“Mine are gone?” he said, finishing the other man’s sentence. “Don’t be silly, Chet. It’s not your fault that my parents died together in a car crash.”
“No. But you don’t need a friend to remind you of the fact.”
Shrugging a shoulder, Luke glanced toward an arched window. Beyond the glass he could see the morning sun shedding a golden light across part of the city and the mountains to the far west. Strange how he’d been born and raised in the east, but as soon as he’d settled here in Nevada he’d felt as though this was where he was supposed to be. Perhaps that was because there was nothing back in West Virginia for him. No parents. No wife. Even his sister had moved on to a different town.
“It’s been nearly five years now. I’ve accepted the fact that they’re gone,” Luke said.
“I doubt that I could ever be as strong as you, Luke. Not after the losses you’ve been through.” Chet left his desk and walked over to where a small table held a coffeepot, cups, condiments and a plate of pastries. As he poured coffee into one of the cups, he said, “I don’t know if I ever told you this before, Luke, but when you first came to work here I thought you were a real bastard. I had nurses lined up at my door complaining about you. And I wondered what in hell the administration was thinking when they hired you.”
“Apparently there’s a shortage of doctors out here in the west,” Luke said with sardonic humor. “That’s why they keep me on.”
“Hell! Everyone in this hospital, especially me, has learned that you are one of the best doctors we’ve ever had here at Tahoe General.”
Luke inwardly winced. “There’s one person who doesn’t agree with you.”
Stirring a spoonful of sugar into his cup, Chet turned to look at him. “Oh? Who’s that?”
His jaw tightened. “Nurse Winters. Paige Winters, to be exact.”
“Ahh. Nurse Winters,” he said with slow deliberation. “Are you here because you want me to fire her?”
Luke’s mouth fell open. “Fire her? Hell, no! What gave you that idea?”
Chet took a short sip from his cup before he answered. “Isn’t it fairly obvious? You two got into it and she admitted she said a few choice words to you. I thought you might be expecting me to fire her for insubordination.”
Luke muttered a curse word under his breath. “Paige—I mean, Nurse Winters—has never disobeyed one of my orders. She simply lost her temper. I don’t want her to be reprimanded over the incident. I want her back in the ER!”
Chet’s dark brows slowly inched upward. “Why? If you two can’t get along there isn’t—”
“Damn it, except for this one time, we’ve always gotten along! She’s the best nurse I’ve ever worked with. I need her in the ER! You worked the unit before you became nursing director. You know how hectic it gets. I need someone at my side that I can trust. Someone that knows what to do and how to do it without being told.”
Chet took another long sip from his cup, then walked over to the window and gazed out at the view. “I understand, Luke. But nurses aren’t robots, they’re human. And it’s my job to consider their feelings and make certain each one is working where he or she is most effective and happy. In my opinion, Paige needs a break from the pressure of the ER.”
Pressure? Paige thrived on it, Luke thought. “What about the other nurses on my shift who’ve worked the ER unit for as long as Paige? I don’t see you trying to ease their pressure.”
“Hmm. Well, none of them have come to me requesting a transfer.” He glanced over his shoulder at Luke. “If you’re asking me to order Paige to return to the ER, then you’re out of luck. Considering a nurse’s welfare is the first priority of my job.”
Luke wearily rubbed a hand against the back of his neck. “I don’t expect you to order her. But you could ask, couldn’t you?”
He watched Chet walk back over to his desk, all the while thinking the nursing director was the only person he’d be having this type of conversation with. Luke wouldn’t want anyone else knowing just how fiercely he missed Paige.
Chet sank into the big leather chair behind his desk. “Sure, I could ask. But the situation would be a whole lot better for you, and her, if you did the asking.”
His hands gripping the arms of the chair, Luke leaned forward and stared at the other man in disbelief. “Me? I hardly think she’d listen to me!”
Smiling faintly, Chet shook his head. “Luke, when a man tears down a fence it’s up to him to build it back. If Paige is your prize nurse, then you need to do some apologizing. Why don’t you try to get a few sweet words out of your mouth? If you make the effort I’m confident you can woo Paige back to the ER.”
Like hell, Luke thought. He wasn’t about to beg any woman for anything. Before he’d divorced Andrea, he’d pleaded with his wife to understand his feelings about his work, his duties and obligations as a doctor. But in the end, none of his pleas had meant anything to her. No, Luke’s begging days were over.
Pushing himself from the chair, he said, “Thanks for listening, Chet. I’ve taken up enough of your time this morning. Stop by the ER sometime and say hello. Maybe we can actually figure out a day we can make a trip to the golf course.”
“I hope that day comes soon,” Chet agreed. “I think we could both use a break.”
Luke started out of the room only to have Chet call out to him.
“Luke, you haven’t said what you intend to do about Paige.”
Luke continued walking. “I’m not going to do anything. Those fences you were talking about will just have to stay broken.”
And he was going to make himself forget he’d ever worked with Nurse Winters.
Monday night Paige had been back at work only a few minutes when she heard a familiar voice calling to her. Pausing in the busy corridor, she turned to see Helen hurrying to catch up to her.
The sight of the ER matron took Paige by complete surprise. She couldn’t remember a time she’d seen Helen in another part of the hospital, unless it was the cafeteria.
“Helen! Oh, it’s wonderful to see you!” She gave the staunch woman a brief hug, then stepped back and smiled. “What in the world are you doing up here? Don’t tell me you’ve transferred out of ER, too?”
The woman’s ruby lips pursed with disapproval. “Me out of ER? Never,” she said, then promptly took Paige by the arm and marched her to one side of the hallway and out of the path of passing nurses and orderlies. “I only have a couple of minutes and I’m sure you’re rushed for time, too.”
Paige nodded. “I need to dispense a few meds. But I can take a minute for you, Helen.”
“Okay, I’ll make this short and sweet. Dr. Sherman is miserable without you. I want you to come back to the ER. For his sake and everyone else on the night shift.”
For some idiotic reason Paige felt very near to bursting into tears. “Oh, Helen. This is—did Dr. Sherman send you up here?”
Helen scowled. “Are you kidding? He’d be irate if he knew where I was.”
Paige wanted to kick herself for even asking Helen such a question. Luke Sherman would never put anyone up to luring her back to the ER. If the truth was known, he’d probably been whistling a silent tune of relief to have her gone.
“Naturally he’d be irate,” Paige retorted. “He doesn’t