Take a peek at SAFE WITH ME
Book 6 in the Wounded Heroes: The Redemption Series…
Prologue
“Saw.” Dr. Paxton Barry said the word crisply because there was no fooling around in heart surgery. Too bad he had a splitting headache.
Your fault.
It was. He shouldn’t have gone out last night.
Anesthetic gas and the teeth-grating bite of the saw on bone filled the air, making his stomach queasy. After the cut, he handed the saw to a nurse he thought he’d gone out with once. “Spreader.”
He took the device and placed it between the patient’s ribs to separate them. And there it was. His only love. The heart. He secured the ribs with big aluminum claps.
Peering through the telescopic lens, he made some adjustments, then said to the others, “Time to stop the heart.” He waited until the organ ceased quivering. “Scalpel.” He snipped one blood vessel then rerouted it to the artery. He started on the second, the third, but…
Blood spurted out of the artery in the woman’s chest.
“Clamps…”
Blood gushed out. He reached for the gauze. “Pads. Get me pads… Keep them coming…More.”
But soon, the artery won. The last thing he remembered was blood all over the patient and the table. What did he do wrong?
Chapter 1
“Thanks for volunteering, guys.” Jackson grinned at the group of men who’d come downtown in rags to help today.
“Like we had a choice.” Joe Romano rolled his eyes. He wore overhauls, the pockets filled with brushes. He was Jackson’s best friend.
Jackson’s brother-in-law, Caleb, a former minister, cracked a smile too. “Maisy made me come. Thank her.”
Lots of connections here.
Diego Rodriguez, the tallest and most muscular griped, “As if we don’t have enough to do at Pathways.” A former cop, Diego worked full-time now at the famous school.
Will Kirland added, “Well, I’m happy to be here. Katie wanted to come too but she got called into work.” For having lost everything when he was guarding the president, Will was in great spirits.
Last, Jackson zeroed in on Pax. The reason they were all here. “This enough guys, Pax?”
“Yeah, it’s great. Thanks to everybody for coming down.”
The doc hadn’t expected this much help. The entire first floor of an existing building that Jackson bought had been renovated into a reception area with an alcove for children, a couple of offices, bathrooms and the rest exam rooms. Its square footage would take a lot to paint.
“Point us in the right direction,” Diego suggested.
“Two guys can start on the exam rooms. There’s slate blue paint in there.” Pax’s voice was strong. “If you’re so inclined, I left some white too, for the trim. Otherwise, paint everything blue.”
Will Kirkland said, “I’m inclined. Who wants to work with me?”
Caleb waved. “I will.” He held up a radio. “If I get to pick the music.”
They headed out.
Joe Romano volunteered himself and Diego for the waiting room and restrooms. Pax had picked a soothing sage green for those.
“Guess that leaves us,” Jackson said to Pax. “What’s left to do?”
“The storefront.”
“It’ll be great to be outside.” Jackson sighed. “I covet that, these days.”
“The paint’s by the door, and there’s ladders already leaning against the building.”
He crossed to Pax. Put a hand on his shoulder. “See, I told you we could do this.”
“Me? You’re the one who worked miracles to get this place ready in two months. We’ll meet our open house date of November first easy.” The building and equipment had already passed inspection by the city and representatives of the state medical board. Jackson had pulled a lot of strings. Pathways was still his baby, but it gave him great satisfaction to help the community. And fulfill one of his long-time goals.
* * *
Jackson might be glad to be in the fresh air, but Pax wanted to work out here because it was harder to talk to each other. During the planning with the architect, to the ordering of equipment, to the hiring of a receptionist and a nurse, (they still needed a doctor part time), Jackson pestered Pax to tell him about his life.
Pax had managed not to.
They placed the ladders on either side and Jackson talked, regardless of the street noise. And foot traffic. “Who did you invite to the open house?”
“Nobody.”
“Seriously. Tell me why.”
“Jackson, I don’t have any friends and my family’s from L.A. I came to upstate New York to work at Syracuse Memorial.” Because it had a reputation where Pax knew he could build one for himself. And he’d done that. He’d become one of the most respected surgeons in the state. The country, really.
“You have friends now. Me and Maisy. The guys inside. And you’ll make friends with your coworkers.”
He shook his head. And was glad when traffic got heavy and they couldn’t hear each other.
Pax was grateful. He was. But he knew not to count his chickens in life because what you had, what you built up, could be gone in an instant.
Jackson Kane had been among the lucky ones to survive the sharp pain of its sword.
* * *
Noreen Shannon walked into the Main Street Clinic in Westwood. She knew she shouldn’t be doing this, but she’d been compelled to come down.
“Hello. Is anyone here?”
“Be right out.”
She recognized his voice.
Walking around the reception area, she sniffed. The place had been newly painted. She came upon an alcove, done in primary colors with numbers and letters and animal decals on the wall.
“Hello.”
She turned.
He dropped the file he’d been holding.
“Hello, Pax.”
“Reenie?” That ridiculous nickname. “What are you doing here?”
She stepped closer. “I probably wouldn’t have known you on the street. You’ve changed.” Gone was the hip haircut that brushed his shoulders. In its place was a simple one a barber could do. And he’d never had this much facial hair.
He watched her with those deep blue eyes. “Failure and booze will do that to you.”
“Word had it you became a drunk.”
“For a while. After a year, when I got sober, I did some good work in a clinic.”
“Hence this one.”
He gestured to the table and chairs the painter group had pulled into the waiting area. “Let’s sit and you can tell me why you’re here. I’ve heard nothing from you since our meeting after the surgery.” When he’d quit.
She held up a printout she’d run off from the computer. “I came about the job.”
“Seriously? Aren’t you still head of surgery at Syracuse Memorial?”
“Not as of last week. I retired.”
“At forty? Why?”
“I was tired of it. I wanted to spend more time on my writing.”
“For journals?”
“No, Pax, I’ve published one book and am writing another. And before you ask, they’re fiction.”
He started to laugh. Noreen had always loved his laugh.
“Okay. So why work in a clinic? We deal with indigent, who have some serious medical issues. Not your usual clientele, Dr. Shannon.”
She shrugged.
He stood. “No.”
She looked up at him. “No, you’re not going to hire me?”
“I’m not.”
“Why?”
“Because when I needed you the most, you gave me the boot.”