Sunday's Book The Doctor's Dilemma #MFRWauthor #BWLPublishing #Romance #Contemporary #Medical

Take one doctor who’s made a career of temporary positions and avoiding commitment. Add a nurse who dreams of security and a settled life. Stir in infant twins bequeathed to him by his dead foster sister. Pour them into a small Texas town that wants the doctor to stay. 

To Dr. Neal McKay, it’s a prescription for a dilemma.

Laurel Freemont

4.0 out of 5 starsI've always found medical romances fairly predictable. This one ...

July 16, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I've always found medical romances fairly predictable. This one is not. When Nora Harte agrees to take orphaned twins to their guardian she doesn't expect the conflict of emotions the task creates, from developing a connection 

with the babies and an even stronger one with Dr. Neal McKay. Having moved many times as a child I understood Nora's yearning to settle down in one place, and also Neal's compulsion to keep moving. How these two sort 

out their differences makes for a very satisfying read.

Lisa Rumsey

5.0 out of 5 starsLoved it

September 23, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Loved it!outstanding book

Nikki Hartman

5.0 out of 5 starsGood read! I will be reading it again

July 14, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Good read! I will be reading it agai

Saturday's Blurbs feature A Book by Joan Havelange #MFRWAuthor #BWLPublishing #mystery #cozy #golf

When Mabel slices her golf ball into the town cemetery. She and her best friend Violet think the worst that could happen would be a lost ball. That is until they discover a dead body, and it isn't six feet under. Mabel's golf ball lays in the middle of his forehead, it’s murder.

The ladies take it upon themselves to solve the mystery of the dead body in the graveyard. Using the information gleaned from Coffee Row, a collection of eccentric townspeople. Leads them to investigate golfers and relatives of the deceased. Their investigation frustrates a newly appointed RCMP officer, who does his best to put a stop to their interference.
But nothing stops the intrepid detectives. Not the RCMP, a stampede of cattle or even shots fired at them in the dark. They have an uncanny ability to find trouble and dead bodies. Almost getting themselves killed before solving the murders

Thursday's Fourth Scene features Choices #MFRWAuthor #BWLPublishing #Medical #Romance #Hospital politics

JOHANNA SAW THE STATUE of a cat in front of a building not far from the library. Yes, she thought and prayed the vet was still in the office. She opened the door into the waiting room.

            The woman seated behind the desk looked up. “Can I help you?”

            “I found a stray kitten,” Johanna said.

            “We don’t take strays. You can take it to the animal shelter.”

            “No. I plan to keep him, but I don’t know what I need.”

            A young man wearing a lab coat appeared in the doorway. “I’m Dr. Greene. Let me see your friend.”

            “Johanna Gordon.” She handed him the box.

            He took the kitten out. “He’s a handsome one. What’s his name?”

            She nearly blurted Dylan. “Why?”

            “For our records.”

            “Blarney.”

            He laughed. “For the restaurant.”

            She nodded. “I found him beneath one of the benches. How old is he?”

            “About six weeks,” the doctor said.

            “What do I need?”

            The young man smiled. “I’ll have Lila set you up while I check him out and give him shots.”

            A short time later, Johanna looked at the stack of items she’d purchased. “Could you keep him here while I run home for my car?” She handed the woman a check.

            “No problem,” the vet said. “How long will you be?”

            “Fifteen minutes at most. I live down the street.”

            A half hour later, Johanna carried the last of the many supplies needed for the kitten into the house. She removed Blarney from the carrier and sat on the couch. She stroked the kitten’s soft fur and let the music whirl her into the fantasy world.

Wednesday The Doctor's Dilemma #MFRWHooks #BWLPublishing #Medical #Romance #Twins

Join the writers at #MFRWHooks Here http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com  to read some great excerpts. Mine is a medical romance. He's a rolling stone and she wants a settled life.

Blurb:

Take one doctor who’s made a career of temporary positions and avoiding commitment. Add a nurse who dreams of security and a settled life. Stir in infant twins bequeathed to him by his dead foster sister. Pour them into a small Texas town that wants the doctor to stay. 

To Dr. Neal McKay, it’s a prescription for a dilemma.

EXCERPT:

She stooped and dried Molly’s tears. In coloring, the babies did resemble her. What if … An ache of longing filled her chest? She shook her head.

Not these babies.

Someday, she would find a man who wanted the same things she did -- a family, a home, roots. As yet, she hadn’t found the one who’d made her dream of forever.

She gave her name, driver’s license and credit card to the clerk. In return, she received the keys to a four door sedan and a detailed set of directions.

Prairie, here we come.

She prayed Dr. McKay would be waiting. The delay had added hours to her trip to her parents’ house. Her plans called for her to be in Santa Fe by tomorrow evening.

The skycap pushed the baggage cart outside. Nora and the twins followed. A breath of hot air seared her lungs. In New York, the temperature had been in the seventies. Here, the mercury must be near ninety.

Once the baggage had been stowed in the trunk and the infant seats in place, Nora looked at her watch. Before starting the trip, the twins had to be changed and fed. She found the nearest rest room.

She picked up Molly, changed and cuddled the little girl for a few minutes. Then she did the same with Todd.

Adorable, sweet, lovable. She sighed. She couldn’t let these babies steal her heart. In two hours, she’d be in Prairie and on her way out of their lives. She fed them and pushed them to the car.

She studied the map. Seems like a straight shot west and a little south, she thought. Maybe this leg of the trip would work. She backed out of the parking space.

“Babies, we’re on our way.

* * *

Neal McKay put the last suture in the jagged cut on his patient’s calf. He stripped off his gloves and stepped back from the table. He glanced at the clock. Nearly three PM. He should have been home an hour ago, but the day hadn’t gone as planned. As the only doctor in town, this was the norm.

As usual, his day off had been filled with emergencies. A fractured tibia, a case of congestive heart failure, an acute allergy attack and now this.

They…his wards…should be at the house. He groaned and felt no more prepared for parenthood than he’d been the day he’d learned about his foster sister’s death…a week after her funeral. Even if he’d known, he wouldn’t have been able to leave his patients to attend the service.

He groaned. The thought of being responsible for the twins’ care brought waves of insecurity. None of his experiences in the past had prepared him for this day.

“Do you want to do the dressing?”

Neal looked at the red-haired nurse. “He’s all yours.”

“Thanks, buddy. I owe you one.” Jack Gardner glared.

“If you’re talking about the patch job, just doing my thing.” Jack’s reaction made Neal chuckle. In college, they’d spent hours one-upping each other. He missed the days when they’d been like brothers.

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Is there a problem you need solved?”

“You might say that.”

MY PLACES

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bid=113639528680724

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BUY MARK

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Tuesday's Writer's Tip - In the Beginning #MFRWauthor #BWLPublishing #Book openings #Writing

The Hook - Every book should open with some kind of hook. An event has happened or will happen or is happening that changes the character's life. There are many events that can shape the book and carry the hook through the story. Let's look at one or two.

The change - The character has lost something important to them. A job, a loved one, a possession. Using this loss as a change in the opening scene, the character must come to grips with the problem and perhaps work out a plan to change the event. Their initial plan may fall apart but they are showing they want to move forward. The plan may undergo revisions or be scrapped for a new one. But the character needs to be shown they"re reacting to the change and taking action.

What if the change isn't immediate. Think of a teen starting a new school, someone facing an coming war or tragedy. The change looms and they must react to what might happen soon.

Perhaps we see the character during the moment of the change, How they act and react are what draws the reader to turn the pages.

I've just begun a story where the hero realizes a change must be made but he isn't sure of what to do. The first scene ends just as he decides where the road he needs to take will lead.

Meandering on Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWAuthor #BWLPublishing #Poetry #amwriting

Meander 1 - Poem -- Cotton Candy Man ---

Spun sugar on a paper cone.
Come, eat and taste delight.
He calls and ballyhos
To greet the gathering crowd.
Spectacle -- Spectators
Watch his flicking wrist
As it circles, twisting, turning
In the sugar spinner.
Whipping clouds of pink and white
Spinning dreamy dreams
Selling clouds of wonder
To the watching, waiting crows.

Meander 2 - The news

I watch the news in bits and pieces but somehow everyone seems to say the same thing. They dissect and analyze when a few words would be enough. So I watch in bits and pieces when the commercials come on as a diversion. Would be nice to hear something new but then again why?

Meander 3 - Writing

Working many bugs out of the new story Forgotten Dreams. Learned a few things I needed to add so I've begun again. But that's always the way. This time I reached the fifth chapter before I decided there needed to be some changes. With the way the first few chapters were going, there would have to be 19 and that's too many. Have gotten it down to 17. That's still too many. I'm sure there's a lot of repeats in the first four plus and they will need to be removed.

Sunday's Book Choices #MFRWAuthor #BWLPublishing #Hospital #Medical #Romance

Johanna Gordon devotes her time and energy to her job as Director of Nursing at Hudson Community Hospital. With budget cuts hanging over her head, Johanna suspects the CEO of scheming a plan that threatens her job as well as the hospital, and she’s determined to find out why. 

The choices she’s made for herself and her career leave her with no social life until she meets Dylan Connelly. He’s everything she’s always wanted, loving, devoted to his kids and everything she’s never had. Just when she finds love with the new man, an old flame returns with promises of a life together. Johanna has to decide between security and companionship, while trying to recapture the past, or moving forward with her new life.

Review:

SIL

5.0 out of 5 starsConflict Abounds

December 4, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Janet Lee Walters has provided her many fans with still another conflict-driven story that's filled with a realistic, edgy medical setting, a plucky proactive heroine, and a cast of secondary characters that portray all the foibles of the human condition. Joanna Gordon, Director of Nurses at a community hospital is faced with tough choices. She must stand up to the unscrupulous CEO, doing what she knows in her
heart is right, even if it costs her her job. Joanna grapples with choices in the romance department as well. While she is the epitomy of a driven career woman at the hospital, when it comes to matters of the heart, she's much more the soft kitten, just like her pet kitty at home. The book held my interest right until the end as I kept reading to know which man would win out. I wasn't disappointed!

MY PLACES

https://twitter.com/JanetL717

 https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_f

bid=113639528680724

 http://bookswelove.net/

 http://wwweclecticwriter.blogspot.com

BUY MARK

http://bookswelove.net/authors/walters-janet-lane-romance-fantasy-suspense-medical/

Saturday's Blurbs feature Books by Eileen Charbonneau #Historical #Code Talkers #Civil War

Code Talker Chronicles Book 2: Watch Over Me

It’s the summer of 1942 in New York City. War widow Kitty Charente’s night on the town with a man she thinks is her company’s visiting salesman turns into a hunting ground.  Luke Kayenta is a Navajo code talker, and a Nazi agent is in pursuit.  American isolationists are searching for Luke too.  And his superiors at the the U.S. Office of Strategic Services want to know if he’s cracked under torture in Spain. Kitty and Luke must evade capture from one enemy and death from another as they race from the Lower East Side to the Savoy Ballroom to Coney Island, aided by unlikely allies in the Canadian and French spy networks, a Harlem baker, and even Weegee, the city’s most famous tabloid photographer. 

Brides of the American Civil War Book 1: Seven Aprils

In April 1860, Dr. Ryder Cole returns home from his studies, sure of his abilities and on fire to serve his country and preserve the Union.  A panther attack threatens to cut his life short until a young woman with a rife and a sure-shot eye appears out of the mist.  Then she disappears, returning as Tom Boyde, his comrade throughout America’s Civil War, and as Diana, met in a Washington D.C. whore house.  The seven Aprils from 1860 to 1866 tell their tale of love and war, sex and friendship. And the price of crossing gender lines.

Brides of the American Civil War Book 2: Mercies of the Fallen

Maryland plantation heiress Ursula Kingsley is content with her secluded life in a convent.  Until the bloodiest day of the Civil War brings a downed soldier into her care.

Blinded Rowan Buckley only knows he’s in deep love with the woman who pulled him off the battlefield. His superiors claim she’s a spy. He knows she’s full of secrets, but he’s out to prove that treason is not one of them.

The two negotiate the crucial times of the Battle of Antietam, Gettysburg, and the New York City Draft Riots. Treachery from North and South, from friend and foe meet them at every crossroad. Will their love survive?

Eileen Charbonneau is Visiting today Talking About Writing #MFRWAuthor #BWLPublishing #Writing #Heroes #Heroines #Villains

1. Do you write a single genre or do your fingers flow over the keys creating tales in many forms?

So nice to be with you, Janet.  Your thoughtful questions give me a good workout! I’m drawn to history and the idea of time traveling back to many eras. That interest opens up many more…romance, mystery, suspense, coming-of-age, adventure, alternative history…storytelling is all about “what if?”

Do your reading choices reflect your writing choices? 

Oh yes! I was brought up on the wonderful historical novels of Mary Renault, Thomas Costain, Winston Graham, Mary Stewart, and John Jakes, and I still love to learn history through a good historical novel.

Are there genres you wouldn’t attempt? 

Horror! I admire that genre’s bone-chilling effects, but life can be horrible enough, thank you!

2. Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write? 

As soon as I begin to understand a character, he or she becomes a favorite, helping me to tell the story. I’m interested in good people and how they face difficult choices and challenges. That means I HAVE to deal with villains, who are very challenging people for my protagonists AND me! 

3. Heroes. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the man you want every reader to love? Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

Where to find heroes? Wherever they dwell!  I am also open to good ideas from wherever they come.  When I start with a real person, my character on the page ends up being “inspired by” as he takes on a life of his own. 

He usually comes before plot, but his characterization expands as the story goes on. I find all kinds of strengths, weaknesses and I’m always open to surprises in action or dialogue that may set off the story in a new direction, if it proves interesting.

4. Heroines. How do you find them? Do pictures, real life or imagination create the woman you want the reader to root for? Do they appear before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?

My mom is the inspiration for Kitty Charante of the Code Talker Chronicles…she’s born the same year: 1919, and grows up in the same melting pot New York city neighborhood with a gaggle of colorful relatives, like mine.  But I give her an alternative history and imagine how she might have dealt with a different life and challanges than to ones she came through so beautifully.  My fictional Kitty retains my mom’s resilience…very good quality in a series set in World War II!

5. Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal. How do you choose one? How do you make them human?

When I received the wisdom that villains are the heroes of their own stories, that helped me in my quest to make them three dimentional.

Writing historical fiction helps in finding villains…in my novels they are usually people who did not stand on the right side of history, who did NOT believe that history’s arc bends toward justice, who in fact were trying to bend it in the other direction! They are usually guided by fear…fear of losing their status, their power, their place in the world by some change-minded upstart. My villians are often rigid in their beliefs and possibly wounded by something in their past. Often my heroes are wounded too, but his past inspires them toward reaching a world that’s better for all, whereas the villian wants his revenge on what did him wrong. 

6. What is your latest release? Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain?

My latest release begins a new series: Brides of the American Civil War. Book One is called Seven Aprils. The hero is Ryder, a privilidged Army Captain who is a doctor who learns a lot about healing, compassion, life and love as the war takes its toll.  My heroine is Tess, a backwoods woman who becomes Ryder’s assistant surgeon, lover, and friend as she splits herself into three personas…a crossing of gender lines that also takes its toll! The villain may be the Civil War itself, which in this story provides a scavenging hospital supply-stealer who wants revenge for being caught in the act, a band of renegade rebel troops who capture and brutalize Ryder, and a double agent who unmasks Tess and wants to cut her life and career as a Union spy short.

7. What are you working on now?

I am working on Book 2 of the Brides of the American Civil War.  It’s called Mercies of the Fallen.  In it an Irish immigrant Union Sergeant falls hard for his nurse after he’s wounded at the bloody Battle at Antietem. That’s before he learns that she is a nun, mistress of a Maryland plantation and is suspected of being a spy for the Southern cause.

8. How can people find you?

my website is eileencharbonneau.com

please follow me on my facebook page: Eileen Charbonneau Author

and on twitter @EileenCharbonneau

my blogsite is called: Manituwak, powered by word press

7.  www.eileencharbonneau.com

buy mark: https://books2read.com/Seven-Aprils

Thursday's Fourth Scene from Code Blue #MFRWAuthor #BWLPublishing #Suspense #Medical

Trish pushed past Susan and trotted down the hall. Julie and the pair of practicals scurried after the thin nurse. Unable to move or think, Susan leaned against the counter.

     A piercing scream pulled the unit secretary from her chair at the desk. The scream thawed Susan's frozen thoughts. If someone didn't take charge, the unit would dissolve into chaos.

     "Kit, you can't go yet. Call Security and the house doctor. We need them stat. Then call the Nursing Office. I'll speak to any supervisor who answers."

     "What's wrong with Barbara?" Kit asked.

     "She's dead." Susan glanced up. Above nearly every door, a call light shone. A patient on crutches swung down the hall. Immediately behind him, a woman walked with crab-like movements. Susan left the desk to intercept the pair.

     "What happened?" the man asked.

     "Who screamed?" The woman stumbled and put her hand on the wall.

     Susan paused and considered how to make them return to their rooms without frightening them. She couldn't tell them about Barbara's death, but she had to say something. "One of the nurses had an accident."

     "Is there anything I can do?" the woman asked.

     "Go back to your room and let your roommate know everything is being taken care of. A nurse will be in soon."

     After the patients left, Susan strode to where her coworkers clustered around the storage room. Trish blocked the doorway. A thin smile appeared on her face. The practicals jostled each other and peered into the room. Julie huddled against the wall with her hand pressed against her mouth.

     "Close the door and start answering lights," Susan said. "It looks like Christmas at the desk."

     "What should we tell the patients?" Julie asked.

     "That one of the nurses had an accident," Susan said.

     "What if one of them wants to know who she is?" one of the practicals asked. "Shouldn't we tell them she's...well...you know?"

     "Use your common sense. Say that one of the nurses had an accident and is being seen by the house doctor."

     From the corner of her eye, Susan saw the stocky house doctor stride past the end of the hall. She hurried to catch up with him. "Dr. Mendoza, one of the nurses had an accident. She's in the storage room. You need to check her."

     His dark eyes flashed irritation. "Why do you not take her to the Emergency Room? I am here to care for the patients, not the nurses."

     "We can't move her until Security comes." Susan lowered her voice. "She's dead."

     "What?"

     Susan inhaled. Why was Dr. Mendoza the doctor in the house tonight? He always behaved as though unexpected incidents had been staged to annoy him. "She's--"

     "Susan, Ms. Vernon's on the line," Kit said.

     Trish grabbed Mendoza's arm. "Come on. I'll go with you."

     Glad she didn't have to face the scene in the storage room again, Susan hurried away. She sat on the edge of the desk and took the receiver from Kit. "Leila, it's Susan. There's a problem here."

     "What has Barbara done? I heard Kit was tracking her."

     "She's dead. I found her in the storage room and I don't think it was an accident."

     "I'll be right there," Leila said. "What kind of injuries?"

      "She...her head..." A picture of Barbara's battered head and face flashed in Susan's thoughts. Acid burned her throat. She dropped the receiver and bolted for the utility room. There, she leaned over the sink. Even after her stomach was empty, she continued to heave.

     Footsteps sounded on the tile floor. Susan looked up. Leila looked as though she had run the entire distance from the Nursing Office.

     "Are you all right?" Leila asked.

     Susan gulped deep breaths of air. "I don't know. She felt ghastly." She blotted her tearing eyes with a paper towel and rinsed her mouth.

     Leila took Susan's arm and they walked to the nurses' station. "Come and sit down."

     Susan shook her head. If she sat, she would fall apart. She had to remain calm and strong. Who would see to her patients if she gave into the hysteria that threatened to erupt? Once again, flashes of the gruesome still life in the storage room surfaced. She shivered and rubbed her upper arms. Activity would keep the memories at bay.

     "Are you sure she's dead?" Leila asked.

     The sharp toned question acted like a splash of cold water. "Yes." The word exploded from Susan's mouth. "I checked her. So did Mendoza. Talk to him. I have to answer lights."

     "Are you sure you're up to facing patients?"

     "If I don't, who will?"

     Kit turned in her chair at the desk. "I sure wish I could have seen her instead of being stuck at the desk. Wonder who got her. Was she gross?"

     "I don't want to talk about her," Susan said.

     "You're going to have to." Kit pursed her lips. "Security called the police. I think you're in big trouble. The guard was upset because you and Mendoza messed with the body. He's afraid you tampered with the evidence."

     "I had to see if I could help her."

     "You did the right thing." Leila reached for the phone. "I'd better call Murry Johnson before someone else does. This could be a real problem for the hospital."

     "I bet they'll be major upset," Kit said. "You know, the guard took my key for the storage room and he wants the one from the narcotic ring. He's checking the rooms for an intruder. A bit late, I'd say. The killer's probably long gone."

     Or here among us. Susan's hand flew to her mouth. Had she said the words aloud?

     "I wonder what we were doing when she died?" Kit asked. "She wasn't exactly the most popular person on the unit."

     Susan walked away. Kit sounded like Barbara. Was the unit secretary planning to take the practical's place as gossip queen?

     "Aren't you glad this didn't happen during visiting hours? Just think of the mess that would have been." Kit's comments followed Susan from the station.

     She made a face and ducked into the first room of her district. Why was Kit making Barbara's death sound like an adventure? Finding the body had been a nightmare. Susan forced her lips into a smile and approached the first bed. "You rang?"

     "Fifteen minutes ago. When I heard that scream." The gray-haired man shifted his leg. The canvas-supporting sling shifted. Weights attached to pins embedded in his tibia clanged against the frame of the bed. "Is everything all right? I rang six times."

     "One of the nurses had an accident."

     "Where's your buddy?" the second patient asked.

     "She's the one who had the accident. What can I do for you?"

     The older man winked. "A lot, but my leg aches. When you have time, I'd like an injection."

     "And I'm due for my sleeping pill," the second patient said.

     "Give me fifteen minutes."

     Susan left the room and repeated the scene with slight variations in the other rooms of the district. She hated to lie, but there was no reason for the patients to know one of the nurses had been murdered. What could they do but worry?

     When she returned to the nurses' station, she had a list of requests for pain medication and sleepers for eleven patients. She and Julie reached the desk at the same time.

     "Will we ever get done?" Julie asked.

     Susan looked at Trish and the two practicals who were seated at the desk charting. "You will. I'll be here for hours. I have all the charts to write." She remembered the expected admission and groaned. "Kit, what's happening with the new patient?"

     "The ER thinks we're having a silent code. Ms. Vernon backed me up. They weren't pleased, but they agreed to hold the patient until nights arrive. The police are here. No one can leave until they've been questioned."

     "You're kidding," Julie said. "I have a date."

     "He'll have to wait." Kit smiled slyly. "We're all suspects."

     Once again, Susan heard echoes of Barbara in Kit's voice. "The police will have to wait until my patients are settled. After all, this is a hospital." She nodded to Trish and opened the med room door.

MY PLACES

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 https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_f

bid=113639528680724

 http://bookswelove.net/

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BUY MARK

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Wednesday Choices #MFRWHooks #BWLPublishing #Medical #Romance

Welcome to #MFRWHooks and some great excerpts   http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com    
Mine is a Medical romance dealing iwth hospital politics

Johanna Gordon devotes her time and energy to her job as Director of Nursing at Hudson Community Hospital. With budget cuts hanging over her head, Johanna suspects the CEO of scheming a plan that threatens her job as well as the hospital, and she’s determined to find out why. 

The choices she’s made for herself and her career leave her with no social life until she meets Dylan Connelly. He’s everything she’s always wanted, loving, devoted to his kids and everything she’s never had. Just when she finds love with the new man, an old flame returns with promises of a life together. Johanna has to decide between security and companionship, while trying to recapture the past, or moving forward with her new life.

SIL

5.0 out of 5 starsConflict Abounds

December 4, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Janet Lee Walters has provided her many fans with still another conflict-driven story that's filled with a realistic, edgy medical setting, a plucky proactive heroine, and a cast of secondary characters that portray all the foibles of the human condition. Joanna Gordon, Director of Nurses at a community hospital is faced with tough choices. She must stand up to the unscrupulous CEO, doing what she knows in her
heart is right, even if it costs her her job. Joanna grapples with choices in the romance department as well. While she is the epitomy of a driven career woman at the hospital, when it comes to matters of the heart, she's much more the soft kitten, just like her pet kitty at home. The book held my interest right until the end as I kept reading to know which man would win out. I wasn't disappointed!

All-in-all, this an enjoyable read that deserves a 5 star rating.

EXCERPT:

JOHANNA GORDON RAKED HER fingers through her short curls and glanced at the clock centered on the wall between her diplomas. Seven-thirty. No wonder her shoulders ached. She’d been hunched over the desk since four.

            With a sigh, she closed a folder and added it to the neat stack on a corner of the desk. She pursed her lips. For two weeks, the budget for the nursing department at the hospital had consumed her time. Unfortunately, money would remain her focus until she found areas to cut costs without compromising patient care or breaking the current contract with the nurses. Not that Hudson Community’s CEO cared about either option. She stretched to ease the tension between her shoulder blades.

            “Why couldn’t I...” An idea occurred and she smiled.

Something to consider. Richard Jamison didn’t care which programs were dropped as long as his pet projects remained intact. Just this morning he’d reminded her she belonged to administration and to remember where her loyalties lay. Not with him. She’d risen through the ranks and saw more than the profits and losses he tossed around.

            The loudspeaker on the wall crackled. “Dr. Red to the Emergency Room.” In staccato fashion, the operator repeated the message three times.

            With a well-honed response, Johanna rose, grabbed her briefcase and, in three strides, reached the door. The call for any surgeon meant an emergency requiring immediate surgery. Her body quivered with excitement. She dashed through the empty outer office, crossed the hall and hit the call button for the elevator.

            Just like an old fire horse, she thought. The alarm clangs and I’m off running. She stepped into the empty car. What was her hurry? How much help would she be? She’d been away from the bedside for ten years.

            As she exited on the first floor, she nearly collided with Rachel Hill. Her friend’s dark hair had slipped from the neat bun at her nape. Like a sail, Rachel’s lab coat flew behind her. She carried two units of blood.

            Johanna frowned. Rachel usually worked the day shift. “Bad accident?” Johanna asked.

            “The worst. A six-year-old hit by a car. And to think I volunteered to switch.”

            As Johanna matched strides with her friend’s half-running gait, the soft leather briefcase slapped against her thigh. “Need an extra pair of hands?”

            “Hardly. If there was another body in the room, they’d be standing on the patient. Be glad you’re out of the zoo. Not that I blame people for caring about a child, but if the patient was old, indigent or dying... Don’t let me get started.”

            “Want to talk?” Together they dashed up the five steps to the emergency room level.

            Rachel straight-armed the door. “Maybe I do. Dinner on—” The door closed and cut off the rest of her words.

            Johanna frowned. By the time they found an evening to fit Rachel’s schedule, she would have forgotten the incident that had triggered her anger. Instead of talking about the hospital, she would discuss her children. Despite their closeness, this topic always added to Johanna’s aching knowledge that she had no one.

            She continued to the exit. For the past few months, she’d wondered if the climb up the administrative ladder had been the right choice. Ten years ago, she’d been an ER nurse, meeting challenges and solving a dozen crises every day. The decision to leave the ER had been made for financial reasons. The higher salary had paid for her sister’s and  her parents’, home health aides. Six months ago, the family obligations had ended, leaving Johanna with an empty social life.

            For a moment, she stared at the red brick building. The hospital’s center section was five stories, while the angled wings were four. The sight always made her think of a bird in flight. Lately, her office here had seemed more like home than the house eight blocks away.

            A reluctance to move held her prisoner. Spray from the lawn sprinklers misted on her face and arms. She studied the bank of peonies along the walk leading to the hospital’s front entrance. Their sweet scent mingled with the aroma of wet earth. With a sigh, she overcame the inertia and crossed the street.

Brisk steps carried her down the hill. In the distance, the Hudson River reflected the colors of the setting sun. At the bottom of the hill, she turned the corner. She hurried past houses dating from colonial days to a turn-of-the-century Victorian that towered over two houses built in the last ten years. Each house had a unique charm.

            She paused beside the yew hedge surrounding the yard of the house where she’d lived all her life. As she strode up the walk, her hand brushed the clipped edges. The scent of roses reached her. Red, pink and white blooms covered the trellises at either end of the porch.

            She climbed the steps, turned and paused. With arms crossed on her chest, she stared at the street. As though trying to erase a chill, her hands moved along her arms. A soft sigh escaped. The ice of loneliness couldn’t be rubbed away like frost from windows on a winter morning.

            Her hands dropped to her side, but she made no move to go inside where shadows of the past gathered. She had no desire to face memories of the years when she’d been a devoted sister and a dutiful daughter.

            She looked at the darkening sky. Sometimes, she felt her entire life had been lived in the moments between day and night—with every instant tinged with gray, and every action controlled by duty and responsibility. Were they virtues or walls she’d erected to keep from reaching for life?

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