Her Undercover Defender

“What’s that?”

“When he comes home—and I believe he will—I get first crack at whipping his butt.”

A smile, the first genuine one in a while, tugged at the corners of Terri’s mouth. “Right after me.”

“Just as long as I get to watch,” Suzette declared.

As Suzette started for the elevator, Terri promised to call her later and then headed for room 412. Her first order of business on every shift was to introduce herself to her patients. In orthopedics, the majority of their patients were simply here for observation after surgery. The post-op process was more about managing pain and mobility than anything else. And fear, she thought, easing open the door of 412, temporary home to the young and frightened Brittney Markwald. The girl’s mother had pulled a chair close to the bed and was reading from a thick book.

Terri smiled, recognizing the popular story, but as soon as Brittney saw her, she stared to cry. Terri stopped and tucked her hands into her pockets. “Good morning. I’m Terri, your nurse for today.” She focused on the mother. “Mrs. Markwald, I’ve reviewed the chart and everything looks great. The doctor should be in to see you before noon.”

“Will he send us home?”

“I can’t give you a definite answer on that, but as soon as I know something, you will, too.” She looked at Brittney but didn’t come any closer to the bed. “How’re you doing with the crutches today?”

“She’s getting better,” Mrs. Markwald replied when Brittney only sniffled. “We just got back from the bathroom.”

“Great,” Terri said to the mother. “Your doctor will be happy to hear that.” She took care of the things that needed her attention, giving Brittney plenty of space.

“How’s the pain level?” Terri asked from the foot of the bed.

The girl’s lower lip quivered as she shrugged.

Terri had to find a way to crack through the child’s fear. “Can I check the ice in your friend there?” She pointed to the small cooler that circulated ice water through a cuff to keep swelling to a minimum.

The girl shook her head, refusing to make eye contact. Suzette might be onto something with this one.

“I just refilled it,” Mrs. Markwald explained with a weary smile. “My husband had one a few months back after a knee surgery.”

“So you’re a pro.” Terri beamed. “Thanks so much. Be sure to press the button if you need me. I’ll pop in later to take your vitals.”

Sniffles from the bed accompanied the mother’s thank-you as Terri left the room. Phobic patients like Brittney weren’t unusual on this floor, but Terri never stopped trying to make a hospital stay as pleasant as possible for everyone. Stress didn’t help the healing process.

After introducing herself to her other patients, she caught one of the nursing techs on the floor for help moving a few things around in the lounge. It was a long shot, but she’d made it her mission for the shift to get at least one smile out of Brittney before her doctor sent her home. If nothing else, it might make life easier for a nurse in Brittney’s future.

Terri returned to 412, this time waiting until Mrs. Markwald reached a stopping point in the story. “Breakfast is coming around,” she explained. “You can have it in here or you can really impress the doctors.”

After a moment of visible skepticism, Brittney asked, “How?”

Contact at last, Terri thought with an inner cheer. “You’re doing well enough that you can eat down in the lounge. There’s a video game kart racing challenge and we post high scores on the wall.”

“You mean I don’t have to stay in here?”

Terri nodded. “You can stay in the room if you like. But if you want to go to the lounge, I can have physical therapy meet you there, too.”

Brittney’s momentary excitement faded. “I don’t want more people messing with me.”

“Well, that’s understandable, but you don’t get to go home until they know you can manage the crutches.”

Brittney aimed another sullen expression at her mother.

“It’s a lot more fun, I promise,” Terri added. “Unless you’re tired.”

“I’m not tired,” Brittney declared. “I want to go.”

Brittney cooperated as Terri and her mother helped her get settled in front of one of the lounge gaming stations. When she was engrossed with outfitting her racer, Terri pulled the mother aside. “You can go down to the cafeteria for breakfast and coffee,” she suggested. “I double-checked with the surgeon’s office. He won’t be up for another hour at least.”

“What if—”

“Your daughter will be fine with us. If the surgeon’s schedule changes, I’ll call you.”

The mother’s eyes brightened with relief. “Thank you,” she said, slipping out of her daughter’s sight. “She’s not usually such a handful. They did their best last night, but...”

“She’s upset and scared. Happens to all of us at some point.” Terri had been blessed with good health, but she understood the fears and questions that plagued her patients. “We’ll get you through this as a team.”

With Brittney happily distracted, Terri moved on through her shift, tending to patient calls and overseeing discharge orders. The hours sped by and her rumbling stomach cued her in that she needed to eat and she headed downstairs to the cafeteria. Normally, she brought lunch from home, but after another restless night full of anxious dreams about her brother she’d overslept. In the subsequent rush to get out the door, she’d left her lunch bag sitting on the kitchen counter.

Reminders from the police and her friends that Trey was officially a legal adult and smart enough to get into college failed to ease her worry over his disappearance. After the first month with no word from him, she’d sought the help of the best private investigator she could afford. Unfortunately, her modest investment only confirmed what his college roommate had told her. Trey had changed almost overnight, going from an outgoing freshman making friends on campus to withdrawn and reclusive until he went out one day and just didn’t return.

Letting him go to college in Arizona had been a mistake, Terri knew that now. It had been too big a leap. His body had been ready, thanks to his hard work through physical therapy, but she never should’ve accepted his claim about his emotional stability at face value. If nothing else, her constant worry was proof she hadn’t been ready to be this far from him.

She loved her friends and her work, but she was lonely without her brother. He was the only family she had left. On move-in day, she’d taken plenty of pictures and, before she left, they’d tossed around ideas for the holiday break between semesters. Now Christmas was only two weeks away, and she didn’t know what she was supposed to do without him.

“Hey, Terri.”

Startled, she glanced up at the sound of her name and then smiled into the rugged, handsome face of David Martin. “Oh. Hey, David.”

He was relatively new at the hospital and he’d made an impression on most of the women with his Georgia accent, that dark hair and those eyes that were more gray than blue. Somehow on him, the pressed khakis, white polo shirt and dark blue fleece jacket embroidered with the MUSC logo looked as though it belonged on the cover of GQ.

She suddenly felt a little silly in her bright, tropical frog scrubs. “How’s your day going?”

“Predictable.” He lifted his tall coffee mug. “I came looking for a shot of caffeine. Reports are due in a couple of hours.” He checked his watch. “Late lunch?” He dipped his chin in the direction of the plastic salad container she held.

“Yeah. The lunch I packed is still sitting at home.”

“Want some company?”

That would be lovely. She always enjoyed talking with him over coffee or lunch. “I wish I could take a few minutes down here,” she said. “There’s a problem child on the ward today and I don’t want to give her any reason to get upset again.”

He grinned, and the tilt of his lips set butterflies loose in her belly. “You applied that famous Nurse Terri charm, didn’t you?”

She laughed. “Of course.” She leaned a little closer, just because she could. “It’s possible this patient’s immune.”

“I don’t believe that for a minute.” He nudged her shoulder. “No one’s immune to that smile.”

Her lips curved even more at the words, and his confidence gave her mood a much-needed boost. “Thanks.”

“We’re still on for tonight, right?”

She nodded. He’d invited her to dinner at a new place on King Street. If she didn’t get back upstairs, she wouldn’t have any time at all to eat. She tried to care, but food seemed far less important than taking a few minutes with an interesting man like David. “I’ll be ready.”

“Great.” He followed her into the elevator and punched the button for her floor.

“What are you doing?” Whenever they did get together over lunch, they parted ways at the elevator.

His dark eyebrows arched. “Walking you back,” he said. “Is that a problem?”

“No.” It was just different. She remembered how the gossip had zipped through the hospital when he joined the staff in October. Handsome as sin was the first gossip that made the circuit. He was athletic and absolutely ripped, according to those who’d spent time in the fitness center with him. But his humor, his humility and the manners proving chivalry wasn’t dead had made him an instant hit among the women.

So she’d heard of him long before he introduced himself during his second week of work. He’d been in line behind her during a coffee break and they’d hit it off when he’d asked about the best beaches for sea kayaking. In the weeks since, they’d had lunch occasionally and frequently chatted over coffee. They’d even gone on a sea kayak excursion, as well as a couple of evening art showcases at the Market. She’d been careful to keep the social speculation to a minimum and she’d been relieved to hear he was making friends quickly in several departments.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want a social life—she did. She’d just been too consumed with Trey’s disappearance to be good company. Something about sharing coffee or lunch with David was less intimidating than going out on a date or out for drinks with friends. With David, she didn’t feel the pressure to be on. She could just relax and be herself. Of his many positive traits, that one was her favorite, though she couldn’t tell anyone. Not even Suzette. Her friends would read way too much into any positive comments she made about David or any other guy.

Her friends had been setting her up since Trey moved to college in August. The few guys she’d met had been nice, but she’d needed time and space to recharge her personal batteries after spending years dealing with Trey’s physical injuries and challenging fits of temper. Not that she blamed him for acting out as he came to terms with the fact that his dreams and goals were out of reach. As he’d told her repeatedly, he’d suffered the most. They’d both lost their parents, but Terri had her dream job and Trey never would.

Now he was missing and she felt caught in another emotional quagmire, keeping to herself simply so she wouldn’t dump her drama on others. She thought of young Brittney, afraid of practically every element of life since she’d broken her leg. Like a lightning strike, Terri suddenly realized, wallowing in worry wasn’t doing her any more good than it was Brittney. Being available 24/7, afraid to miss a call or text from her brother was a waste of her time. She had to break out of this holding pattern.

“Hey,” David said. “You okay in there?”

“Sorry.” She felt the heat climbing into her cheeks. The elevator chimed at her floor. “Just distracted...” The doors parted, and she stepped out, pausing in the doorway for a second. She needed to voice her new resolve. “I won’t be distracted tonight. I’m looking forward to it.”

David’s mouth tipped up at one corner. “Me, too.”

She held his gaze until the doors closed between them, feeling her mouth curve in an answering grin. She turned toward the staff area, her salad suddenly looking more appetizing. Tonight was as good a time as any to move forward with her life, and who better to take that step with than a nice new guy-friend like David?

No matter what her friends would say, he hadn’t invited her out on an actual real date. They were just friends. Right now it was enough to think of herself first for a change. David was attractive, thoughtful and fun. Tonight would be great, no specific definition required.

Chapter Three

7:10 p.m.

David set the laminated menu down and waited for Terri’s reaction. He’d chosen a small, quirky restaurant on King Street for dinner. He wasn’t quite sure how to play it—as a date or another outing with a friend. Typically they saw each other at work when her hair was pulled back and she wore shapeless scrubs and he was in the requisite logo-crested apparel. Tonight, she looked beautiful in dark jeans that hugged her fit body and a sage sweater that made her green eyes pop. She’d left her caramel-brown hair down, and the lights pulled out all those golden tones in the glossy, shoulder-length waves.

However she might be defining tonight, this place kept the mood light and easy for both of them. With nearly two dozen variations on classic mac and cheese, he’d wanted to give it a try for some time. Based on her smile and eager expression, he’d made the right call. “What do you think?”

“It’s like comfort food with a gourmet twist.” When she met his gaze, her eyes were dancing with mischief. “Anything I order will render my workout absolutely useless and I can’t wait. It all sounds delicious.”

“Good.” The dining area was small and casual, but David had felt weird about eating here alone. It was a quirky by-product of being the youngest of four kids. He’d been raised with loud, boisterous conversation around a dinner table loaded with food every night. Although he enjoyed quiet meals alone at home, eating out was somehow different. “Have you heard the Battery Lane band before?”

“Yes!” she said as her soft green eyes lit up. “Suzette and I caught them when they played one of the beach bars on Isle of Palms this summer.”

“They’re down at Benny’s tonight. I thought we could swing by for a bit after we eat.”

“Sounds great,” she agreed. “Be warned I turn into a pumpkin around midnight this week.”

“No problem. Shift work can be a bear. I did plenty of that in the Coast Guard.”

The waitress came by, and they placed their orders, each of them choosing a different gourmet combination.

“I took every shift I could get my hands on just out of nursing school,” she said when the waitress walked away. “Usually I adapt quickly. Or maybe my body’s resigned to getting fewer hours of sleep.”

He liked that she could laugh at herself. “Must have been hard times starting your career in the midst of losing your parents.”

“It wasn’t easy,” she admitted. “Trey’s injuries and the survivor guilt issues complicated things.” Her smile was a little sad. “But he’s fine,” she said, putting air quotes around the word. “Somehow we made it.”

David didn’t want to prod a sore spot, but with the holidays coming up, everyone concerned was hoping Trey would make contact with his sister. Human intel in Arizona had dried up and they really needed to figure out if Rediscover intended to make good on veiled threats against Dr. Palmer’s work. “That’s what counts. These past years couldn’t have been easy. I’m not sure how I’ll cope when we lose our parents.”

“I hope it’s a long ways off for you,” she said, her eyes going misty. “I miss them every day.” She traced the rim of her water glass with her fingertip. “Can we talk about something else? This close to the holidays...” Her voice trailed off and she wrinkled her nose.

“Sure.” His task of keeping an eye on Terri was progressing smoothly. He enjoyed her company, but Casey had alerted him this morning that Dr. Palmer would be moving a trial patient into MUSC for the final adjustments and testing. It would be a prime opportunity for Rediscover to strike. “Do you have your Christmas tree up yet?”

“No. You?”

He shook his head. “I’m trying to decide if I’ll go artificial or real or skip it altogether this year.” He shrugged. “I’ll be going to Georgia, so the tree would be just for me, y’know?”

“Don’t skip it,” she said. “Which were you raised with?”

“Artificial. My mom squeezes out every minute of the holiday season. She puts the tree up bright and early the Friday after Thanksgiving. The high could be eighty and she’ll have Christmas carols cranked up and a vat of hot cocoa going all day.” He leaned forward. “I nearly resigned when my department gave us all a four-day weekend. I had no excuses. Everyone who’s home for more than Thanksgiving Day gets sucked into her decorating vortex.”

As he’d hoped, Terri laughed along with him. “You love it,” she accused.

“I love my mom,” he agreed. “I’ll admit the holiday chaos is more fun now that there’s a few nieces and nephews underfoot.”

“I bet.” Her gaze drifted away and her smile faded.

“Hey.” He waved his hand in front of her face. “Did I bum you out?”

“Not at all. I was just imagining how it must be for you.”

She tried to cover it, but her stiff, stubborn smile was proof the conversation was a downer. The expression was too similar to the one she wore in the photo on her employee badge. The picture had been taken just ten days after her parents died. Though he wanted to know about her traditions and holiday plans, he didn’t want to ruin the entire evening just because he had a job to do. Information collecting was, unfortunately, necessary.

“When will Trey be home for the holidays?”

“Well.” She tilted her head side to side and took too much interest in the placement of her fork. “I’m not exactly sure.”

“He is coming home?”

She cleared her throat and reached for her water, her gaze roaming over the eclectic decor. “He tells me he really likes Arizona and he’s making friends. I think the distance is good for him this year. Maybe for me, too.”

She still didn’t trust him enough to share her concerns about her missing brother. “You should be together,” David said.

“We’ve been almost inseparable thanks to our circumstances. It’s possible he’s trying to help by staying out there.”

“How so?”

“By not expecting me to come up with airfare.”

“That makes sense, I guess.” Except money wasn’t the real issue. David wanted to find Trey and jerk him up by his ears and tell him to treat his sister with more respect. Too bad he couldn’t reveal his protective streak as her newest friend. Even without the background and intel, he’d heard plenty about Terri’s rough time with Trey. The stories of her devotion to his recovery and her never-quit work ethic were common knowledge around the hospital.

David made a decision on the spot. Assuming his assignment didn’t change, he promised himself that whether or not Trey posed a threat to Dr. Palmer’s research project, he wouldn’t let him take advantage of Terri or continue to run roughshod over her feelings. After everything she’d been through, everything she’d overcome, she deserved better.

Like a spy pretending to be her pal? The annoying little voice in his head had been nagging him almost since the beginning. The trouble was, he liked Terri more with every passing conversation. She was a kind person and a damn fine nurse. If anyone needed a break from trouble, it was her. Too bad her brother wasn’t on the same page.

David told himself he and Trey were nothing alike. Neither of them was being completely honest with her, but David wasn’t running around with a bunch of extremists who spouted peace and delivered violence.

“It sounds like you have a great family,” Terri said as their salads were delivered.

“Believe me, there were plenty of days I wished I was an only child,” he said with a wink. He’d told her about his older sisters and the blind date fiasco they’d arranged during his Thanksgiving visit.

She’d laughed long and hard at that one. “You know your sisters mean well.”

He rolled his eyes and groaned. “The matchmaking meddlers need to find a different hobby. Maybe you could give them a course in minding their own business. You never talk about setting up blind dates for your brother.”

Oops. He noticed immediately he’d taken the wrong tack. He gave himself a mental kick as her eyes clouded with worry. She poked at her salad for a few minutes and changed the subject. He didn’t know if he should apologize or just let it go.

She pushed her half-eaten salad aside with a sigh. “The truth is I may never have that chance.”

“What do you mean?”

“My brother dropped out of college.” She bit her lip before continuing. “He hasn’t contacted me at all in months. I don’t have any idea where he is or if he ever plans to come home.”

David didn’t have to fake the surprise. He couldn’t believe she was telling him this. Despite what it meant for the case, he hated that she suffered over it. “Terri, I’m sorry.”

She swallowed. “Me, too. I won’t bore you with all the gory details and I don’t want to dwell on it tonight. I just thought you should know in case... I don’t know.” She sucked in a breath. “In case I seem sad over the next couple of weeks.”

He nodded, wishing he felt as though she’d welcome his touch. She looked like a woman who could use a hug. They’d shared coffee breaks, lunches and various activities around town, but they’d kept it completely platonic. “Come spend Christmas with us.”

“Pardon?”

Good Lord, had he really just said that? Casey wanted him to get close to her, not adopt her. “I’m serious.” He had to be. It was too late to back down. “We’re crazy, sure, but we’re fun. You’ll have a blast.”

“Your sisters will really ramp up the matchmaking attempts if you bring a woman home.”

“Let’s burn that bridge when we get there.” He wasn’t about to let this go, but he waited while the waitress delivered Terri’s choice of steak and bleu cheese and his bowl of lobster mac and cheese in front of him.

“Oh, wow.” She picked up her fork and assembled a bite of cheesy pasta and sliced beef. “This smells delicious.”

“I second that.” He scooped up lobster mac and cheese from his wide bowl. “This is amazing. How’s yours?”

“Fabulous,” she said. “Try a bite.” She nudged her bowl his way.

He indulged her before returning to the previous topic. “What would you tell a patient facing the holidays alone?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never worked the psych ward.”

“No, but you’ve worked every other ward.”

“Almost.”

“Just answer the question.”

“Eat your dinner,” she countered, leading by example and closing her lips around a bite of her cheesy pasta. She pointed to his plate when he hesitated. “Eat.”

He did as she said, and all thought of conversation halted while they enjoyed the excellent food. “This has ruined me for normal mac and cheese,” he said after a few minutes.

“Definitely.” She ate a few more bites of her food, then leaned back and blotted her lips with the napkin. “I’d tell a patient to go be with friends,” she said abruptly. “That doesn’t mean I’ll go to Georgia with you. It’s not the same thing. But I do appreciate the invitation.”

“It’s exactly the same thing.”

She rolled her eyes. “What if your sisters think I’m more than your friend?”

He exaggerated a contemplative expression. “That could have some happy side effects. Think of all the blind dates I wouldn’t have to endure.”

She laughed. “I’m thinking of all the heartbroken women who were looking forward to an evening out with you.”

“Well, you can write up a report of our evening and my sisters can distribute it. Those heartbroken women can live vicariously.” He signaled for the check. “We have a band to catch.”

She reached for her purse to help with the check, but he took care of it. “Chivalry may be dead in some places, but my mama would kill me if I let you pay.”

She held up her hands, surrendering. “I don’t want to be the cause of your demise,” she said, chuckling.