Free The M.D. Courts His Nurse by Meagan McKinney Page B

stop internal bleeding until they can get them out of there.”
    â€œOh, my God,” Rebecca breathed as the real shock of it started to settle in. Lois was talking about the most difficult kind of medical care imaginable—surgery at the trauma scene itself. But this was Mystery Valley, a quiet, uneventful place where little besides routine accidents ever stressed the medical community. They simply weren’t ready for this.
    â€œI’ve tried Dr. Saville’s house and the office,” Lois lamented. “Repeatedly. But it’s no use. I get the message machine both places. It just doesn’t make sense. I mean, he’s not exactly a party animal—not during the week, anyway. Besides, he had back-to-back surgeries this afternoon. He should’ve gone home tired long ago.”
    â€œYeah, that’s right, he had surgery,” Rebecca chimed in, moving the phone so she could tug on a warm pullover. “I know where he might be. One morning when I was early at work, I found him asleep on that big couch in his office. He told me he sleeps there sometimes when he’s working late on his journal articles or tired after surgery. It’s lots closer than going out to his place.”
    â€œThat makes sense, all right, especially with the phone on his desk,” Lois added. “It only rings on low volume, remember? Loud ringing always startled Dr. Winthrop, he had that crazy theory that every startle reflex takes one day off the heart. So he set it on low volume, then broke the selector off.”
    â€œSure, we both teased him about it. Well, keep dialing the number,” Rebecca implored her. “I’ll drive to the office right now. If he’s not there, I’m going to the accident scene on my own. They may need more nurses.”
    â€œLast I heard, they do. You be careful, babe, and good luck. I’ll keep trying the office.”
    Â 
    The old Bronco was no speed demon, but with the nighttime roads empty, Rebecca floored it. She made it to the clinic in Mystery in less than ten minutes.
    â€œThank God,” she murmured aloud as she wheeled into the asphalt parking lot, and the headlights revealed the doctor’s long, low-slung Alfa Romeo parked close to the building.
    She unlocked the glass double doors and slapped at the master light switch, filling the entire suite with soft, indirect lighting. Even as she raced back toward the private office at the end of the hall, she heard the low, insistent chirring of his phone as Lois dialed.
    She flung open his door and saw a supine form stretched out on the couch even before she switched on the lights.
    â€œDr. Saville! Doctor, wake up!”
    In the few seconds before he responded, she got a strong impression of the slumbering man. A gray exhaustion was evident in the handsome face, the cumulative toll of his secret weekend plus a grueling session in surgery.
    Despite her urgency, however, she couldn’t help appreciating the fact that his shirt was off. His pectorals were hard and sloping, his abs and lats like taut steel bands. A fine mat of dark hair formed a silky vee on his chest. His stomach was flat and hard, and for a moment she couldn’t help wishing he’d taken his trousers off, too.
    â€œWhat?” he demanded, sitting up quickly. “What’s wrong?”
    First she picked up the ringing phone and told Lois she’d found him. Then she quickly filled him in on the emergency.
    He took it in stride with his usual calm efficiency, already collecting extra surgical instruments and supplies for his leather jump kit even before she finished speaking.
    â€œGet plenty of sterile gauze, sponges and alcohol wipes,” he instructed her. “Bring clamps and silk sutures and number-three catgut for closing up. It doesn’t have to be fancy work up there, it just has to hold until we can get them stabilized in a hospital. Looks like you’ll be doing some sewing tonight,