Page 6 of Merry Little Heartbreak

He couldn’t help but feel exhilarated and anxious to work with her. But when the injured and wounded began to pour in, along with several badly burned firemen, the excitement vanished. He did whatever was asked of him, cleaned wounds, stitched people, comforted people, and assisted with the burns. He not only saw the limited burn triage area but used the insufficient space for multiple patients. They received a total of twenty-eight patients within an hour, and Margo remained focused. He watched her serve as the calm in the storm for the residents and the patients.

“She’s a force, probably the toughest and most precise medic I’ve ever worked with,” Dalton said, catching Drake watching Margo. She was resetting a broken bone from a patient that jumped out of the building when the fire got too close to their apartment.

“How long have you worked with Margo?” Drake asked.

“Three years,” Dalton said.

Drake didn’t ask how long they had dated because he was fairly certain that had been a lie. Also, he liked Dalton and didn’t want to think he’d crossed a line by kissing Margo. Somewhere in his mind, she was still his to kiss, and he’d let his memories get the best of him. He shouldn’t have kissed her, but he didn’t regret it.

“Hart, incoming three more level fours,” Nurse Steph yelled from across the bay, and the sirens sounded closer and closer.

He watched as Dalton removed his gloves and grabbed new ones before heading to the ambulance bay.

How could Margo work under this constant pressure and not feel like a god, or a warrior like Dr. Hart or both? It must be taking its toll after years of residency then leading a shift. Did she regret not going with him out to LA? And if she had gone, would they still be together? More importantly, what if he had returned to Virginia instead of working as the protégé of one of the most successful plastic surgeons in LA?

Three hours later, there was finally a slight lull in the tempo of activity in the ER. Drake chugged a Gatorade one of the residents had handed him and searched for Margo. She’d gone behind a curtain about a half hour ago in a surgery bay within the ER for the most serious cases. A young woman had been brought in, unconscious, no burns but likely smoke inhalation. Just then, she popped out from the curtain and pulled off her mask as she moved swiftly away from the curtained-off area. He could see the pain on her face, and he followed her down the hall, beyond the doctor’s lounge. She stopped, facing the wall. Leaning forward, took a few deep breaths and rested her head against the wall.

She was fighting the fatigue and emotions built up over the last three hours of leading her team and saving lives.

He didn’t want to say the wrong thing, but he had an urge to hold her.

“You’re an exceptional doctor, Margo.”

She stiffened but didn’t open her eyes or face him.

“Maybe, but not even that is enough some days.”

“You may have lost the patient, but it wasn’t for not trying.”

He moved closer and lightly lay his hand on her shoulder. She didn’t immediately shirk his touch, so he moved his hand over her back. In firm back-and-forth motions, he felt the flex of her back muscles ease. He stood close enough to see her take a few more breaths. Before she shut down on him, and looked up.

“You didn’t have to stay. Thank you for helping the team. That was way too many cases.”

“You don’t have to thank me. When does your shift end?”

She looked at her watch. “Now-ish, but I’ll have mounds of paperwork and have to stay on another hour or two to help with the regular patients we held in the waiting room.”

“I’ll stay and help.”

“No, if the director finds out I kept you here late when you probably have donor dinners or lectures to give, she’ll have my head.”

“Dr. Monroe, they say there are more patients coming, the second wave,” one of the nurses called down the hall.

“Duty calls. You should go while the getting is good.”

His exhaustion was rolling in like waves, and yet he would stay if she asked him to. Maybe she was ready for him to go, but he wanted to stay.

“I’ll go, but I’m in town for a few more days and I plan to see you again before I leave.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure, but why not?”

“There are too many reasons to list, and neither of us have the time.”

The sirens wailed again, and she pushed off the wall to walk back into the fray. He said good night to several of the residents, and Dalton nodded as he ran to meet the next wave of less critical patients that were being sent to Mercy. Drake retrieved his coat and things from the doctor’s lounge in the almost-empty plastic surgery suite before heading back to his hotel. He was definitely going to see Margo again. There was nothing that was going to keep him away.

Chapter Four

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