The Magnificent M.D. Read Free Page B

practice. I haven’t done it since I was an intern, and then I only did it for six months. Let me be frank. I wasn’t cut out for it. I can’t deal with the nonspecific complaints, the colds, the flu and the heartburn. I take patients who would die without my help, and I do valve replacements and heart transplants, and I give them their lives back. Am I making myself clear?”
    â€œYes, of course. But you could do it for a while. Treat the sore throats and the minor complaints. You wouldn’t even have to brush up.”
    â€œI’m not supposed to work for six months. And that’s that.”
    â€œThat’s not what he said,” she said. “He said ‘cut out the long workdays and get out of town.”’
    â€œSo you were listening,” he said.
    â€œI couldn’t help it. You were talking so loudly I’m surprised the whole building didn’t hear your conversation,” she said.
    â€œThe whole building didn’t have their ears pressed against the door,” he said.
    â€œYou wouldn’t have to work that hard, really, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she continued before he could come up with another excuse. “I’ve got someone to help you do the bookkeeping, wrap bandages, hold the strobe lights and refill the tongue depressors, order supplies and hand you the instruments.”
    â€œNow who would that be?” he asked.
    â€œThat would be Mattie Whitlock,” Hayley said. “Grandpa’s old nurse. She’s had years of experience. And she’s ready and willing to help out.”
    â€œShe’s still there? She must be about ninety-five by now.”
    â€œSeventy-three. She’s slowed down somewhat, but she’s still got the touch.”
    â€œYeah, I remember her touch,” Sam said grimly. “And the way she wielded a needle. I was more scared of her than anyone in town, including the police.” He shook his head, already regretting that he’d admitted being scared of anything. He didn’t want to admit it, he didn’t want to remember it. The pain and the shame he’d felt in those days still lingered beneath the surface. After all these years. Until Hayley had walked into his office, he hadn’t realized how deep it went. He wished she’d stayed where she was and left him alone. “No,” he said. “I’m not coming back and that’s final.”
    â€œWhat are you going to do? Take up golf? Get a hobby?Read medical journals or find a woman to marry?” The skepticism in her voice was unmistakable.
    â€œAny one of those ideas is sounding better by the minute,” he said.
    â€œI’m not asking you to make a permanent commitment,” she said. “Just a year, or even six months. Your patients will still be here when you return. All I’m asking is that you come back until we find a permanent doctor. It’ll be like a vacation. You can go deep-sea fishing. Dig for clams. Take Wednesday afternoons off to play golf at the club. Maybe even find a woman to marry. Small-town women may not be as glamorous as the ones you’re used to but they may not be as superficial, either.”
    He let his gaze roam over her fashionably tousled, Meg Ryan-style blond hair, her suit jacket and the silk blouse under it. Deliberately avoiding his eyes, she tore open a packet of sugar and poured it into what remained of her coffee.
    â€œAre you including yourself?” he asked with a gleam in his eye. “If you are, I might be tempted.”
    â€œNo, of course not,” she said indignantly.
    â€œSure? Because you fit the description—small-town girl, not superficial…”
    â€œI told you, I’m not,” she said, bright spots of color in her cheeks. “I’m not available.”
    â€œWhy not? Is there a man in your life?”
    â€œThere’s a town in my life. A town that needs a doctor. Now can we get back