Resisting The Brooding Heart Surgeon by Tina Beckett features the grumpy vs sunshine trope. More specifically, a nurse who loves Halloween and a brooding cardiothoracic surgeon who is involved in her charity pumpkin contest whether he likes it or not!

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PROLOGUE

Shanna Meadows heard the sound first, before she fully comprehended what it was. Her mom was crying. Loudly. She slowly made her way toward the living room, realizing she was late for school. She hadn’t meant to oversleep, didn’t even remember her mom trying to wake her up.

The legs of the giraffe pajama bottoms she’d gotten last Christmas were still a little too long, and they dragged across the carpet with every step she took as she moved closer and closer to the sound. Maybe she should go back to her room and get dressed. Even if she was late, her mom could still take her to school.

Her dad had told her she needed to help around the house while he was gone, and she’d tried. She’d really tried. But now her mom was sobbing, and she could hear another voice in the room talking to her. A man’s voice.

It wasn’t her dad’s. She was suddenly scared.

She came into the room and saw two men in uniforms, like the ones her dad wore on special occasions. “Ma’am, we want you to know that your husband was a hero. His sacrifice saved the lives of his troop.”

Sacrifice? What did that mean?

Her mom’s eyes suddenly swung her way, spotting her in the doorway. She dabbed at her eyes, which were really red and had a weird expression in them. “G-go back to bed, baby.”

“But I’m late for school. Is something wrong with Dad?”

The two men stood like statues, not saying anything, but one of them glanced at the other.

Her mother closed her eyes for a second before looking at her again, drawing a deep breath as if she, too, was really scared about something. “You’re not going to school today, Shan.”

Not going to school? She always went to school unless she was really sick or there was too much snow on the ground. “But why?”

“Go back to bed, and I’ll come talk to you in a few minutes.”

As she looked into the unsmiling faces of the two men, who hadn’t even said hello to her, Shanna realized something was very wrong. Something more wrong than not getting up in time to catch the school bus. And it had something to do with her dad. With the word sacrifice the men had used.

Suddenly, she wanted to go back to bed. To go back to sleep and wake up all over again. Wake up to the normal sounds of her mother getting breakfast ready and hollering that she needed to hurry.

Wake up to her mother not crying.

A normal day.

But today wasn’t normal. And from the way her mom looked, and the way Shanna was feeling, days weren’t going to feel normal again for a very long time.

If ever.

CHAPTER ONE

Shanna passed the wall commemorating military service at Everly Memorial Hospital and averted her eyes. It was a great acknowledgment of staff members’ service, both current and past, but it tended to jar her every time she saw it. She normally tried to avoid this particular corridor, as it pulled at the cloak of positivity she tended to wear for her patients. For her mom, back when they were both grieving Shanna’s dad’s death. The word sacrifice still had the ability to rock her world, since she’d learned that her dad had found and attempted to defuse a pipe bomb found inside a box of food supplies and had been killed in the process. But he had saved lives that day. She and her mom had gone through some very hard times right after her dad’s death, and her mom had never married again. Shanna didn’t think that would ever change.

She couldn’t blame her. After all, she was pretty wary of relationships, too, after watching her mom descend into a depression so deep that she’d had to be hospitalized after her husband’s death. Shanna had gone to live with her grandmother while her mother received treatment, but the terror of somehow losing her mom, too, had never completely healed. She never wanted to live through a pain like that again.

She hurried down the hallway toward the elevator, away from the prints. She was a little late for work, which was almost unheard of for her, but traffic had been horrible today with an accident bringing the line of cars to a standstill.

Once on her floor, Maura, one of the nurses and a good friend, grinned at her. “I never thought I’d see the day Shanna Meadows was late.”

“Ugh! Traffic was awful. How’s it been today?”

“Actually pretty quiet. You have time to sneak away for a piece of cake for that new doctor we’re getting, if you want. It’s in the break room.”

“Cake?”

Maura laughed. “I thought that might perk you up a bit. You looked a little sad when you got off that elevator.”

She forced her face into a mock scowl. “Just irritated at some of the crazy drivers out there.”

“Go get cake. It’ll make you feel better. And bring me a piece, too, while you’re at it, if you don’t mind.”

Maybe a dose of sugar really would help chase the weird sense of melancholy away. Or at least help her put on a happier face. “I don’t mind a bit. I’ll be back in just a minute or two.”

With that, she pivoted and punched the button to call the elevator she’d just exited. The doors opened immediately. Wow, it really was quiet, if no one else had summoned the thing. She could only hope the day stayed that way.

*

“Dr. Vaughan, welcome to Everly Memorial Hospital.”

The paper plates surrounding a large rectangular cake was evidently something they did for every new staff member, but it seemed weird somehow. He wasn’t used to any kind of fanfare when he’d changed duty stations in the army. It was simply part of what was expected of you.

He smiled at Dan Brian, the hospital administrator, bypassing the cake and opting for a cup of coffee instead. People filed in and out, grabbing slices and murmuring their own words of welcome before heading back out to the floor. Actually, Zeke was anxious to get out there and join their ranks.

A stack of papers next to the coffeepot caught his attention, and he glanced at the Mark Your Calendars heading before perusing the rest of the flyer.

The hospital was evidently hosting a pumpkin-carving party for Halloween sponsored by a local charity as a fundraiser and to help boost community awareness of what Everly had to offer. His brows went up as he saw the words “All staff members are encouraged to attend.” From his experience, “encouraged” was a euphemism for “expected.” The party was planned for the day before Halloween, probably so that people with kids could still participate in their neighborhood activities on the thirty-first.

Great. The event was only two weeks away. He’d hoped to be able to stay low-key until he got a feel for the way the hospital ran. He was pretty sure it was nothing like his last post in Pensacola. Not that he missed it particularly. It held a mixture of memories both good and bad. But at least he’d been able to leave the area where his ex-fiancée still lived. The few times he’d run into her over the last couple of years, the encounters had been awkward. Kristen was now married with a baby. And her husband was definitely not associated with the military.

Yes, he’d been happy to move. Happy to be able to make the decision on his own, with no arguing, no debates, no negotiating. And his sense of relief at finally being able to shake off the shadows of his past was surprisingly strong. He was hoping to convince his parents to relocate from Jacksonville, since there were some wonderful specialists here in the Tampa area. It was part of the reason he’d chosen the city.

Compared with what his dad was going through, having to attend a pumpkin-carving party seemed a pretty minor inconvenience. As long as he didn’t have to carve one himself.

He picked one of the flyers up and folded it, tucking it into the pocket of his lab coat.

Dan evidently saw the move and said, “We hope you’ll join us for that. The kids have an absolute ball at it.”

Zeke smiled. “How could I say no?”

“It’s fun. I promise. Have you gotten settled in your office yet?”

He wasn’t much for Halloween. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it. He’d just never been one for costumes or parties. “Not yet. I was just trying to remember where it was. If you’ll just point me in the right direction…”

Dan started to say something, then the door opened, and a woman entered. Her hair was glossy black and hung straight, sliding like silk over her shoulders. Her eyes met his for a second before skipping past him to look at something on the table.

The cake, probably.

The administrator’s brows went up. “Perfect. Shanna, would you mind coming over here for a minute?”

The woman’s easy smile swung back their way. “Sure thing.” Dark brown eyes met his again. “I take it we have you to thank for these tasty treats.” She held out her hand. “Shanna Meadows. I’m a respiratory therapist and nurse here at Everly.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Zeke Vaughan. Cardiothoracic surgeon. And you all have a way of making a guy feel welcome.”

She laughed. “If that’s all it takes to win you over, then consider every day to be cake day.”

No one could be that cheerful all the time. Or was she merely doing it for Dan’s benefit?

As if hearing his thoughts, the other man smiled. “Shanna is actually in charge of making our Halloween party the successful community outreach endeavor that it’s been over the five years she’s been with us.” He paused and glanced at her. “Have you had cake yet?”

“Nope. That’s what I snuck in here for.” She tossed a lock of hair over her shoulder.

“Can I talk you into getting it to go and have you show Dr. Vaughan to his office and fill him in on the party? I’m meeting with members of the board in a few minutes.”

“Of course.” She bypassed the plates that already had some pre-sliced sections on them and cut her own piece. A chunky one. And then she cut a second slice.

For later?

That made him smile, for some reason. If she was peeved that she was going to have to entertain him for the next fifteen minutes or so, she didn’t show it.

“Ready?” she asked. “Ever been to a costume party before?”

Costumes? Had the brochure mentioned that? “Um…not since elementary school.”

She started to push the door open before stopping and turning toward him, somehow managing to hold both the door and her plates. “You’re kidding, right?”

Okay, so maybe Zeke was the one who should be peeved. But he wasn’t. There was something infectiously happy about Shanna Meadows. Something that made him want to take a minute or two longer to get to his office.

Now that peeved him. There was no way in hell he was going to let his thoughts circle around her. The sooner he shook her off, the better. But he was going to have to do it in a way that didn’t offend her. Because it wasn’t her. It was him.

One side of his mouth twisted up. Wasn’t that a classic breakup line?

“I’m actually not the biggest fan of trick or treat. I’m just never home.”

She finished pushing the door open, holding it for him to pass through. Then, still holding both plates in one hand, she somehow managed to spear a piece of her cake and pop it into her mouth as she approached the elevator. “And when you are home, I bet your porch lights are off.”

“Huh?”

“You know. To make kids think you’re not home.”

When she said it like that, she really did make him feel like some old curmudgeon that ran little kids off his property just for kicks.

“Nope. I don’t.”

He just didn’t answer the door. Not because he was mean. He just…forgot what day it was and normally didn’t have candy in the house.

“Well, that’s good to know.”

They got to the elevator and waited as it ticked down floors, headed in their direction. He nodded at the cake. “Good?”

“The best. Everyone swears by this grocery chain’s sheet cakes, and they are right.” The elevator stopped and they got on.

Yes, he remembered that from his childhood when his dad was stationed at Naval Air Station Jacksonville in northern Florida. When Zeke chose to join the army rather than the navy, his dad wasn’t mad or upset. Instead, they often had verbal skirmishes that ended in laughter. He still missed those jokes and fun times. His dad was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease. He and his mom were still in Jacksonville. It was where his father had loved serving his country. It was one of the reasons he’d chosen to retire from active duty a year ago and become a reservist. So he could spend time with his dad whenever he wanted.

He only realized Shanna had finished her cake and said something to him when the doors to the elevator reopened onto the fourth floor. He waited until she stepped off before following her. “Sorry, I missed that.”

“Any idea what kind of pumpkin you’ll carve?” She dumped her empty plate and fork into a nearby receptacle. “I try to keep track, so we don’t have too many Baby Sharks—as in the children’s song—in the competition.”

“Carve?”

She looked at him like he had two heads. “Do you like to do a traditional jack-o’-lantern? Something elaborate? Spooky?”

“I thought we were just there for moral support while the kids carved them.”

She stopped in front of a door. “Well, we are. But the staff also like to have a lineup of lit pumpkins. Before we help them carve their own. And the kids love going down that lineup and voting for their favorites.”

“Surely in a hospital this big, not everyone participates.”

“No, not everyone. And as for the size, you’re right. Which is why a lot of departments team up to do one, or friends might band together and come up with a design.”

And since Zeke didn’t know anyone here, it was going to be a little hard to just toss his name into a hat and let someone else do all the work. Not that that was his style anyway. “Good to know.”

He would say he would figure something out, but since the party was only two weeks away, it was doubtful that he would be able to devise a plan that would make him look like a team player. And actually Zeke did work pretty damn well in a team. After all, the military had ingrained that in him.

“I could help, if you wanted.” As soon as the words came out, something in her face shifted and he wondered if she wanted to retract them. But despite his earlier thoughts about needing to avoid her, he was willing to jump at anything that was offered. Even if it came from a woman who set his nerves on edge.

“Aren’t you already on a team?”

“I normally don’t carve anything since I’m in charge of the party.” She nodded at the door in front of them. “This is your office.”

He took out a key ring on which he’d slipped the key Dan had given him. He slid the key into the lock and opened the door. “Isn’t that a little hypocritical?”

“Excuse me?” Her head tilted and she fixed him with a narrow-eyed glance.

He’d meant it as a joke, but it had evidently gone off target. “Sorry, I was teasing. I was talking about not carving a pumpkin. And since you don’t carve one, do you have any suggestions of a team I could join?”

She moved inside his office and sat down in one of the chairs, even before he had the light on. He hurriedly switched it on and watched her nose wrinkle as she looked around the small space.

“What?”

“I thought they would have given you the suite that your predecessor had.”

“They offered. I told them I didn’t need anything elaborate.” He went behind his desk and sat in the chair. “I don’t plan on spending the majority of my time here.”

She looked at him for a minute as if he’d surprised her somehow. “I’ll tell you what. If you buy a pumpkin, I’ll help you carve it. I realize it’s short notice on top of everything else you have to get used to.”

“Don’t feel like you have to.” Although, he hoped she would. He certainly didn’t want patients judging his surgical skills by his lack of talent in carving a pumpkin. Doing surgery on a human being was worlds apart from cutting into a pumpkin and hoping it came out as something recognizable.

“I don’t have to do anything. I want to. I need to go see my next patient, so if you have any spare time today, we can get together and discuss some options.”

Options for carving a pumpkin. This hospital took this a little too seriously, in his opinion. Or maybe it wasn’t the hospital that did. Maybe it was the woman in charge of it who did.

Behind that cheerful exterior he thought he’d caught glimpses of a quiet intensity, although he could be mistaken about that. But something about it intrigued him. Was there more to Shanna Meadows than what she showed to the world?

It didn’t matter if there was. He wasn’t here to try to solve puzzles other than the ones his patients presented.

“I actually don’t have any patients scheduled as Dan thought I should just try to get settled in today and then start tackling my job tomorrow. I already have a bypass surgery scheduled.”

“I know. Mr. Landrum. He was admitted this morning. I’m going to assess his breathing and do a treatment on him to try to keep his oxygen levels up until he can get the bypass tomorrow. He’s actually who I was getting ready to go see. I just need to drop this piece of cake off at the nurses’ desk.”

Ah, so it hadn’t been for her.

“Who ordered the treatment?” He wasn’t sure what the protocol was in the civilian world, since he’d been working in military hospitals his entire career.

“Dr. Petrochki, since his last day was yesterday afternoon.”

“There are a few other cardiologists who have hospital privileges, are there not?”

“Yes, but they don’t reside at the hospital.” She smiled, the act making her eyes light up. “And before you ask, no, they don’t have to carve pumpkins. That privilege is reserved for hospital staff. Like you.”

“Lucky me,” he muttered.

She actually laughed at that one. The throaty sound went right through him, as did the way her head tipped back, revealing a long length of neck.

He swallowed, trying to banish the sudden jolt of awareness that went through him. Hell, he hadn’t had that happen in quite a while.

“It’s a pretty popular event,” she said. “Some of the surrounding doctors have been trying to get carving privileges along with their hospital privileges. Anyway, we can talk later, Mr. Landrum is waiting.”

“Mind if I tag along, so I can meet him?”

“I think that might be a good idea, actually, if you’re okay with starting your job today.”

“The sooner the better.” He stood and picked up the lanyard that had been laid on his desk and put it around his neck. “Since I still don’t know where anything is located, can you lead the way?”

“Of course.” With that she got up and slid from the room with a grace that had him scrambling to set himself to rights once again.

He’d been down the path of hospital romance once before. He didn’t want to venture down that road again. Thankfully, Kristen had received an offer from a nearby civilian hospital soon after they broke up and had moved on. To a new life. A new partner. And he wouldn’t have had it any other way. The trick now was to not make the same mistakes he’d made with her. Which meant that any weird vibrations that he got from Shanna Meadows had to be firmly placed in the nearest trash receptacle before they had a chance to take hold and root themselves in his head. And that’s exactly what he was going to do.

*

They dropped off the cake to Maura, who eyed Zeke with speculation when she introduced him to her. Something about that irked her and she wasn’t sure why. As did having the surgeon dog her steps. She knew that it was only natural for him to want to meet the patient he’d be operating on tomorrow, but something about him made her edgy. Something that had nothing to do with the party. She wasn’t sure if it was the short, crisp hair that was slicked back from his head or his ridiculously straight posture, but he reminded her of someone. Someone she liked. She just couldn’t put her finger on who that might be. His general apathy toward Halloween and the pumpkin-carving contest—something that she looked forward to every year—should have rubbed her the wrong way. Instead, she’d found it amusing, a challenge, even.

There was no way she wanted anyone at the hospital to think she was showing Everly’s newest doctor any kind of favoritism by helping him. Maura had already raised a brow at her when she saw the new doctor. What would she do if she found out she’d offered to help Zeke?

It really wasn’t fair to expect him to jump into his job and have time left over for something like the Halloween party. There were fourteen pumpkins already slated to be in the contest and Zeke’s would make fifteen, the largest number yet. Dan was certainly happy with the way the party was making a splash in the community at large.

Mr. Landrum’s room was in the cardiac care unit, which was on the same floor as Zeke’s office and would make it easier for the hospital’s resident doctor to do rounds. So before she could dissect her conversation with Zeke too terribly much, they’d arrived at the patient’s room.

She turned back to glance at the surgeon, who’d grown silent behind her. “Ready?”

“Whenever you are.”

With that, she took a deep breath and pushed through the door.

Their patient was lying propped up in bed, a cannula under his nose delivering a much-needed boost in oxygen.

“Good morning, Mr. Landrum. I brought you a visitor.” She tipped her head sideways to nod at Zeke. “This is Dr. Vaughan. He’ll be doing your surgery tomorrow.”

Denny Landrum, at just fifty years old, had a strong wiry frame, but right now he was pale and ill-looking, and no wonder. He’d been working his butt off in his landscaping business, until chest pains had derailed him and driven him to find the reason for it. It was a good thing he had. Because he was almost 100 percent occluded in two major vessels. Once he got the surgery, he should feel like a new man. At least that was the hope.

Zeke stepped forward and pulled out a stethoscope from his jacket pocket. “Nice to meet you. Mind if I have a listen?”

“Go ahead.”

Shanna watched as Zeke went through the examination. She’d seen this done literally hundreds of times before with different doctors, but there was something about how intent Zeke was as he listened to the man’s chest, the furrows between his brows deepening in concentration. His expression made her shiver. To combat the sensation, she crossed her arms over her chest and went through a mental checklist of things she needed to do during the man’s breathing treatment once Zeke was finished.

She kind of hoped he left while she worked, but had a feeling that hope was going to be crushed. Because he seemed like a very hands-on type of physician.

Except when it came to things not involving patients. Like pumpkin-carving parties.

Well, he was going to learn that Everly Memorial took every part of its commitment to patients seriously. And that included mental and emotional care as well, which was where the thought behind the October event had come about: keeping morale of both patients and staff up with a fun activity.

Even though Zeke didn’t seem like he needed anything to help him do that. Although looks could be deceiving. She hardly knew the man well enough to know what went on in his head, or what he was truly committed to, outside of his patients. She swallowed. And not all commitments came with happy, morale-lifting endings. Hadn’t her dad’s commitment to his military career led to his death?

This wasn’t the same thing at all. Zeke’s commitment to his patients wouldn’t do that. Because he was a civilian and not likely to be dragged into a situation that was supposed to be keeping the peace but had ended up painting a target on the back of every man in his unit.

Zeke pulled his stethoscope from his ears and smiled. “Are you ready to feel better?”

“Yes. Whatever it takes. I have a wife and grandchild that are counting on me.” He nodded at the table next to his bed, where a framed picture sat.

The surgeon smiled and went around to pick up the picture, studying it. “Who’s who?”

“That’s my wife on the left, my daughter and my three-year-old granddaughter. They’re living with us right now. She had to…get away…leave a bad relationship.”

Shanna’s heart jolted. She hadn’t known that. And the inference was that the relationship had been something worse than merely not being able to get along. Her fingers tightened around the treatment packet she held in her hand. Shanna knew the type. She’d seen them come through the hospital, periodically. Bruises and breaks that were explained away as accidents.

She couldn’t imagine being a counselor tasked with unraveling the pain of betrayal and helping their patients find the courage to leave the situation. Or help a devastated wife deal with the loss of her husband to a senseless act. But she was thankful for them. Thankful that just such a specialist had helped her mom start looking outward again.

Time to put her mind back on her patient, since Zeke was returning the framed print to the table.

“Well, we’re going to try to make sure you’re there for them.” He glanced at Shanna. “I think we have a breathing treatment that should help to clear out any congestion in your lungs.”

“Shanna has been great. As has Dr. Petrochki. I was kind of hoping he could do my surgery—no offense. But he’s evidently retiring.”

Zeke smiled at him, seemingly unruffled by the fact that the man had basically said he’d rather have his former cardiologist perform his bypass. “He is. And I’d better hope I can live up to Dr. Petrochki’s standards, then, hadn’t I? I’ll do my best not to disappoint you.”

As if realizing how what he’d said sounded, Mr. Landrum was quick to say, “That didn’t come out right, and I’m sorry.”

“It’s completely understandable. Do you have any questions I can help answer?”

He seemed to take a minute to think. “How long do I have to stay in the hospital after the surgery? It’s busy season with lawn care right now. But then again, we’re in Florida where it’s always busy season.”

“I’m thinking we’ll need to keep you about a week. But as far as your business goes, do you have someone who can run it for a bit? You’ll need to take it easy for the next six weeks to allow the grafted vessels to heal.”

“I have a neighbor who’s a landscape architect. He’s going to take on the clients who need to keep to a set schedule. The rest we’re trying to stretch out the times between cuts until I’m back up to speed. I wish the old ticker had given me some advance warning, so I could have planned better.”

Zeke touched his arm. “It did give you advance warning. You were very lucky.”

Mr. Landrum’s face cleared. “I hadn’t really thought about it like that. But I guess you’re right. Thank you.”

The cardiologist glanced at Shanna, who felt kind of shell-shocked. His bedside manner was better than she expected it to be. Dr. Petrochki was a lot gruffer and tended to brush patients’ concerns away. But he was very good at what he did.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Oh…yes.” Feeling his eyes on her, she finished getting everything together and moved toward their patient and started his treatment.

*

Click here to read the rest of Resisting The Brooding Heart Surgeon by Tina Beckett which also features Nurse’s Risk With The Rebel by Karin Baine!

By Lauren Gardiner