Page 1 of Hazy Shade of Winter

one

Hazel

"Come on, Hazy. You'regoing to love the Range bar." I let my new best friend, and co-worker, Sutton, pull me into the only bar in the quaint small town of Wintervale, Montana. Hazy is a nickname she gave me on my first day of work, and it stuck.

It was a long shift in the labor and delivery department of the hospital today. It seems like there's a baby boom going on in this small town. By the looks of all the hot guys hanging out at the Range bar, I have no doubt about the reason for the high delivery rate.

Working hard is something I'm used to, considering I was on my own at eighteen once my hippie parents kicked me out claiming their job raising me was done. I was an adult—it was time I supported myself. Which I've done for the last six years—working odd jobs, most as a bartender in places not unlike this one.

Not that I didn't enjoy those jobs, but it's nice to have the higher income from my travel nurse job. The money is amazing, plus I still get to travel the country like I did with my parents only this time it's on my terms how long I stay in one place.

So far I've made it six months in one place after graduating nursing school, but lately the thrill of moving from town to town has lost its appeal. Maybe it's time to settle down in one place with a partner of my own, instead of only having myself to rely on—maybe one of these guys might be the man for the job.

"Is it hot guy night tonight?" My eyes roam from one group of sexy guys to the next, all sitting around the bar, laughing and drinking with their friends as I slip off my coat, shake the snow off and throw it over the back of the chair at our table before sitting down with Sutton, Tara, and Michelle two other nurses from our department.

"No, silly. This town has a higher male population than female." She laughs, motioning to a group of women who have just walked through the door. She introduces them as nurses from other departments at the hospital—some travel nurses like me and some regular nurses who have found the loves of their lives here in Wintervale.

"So you know we have a tradition here at the Range bar," Sutton says after everyone is settled at the table. "The newest nurse has to go up on stage and sing Karaoke." Sutton's eyes flare with mischief as she looks at me. "Since Hazy is our newest nurse, tonight she gets the honor of singing."

Oh, hell no.

I can't carry a tune in a bucket. It's bad enough I'm the newbie in town. Add embarrassing myself in front of a bar full of hot strangers, and I might as well sign up for an early travel assignment instead of staying here for the next ten weeks. All thoughts of finding a boyfriend and finally settling down also flee my mind as I can only imagine the fool I'm going to make of myself by singing.

Sutton smiles as she tugs on my arm, pulling me into a standing position and dragging me to the Karaoke DJ. "What do we have here?" Of course, the DJ is just as handsome as the rest of the guys in this town—there must be something in the water.

"This is our new travel nurse, Hazel, but we call her Hazy. Hazy, this is Dale, the bar DJ by night and town dentist by day."

A cowboy DJ dentist—who would have guessed that combination? "Nice to meet you, Dale." I nod, holding back a giggle.

"Nice to meet you, too, Hazy." He tips his cowboy hat, flashing his million-dollar smile perfect for advertising his business.

"It's her turn to sing." Sutton flips through the book of song choices until her finger lands on what she declares is the perfect song for me.

"No, I'm not going to sing Baby Got Back." I snatch the book out of her hands, deciding if I'm going to make a fool out of myself, I'm going to go big. "This one." I tap the song title with my fingernail as Sutton looks over my shoulder.

"Wow. You're really going to take on that song?" I'm not sure if the awe in Sutton's voice is that she's impressed that I'm brave enough to take it on or if she thinks I'm crazy for even trying to sing it.

"Sure. Why not?" I shrug, knowing this is the unofficial initiation for all new Wintervale Hospitals and Clinics nurses. This moment will either be a huge success or the greatest failure ever—either way, I'll have stood up to the challenge.

"All righty then. It's your turn." Dale thrusts a microphone in my face, and I grab it with one hand. Sutton grabs the book out of my other hand, guiding me to the center of the stage before abandoning me to a sea of strangers waiting for me to begin. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to Hazy, one of the new travel nurses at the hospital—and you know what that means." Half the crowd cheers, and the other half groans. "Without further ado, I give you Hazy singing the classic song Wind Beneath My Wings by the great Bette Midler."

As the music begins to play, I take a deep breath, blow it out, throw my shoulders back, lift my head, and sing along with thewords crossing the screen. At the cheering and whistling from my coworkers and the sexy men my confidence grows.

No longer caring that I sound like a cross between a screeching owl and a dying cat, I kick up my performance. Shaking my hips from side to side I strut around the stage flipping my hair over my shoulder as I search, but never find the high notes. And don't even get me started on the word "fly"—but the crowd doesn't seem to mind the cracking, shrieking sounds coming out of me.

Being up on stage, singing for a bunch of strangers is the most relaxed I've felt in forever. The unconditional kindness from my co-workers and the strangers at the bar make me realize, this is what I've been missing in my life—stability—unconditional friendship—a feeling of home.

Maybe life in Wintervale isn't so bad after all.

two

Turner

"What in the hellis that noise? Is Mrs. Fletcher's cat stuck in a tree again?" My three brothers and I are all volunteer firefighters, we've spent plenty of days coaxing that stubborn cat out of more trees than I care to count but this sound puts old Fluffy's howling to shame.

I slam a case of beer on the bar. It's time to hire more help so I'm not left working as a beer back all the time. I shouldn't complain. It's the fifth time I've had to restock the coolers tonight—having to go up and down the stairs to the basement, where most of the alcohol is stored, is the only downside.

The bar is doing amazingly well. However, with all the business we're getting from the hospital staff, firefighters, and police department, not to mention the tourists, it's time to expand the space and hire more help. My brothers and I have talked about hiring more staff—we just haven't done it yet.

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