In Love with John Doe. Cindy Kirk

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      To my fabulous critique partners,

      Louise Foster and Renee Ryan.

      This wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without you!

       Chapter One

      “Five bucks says he’s an undercover prince.”

      Lexi Brennan stood back and watched the older nurse pull a crumpled bill from her uniform pocket and slap it on the counter.

      “He’s handsome enough,” another RN said. “But I say he’s a politician’s son. God knows we get our share of them in Teton County.”

      “Put me down for the undercover prince,” charge nurse Rachel Milligan said. “Then we’d better get to work.”

      The staff scattered, leaving Lexi, one of the hospital’s social workers, alone at the nurse’s station with Rachel and a nurse’s aide. During the five years Lexi had been working at the Jackson Hole hospital, she’d lost a lot of money on these friendly wagers. Last month she’d vowed not to participate in another. Still, she was curious. “What are you betting on this time?”

      “Our new patient, John Doe,” Rachel said. “He’s been the topic of conversation since the rescue team brought him in yesterday.”

      “He is super cute,” the aide gushed.

      “Mr. Landers’s call light is on.” Rachel kept her gaze focused on the young girl while handing Lexi John Doe’s chart. “Would you mind seeing what he needs?”

      As the aide hurried off, Lexi flipped through the handful of pages. “Not much here.”

      Rachel smiled. “When a patient doesn’t remember his name or any of his history, it makes for a pretty sparse medical record.”

      Lexi recognized Rachel’s handwriting on the initial documentation. “Looks like you were working in the E.R. yesterday when they brought him in from Teton Village.”

      “He was lucky,” Rachel said, her blue eyes suddenly serious. “He might have lost his memory, but another few minutes under that snow and he’d have lost his life.”

      “Why skiers venture into the back country is beyond me.” Lexi wasn’t sure why she found the man’s recklessness so disturbing. He certainly wasn’t the first hotshot skier to take advantage of the mountain’s “open gate” policy. “Anyone who goes through that gate knows they’re taking a big risk.”

      Rachel’s gaze took on a sad, faraway look. “Young men in that late-twenty, early-thirty range think they’re invincible.”

      Lexi wondered if Rachel was thinking about her husband who’d been killed several years ago trying to protect a clerk during a convenience store robbery.

      “Medically, John Doe is stable,” Rachel said after a long moment. “Once you find him a place to stay, he’s ready to be dismissed.”

      Raising a finger to her lips, Lexi considered the available options. “There aren’t many motels that will take a man with no money.”

      “He’s got money,” Rachel said. “He had a couple thousand dollars on him.”

      A couple thousand dollars? Lexi had twenty-seven dollars in her pocket and that had to last until payday. СКАЧАТЬ