too,” he muttered, lagging behind, almost like he didn’t want to be seen stepping off with her. “Look, um…Jenna,” he said, before she got too far away. “I’m sorry about your job. You’re a good nurse because you do care so much. Whatever happened, it’s their loss.”
Jenna spun around to face him. “It happens. Medicine can be harsh at times, and even harsher when you care. But I do, and I made my point. Admin listened, and they’ll make the necessary changes here. And I’ll survive somewhere else.”
“I have a position open. Would you consider working in a small medical practice in a little town called Fort Dyott? Pay is poor, hours are lousy, accommodations are adequate, town is nice.”
“That sounds like a real job offer.” Truly a surprise. But was he serious about it? Because he’d asked with so little enthusiasm she wondered if he’d really asked or if she’d actually imagined it. If he had asked, this was so not like the Dermott she remembered it was almost eerie. Apparently, time hadn’t been very kind to him. Since he was no longer married, was he reeling from a recent divorce, maybe? Or another life tragedy? She couldn’t imagine it being his medicine because she’d never met anyone who loved the practice of it any more than Dermott had. Or one who had better natural instincts for it. “Is it, Dermott? Is it a job offer to come and work with you…a legitimate job offer?”
“Yes, I suppose it is. I need an office nurse. Someone I can depend on to be my second no matter what the situation, since I’m the only doctor in town. And you’ll have to take calls when I’m not on duty, probably see some patients on your own…patients with minor complaints.”
It sounded appealing, actually. But, again, spoken with no enthusiasm from him. That was odd. What intrigued her, though, was the small-town setting. It was a huge change from everything she’d done in the past, and all kinds of images popped into Jenna’s mind—perfect little white cottages with white picket fences, tree-lined boulevards, city parks with lemonade stands. Suddenly, she was filled with nostalgia for a life she’d had a long, long time ago and chosen to throw away, and a stability she’d never known after she’d left her grandparents’ home. “You’re sure you’re serious about this?” she asked, not wanting to raise too many hopes so quickly, not sure why she even wanted to hope. “Sure that you want me to come work with you?” It was crazy even considering Dermott’s offer, but her heart was pounding a little harder, like she might really want the job. Or was all this merely a reaction to being fired a little while ago rather than really wanting Dermott’s job?
Maybe, though, it was because he looked sad. And sad was something she knew so well.
“I had a medical assistant who went off and had a baby a few days ago, and she’s not coming back, so it’s a legitimate offer, Jenna. I don’t have a lot to give you, like I said. My, um…my practice came on some hard times financially, so for a little while anyway, until I can get things back to normal, it might be a little tight. As part of your compensation, though, you’ll have an apartment in the building where I operate the medical practice, if you want it. And your hours will be variable. It’s a lovely area. Pretty. A little on the cold side in the winter, but not horrible.” He shrugged. “There’s not much more to say except the job is yours if you want it.”
The job interested her, but the indicators weren’t good here. Dermott wasn’t Dermott, and that did worry her. Nursing jobs were easy to find. She had her graduate degree, for heaven’s sake. She could command so much more than he was offering. On top of that, and in spite of her situation, she was going out into the world with a very good recommendation from the administration here. So what Dermott was offering her wasn’t even close to what she could land for herself.
Then there was the obvious…their past relationship. They’d both moved on, both turned into different people. So could she work with him? Keep it professional, forget the past?
The truth be told, she didn’t know, and that’s what frightened her. She lived her life on a pretty straight line and Dermott had proved, once upon a time, that he could knock her off that line with so little effort.
Dermott came with risks she didn’t want to take. Better to be safe, she finally decided. “I, um…I appreciate the offer, but right now—”
Before she could finish, he swept around her and, in the briefest moment, when their arms brushed, she felt a jolt shoot right through her—one like she’d never felt with anyone except Dermott. Immediately, she pulled back from him and crossed her arms.
“I understand, and it was nice seeing you again, Jenna.” His voice was kind and, yes, a little sad. It was unmistakable, even after all these years. “I hope you find a job that suits you.” That’s all he said, then he walked away. The leather of his shoe soles clicked sharply across the marble in a precise rhythm, never breaking cadence.
Click…click…click…Jenna fixed on that cadence for a moment, trying not to fix on Dermott himself. But Dermott crept into her mind anyway. What had happened to him? Of all the people she’d ever known, he’d been the one who’d found so much joy in life—joy in the places no one would ever consider looking for it. He used to smile all the time. That had been part of his charm, one of the things she’d loved most about him.
But this man who walked away from her now—he marched like a soldier, rigid posture, straight shoulders. No real smile, maybe not for a long time judging from the deep set of his frown and the permanent creases in his forehead. So, what was his war? she wondered, and even worried as he pushed through the hospital’s revolving door.
“Damn,” Jenna muttered. She was tempted to run after him and accept the job, which was probably a huge mistake. She knew that, knew she shouldn’t even entertain the notion. But it wasn’t like she was following some major life plan, was it? Lord knew, she didn’t follow life plans. Flitting in and out of jobs and relationships for so long, like she was only trying them on for size, was what she knew best, and the thought of taking on a real plan scared her. Yet helping an old friend for a while wasn’t such a bad thing to do, really. Especially when that old friend looked so miserable.
It was Dermott’s look that bothered her. Haunted her already.
The sound of unpleasant laughter broke through her muddled thoughts, and Jenna glanced away from the front door just as her ex-supervisor stepped off the elevator. Bianca Morrey, on the arm of her husband, was wearing her street clothes, and quite obviously leaving for the day while nurses under her supervision were overworked and overtired. One more nurse on the floor would have helped tremendously on the next shift, but Bianca didn’t bend in that direction any more. The heck of it was, Jenna had been offered that supervisory position before Bianca, but she’d turned it down because she hadn’t wanted to be that far away from patient care. That’s where she was needed, and in a life with so little else going on, being needed was good. It was all she had.
And Dermott, a man with so many deep frown lines—he needed help. Her mind made up, Jenna raced after him to tell him she wanted the job after all.
Jenna? He’d asked Jenna to come work for him? And she’d actually agreed?
What the hell had he been thinking? Sure, he’d heard she was working at Stanton General when he’d sent in his papers for the refresher seminar on cardiac arrhythmias being held there, but he’d really had no intention of looking her up. Or had he? He hadn’t gone on an exhaustive hunt through the various wards and wings, but he hadn’t not looked when he’d walked up and down the various halls. Two days there without seeing her had convinced him that he was better off not seeing her at all, not seeking her out, then on his way out the door to go home, there she was. Just like it was meant to be.
OK, so maybe he’d hung around a little longer than he’d needed to after the seminar had ended, and walked a few more halls than was necessary. But to ask her to come and work with him in Fort Dyott? He hadn’t meant to. The words had simply come out of him and it was like he’d been standing on the other side of the elevator listening to himself make a terrible mistake, unable to do anything about it. He liked Jenna, respected her abilities, but bringing her in would only complicate