was out and gone before he could open his door. He watched in the illumination of the headlights as she bypassed the walk to the front entrance of the bungalow and continued toward the detached garage further down the drive. Her dress blew in the wind that was picking up. He caught a glimpse of trim thigh before she pushed the hem back into place. Reaching the stairs, she started to climb them.
So China lived in the apartment above the garage. Flowerpots lined the steps. She really loved plants and seemed to have a green thumb. Maybe he’d been a little harsh with his comment about garden clubs. The plant care he was familiar with was done by someone who showed up in a van and brought new plants to replace the brown ones. Neither his mom nor Janice would ever damage their manicures by messing in dirt.
China was nothing like the other women he knew. She was a dependable nurse, helpful beyond necessary, gardener, a darned good singer, and she had the prettiest brown eyes he’d ever seen. What more was there to discover about Little Miss I-can-hold-my-own-in-a-battle-of-wits?
Payton waited until the light flickered on inside the area above the garage before putting the car in reverse and backing slowly out of the drive.
China was the most interesting woman he’d met in a long time. Did he want to discover more?
NEAR LUNCHTIME, ON TUESDAY of the next week, Doris stuck her head inside Payton’s office and said, “Hey, Jean needs to talk to everyone. It’s a slow day, which doesn’t happen often around here so we’re going to eat and meet at the picnic table out back.”
She headed down the hall without waiting for a response. That might have been the longest invitation he’d ever received to lunch and he came from a society family who made them a regular affair. Doris, he’d learned, was the mother hen of the group. Robin the precious child they all tolerated, Jean the leader who used a kitten-soft hand but everyone heeded, Luke the fun guy who popped in, and China … He smiled.
Monday morning she’d arrived at work with no comment on their duet on Friday night. He’d overheard the other women teasing her but she had not said a word to him that hadn’t been professional in nature. He would have thought she’d softened toward him after their evening out, but not China.
Still, it was a nice day and he looked forward to taking his meal outside with the others. He was slowly feeling more a part of this close-knit group. There had been none of the same camaraderie at the large E.R. he’d left. The staff had come and gone with too much regularity. Golden Shores was slowly turning into a place he could belong. To make life even better, he’d just received a much-awaited phone call that his boat had arrived. Sailing topped his agenda for his next day off.
Payton stepped out into the bright sunshine and breathed deeply. He felt better just by being in it. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d ever done anything like have lunch with co-workers, other than grabbing something from the machine on the way through the snack room. He wanted to live differently and this certainly qualified. There would have been no “Let’s go out back to eat” if he was still in Chicago.
“Hey, Payton, we saved you a spot.” Jean shifted around on the cement bench, giving him a place to sit. Doris sat next to her and moving around the table was Luke and beside him China. As he maneuvered his leg under the table his knee hit China’s leg. Her gaze jerked to his before she lowered her gaze and pulled her leg out of contact with his.
He glanced at her lunch. She had a sandwich and raw vegetables. At least she didn’t have one of those nasty prepackaged microwave meals with all the preservatives. When she noticed his interest, she moved her meal more squarely in front of her but didn’t meet his look. He couldn’t help but grin. She was self-conscious.
“We’ve been asked to cover the medical tent at the concert Saturday night. I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you more notice. I only do what the higher-ups ask. For your trouble you will all be awarded the next day off.”
Everyone but him groaned.
“It’s Sunday. That’s our day off anyway,” Luke said.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t notice that.” Jean smiled. “Our shift will be from eight until.”
“Until?” Payton asked.
“Until it’s over,” everyone, including China, said in unison.
“Where’s the venue?” Payton asked.
“On the beach near the state park. They put up a large stage and in comes the crowd,” Luke offered between bites of sandwich.
“How do they charge and control the crowd?”
“Don’t. This one is to encourage tourism around the Gulf area to help the economy after the tornado that came through last spring,” Luke said.
Payton remembered it. He’d seen a little of the TV reporting when he’d been in the hospital, recovering from pneumonia.
“People are bused in from parking lots out of town. It’s a big deal. And a lot of fun.”
Jean held up a hand. “Now that Luke has given us an enthusiastic overview of the event we need to get down to the medical particulars. We should expect the usual. Too much to drink, falls, turned ankles, the occasional black eyes from hands being slung during dancing. I’ve already spoken to Larry. He and Robin will take the early shift.”
She looked at Payton then China. “You two will have the late shift. You’ll need to be at the tent no later than nine o’clock and stay to see that the tent is dismantled. That means bringing everything back here afterwards. Remember I said you get the next day off.” She gave them a bright smile. “Doris and I will be splitting up to help with the paperwork. Let’s plan for the worst and hope for the best.”
China had always enjoyed working the concerts. She loved music and it was a great way to enjoy some of the best. The artists were world class and they were giving of themselves to help others.
An hour before she’d been assigned to arrive she stepped off the hospital shuttle bus. She’d left her car parked behind the clinic. China headed for the area where the medical tent was located. The warm-up act was already on the stage and the noise level was rising. Crossing the section of the beach highway that had been closed, she made her way to the entrance gate and showed her badge. As she walked, she passed food venders, T-shirts sellers and trinket hawkers. The excitement and intensity in the atmosphere grew the closer she moved to the stage. The medical tent had been stationed on a concrete area with easy access to the road in case an ambulance was needed and just far enough away from the major activity that it was easy enough to talk without shouting too much.
Larry and Robin were seeing to a patient as she entered. To her surprise, Payton was already there. He wore a polo shirt that hung loosely from his broad shoulders across his chest and a pair of tailored khaki shorts that made her think of preppy men and tennis matches. This was no T-shirt with a slogan and slouchy pants kind of guy, the kind she tended to notice. If she had to pick a word for Payton’s looks it would be classy and they had an appeal.
Her familiarity with guys like him was little to none. No wonder Payton seemed to rub her the wrong way so easily. She had no concept of his kind of guy, didn’t know how to react to him. As long as he kept his criticism to himself, she found he had some positive qualities.
Payton was patiently putting a small bandage on the moving target of a two-year-old girl’s finger. The mom was blissfully watching Payton, not her child. He seemed oblivious to the woman’s admiration.
China had to admit it made an almost Norman Rockwell moment. Payton’s dark head, leaning over the little girl’s blonde curls, had her wondering if he’d ever thought about being a father. He was good with kids.
Had he ever gone skimboarding? The boy had returned to have his stitches removed but she’d been with another patient and didn’t know if they had really