A Man to Believe In. Kathleen Pickering

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СКАЧАТЬ good luck. “Sure.”

      He listened quietly as Rachel and Cassie passed on the morning stats regarding the four patients currently being processed. One elderly woman with chest pains. A landscaper with a broken foot. A parent whose baby had a high fever. One ambulance delivery with lacerations from a minor car accident.

      Peter watched the three nurses interact comfortably with Doc from years of working together. Peter looked forward to the day he fit that mold and didn’t feel so much like a fish out of water, even though the emergency department layout and process was familiar to him. What mattered most to him was the personal interaction. Finding out who he’d mesh with best, or who would get as excited as he did over any new technology. The medical field was always changing. Half the satisfaction of nursing was bringing the new treatments to the community.

      When they finished, Doc took the charts. “I’ll check Mr. Nelson’s foot and release him. Brenda, see if cardiac care has a bed ready for Mrs. Olsen.” Doc gave the women a thumbs-up. “Thanks for all the hard work last night, ladies. You make it easy to start the day.”

      Rachel punched the air. “Go team.”

      Heading down the hall, he waved to Peter. “See you on Monday.”

      Brenda picked up the phone, and Rachel gathered her things. “See you all tomorrow. Good luck finding a place, Peter.”

      Cassie motioned for Peter to join her. “I just have to get my purse.”

      He didn’t have to be asked twice. He matched her brisk pace to the nurse’s locker area then out the back door to the parking lot. He snapped his fingers. “I have an idea.”

      “What?”

      “What do you feel like having for breakfast?”

      “Excuse me?”

      He shrugged. “Let me buy you breakfast. I know what it’s like coming off graveyard shift.”

      She thought a moment then grinned. “Okay. I am hungry, but I’m also wiped. So I can’t hang out.”

      “Perfect. I have to hunt for new digs anyway. It’ll be nice not eating alone.”

      “Oh, yeah. Brian. Let’s call him when we stop.”

      “Affordable?”

      She shot him a knowing glance. “I think we can negotiate with him.”

      She said we. He liked that. A lot. “Well, then I’m happy to buy breakfast. Where shall we go?”

      She brightened. “I know just the place.”

      God, he loved her grin. One would never know she’d just finished working through the night. Her color was high. Her hair was a crown of curls held back by a baby blue headband that matched the color of her scrubs. Just like on Thursday, she wore a white long-sleeved T-shirt beneath the scrubs, a perfect solution for the air conditioning in the hospital. Her fingers tapped the steering wheel in time to the music playing low on the radio. Being in her company was so comfortable, Peter felt like he’d ridden every day of his life in a car with her.

      Cassie pulled into a spot in front of John’s Pancake House. The restaurant was a converted Cape Cod-style house with a red-and-white-striped awning across the front. The place was pretty busy for a Saturday morning before the summer season hit.

      “I heard that Montauk was a ghost town until summer.”

      “The pancake house is always crowded with locals on the weekend. It’s a favorite spot.”

      He opened the restaurant door for her and ushered her in. He followed and almost ran into her back when she stopped short.

      A wary surprise filled her voice. “Well, hey, you guys.”

      Cassie greeted five people seated at a round table just inside the door. The older two were a handsome-looking duo. The other couple looked to be around his mother’s age, casual in jeans and light sweaters. One woman looked suspiciously like an older version of Cassie. Her mother, perhaps? They seemed glad to see her.

      The older woman with the silver braid said, “Morning, Cassie. Just getting off work?”

      “Yeah. Friday night was busy.”

      All five pairs of eyes fell on Peter. The woman who looked like Cassie’s mother said, “And who do we have here?”

      Cassie stepped aside. “Peter Chapman, meet my family. My mother, Beth. Grandma Mica, Grandpa Phil, Aunt Judy and Uncle Micky.”

      He shook hands with them all. “I’m Cassie’s newest coworker. I start on Monday.”

      Beth gestured to his eye. “Ah, the man who had the run-in with the deer.”

      “My reputation is preceding me. Don’t know if that’s good or bad.”

      Beth smiled. She even had the same dimple in her right cheek that Cassie had. “All good. Don’t worry.”

      He glanced at Cassie and saw the color rise in her cheeks. Had she been saying good things about him? Damn, she was cute when flustered.

      “I’ve offered to drive Peter around while his truck is being repaired,” she said.

      “And I’ve been stalking her,” Peter added, thinking he was being funny.

      The group laughed. “Well, that’s not unusual, young man,” Cassie’s grandfather said.

      Grandma Mica winked. “I’m sure Cassie doesn’t mind a bit.”

      “So, you came all the way from the Left Coast?” The look in Micky’s eyes said he’d love to help Peter out from this awkward moment by changing the subject.

      Peter smiled back, grateful. “Glad to be here, too. Montauk is beautiful.”

      “Well, we hope you like it here.”

      Cassie gestured toward an empty table far enough away to give them some space. “We’re just going to grab a quick bite. I’m exhausted and want to head home.”

      Grandma Mica gestured to Cassie’s figure. “Make sure she eats a pile of French toast. She’s been getting too skinny.”

      Cassie rolled her eyes. “Grandma!”

      The five said their goodbyes. When she and Peter were seated, Cassie lowered her voice. “Stalking? Really? Did you have to say that?”

      Seeing her discomfort, he felt like an idiot. “I thought I was being funny.”

      “You don’t know my family. If they even get a whiff of a guy showing interest in me, they start pushing.”

      “Why? Are you a charity case or something?”

      “You don’t understand.”

      “I’m listening anytime you want to fill me in.”

      She stared at him СКАЧАТЬ