Free Farewell to Cedar Key by Terri Dulong

in his height, which was a good five inches above my five seven; his dark hair, which was on the longish side, shot through with flecks of gray; and his incredible good looks. Oh, yes, this doc was going to create quite a stir on the island.
    â€œThanks,” I said, sitting opposite him.
    â€œI feel fortunate that Jonathan contacted me about you. It’s not always easy finding competent RNs, especially in such a small town.”
    â€œAnd I feel fortunate to be considered. I loved working with Dr. Clark in the clinic and hated losing my position there.”
    â€œHey, Josie, you guys ready to order?”
    I looked up to see our waitress. “Hey, Brandy. Yes, I’ll have a burger, fries, and sweet tea, please,” I said, realizing it probably wasn’t the healthiest meal to have with a doctor.
    But I smiled when I heard Simon say, “Sounds great. I’ll have the same.”
    Shifting his focus back to me, he said, “Well, I’m sorry about the loss of your job, but hopefully Jonathan’s loss will be my gain. So let’s discuss hours and salary.”
    By the time our food arrived, I knew the pay was more than generous and the schedule of eight till five, with an hour for lunch, was fair. I prayed that I’d get the position.
    â€œNow, there is one other thing,” he said. “I plan to be open every other Saturday morning, to accommodate patients who work during the week. However, on the Saturday that I’ll need you to work, you can have the previous Wednesday off. Would that work for you?”
    â€œOh, definitely. That would be great.”
    He nodded and took a sip of his tea. “Good. Now on to when I would need you to begin work. I hope that won’t be a problem.”
    He took a bite of his burger, chewed, swallowed, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. I suppressed a smile as I realized that despite being a doctor, he had a healthy appetite for burgers.
    â€œAs you might know, I’m having the entire building restored. I bought the house over on D Street.”
    I nodded and continued to eat.
    â€œI plan to live upstairs and my office will be downstairs, so it’ll be ideal. I have contractors working in there now, but they tell me it will be early to mid-January before it’s entirely finished.”
    â€œOkay,” I said.
    â€œWould that be a problem for you? It’s only mid-September. Would you be able to wait until January to begin work?”
    â€œGosh, that would be perfect for me. At the moment, I’m working at the yarn shop in town. Helping out Miss Dora, because Chloe fell and broke her arm. She won’t be able to return to work till December, and I’d like to be able to stay and help them out until that happens.”
    â€œWonderful.”
    â€œPlus . . . my daughter’s father lives in the Boston area. Orli is turning sixteen a few days after Christmas, so he’s invited us up there to spend the holidays and celebrate her special birthday. I’ve kind of put that on hold waiting to see about this job.”
    He nodded his head slowly, as if thinking. “I see,” he said, after a few moments. “So if I had asked you to begin work before the holidays, then you wouldn’t have gone on the trip?”
    I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to say. “Well, no. Orli knows that as a single mom, my work is important. She would have been disappointed and so would I, but . . . I’ve always worked to support us.”
    â€œWell, then, Josie Sullivan . . . if you would like this position, I’d be very happy to hire you as my RN.”
    I felt a giggle escape me and blurted, “Just like that? Don’t you want to interview anybody else?”
    He threw his head back, laughing. “Yup. Just like that. Jonathan gave you an excellent recommendation as a nurse, but I can see for myself that you’re also a conscientious and motivated employee. So, yes, if you would