Her Hometown Hero(11)

"I have no one other than Grandma and Grace to tell. It's not as if I've  had a chance to make friends or catch up with anyone since moving  home," she snapped. Not that she would run around town saying anything  anyway.

Good ol' trustworthy Sage. It was every girl's dream to be that person.  The person everyone ran to with their problems. She'd like to be the bad  girl for once, the girl everyone ran to for a bit of fun. Of course,  that was never going to happen, so it was useless to even think such  thoughts.

"So, you're my boss, but that's just a title. I mean, it's not like  you're going to be hanging around down here. You have much more  important things to do. You'll just . . . um . . . come in once in a  while to check on how things are going, right?"                       
       
           



       

She knew she sounded almost desperate, but there was no possible way she  could be around this man every single day. It wasn't like she got much  time off. Residents seemed to be working every waking hour, and she  wasn't allowed much time for sleep-not if she wanted to get through this  and be a full-fledged ER physician when her residency was finished.

"I take a very hands-on approach with my residents," he said, leaning  forward and smiling with reassurance. He was playing-and he was doing it  damn well.

"And how many residents are you in charge of?" Please say twenty, she added silently.

After an uncomfortably long pause, his lips parted. "Don't worry, Sage, I will take a hands-on approach with all of you."

She gulped as their eyes remained locked together. "I . . . uh . . . better get back to the ER."

"Sage?" he called out when she was just beginning to open the door.

"Yes, Dr. Whitman." Keep it professional, she told herself.

"I just want to give you fair warning," he said, making her turn to look  at him with a raised eyebrow. "I will be taking you out. In the  interest of not breaking hospital rules, I'll wait until you're off the  clock."

She nearly gasped at his audacity before a cheeky grin flashed across  her face. "Well, then, I have nothing to worry about. I'm never off the  clock."

She left the room, letting the door swing shut behind her. It would have  felt far more like a victory if the sound of his deep laughter weren't  following her down the hallway. One thing she knew for sure-she needed  to polish up her armor.





"How does it feel to be back home?"

Spence kicked back, sipped on his favorite cognac, and smiled. "It feels  a lot better than I thought it would. When I was last here and Dad  wasn't feeling so hot, I got worried. So when the position opened up, I  knew I had to take it."

"I'm sure glad to have you here. Don't get me wrong. Doc Thompson is  great and has served the hospital well, but if I need to go to surgery, I  think I'd rather leave my life in your hands," Hawk said as he sipped  his Pepsi. He was on the clock, and if the fire alarm sounded, he needed  to be sober.

"Hell, Hawk, I think you could fix yourself," Spence said with a laugh.

"Well, we both know I'd make a damn fine surgeon if I had any desire to be a cocky bastard like you and go to med school."

"You're so full of crap. There's nothing you want to do that you won't," Spence said.

"Yeah, I guess that's true. By the way, don't think I haven't forgotten the one hundred and fifty you still owe me."

Spence looked at his friend with a question in his eyes before the night of the party flashed back to his mind.

"I haven't lost the bet yet. I'm back home now, around for more than  just a few days here and there," Spence said, not even worried.

Sure, Sage hadn't given him the time of day over the last five months, but now he was going to be around a lot more.

"I want you to know that Sage is a good girl. If this is only a game to  you, then maybe you should just take a loss on this one," Hawk said,  suddenly serious.

"I'm not a complete ass," Spence said, taking another long swallow of his drink as he squirmed in his seat.

"Come on, man. You can't BS me. I used to be you before I met Natalie."

"Just because you stunned us all by getting yourself hitched to the hot  little schoolteacher doesn't mean the rest of us need to follow in your  footsteps down the matrimonial aisle," Spence said, almost in a panic.

"Well, your brother seems pretty dang happy with his bride," Hawk pointed out.

"Yeah, well, Alyssa is one of a kind, and after all the hell that  Jackson went through, I'm really happy that he ended up finding her. And  I can't complain about my niece. She is simply amazing," Spence said,  getting slightly misty-eyed even thinking about her.

"Well, since you were the one who saved Angel's life, you think the sun pretty much rises and falls on her," Hawk said.

"Ah, Hawk, she was a fighter from the moment she was delivered. It  didn't matter that I was the one to do surgery on her, she was-and still  is-a champion, and she would have made it no matter what."

"How in the world can you be such a softie when it comes to your niece  and also love your sister-in-law so much, but still not understand the  female sex?" Hawk asked, sitting back with a confused look on his face.

"I do understand women. They are essential to our happiness. I just choose to stay with them until the times are no longer fun."                       
       
           



       

"Okay, I really want you to explain this one," Hawk said.

"All relationships start out in the honeymoon phase, where it's all love  and roses, and then when the couple gets comfortable with each other,  they start to bicker, and eventually, they can't stand to even be in the  same room anymore," Spence said, though he didn't sound convincing.

"So, according to you, Natalie is going to grow two heads and become a monster one of these days?" Hawk questioned.

"No. Won't happen to you, because you found one of the sane ones," Spence said.

"And your sister-in-law?"

"Nope. My brother also found one of the good ones." Spence was emphatic.

"So then, it sounds to me like you're just full of crap. There seem to be a lot of good ones," Hawk pointed out.

"Yeah, I think I just might be full of crap," Spence admitted with a lopsided smile.

"All righty then. If you can admit that, then are you admitting that Sage might just be someone special, too?"

Spence thought a few moments before answering his friend. Did he think  Sage was special? Hell yes, he did. She was talented, smart, and funny,  and quick on her toes. Did he think the two of them had a future  together? It was way too soon to even think about that.

"All I know for sure is that since that moment in the hospital when she  looked at me like I was Satan's love child, I've been infatuated with  her. I want to get to know her. It's not a game," he told his friend.

"Well then, you'd better step it up. I like the girl, but I also like  winning, so I won't have a problem colleting my hundred and fifty," Hawk  said, lightening the mood, making Spence let out a relieved breath.

"Triple or nothing," Spence said with a wicked grin.

"Ah, it will feel good to take your money," Hawk said as he stuck out his hand and shook.





"Get this person intubated now!"

The surgical staff moved efficiently around her-completely resourceful,  all of them knowing exactly which role they were there to play. Sage was  a part of this drama, a part of the process of saving lives. She  thrived on it-lived for it. She was where she belonged.

Almost without thought, Sage was tipping the patient's head back and  feeding a tube down his throat. Her hands were steady, her pulse calm.  She was performing a procedure she'd done a hundred, maybe even a  thousand times-first on dummies, then on real patients.

She still felt a pinch of nerves each time she did such a tricky  procedure. It would be very nice when that was no longer the case, when  she was as confident as the doctors who had been doing this for years.  She would get there-it was only a matter of time.

While the nurses stripped the patient down and threw a hospital gown  over him, she focused on the job at hand. That's why this worked. They  all knew their jobs and they moved together as one.

"He needs a unit of blood, stat. That gash on his leg is still bleeding. Let's get the blood loss stopped."

Orders. Lots of orders. Shouted orders. Everyone responding. It was  awe-inspiring. They were going to save this man's life, and she was  right there, right in the thick of it.

"Dr. Banks, what comes next?"

Sage's head snapped up as she looked into the eyes of Dr. Snyder, the  surgeon who was on call that night. He was new, someone she didn't know  and didn't feel comfortable with, which made her slightly nervous.