I thought doing clinical rotations would be exciting and fun, but when I was stuck with uneventful patients for hours at a time, I couldn’t help but wish I were somewhere else.

“Hello, Mrs. Pateo.” I came in with the chart in hand.

“It’s Patelo,” she corrected.

Whatever.

“It’s really not that hard to remember.” She gave me an agitated look.

I positioned my stethoscope and started to examine her, avoiding eye contact.

“You doctors are all the same.” She shook her head slightly. “You couldn’t care less about my well-being. All you care about is your paycheck.” She sighed. “I need to move to Norway.”

Seriously, why couldn’t they give me a better patient? She had the worst attitude in the world. “What’s in Norway?” It was the best way to change the subject.

“Better healthcare for older people. Free education for students. And it’s less crowded.”

“Then maybe you should leave San Diego if the traffic bothers you so much.”

She gave me a dark look.

I listened for the air in her stomach then moved my stethoscope to her back.

“You look awfully young to be a doctor.”

I got this all the time. “I’m a medical student. I said that already.”

“If you aren’t a real doctor, you should be a little nicer to me.”

“I am nice.” My jaw was clenched.

She lay back against the bed and stared me down.

Mrs. Patelo was an immigrant from Chile. I only knew that because it said it on her chart. She had dark skin and brown hair. Her eyes were mocha brown.

I checked her IV pole then ordered a few medications.

“What are you writing?”

God, she was annoying. “Notes for the nurse.”

She sighed then kept watching me.

“I’ll be back in an hour. Let the nurse know if you need anything.” I hated patient care. I really needed to go into radiology or surgery so I could avoid people. I had a horrible bedside manner, and the patients didn’t warm up to me.

“Why can’t you get me anything?”

I held back my annoyance. “I can. But the nurse is around more often. Just a press of a button and she’ll be here in a second.”

“My nurse is a male.”

Whatever. Same difference if you ask me.

“Can you read to me?”

Read? Did I look like a babysitter? “I’m sorry, Mrs. Patelo. I’m very busy.”

“Just a few pages.” She grabbed a book from her nightstand and handed it to me.

“I have other patients.”

“I thought you were a medical student? Don’t you just have one?” She raised an eyebrow.

How did she know that? She’d been in this very room for months, so she probably knew how everything worked. “I have paperwork.” Actually, I was going to the doctor’s lounge so I could watch TV and play on my phone. If I was going to be here for twelve hours, I needed to pace myself.

She returned the book to her nightstand. “It’s hard being stuck here. The doctors have diagnosed me but they can’t fix me. I don’t have a lot of family to visit me. The TV only gets basic cable…. It would be nice to have someone read to me.”

She wasn’t going to guilt me into anything. “I’ll be back in an hour.” I walked out without turning back. After I handed the chart to the nurse, I headed for the silence of the doctor’s lounge.

CHAPTER FOUR

Alaska

Payton was dunking her chips into the salsa then shoving them down her throat. She double dipped without blinking an eye. Rick, Jace’s brother, eyed her, the annoyance clear on his face.

My sister was constantly embarrassing me. “Payton, knock it off.”

She rolled her eyes. “You know, there are probably more germs on your silverware than there are in my mouth?”

“Why do I doubt that?” Jace said quietly.

She stuck her tongue out at him and kept eating.

Jace rested his arm over the back of my chair, but his arm didn’t touch my neck. “How was the game yesterday?” I knew he was speaking to his brother.

“Fine.” He shrugged. “We lost.”

“Shocking,” Jace teased.

“Shut the hell up, pussy.” Rick sipped his soda then looked out the window.

“He’s a firefighter,” I snapped. “It’s impossible for him to be a pussy.”

“You obviously don’t know him very well.” Rick continued to avoid our gaze.

The waitress came over and took our order. She was wearing a black skirt with her white blouse tucked in. Everything was skin-tight. Her breasts were noticeable and curvy. Even I noticed them.

When I glanced at Jace, I caught him making eyes at her. Rick was just as interested.

“I’ll have the burrito supreme,” I said.

“Nachos.” Payton handed the menu over.

“Carnitas.” Rick kept staring at her chest.

We turned to Jace, waiting for him to order.

When he realized all eyes were on him, he snapped out of his moment. “Um, sorry.” He glanced at her chest again then looked down at the menu. “Quesadilla.”

She kept her pen pressed to her paper. “What kind?”

“Uh, chicken.” He handed the menu over then finally looked away.

“Coming right up.” She gathered the menus then walked away.

Payton rolled her eyes. “She wasn’t even that pretty. Get a grip.”

Jace said nothing and neither did Rick.

I was a little hurt he was so infatuated with our waitress, but I guess it was a stupid thing to be upset about. I’d be an idiot to believe he didn’t check out other women.

“It’s one thing to check out other women when you’re alone, but when you’re girlfriend is there?” Payton was clearly annoyed. “Not cool, man.”

“I wasn’t checking her out.” The anger was in his voice.

“Lying just makes it worse.” Payton glared at him.

I didn’t want this to escalate into a fight. “Payton, knock it off.”

She shot me a deadly look. “You’re just going to settle for this?”

“Seriously, knock it off.” My look told her I meant business.

“Fine.” She moped in silence.

The silence stretched until the waitress returned with our food. This time, Jace didn’t look at her once. He kept his eyes glued out the window.

At least he didn’t do it again.

Rick, on the other hand, gawked.

When she was gone, Payton glared at him.

“I’m single,” he snapped. “I can look at whoever I want.”

We ate quietly. Jace rested his elbows on the table and ate like a bear, very typical. I picked at my food but didn’t eat much. The anxiety was pooling in my stomach. Why did I care if he checked out another girl? What was the big deal? It wasn’t like I was immune to the charms of other men.

When we were done, Rick looked at his brother. “You want to get booze from the bar?”

“That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.” He threw his napkin down and walked away with his brother.

Payton had that annoyed look on her face.

“What?” I asked.

“He didn’t even ask if you wanted anything. Rude.”

“He probably just wanted to get away from you.” I knew I wanted to.

“If he doesn’t like it when I call him out on his shit, then he shouldn’t do it to begin with.”

My younger sister could be feisty and bossy. But I knew it came from a good place. “All guys check out other girls.”

“You couldn’t see his face. I could.” Her lips were pressed together in a scowl. “It was like he’s never seen a rack before. You put out, right?”

I answered her question with a glare.

“I don’t know about him anymore. I used to like him but…he’s been different.”

“Different?” I asked.

“Yeah. He used to be all over you and now he hardly touches you. You guys used to come out all the time, but now you stay home more than not.”

“He works long hours and for days at a time.”

“You used to sneak to the firehouse and fuck his brains out,” she snapped. “What happened to all of that?”

“He doesn’t want to get in trouble. He wants to be the chief someday.”