Page 3 of The Desperate Warrior

Steve was wearing blue jeans and a button-down, short-sleeve shirt with his name embroidered over the breast pocket. Seeing the grease stains around his fingernails, Jules thought he might be an auto mechanic. Steve tossed Jules a curt nod and crossed his beefy arms over his barrel chest. He was nervous too but covered it up with terseness as he regarded her with a cool stare.

Jules leafed through the pages on the clipboard as she moved through the checklist, making sure to keep her voice steady andreassuring. “We’ll take good care of you. Dr. Winslow … err, Dr. Caldwell will be performing your surgery?”

Steve bunched his bushy brows. “Why the sudden change?” He glanced at Lisa before settling his glare at Jules. “I thought Dr. Winslow was doing the surgery.”

“He’s out sick today, but you’re in excellent hands with Dr. Caldwell.” She offered another smile. “We do these procedures all the time.” She caught eyes with Lisa. “The good news is … you’ll be home by dinner, if not sooner.”

Steve grunted. “Dinner, huh?”

Jules felt her skin prickle with irritation over Steve’s adversarial attitude. Even so, she kept her tone upbeat. “Yep, it’s routine surgery. Everything in Lisa’s chart looks great.” She spoke to the patient. “You’ll be back home on the couch and watching your favorite TV shows in no time.”

Steve caught hold of Lisa’s hand. “Maybe we should reschedule. Dr. Winslow came so highly recommended.”

“Dr. Caldwell is also a great surgeon,” Jules said smoothly.

A deep frown folded his mouth as he looked at her foot. “I’m not sure you’re in any condition to be tending to my wife.”

“Luckily, I don’t need my foot to do my job.” She tapped her temple with the tip of her index finger. “I have everything I need in here, and thankfully, that part of my body is working just fine.”

Lisa clipped out a nervous laugh as she glanced at Steve. “Don’t mind him. He’s just a worrier,” she said in a manner that suggested she was used to acting as a buffer between her abrasive husband and others. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, hon.”

Steve pressed his lips together in tight lines.

“I understand your nervousness.” Jules reminded herself of the need to be understanding. Surgery was nerve-wracking for the patients, even though it was routine for her and the other staff members. “But you will be okay,” she stated firmly.

“She’s right, Steve,” Lisa added. “I’ll be just fine. Oh, I almost forgot. We promised to send a picture of us to the kids. Will you take the picture for us?” she asked Jules.

“Sure.”

Steve retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and handed it to Jules. He stepped close to Lisa. She smiled, but he remained stoic.

“There you go.” Jules handed him back his phone.

“Steve, will you get one of me and Jules?” She looked at Jules. “If that’s okay.”

Jules glanced at the clock. They still had a couple of minutes to spare. “Of course.”

“I’m a big scrapbooker,” Lisa explained. “I’d be falling down on the job if I didn’t document my first surgery.”

“Well, we can’t have that now, can we? I’m sure you’ll go through it like a champ.” Jules stepped close to Lisa and smiled brightly as Steve snapped the picture.

“Okay, time to go.” Even though it wasn’t easy, Jules smiled at Steve. “I’ll take good care of her. You have my word.”

He locked eyes with Jules. “I’m counting on it.” He leaned over and kissed Lisa on the forehead. “I love you,” he said gruffly.

Her eyes grew dewy. “I love you, back.”

Jules placed the clipboard on the blanket covering Lisa and wheeled her back to the OR, where Dr. Caldwell, the scrub tech, and anesthesiologist were waiting. She patted Lisa’s arm as she met eyes with the staff in an acknowledgment of greeting. “You’re in great hands. I’ll be here when you get out.”

Lisa nodded and then gulped in a quick breath. “Sounds good.”

Five surgeries later, and it was finally time for Jules to go home. Her left foot was the size of a watermelon and on fire. She couldn’t wait to pull off her shoe and put some ice on the injury.

She checked her phone when she got out to her car and was dismayed to realize that she had two voice messages and five texts from Dean Powell, the guy she’d been dating for the past couple of months. Against her better judgment, Jules agreed to let her mom fix her up with the son of some of her close friends from the country club.

The first few dates went well. A realtor, Dean, was handsome, well-spoken, and mildly funny. However, as time went on, Dean was becoming way too clingy. He called and texted her way too often. Someone should teach him the art of playing a little hard to get. Yesterday, he’d left her two voice messages. She hadn’t responded. He was obviously getting desperate. She glanced at the texts. He was asking her to go to dinner with him this evening. She listened to the voice messages. In the second message, Dean said with a chuckle, “Sorry to be such a pest. I was just really hoping that we could get together tonight.” After a short pause, he continued. “I miss you.”

The intensity of his tone made her feel like she was wearing a turtleneck that had suddenly grown too tight around her neck.

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