Page 85 of Take Me Away, Cowboy

Paige snapped out of her daze and laughed.

“This is all too crazy. How didn’t I recognize your name when I looked you up?”

“Oh, that.” Paige’s old mentor blushed a deep crimson and her smile belied a story. “Well, I married the man who made me move here. He retired and I took over for him. It’s all so perfectly romantic. And now you’re here! Why, my dear, may I ask?” Her accent made Paige want to curl up in her lap and gush about all the strange and wonderful—and some not so wonderful—things that had happened since she’d last seen Miranda. She almost forgot why she was there.

“Well, I wanted to ask for privileges, actually.” Paige spent the next twenty minutes filling her old mentor in on why she was there in Banberry, what had brought her to the hospital, and what she hoped to do.

“It’s my lucky day, I think. That little girl’s as well. Two competent professionals from the same island, both asking me for jobs? I think I must be dreaming.”

Paige choked on a sharp intake of air.

“I’m sorry, two of us? What do you mean?”

“Just an hour ago a woman from Turks and Caicos came by asking if there was space for her to practice here, and it only took ten minutes with her for me to hire her on the spot. She’s down in HR right now filling out the paperwork. And then you. I feel like I’ve won the lottery.” Miranda clapped her hands like a grade-school teacher whose students just learned to write their names.

Paige was in shock. The whole day was turning into a weird dream she couldn’t wake up from.

“Her name wasn’t Aurelie, was it?”

“It is. I figured the islands were too small for you two to not know each other. But tell me, Paige, because I know and trust your judgment. Is she as good as she seems?”

“The best,” Paige eked out. It was true, but none of that mattered. Her head spun and she was lightheaded. Somehow, this small town, this place she’d run from like it was on fire, was drawing her back in like the damn Bermuda Triangle. She was losing the will to fight it off. “Miranda, my dad’s in here for a fall…” she started.

Miranda took her hands and squeezed them, her face a map of concern.

“I’m so sorry, dear. Is there anything I can do?”

Paige shook her head. “No, thanks. He’s in good hands down there. But do you mind if we catch up more later? I’d love to check in with HR and get the ball rolling so I can help Carly’s family as soon as possible and get back to my dad.”

“Of course. Let’s get coffee when you’re settled. My treat.” Miranda stood, went behind her desk to her phone. “I’ll call down and let them know you’re coming and to expedite your inbound paperwork.”

“Thanks so much, Miranda. It really is so good to see you. I can’t wait to meet this charming new man of yours.” Paige smiled, her lips only able to meet her heart halfway with the effort, though. She was glad to see a friendly and familiar face, but at that moment, all she could concentrate on was Aurelie. Aurelie who was somewhere in the hospital signing papers to work in Butte.

To live where?

What would happen if Paige left? Rather,whenPaige left. What would her friend do then? Paige didn’t have a clue what to address first when she saw Aurelie—the apology she owed her for forgetting her at the airport, or the fact that Aury wasn’t answering her phone and was instead making a major career change. A career and location change that could influence Paige’s life monumentally.

She started towards the door after a lingering hug from Miranda, who stopped her before she got all the way out.

“Paige?”

“Yes?” Paige asked, only half-turning back.

“If you decide to stick around, I’ll make those privileges permanent. No questions asked.”

Paige smiled and nodded, all she seemed capable of.

“Thanks, Miranda.” She closed the door behind her and sprinted down the hallway, narrowly avoiding toppling some physicians and wandering family members in the bridge between human resources and the patient floors.

She got to HR breathless. She straightened her jacket, and opened the door to the deep, throaty laughter of Aurelie.

Paige followed the sound until she came to a small group of people around one of the desks in a small office. She stood there on the periphery until she heard a familiar voice in a thick island accent say, “Well, if you say it’s coffee, I’ll believe you, but until you’ve had my island roast, you really shouldn’t brag about this lukewarm brackish water.”

The room erupted in laughter and Paige just smiled, her heart happy to hear, if not see, her friend.

“Don’t listen to her,” Paige chimed in. “She always came to my house for the coffee.”

Some chuckles made their way across the crowd but it parted, allowing Paige to see her best friend for the first time in months. She was so clearly just off the plane, a bright red tunic hanging over island-short shorts, long, shapely legs topping off the image that seemed out of place in such a sterile environment.

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