Chapter 2
Pax woke himself up yelling. This had happened frequently right after the surgery which changed his life forever. But that was two years ago. It took him a full year to get them to stop. Now, thanks to Stephanie Giordano, who had resurrected his worst ghosts, they were back.
He threw off the covers and rolled out of bed. A glance at the clock told him it was 5 a.m. He’d be tired today. And outside, he could see a rainy, cold October morning. Depressing at best.
In the small kitchen, he turned on the Keurig and while he waited for it to heat up, he caught sight at the back door. He wondered if the mutt was here again.
You idiot. If you’d stop feeding him …
He went to the back door and opened it. The rangy dog had some German Shepherd in him, but the rest Pax couldn’t identify. The mutt looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes. And he was shivering.
Telling himself not to, he opened the door wider and the dog stayed where he was. “Come on in.” He’d never invited the animal into the house. Nothing. So Pax stepped to the side. The dog limped in. And whimpered. His fur was soaking wet and he was shivering.
“Hold on a second.” Pax closed the door, went to the cupboard and drew out a heated blanket he’d brought home from the clinic. Right now, he couldn’t remember why.
Sticking the padded covering into the microwave, he waited a minute then took it out. When he approached the dog, it whimpered again. “Shh, I won’t hurt you.” Slowly he draped the dog with the blanket. The poor thing sunk into its warm folds. “Aw.” He knelt and rubbed the cloth along its back. Then on top of his head. Once again, the dog moaned. It was skinnier than he thought. Dangerously so.
Stepping away, he went to the cupboard again and got the kibble that he’d bought on a whim. As he poured the chunks into a dish, the dog bolted up and over to it. “Okay, okay, I guess you’re really hungry.” He set the bowl down then retrieved the blanket and, as the dog ate, he covered him again.
After the bowl was empty, he didn’t refill it. The animal needed to digest what he had eaten or he would get sick. He got coffee for himself and sat at the counter. The dog watched him.
Something had to be done about this. He couldn’t send the mutt out into the rain again, but he couldn’t have a dog. He’d get too attached to it and the one thing Pax had avoided was attachments.
The dog’s eyes got droopy. He found another blanket he’d used for camping and fluffed it up. Set it in the corner. Then he carried the dog to it.
He reheated the first blanket and set it on top of the mutt who closed his eyes. Two minutes later, he was snoring.
Pax opened his laptop and clicked into the ads on the local section. He scanned them. A dog had gotten lost, but it was a little Yorkie. Ads for cats that were missing. Nothing for a big, scrawny dog.
So he went to the advertising section and paid for an ad with his credit card. He only had one and barely used it.
Dog found. Mixed breed. About three feet high and scrawny. Email clinic.westwood.org . It would run for three days starting tomorrow. Huh. He could put up posters around town but not in this weather.
He made toast for breakfast and ate a banana. And still the dog snoozed. Pax went into the bathroom and showered. Everything in his house was old but in good condition. The hot spray soothed him. For some reason, he remembered showering with one of the women in his life. He wondered if Steph Giordano liked shower sex. He could picture her reddish blond hair wet and slicked back.
Damn. What was he doing thinking about her like that? He finished quickly, dressed in scrubs and ran a towel through his hair, then went back to the kitchen.
After 15 minutes, he got the kibble out again and poured more into the bowl. The dog awoke right away. He lumbered over to it and devoured the second serving.
He sighed heavily. “I guess you’re coming to work with me.”
He’d forgotten his wallet on the table so he pocketed it and turned around. The dog had crapped on the floor. He guessed he should have let him outside, despite the rain.
He cleaned that up and then carried the dog to the bathroom and ran him a bath. When he set him in the tub, the animal got skittish. “Shh,” he said again and soothed his back. Finally, it settled into the warm water.
He used his own soap to clean up the dog. Its fur was all tangled and had small twigs and stones in it. He used conditioner on the lumps. It took a long time to get him clean.
He found contusions on two legs and some bumps on his head. Hell, the dog was a mess. When he went to lift him up, the thing panicked and splashed the water. All over Pax and the floor.
Cursing, he left the dog there and drained the tub, catching the debris he left behind. Finally, he scooped up the dog who let Pax dry him.
Then he nuzzled into Pax’s neck.
God, that feels good . Nobody had nuzzled him in years. He forgot he liked it.
He changed again then managed to get the dog into the car in the garage. He set him in the back seat on yet another towel but he had no way to secure him. “Stay put, okay?”
And as he drove to work, he thought, What the hell have I gotten into?
The clinic wasn’t open for two weeks, so the place was dark and cold. He put the dog in his small office, tucked the blanket around him and turned on a space heater. “You’re going to stay here and sleep.” Again, the dog settled in and closed its eyes. Pax made a list of what he’d need for the mutt for a couple of nights, and that he’d later give to the owner. If they ever came forward.
Let’s see…A leash. Some small toys. More food and a bed. He found a bowl left over from one of his meals and left water on the floor by the blanket.
Then he sat at his desk and checked today’s to-do list.
Stock the shelves with…
Wait a sec. He got up and in the storage closet, he found the boxes of stuff he’d saved from the clinic in Syracuse, where he’d met Jackson. He pulled out one that said Essentials . He got out his playbook for the clinic there and found a list of supplies and items needed to stock the exam rooms. He’d already ordered furniture which would be delivered this week.
He wrote down :
Go to Pet store. Bed. Food. Harness. Toys. Etc.
Find a part-time doctor. He’d already hired a nurse, a receptionist and a cleaning service.
Security. Geez. He remembered the fiasco of yesterday with the female guard. Will had called and asked him to give her a chance.
A knock on the door outside. He knew this could happen before they opened. He left a very visible note on there stating they’d be in business on Nov. 1.
The knocking persisted. Sighing, he got up and left his office which was right off the reception area. The door didn’t have a window but there were two large square ones either side of it. He peeked out of one of them and saw that his visitor was Stephanie Giordano.
He unlocked the door and opened it.
From under an umbrella, she looked up at him with conflicted emotions in those hazel eyes. “Hello, Dr. Barry. Can I speak with you?”
“Yeah.” He stepped aside and she entered the clinic for a second time. She’d dressed down in jeans and a pink sweater. She set the umbrella on a doormat he’d laid out yesterday. “Come on back. I made coffee. We’ll be comfortable there.” And he could keep an eye on the dog.
She followed him across the empty room to his office. He asked, “Coffee black, right?”
“Yes, please.” She turned to sit and saw Mutt. “You have a dog.”
“As of this morning.”
She went to the animal and squatted down. The dog stared up at her with gloomy eyes. “What’s his name?”
“Mutt.”
She giggled. “No. That’s not a name.”
“He’s not mine. He’s a stray that’s been coming to my door for a few days. I let him inside today and a whole host of things happened. I put an ad for a found dog on the town’s website but meanwhile, I cleaned him up.” He rolled his eyes. “I couldn’t send him back out in the rain.”
“What a sweet thing to do. Will you keep him if no one claims him?”
“No. I’ll get too attached. Come sit.”
After giving Mutt one more head scratch, she took a chair and he stayed behind his desk for some distance from her. “You didn’t come here to talk about dogs.”
She shook back her hair. Man, it was pretty down around her shoulders. “Did Will call you?”
“He did. He asked me to talk to you again.”
She took in a deep breath and let it out. “First, I want to apologize for my reaction to you yesterday. It was unprofessional. Your history struck a still-raw nerve.”
“So it seems. I can’t do anything about my past except try to make up for it by running this clinic.”
“Which is admirable. Will set me straight. He said everybody makes mistakes. For some people, they were very costly.”
He studied her. “Tell me, Ms. Giordano. Have you ever made a mistake that cost you a lot?”
Raising her chin, she held his gaze. “Yes, Dr. Barry.”
Huh, what was he supposed to do with that?
“This is quite a turnaround. Why?”
“Talking with Will. And I spent a few hours with a dog from the pet adoption center. I always do some soul searching when I walk or play with Sunshine. It centers me.”
“Huh. What else did Will say?”
“That I should try working with you for a week. See how it goes. If you’re agreeable. If you’re not, I understand. I behaved badly.”
Just then, the dog woke up. He seemed startled and frantically scanned his surroundings. His gaze landed on Pax. Who smiled at him. The dog went right over to him and put his face on Pax’s thigh. Pax scratched his ears.
“All right, Stephanie. I accept Will’s recommendation. Let’s see what happens for a week.”
“Thank you. Can I help out here today?”
“You want to?”
“Yeah, I’m on the clock at Will’s. He suggested I find some things to do around here.”
Pax looked down at the dog. “He needs to go out.”
“Okay I’ll take him under my umbrella. I hope he doesn’t run away.”
“When you get back, would you mind going to the pet store for a leash and things I’ll need for him immediately.”
“And a new name.”
He laughed.
“That’s good to hear.”
“What?”
“You didn’t laugh once this morning.”
Not much in my life to laugh about. He looked around the clinic, at Stephanie and at Mutt. Hmm. Maybe that wasn’t true anymore.
He handed her the credit card.
“What will you do?”
“There are a million things to accomplish here before we open. I’ll start on one of them.”
* * *
Noreen Shannon stood in front of the building. Windows flanked the sign which simply read Westwood Clinic . She knew she shouldn’t be doing this, but she’d been compelled to come down. The place wasn’t in business yet, but the door was unlocked.
She turned the knob. It opened. “Hello. Is anyone here?”
“Be right out.”
She recognized his voice.
While she waited, she stared out the window as the sad inhabitants in this part of town walked by. They were poorly dressed and unkempt.
“Can I help you?”
She turned. He clutched the file he held.
“Hello, Paxton.”
“Reenie?” That ridiculous nickname. “What are you doing here?”
She stepped closer and he got a whiff of expensive perfume, her signature scent. “I probably wouldn’t have known you on the street. You’ve changed.” Gone was the three-hundred-dollar haircut. In its place was a simple one a barber could do. And he’d never had this much facial hair, only sexy scruff.
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, with the help of strangers, I did some work in a clinic In Syracuse but we lost our funding.”
“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.”
She held up a printout that she’d run off of the computer. “I came about the job.”
“You can’t be serious? Aren’t you still head of surgery at Upstate Medical University?”
“Not as of last week. I retired.”
“At forty?” She was his age. “Why?”
“I was tired of it.” And was still soured by what happened to Paxton. “I wanted to spend more time on my writing.”
His brow furrowed. He had new lines there and around his mouth. “Writing for journals?”
“No, Paxton, I’ve published one book and am writing another. And before you ask, they’re medical fiction.”
He started to laugh. Noreen had always loved his laugh.
“So why work in a clinic? We deal with indigents who have some serious medical issues. Not your usual clientele, Dr. Shannon.”
She shrugged.
He studied her. “No.”
“No, you’re not going to hire me?”
“I’m not.”
“Why?”
“Because when I needed you the most, you gave me the boot.”
Ah, the past had a way of biting you in the ass. “You never gave me a chance to explain.”
“No chance needed. What you did can’t possibly be explained away.”
“You’re the one who quit.”
“I couldn’t stay there. But there was an inquiry, right?”
“The patient’s lawyers made it impossible for me not to call for one.”
“Whatever makes you sleep at night.”
“Paxton, you were guilty of negligence.” He’d been seen around town drinking and carousing in Syracuse the night before the surgery.
“You…gave up on me.”
“You gave up on us.”
“Tell me I still had a job after what I did.”
“I was only going to suspend you until you could prove you were innocent of wrongdoing.”
“As I said, I was guilty. Would you have kept me on after all that?”
“We never found out, did we?”
He shook his head at her. “Just leave me alone.”
“I—”
“What? You still love me?”
She waited a long time to answer, but finally said, “I do, Paxton. I still love you.”
He leveled her with a sharp gaze that used to make interns quiver in their sneakers. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me right now?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re bringing back the dark cloud. One I barely managed to escape. Get out of here.” He’d raised his voice.
She stood. “Then I’ll file a discrimination suit against this place for denial of an interview. Prejudice based on sex.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“I would. I want to work here.”
“Why? Penance?”
“Maybe.”
“Damn it, Reenie, can’t you just leave me alone?”
“Apparently not.”
He hadn’t expected this. He had no idea what to do. Was he going to be forced to let her work here? He had to admit, candidates who’d interviewed for the job were either inept or dropped out themselves after they saw the place. “Give me some time to think about it. For right now, please leave. I’ll be in touch.”
* * *
At the pet store, Stephanie gathered the list of dog things Pax had given her and added a few more items she thought he might need. She paid with his credit card, then dragged the bags to her little SUV with the help of a clerk. As she drove back to the clinic, she was whistling.
She found parking on the street right behind a sleek Lexus. What was that doing in the inner city of Westwood? She managed to carry only half of the packages up to the clinic and open the door.
And overheard…
“Give me some time to think about it. For right now, please leave. I’ll be in touch.”
Still holding the bags, Stephanie stood there awkwardly. Both their gazes transferred to her. “I’ll bring these to the office.”
Neither the gorgeous woman dressed to the hilt or Pax responded so she flew across the room to the office and closed the door. The dog awoke and watched her. She dumped the bags and said, “Hey, there, doggie.” She bent down and ruffled his coat. Hmm. He smelled like Pax.
“I got some things in here you’ll like.” She pulled out the treats first, opened the bag and fed one to him. He devoured it. She got the harness and leash and slipped on both. “Let’s go do your business.” She went out the back. She had to jog because he leapt over to the patch where he’d gone this morning to pee. The grass was wet so they headed back in. Steph wondered what Pax’s relationship was with the beautiful woman.
And found him in the office going through the bags. “Hey, hi. Was the store out of the rest?”
“There’s more in my trunk. I planned on making two trips but…”
“I’ll get them.”
She handed him her keys and when he left, she took off Mutt’s leash but kept on the blue harness. He settled back on the blanket. Pax came inside and set down the rest of the packages. “Thanks.”
She smiled.
“About what happened out there.” He angled his head to the waiting room.
“You don’t have to explain anything to me, Pax.”
“The woman who came was an old friend. A doctor. She said she wanted the parttime job.”
Stephanie grinned. “That’s great.” At his forlorn expression, she added, “Isn’t it?”
“No. For personal reasons.”
“Is she from your old world?”
“Yeah, I’m afraid so. Now, let’s see what else you got, Mutt.”
“Please rename him.”
“Nope.” He laughed. “The name stays.”
“Aw, come on. How about Bowser?”
He gave her a withering look.
She laughed at him.