“It matters. So, why Nashville?”
“Why not?”
“Only because you were so hell-bent on leaving. You left like a thief in the night. I don’t even remember getting to say goodbye. All I got was a note.”
She saw the anger in him. The hurt. She couldn’t blame him. She knew leaving like that would hurt him. It was a burden that she had to bear to protect herself.
The one time he’d really opened up ever, just after their first time, he said words which stuck with her to this day.
“I’ve lived a life of constant change. I want permanence. I want roots. Roots here in Nashville.”
He wanted something she didn’t and couldn’t give him.
“I thought past was in the past? Focus on the now, remember?”
Reece stood up, his expression hard and cold. His jaw clenched tight. “Right. You’re right.”
“I’m sorry my coming back is hard on you, Dr. Castle, but I’m here to stay and we have to work together so I suggest we make the best of it.”
“Fine.” Only she had a feeling it wasn’t.
“Fine,” she said.
“It’s not like you’ll be here that long anyways,” he snapped.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” It was like a slap to the face. Reminding her again that she’d left him behind, making her feel the guilt more keenly than ever.
Reece shrugged. “I mean once you don’t get the job, Dr. Brigham’s job, you’ll leave.”
“Who says I won’t?”
“I wish I had your confidence, but you’re going against tough competition. Old money, connections, things you don’t have here.” It was as if Reece was using all her old fears to scare her now. To get her to leave. Well, she was stronger now.
Vivian crossed her arms. “I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge. And even if I don’t get it, who says I’ll leave?”
Reece snorted. “You will. You’ll move on to greener pastures. Isn’t that what sharks do?”
The words haunted her because that was what Dr. Brigham had taught her. That was how she’d acted for so long as she’d fought to get surgeries as a resident.
“I’m not a shark.”
Not anymore.
She cleared her throat. “I’m here to explore the potential of a trial on autism, if you must know. One I couldn’t start in Germany. Just part of my working here was working with you on this case because I am one of the best diagnostician neurosurgeons in Europe, next to Mannheim.”
He smirked. “So you’re not after Dr. Brigham’s job?”
Vivian shook her head. “Yes, I am. I have aspirations on Dr. Brigham’s job. Who wouldn’t?”
* * *
Me.
Only Reece kept that thought to himself. No one needed to know he had no desire or plans to run. He had no aspirations on Dr. Brigham’s job. He preferred being on the front line. He liked the OR too much. He didn’t like the spotlight or the PR aspects of running a surgical program. He didn’t crave the spotlight like his parents did. Most people would think so, but he didn’t. He abhorred it. That was why he didn’t use his real surname. Why he’d changed Castille to Castle when he was eighteen. He wanted to hide the fact he was the son of country music royalty. He didn’t want people to know that his father was Ray Castille, one of the biggest artists to grace the halls of the Grand Ole Opry. His mother, Edna, had been a model and preferred the jet-setting lifestyle and Hollywood over him and his father, to be honest. Wealth, fame and prestige destroyed lives.
Ruined people.
The limelight wasn’t for him.
He hated the attention, the world he’d grown up in. Wealth and glamour did not lead to a normal childhood. So he avoided attention as much as he could. Privacy was what he wanted, though if his Alzheimer’s trial was successful that could change. Bringing in money.
And maybe then he could help more people who couldn’t afford health care or specialists.
Don’t think about it.
“I’m sorry. Really, your reasons for returning aren’t my concern. I was just...I was surprised to see you,” Reece apologized.
She was going to say something more when his pager buzzed. It was a code blue on Gary. He turned on his heel and ran. He could hear Vivian following him.
“What is it?” she shouted behind him.
“Code blue,” he shouted back over his shoulder.
As soon as he came into the room the nurse began to fill him in. It was a seizure, but one that seemed to be affecting Gary’s heart as well. It was strange, both monitors showing his cardiac and neurological distress.
Vivian didn’t ask any questions. She just dove right in, ordering medicine and keeping calm as she rapidly fired off instructions beside him. Just like the good old days.
“His pulse ox is down. He can’t breathe,” she shouted over the alarms. “Why is he not getting enough oxygen?”
I don’t know. Only he didn’t say that out loud as he pulled over the crash cart. They worked together over Gary like they’d worked together a long time ago. As if no time had passed at all.
He’d forgotten how calm and collected she was. How she grounded him. How she grounded the whole room in an emergency situation. He’d missed that.
“Charge to ten,” she said above the din as Gary flatlined.
Reece grabbed the paddles. “Clear.” Everyone stepped back and he shocked Gary’s heart back into rhythm.
The heartbeat stabilized, sinus rhythm returning and seizures ended. Reece breathed a sigh of relief as the monitors bleeped in time with a stable heart and his pulse ox rose again.
“Thanks,” he said to Vivian. They shared a smile and it made his heart skip a beat because it was as if nothing had changed.
“No problem,” she said. “That’s what I’m here for.”
He was glad she was here, but she’d left once. She’d leave again. He didn’t need her. And he had to keep reminding himself of that to reinforce the walls he’d built.
“I can take it from here,” he said, looking away quickly. Just working alongside her stirred so many memories within him. It reminded him of the hurt and pain from when she’d left. She’d been the one person he’d opened up to and she’d betrayed him. Broke his heart and just affirmed his belief that you couldn’t trust anyone.
His parents and many so-called friends had shown him that. Even his parents had always been unreliable and never really there when he’d needed them. There was only one person Reece could rely on and that was himself.
“Are you sure?” Vivian asked. “I can stay...”
“No. Go get settled. I’ll let you know when everything is set up to monitor him.”
Vivian nodded and left the room, which he was thankful for. The last thing he needed was to carry on that heated conversation out in the open. One thing was for certain. He had to keep his distance from Vivian, which was going to be impossible to do, the longer Gary was in the hospital, but it had to be done.
For his own good.