Second Chance for the Heart Doctor
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Susan Carlisle
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CHAPTER ONE
PEDIATRIC NURSE BAYLEY DODD stood in front of the cardiology floor nurses’ station listening to the other nurses at her back talk in animated whispers. Despite trying to concentrate on the child’s chart in front of her, Bayley couldn’t help but overhear the chatter.
“I heard he’s tall, dark and handsome.” A nurse released a heavy sigh as if she’d seen her favorite movie star.
Another said, “I’ve been told he’s recently divorced.”
“I saw him. He’s dreamy,” one more breathy feminine voice offered.
Bayley endured it as long as she could. She turned and held the electronic pad in a grip across her chest. Pulling her face into an exaggerated silly schoolgirl face and batting her eyelids, she used afalsetto voice to say, “Oh, I hope he asks me to the prom.”
Gaining no laughter and registering the widening of the eyes of the other women, who all looked beyond her shoulder, Bayley’s face sobered. Her gaze met one of the nurse’s. Bayley winced and mouthed: He’s right behind me?
The nurses each gave slight nods before they mumbled something about needing to check on their patients and flushed like a new IV line, disappearing in three directions. Bayley couldn’t help but make fun of people who acted so caught up in the mystique of the gorgeous new doctor. She’d heard he had left his private practice. That the hospital was lucky to get him. She didn’t care how he looked or where he came from as long as he loved children and did his job.
Atlanta Children’s Hospital had a well-known and busy cardiology department. A new staff member was always welcome. She was working as a nurse for now, but she hoped she’d be back here next year as a doctor. She just had to finish her final year of medical school first.
Bayley had waited to turn around as long as she could. She had to do it sometime. Slowly she made her move. The doctor stood an arm’s length from her. His lips were a tight line. Yep, he’d heard every word she’d said. Why couldn’t she be swallowed by the floor?
“Hello.”
His voice made her think of flowing warm caramel candy. Smooth and tasty. Bayley glanced up. And farther up. The new doctor stood tall. With blond hair cut tight on the sides and longer on the top, he appeared to be an alpha male who kept up with the latest fashion. Something that Bayley couldn’t afford to do. She let her hair grow in order not to spend the money for upkeep on a style. Paying for medical school took priority. Along with her father’s needs.
What held her attention was his eyes. They reminded her of being at the beach when a storm rolled in, all dark gray. Exciting and intimidating at the same time.
“I’m Dr. Hunt.”
His tone held no note of humor. This was a somber man who had serious things on his mind. He didn’t have time for silly nurses or her comic routine. She didn’t believe in aggravating staff members. That only made them more difficult to work with. She pulled the wrinkles out of her scrub shirt. “Hello. I’m Bayley. I’m one of the nurses on the floor this evening. How can I help you?”
“I’m looking for a patient. Johnny Smith. Apparently they have changed his room since I was given the list.”
“Johnny is in Room 325. I can show you.” She started in that direction.
His voice stopped her. “I’d like to see his chart first.”
She handed him the tech pad she held. “You can find it all right on here. You do have a log-in number?”
He took the pad from her and quickly touched it. Glancing down, he scrolled through a few pages using his long finger with trimmed nails before handing the pad back to her. “Thank you.” He looked at her name tag. “Bayley.” He started off down the hall.
“Hey, sir.” He looked back. “Johnny’s room is this way.” She pointed in the opposite direction. “I’ll show you. I was headed there before you came up. I’ve been attending him for the last week.”
Dr. Hunt offered her a half smile and nodded. His long legs carried him past her and down the hall, his sparkling-white lab coat flapping as he went. Bayley had to hustle to keep up. “Johnny is Dr. Mario’s patient.”
For a large man he stopped quickly. She almost bumped into him. He looked at her. “I realize that. I’ve been asked to consult. Tell me what you know about the patient.”
She resisted the temptation to go up on her toes so she would be taller. “As you must have read, Johnny has cardiomyopathy. He collapsed at school. He is being evaluated for a heart transplant. And is one very unhappy teenager.”
His look turned indulgent. It rocked her back on her heels. If he really applied his charm, he would be a force that no one could resist. Including her. Maybe the reputation that preceded him had merit.
“You are coming in with me.” His attention remained on her. It was more a demand than a question.
“Yes. I’ve gotten to know this family. I’d like to introduce you, if you don’t mind. They’re stressed to the max.”
He waved a hand toward the door. “After you.”
She appreciated his understanding. Yet she wasn’t going to get wrapped up in the lore of the new handsome doctor. She had her father to worry about, school and a job. There was no time or energy for a romantic encounter with a doctor or any other man. Between nursing school then medical school and seeing about her father, there had been little time left to consider a relationship.
She’d accepted that years ago. Her father had been injured in an industrial accident while at work, leaving him using a wheelchair. Just weeks after he came home her mother had left them, never to return. Bayley had had to grow up quickly. She became caregiver and household manager far too young. Because of her responsibilities, the only lasting bond she’d ever known had been with her father.
Bayley entered the patient’s room. She made sure she wore a smile. This patient and his family needed all the encouragement they could get. A blunt doctor at this point could tip their emotions and hope over the edge. Dr. Hunt might be the type to do that.
The lights were off in the room. Johnny lay in the hospital bed playing a video game on the TV. He had deteriorated over the last few weeks. Staying in the hospital on bed rest hadn’t helped. The teenager needed a new heart. He needed it soon.
“Johnny, I’d like for you to meet Dr. Hunt. He’s here to check you out at the request of Dr. Mario.”
The boy barely looked her direction as he continued to fight off some imaginary cartoon characters on the TV, his fingers moving quickly on the controller.
His mother, who sat in the corner, stood and came to the bedside. “Johnny, don’t be rude.”
Bayley’s heart went out to the boy. He didn’t care if he was rude or not. All he wanted was to feel better so he could be out with his friends having a good time. At the beginning of his hospital stay the room had been filled with them. Now they wandered in occasionally. The days had become longer for Johnny, and more unhappy.
Dr. Hunt moved to face the TV. “Revenge of the Aliens. Have you found the door to the O’Shazia, on the frosty level?”
Johnny’s eyes brightened, looking at Dr. Hunt with budding respect. “How did you know about that?”
“I play the game all the time with my nephew. I also have a gaming room. I’m on level seven right now.”
“Wow, you must be good.”
Bayley smiled. The new doctor had managed to impress the unhappy teen.
Dr. Hunt shrugged. “It’s like anything, a little practice and a little forethought can make you better. Do you want me to give you a hint on this level?”
Johnny nodded. “Sure.”
“Pick up the key that’s inside the jewel box.”
Johnny made a few clicks.
Bayley’s head swam. This man in his starched-collar white button-down shirt, expensive-looking shoes and belt, and navy slacks with a crease looked nothing like the unkempt, dirty-tee-and-shorts gamers from the pictures she’d seen. There must be more to Dr. Hunt than his good looks and dressing style. Who was the real Dr. Hunt?
“That’s right. Go over there. Open the box. The key’s inside.”
The boy made some fast movements with his fingers. “Got it.”
Johnny’s mother stepped closer to Bayley.
The two males continued to talk about a world Bayley’d had no idea existed.
The mother leaned toward her and whispered, “What do you know about this doctor?”
“He’s new on staff. All I’ve heard is he’s really good. He’s supposed to be a big deal. And very smart.”
The mother looked from Dr. Hunt to her son and back again. “I’m supposed to trust him?”
Bayley glanced at Dr. Hunt. “I believe you should.”
“I’m going to take your word for it.” Johnny’s mother didn’t sound convinced.
Bayley did believe the hospital hired quality personnel. Would the hospital feel that way about her when she finished her medical degree? Only one more year of training and she could be on the medical staff. Not as a cardiologist but a general MD. They just had to survive financially until then. Her father’s workplace compensation had covered them through her attending nursing school and she’d worked as many shifts as she could around her classes. But paying for medical school proved more difficult with her father’s increasing medical problems. They’d barely made it through the month. Her only chance of finishing school depended on winning the Wilcott-Ross scholarship. It would change her and her father’s life. She’d be able to afford to finish school and find a place to live where her father could have a better quality of life.
Dr. Hunt finished his conversation with Johnny then turned to them. He extended his hand to the mom. “I’m Dr. Hunt. It’s nice to meet you. You have a fine son here. We’ll get him all fixed up and out of here soon.”
That bit of hope put a smile on the mother’s face. “I’ll hold you to that.”
He returned the smile. Bayley’s stomach fluttered and the smile wasn’t even for her. No wonder Dr. Hunt was the talk of the cardiology department. When he took the dark snarl off his face and smiled, he became movie star glamorous. No wonder people were falling at his feet. She might, as well.
“Johnny, would you mind if I give you a quick listen?” Dr. Hunt asked.
“Okay.” The teen paused the game.
Dr. Hunt removed his stethoscope from his neck. Seconds later he listened to Johnny’s chest. With a practiced movement he wrapped his stethoscope around his neck again. “Has your appetite lessened?”
The teen nodded.
“And how about your energy?” the doctor asked.
“Yeah.”
Dr. Hunt nodded. “How about your weight? Any changes?”
“I’ve gained a little.”
Dr. Hunt pursed his lips. “Okay. It was nice to meet you, Johnny.” He stepped toward the door, glancing back at her. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Bayley moved to the IV pole. She admired Dr. Hunt’s broad shoulders as he stepped into the hall and quietly closed the door behind him. He had a nice bedside manner. He would do.
Jenson continued down the hall. The nurse had been protective of Johnny. He could almost see her claws come out when she’d admonished him to go easy with the boy and his family.
He didn’t acknowledge the looks from the nurses he passed while he looked at the numbers on the doors until he found his next patient. The longer he remained on staff the more patients he would have on the floor. He needed to see this one before he had to attend the weekly heart catheterization conference starting in fifteen minutes. After the meeting he would be headed home.
He intended to have a nice quiet night, maybe find a good pickup game of basketball in the park down the road. In his old life his family would have been horrorstruck if he had been out playing with just anyone in the park. Because of his family name, how it might look would have made it impossible. His father always thought Jenson should be at the club playing tennis or golf with the right people.
The best outcome of the destruction of Jenson’s marriage was his new living environment. He had bought a little condo an older part of Atlanta. It was a quarter of the size of the uptown, ultramodern apartment he and his ex-wife, Darlene, had shared. His new place was set up like a man cave, all to his liking, including a video game room. He smiled at the memory of the look on the nurse’s face. What was her name? Bayley. When he had started discussing video games with Johnny, it had almost been comical.
She had listened at the side of the bed while he had talked to Johnny with a quirky smile on her lips. What she didn’t know was he’d spent far too much time playing games in the last year because of the shame he felt over not being able to hold his marriage together. His father had accused him of being a hermit. The darkness had lessened somewhat when he had resigned from the clinic. Being alone suited him just fine.
Finished with his last patient, he exited the child’s room and headed toward the nurses’ station to order a change in the girl’s IV dip. Bayley swerved around him in a blur of pink scrubs and flying brunette hair in her hurry up the hall.
“Whoa” He stopped himself before they crashed.
Over her shoulder she called in a firm voice, “Come with me. Room 318.”
Another nurse hurried right behind her.
He didn’t hesitate before doing as she said, following her into a patient’s room. Bayley already had her stethoscope out and was listening to the small baby’s chest.
“He needs adenosine,” she said. He raised an eyebrow at her, surprised. “I’m a medical student as well as a nurse,” she informed him as she stood back.
The other nurse worked at removing the child’s one-piece outfit.
“What going on?” Jenson unwrapped his stethoscope from his neck.
“The telemetry is showing arrhythmia. It’s two hundred. BP one-thirty over ninety.”
“How old?” Jenson put the earpieces in place.
“Sixteen days. Just out of ICU,” Bayley replied.
Despite the number of people talking in the room and him looking down at the patient Jenson recognized Bayley’s voice. He nodded then listened to the child’s heart rate. The stream of the baby’s heartbeat alarmed him. He looked at Bayley. “What was he doing when this started?”
Bayley looked at the woman standing at the bedside. She said, “He’s just been lying here asleep.”
“He’s going to be fine,” Bayley assured the mother. “We’re just going to give him a good checkup. While we do I need you to move out of the way.”
The mother looked stricken, but she stepped back and took a chair against the wall without further questions. Jenson hated he had little time to comfort the woman. He had her child to care for. Taking a second, he said, “Everything’s gonna be fine, ma’am. I’m Dr. Hunt. I just need to examine your baby, then we’ll talk.” Despite the seriousness of the situation, he tried to put a soothing note in his voice.
“I want a full blood panel with electrolytes,” Jenson ordered softly to the nurses beside him.
Bayley flushed the IV, preparing to pull the blood. Five vials were placed on the bed beside her by another nurse. He was impressed. Bayley took care of the blood draw swiftly and efficiently. Obviously, this emergency routine had been practiced. Everyone knew their responsibilities.
Jenson wrapped his stethoscope around his neck. “BP?”
“One-ten over eighty-three,” a nurse watching the monitor said.
“Push adenosine. Then put him on digoxin along with his routine meds.”
Jenson continued listening to the child’s heart. “The heart rate is coming down.” He removed his stethoscope. “Bayley, what tests should be ordered?”
“I’d start with an EKG and ECHO.”
He liked the sound of confidence in her voice. “Then see they are ordered, and I’ll sign off on them.” He looked at her and then at the others. “Good work, everyone.”
Then he turned to the woman waiting. “You’re her mother?”
The mother nodded.
“Do you mind stepping out into the hall with me?” He held the door for the terrified parent and followed her out.
He nodded to Bayley. “Keep me posted on how the child is doing.”
Bayley watched Dr. Hunt walk toward her from one end of the hall a couple weeks later. In just a few interactions she had become just as enamored with him as the other nurses. They still chased him, but he remained professional. With each patient he was good-natured and thorough.
She couldn’t help but be impressed with his demeanor. He had calmly and confidently taken care of the baby in distress weeks earlier, giving orders with authority and certainty. More than that, he’d been tender in his care of the scared mother. Every doctor should handle an emergency with as much skill. She also appreciated him giving her a chance to learn by asking her what she would do. The child had been discharged without further episodes a week later. So far, he hadn’t returned to the hospital.
She’d learned from Johnny that Dr. Hunt stopped in to see how Johnny’s gaming was going a couple of times a week. The other women might be enamored with his looks but what she found most attractive were Dr. Hunt’s medical skills and compassion.
She watched until he entered one of his patient’s rooms.
One of the nurses nudged her with her shoulder as they sat behind the nurses’ station.
“Uh, what?”
“Dr. Scrumptious.”
“Surely that’s not what y’all are calling him now?” Bayley rolled her eyes.
“I was just thinking by the way you were looking at him you might think he was scrumptious.”
Bayley shook her head. “You’re crazy.”
The nurse wore a teasing smile as she stood. “I’m just telling you what I saw.”
Bayley still sat behind the nurses’s station catching up on her charting when a shadow loomed over her. She glanced up to see Dr. Hunt look down at her.
“Hey, Bayley. I’m the floor doctor this week. I understand you’ll be doing rounds with me.”
Bayley looked around. The two other nurses sitting beside her listened with interest. They weren’t missing anything he said or did.
“Uh, yes. Are you ready now?”
“Yes.” He picked up a charting pad.
“May I finish this last note?”
“Sure. I’ll read over a chart. I’ll be right over here.” He moved to stand just to the side of the desk but out of the way of any traffic.
A few minutes later she joined him. He started up the hall. “You seem to know the patients well. That makes you a valuable resource.”
One of the nurses giggled when she passed them.
“I guess so.” She had no choice but to agree. She wasn’t used to being singled out. She’d always been the little mouse in the corner going unnoticed. She glanced over her shoulder to the nurses watching them. They quickly looked away. She needed to get this back to business. “Let’s begin at 301, then.”
“Thank you for agreeing to do this.”
Like she had a choice.
“I’m happy to. The more experience I have, the better my chances of finishing medical school.”
Jenson stopped at the first patient’s room. His gaze held hers. “I think you’re a very interesting woman, Bayley.”
Her mouth worked like a fish’s.
“We have a patient to see. Tell me about him.”
She almost got whiplash from the sudden change in topic.
“His name is Ronnie Prichard. He’d been admitted for arrhythmia.” She looked at the chart on her pad. “He is thirteen and unhappy about being here. He has had an EKG, X-Rays, ECHO and blood panel. All look normal.”
“Okay, let’s go see him.” He knocked on the door and entered. “Hey, Ronnie. I’m Dr. Hunt. I’m here to check on you.”
Bayley followed Dr. Hunt into the room. She stood at the end of the bed as he stepped close to the boy.
“What’re you working on?” Dr. Hunt moved nearer. “It looks like a model of a car.”
Ronnie had pieces strewn across the rolling tray that had been pulled over the bed.
“It’s going to be a model of a Formula One car.” The boy showed Dr. Hunt the box top with the picture of the assembled car.
Dr. Hunt took it. “Nice.” He handed the box back. “You like racing I’m guessing.”
The boy nodded and smiled.
“Who is your favorite driver?” Dr. Hunt asked, but his focus had turned to the monitors.
Ronnie went into an explanation about a man Bayley had no idea existed. But that didn’t matter because it was the first time she’d seen Ronnie so animated since he’d come to the hospital.
She studied Dr. Hunt. He really had a way with kids. She could only respect that. He was the type of doctor she wanted to become. His gaze met hers. He smiled and she returned it. What would happen if he really turned that charm on her? She’d probably be a puddle at his feet.
Dr. Hunt brought the conversation back to his examination. “Do you mind if I listen to your heart for a moment?”
Ronnie shook his head.
“Would you sit forward for me? I promise this won’t hurt. It won’t take long.”
The boy did as Dr. Hunt asked.
Finished, Dr. Hunt said, “I look forward to seeing how that car is coming along tomorrow.”
The boy smiled.
Bayley exited the room first. Dr. Hunt wasn’t far behind. “You were great with him. I don’t think I’ve heard him say ten words in the last three days.”
Dr. Hunt shrugged. “It’s all about finding common ground.”
She could learn much from him. They moved to the next patient. Outside the door Bayley once again told Dr. Hunt about the patient they were going to see. They continued to visit patients until all twenty-six were seen. With each patient Dr. Hunt sound as interested in them as he had been Ronnie and Johnny. They had spent extra time in Johnny’s room, but Bayley hadn’t minded.
He stopped walking and faced her. “You always smile when you’re with a patient or a parent. And when you’re making fun of me.”
Her cheeks hearted. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Hey, I’m just teasing. You should smile and laugh more often. If I’ve learned anything about life, it’s that it’s too short not to laugh and do what you enjoy.”
“And that is?”
“For me, gaming, basketball, and action movies. How about you?”
“School and taking care of my father is all I have time for.”
He started for the stairs. “When you take fun out of your life it leaves it pretty hollow. Thanks for your help today. You were great.”
