Читать книгу Her Kind Of Doctor - Stella Bagwell - Страница 11

Chapter Three

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 want me around.”

Helen let out a short, sarcastic laugh that had a passing nurse glancing their way.

“You’re wrong. I’ve never seen Luke like this. He’s lost and trying terribly hard not to show it.”

Luke. Paige rarely heard anyone call Dr. Sherman by his first name. He wasn’t a person that invited that sort of closeness. To hear Helen call him Luke made him seem far more human. And that notion touched something very close to Paige’s heart.

“Helen, I’m just now starting to get the hang of things up here. I—”

Helen grimaced. “The hang of baths, breakfast and handing out pills? Don’t try to fool me, Paige. You miss the disorder and constant change that goes on in the ER.”

Moving closer, Paige lowered her voice so that only Helen could hear her. “All right! I do miss the ER. But I can’t go back. Dr. Sherman is...well, I just can’t be his floor mat anymore.”

Helen shot her a meaningful look. “I’m quite certain you’re going to find a different Luke Sherman,” she said emphatically. “Trust me. He’s learned his lesson.”

Frowning, Paige said, “Helen, I’m not working up here on the internal medicine floor just to teach Dr. Sherman a lesson. I’m moved up here to keep my own sanity!”

Helen reached out and gave Paige’s arm a placating pat. “Luke needs you.”

Massaging her forehead with her fingertips, Paige said, “I find that very difficult to believe. But I am tempted to come back and give things another try. I—”

“Good! That settles it. You don’t have to do a thing. I’ve already approved it with Chet. He’ll have a replacement here in IM for tomorrow night’s shift. All you have to do is show up in ER.”

“Show up? Don’t you mean have a showdown? I’m pretty sure sparks are going to fly when Dr. Sherman sees me again.”

“Don’t worry, Paige. If any sparks fly it will be the good kind. Now I’ve got to go. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

Paige didn’t have a chance to argue the point. Helen quickly hurried away. For one second, she considered going after the woman and telling her there was no way she was going back to the ER. But for some strange reason her feet suddenly felt like two lead weights.

Darn it! What was she going to do now?

Paige, you’ve never been a spiteful person. You’re going to go back to the ER and treat Dr. Luke Sherman with the same respect that you’d like to be treated with. And no matter how nasty he gets, you’re going to hold your temper and your tongue.

Sure, Paige thought, as she hurried to the drug dispensary. Holding herself together around the demanding doctor would be an easy task. About as easy as running a marathon across Death Valley in the middle of summer.