Chapter 3
HUNTER GRACIN PULLED on his blue scrubs, tying the knot quickly. He was running late this morning, and couldn’t afford to piss off the new director of Bear Mountain Memorial Hospital. God only knew he’d tested Bill Featherton, the previous director, more times than he could count when he’d come here after finishing his residency in his home state of Texas. It didn’t help that old Bill had been a bullheaded dick too tightfisted to update a single machine in the place during his reign.
Hunter hoped that the new director was actually here to work and make a change, and wasn’t using Bear Mountain as a placeholder until he retired.
No one knew anything about this guy except that he was from New York. Hunter couldn’t figure out why some big-city dude would move to the-middle-of-nowhere Montana. Maybe he was originally from the area and wanted to come home.
Grabbing his stethoscope and lab coat, Hunter ran down the hallway to the room where the staff was supposed to gather for the formal introduction. He could speculate all he wanted, but if he didn’t get his ass front and center before the bigwig started talking, he might not have a job at all.
He pushed in next to Jay Cromwell, who glanced his way briefly before facing forward once more. Jay was a large man of few words, except when he got a couple of glasses of whisky in him. Then he wouldn’t shut up. Both of them had served in the armed forces, and it had been an instant bond with them and the other two doctors on staff.
“Rough night?” Jay asked quietly.
“Nah, just forgot to charge my phone, so my alarm didn’t go off.”
“You’re lucky she’s not here yet.”
Hunter paused as he shrugged into his lab coat, surprised. “Our new director is a woman?”
“Apparently.”
Hunter grinned, imagining the kind of woman that would come in and whip their asses into shape. Sadly, in his mind she looked a bit like his fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Harvel, who had sounded as if she smoked six packs a day and looked like she could bench-press a Buick. Hunter had to admit it would be nice to get a younger woman in town, though. The women they had were either married, too young, or about twenty years older than his thirty-four years. As fun as cougars were, he was ready to settle down. He wanted someone he could have kids and grow old with.
“Holy shit,” Jay hissed.
Hunter tried to follow his line of vision, but there were too many people in the way. And then, suddenly, a young blonde in a purple silky blouse and black slacks stepped up onto the stairs, smiling out at the crowd.
“Good morning, everyone. My name is Allison Fairchild and I will be taking over as director of Bear Mountain Memorial Hospital.
“What does that mean for you? Well, for starters, I want to assure you that there will be no layoffs; your jobs are safe. However, we will be working to update the equipment and computer system. My goal is to help Bear Mountain become one of the best trauma centers in the country, and to do that, I’m going to need all of your cooperation to make sure the changes I will be implementing are seamless. I will be conducting interviews with all of you, as a way to introduce myself to you and address any of your concerns. Again, I appreciate you all being here today and look forward to working with you. Thank you.”
As she stepped down out of sight, Jay whistled. “Damn, she’s a lot more fun to look at than grizzled Bill, am I right?”
Hunter couldn’t have agreed more, and as the crowd dispersed, a buzz of excitement continued sparking him as he went about his work, waiting for Allison Fairchild to call him into her office.
Just after lunch, his pager went off and he made his way to the administration floor. When he reached the room that used to be Bill’s office, he knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Hunter stepped inside and got a good look at Allie Fairchild. From thirty feet away, she had been pretty, but now, she was gut-punchingly gorgeous.
She stood up and gave him a smile, and Hunter caught the signs of tension around her eyes.
“Dr. Gracin, please take a seat.”
“After you, ma’am. I might be a doctor, but I’m a gentleman first.”
Her smile brightened. “Thank you. I have to admit, you’re the only person who doesn’t seem to think my presence is a sign of the apocalypse.”
Hunter laughed, waiting until she was fully seated before he did the same.
“I’m sorry if they’re giving you a rough time. I think most of us were expecting someone a little more—”
“Male?” Her tone wasn’t bitter, simply matter-of-fact.
“Actually, I was going to say aged.”
She laughed, opening what he assumed was his file. “I assure you, Dr. Gracin, that although I may not be as ‘aged’ as you may have hoped, I am perfectly capable and qualified to take Bear Mountain to the next level.”
“I don’t doubt you one bit, Ms. Fairchild. And if anyone else gives you any trouble, I say to hell with them. We could use some new blood.” He gave her his best grin before adding, “Especially someone who brightens up the room.”
She looked up from the file, her head cocked to the side. “Are you flirting with me, Dr. Gracin?”
“No, ma’am, that would be unprofessional. But, seeing as how you’re new and in need of someone to show you around, I thought I’d offer myself up. I’d be happy to take you to dinner one of these nights, show you all the highlights of Bear Mountain.” Hunter leaned forward, lowering his tone and putting every bit of his southern drawl into his voice. “Of course, if we’re gonna be friends, I’d insist you call me Hunter.”
Hunter thought he caught a ghost of a smile before her expression went blank. “I appreciate the offer, but right now, I need to concentrate on the job and not on making friends.”
“But you’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” Maybe he was counting his chickens, but the brief flash of interest in her eyes couldn’t have been all in his head, could it?
“I tell you what, Dr. Gracin. If I survive this week, I’ll give your offer some thought.” Flipping through a page in his file, she asked, “Now, do you have any other questions or concerns?”
Despite her all-business facade, Hunter wasn’t deterred. In fact, he had a really good feeling that he and Ms. Fairchild were going to become very close.