The Maverick Who Ruled Her Heart. Susan Carlisle

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СКАЧАТЬ at the front of the room’s at the Beach Hut the other night, he found her professional and competent during her presentation of what to eat and portion control. She asked if there were any questions. A number of hands shot up.

      She pointed to a balding man about halfway back and said, “Mr. Rawlins.”

      “Can I ever have cake?”

      “In moderation only. Think birthdays and special occasions. Not nightly with ice cream.”

      There were groans around the room but she smiled. “Look, I’m not the bad guy here. Diabetes is. We’re talking about a lifestyle change.”

      That’s just what Jordon was doing. He would never have dreamt that he’d be back in Golden Shores. He had been on the fast track up the professional ladder. Had even been touted as possibly the youngest chief of staff, but backing his girlfriend and partner hadn’t only cost Jordon his job but his credibility, his self-respect and his confidence in his ability to judge character. He planned to regain all of that in Golden Shores. This was his chance to start over with a clean slate. The woman’s chuckle brought him back to the present. He didn’t even know her full name. As soon as the class was over he was going to find out.

      “Maybe that’s a better question for Dr. King.”

      He jerked his gaze to hers. “I’m sorry, I missed that.”

      “Daydreaming in my class, Doc?”

      All the class turned to look at him.

      “Just for a sec. My apologies. Now, what was the question?” He stood and looked around the room expectantly.

      “I would like to know,” a woman of about thirty asked in a quiet voice, “if there’s a chance that I might come off insulin.”

      “It depends on what type of diabetes you have. Some people can control the disease with weight, others can take a pill and others require injections. Speak to your doctor and let him or her know that you would like to try.”

      The woman smiled at him and said, “Thanks, Doctor.”

      The speaker drew the group’s attention again.

      “That’s all for today unless someone else has a question.” No one said anything. “Then I’ll see you all next week. Please bring your list of what you ate for review. Thanks for coming.”

      Everyone stood and gathered their belongings. Jordon moved to the front as people headed toward the rear. When he reached the woman she was speaking to one of the attendees and he waited. When the final person was out the door he said, “This is the second time we’ve met and I still don’t know your full name.”

      A look he would have called disappointment if he didn’t know better flashed through her eyes. Should he know her? He’d not kept in touch with anyone who still lived in Golden Shores except Chad, and he no longer lived here.

      “I’m Kelsey Davis. Hospital nutritionist.” She started picking up the papers on the podium in front of her.

      Davis. Maybe she was one of Chad’s sisters? But which one? Then again, Davis was a common name: there were a lot of them in the world. Surely more than one family in Golden Shores had the name Davis.

      “Nice to meet you, Kelsey. I look forward to working with you.”

      “Hey, Kelsey.” A man stuck his head inside the door.

      He and Kelsey looked at him.

      “Hey, Mike,” Kelsey said with a smile.

      “I’m sorry to interrupt,” the young man, who had blond hair and the build of a weight lifter, said.

      “Not a problem. I’m on my way out.”

      The man stepped into the room. As Jordon left he heard the man say, “Are we still on for tonight?”

      Kelsey had never been more surprised than when the man from the party turned up in her classroom. More startling than that was the fact that J-man was the doctor she’d be working with regularly. She gotten over being nervous around boys along ago, but for some reason J-man, uh, Jordon made her stomach queasy. He’d been her first love. Now he didn’t even remember her!

      She’d not seen him since her brother and he had gotten arrested. Right before they had both disappeared. Jordon had been part of the reason her brother, Chad, had issues with their father. Only Chad had never come home. Part of the blame for why her family had become so screwed up was rooted in that long-ago night.

      Where Chad was concerned she had a love/hate relationship with him. She’d adored him. He’d been the oldest to her youngest and she’d idolized him. When he’d left without saying anything to her she’d been devastated. As the years had gone by she’d grown to resent him too. Because of him her once happy life had crumbled and she couldn’t seem to get all the pieces back into place. At least with China that was starting to happen. She wasn’t even sure she ever wanted to make the effort with regards to her parents. Getting out of Golden Shores, closing the door on the past had always sounded like the best answer.

      Now J-man was back as a doctor. Life really was crazy. If it hadn’t been time for her to leave town before, it surely was now. Until the new job came through, she’d stay out of his way as much as possible.

      At noon Kelsey carried her tray from the cafeteria to the table where Molly waited under the tree. She slid into the open spot next to her.

      “Hey, how’d it go this morning? Did you meet the new doctor? He’s the talk of the hospital.” Molly picked up her sandwich.

      “That’s not a hard thing to be. This hospital isn’t that big and most of the people who work here have known each other most of their lives.” Except Jordon, who had no idea who she was or the part he’d played in her young life.

      “So are you going to tell me what you think about him?” Molly studied her.

      Kelsey was well aware of who Dr. King was. Too aware. She didn’t want Molly to know everything she thought about him. “He’s nice enough and seems to know his medicine.”

      Molly put down her fork and looked at Kelsey like she had two heads. “That’s all you’ve got to say? Kelsey Davis, I’ve known you since middle school and that’s the least I’ve ever heard you say about a male. He must have really done something wrong.”

      Molly had no idea. She’d moved to town the next summer. About Chad and how she’d felt about J-man were the only secrets she’d ever kept from Kelsey. “Okay, okay. What do you want? That he’s the best-looking man I’ve seen. Dark hair, hazel eyes, shoulders from here to eternity and a butt to die for!”

      Molly giggled. “That’s more like it but I detect a note of cynicism. Problem?”

      “No. He just reminds me of someone I used to know.”

      “Someone you didn’t like.”

      She’d liked him too well. “I liked the person just fine but it was during a bad time in my life.”

      “Hello, beautiful ladies. Mind if I join you.”

      Kelsey СКАЧАТЬ