New Beginnings (21 page)

“We all do, sir.”

“Of course. You and your fellow nurses are on the front lines in our battle against death.”

James preferred to think of God in the lead, but he let the thought go unspoken.

“Do you have any questions about the duties of a nurse supervisor?” Varner asked.

“I think I have a clear picture of the responsibilities of that position, and I believe I’m qualified for the job.”

“Good. I like a person who is confident of his abilities.” Varner shoved his chair back and stood. “Thanks for coming in. Someone will contact you soon. With Leila gone and Anabelle leaving soon, we need to move quickly on this.”

“Thank you for your time.” They shook hands, and James left the office. Penny was no longer at her desk.

James went upstairs to change into his street clothes. The interview had been pro forma. Varner hadn’t given him any encouragement that he had a chance to land the job. Or not.

Which left James unsettled and slightly annoyed.

After twenty-two years of service to the hospital, he deserved more than a “thanks for coming in.”

He leaned his forehead against his locker. “Lord, help me to believe in all things there is a reason and to accept the outcome as Your will being done.”

Exhaling, he let his shoulders relax. It was in God’s hands now whether he got the promotion or not.

James’s sole purpose was to lead the life that God had chosen for him and lead it well.

“Do you think I’m getting fat?”

Candace stood in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom. After returning home from the hospital, she’d changed into a lightweight sweater and comfortable slacks.

Except tonight the slacks didn’t feel comfortable.

Heath sat on the edge of the bed taking off his shoes. “Honey, I may not be the brightest groom on the cake, but I know enough about women to recognize a loaded question when I hear one.”

Acknowledging the truth of his words, she laughed. “I didn’t mean it to be loaded, honest. But at three months I shouldn’t hardly be showing.” She smoothed her hand over her tummy. “A week ago these pants fit just fine.”

“Maybe my son’s going to be one husky football player.”

“Or your daughter is going to be on the Olympic volleyball team.”

His dimples popped as he grinned at her. “I could handle that.”

“I’m sure you could.” She took another look in the mirror and turned away. Maybe there was something not quite right with her pregnancy. “Dr. Carpenter wants me to have an ultrasound in the next couple of weeks.”

Heath stopped what he was doing, one sock still in his hand. “Any particular reason?”

“She said no. Just being cautious because I’m a mature mother.”

“A cute one too. You want me to set up an appointment for you?”

“Yes, please. Make it a time when you can be there with me.” If there was bad news, and she certainly prayed that wouldn’t be the case, she wanted Heath beside her.

Heath came around to her side of the bed, slipping his arms around her waist. “I can hardly wait for the first look at our baby.”

She rested her head on his shoulder. His shirt smelled faintly of starch, his skin of warm masculinity. “Me too.”

“Try not to worry, sweetheart. As you said, the doctor’s being cautious. That doesn’t mean she thinks there’s a problem.”

More than anything in the world, Candace hoped he was right.

Y
OU’LL NEVER GUESS WHO CALLED.” FERN HAD
barely let James get in the door when he got home from work before she stopped him with that comment.

He shrugged out of his parka. “I don’t imagine it was Mr. Varner offering me the promotion.”

Her forehead puckered. “No. Were you expecting him to call?”

“Not really.” He kissed her briefly, a distracted kiss she’d normally read right through, except that she seemed excited about something. He tossed his jacket over the back of a kitchen chair. “So who called?”

“Llewellyn Maxwell, head of the Illinois Multiple Sclerosis Association.” Her brown eyes were lit with a spark James rarely saw and her words tumbled all over each other like playful kittens. “I was so surprised, I almost fell off the couch.”

“Wow! That sounds pretty impressive. How much money does he want us to donate?”

“Don’t be silly.” Grinning, she punched him lightly on the shoulder. “He wasn’t asking for money. He’d heard about the MS support group I helped put together. There’s a big MS conference scheduled for this coming weekend in Chicago. He wants me to be the Saturday night keynote speaker at dinner.”

“You’re kidding.” A pleasurable rush of pride swept over James.

“Nope. I have no idea what I’m going to say, but that didn’t seem to matter to Lew. That’s what he likes to be called.”

“Ah, a fast worker, huh?” He led her by the hand to the kitchen table and they sat down. For most of his life, James had been terrified to speak in front of an audience due to a stuttering problem he’d had as a kid. More recently, Elena had helped him overcome that disability, but he still wasn’t about to seek out speaking opportunities. “Tell me everything. What did Lew say when he called?”

“Well…” With the house a bit chilly, she tugged her sweater around herself. “It turns out the speaker they had in mind slipped in his bathtub last Saturday. Apparently he fell awkwardly and broke his leg and wrenched his shoulder. He won’t be able to make it to the conference.”

“What are you supposed to talk about? The latest medications? When they’ll find the cure?”

“Oh no, nothing so technical. There will be workshops on all sorts of subjects like that during the day. Mine is supposed to be a feel-good speech. Like how much the meds have helped me, the activities I participate in—”

“Hey, you can take some of your paintings and show them off.”

Her brows scrolled down, and she glanced at Sapphire, who strolled over to her dish for a snack.

“I don’t think I’m ready for a one-woman show quite yet,” Fern said.

“Well, I think your paintings are great.”

“You’re required to think that because you’re my husband. In this case, however, I need you to think of things I should say. I’ve never given a speech before. I don’t even know where to start.”

He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. “You’ll be terrific, Fern. Your attitude has always been so positive, all you have to do is share your spirit and they’ll love you. Almost as much as I do.”

Their eyes met, and James saw all the love Fern had given him for more than twenty years. In that moment, a promotion at the hospital couldn’t come close to comparing with what he had right here at home.

“You’ll come with me, won’t you, James? Lew said they’d hire a car and driver for me if I needed one. They’ll cover the expense of the hotel room and my meals too. But I don’t want to go if you can’t be there with me.”

“You bet I’ll go with you. Not for a million dollars would I miss your big speech.”

“It will be so exciting.” Her grin crinkled the corners of her eyes. “I thought we could drive there on Saturday morning, get there before noon. That way I’d have a chance to meet Lew and drop into a few workshops. We wouldn’t have to leave early the next day. Maybe we can drive around, see a bit of the city.”

“And have lunch at Navy Pier?”

“Oh yes, I like that idea.”

“Maybe we could visit Shedd Aquarium too,” he suggested. “Anabelle’s daughter Kirstie is going to start work there in a few weeks. It would be nice to see the exhibits.”

“I’m pretty steady on my feet these days, but I’m not sure I’m up to walking through the whole aquarium. I might need to use a wheelchair.”

“No problem. We’ll take yours along and have it for backup.”

“Just think…” Leaning back, she got a dreamy look in her eyes. “We haven’t gone off on a weekend, just the two of us, in forever. The boys won’t mind, will they?”

“I’d say it’s a pretty good bet they won’t even miss us.”

They both laughed, and James decided he’d make this weekend a special one for the woman he loved.

Wednesday afternoon, Eddie Blaine eased up beside James at the nurses’ station. He leaned close, whispering, “I saw a woman downstairs with Mr. Innisk. They were waiting for Mr. Varner. I’m thinking it’s Innisk’s niece, the one who’s looking for a job.”

Curiosity nudged at James, but he pushed it away. “I’m sure if Mr. Varner hires her that will mean she’s well qualified.”

Eddie scowled at him. “You don’t want to go take a peek at her?”

“Nope. I’ve got work to do right here.” He picked up an IV kit he’d gotten out of the supply room. “I’ll see you later, Eddie.”

Fifteen minutes later, James returned to the nurses’ station. Elena met him there.

“Did you hear? That woman who wants your job is downstairs talking to Mr. Varner.”

“Elena, she’s applying for the nurse supervisor job. I’m just a plain ol’ RN. She’s not after my job.” He sat down at the computer to enter the IV information on the patient’s chart.

Putting her fists on her hips, Elena said, “You deserve to have Anabelle’s job. You’d be a great supervisor. We don’t need a stranger coming in here getting hired over one of our own.”

James rubbed his fingertips along the center of his forehead where a headache threatened. “How is it going these days with Rafael at the Sheriff’s Academy?” he asked, hoping to change the subject.

“Oh. Well, it’s going fine.” She blinked at the sudden change of topic. “He seems to be enjoying all the hard physical training and the classes. We’ve worked it out here so that either Cesar or I take Isabel to school and Sarah picks her up and takes her to our house. Sarah fixes her a snack, they do homework, if there is any, and then play games. I think both Sarah and Izzy are enjoying their extra time together.”

“Good for them.”

“Of course, Rafael comes home on the weekends, so Izzy loves that.”

“I’m sure she does.” He shoved his chair back from the computer. “I’ll see you later.”

Elena glared up at him. “I suppose you know how to spell
obstinate
, don’t you?”

“Sure. That’s an easy one. Do you know what it means?” He winked at her. Elena was always teasing him about his interest in words and how they were derived.

“It means you’re incorrigible, stubborn, and pigheaded for not sticking up for yourself, James Bell.”

His laughter came from deep in his chest. “Thanks, Elena. I love you too.”

Amused, yet slightly annoyed that both Eddie and Elena were so worried about him not getting the promotion, James headed down the hallway. He’d vowed to put the Lord in charge of the final decision. James had done his part; now it was God’s turn. His will be done.

Candace and Heath caught him in the hallway.

Candace spoke up. “Someone told me Mr. Varner is interviewing—”

“I know,” James interrupted. “Varner will make the best decision he can for the hospital.” If that decision meant getting an extra large donation from Innisk, so be it.

Her eyes widening, Candace looked as though she wanted to say something more, but Heath took her arm.

“Come on, honey. We’ve got an appointment.” Over her momentary objection, he urged her toward the stairs.

Shaking his head, James wasn’t sure he appreciated the entire hospital staff talking about his hoped-for promotion. Particularly if he didn’t get the job.

The next time James arrived at the nurses’ station, Anabelle was there. He grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut.

“If you know something about the woman who is applying to replace you, I don’t want to hear about it,” he said.

“She’s quite young and attractive,” Anabelle said without looking away from the computer screen.

Arrggghh
! “Maybe Mr. Varner thinks we ought to bring in some young people who have new ideas. That’s his right.”

Anabelle nodded. “True. Though I do wish Leila was still here. She was never persuaded by personal connections. A candidate’s qualifications were the only thing that mattered to her.”

“If Leila were still here, you might not be retiring. In which case, Leila wouldn’t have to replace you.”

“Good point.” She signed off the computer and removed her glasses, sliding them into the breast pocket of her lab coat. “The computer is all yours now, if you want it.”

James didn’t want the computer. He didn’t want to know about the applicant downstairs.

He wanted everyone to chill out and let him do the same.

The elevator pinged its arrival on the floor. Mr. Varner and an attractive blonde woman in her midthirties stepped out.

“Ah, James, just the man I wanted to see.” Varner ushered the blonde over to the nurses’ station.

A sinking sensation in his midsection nearly swamped James.

“I’m showing Ms. Rutledge around our facility,” Mr. Varner said. “Since you’re more familiar with the operations here on the second floor, perhaps you could be our tour guide.”

“Of course.” James thought he smiled. At least he felt the muscles in his cheeks respond to his effort to smile. But he knew his smile was not one that said
welcome
. It was more like the brave smile of a prisoner walking to the guillotine.

In the third-floor Radiology Department, Candace settled onto the examining table for her ultrasound. Heath sat in a chair next to her holding her hand in the dimly lit room.

“I just love doing ultrasounds for pregnant ladies.” Molly Abrams, a technician with blonde hair, pulled up a stool and fiddled with the dials on the machine. “Having a baby is such an exciting thing. And I love it that you two are having one. Heath’s one of my favorite people.”

Heath flushed slightly. “Thanks, Molly.”

Molly shot a glance at Candace. “You don’t mind that I said that, do you? I mean, he’s the boss and all, but he’s real nice to me. To everyone, actually.”

“No problem. I like him too,” Candace said. Though her heart was in her throat because of the test, she wanted to be polite to the young woman who worked with Heath.

“Molly, we’re both pretty anxious to see what’s going on with our baby,” Heath said. “So if we can move this along.”

“Oh sure. Sure.” She made some more adjustments on the machine. “I’m going to put some gel on your tummy. It’ll feel cold.”