Chapter 3: Out of the frying pan

Jenny

For the next ten minutes, as Mrs. Cosgraves rummages for my contract, and then having found it, sets it on the desk in front of me, I vacillate between two extreme mental states. The first is screaming in horror and frustration, asking me what the fuck I just did. The second is a calm, soothing voice, assuring me that it's all going to be okay. That Nico will never have to hear about this. That he doesn't know anybody in this town, so no one is going to call me out on what could be considered either a bald-faced lie or an insane fantasy.

When I sign the contract – unread, I might add, which I know on another level is probably a really stupid thing to do – the HR rep announces that it's time for her to take me on a tour of the new wing. I stand up, nearly knocking over my chair in my hurry.

"Oh, I'm sure I can manage to find it by myself. You're so busy…" I glance around at the empty room. "I mean, I'm sure you have so much to do with the opening, and the last thing you need is to waste your time worrying about me."

"No." Mrs. Cosgraves shakes her head. "This is part of my job, making sure that all of our new employees receive a personal orientation. We want to make sure that you see everything we have to offer our patients. Oh, and we'd like you to meet as many of the staff members as possible, so that you're ready to work together, come opening day."

I'd harbored a vain hope that if Mrs. Cosgraves didn't accompany me to the wing, the fact that I have a boyfriend named Nico-which, all right, yes, isn't quite a fact in the strictest sense of the word-would stay just between the two of us. But clearly that's a doomed dream.

Since I'm not given a choice in the matter, I follow behind her as she leads the way. However, as we walk, I maintain a running dialogue, doing my best to bring up all kinds of other topics so that maybe she won't even think about what I told her during our interview. I ask about the staff, about the doctors, and about how the whole idea of an oncology wing here came about. I congratulate myself that I think I've done a pretty good job of diverting her thoughts away from me and my imaginary relationship until we actually get to the new section of the building. She stops at the first door just inside the entrance and gives it desultory knock before sailing inside. I trail uncertainly in her wake.

"Mira!" Mrs. Cosgraves calls out to the woman sitting at a desk inside the office. Pulling me by the arm until I'm standing next to her, she announces, "This is Jenny Ward. She just signed her contract to work here as a nurse practitioner."

Mira glances at me and then back at Mrs. Cosgraves. Frowning, I realize that she looks enough like Mrs. Cosgraves to be her-

"Mira Hoskins here is my sister," Mrs. Cosgraves confirms my hunch. "She's the head nurse on the new wing." Lowering her voice, she adds, "And she's Dr. Girard's right hand."

"Oh, Maybelle." Mira waves her hand. "You exaggerate. I just do whatever I can to make things run smoothly." Her eyes narrow slightly as she looks at me more closely. "Now, Maybelle, please tell me this isn't the one…" Her words trail off, but I have a feeling I know what she's thinking. She's wondering if I boinked the notorious Ken Skaggs.

"Yes, yes. This is the one who had the recommendation from Skaggs." Mrs. Cosgraves says his name much the same way she might describe fish that's gone bad. "But it turns out that was all a misunderstanding. She doesn't even know him. In fact-" And here is where I know that I'm sunk. "-in fact, Jenny has a very serious boyfriend. She's practically engaged. So you don't have to worry about her."

Mira's face lights up. I swear, the way these people react to someone they don't even know being in a relationship is kind of odd.

"Wonderful!" She's super enthusiastic, and if it's possible, I feel even worse than before. Jumping to her feet, she skirts her desk and comes to join us near the door. "Let's start your tour, then. Most of our core staff are already in place, working on setting up rooms and systems, so you'll be able to meet just about everyone."

Yay, I think. Aloud, I say, "That sounds great."

And it would be great, if I hadn't started off my new job and my new life here in Harper Springs with a big old fat lie. As it is, though, I realize pretty quickly that what I'd thought was just a fib to cement my position is fated to grow exponentially into a full-blown tall tale.

***

"And this is Jenny, our new nurse practitioner." Mira introduces me to three women sitting in the break room, eating lunch. "She's from Virginia, she just moved here, and pretty soon her fiancé Nico will be joining her."

By now, I'm not even cringing anymore when I hear the words, mostly because I'm numb. Mira and/or Maybelle have been saying the same thing each time I meet someone new. We're near the end of the tour now, and I estimate we've chatted with at least thirty people. At this point, I can only hope that no one finds me or my pretend relationship interesting enough to share with friends outside the hospital.

"Hi, Jenny." A woman who looks like she's probably just a little older than me wipes her hands with a napkin and smiles. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sara, and I work as a tech in our radiology section." She points to the other two at the table. "Cindy and Stephanie are both nurses in patient care."

I give an awkward little wave. "I'm looking forward to working with you all."

Stephanie grins at me. "Are you a reader? We have a monthly book club-it's mostly women who work here at the hospital, and we take turns hosting."

Cindy giggles. "You don't really have to be a reader, so much as you have to enjoy wine and can throw around words like plot points and character arcs. I'd say between all of us, we end up actually reading about sixty percent of the books we choose."

"But it's always a good time," adds Sara. "I hope you'll join us."

"Where are you living?" Cindy asks. "Some of us carpool to work-and to the book club meetings."

I clear my throat. "Actually, I'm subletting a house that's kind of on the outskirts of town. It's beautiful-I got lucky there. I've got a pool and everything."

Three pairs of eyes light up. "Really?" Stephanie rubs her hands together. "Well, girls, I think we just figured out who's hosting us next week." She wags her eyebrows at me. "It was supposed to be me, but I'd rather come take advantage of your pool."

"It would be perfect," Sara chimes in. "We're reading a book by Elin Hildenbrand, so we could do a pool-side theme. Margaritas and nachos . . ."

Next to me, Mira chuckles. "It seems like your social life is off to a promising start," she remarks and then glances at the other three women. "Now, you all can't be a bad influence on Jenny. She's got a man, and she's got to stay true."

"We all do," Cindy pipes up. "Doesn't mean we can't still have fun!"

"Fun? Fun's not allowed on this floor."

A stern masculine voice interrupts our laughter, and we all whip our heads to the doorway. I have to blink and work not to let my mouth hang open, because holy crapolo-the man standing there virtually drips sex appeal.

His hair is chestnut colored and a little on the long side, as though he might have missed a trim recently. His eyes are a vivid green, and I get the immediate sense that they don't miss a trick. But it's his body that really catches my attention: the white dress shirt he's wearing does nothing disguise impossibly broad shoulders, strong arms and a tapered waist. I'm willing to lay money on the fact that if he turned around, I'd be looking at a fine booty, too.

I don't know who he is, but if I wasn't already committed heart and soul to my fake boyfriend Nico, I'd be in a puddle at this guy's feet.

"Geez, Deacon, you know how to bring down a room." Stephanie rolls her eyes as everyone but me relaxes. "And don't start on us about taking everything so seriously-remember, I've known you since grade school. My brother's the one who taught you all your best moves. I watched you do the YMCA drunk at Michael's wedding."

Mrs. Cosgraves harrumphs, sliding Sara a reproving glare before laying a hand on my shoulder. "Dr. Girard, this is Jenny Ward, our newly hired nurse practitioner. Jenny, Dr. Deacon Girard." The way she says his name, I expect the angels to descend and sing. "The founder of this wing and the man behind everything you've seen today."

"Mrs. Cosgraves." And then the man blushes. He literally goes red, and if it's possible, he's even more adorable than he was two minutes before. "This was a group endeavor, and you know it. I never could've gotten it all off the ground if it wasn't for help from you and Mira, and so many other people."

The two older women beam under the doctor's praise. He turns to me, offering a large, tanned hand. "It's wonderful to meet you, Ms. Ward. I'm happy that you're joining us. We need all the good people we can get." His smile of welcome turns rueful as he glances at Maybelle. "Actually, on that note, I'm the bearer of bad news. The naturopath doctor we hired just called me. He's going to have to back out of his contract."

"No!" exclaims Mira. "And he was such a perfect fit, too. What made him change his mind?"

Dr. Girard rubs his jaw. "I wish it was something I could get pissed off about, but unfortunately, it's not. His father was just diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and he feels he needs to stay in Madison to care for him. No one can fault him for that."

"No, of course not," Maybelle agrees. "Ah, well. Back to the drawing board, I guess."

"We'll find someone," the doctor assures her. "Maybe not by opening day, but with any luck, soon after." He turns as though to leave the room, then pauses, his eyes resting on me. "Speaking of opening day, Ms. Ward, did anyone tell you about the ball we're throwing to launch the new wing?"

I shake my head. "I don't think so."

"It's in two weeks, the night before our official ribbon cutting ceremony. It's really a combination thank you to the community who helped us make this wing a reality and a fundraising ball to keep us going." He hesitates and then adds, "You're welcome to bring a date."

"Oh! Do you think Nico will be moved down here by then?" Maybelle clasps her hands. "That would be the perfect time for him to meet everyone you're going to be working with."

"It's going to be such a beautiful, romantic evening," her sister agrees and then arches one eyebrow at me. "It would also be the perfect time for a proposal, if he's looking for the right ambience."

I feel like the walls are closing in on me when Dr. Girard cocks his head. "Who's Nico?"

Half-expecting all the other women in the room to answer for me, I don't speak right away, but apparently, this time they want to hear it from the horse's mouth.

"Uh, he's, um-" I give a little cough. "Nico's my boyfriend. He's not living here-yet. But soon, I guess. I mean, I hope."

Am I imagining it, or do I see a trace of disappointment in the doctor's expression? I'm not sure.

"That's great," he says, his tone possibly just a little heartier than it needs to be. "Definitely bring him. The more, the merrier."

As he walks down the hall away from us and the women began to take up the previous conversation, I can hardly hear a thing over the condemnation in my own head.

What the hell have you done?