Page 51 of Dr. Alaska
Mav might be tired and bruised by his situation, but he didn’t want to give up. His dogs needed a home. He would figure out a way to salvage this situation and save his family home. He needed to get back up for himself.
He wanted another chance at something more with Lee.
With what money would he fight?
Damn it, Mav wished he’d never met that guy.
He could start over elsewhere. A bone-deep weariness pressed on him, like gravity exerted twice as much force.
Of course he could start over. It was always an option. He wasn’t without skills. He could go to Fairbanks where a paramedic salary covered a small house or an apartment in town. He could sign on with the LifeMed flight team out of Fairbanks. In the past, they’d offered him a position, with a signing bonus.
None of that gave him what he wanted—the dogs, the lodge, a business to build, hanging out with Dee, his life in Yukon Valley.
And Lee.
The realization hit him like a punch to the gut. Lee held a piece of his heart. She was important to Mav.
Damn it, the timing sucked. He couldn’t act on his feelings. What was he supposed to say?Hey, I recently lost everything and have a limited future source of income and might be homeless and besides you’ll be leaving soon, want to hang out?
It wasn’t about money. Sure, he understood that she earned more than him. That fact didn’t make him insecure. In a relationship, he felt confident when he stood on his own two feet and made a meaningful contribution. Food, shelter, safety, shared interests, effort, support.
He wanted a partnership. He’d glimpsed the possibility in Lee’s intelligent brown eyes when they talked and when they worked together to take care of patients.
What he had wanted had beenright there. Exhaustion wormed its way through him.
With one last pet of Kenai’s head, he collected the dogs’ bowls and thanked Louise and Hilda. He couldn’t fix his life right now, but he could care for his dogs.
Time to get back on the trail, feed them, and get the babies safely settled in at home… for as long as home lasted.
Kenai pressed her head against his knee and looked up at him with soulful eyes. She trusted that he’d take care of her.
Mav prepared to fight.
Chapter Twenty
Lee rolled overin the hospital call room Sunday morning and stretched her sore muscles with a groan. Yesterday’s hiking with dogs—or rather, dogs pulling hiker—and taking care of Nick with his accident had worn her out. After casting Nick’s leg and discharging him, Lee spent more than an hour carefully reviewing her chart note.
That one document could make or break several people’s futures.
At least her extra work last night meant she could add some billable hours for her locums timesheet. For Lee, every dollar mattered these days.
Sighing, she sat up and squinted at her cell phone, bright in the dark call room. A red dot popped up, indicating a message. Her heart sped up, then dropped.
It wasn’t Maverick. Nothing from him.
It gave her emotional whiplash, how they had gone from mutual heavy petting that was likely leading to something even sexier, to disaster then despair in a matter of hours. Lee wished she could give Maverick a big hug right now, even if he didn’t feel that he could reciprocate.
Man, Lee hated bullies.
She rubbed her face and tapped the screen. The message was from the locums company recruiter. Unusual to have a message come in—she checked the timestamp—an hour ago. Recruiters generally didn’t work on weekends unless there was an urgent reason.
She sat back on the pillows and read the message.
Emergency request for a three-month assignment in southern Utah. You would be the only doc covering the facility for half of that time. Hospital is willing to pay double your current assignment fees and will buy out the remainder of Alaska assignment if you will transfer before your assignment ends there. Details in email sent to you.
Lee quickly did some math and leaned back on the bed.Oh wow.
Hadn’t she worried about her bank account and the immediate need to clear multiple debts?
