Pacific Paradise, Second Chance
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Susan Carlisle
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CHAPTER ONE
LANDON COCHRAN, MD, scrolled through the pages of the file on his tablet again. He studied the name in black on the screen: Macie Beck. Surely it wasn’t the same woman. There must be any number of Macie Becks in the world. What were the chances that the one he had known was currently in the Northern Mariana Islands? Even slimmer the chance that she’d be on the small island of Saipan? It couldn’t be her.
As the one-hundred-and-fifty-passenger plane circled the twelve-mile-long lush green island below, Landon looked out the window. Though it was an American territory, Saipan was closer to China than to Hawaii.
The plane lined up for its approach along the single landing strip of the airport, which was built on top of a mountain. This was nothing like the busy airports he was used to. There was none of the hustle and bustle, not even another plane in sight.
He gathered his satchel and hoped his larger bag had made it onto the airplane. In this part of the world, weight was carefully considered on flights. Often bags would be left behind to show up on the next plane, which might be the next day. It had happened to him only once, but ever since, he carried a change of clothes in his smaller bag just in case.
Soon, the plane landed and passengers were disembarking. As Landon stepped out and walked down the metal stairway that had been rolled to the plane, he looked at the lush vines and vegetation all around the area. This part of the world was hot, muggy and rainy. Welcome to the tropics, he thought. He followed the other passengers across the tarmac to the low gray terminal.
Landon entered the cool building and waited for his luggage. Twenty minutes later, with his rolling bag in hand, he headed out the glass doors to the parking lot, where the late afternoon heat was offset by a slight ocean breeze. Across the street stood the abandoned cement bones of a chain hotel, left unfinished.
He located a man who held a card with his name on it.
“I’m Dr. Cochran.”
“Welcome to Saipan.” The man gave him a toothy grin and took his large bag, then led Landon toward a car. “I am Mario,” he said with a slight accent.
While Mario put his bag in the trunk, Landon chose to sit in the front so he could check out the area. He wasn’t here to be pampered. He had a tough job ahead, and he needed to familiarize himself with the people and the island as quickly as possible.
As Mario drove down the winding road toward the coast, they passed small square houses made of cement blocks. Many had grassy yards while others were surrounded by dirt spaces filled with chickens. They turned south up a wider two-lane road that skirted the coastline. Businesses lined the sides of the road, many with palm trees in front that swirled in the wind. To Landon’s amazement, cars filled the roadway.
For someone who had grown up in the American Midwest, this was a completely different environment. When he was in the navy, he’d been deployed as far west as Hawaii, where he had loved the heat, breeze and ocean. Apparently, he would get plenty of that here. That was, if he had a chance to get out of the hospital long enough to appreciate it. He’d come to evaluate the Saipan Hospital and ensure that it received the updates necessary to give the people of Saipan and the surrounding islands the best health care possible.
Soon, a white building with windows running across the front came into view. Mario steered the car into the circular drive and stopped under the brick porte cochere.
“Here we are.” Mario gave Landon another grin before getting out. Landon followed suit and met him at the rear of the car to pick up his luggage.
“Thank you,” he said to the man, then took the handle of his luggage and rolled it behind him through the glass-door entrance.
Inside, the building was cool. A long tile corridor lay before him, and he searched for a sign that would direct him to the administration office. The pharmacy was located to his left and the emergency waiting room entrance to his right, yet he didn’t see any directions to Administration, so he continued down the hallway cross an intersection of a hall and continued on. At the end of the long hall he took a chance and turned left. There he found the office.
After opening the single glass door, he spoke to the thirtysomething, slim, local woman behind the desk. “I’m Dr. Landon Cochran of the World Health Organization. Macie Beck should be expecting me.”
Once more, the idea that it might be the same Macie he had known sent a jolt of apprehension through him. Their final parting wasn’t one he was proud of. He’d left her in her bed after a night of passion with the promise to call her when he got off his shift at the hospital, but that hadn’t happened.
The receptionist glanced toward a closed door. “Macie isn’t here right now.”
“I assume she is expecting me?”
“She was...uh...is, but they were short of help in the ER and she’s down there.” The woman looked unsure as she picked up the phone. “I’ll let her know you’re here.”
Landon shook his head. “Don’t interrupt her if she’s working.”
Relief replaced the worry in the receptionist’s expression. She stood and came around the desk. “Your office is this way.” She led him to a doorway across the waiting room area. “Please make yourself at home.” She then left Landon to himself.
Landon grabbed his luggage and entered the room. It was a small space by usual office standards, but it suited him. His work as interim administrator of the Saipan Hospital didn’t require a grand office. A bookcase with a few items on it filled the wall behind a very basic desk and chair that faced the door. Windows flanked it on both sides. A couple of chairs that didn’t look comfortable sat in front of the desk. A small door off to the side led, Landon assumed, to the restroom.
The receptionist returned shortly and said, “I spoke to Macie. She said she would be here as soon as she could get away and for me to help you in any way I can.”
“Okay, then let’s start with your name.” Landon parked his suitcase beside the desk and walked behind it.
“I’m Tatiana Yuka.”
He smiled and the woman visibly relaxed. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too, sir. Would you like me to show you around?”
Rolling his chair out, he took his suit jacket off and hung it over the back. “I think I’d like to see the policy-and-procedures manual first.”
“You’ll find it right there.” She pointed to a thick white notebook on the shelf behind the desk.
He pulled it off the shelf and had a seat. “Thanks. Please let me know when Ms. Beck arrives.”
“Yes, sir.”
Landon got to work. If all went well with this assignment, that promotion he had been working toward for years would be his. He glanced up to see a couple of hours had passed and still no Macie Beck. It was time to go after her. People didn’t usually leave him hanging when he wanted to see them. He stepped out of the office. “Tatiana?”
“Sir?”
“If I’m needed, I’ll be in the ER.”
Concern washed over her face. “Yes, sir. You know where it is?”
“I do. I saw the sign on the way in.” Landon turned right and soon reached the intersection and started up the long hall toward the front of the hospital. This time he observed the areas that made up the hospital more closely. He walked by rooms on each side of the hall. Those appeared to hold general medicine patients. He nodded to staff and people he passed. They all gave him a curious look.
Returning to the first intersection where a similar hall crossed, he stopped and looked down each one. The signs indicated the left hall was the pediatric unit and the other side the geriatric unit. He continued on until he saw the double sliding doors of the emergency room waiting area. As he did, the wail of an ambulance in the distance caught his ear.
He entered the waiting area and spoke to the man behind the registration desk. “Please point me in the direction of Macie Beck?”
The staff member looked uncertain. “Uh, she’s busy right now.”
Landon’s patience had become short. After all, Macie had known when he was arriving at Saipan, and it had been over two hours since she’d been informed that he’d wanted to see her. It was time to search her out. “I think she can take a moment for me. I’m the interim administrator, Dr. Cochran.”
The man’s eyes widened and he pointed behind him. “Uh...hello, sir. Let me walk back there with you.” Landon followed the man through the doors into a large space subdivided into smaller areas by curtains. A circular desk was in the center of the room. In front of it stood a petite woman wearing the same light green scrubs as the rest of the staff. Her back was to him and he could see that her dark brown hair had been pulled back at the nape of her neck.
His heart thumped against his chest wall. He recognized those fine feminine curves. It was his Macie Beck.
She turned and her gaze met his.
Of all the islands in all the world, this was the one he’d been assigned to. Now he knew how Rick felt in Casablanca when Ilsa showed up in his bar.
Well, well, well. If it wasn’t the Landon Cochran.
The one who had left her high and dry all those years ago when she’d been working in Hawaii at the Veterans’ Hospital. Even a Dear John would have been better than the nothing she got after their one and only night together. Landon had not just ignored her, he had left the island. He’d stamped her “men can’t be trusted” card and then disappeared.
To make the situation worse, she had been vulnerable after what had happened with her father, and Landon’s defection had devastated her. Her fragile pride had taken another hit. It had taken weeks of them working together for her to start trusting Landon. She didn’t have any faith in her judgment regarding people, but Landon had managed to get around that. When he had left, she’d been confident he’d found out what her father had done and wanted nothing more to do with her. Landon wouldn’t have been the first person. She had hoped Hawaii would have been far enough away to get out from under her father’s criminal shadow.
But that had all been eight years ago. Mercy, Landon still looked good. Handsome as ever. He’d filled out some from the lean young man he had once been. His shoulders seemed broader and his body sturdier. Yet there was something granite hard about him, as if he’d seen some tough times. His hair, a tawny color, still had a touch of the unruly waves she remembered well.
He brushed a hand through it. That was the same gentle hand she had seen in action with patients and had experienced directly when it cupped her cheek just before he’d kissed her. And then had done more. Those thoughts were better off not being revisited.
The siren grew louder, cutting her Landon-induced stupor short. She shook her head. There wasn’t time for those memories. “Dr. Cochran, I hope you haven’t forgotten your medical skills while pushing papers. We could use them now. Auto accident. Three casualties, one a child.”
Macie hurried toward the ER entrance. She didn’t have time to worry about Landon. There were patients coming in. As she passed the supply cart, she snatched up a mask and nitrile gloves. She handed Landon a gown and left him to get the other supplies he needed.
“Put the boy in exam room two and the man in three. The woman in six.” She followed the gurney with the boy on it.
Macie carried out the processes to hook the boy up to the monitors. A deep voice she had heard for months, maybe even years, after her heart had been broken said, “What do we have here?”
“Eight-year-old boy with lacerations to his leg, face and hand.”
Landon stood beside her. Too close. “Before I start stitching, I need X-rays to check for broken bones. Start an IV of fluids and give pain meds as needed. A little something to calm him as well.”
“He’ll need to go down to X-Ray.” Macie punched buttons, getting the monitors set.
Landon asked over his shoulder as he stepped out of the way. “Where’s the portable one?”
She hated to admit this. “We don’t have one.”
“Just see it’s done while I check to see if the ER doctor needs help with the other two patients.” Landon left her.
Macie saw to the medicines Landon had ordered all the while reassuring the boy that his mother was fine. She then started cleaning around his injuries Landon returned fifteen minutes later.
“Has he been to X-Ray yet?”
“No. They’re backed up.” Macie continued her work.
Landon’s lips thinned into a tight line. “Unhook him. Grab the end of his bed and the IV pole.”
“What’re we doing?” Macie demanded as she obeyed.
“We’re taking him there ourselves.”
She couldn’t agree with him more. As a nurse practitioner she had authority, but she couldn’t override procedure like Landon was doing. “Yes, sir.”
She remembered his curt decisiveness from long ago. Time hadn’t softened that part of his personality. She had appreciated it back then and did now as well. So why hadn’t he said goodbye to her all those years ago? That seemed so out of character for him.
Together they rolled the boy out of the department and into the hallway.
“Which way?” Landon asked over his shoulder as he pulled the gurney ahead of her.
“Right,” she called. “Down the hall on the right.”
Moments later they wheeled the boy into X-Ray.
Landon spoke to the woman behind the desk. “This patient needs X-rays right now.”
The woman blinked and stood. “You can’t come in here—”
Oh, no. This wasn’t going to go well. Landon was about to butt heads with Yuri, the most formidable woman at the hospital. Macie shook her head from where she stood behind Landon.
“I’m Dr. Cochran. This child needs X-rays before I can stitch him up. He needs them now.”
“Yuri?” Macie gained the woman’s attention. “Dr. Cochran is our new administrator.”
Her eyes widened. “Come on through. A clerk was just on his way to get the boy.”
“We have saved him the trouble,” Landon said on their way past her desk. “Macie and I can handle everything.”
Minutes later they had the boy on the X-ray table. Macie stayed with the child as Landon saw to taking the pictures. When they finished, he studied the film for a few minutes.
He rejoined them at the gurney and smiled, cheerfully informing the boy, “It looks like there are no broken bones.”
“That’s good news.” Macie patted the boy’s shoulder.
“Now we can get you back to the ER. Then you can check on your mother.”
The boy nodded, tears welling in his eyes.
Macie pulled the gurney and Landon pushed. “Don’t worry, honey. Dr. Cochran is going to take good care of you.” She glanced up to see Landon watching them before he looked away to navigate the hallway. She’d forgotten how good he was with people. His smooth charm had certainly gotten to her. Maybe it was because he had recognized the pain in her like he did in his patients.
She’d been a mess back then. The year before, she had learned that her father, whom she had idolized, was a crook. She had lived a charmed life. The big house, the best schools, her first car a sports car. Her family had traveled. Her mother had been on a number of fund-raising committees, and she and her brother and sister had run with the “in crowd.” Life had been all she could have dreamed of until...it wasn’t. It had all been a lie. Her father had built it all on nothing real. When her world had imploded, it had been public and in royal fashion. Her pain had been raw. If Landon hadn’t seen it, maybe he had sensed it.
Back at the exam room, she and Landon situated the boy in the right spot.
“I’m going to start with your leg.” He spoke to her and the boy. “Then do your head and then your hand. None of this will hurt, I promise. But I’m going to need you to be very still.”
The boy nodded as his eyes closed. The pain medicines were taking effect.
“I need a suture kit over here,” Landon called to no one in particular as he pulled a stool up next to the bed.
Macie had already anticipated what he would need and had pulled it off the supply cart. Landon began his careful work.
Half an hour later, Macie regarded Landon’s patient. “I see you haven’t lost your skills.”
Landon pushed back from the gurney. He arched his back, stretching. It pulled his dress shirt tight across his chest. The muscles beneath the thin material showed clearly. He straightened and stood, moving to the boy’s head. “Let’s see about that when I’m completely done here. One down and two to go. At least this one will be in his hairline. He won’t have to worry about a scar.”
Macie had already cleaned up the last suture kit and replaced it with a new one.
“And I see that you’re still as efficient as ever,” Landon said.
“I wasn’t sure you remembered me.” She sucked in a breath, horrified. “I can’t believe I just said that. This isn’t the time or the place.”
“Macie—”
Thankfully, one of the nurses stuck her head inside the room. “Macie, the mother is asking after her son.”
Grateful for a reason to escape Landon, Macie said, “Liz, assist Dr. Cochran while I go talk to her.”
It was an hour later before she saw Landon again. She’d just hung up the phone after making sure the rooms for the car-accident patients were ready. Her hands shook as he stepped to her.
“If everything is under control here, Macie, we still need to talk.”
“Talk?” The word came out as a squawk. She didn’t want to talk about what had happened between them years ago.
“Yes, about the hospital. You are head of Nursing and I’m the interim administrator.” He watched her as if he wasn’t sure she was understanding him.
Relief settled over her. She could handle business talk. Staying away from the personal was her plan, despite her one little slipup. Still, she couldn’t help but want to know why he’d left her like he had. She’d believed that he had enjoyed their night together as much as she had. She had thought they’d had something special. At least, it had been special to her. Even now he made her blood flow faster. She needed a calm head before she discussed anything—including business—with him.
“I’ve been on for over sixteen hours. What I need right now is a little R & R. Surely our talk can wait until tomorrow. I still need to show you where you’re staying while you’re here.”
“Okay, we’ll let the discussion wait. For now. I could use some rest as well.”
“Then I’ll drive you to your house and we’ll meet tomorrow. I have to go by my office, and I can meet you at the front door in ten minutes.” That would give her a few more minutes to gather her thoughts.
“I need to get my suitcase. It’s in my office. I’ll walk with you.”
It looked like she wouldn’t be getting those sorely needed few minutes alone. As they headed for Landon’s office, she nodded back the way they had come. “Thanks for stepping in back there.”
His pace matched hers. “Not a problem. I haven’t felt that adrenaline rush in a long time.”
“How long have you been working for World Health?”
Landon looked at her. “I was given the opportunity about four years ago. And I’m not a paper pusher.”
“Hatchet man?”
His brows drew together. “No. Why would you think that?”
“Isn’t that what you do? Close hospitals?” She tried to keep her tone light but missed the mark.
“Again, no. I’m here to evaluate the Saipan Hospital. Review what needs to be done to make it better. See what I can do to move it forward. Closing it has never been on the table.”
At least that sounded positive. Macie had come to love this island and its people, and she wouldn’t let anything hurt them if she could help it. Landon had said all the right things. She hoped he was being honest rather than diplomatic.
“You do know we’ve had four administrators in as many years.”
“I do. I plan to position the hospital and get it the funding it needs, so that a permanent administrator will want to come and stay.”
“So, you’re swooping in like Superman to make it all better.” Now her bitterness had started to show. That wouldn’t be the best way to influence Landon.
They had arrived at their offices. “Why, Macie, I never imagined you’d become a cynic. I’m sorry to hear that. I’m not Superman, but I was assigned this job because the World Health board believed I could do some good here.”
“I’m not cynical. I’m practical. I’ll meet you at the front door.” She left him for the safety of her office, where she closed the door.
Thirty minutes later, with Landon in the passenger seat of her car, she drove along the winding road on the opposite side of the island from the hospital. This area wasn’t nearly as populated and the road rose high above the water.
Abruptly, he confessed, “I wondered if it was you when I saw your name in the hospital files. I’ll admit I’m surprised to find you still this far from the mainland.”
Macie glanced at Landon. She’d guessed he had been as surprised to see her as she had been to see him. In a tight tone she answered, “And I imagine you never planned on seeing me again anywhere.”
“That’s not what I meant. I realize I left in the wrong way.” He shifted his long legs in the cramped car.
His discomfort made her smile with satisfaction. Yeah, he’d left in the wrong way. To promise to call a woman you just bedded and not to do so made him the lowest form of male. Even lower than her father had been. She should’ve known better than to trust the charming Dr. Cochran. That was what her father had done to all those people he’d stolen from. He’d charmed them out of their money like Landon had charmed her into giving herself to him. Back then she’d been too weak to recognize she was being used.
Things were different now. She’d been hurt and had recovered, had learned her lesson. It was time to move on, just like she had worked to do where her father was concerned. “We both have a job to oversee here. Let’s focus on that.”
“Agreed.” He twisted in the seat again. “I think I would’ve been better off riding strapped to the top. Is this the smallest car ever made?”
Macie chuckled without sympathy. “Pretty much. Keep in mind this is an island and everything must be shipped in. Size matters.”
“Got it. No big SUVs.”
“A few, but mostly for the tourists.” To her great relief his bungalow came into sight. She pulled the car into a short drive and stopped behind another small car. This house had one of the best views on the entire island. It was home for all the hospital administrators, permanent or interim. She’d been there more than once for a social gathering. The porch, with its white wicker rockers and swing, was her favorite. She’d always thought it would be a wonderful spot to sleep on a rainy night. No doubt that would be lost on Landon. He was here for business and nothing more.
The house was situated on a cliff and built out of cinder block like so many of the other homes on Saipan. Coming from a wood-and-brick world, the construction was unusual to her, but she’d soon learned that with the tropical weather and salt water, it was more practical. Surrounding the house was a small grassy yard and on either side of the front door were flowerpots with bright yellow bougainvillea.
She climbed out. Landon did as well with a groan. “Thanks for the torture-chamber ride.”
“Would you have rather walked?” she asked too sweetly.
“No. I was thinking more about calling Mario.”
Closing the door of the car, she headed toward the house. “You’d still be waiting on him. It’s dinner time and he’s with his family. Come on, I’ll show you around, then I must get going.”
He pulled his bag from the back seat. “Where do you live?”
“Close to the hospital.” Macie fished for the key to the place in her scrubs pocket and unlocked the door. Pushing it open, she flipped on the overhead light and moved on into the living area, which ran the length of the back of the house. Thankfully, it was maintained and kept furnished in readiness all the time.
Landon put his bag and satchel inside the door and followed her.
“The bedrooms are through there.” She pointed down a short hall. “And the kitchen is over this way.” She walked to the black-and-white tiled floor. The house was clearly meant for a family.
“This is far more than I need.”
Macie agreed with him. “Perhaps, but this is where the administrators live. They hold a certain position on the island. Need to entertain.” She moved to the French doors that opened off the living room and stepped out onto the screened porch. Taking a deep breath, she looked out over the rocky cliffs at the bright, lush vegetation to the blue-green ocean beyond. The sight always awed her, making her problems feel small.
She felt more than saw Landon come to stand beside her.
“This is magnificent.”
It was nice to hear that he appreciated it. “I couldn’t agree more. When someone asks why I live so far from civilization, I describe this view.”
“Why do you live so far from civilization?”
Macie had no interest in talking with him or with anyone else about why she had run away to the islands. She wanted to forget that time. That was her secret to carry. She had no desire to relive those days. Seeing him again was enough emotional upheaval for one day.
Landon shifted beside her. “Sorry. That’s really not my business.”
On that they could agree. She turned and started toward the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Dr. Cochran. The keys to your car are on the hook by the door. If you need anything, call the hospital. They can get in touch with me. I’ll send someone.”
He muttered a bewildered “Okay.”
It wasn’t until she’d backed out of the drive and headed down the road that she took a few deep breaths and settled her racing mind. As if it wasn’t bad enough to have Landon back in her life, he’d done the double whammy by bringing up thoughts of her father. Somehow, every truly painful event in her life had been crammed into today.
