Prognosis: Romance (Doctors in Training 4)

He could see himself living here if he decided to join the residency program at the highly respected children’s hospital. He liked the facility and the staff with whom he worked during his October rotation. When he wasn’t working, he explored the area, imagining himself making use of the jogging and biking trails, hiking and skiing in the towering Olympics and Cascades, sailing and kayaking on the many waterways. Yeah, he’d fit in fine here.

Of course, he could imagine himself living in Boston, too. He’d spent some time at Harvard for an undergraduate summer research program and he’d mingled as well with the slightly stuffier cliques there as he did with the Seattle crowd. He’d never had a problem getting along with people or working congenially beside them.

It was true he’d never felt as closely tied to a group as he did to his study friends in Little Rock, nor did he ever expect to feel those ties again, no matter how many friends he made in future pursuits. But he would make new friends and he’d stay in contact with the ones he already had.

I still consider you a friend.

The echo of Shannon’s carefully practiced little speech whispered in the back of his head as he sat on a bench in Green Lake Park on his second Sunday in Seattle, staring blankly at a few ducks paddling in the water, oblivious to the joggers, strollers and dog-walkers milling on the paths around him. As much as he’d tried not to think about Shannon while he was more than two thousand miles away from her, thoughts of her still crept into the back of his mind whenever he let down his guard.

It was his own fault that he’d let himself get hurt, of course. She’d said from the beginning that she wasn’t interested in anything long-term. Hell, she’d turned him down the first two times he’d asked her out—he should have taken the hint then.

Without undue conceit, he privately admitted that he’d never actually been dumped before. He’d been involved in a few relationships that had seemed to have promise, but had then just fizzled out—usually, he confessed uncomfortably to himself, because he had lost interest.

Reluctant to risk hurting anyone, he had confined himself for the past few years to dating women who didn’t seem particularly vulnerable to heartbreak. Women like Elissa—intelligent, competent, savvy, admittedly thick-skinned. While Shannon had been very different than Elissa, she’d had her own air of self-confidence and directness that had made him believe they could share a few weeks of fun and companionship without risk of her being hurt.

He’d been all too right about that, he thought, absently rubbing the center of his chest, where a dull pain throbbed. He’d never even imagined that he would be the one who’d walk away with both his heart and his ego in shreds.

The worst part, other than missing her so badly his teeth hurt, was that he still didn’t even know what he’d done to make her send him away.

Her business was booming. If it kept up like this, she would be able to significantly cut back her hours at the toy store—or maybe quit that job altogether, Shannon thought as she studied the figures displayed on her computer screen. Kid Capers was operating in the black. Just barely, and most of the profit would be funneled back into the business initially, but modest success was within reach.

She closed the computer, satisfied with her evening’s work. Standing, she stretched out some kinks and headed for the kitchen, thinking she should find something for dinner. She’d lost a few pounds in the past month and she really hadn’t needed to. Her family was starting to fuss that she worked too hard. Devin was convinced she was suffering from a broken heart.

She refused to acknowledge that any of them were right.

Her life was swimming along exactly as she had planned. No one told her what to do or when to do it. Though everyone seemed to have suggestions and advice, she was the one who made her own decisions and she liked it that way.

Maybe she missed James a little—okay, maybe she missed him a lot—but her life was still on track. She had emerged from their affair intact—mostly—and on her own terms.

But when she lay awake at night, staring at the ceiling, it wasn’t her pride or independence that occupied her thoughts. Instead, she had spent too many hours wishing James had been able to share more of himself with her so she could have known how he really felt about her. She’d sensed his irritation over her clumsy attempt to put some distance between them, but had there been any more to it than that? Had she been just another Elissa to him? Someone to keep him company at parties, to warm his bed when he was in the mood, to serve as a conversation starter between him and his parents?

There were times she still thought she might have meant more to him than that—but maybe that was her own wistfulness speaking. Even if they hadn’t had so many other obstacles between them—their polar-opposite families, his parents’ disapproval of her educational and career choices, his career obligations, her own—that deeply ingrained reserve would have driven them apart eventually. Because of her own background, she couldn’t spend her life with someone who made her always have to guess what he was thinking or feeling.

Closing the fridge without taking out any food, she wandered to the back door, looking out at the darkness of the mid-November evening. It was starting to get dark so much earlier. Winter lurked very close now, waiting to drain more heat and light from her days.

She would bet it was already cold in Boston.

“Hello, Shannon.”

Kneeling on the floor of the toy store to replace a game she’d found on the floor, Shannon swiveled to look up in response to the greeting. “Haley!”

Smiling in pleasure, she stood, straightening her green apron. “It’s good to see you. How was your away rotation in…Lexington?”

“Cincinnati,” Haley corrected. “Ron was in Lexington. And my rotation was great. So was his. We’re going to interview in both places for residency programs.”

“I hope you get the one you want. You have to be accepted, right?”

Haley nodded. “It’s called matching. We list our top choices and we’re matched with the programs that select us. It’s a little more difficult when a husband and wife are both trying to get into programs in the same city, but it happens enough that there are protocols in place.”

“And you’ll learn where you’ve matched in March?”

“Right. Match Day. It’s a big deal all across the country when every medical-school graduate learns his or her fate.”

“Sounds exciting.”

They were both smiling, both speaking in warm, breezy voices. Shannon suspected Haley was as aware as she was of the unspoken name hovering between them.

“Are you looking for anything in particular, Haley? Can I help you find any