it enough in the way people spoke to her, like they felt sorry for her.
“Nope. I might have to clear it with the chief of surgery first. I mean, we do have pretty top-notch neurosurgeons at SMFPC.”
Liar.
Yeah, she did have a problem with his arrival. When he hadn’t responded to her emails about being pregnant she’d assumed he’d wanted out.
Emily had been hurt again by a man, but she could raise this baby on her own. She didn’t need help. She didn’t want Ryan back in her life, but it would be best for the patients. He was an excellent surgeon.
“I’ve already cleared it with your chief,” Dr. Ruchi said gently. “I wanted to make sure that I had you on this case. I didn’t want him to pass off my patient to another pediatric surgeon!”
Emily chuckled. “Ana, you know that I’m Head of Pediatrics.”
Ana sighed and then laughed. “Okay, so I wanted to make sure that he’d allow Dr. Gary to practice there too.”
“And it’s okay, I take it?” Emily teased.
“It is. Thank you for doing this, Emily. There’s no one else I trust. Both you and Ryan have done separations and done them successfully, with both twins surviving. I know that you can do this.”
“I know that I can too,” Emily admitted. What she didn’t say was that she wasn’t sure that she could do this with Ryan.
Although he was one of the best at separation surgeries. It was just that part of her wanted to throttle him for not responding to her. She wasn’t sure that was conducive to a good working environment.
It can be if you ignore it. He’s a surgeon, you’re a surgeon. He’s a professional and so are you.
She shook that thought from her head. Her admiration for him, her attraction to his confidence, his charm and his devilishly handsome good looks was what had got her into this mess in the first place.
When she had been with him she hadn’t felt awkward or anxious. It was like his confidence had rubbed off on her. He’d made her feel desirable.
“When will they arrive?” Emily asked.
“I’ve emailed you her chart and all the paperwork. I’m planning on sending them by air ambulance tomorrow, but Dr. Gary will be arriving sooner. He arrived in Portland last night, when I spoke with him about the conjoined twins. He’s taking the helicopter in. He should be there soon. He’s accompanying another pediatric patient with a spinal injury who arrived this morning. Thank goodness he was here.”
Emily glanced at her pager. That was another patient she’d been waiting on.
Great, he was going to be working with her on that case too?
“Okay. Thanks, Ana. I’ll take care of your patient. Just let me know when you think the transport with your patient will be arriving and I’ll meet her.”
“Will do. Thanks, Emily.”
Emily disconnected the call and then groaned, burying her head in her hands.
This can’t be happening.
After the debacle with Robert, when he hadn’t been able to handle her promotion and her acceptance as a pediatric attending, she’d sworn she would never open her heart to a fellow surgeon again. She didn’t want to deal with professional jealousy in her personal life.
It was awful.
For five years she’d managed not to date anyone. She didn’t trust men. Until that conference in Vegas when Ryan had swept her off her feet. She had been a weak fool and he’d been, oh, so charming.
When Ryan hadn’t responded to her messages about the baby she’d mentally kicked herself for falling into that trap again.
It had hurt to know that she’d been used like that, but she’d moved on. She wasn’t going to wallow in self-pity, she had her work and this baby. She was going to make sure that she was a strong role model for her child, even if it scared her senseless to do this on her own.
Now he was on his way here and there was no hiding her pregnancy.
At least with him in Seattle she could finally get him to sign the divorce papers.
You’re a professional, Emily. You’ve got this.
She took a deep, cleansing breath. This would be no different than dealing with the angry, pushy parents who screamed at her staff because their child’s elective surgery had been canceled because a child with traumatic injuries was being rushed to the hospital.
She could deal with those people with grace, decorum and a firm hand, so she could deal with Ryan and his arrogance.
He might be a neurosurgeon, and he was one of the best in the world, but she was a more than competent pediatric surgeon, who had carried out the most successful separations of conjoined twins on the western seaboard.
She could handle Ryan for a short period of time for the sake of a patient.
Can you?
She could deal with patients and their parents because it was her job. When it came to her relationships, things went downhill fast.
Robert had often belittled her near the end of their relationship. He’d made fun of what she lacked. Differences between herself and others she’d fought hard to understand her whole life.
That moment she’d met Ryan in Vegas it had become personal and she wasn’t sure she could handle him. She was afraid he’d see what she lacked.
He’d see her vulnerabilities.
Her pager went off. The air ambulance was coming in.
Her heart did a flip-flop.
Deep breath. You’ve got this.
Emily picked up her pager and placed it in the pocket of her white lab coat. She stood up and stretched. Her baby did a little scramble across her belly and she couldn’t help but smile.
Yeah. She could do this.
She’d faced a lot worse, a lot more adversity, dealing with her mild form of high-functioning Asperger’s, which meant she’d never quite fitted in. But she could handle this.
Slipping her stethoscope around her neck, she left her office and headed straight for the elevator that would take her to the helipad on top of the SMFPC.
“Teal, you’re with me,” she said, speaking to Dr. Amanda Teal, a surgical intern who was hovering around the nurses’ station, working on her charts. “Bring a gurney and meet me on the helipad, stat.”
“Of course, Dr. West.” Teal ran off. The doors to the elevator dinged as they opened and Emily got on, pushing the button and code for the roof. Her nerves were shot. She stepped into the alcove and waited. It was a sunny day, and from her vantage point on
