Dueling Drs: A Small Town Hospital Romance

“Yeah? I will.”

Zola wrapped her full lips around the straw and pulled with a satisfied sigh. “I guess if I’m going to be here a while I should get used to all the outdoor activities this state has to offer.”

Hannah pushed off her stool and turned. “What do you mean if? I thought this was a two year fellowship.” Arms folded angrily, I tried to blend into the crowd just in case that anger headed my way.

Zola shrugged. “I’m not sure if the fellowship is going to work out, to be honest.”

Gus wrapped an arm around her. “Don’t let some jerk drive you away from something you really want, Zola. No man is worth it.”

Zola accepted the embrace with a warm smile. “I can handle jerks. I’ve had to deal with them my whole life, but if I’m not going to learn anything new, then I might as well practice medicine somewhere else. And I’m sure I could get another fellowship elsewhere, so another person could have a chance at this one.”

What? She was really thinking about leaving?

“What’ll it be?” Cy tapped the bar in front of me and I turned back to him.

“A pitcher of amber ale, thanks.” I slid down towards the girls just as they raised shot glasses in a toast that sounded more like a hex.

“To purging jerks of all stripes,” Hannah said as Zola and Gus clanked their glasses together.

“Never took you for a quitter.” Her small gasp send a wave of satisfaction through me, that I’d been able to catch Zola off guard.

“You don’t know me enough to know what I am, Dr. Wright.”

“Call me, Drew,” I insisted. “You’re really thinking about leaving?”

She sighed and turned an angry brown glare my way. “Here to gloat that you’re getting exactly what you wanted?”

Was that what I wanted? “No.”

“Right,” she snorted and rolled her eyes. “Oh look, there’s an empty pool table. Who wants to play?”

“I could school you girls in a game of nine ball,” Hannah said with a cocky smile.

“You’re on,” Zola said and hopped off the barstool. “Loser buys the next round.” She started forward and I don’t know what came over me, but before she took two steps my hand shot out and wrapped around her arm, stopping her forward momentum. Zola froze and glared over her shoulder at me. “Get your hands off me.”

Instinctively my hand released her. “Sorry. Just, I’m not trying to get rid of you.”

“Let me guess, it’s your evil twin who doesn’t like me?” Her derisive tone told me exactly what she thought of me. “Don’t go acting the part of a man who gives a damn now, Dr. Wright. Just be happy that as soon as possible, I will be putting you and Jackson’s Ridge in my rear view mirror.”

“What? Why?” Gus and Hannah had stayed to watch everything unfold, which only served as more proof of how this woman scattered my brain. I didn’t make scenes, it wasn’t my style, but this display would fuel the town gossip mill for at least a week.

“Because, Dr. Wright can’t get over the fact that we had a one night stand and he’s doing everything in his power to drive me out of JRMC and probably the town too.” She glared at me, accusation heavy in her gaze.

It wasn’t true, but I felt all eyes in The Outpost settle on me. My skin heated and my pulse raced.

So much for keeping a low profile.

Zola

~ 6 months ago

The last time I was in Colorado, I was a scrawny teenager with braces attending a film festival with my sort-of famous parents. There were beautiful, well-dressed people all around, and every few feet there were men with cameras. Everywhere. It had been an uncomfortable experience that had only served to wreak havoc on my self-esteem, especially when some of those photos made it into celebrity gossip rags where it was acceptable journalism to critique a teenager’s physical appearance just for fun.

Now I was back, but I was no longer a teenager, scrawny or otherwise, and there was not a camera in sight. Thank goodness for small favors. This time, I was a grown woman with a figure flattering wardrobe and a head filled with medical information as I prepared to meet my colleagues from around the country, all of them specializing in some type of cardiology. It was a nerd girl’s dream come true, seventy-two hours of talking medicine and research and cutting edge technology. And if my boss at Birmingham University Hospital was to be believed, a fair bit of drinking. And fraternizing.

I wasn’t here for that, but I wasn’t opposed to it either. There were plenty of handsome single doctors in attendance, and if any of them happened to be witty with a killer smile, then I would be on board for a little bit of nocturnal fun.