LITMIR.BIZ

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about freedom, about adrenaline, and physical challenges, testing himself, testing what he could accomplish after the next challenge was met. Would he have any time for his own life while he was caring for his nephew? If he’d wanted to be a parent, he could have been one by now.

      “Anyway,” she said, and playfully slapped him on the shoulder, “it’s about time you got to know your nephew better.”

      “I resent that. I know my nephew.” Didn’t he?

      Caroline snorted and flung a few tears away from her face. She never cried. “You know his name, his birthday, and stuff like that. But you really don’t know the young man deep down inside him.” Again, she touched him. “Alex needs you right now. His father has let him down so many times that I don’t know if he’ll ever recover. Kind of like you in that way with Dad.”

      “I know. I know.” Taylor thought of the times when his father hadn’t been there for him. Had been off doing something more important than getting to know his own son. Pushing those memories away, he focused on Caroline and gave a long, long sigh. “When do you leave?”

      “Next Monday. Early.”

      “Bring him over Sunday afternoon, and we’ll go through everything I need to know about being a parent for six weeks.”

      “Thank you so much, Taylor. Somehow, I’ll make it up to you.”

      “Right.” Was there anything that could truly make up for this lost time? Then again, was six weeks that much to sacrifice if he could help out his sister and nephew? He wasn’t that selfish.

      “Sure I will. When you have kids, I’ll be the best auntie they’ll ever have.”

      “Having kids of my own seems pretty farfetched at this point in my life.” There were no guarantees that he’d be a better parent than his own and childhoods like theirs should be avoided at all costs.

      That should be avoided at all costs. Caroline was certainly trying to give Alex a good home and a stable life despite the challenges of being a single parent. No, he’d be better off just living his life single and being a good uncle to his eleven-year-old nephew.

      “If you ever stop jumping out of airplanes and climbing mountains by yourself, you might meet a woman that intrigues you enough to keep your feet on the ground.” She patted his shoulder and gave him a look that made his stomach knot. “Then it will be easy.”

      “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Didn’t we have this conversation when you tried to fix me up with that nurse friend of yours?” The memory of the disastrous arranged date made him shiver. Never going there again.

      “We did, but repetition helps. Someday you’ll get it.”

      Doubtful, Taylor ushered her out the door and returned to the ER where it was safe.

      Nurse Piper Hawkins walked into the ER on the first day of her new travel assignment to pure chaos. Before introductions could even be made, she shoved her purse under the desk and dove into the fray. Adrenaline pumped through her system, and she was ready to tackle anything. At her best in the midst of an emergency, she just hoped the other staff would accept her help quickly. Every assignment was different, and she hoped this one would be a good one. First impressions were always important, and she was about to make one right now.

      “I’m new here, but someone give me a job to do,” she said at the first trauma room. With only one doctor and one patient present, Piper figured this was as good a place to start as any.

      “You a nurse? Glove up. I’m going to have to intubate this guy and get him off to surgery.” A tall man in green scrubs spoke to her from behind protective mask and goggles. Only his eyes were exposed, and they were intently focused on the trauma patient in front of him.

      “Got it.” Piper grabbed gloves from the box on the wall rack and put them on, then a pair of goggles from her pocket. Automatically, she looked at the monitor and assessed the patient’s vital signs. Blood pressure was low, and the heart rate was erratic. “I’m Piper Hawkins, your new travel nurse,” she said, and grabbed the suction setup and cleaned the patient’s mouth.

      “Taylor Jenkins, ER doc on today.”

      “Tell me what you need.” While noise and movement went on all around them, Piper felt as if she and Dr. Jenkins were in a world all their own. Just the two of them focused entirely on the patient in front of them. This was why she was a nurse, stepping right into the chaos and knowing exactly what to do to save a life. This was what she had trained to do.

      Dr. Jenkins nodded to a cupboard behind her as he struggled to keep the oxygen mask on the patient’s face. “Intubation tray, in there.”

      “You okay with me helping on this?” Piper asked, knowing some physicians preferred to work with certain nurses, but in an emergency situation, that didn’t always work.

      “You qualified?” Taylor asked, and paused to shoot her an inquiring look.

      “Absolutely,” Piper promised confidently.

      “Then I’m good. Open the tray.”

      Nerves still made her hands shake, and she almost dropped the tray on the floor, but managed to catch it and keep it sterile. “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” She was such a klutz sometimes and a blush lit up her cheeks and neck.

      “It’s okay. Just relax a little,” Taylor said. “Take a deep breath.”

      The sound of his deep voice and the reassurance he was trying to give her did help. She gave a worried glance at him, but he was as calm and relaxed as he sounded and some of the tension left her shoulders. Some doctors would have just barked at her not to be clumsy, but Dr. Jenkins hadn’t. He must have nerves of steel. That alone calmed her own nerves somewhat, and she connected with the cool energy that seemed to roll off him, trusting him immediately as they worked on the patient together. Confidence like that didn’t come along every day. This wasn’t the first day on the job she had envisioned, but it was the one she was receiving, and she was going to do her best to focus on the task at hand.

      Piper tore open the sterile intubation tray and assisted Dr. Jenkins to place the breathing tube through the patient’s mouth and into his lungs. The tube helped to control the airway and allowed the doctor or anesthetist to place the patient on a mechanical ventilator. After the airway was secure, they could deal with the rest of his injuries.

      She looked down at the man, who appeared to be in his midfifties. He was unconscious, his face covered in lacerations that oozed blood. A hard plastic neck collar kept him immobilized to prevent injuries to his neck until he could be taken to Radiology for films. He was, in short, a mess. She bit her lip, knowing that he was in serious, if not critical condition. She hoped that their rescue attempt today was going to pull him through and that he had the stamina to survive. The snap of a memory tried to intrude, but she pushed back the unwanted thoughts. Now was not the time to relive the traumatic deaths of her parents. Focusing on the patient right in front of her was her priority.

      “Can you keep the suction in his mouth? I’m ready for the tube.” Keeping his gaze focused on the patient’s airway, he held out a hand to Piper.

      “Yes, Doctor.” Piper gave him the needed item with one hand and kept the suction in place with the other. She stood beside Dr. Jenkins as he crouched over the patient’s head and slid the tube into place. The tension between her shoulders released. Once the airway was secure, the first hurdle was over.

      “That was the smoothest intubation I’ve ever seen,” she said, and secured the tube into place, amazed that it had gone so well as they’d never worked together before.

      “Thanks. I did consider a career in anesthesiology, but ER was more to my liking.”

      “Well, you certainly are good at it. If I ever need intubation, can I call you?” she asked with a quick laugh.

      Dr. Jenkins laughed, too. “Sure.”

      She listened to the patient’s lungs. “Good breath sounds,

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