Nursing in Northlake (At the Altar Book 9) (7 page)

They danced several more dances, and she found he was as good at fast dancing as he was slow dancing. “You must have led a crazy wild life in college!”

He shrugged. “I was never a drinker, but my friends all liked to drink, so I’d go with them to bars, and I’d drive them home. I learned a lot of dances. I learned to watch people and understand them. I almost went into psychiatry.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I can’t see you as a shrink.”

“I’d have been a good one!”

“No doubt. You seem to be good at everything you do.” She reached out and took his hand while they waited for another refill on their soft drinks. “This is a fun place.” The bar wasn’t huge, but it was hopping. It was just right for Heidi’s tastes.

After they’d finished their drinks, they paid, and Slade stood up. “Let’s get you home.”

The owner came over and shook Slade’s hand, thanking him for coming in. “You know we’d hire you in a heartbeat if you ever got sick of being a doctor.”

Slade laughed. “Yeah, I could sing from the back of a moving mechanical bull while dancing. Maybe I could tell jokes!” His eyes lit up. “I was just telling Heidi that I’d make a great comedian.”

The owner shook his head. “Don’t quit your day job.” He winked at Heidi, who laughed.

“It was really nice meeting you,” Heidi said, leaning into Slade as he put his arm around her. “This place showed me a whole new side of my husband.”

“You take care of my friend. He’s a good man.”

Heidi nodded. “He is. I think I’m going to keep him.”

The owner threw back his head and laughed, patting Heidi’s shoulder. As soon as they were outside, Slade said, “Too bad he didn’t realize you were serious.”

“I’m sorry I judged you based on every other doctor I’ve known.” She still wasn’t sure that she trusted him completely, but that day had opened her eyes to a different man than she’d thought she knew.

“Have you ever dated a doctor?”

Heidi sighed, nodding. “Fresh out of college, starting my career, I worked as a nurse in a local hospital. I’m not going to say which one, because it really doesn’t matter at this point. One of the residents started following me around on his breaks, telling me everything I did was perfect. He’d compliment me on so many different things.”

“And?”

“And I finally agreed to go out with him. I believed that he saw me as a woman and not just a nurse to boss around.” She sighed. “We’d been dating for about three weeks when he messed up. He hadn’t had enough sleep, and he wrote an order wrong. I caught it. I very quietly showed him his error, so he wouldn’t be embarrassed. He insisted he was right.”

“What happened?”

Heidi sighed. “I refused to give the medication to the patient as he’d written it. I couldn’t kill her!”

“Of course not!”

“I went to the charge nurse and told her what happened, and he got reprimanded. And he screamed at me in front of everyone that I wasn’t worth anything anyway, and we never went out again.”

Slade shook his head. “I wish doctors could just skip right over the ‘full of themselves’ years and right on to knowing what they’re doing. If I knew half what I thought I knew when I was an intern, I’d be the best doctor alive.”

Heidi nodded, surprised he was agreeing with her. “So if I pointed out your medication error, what would you do?”

“I’d recheck my calculations. If you were right, I’d thank you profusely for bringing it to my attention. If you were wrong, I’d thank you for thinking of the patient first.”

“You would not!” She’d never seen a doctor react that way. She knew better.

“I would. Because it would mean to me that you are caring more about the life of a patient than how you’re going to be treated by a doctor with his head up his butt. I know how nurses are treated. I’ve worked in hospitals for a long time. And my mother is still a nurse.”

She frowned. “I forgot your mom is a nurse. Would she ever come home with stories about doctors?”

“Oh yeah. When I first said I was going to be a doctor, I think she was upset, but as time went by, she just talked to me about always doing the right thing for the patient and about making sure I treated everyone as my equals. She said there’s a hierarchy in hospitals, but there shouldn’t be.”

Heidi looked at him. “And you believe it?”

He shrugged. “I probably came out of medical school with an ego bigger than I should have, but not as bad as some of my classmates. I tried not to be an egomaniac.”

They’d reached the car and got in. “I really had a lot of fun tonight. It was interesting to see another side of you.”

“Which side was better? The bull-dancing side or the singing side?”

“I liked the singing side better, because I wasn’t worried you’d fall and break your fool neck. I have to admit you looked really hot on that bull, though. I was very impressed.”

“Hot, huh? So I turned you on?”

She shook her head. “Slade Henderson, you turn me on every time you look at me. Yes, your bull riding turned me on, but so did dancing and singing.”

“So now that you’re so turned on, we’re going straight home, and you’re going to show me, right?”

She laughed. “Sometimes I think you’re this almost superhuman man, who can do anything. And then you say something like that, and I realize that deep down—you’re just a hormonal teenager trying to get laid like every other man in the country.”

“Well, yeah! What did you really expect?”

“I have
no
idea…”

Chapter Seven

Heidi and Slade met the movers at her old apartment the following weekend. While Heidi was checking on Miss Molly, Slade was upstairs directing the movers. Not that he’d ever been there before to do much directing.

Heidi knocked on the door. “Hi, Miss Molly! How are you doing?”

“It’s been days since you came to see me!”

“I’m so sorry. I know it’s been a while, but I just got married and I don’t live upstairs anymore.” Heidi felt guilty for not seeing her more, but she truly didn’t have time to drive out of her way to stop in every day.

“Well, I know, but I thought you’d still come see me!”

Heidi smiled. “I will. And if there’s anything you need from me, all you have to do is call.”

“I need something.”

Heidi wasn’t surprised. “What do you need today?”

“I need to go to the grocery store. That young lady who’s supposed to do those things for me has disappeared.”

Heidi frowned at that. “Well, let me call my husband real quick and tell him we’re going to the grocery store.” She pulled her phone out and called Slade. “Miss Molly needs to go to the grocery store. I’m going to drive her.”

“I thought you said she had someone who was paid to take care of little things like that?”

“She disappeared. I’ll check into it, but first, I’m going to get her grocery shopping done.”

“Call me when you get back, and I’ll carry the groceries in.”

“You’re such a gentleman.”

“I try.”

Heidi smiled at Miss Molly. “All right. Are you ready?”

The old woman shuffled to the door, grabbing her walker from beside it. “I’m not feeling as spry as usual today, Heidi. Do you mind if I use the motorized cart?”

Heidi knew the woman’s driving would make her the terror of the entire store, and she was already dreading it. “Of course not. Just make sure not to run over my feet this time.”

“You run over someone’s feet a few times…”

“
Sixteen
, Miss Molly. You’ve run over them sixteen times.”

“Are you counting?”

“When your feet get crushed by a motorized cart, you tend to remember it. No counting necessary.” Heidi closed and locked the older woman’s apartment. She’d have to call her daughter again.

Once they were in Heidi’s car, she drove the mile up the road to the grocery store Miss Molly preferred. “Did you make a list?” Heidi asked, hoping against hope they wouldn’t be going up and down every single aisle on a Saturday.

“No, I thought we’d just look around. I haven’t been out in over a week!”

Heidi smiled at her, knowing she couldn’t begrudge the woman her only time out of the apartment. “Let me drive one of the carts over, so you can use it. Open your car door so it’s not too hot for you.” She jogged up to the building and sat down in one of the carts. She’d always hated driving them, but she’d do anything for her sweet neighbor.

Miss Molly waited until Heidi got out of the cart, then she climbed in. “I wish we could find someone to race with!”

“Now, Miss Molly, you remember what happened the last time you tried to race someone in the grocery store. There must have been seventy-five broken jars of pickles, and they said you weren’t allowed to come back to their store again. That’s why we had to start shopping here.”

“One little incident…”

“That was
not
a little incident. That was a big incident. No racing!”

“Just a little racing? Grocery shopping should be fun, Heidi!”

“No, it shouldn’t. If you challenge other people to a race, I’ll have to take your cart away and push you in one of the old-fashioned wheelchairs, and we both know how much you hate those.”

“You wouldn’t do that to me!”

“If you can’t behave, I’ll have to! Don’t make me play the mean guy. I don’t like it, but I’ll do it if I have to.”

Miss Molly just frowned. “So tell me about this new husband of yours. Is he sexy?”

Heidi nodded, laughing. “He’s a real hottie. I have a picture!” She had taken a picture of him on the stage the night before, and they’d done several selfies. “Wanna see?”

“Of course I do. I love to drool over a good hunk as much as the next woman. I may be old, but I’m not dead!”

Heidi pulled out her phone and pulled up a picture of her and Slade together on their wedding day. “I’m still waiting on the photographer’s pictures, but this is one I took.”

“He is a hunk! And look at you in your wedding dress. I don’t think you’ve ever looked prettier!”

Heidi took her phone back and shoved it into her purse. She took a sale ad from the stack and handed it to her friend, knowing she loved to peruse the sales, even though she’d never buy anything from it.

They went up and down every single aisle in the store, some of them two or three times. Miss Molly greeted several people by name. She truly loved her trips to the grocery store. Heidi wished she had time to take the woman shopping every week, because even though it wasn’t her favorite thing to do, she knew it was a big deal to Miss Molly.

“I’m going to text my husband and let him know we’re on our way back. He’ll meet us at your place to carry the groceries in.”

“I get to meet him today? Can I call him hunk?”

Heidi laughed. “I’m not sure how he’d react to that. His name is Slade Henderson. He’s a doctor.”

“A doctor? Well, look at you, marrying a doctor! Is he as fun to kiss as he looks? Those eyes of his make me think that he’s got some mischief in him!”

“There’s a lot hidden in those brown eyes!”

Heidi pulled up in front of the apartment building and smiled when she saw Slade waiting for them. She got out and hurried around to open the door for Miss Molly, while pushing the button to pop the trunk. “If you’ll put the groceries on her counter, I’ll put them away.”

Slade nodded. “They’re almost done packing up your apartment. They’re going to break for lunch, then we’ll meet at the house.”

“Sounds good.” Heidi gripped Miss Molly’s arm and carefully helped her out of the car. She handed her the walker and hurried over to unlock the apartment door. “You sit down, and we’ll get the groceries taken care of, then I’ll fix you a nice lunch. What are you hungry for?”

Miss Molly made a face. “There’s never anything good to eat in my apartment.”

Heidi frowned at the older woman. “Now, don’t you start that! We just got back from the grocery store.”

“But you wouldn’t let me race Bob Murphy, and he challenged me!”

“Remember the pickles!”

Slade walked up behind Heidi with his first load of groceries. “Is that like 'Remember the Alamo'?”

“No, because that was the rally cry for vengeance. This is the rally cry for not acting like toddlers!”

Miss Molly sank into her recliner and pushed her walker at Heidi, who immediately set it next to the front door where her friend preferred it. “You never let me have any fun. I could never move into that nursing home of yours, knowing you’d be watching my every move!”

Heidi leaned down and kissed the older woman’s weathered cheek. “You know I’d take good care of you.” It was a perpetual argument for them. Heidi wished the older woman would at least move into their assisted living apartments, because then she knew she’d be watched over. Her daughter kept hiring incompetent idiots to help her. “There’s a nice little apartment on the first floor in the assisted living. I’d be happy to drive you over and show you around.”

Miss Molly frowned. “Maybe.”

Heidi was shocked by the answer. She’d never gotten her to even agree to a maybe. “What’s changed your mind?”

The older woman’s eyes filled with tears. “Without you living upstairs, I don’t know what’s going to happen to me.”

Slade came back in and found Heidi hovering over her friend. “I can’t promise to make it by every day like I used to, but if you were in the assisted living I could see you just about every day. And I would make sure to assign my very best people to you.”

“Maybe we could go look at it on Monday.”

Heidi’s mind raced, and she finally nodded. She’d find a way to make it work. Vicki would certainly understand. “I’ll come by and pick you up in the morning.”

Miss Molly shook her head. “No, you’re too grumpy in the mornings. Come after lunch.”

Heidi bit her lip, trying to hide the laughter. “You need to meet my husband, Miss Molly. You’re going to like him a lot.” Her eyes met Slade’s, and she knew he’d heard a lot of the conversation. “Come meet one of my favorite people in the whole world, Slade. This is Miss Molly.”

Slade walked over and stood beside Heidi, one arm going around her as he offered his hand to shake. “I’ve heard so many good things about you!”

“Well, I’m glad she’s not just talking about me running over her feet and that horrible pickle incident. You won the lottery when you married this one.”

Slade looked over at Heidi, the smile lighting up his whole face. “I know I did.”

Heidi stood on tiptoes and kissed him. “Isn’t he just the sweetest, Miss Molly?”

“He is. And I never got a chance to kiss the groom. Or pinch his bottom. Get over here, you big hunk!”

Heidi looked at Slade, laughing, wondering what he’d do. He leaned down and kissed Miss Molly’s cheek before turning to present his butt for her to pinch. When she did, he jumped a bit, saying, “Oh!” and the older woman giggled.

Heidi smiled her thanks. “Did you get all the groceries?”

He nodded. “I’m going to get back upstairs. How much longer will you be?”

“I’m going to cook a nice lunch for Miss Molly, and then I’ll be ready.”

“I’ll come back down when we’re done.”

“Thank you!”

After he’d gone, Heidi looked down at Miss Molly. “Now, what do you want me to make you for lunch?”

“How about a tuna casserole? I’ve been hungry for one for days.”

“Absolutely!” Heidi went into the kitchen and started boiling water. She could handle the extra heat for a few minutes for Miss Molly.

Slade came down thirty minutes later, just as she was serving the food in a bowl and putting it on a TV tray. She placed a flower she’d purchased at the store in a vase, then added it to the tray to spruce up the meal. She knew how much the little things meant to Miss Molly.

“Are you set? I do need to go finish this move with Slade, but I’ll come and get you Monday so you can see the assisted living apartment. Does that sound good?”

Miss Molly nodded. “Well, it doesn’t really sound good, but I know I need the help, and that rotten daughter of mine isn’t going to be here for me.”

“I know. But I can see you just about every day and take much better care of you there.” Heidi leaned down and kissed Miss Molly’s cheek. “I’ll see you Monday.”

“You two have a good weekend.”

Heidi turned at the door and waved, hating to leave her like that, but knowing she had to. She and Slade had brought separate cars in case he got called away. “Don’t you have any babies due this weekend?”

“Actually, it’s weird. I’ve had babies due every week for months, and I have this three week stretch with no babies due. Now, because I said that, someone will deliver early.”

Heidi grinned. “Well, let’s take my car, and we’ll go eat.”

He held his hand out for her keys. “I’ll drive.”

“My car. I get to drive!”

He frowned. “No, I’ll drive.”

“You don’t think I can drive, do you?”

“It’s not that I don’t think you can drive…”

“Then what is it?” Heidi frowned at him.

“I don’t let anyone drive me. I don’t like giving up control.”

She put her hands on her hips. “So I finally found the chink in my knight’s armor? He’s a control freak?”

“I work for myself for a reason. I’m a benevolent dictator, but I’m definitely a dictator.”

“But marriage is a partnership.”

Slade nodded readily. “Of course it is! But I’m still driving.”

Heidi glared at him, but handed him her car keys. “You aren’t always going to win, you know.”

“I know. I’ll just savor every little victory.”

They stopped for lunch, and he let her choose the place. An hour later, they were pulling into the driveway of the house, barely beating the movers. Heidi had to supervise this part of things because some things were going to storage, and some were being moved into the house.

It was a long tiring day, but they finished. Her call phone rang at three, and she had to excuse herself. “This is Heidi.”

“Heidi, this is Laura. My daughter has a stomach bug, and I’m not going to make it in tonight.”

“I hope she feels better. Thanks for letting me know.” Heidi pulled her list of PRN CNAs toward her, looking down for the name of the person she knew was most likely to be willing. Technically, she was supposed to start at the top, but she believed in rewarding people who were willing to go in whenever called.

She called Miranda first. “Miranda, it’s Heidi. We have someone out tonight, and I was hoping you could cover for her?”