His gut tightened. So much for this job being a godsend. “Did you change professions?”
“I did, actually.”
His gaze strayed to her left hand. Jacob’s ring was gone and no one else’s graced it. Dammit. It was none of his business whether or not she was involved with anyone.
More people were entering the room, a few of them sending quizzical glances their way as they passed. “Well, I guess I’d better head in,” she said. “I was waiting on someone, but they’re evidently running late.”
Waiting on someone. A boyfriend? Friend?
His gut gave a painful spasm. She’d already been married once. And Jacob wasn’t around to care.
But Clancy was.
Again, none of your business.
“All right. I’ll see you in there.”
He let her go, purposely waiting a minute or two before moving into the room. That way he wouldn’t feel obligated to sit by her. Not that she’d want him to. If anything, she’d made it pretty obvious that seeing him hadn’t been a pleasant surprise.
Why would it be? He had done a good job of playing the field. He’d convinced her and everyone else—including himself—that he was not the settling-down type.
He grabbed the first seat he could find, forcing himself not to try to locate her in the group. But of course he did, because what his mind dictated wasn’t always followed by his body. She was two rows ahead of him, talking to the person next to her. The same woman she’d stood outside with.
She was a nurse.
Hollee loved animals, so he was surprised by her career change. And dismayed. It was going to be hard to avoid her, and after not seeing her for five years... Well, the memory of their past and that kiss had hit him a lot harder than it should have.
She hadn’t changed much, that red hair combined with the tiny freckles that dotted her nose were all still there, and still just as beautiful.
Fortunately, before he could dwell on that thought any further, the hospital administrator went up to the podium and called for everyone’s attention.
“Thanks for coming. I’ll try to be brief.” A few chuckles went up, which Clancy took to mean that brevity wasn’t normally the man’s forte.
“First of all I’d like you to welcome the hospital’s newest addition. Clancy de Oliveira will be joining our reconstructive surgery team. Dr. de Oliveira, could you stand so people can see you?”
He did as he was asked, nodding to those who turned to look. He gave a small smile at the one head that hadn’t turned toward him before taking his seat again.
The administrator went on to talk about the terrible tragedy that had befallen several small towns in Appalachia. The poverty-stricken area had suffered flooding from the record rainfall, and just as the waters had begun receding, and they’d been trying to dig out from beneath the mud, a tornado had ripped through, leaving a wide swath of destruction. Dozens were dead, and a big part of the population was in misery. People in the area had opened their homes to those who were without. But there was a lot still to be done.
Arlington Regional would be sending in a team to help with medical care and to get the biggest of the clinics back up and running again. They needed both doctors and nurses to volunteer.
Hollee sat up a little taller.
Was she thinking of going? Damn. He’d already expressed an interest to the administrator. It would be hard to back out now.
“The catch is the team will be gone the first two weeks of December. Close to the Christmas holidays, I know. But that’s even more reason to go and help. We’d like to have about ten to twenty people from Arlington Regional participate. A soup kitchen and field clinic are being set up as we speak.”
Someone raised his hand. “I’m interested. Where do we sign up?”
“Great, I’m just getting to that. I’m sure there are a lot of questions, and I’ve prepared a handout with some of the details. I know there’s not much prep time, but Arlington Regional is all about quick response, so look at your schedules and decide if you have room in it to participate. If your department needs help with coverage, come see me and we’ll take a look at what we can arrange. Lodging will be provided and meals will be served on site.”
Clancy could remember mess meals. Despite the desire to be home, Christmas was still celebrated with gusto complete with a holiday meal with all the trimmings. When the meal was over, though, it was back to work. It was after one such meal that they’d come under attack from a missile, and he’d been injured. Several others hadn’t been quite so lucky, with five people dying.
He’d been haunted by those deaths long after his wounds had healed.
He shook off the memory and concentrated on the administrator, his thoughts racing. He knew he would be an ideal candidate to participate, since he had nothing on his schedule yet and could keep those surgery dates open. And he was used to less-than-ideal working conditions.
And if Hollee was going...
Since when did his personal issues supersede doing the right thing? They hadn’t back when they’d all been friends, and they didn’t now.
The information sheets were passed out row by row. Clancy took his and gave the stack to the person beside him with a smiling nod. Then they were dismissed. Glancing over the paper, he worked through the logistics then sensed a person standing nearby. He looked up to make sure he wasn’t blocking someone in. Instead, his jaw tightened when he saw Hollee.
“Sorry if I seemed short earlier. Welcome to the hospital,” she said. “I didn’t know you were back.”
He nodded, knowing she was talking about his deployment. “I could say the same of you.” He stopped short of admitting to visiting her mom years ago. Besides, Shirley had probably already told her daughter about it.
“I’ve been back for a while.” She hesitated and then touched her left brow. “What happened?”
He wasn’t sure what she was talking about for a second then realized with a jolt. She’d noticed his scar. “Wrong place. Wrong time.” He didn’t actually want to tell her, and he wasn’t sure why. If she wanted to think he’d gotten into a bar fight or something, that was fine with him.
He changed the subject, nodding at the page in her hand. “Are you thinking of going to help?”
“I am, why?”
“Just curious.” Her voice was reawakening synapses in his brain in a way that he didn’t like. Synapses that suddenly couldn’t grasp the concept of “in the past.”
“With the devastation in that area, I’m sure there are some pregnancies that have been affected. I want to help, if I can.”
“Pregnancies?”
“I’m a labor and delivery nurse.”
That surprised him. “Do you regret trading being a vet tech for being a nurse?”
“There are always things to regret. But it seemed like the right thing to do.”
Her answer could have been taken right out of his own playbook. Hadn’t he done what he’d thought was right, only to discover later that he’d set Hollee up for a world of heartache? Luckily, he’d never had to deliver on the ultimatum he’d given Jacob in the months that preceded his friend’s death. “Will my going on the trip make things awkward?”
“It’ll be no different than working at the hospital together, right?”
Except if Clancy had known she was here, he would have given more thought to accepting the position. Would it have stopped him? He couldn’t honestly say for sure.