LITMIR.BIZ

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been sending my findings to the group, and they’ve relayed any information they wanted me to have. It’s how I’ve always worked, even back at my own hospital in the States. I look at all the pieces and try to put them together to form a diagnosis. It’s hard for me to do that with a bunch of voices and emotions tangling with each other.”

      Like the ones going round and round his head right now?

      Maybe this was why she wasn’t getting on with one or two of the doctors at the hospital. He knew some of those sessions could get heated, with specialists vying for a chance to be heard, but Theo had always thought that was a healthy atmosphere. Hope Hospital emphasized working as treatment teams with the idea that more input was better for the hospital’s patients. He was finding out that Madison’s file was right. She preferred prowling around the outskirts.

      But she was much sought after in the States. So maybe they shouldn’t try to stuff her into a box she didn’t fit into. Even if Theo himself had created that particular box.

      “I understand. And I’ll respect that decision. To a degree.”

      What had happened to not pushing Ivy’s needs to the forefront? Or telling her that those meetings were optional?

      “I’m sorry? What does that mean?”

      “Just that the hospital uses these meetings not only as a chance to bounce around ideas but also to provide accountability to all the players.”

      “Accountability.” Her palms pressed against the surface of the desk, an edge of tension beginning to infuse her words. “As in you don’t think I’m carrying my weight here?”

      She was getting angry, and hell if he didn’t like the little hints of emotion: the sideways tilt of her head, the color sweeping up her cheeks...the way her gaze remained riveted to his face.

      Especially that last part.

      Damn. So much for keeping this cool and impersonal.

      “I phrased that badly. Let’s call it curiosity. I would like to know your thoughts on their thoughts. I was hoping to get to that meeting today as well.”

      Her hands dropped into her lap and the tension seemed to flow out of her.

      “I’ll be happy to share my thoughts. I just don’t want to waste my...” She smiled. “Sorry, badly phrased. I don’t want to spend two hours in a chaotic team meeting when I could be looking down other avenues. I promise I do glance over what the team discusses. It just takes me a while to get into my work mode, and having my day cut into pieces with meetings makes it doubly hard, especially if I’m trying to piece together a complicated list of symptoms.”

      “Understood.” Theo, whose days were often “cut into pieces,” as she put it, often wished he could just put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on his door and get in eight hours of uninterrupted work. “Would you prefer to just write up your findings and send them to me?”

      “I think it would be faster to tell them to you directly, if that’s okay. It can be a voicemail, if you’re too busy to take my call.”

      He was never too busy to discuss Ivy. “I’ll make time. But if you want to pass on information directly, why don’t we set up our own face-to-face meeting of sorts? You tell me the time that works best for you.”

      “Okay, that’s easy. The end of my official work day. Six o’clock or so?” She sat up, so the ends of her hair no longer brushed along the top of her desk. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t stop the image of that hair sliding across his skin—skin in an area that was suddenly shifting upward at an alarming rate.

      She tossed the offending locks behind her shoulder, going back to that professional demeanor he’d come to recognize, while he struggled to regain control of thoughts that were anything but professional.

      “That works for me. I was just getting ready to head down and see Ivy. Do you want to go with me?”

      He shouldn’t. He should put some distance between them for a while—at least until his strange reaction to her had a chance to power down.

      Then his gaze went to the right-hand side of her desk, where that little notebook had sat. Was she taking that with her?

      That made his decision. “I haven’t checked on her in a couple of hours, so I think I’ll join you.”

      A buzzing came from the other side of the desk and she lifted a finger, asking him to wait. Lifting her cellphone, she looked at the readout and then put the device to her ear. “Dr. Archer here.”

      She listened to whoever was on the other end of the line, frowning slightly. “And the others?”

      Her chest lifted and she expelled an audible sigh. He could fairly see the tension that had gathered in her shoulders. “Okay, thank you for letting me know.”

      Setting the phone on the desk, she pressed her fingertips against the surface for several seconds.

      “Was that something about Ivy?”

      “The test results came back from her Lyme panel.”

      “And?” He waited, his heart in his chest. Was this the answer they’d been looking for?

      “I’m sorry, Theo, but they’re negative. All of them. Ivy doesn’t have Lyme disease.”

      * * *

      Sitting on the side of the bed a half-hour later, listening to her little patient talk about what she’d had for lunch, caused a lump to form in Madison’s throat. It looked like Santa was going to have a hard time delivering the first wish on Ivy’s list.

      Had Theo peeked inside that book before she’d come into the office? She should have written the list somewhere besides the first page, but she’d had no idea at the time that the girl’s first request would be something of such a personal nature.

      Looking at the stiff way he stood in the corner, watching them, it was hard to imagine him ever liking the holiday, especially since the news they’d been waiting for hadn’t materialized. She had pinned her hopes on Lyme disease being the culprit, especially since the symptoms of it were often vague and could appear like those that Ivy had. They were back where they’d started yet again. She should be used to it. And she was. The challenging nature of her work had always energized her.

      But not today.

      For each terrible disease that was ruled out, another waited in the wings.

      And right now Theo looked pretty exhausted, the smile lines around his eyes now tinged with white.

      She ached for him. Wished there was something she could say or do that would make this easier.

      She’d been surprised to find him in her office earlier. Surprised at the way her heart had jumped to attention.

      Was that why she’d agreed to meet him personally to review the details of the case?

       Not smart, Madison.

      There was something about the man that touched a spark within her, though. Maybe it was the brave front he was putting on for his daughter’s sake. Or the fact that he’d walked through some hard years, something to which she could relate. She’d struggled through some heartache of her own as a kid. Since reaching adulthood and graduating from medical school, though, things had been smooth sailing.

      Sure they had. Because she was on a roll as far as the dating scene went.

      Actually, things were pretty dry. Men weren’t exactly lining up to go out with a diagnostician. Then again, she wasn’t scrambling to go out with them either. Her days had been too full of work and...work. She was busy. Which made the lonely nights a little easier to bear. Right?

      Her glance tracked back to Theo, and she swallowed.

      “Did you get to see Doodle?” she asked, forcing her thoughts back to Ivy.

      Doodle, the labradoodle, had been a regular

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