Sarah and the Single Dad Read online

  He’s a part of her past...

  Will she choose a future with him?

  Nurse Sarah sought solace in her decision to donate her young son’s organs, guided by a man who desperately needed a miracle for his own child. The same man who’s now her hospital’s newest transplant surgeon—single dad David. Shaped by their past, their connection runs deeper than Sarah imagined she’d ever want again. That’s why she must find the courage to reveal her heartrending secret...

  He pressed his lips against hers again, this time teasing until they parted for him.

  His tongue met hers and her breath caught. When his arms came up around her, she instinctively moved into them. She forgot the park, the water, the night sky that surrounded them now. There were only the two of them, their bodies straining to be closer. What had started as a simple kiss was quickly turning into much more.

  Then Sarah remembered why she’d brought him here.

  Pulling away from him, she straightened her clothes. It had been a long time since she had been kissed, but even that couldn’t explain the way that kiss had made her feel. She had come here to tell David of her memory of that night in the waiting room and about her donating Cody’s organs. Now instead, she had just complicated things even more. She couldn’t let things continue like this, but oh, how she would have liked that kiss to continue. She had to set things right between the two of them.

  “I need to tell you something,” she said.

  Dear Reader,

  If you have read any of my other books, you know that I love to write children characters. The innocent and curious mind of a child has always fascinated me and it makes them such fun to write. In this book you will meet some very special children along with the dedicated health-care workers who care for them.

  Sarah has spent the last three years devoting her life to young cardiac patients as she has tried to deal with the loss of her husband and son, while David has dedicated his life to caring for children like his son, Davey, who received a heart donation three years earlier. Could there be a couple who deserved to find love any more than these two?

  I hope you enjoy Sarah and David’s journey as they find their way to the forever family that neither of them ever dreamed of finding.

  Deanne

  Sarah and the Single Dad

  Deanne Anders

  Deanne Anders was reading romance while her friends were still reading Nancy Drew, and she knew she’d hit the jackpot when she found a shelf of Harlequin Presents in her local library. Years later she discovered the fun of writing her own. Deanne lives in Florida with her husband and their spoiled Pomeranian. During the day she works as a nursing supervisor. With her love of everything medical and romance, writing for Harlequin Medical Romance is a dream come true.

  Books by Deanne Anders

  Harlequin Medical Romance

  From Midwife to Mommy

  The Surgeon’s Baby Bombshell

  Stolen Kiss with the Single Mom

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.

  This book is dedicated to all the donor families that have chosen to give the ultimate gift—the gift of life.

  Praise for Deanne Anders

  “What an utterly captivating, fast-paced, memorable read Ms. Anders has delivered in this book where the chemistry between this couple is off-the-charts... I was absolutely charmed by the hero and loved every decision he made throughout this story.”

  —Harlequin Junkie on From Midwife to Mommy

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  EPILOGUE

  EXCERPT FROM TEMPTED BY THE BROODING VET BY SHELLEY RIVERS

  CHAPTER ONE

  SARAH HENDERSON STUDIED the computer chart in front of her. She didn’t like the way ten-year-old Lindsey’s lab work was trending. With the child already in heart failure, what had started out as a cold had quickly turned into a respiratory infection. Now even with intravenous antibiotic treatment she seemed to be deteriorating daily.

  “There you are,” the deep voice of Dr. Benton boomed behind her.

  Startled, she turned to see the older man standing next to another taller and much younger one wearing a hospital-issue white jacket.

  “Sarah, I’d like you to meet Dr. David Wright. He’s starting his fellowship here with our cardiothoracic surgery group this week.”

  Standing, Sarah held out her hand. As the new MD shook it she looked up into a striking pair of eyes that were an unusual blend of light green and gray, and an attack of déjà vu hit her as she took in the dark brown hair and the square chin that accompanied them. She was certain that she’d seen the face before, but where?

  “Are you okay?” a warm, concerned voice asked. A voice she could swear she had heard before. Was it her imagination or had she met or seen this man before?

  Sarah shook off the trace of an old memory that seemed just out of reach. Realizing she still held the new doctor’s hand, she loosened her grip and withdrew her hand, then looked back into questioning eyes. Could she have made any more of a bad impression? The man had to think she was crazy. And maybe she was.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, as she tried to get her mind back on track, “I’m at least one cup of coffee behind my usual schedule this morning. It’s nice to meet you Dr. Wright.”

  “Sarah’s one of our nurse practitioners. I swear we wouldn’t get anything done if we didn’t have her. If you have any questions or needs, she’ll be able to help you,” said Dr. Benton. The gray-haired man looked down to his watch. “I hate to leave you, David, but I’ve got a budget meeting to get to.”

  With a heart that was beating way too fast, Sarah started for the door, anxious to excuse herself as well. Why was this man affecting her this way? Yes, he was a nice-looking man, but she met nice-looking men all the time and none of them had ever made her feel as if her heart was going to come out of her chest. No, it wasn’t his good looks that were upsetting her, but there was something about the man that was ringing all her warning bells.

  “I’ve got a great idea,” Dr. Benton said, “how about you show Dr. Wright around for the rest of the morning, Sarah?”

  Sarah stopped. She should have seen this coming as soon as Dr. Benton had begun giving his excuses. The chief of the department was good at volunteering her time and there was no way she could get out of this without appearing rude. Besides, if Dr. Benton followed his normal course when he had an intern or new fellowship participant, she would be helping with a lot of Dr. Wright’s day-to-day orientation. She pivoted and turned back toward the two men and forced a friendly smile on her face. Her working relationship with all the staff was important and if she was going to be spending a lot of time with the new doctor she didn’t want to mess this one up, no matter how he made her feel.

  “Of course,” Sarah said. “I’m rounding right now, but I’d be glad to take you along with me.”

  “That would be great,” the younger doctor said as his face lit up with a smile that was too bright for Sarah to comprehend at this time of the morning.

  Sarah waited for him to catch up with her, and then started down the hallway toward the PCIC unit.

  “Are you from Houston, Dr. Wright?” she asked as she gave him a sideways glance, looking for anything that would help her remember where she might have seen him before. Maybe s
he was wrong. But still, there was something inside her that recognized this man.

  “Please, call me David,” he said. “No, I’m from Alabama, though I did my residency just east of here, in Beaumont.”

  “What was your residency in?” she asked. Maybe she’d seen him at one of the many state conferences she had attended.

  “It was in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery, but they didn’t have a transplant program there so—” he held his arms up in the air, then shrugged “—here I am.”

  “Our pediatric transplant center is one of the best in the country as I’m sure you know. It’s always nice to see new doctors interested in the specialty,” she said.

  “Believe me, I’m very well aware of what a wonderful program you have here. I feel very lucky to have been given this opportunity with Dr. Benton. The residency in pediatric cardiac was great, but my main interest now is in transplantation. It’s where I think I can make a real difference,” he said. A shadow passed over his face, reminding her of a man from the past that she had never been able to forget. But then he blinked and the pain she had seen was gone.

  She was being ridiculous continuing on this path. He couldn’t be the man from the waiting room that day so long ago. David was much younger than the man she remembered.

  But still...for just a second those haunted eyes—the color of fresh green pastures shrouded in the thick gray mist of early morning—had reminded her of a time she didn’t want to remember. Not here. Not now.

  “Well, we’re glad to have you,” Sarah said politely. She couldn’t keep playing this game of detective. If she had met David somewhere she would eventually remember where. Till then she needed to concentrate on her job of helping him get acquainted with everything.

  She stopped at the closed doors to the unit and swiped her badge, then waited for the doors to open.

  They entered the unit and she headed straight to the nurses’ station where only the unit coordinator was in attendance.

  “Betsy, this is Dr. Wright. He’s starting a fellowship with Dr. Benton and I’m going to be showing him around the unit today.”

  “Hello, Dr. Wright,” Betsy greeted David, quickly taking the time to explain to him where the charts and miscellaneous equipment was kept in the unit.

  Sarah picked up the chart with the records that had come along with a baby girl that had been transferred there during the night, turning to David once Betsy had finished.

  “I want to start with a new patient we had flown in during the night. She was diagnosed at three days old with hypoplastic left heart syndrome after she became cyanotic. We have the results of the echocardiogram that was performed. It looks like the IV medications are working for now, but I want to see her first and have a talk with her parents,” Sarah said as David joined her on her rounds through the unit.

  “I’m glad they caught it this early. I’ve seen cases where it’s only been diagnosed after the infant is critical and unstable,” David said as they stopped at the door of a room where a young mother stood over a sleeping infant.

  As they entered the room she saw a young man asleep on a cot that had been brought into the room as well, leaving her in no doubt that it had been a long night for this young family.

  “Ms. Lawrence?” she asked as she held out her hand to the young woman. Her eyes were red and damp and Sarah’s heart broke for the woman. She would never be able to forget the helplessness you felt as a mother unable to make your child whole again.

  “My name is Sarah and I’m a nurse practitioner with the thoracic-cardio group, and this is Dr. Wright.”

  She watched as David shook the woman’s hand and then led her to a group of chairs in the room.

  “Shall we sit down?” he asked the young woman who looked close to collapsing.

  “Let me wake my husband,” the young mother said. “And please call me Maggie.”

  The young mother bent over and whispered into her husband’s ear. When the couple joined them, Sarah began going over the tests that had been done on their daughter so far. Though she was sure the doctors had reviewed everything with them before their daughter had been transferred, Sarah knew that it was easy in these situations for parents to be overwhelmed with too much information. It was better to repeat the information they needed than to assume they had been informed.

  “So, the IV medications that they’ve started Breanna on are working?” John, the young father, asked, looking hopefully across the room where his newborn daughter lay.

  “For now, but it’s only a temporary fix. Breanna still needs surgery and there will be more surgeries necessary later,” David said.

  As David went on to explain the procedures that were needed and the many surgeries that would be necessary, Sarah found herself impressed with how understanding and patient he seemed to be with the parents’ questions and concerns.

  Before they left the room, Sarah listened to the baby’s heart and lungs, noting that even with the medications that were keeping the ductus open, the infant’s color was still a sickly gray. She pulled out her phone and texted the cardiologist on call with her concerns, then used the computer at the bedside to order the tests that would be needed before they took the infant to surgery.

  “I’m sorry. I haven’t been officially assigned to the case, I shouldn’t have taken over like that. I get a little carried away sometimes. It’s just...” said David. “It’s better that they know what they’re up against from the beginning so that they can prepare themselves.”

  “We have a great team here and we stress the importance of making sure all our parents understand what is going on with their child, but sometimes they’re in such denial that it just takes time for them to come to terms with their child’s condition,” she said. Sarah understood his frustration only too well. She remembered being on the other side of those conversations when her mind had been unable to wrap itself around what she was being told by the medical staff.

  She forced the thoughts of those days away, and mentally shut the door to where she kept the memories of a life she’d had before locked away. There was only one place where she felt safe to take those memories out and it certainly wasn’t here at the hospital. She’d always been very careful to keep her work life separate from the personal memories she had of this place.

  “There’s nothing that can prepare them for how their life is going to change. Right now it looks like they have a strong marriage. We can only hope that it will be up to the test that having a critically ill child brings,” David said as they headed toward the next room.

  Was that a hint of bitterness that Sarah heard? There was a story there, she was sure. Glancing over at David, she tried to catch a glimpse of the man she had seen earlier, the man with the haunted eyes. It seemed she wasn’t the only one who had something she kept hidden away.

  * * *

  They made their way through the critical care unit and then continued down the acute pediatric cardiac floor, looking in on patients recovering from surgery and those who had been brought in for assessments for surgery or for placement on the transplant waiting list. They stopped at the room of a teenage boy, Jason, who had been brought in after collapsing on the baseball field at his high school a couple of days ago.

  Sarah had tried to get the boy to talk to her on her last two visits, but he’d answered her with only one word responses then focused on his phone when she had tried to start a conversation with him.

  “Jason’s scheduled tomorrow to have a defibrillator implanted, but he’s refused to agree to the procedure,” she told David as they stopped outside the room.

  “I know it would be best to have his agreement, but the fact is that he’s a minor so we only need his parents’ consent,” David said.

  “Well, yes, but that’s not the point. He’s the one who’s going to be living with this for the rest of his life.” A point she had made to Dr. Benton the day before. />
  “Do you mind if I see him alone?” David asked as he moved toward the room. “I’ll leave the door open so that you can hear.”

  “Give it your best shot,” she said. “He’s certainly not responding to me or Dr. Benton.”

  David rapped his knuckles on the door and entered leaving the door partially open as he had promised.

  “Hey, Jason, my name is Dr. Wright.”

  Sarah wasn’t surprised when she heard the boy answer with a grunt and the sound of the boy’s computer keys continuing to click. So far it was teenager one. Dr. Wright zero.

  “Today’s my first day here on the unit and I wanted to introduce myself,” said David.

  Another grunt came from the room now making it teenager two, Dr. Wright still zero, but she had to give it to David, he wasn’t giving up.

  “I’m a thoracic surgeon here to study transplantation,” David said.

  “I don’t need a transplant,” Jason said with an exaggerated sigh.

  Sarah couldn’t help but be impressed. That was more than she had been able to get out of the kid in the last two days. Still, from Jason’s uninterested tone, she’d have to consider the point a tie.

  “No, you don’t,” David said, his voice still patient. “Nice computer. The graphics are amazing.”

  “Yeah, they are. It’s the best one I’ve ever had,” Jason said. “You play any games?”

  Sarah listened as David and Jason discussed computers and various aspects of computer gaming versus something called console games. After a couple minutes of computer terminology that she didn’t understand, she heard David ask to see the teenager’s computer.

  “There are a couple videos I want to show you. It will explain a lot of what the doctors have been talking about as far as how they’re going to fix your heart,” David said.

  As David explained the procedures alongside what they seemed to be reviewing on the computer, Sarah was amazed at the way the teenager was opening up with him. She would have to look into the videos available on the internet that could be used to educate their older patients.