“You’re overly competitive.” Her attention slid to his chest, then back up again. “Have you been at the hospital this morning?”
“Yeah.”
“I like this look.”
“A white T-shirt and scrubs?”
“You are aware, are you not, that several Hollywood actors have built careers on this look?”
“Those guys are fake doctors. Chumps.”
He kissed her. He’d planned to keep it quick—didn’t want to scare her off—but at the first taste, need overwhelmed him. After a few minutes, he had to use all his self-control to break the contact. “Thank you for coming.”
“You already said that.”
“It was worth repeating.” He gave a lopsided grin. “How much time do we have before the meeting with Tracy?”
“Are you planning to join me for the meeting?”
“Is it okay with you if I do?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll join you.”
“We have two hours.”
“That gives us plenty of time to grab some lunch.”
Ithink this might be her,” Leah said two hours later.
She and Sebastian had arrived early at the park Tracy had specified. They’d been waiting and watching for a redhead in a graycoat, and the woman who’d just entered the park fit the bill. Her body language radiated caution as she scanned her surroundings.
Leah caught the woman’s eye, raised her hand in a wave, then approached. She could sense more than hear Sebastian walking beside and slightly behind her. Wind had swept the morning’s gloomy weather to the east, leaving hesitant sunshine, high-sixties temperatures, and rain-scrubbed foliage.
“Tracy?” Leah asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m Leah. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me. This is my friend Sebastian.”
Tracy nodded tightly at Sebastian. She was of average height and almost painfully slender. Her lovely hair was parted on the side and tucked behind her ears before continuing in a smooth, shiny plane to her mid-chest. It was the only soft and inviting thing about her. Her pointy features looked as if they’d been chiseled from marble.
“Would you like to sit down?” Leah indicated a picnic table nearby.
Tracy gave another nod. Leah and Sebastian took one side of the table, Tracy the other.
“As I mentioned over the phone,” Leah said, “Magnolia Avenue Hospital granted me access to my hospital records, which is how I knew that you were working there the day of my birth.”
Tracy’s lips formed a horizontal line. “I decided to get a degree in nursing when I was eighteen years old. Worst decision I ever made. Magnolia Avenue was my first employer, and as soon as I started my job there, I realized I’d made a mistake. Nursing was not for me.”
Apparently, the hospital hadn’t exactly been fond of Tracy either, since she’d been let go after just a few years on staff. Leah supplied her birthdate, full name, and the names of both sets of parents. “Does any of that ring a bell?”
“Not at all.”
“Do you remember the nurses who were working the shift with you that day?” She rattled off the other women’s names.
“I hardly remember Lois. Bonnie was much older and treated me like I was a child. Joyce was loud and obnoxious. She never stopped talking.”
