The Maverick Who Ruled Her Heart
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Susan Carlisle
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Chapter One
JORDON KING COULDN’T DECIDE if he was repulsed or fascinated by the tall, blonde woman with the spiked hair flitting from one table to the next.
She greeted, smiled at and hugged each man as she worked her way around the tables surrounding the dance floor of the Beach Hut Bar and Grill in Golden Shores, Mississippi. Maybe his issue was that she hadn’t given any attention to him. No, that wouldn’t be the reason. Women just weren’t on his agenda right now. Getting his professional life back in order was.
Taking another draw on his drink, he placed the bottle on the bar. What had it been? Fifteen years since he’d been in the Beach Hut? Then he’d been underage and sneaking in with a fake ID. He surveyed the rustic room with high wooden beams darkened from cigarette smoke before the no-smoking ban had been instituted. Very little had changed, bringing back both good and bad memories of the place.
Mark, one of his new colleagues at Golden Shores Regional Hospital, remarked as he looked toward the woman, “Well, it looks like she’s having a good time tonight.”
“Yeah, it looks that way,” Jordon said on a droll note.
“So, how do you like working and living in Golden Shores?” Mark asked.
Jordon chuckled. “Well, I’ve not been here but two days, but so far so good. Thanks for the invite out tonight.”
“No problem. I thought it might be a good way for you to meet a few people from the hospital.”
That was the only reason Jordon had agreed to attend. Even in a small hospital there were people in departments he would never meet if it wasn’t for some event like this. He watched as the blonde made a graceful movement, shifting one hip this way and then another as she made her way through the tight spaces between chairs toward the bar. There was something about her...
“Okay, everyone,” the man on the stage said into the microphone. “It’s time to get this party really started.”
“For this next song I want you to find someone you either don’t know well or don’t know at all and bring them to the dance floor. Let’s mix things up.”
The blonde had been coming toward the bar and made a detour around a group, talking. It brought her out of the last set of chairs directly in front of him as the last of the instructions was given. Her gaze met his.
Never breaking their connection, she stepped up to him and said, “I don’t know you. Want to dance?”
Even in the din her voice sounded low and raspy, like that of one of those old-time movie stars. Her eyes, which were almost too large for her face, watched him with an intensity that made him feel uncomfortable, as if daring him to turn her down.
Jordon shook his head.
She gave him a come-hither smile, crooked her index finger and beckoned him on. Had he met her before?
“No, thank you.”
She stepped closer. “Oh, come on. It’s impolite not to accept someone’s invitation to dance. Besides, you’re the only guy in the place I don’t know.”
Maybe not. She didn’t seem to know him. The woman really was a tease. Maybe the only way to get rid of her was to agree. He took another swig from his bottle and set it down, then nodded. Her smile turned brilliant, as if he’d given her the greatest gift. She headed for the dance floor and he followed.
This time he had an up-close view of her moving among the tangle of chairs and people. Her jeans fitted her perfectly, clinging to every single curve.
By the time he’d reached the dance floor, she was already turning to face him and starting to dance. Jordon joined her as she backed into the crowd and they were swallowed up. He was definitely more fascinated than repulsed when her hands went over her head and her eyes closed as she moved to the beat of the music. The woman was enjoying herself. She didn’t need him there but he couldn’t seem to turn away.
Dancing wasn’t generally his thing but he did what he could not to embarrass himself. At one point she came out of her trance long enough to open her eyes and move into the light. He managed to catch a glimpse of her deep brown eyes. She jumped, startled for a second, then she gave him a weak smile. Where had all the earlier brightness gone?
One song died and the next one was building when she thrust out her hand and said, “I’m Kelsey.”
She said the name as if she expected him to recognize it. He’d live in Golden Shores once for a short time as a teenager so maybe he should know her. He took her hand in his. It was warm, soft and small. Seconds later it slipped from his when a tall guy about the same age as him caught her attention. She turned to speak to him.
Jordon was forgotten just that quickly.
* * *
Who was that guy?
Kelsey had been racking her brains all night, trying to figure out why he looked so familiar. He leaned casually against the bar. With a solid appearance, trim hips and thick hair, he was by far the best-looking man in the place. She noticed him a number of times looking her direction with a censorious glare. One so familiar during her youth.
Dying of thirst, she’d managed to make her way to the bar. As the party planner and therefore designated hostess of the event, she’d spent most of her time making sure everyone was having a good time, especially the honoree and retiring employee, Patrice.
As if fate had taken her by the hand and led her astray, she arrived at the bar just as the emcee announced the dance. Her gaze locked with Mr. Handsome Glare.
She blurted out, “Do you want to dance?”
What had she been thinking? That was just it, she hadn’t been thinking. To her surprise, and after major coaxing on her part, he’d agreed. She always loved to dance and, as if someone above was smiling down on her, they were playing her favorite song.
Out on the dance floor, where the light was brighter, she turned and looked at him. Her breath caught.
J-man.
That’s all she knew him as. As a kid the name had sounded cool, maybe a little dangerous.
A ripple of nervousness went through her. Grateful she was dancing so that it didn’t show, she kept moving after her initial falter. She’d never expected to see him again. Had grieved for him for months when he’d left without saying goodbye. In the middle of many lonely nights she’d fantasized about him returning to Golden Shores. Those had been preteen dreams. Long given up and forgotten. Still, the yellow plastic ring he’d given her lay in her jewelry box. What was he doing back here?
When she’d last seen him he’d been a thin seventeen-year-old with long hair that he’d pulled back at the nape of his neck. He had been her brother Chad’s best friend, the one he’d gotten into trouble with.
For one stunned moment she looked into his eyes. A ripple of disappointment ran through her. He didn’t recognize her. How could he not? He been everything to her at one time. But she’d only been one of his friends’ little sisters. Someone they had to shoo out of the room when they got ready to talk. Still, it hurt that he didn’t know her.
Kelsey glanced at him a couple of times. He wasn’t the best dancer on the floor but he was making an effort. He wore a conservative shirt and khaki slacks. His jaw held a hint of five o’clock shadow that disrupted the perfect appearance.
As the song ended, Luke from the business office grabbed her arm and asked her a question. When she turned around J-man was gone.
Was he still going by that name? She couldn’t imagine that he was. That label didn’t suit him anymore. Searching the room, she saw his back as he headed out the door. Well, that was that, she probably wouldn’t see him again. Maybe he was just a late summer tourist or, better yet, a figment of her imagination. Still, a sadness she didn’t want to examine came over her.
* * *
On Monday morning Kelsey entered her office on the second floor of the hospital.
“Great party,” Molly said.
Molly had been Kelsey’s office colleague, roommate, and best friend since the eighth grade. “Thanks. It was a good one. I’ll miss Patrice but I’m proud she has this chance.”
“Yeah, she’s been wanting to leave town since her divorce. The new job is perfect for her.”
Kelsey wished she was the one leaving. She’d been trying to get out of Golden Shores for what seemed like forever. Away from her parents and the youthful reputation she couldn’t quit shake clear of. If she landed the job at the hospital in Atlanta then they would be throwing her a party, hopefully in the next few weeks. She’d be free, with a clean slate.
“Hey, Kelsey.” Marsha, a floor nurse, stuck her head in the door. “You’re still doing the diabetic class this morning, aren’t you? We’ve had a couple of calls about it.”
“I am.”
“The new hospitalist is going to stop by and introduce himself.”
Kelsey wrinkled up her nose. “Who is it again?”
“Dr. King.”
“Okay. I’ll be on the lookout for him.”
When Marsha left Kelsey said, “I guess a good nutritionist’s work is never done.”
Molly laughed. “I guess you’re right.”
Kelsey settled into the chair behind her desk and reviewed the patients she needed to speak to before they were discharged that day. She didn’t have the most popular job with the patients but it was a necessary one. No one liked being told what they could or couldn’t eat.
“Have you heard anything about this new doctor?” Kelsey asked. Not that it really mattered. She planned on being gone soon enough that it wouldn’t affect her one way or another what type of person he was.
“All I’ve heard is that he’s supposed to be excellent. I do know they didn’t have to hunt him, he came looking for the position.”
“Here? I wonder why? We certainly aren’t a hotbed of cutting-edge medical care.”
Molly looked at her. “Not everyone feels a need to live somewhere else, be at the cutting edge. Some of us are perfectly fine living with the sand, sea, and surf.”
As a child Kelsey had been also. Now all she wanted was to put the ugly memories behind her. But she couldn’t do that if she stayed in Golden Shores. She’d tried. She acted out to forget. “Still mad at me about applying for the job?”
“Yeah, can’t you tell?”
“I may not get it.”
“You’ll get it and I’ll be stuck with another office mate, be looking for a new roommate.” Molly looked at her. “But I won’t be finding a new best friend.”
“I love you, too, Moll.”
“It’s mutual.” A second later she whirled round again. “Oh, I forgot to mention the word around the hospital is that the new doc is gorgeous. There’s already a betting pool started on who he’ll ask out first. Nancy in the business office, Charlotte in the lab, or you.”
“Really?” Kelsey couldn’t seem to live down the good-time-girl rep she’d gained as a high-school and college student. It was hard to convince people who had known her during those times to take her seriously now. She wanted to go somewhere she could start afresh.
“Yeah. I’m putting my money on you. I need a new bathing suit so do what you can to help me out.”
“I don’t think so.” Both woman mentioned were very attractive and seemed to make a point of meeting and dating the newest and most attractive men at the hospital, from the emergency crew to the administration office to the latest unattached doctor. Kelsey had moved past those fun and games.
Kelsey checked the large round clock on the wall and picked up the folder she’d laid out the night before that included pamphlets and handouts for the diabetes class.
“Got to go. We going to meet for lunch?”
“Sure. Whichever one of us gets to the table under the tree first claims it.”
“Will do.”
Late September beside the coast made it pleasant to eat outside. She and Molly, along with other staff members, fought over the coveted table under the large oak tree where the sun wouldn’t beam down on them at noon. The other tables and chairs placed around the area weren’t always as lucky.
Kelsey gathered her folder to her chest and went out the door. “Later.”
* * *
Jordon drove up Main Street on his way to the hospital. He remembered the road well. He’d traveled it hundreds of times with his parents. As an only child he’d done almost everything with them.
Golden Shores hadn’t changed much through the years. It was still a sleepy beach town that grew even more relaxed after the summer crowd had gone home. The storefronts were neat and in good repair. Baskets of late summer flowers, blooming yellow, red and blue, hung from the light poles at each intersection. This small insignificant town had been the last place he’d felt like he’d had a real home.
Pulling his SUV into the palm-lined drive of the hospital and following the signs to the designated doctors’ parking lot, he found an open spot. Stepping out of the vehicle, he inhaled deeply. The spicy scent of salt filled his nostrils. After spending so many years in snow during the winter, it was going to be nice to live here.
Jordon rolled his wrist and checked his watch. He was due for a meeting in twenty minutes. Last week he’d spent an entire day in Personnel, being issued his ID and getting acquainted with hospital procedures. Thank goodness he had no plans to ever leave so he’d not have to sit through one of those again.
With a quirk to his lips he punched in the number he’d been given for the doctors’ entrance. He’d left the high-tech world of a large northern Virginia hospital where swiping a card for entry was the norm to the simple but effective push-button code.
Twenty minutes and two wrong turns later, he found the education classroom he was looking for. He stopped and double-checked the plaque by the door. This was the correct place.
Inside, a soft raspy voice said, “Today I’m going to be sharing some tips on how to eat well and at the same time tasty.”
Looking into the room through the open door, he saw a dozen or so people sitting in chairs arranged in rows.
A man almost as round as he was tall said in a gruff voice. “All I can tell is that I can have a half a head of lettuce and nothing about that is tasty.”
Everyone in the room laughed.
The voice responded, “Now, Mr. Franklin. You know that should only be a quarter of a head.”
Again everyone chuckled.
Jordon stepped into the room and came to a jerking halt. The woman from the party was standing in front of the room. It was her voice he’d heard.
They stared at each other. She looked very familiar for some reason. He’d thought about her a couple of times since their meeting, trying to figure out where he knew her from. Could she be one of Chad’s sisters? What if she was? Would she recognize him?
What he could remember of the youngest was that she had been around all the time. She’d been sweet, cute even, but way too young. He’d thought then, if you were just a little older...
Today her hair lay along her head in a boyish cut. And she wore bangs, pink and black glasses with polka dots on them, a simple hot-pink shirt and black slacks. Above her shoulders she seemed to come from a more unconventional world and below them from a conservative one.
So Miss Goodtime was the nutritionist. She seemed to recover from her surprise quicker than he did. “Uh, can I help you? If you’re looking for the dietetic class, this is the place.”
“Then I’m in the right place.”
She waved a hand in the direction of an empty seat. “Then please join us.” Her words sounded calm but from the slight tremor of her hand he could tell his appearance had flustered her.
“Thanks. I’m Dr. Jordon King.”
At the sound of her hiss his head jerked up to meet her gaze. Her face had paled. What was going on?
He looked out at the group, hoping to give her time to recover from whatever the problem was. “I’m the hospitalist who will be caring for you if you’re ever admitted. I hope that doesn’t happen but I’ll be here if you need me. I’m going to stay for the class so if you have any questions just let me know.”
He took a chair behind the last person in the room and settled in. It had been a long time since he’d had time to sit through a presentation on diet and nutrition. It would be a nice refresher.
Despite having been put off by the demeanor of the woman at the front of the room’s at the Beach Hut the other night, he found her professional and competent during her presentation of what to eat and portion control. She asked if there were any questions. A number of hands shot up.
She pointed to a balding man about halfway back and said, “Mr. Rawlins.”
“Can I ever have cake?”
“In moderation only. Think birthdays and special occasions. Not nightly with ice cream.”
There were groans around the room but she smiled. “Look, I’m not the bad guy here. Diabetes is. We’re talking about a lifestyle change.”
That’s just what Jordon was doing. He would never have dreamt that he’d be back in Golden Shores. He had been on the fast track up the professional ladder. Had even been touted as possibly the youngest chief of staff, but backing his girlfriend and partner hadn’t only cost Jordon his job but his credibility, his self-respect and his confidence in his ability to judge character. He planned to regain all of that in Golden Shores. This was his chance to start over with a clean slate. The woman’s chuckle brought him back to the present. He didn’t even know her full name. As soon as the class was over he was going to find out.
“Maybe that’s a better question for Dr. King.”
He jerked his gaze to hers. “I’m sorry, I missed that.”
“Daydreaming in my class, Doc?”
All the class turned to look at him.
“Just for a sec. My apologies. Now, what was the question?” He stood and looked around the room expectantly.
“I would like to know,” a woman of about thirty asked in a quiet voice, “if there’s a chance that I might come off insulin.”
“It depends on what type of diabetes you have. Some people can control the disease with weight, others can take a pill and others require injections. Speak to your doctor and let him or her know that you would like to try.”
The woman smiled at him and said, “Thanks, Doctor.”
The speaker drew the group’s attention again.
“That’s all for today unless someone else has a question.” No one said anything. “Then I’ll see you all next week. Please bring your list of what you ate for review. Thanks for coming.”
Everyone stood and gathered their belongings. Jordon moved to the front as people headed toward the rear. When he reached the woman she was speaking to one of the attendees and he waited. When the final person was out the door he said, “This is the second time we’ve met and I still don’t know your full name.”
A look he would have called disappointment if he didn’t know better flashed through her eyes. Should he know her? He’d not kept in touch with anyone who still lived in Golden Shores except Chad, and he no longer lived here.
“I’m Kelsey Davis. Hospital nutritionist.” She started picking up the papers on the podium in front of her.
Davis. Maybe she was one of Chad’s sisters? But which one? Then again, Davis was a common name: there were a lot of them in the world. Surely more than one family in Golden Shores had the name Davis.
“Nice to meet you, Kelsey. I look forward to working with you.”
“Hey, Kelsey.” A man stuck his head inside the door.
He and Kelsey looked at him.
“Hey, Mike,” Kelsey said with a smile.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” the young man, who had blond hair and the build of a weight lifter, said.
“Not a problem. I’m on my way out.”
The man stepped into the room. As Jordon left he heard the man say, “Are we still on for tonight?”
* * *
Kelsey had never been more surprised than when the man from the party turned up in her classroom. More startling than that was the fact that J-man was the doctor she’d be working with regularly. She gotten over being nervous around boys along ago, but for some reason J-man, uh, Jordon made her stomach queasy. He’d been her first love. Now he didn’t even remember her!
She’d not seen him since her brother and he had gotten arrested. Right before they had both disappeared. Jordon had been part of the reason her brother, Chad, had issues with their father. Only Chad had never come home. Part of the blame for why her family had become so screwed up was rooted in that long-ago night.
Where Chad was concerned she had a love/hate relationship with him. She’d adored him. He’d been the oldest to her youngest and she’d idolized him. When he’d left without saying anything to her she’d been devastated. As the years had gone by she’d grown to resent him, too. Because of him her once happy life had crumbled and she couldn’t seem to get all the pieces back into place. At least with China that was starting to happen. She wasn’t even sure she ever wanted to make the effort with regards to her parents. Getting out of Golden Shores, closing the door on the past had always sounded like the best answer.
Now J-man was back as a doctor. Life really was crazy. If it hadn’t been time for her to leave town before, it surely was now. Until the new job came through, she’d stay out of his way as much as possible.
At noon Kelsey carried her tray from the cafeteria to the table where Molly waited under the tree. She slid into the open spot next to her.
“Hey, how’d it go this morning? Did you meet the new doctor? He’s the talk of the hospital.” Molly picked up her sandwich.
“That’s not a hard thing to be. This hospital isn’t that big and most of the people who work here have known each other most of their lives.” Except Jordon, who had no idea who she was or the part he’d played in her young life.
“So are you going to tell me what you think about him?” Molly studied her.
Kelsey was well aware of who Dr. King was. Too aware. She didn’t want Molly to know everything she thought about him. “He’s nice enough and seems to know his medicine.”
Molly put down her fork and looked at Kelsey like she had two heads. “That’s all you’ve got to say? Kelsey Davis, I’ve known you since middle school and that’s the least I’ve ever heard you say about a male. He must have really done something wrong.”
Molly had no idea. She’d moved to town the next summer. About Chad and how she’d felt about J-man were the only secrets she’d ever kept from Kelsey. “Okay, okay. What do you want? That he’s the best-looking man I’ve seen. Dark hair, hazel eyes, shoulders from here to eternity and a butt to die for!”
Molly giggled. “That’s more like it but I detect a note of cynicism. Problem?”
“No. He just reminds me of someone I used to know.”
“Someone you didn’t like.”
She’d liked him too well. “I liked the person just fine but it was during a bad time in my life.”
“Hello, beautiful ladies. Mind if I join you.”
Kelsey looked up to see Adam standing there. He worked in X-ray and had gone to school with her and Molly.
“Sure,” Molly said. She nodded toward the other bench.
* * *
Jordon followed Mark to the only outside table available. He took a spot opposite him, gave the food on his tray a dubious look and made a mental note to remember to bring his lunch as often as he could.
A loud burst of laughter came from the table to their left. Jordon knew without looking that Kelsey Davis was there. He’d noticed her along with another blonde with long hair, and he wasn’t surprised to see a man sitting with them. Was every man drawn to her?
His mother had the same personality. People gravitated toward her, especially men. His father had proudly said more than once that “his Margaret was the life of any party.” Jordon had loved to hear her laugh. It had always made him smile. Until that night when the sound had woken him. Her tinkling lilt had drawn him to her until he’d realized she’d been talking suggestively on the phone to a man other than his father.
He glared in the direction of the other table.
“Kelsey and Molly seem to be having a good time. They must be up to something.”
“Up to something?” Jordon took a bite of his oven-baked chicken.
“Yeah, they’re always planning a party or some outing or something.”
Jordon grunted acknowledgement.
“You’ll like working with Kelsey. She’s a lot of fun.”
“What’s her story?”
Mark shrugged. “I don’t know. The usual, I guess. Grew up here, lives here and will die here.”
“You knew her before you started working here?”
“Yeah. We went to high school together. She has a bit of a reputation as a party girl. She enjoys having a good time but I never hear anyone saying anything but good things about her now.”
“Does her family still live around here?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“She looks so familiar. I used to know some Davises, I just thought she might be kin to them.”
“Why don’t you ask her?”
“Maybe I will.” He glanced at Kelsey’s table again. But this woman couldn’t be the young girl he’d once known. She giggled at something that had been said then turned, meeting his gaze. Time ground to a halt as they stared at each other before he forced his attention back to his unimpressive meal.
Either way, she wasn’t someone he needed to get involved with.
That evening he was walking toward his car when he saw Kelsey getting into an aging small compact that didn’t fit the persona he’d seen so far. It was nothing flashy, as he would’ve expected. She pulled out of her spot and passed him with little more than a glance. How could he be so aware of her when she didn’t seem to even notice him?
