Page 19 of Silent Deception
CHAPTER SIX
Dr. Hernandez had promisedthat a nurse would arrive the Tuesday after Labor Day weekend. She hadn’t mentioned that he’d be balding and burly, with a massive tattoo of an 18-wheeler on his left upper arm and a gold-capped front tooth.
“I’m Max Zimmerman.” He shook Kristin’s hand with enough force to make her wince, his eyes sparkling behind trendy wire rims at odds with the rest of his well-aged biker image. “Boy, howdy. Thought I’d never get here today. Dr. Lou did my health exam, blood work, and TB test at the main clinic this morning, and then I must’ve watched six orientation videos. I’m still on a caffeine high from trying to stay awake.”
Kristin had been in a dark mood since Clint and Ryan left a few hours earlier, but now she grinned at Max. “It’s great having you aboard.”
He followed her second glance at his truck tattoo and smiled ruefully. “My clinic jacket will cover it. I got a little wild after returning from the service, and unfortunately wasn’t content with a simple ‘Mom.’”
Though he had that, too, along with a heart and the name Rosalie on his other muscular forearm.
She gave him a tour of the building, ending up at the front desk where she offered him a seat and pulled up an extra chair for herself. “You and I will be on our own until things pick up. I understand that for now, you’ll handle the phone. We’ll make sure the insurance and billing forms are complete, but they’re computerized, and bookkeepers at the main clinic will handle them.”
“Good deal.” He opened the appointment book with obvious relish and flipped through some of the pages. His face fell. “There’s hardly anyone in here.”
“Today is our first day. Doc Grady died a few years back, so it might take a while. There’ll be notices in theHomestead Heraldand some of the papers in the surrounding towns.”
“And the town should grow, with the Home Free program. I understand you and I are both part of it...though I didn’t fit the preferred family profile.” His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I had nursing skills to offer, and I’ll have a small-engine repair business on the side. They gave me a house at the end of Pecan Street, with a shop building in back.”
“How long have you been in nursing?”
“Three years. I was a medic in the service for four, though. I wanted to go to college afterward, but just couldn’t hack it, given some of the stuff I was still dealing with. Nightmares, flashbacks—you know the drill. I ended up driving a truck for ten years.”
Kristin tipped her head in silent acknowledgment of all he’d gone through. “What made you change jobs?”
“After my wife died, I went back to school. Seeing what those nurses did for her made me want to give back something, you know? They made all the difference.”
The pain in his voice sounded so fresh that she wanted to give him a hug. “I’m sorry about your loss.”
“Five years ago now, but I still miss her every day.” He turned back to the current date in the appointment book. “I see you had a patient this morning. How’d that go?”
“Not the best start.”
He gave the name a second glance, then looked up at her in surprise. “Clint Gallagher. The statesenator?”
“One and the same. His son made him come, but he wasn’t happy about it. He seems to be in denial regarding his health and hasn’t been compliant with medical advice.” She nudged Clint’s patient file with a forefinger. “His old medical records just came from San Antonio. Hyperlipidemia, with a cholesterol of 325 and elevated triglycerides of 550. A history of angina, with a few ER visits. He was started on a beta blocker, Lipitor and aspirin therapy two years ago, but he’s never followed through. Today’s EKG showed occasional PVCs.”
Max whistled under his breath. “A walking heart attack.”
“And he’s not going to listen to me, either. He made that clear enough today. His family and mine have some...history, so Dr. Lou will probably have to talk to him.”
“He’d better get over it. She isn’t here that often, and in an emergency he’ll have to see you anyway, the fool.”
Max’s disgust made Kristin laugh. “I think he’d have to be unconscious.”
“Sounds like quite a guy. Now he’ll have to deal with a female doctor, a PA he dislikes, and a tattooed ex-trucker nurse. He’ll probably decide he’s safer with the local veterinarian.”
