr. Booker before now. By the telephone interview. It is my friend Hester Steiner who has made the arrangements for me to see the guesthouse on Mr. Shepherd's property.”

“Excellent,” Paul boomed. “You'll be close to the hospital. We do have emergencies and as the new kid on the block, those will most likely come your way.” He arched an eyebrow as if waiting to see how this bit of information would be received.

“That would be fine,” Rachel replied and smiled. “What are my other duties?”

“As I mentioned on the phone I want you to focus on the cases that come through our pediatrics wing while I handle the adult cases,” he said. “Right now we have more adult patients than children, so you'll have some time to get your bearings. Anyway, I'm taking you at your word.”

Obviously confused, Rachel looked up at him and then at Darcy.

“You said on the phone that you liked working with children,” Paul reminded her. “And now that I've met you in person I think you might be exactly the right person for the job.”

Darcy opened her mouth to object. Paul was getting ahead of himself. He could not possibly know if this woman had the special skills necessary to minister to children and their parents without at least supervising her work initially. He was already handing Rachel a folder and a pager.

“You'll need to wear this pager or have it handy even when you aren't actually here at the hospital. If a kid comes in during the night or on the weekend, this thing will buzz.” He pushed a button to demonstrate. “You'll see a number on the screen, and you'll need to call that as soon as possible.”

“I believe you mentioned that you had a child, Rachel.” Darcy felt the need to remind Paul that he should proceed more slowly here.

“Yes. Justin.” Rachel's smile brightened in exactly the same way that practically every mother Darcy had ever met came alive at the mention of her child—every mother that was, except hers.

“And you are a single parent?”

The smile faltered. “
Ja
.”

Darcy could feel Paul's eyes on her. “We are sorry for your loss, Rachel,” he said. Then turning his full attention back to the business at hand, he indicated the folder he'd handed her. “I took the liberty of putting together some information I thought might be useful in helping you get up to speed. Well, actually, Eileen put the information together at my request,” he admitted with a disarming chuckle. “That woman is my right arm. You need anything and can't find me? Ask Eileen.”

Rachel opened the folder and removed the top item—a two-page stapled paper entitled “Role of a Spiritual Care Counselor at Gulf Coast Medical Center.”

“Paul, I wonder if I might have a copy of that,” Darcy asked, indicating the paper Rachel was scanning.

“Sure.” He turned and shouted, “Eileen.”

The door opened. “You have an intercom,” his assistant reminded him.

“You know me and technical stuff,” he said with a boyish grin. “Can you make Darcy a copy of that?”

Rachel quickly scanned the paper before handing it to Eileen and turning her attention back to Paul. “It all looks fine,” she said. “I'm certain to have questions as we get started.”

“Well, of course you will,” Paul agreed. “And either Eileen or I will be right here to answer them. Maybe for the first few days we should plan to have lunch together.”

“I'd like that—I would really appreciate it. Clearly I have a lot to learn.”

“You'll do fine.”

Darcy glanced between them, wondering for a moment if they thought she'd left the room. She stood up. “I have another appointment. It was nice meeting you in person, Rachel. Welcome to Gulf Coast.”

Rachel stood as well. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you both so much for giving me this opportunity.”

“Now, Rachel, it's you we should be thanking,” Paul said. “Isn't that right, Darcy?” He walked her to the door.

Darcy shot him a look of warning. Rachel was a new employee on probation. Statements like that could make it harder down the road if they needed to let her go. “We'll talk later,” she said.

But Paul just patted her shoulder in that paternal way he had. “She's going to do fine,” he replied as he took the papers Eileen handed him. He gave the copy to Darcy and carried the original back inside his office to hand to Rachel.

Darcy felt dismissed as the office door closed behind him, and yet she had been the one to end the meeting.
No, it wasn't that I felt dismissed,
she thought as she hurried off to her next appointment.
Left out.
That was it. As if once more in her life she had done all the right things and still she did not feel part of the inner circle.