A Doctor's Dilemma Read online

  A Doctor’s Dilemma

  Laura Scott

  Copyright © 2021 by Laura Iding

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Dear Reader

  A Doctor’s Trust

  Chapter One

  Flight nurse Kate Lawrence swallowed a laugh as she entered the hangar at Lifeline Air Rescue. She’d caught a glimpse of a funny sign on the side of a passing truck and wanted to remember the joke for her granddad.

  Katie girl, laughter is the best medicine. If people would learn to laugh more, you nurses would be out of a job. He was always trying to top her jokes, having passed along his quirky sense of humor to her. She needed to call him after work anyway, to make sure he was doing all right. Her parents were gone on their three-week European anniversary trip, and she promised to look after him.

  She entered the debriefing room to find Lifeline pilot Reese Jarvis and Dr. Ethan Weber, the senior emergency medicine resident, on duty. Both already seated and apparently waiting for her. Was she late? She glanced at the clock to make sure she hadn’t lost five minutes someplace. Nope, it was five minutes before seven. Whew. Reese grinned, but Ethan scowled.

  “It’s about time,” Ethan snapped. “We’ve been waiting.”

  “Sorry.” Even his bad mood wasn’t enough to wipe the mirth from her face. The sign flashed in her mind again, making her grin.

  “You think that’s funny?”

  “No, the sign I saw on the plumber’s truck was funny. The slogan painted along the side of his van read: Don’t sleep with the drip, call me!” She giggled. “I wonder how many women actually call him every day? Can you imagine?”

  Reese chuckled, but Ethan seemed to have been born without the humor gene because he stared at her for a long moment as if she were some sort of alien species he needed to dissect and name. Finally, he looked away.

  “Now that you’re here, we can get started.” He looked at the off-going shift doctor, Zane Taylor, and Ivan Ames, the paramedic on duty. “How did everything go last night? Any problems?”

  The fact that Ethan didn’t find the plumber slogan funny almost made her burst into another fit of giggles. Kate bit down hard on her lip to get herself under control. Humor was a good thing; she was a firm believer in the healing power of laughter. Her goal was to laugh every day, but clearly the handsome flight doctor didn’t share her view. He wasted no time in getting down to business.

  She remembered Ethan from the classroom training, but she hadn’t flown with him before today. Since they’d just finished the final sessions a few days ago, it was possible this was one of his first solo flights. If so, maybe that explained why he was so uptight. Then again, he’d been seriously intense during the educational classes, too. And now that she thought about it, she couldn’t remember ever seeing him so much as smile.

  Hmm. Time to change that attitude.

  “We responded to two flight calls during the night,” Zane reported. “One was an ICU to ICU transfer. A nineteen-year-old male college student diagnosed with Wegener’s disease was transported from Cedar Bluff Hospital to Trinity Medical Center with eight chest tubes, and—”

  “Eight?” Ethan interrupted. “Not eight. You’re kidding, right?”

  Zane pursed his lips and slowly shook his head. “Not kidding. I counted. There were eight.”

  “Why on earth would anyone put in eight chest tubes? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  “I don’t know, but I called the accepting physician to make sure he knew about them.” Zane shrugged. “He did, so we took off. Luckily, the transport went off without a hitch.”

  “We’ll need to do a post-flight follow-up visit,” Ethan muttered. “Hope the poor kid makes it.”

  “He will.” Kate spoke firmly because, along with humor, she also believed in positive thinking.

  “Our second flight was a scene call, car versus tree,” Zane continued. “Driver was intoxicated and suffered multiple injuries but should do all right. We transported him to Trinity Medical Center as well.”

  “Uh-oh. Score one for the tree, driver has a big goose egg,” Kate joked with a wince. Medical humor could be a little on the grim side.

  Ethan ignored her. “Weather conditions?”

  Reese spoke up. “Temperature in the midforties Fahrenheit. Winds may be a problem—coming out of the north, gusting up to thirty miles per hour. No precipitation expected, though.” Reese flashed a grin. “Hey, what can you expect from your average Wisconsin spring day?”

  “Any pending flight calls?” Ethan wanted to know.

  “Nope.” Zane yawned widely. “You’re in waiting mode. Anything else? I’d like to head home. I’m beat.”

  “Drive carefully.” Ethan still didn’t smile as he stood and slipped out of the debriefing room, heading for the lounge.

  “What is up with him?” she wondered out loud, staring after him with a puzzled frown.

  Reese shrugged. “He’s new. I don’t know much about him. Maybe he’s nervous.”

  “Could be.” She was willing to give the somber physician the benefit of the doubt. She didn’t remember doing anything during training to merit such a standoffish response. Her gaze swung back to Reese. “Was Sam nervous during her first flight?”

  “Yeah.” Reese’s eyes lit up at the mention of his new wife. The wedding had been small, but very romantic. Kate had shed a few tears when Dr. Samantha Kearn had become Dr. Samantha Jarvis. “She was but claimed my voice helped keep her calm and steady.”

  “I believe it.” Kate had to admit, listening to Reese’s husky voice in her headset was no hardship. Then she grinned. “Bet that trick won’t work with Ethan.”

  Reese’s eyes widened in horror. “I hope not.”

  Kate laughed and immediately felt better as she followed Ethan into the lounge. Obviously, she and Ethan had gotten off to a bad start, although she didn’t know why. She shrugged. Since Ethan would be around for the next three months and would no doubt spend at least a few shifts as her flying partner, she figured she better make amends.

  Her gaze instantly found him, standing next to the leather sofa rummaging in a large backpack. She noticed he was tall and wore his dark hair on the longish side, a dark lock hanging over his forehead as he bent to his task. His shoulders were broad, tapering to a narrow waist, overemphasized perhaps by his one-piece navy blue flight suit. The dark shadow of his beard should have been a turnoff, but on him, the disheveled look was very sexy. Her pulse kicked up a notch.

  Whoa there, she pulled herself up short. She wasn’t the type to fall for a great-looking face. Not that she didn’t like men, she did. But over the years her relationships had developed the same, predictable pattern. They started as two people out to share a good time, never managing to progress into anything romantic. The men she went out with seemed to prefer remaining good friends, nothing more.

  She really didn’t mind. She knew better than anyone that life was precious, and she had made the choice long ago to be positively cheerful, regardless what spitballs life threw at her.

  Another lesson learned from her granddad.


  “So, what would you like to do while we are in the wait-for-a-call holding pattern?” Kate crossed the room to open the cabinet above the coffeemaker. “Since all the paperwork is up to date, we have a choice of a deck of cards . . .” She held them up for display. “Or Monopoly.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m terrible at Monopoly, and you’re probably a pro, so I vote for the deck of cards. I play a mean game of gin rummy.”

  “I don’t play games. I have things to do.” Ethan pulled out a thick notebook and laptop computer. Sinking into the comfortable sofa, he set the notebook near his right hand and turned his attention to the computer screen.

  Things? She raised a brow. What sorts of things? Was he studying for his boards already? All work and no play makes Ethan a very dull boy. She bit her tongue to avoid saying the cliché that immediately sprang to mind. Kate reluctantly set the deck of cards back in the cupboard, then glanced at Ethan. She’d bet her cherry red convertible that his bad attitude wasn’t a result of nervousness. Either he’d taken an instant dislike to her or he simply didn’t care enough one way or the other to make an effort to be polite. Whatever the reason, it gnawed at her to know Ethan didn’t appreciate the true value of fun.

  Fortunately for him, she was the right person to show him the error of his ways.

  She watched him for a moment, debating the wisdom of poking her nose where it didn’t belong. Not that common sense had ever stopped her before. Ethan’s brows were pulled together in a deep frown as if what he read on the screen pained him. She sighed. Maybe he had problems. Hey, who didn’t? But problems were much easier to face with a light heart than a heavy one. Dr. Ethan Weber would be a hard nut to crack, but she was up for the challenge.

  He needed to be rescued from himself before he started having blood pressure problems or migraines—or something worse, like cancer. A guy in his dire, funless state required the full Kate Lawrence humor therapy treatment. Eventually, when he learned how to laugh at himself again, he’d thank her. They would part as friends when he graduated from his residency in June.

  There was a little pang at the idea of letting him go, but actually, one of the reasons she tended to avoid dating the transient flight residents was because they always moved on. Oh, she wasn’t averse to going out to simply have fun, and it had been a while since she’d found anyone who needed to be rescued as badly as Ethan did. She enjoyed helping people, and wasn’t that the reason she became a nurse? And what was there to lose?

  Certainly not her heart. Keeping things light was a way to make friends, not romantic boyfriends. And she wasn’t looking for anything more. Besides, most guys she dated didn’t seem interested in permanent relationships. Especially once she taught them how to relax and have fun. Once they’d moved on, they remained buddies and pals.

  In her humble opinion, you could never have enough friends.

  Kate idly strolled the length of the lounge, watching Ethan from the corner of her eye as he meticulously scanned the screen, then took careful notes in the notebook. Curious, she edged closer, trying to see what he was doing. It didn’t look like work, at least not by her definition. The header at the top of the screen caught her eye. Good grief, was he actually scrolling through some sort of online dating site?

  Perpetually cranky, thirty-something-year-old white male, seeking women of similar age for an emotionless relationship. No one looking for a good time need respond.

  She giggled at her own joke. Ethan snapped his head around to glare at her. Whoops. Her eyes widened, and she took a guilty step back. Rule number one: don’t poke fun at someone unless they have already learned to poke fun at themselves.

  “What are you doing? Looking for a place to live?”

  Maybe he wasn’t on a dating site, maybe he was on one of those online listings that offered all kinds of services, including places to live. If she were honest, she could see how finding a new place to live might be considered work by some people. Although, for her, it would be an adventure. She would love a new place to live. Something nice, upscale, yet allowed cats, maybe with a big pool . . .

  “No.” He scowled and returned his attention to the screen. Kate’s fingers itched to snatch it away so she could read what he was doing for herself.

  “Maybe I can help,” she offered, inching closer. “If you tell me what you’re looking for, I can help you find what you need.”

  “I don’t need help.” Ethan didn’t even expend the energy to meet her gaze. “Other than for you to be quiet.”

  Oh, sure. Was he so clueless he couldn’t figure out that holding her tongue was her most difficult personal challenge? For being a nearly graduated emergency medicine physician, he certainly wasn’t very observant.

  Good thing she wasn’t interested in anything more than being a friend to help him lighten up or she might have to take his rebuff personally.

  At that moment, the phone rang. Praying for a flight call, Kate pounced on it. “Lifeline Air Rescue, may I help you?”

  “Can I talk to my daddy?”

  The childish voice in her ear caught her off guard. “Your daddy?” She glanced at Ethan, who was already leveraging himself off the sofa, a dark scowl creasing his forehead under the lock of dark hair. He made his way toward her. “Ah, sure, sweetie, he’s right here.” She handed him the phone.

  “Carly? What’s wrong, honey?” Ethan dropped his tone and turned away.

  Kate automatically took several steps backward, giving him the privacy he clearly desired.

  For once, she was struck dumb. She never would have suspected the grim man had a child. A daughter named Carly. She hadn’t even known he was married. Her gaze dropped to his left hand holding the receiver, noting the absence of a ring. Which didn’t mean a thing, she told herself just as quickly. Lots of men didn’t wear their wedding rings.

  “Calm down, Carly. Crying isn’t going to help. Where’s Mrs. Vanderhoff? Put her on the phone.” When Ethan put his hand up to massage his forehead, Kate couldn’t help but feel a spurt of sympathy. “Mrs. Vanderhoff, what’s wrong?” He listened intently for several seconds, then sighed. “Uh-huh. I see. I’m sorry about that. Yes, I understand, but you know very well I can’t leave work in the middle of the shift. I’ll be home by seven-thirty p.m. We can talk more then. Goodbye.”

  Kate remained silent for several long seconds after he hung up the phone. She knew she should pretend she hadn’t overheard his every word, but that seemed foolish. Obviously, his daughter was in some sort of trouble. Who was Mrs. Vanderhoff? And inquiring minds wanted to know: Where was Mrs. Dr. Weber?

  “Ethan, is your daughter all right?” Kate considered the possibility that he was looking through computer sites to find reliable childcare. Poor thing. Her heart softened. “Maybe I can help.”

  “She’s fine.” His tone was clipped. “And I already told you, I don’t need your help.”

  “But—”

  “Listen.” He spun toward her, his dark eyes flashing with anger. “Stop trying so hard. Can’t you see I’m not interested?”

  Kate’s jaw dropped. “I—wait a minute. I’m just trying to be nice. Don’t you recognize friendship when you see it?” She struggled to remain calm, taking a slow deep breath. She knew he’d be difficult, so why the sudden urge to defend herself? His lashing out at her was more than likely related to his distress over his daughter. No reason to take it personally.

  Ethan raised a brow. “Friendship? I don’t need a friend. If you’re not interested in me as a potential date, then you must be nosy. Do me a favor and leave me alone.”

  Kate ignored the pang of hurt and lifted her hands in mock surrender. Time to back off. “Okay, fine. Forget I asked.”

  Their pagers beeped in simultaneous chirps. Kate read the message out loud. “Two adult victims of a motorcycle crash.” She barely glanced at Ethan as she swung toward the door. “Where’s Reese?”

  “Last I saw, he was in the debriefing room.” Ethan beat her to the doorway, poking his head through the opening and calling
out to the pilot. “Reese? Let’s go.”

  The three of them headed out to the hangar where the Lifeline helicopter stood, ready and waiting. Reese jumped into the pilot’s seat, gesturing for Kate and Ethan to board as he started the engines. Kate donned her helmet, then grabbed the clipboard and began initiating notes of the response. All this technology and they still hadn’t figured out a way to get the flight notes computerized.

  She tried to ignore Ethan as he sat beside her in the small confines of the helicopter, but her gaze was continuously drawn to him. I’m not interested. I don’t need a friend. Do me a favor and leave me alone. His blunt comments shouldn’t have lingered like an aching tooth, but they did.

  He was different than most men she’d befriended in the past. She was more aware of him on a physical level, her nerve endings tingling just by sitting so close. Very strange. She’d need to work hard to ignore the sensation.

  If they hadn’t been in a helicopter, heading to the scene of the crash, she might’ve taken the opportunity to tell him how laughter had been proven to produce more immunoglobulin A and B in the body’s bloodstream, those higher levels helping to prevent disease. To explain how humor had been used successfully by physicians in treating high blood pressure in a group of patients where half of them could stop taking their medication completely while the other half used much lower doses. There was even literature proving how using humor in cancer patients dropped their need for pain medication by half.

  Reaffirming the facts surrounding the purpose of her mission helped her to relax. Ethan needed her, whether he realized it yet or not. Laughter was a savior, a simple way of turning your whole life around, even when things were bleak. Wasn’t she living proof? She’d been through a terrible time, yet she had come out on the other side.