Page 3 of Rescuing Dr. Marian
I didn’t bother waiting for my bag since I already knew it hadn’t made the connection. After filing an official lost-bag claim, I grabbed the first taxi to the resort and charmed the front desk lady into an oceanfront room, a toiletry kit, and a drink voucher.
The warm tropical air was a relief after the harsh Wyoming winter I’d left behind. I took a moment to breathe it in as I made my way out to the cabana bar by the pool. The rhythmic sound of the waves was soothing as I approached the bartender.
“Plate of whatever appetizers you have and a Double Old Fashioned, please,” I murmured to the guy before scoping out a small table at the edge of the area where I could look out at the ocean. As soon as the drink was in my hand, I wandered over and sat down, enjoying the smoky citrus taste of the first sip.
Now, this was more like it. Warm, salty air. Quality bourbon.Nowhere to be. Zero chance of a midnight call to a snowy accident on the highway.
“Mind if I join you?”
I looked up to see the handsome doctor from the plane standing beside my table with a slight smile. My stomach did that funny little thing again.
“Please,” I gestured to the empty chair across from me. “I owe you a thank-you for the tissues and your sense of humor. And for not blowing my cover story about poor, departed Wade Brown.”
He chuckled as he sat down. “As far as I’m concerned, you rescuedme. That was quick thinking. I must look an awful lot like that guy, if she was that insistent.”
“I have no idea who she was talking about, so I made up a name,” I admitted with a laugh.
“Well, here’s to my doppelgänger, the late, great, fictional Wade Brown,” he said, raising his glass. “May he rest in peace.”
I clinked my glass against his. “To Wade.” I took a sip and then licked my lips. “You here alone? Where’s your… friend?”
He smiled. “My cousin Ella. She had some work to catch up on.” He reached out a hand to shake. “I’m Tommy, by the way. Tommy Marian. Boring doctor from Manhattan. Apparently.”
“Foster Blake,” I replied, enjoying the warm clasp of his hand in mine. “Boring sheriff of Majestic, Wyoming, currently on a much-needed vacation.”
Tommy’s eyes widened slightly. “Sheriff? That’s not boring at all.”
“You’d be surprised. It’s a small town. Most of my jobinvolves breaking up bar fights and rescuing lost hikers. It’s nothing like what you do.”
He shook his head. “Rescuing people is important work, whether it’s on the trail or in the hospital.”
The bartender brought my appetizer plate and set it between us. “Help yourself,” I offered, and Tommy eagerly reached for a pita wedge.
“Looks like you’re not getting into vacation mode, Sheriff,” he said, nodding at my jeans and the flannel button-down that still bore traces of my seatmate’s drink.
I laughed. “I’min paradise, but my luggage still has work to do.” I explained the delays that had led to my nearly missed connection and lost bags, and he winced sympathetically.
I snuck a glance at his finely tailored pants and still-semi-crisp button-down, rolled up to expose sexy forearms. “Meanwhile, you seem remarkably put together for someone who just got off a plane. Where were you flying from?”
Tommy spread hummus onto his pita and took a bite, groaning appreciatively. “It was only a short hopper flight for me today. I was at a medical conference on the Big Island this week.”
“What kind of doctor are you?”
He nodded. “Emergency medicine. I work in the ER at a busy trauma one hospital. Though…” He hesitated before adding, “I’m considering getting dual-boarded in anesthesia.”
“You don’t sound thrilled about it,” I observed.
Tommy spun his glass on the table, his expression growing distant. “It’s complicated. I prefer emergency medicine, but anesthesia’s the smart career move if I want to settledown and have a family. More predictable hours, better pay. It’s the path upward, and I’ve always worked hard to get to the next level.”
“So you want to settle down and have a family?”
His eyes met mine, and I saw a vulnerable kind of yearning in them. “Yes,” he said simply. “Family’s everything to me.”
My heart rate kicked up. He seemed as devoted to his as I was to mine. “Same,” I murmured.
“So you know sometimes family means sacrifice,” he said with a little shrug.
While he was right, I felt like if I agreed with him, I’d be condoning a choice that would damn him to a life of compromise. Achievement and stability at the cost of his freedom and happiness.
