Page 9 of Diagnosis Attraction

Matt nodded.

“Would it be all right, do you think, if I didn’t tell anyone that I was taking her home with me? Well, I mean, anyone besides you.”

As he thought about that, he felt his stomach muscles tighten. He wanted to find out what was going on with Elizabeth.He wanted to help her get her life straightened out, but ethically, he had a big problem. And now Kramer was asking him to make decisions for the patient.

“If someone is looking for her, wouldn’t that make it harder to locate her?” he said.

“But I think it’s likely to be the wrong kind of person, and it might be better for them not to find her.”

“Or it could be her husband, frantic for information.”

“You think she’s married?” Kramer asked.

“No,” he answered immediately, then tried to assess his firm conviction. His certainty came from her mind, but he couldn’t tell that to Kramer. Instead, he said, “No ring.”

As the nurse nodded, he took his private speculation a step further. The best he could figure was that he hadn’t gotten any hint of a husband from her memories. Or any hint of a current relationship. Just from that brief trip into her mind, he thought that she was like him—disconnected from any meaningful relationship. Only for a few moments, the two of them had connected in a way he’d never thought possible for himself. Or anyone else.

He clenched his teeth.

“Is something wrong?” Kramer asked.

Quickly, he rearranged his features. “No.”

“You look tense.”

He wished she hadn’t noticed.

When he didn’t speak, the nurse said, “I’ll let you know how she’s doing.”

“Thanks.”

He cared about how Elizabeth was doingmore than he should, but he couldn’t admit it or anything else that would give away the out-of-kilter personal involvement that had flared between them. He turned and left the ward before Elizabethcame out, and he did something he knew he shouldn’t—like touch her again.

Although thinking about it made his nerve endings tingle, he ignored the sensation as he headed for the other end of the hall.

Polly Kramer watched Dr. Delano stride off. She could tell he was trying to react on a strictly professional level, but he wasn’t succeeding. Which was interesting. Since he’d come to Memorial Hospital, she’d thought of him as closed up. Maybe even a cold fish. But something about the woman with no memory had created a change in him. He seemed to care about her, although he was trying not to show it. He probably thought thatany personal feelings about Elizabeth were inappropriate. But was there some way to change that? He’d been cautious of involvement with her because she was a patient. But she wouldn’t be a patient after she left the hospital.

Polly smiled to herself. Here she went again, trying to match people up. But she’d been so happy in her marriage. And she wanted the same thing for other young couples.

A voice broke into her thoughts. It was Cynthia Price, one of the other nurses on the floor.

“I couldn’t help overhearing you and the doctor talking. Are you really taking that Jane Doe woman home with you?” Price asked. She was a slender brunette in her mid-thirties, and as far as Polly could tell, she had the right nursing skills, but she didn’t have much empathy for the patients.

“Yes.”

Polly’s colleague fiddled with the ballpoint pen she was holding. “I don’t like to interfere, but isn’t that taking a chance?”

“What do you mean?”

“She could be …” the woman raised a shoulder. “She could be a thief, or lord knows what.”

“I think I’m a good judge of character, and I don’t believe she’s a thief or a murderer. But Dr. Delano and I both have the idea she’s in some kind of trouble.”

“Yes, I heard you discussing it. What do you think it is?”

“When she gets her memory back, we’ll know.” She paused for a second. “I think it would be better if you don’t tell anyone she left with me.”

Cynthia considered the request. “What if her family comes looking for her or something? What if they’re worried sick about her?”

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