Chasing Air
New Release October 21, 2013
Here's the blurb:
Accidentally marrying into the mob, Dr. Judith Bellonte Donati
staged her death with the help of the FBI before the hired hit-man could finish
the job. With a new name as Dr. Makenzie Holder and a new life, she struggles
daily with the loss of connection with her family and the constant lurking of
old ghosts from her past.
Gorgeous millionaire developer, Jonathan Bain offers her
everything she wants in the way family, but his demanding demeanor is a
reminder of the life she left behind.
Can Makenzie overlook her jaded past and give Jonathan a
chance at redemption or will a chance encounter in the ER with Detective Ryler
Buchanan bring about the love for a lifetime?
Chasing Air: A hot romance with a side of turbulence!
The Book Trailer
CHAPTER ONE
“Mmm,
hello, Dr. Holder speaking.” Makenzie spoke in a sleep deprived fog because of
a busy night in the ER. She finally had a chance during a calm spell to go lie
down for a few minutes and had drifted off quickly. Sleep had been a luxury the
past week while she worked double shifts to cover for a colleague on vacation.
“Doc,
Metro is rolling this way in full trauma code with a kid shot in the chest.
I’ve notified the trauma team.” Veronica’s normally calm manner was full of
anxiety.
“Thanks,
Veronica. Please let Dr. Trynn know. He’ll be pissy when you wake him up because
he just left an hour or so ago, but he’ll get over it.” She quickly hung up the
phone, grabbed her hairbrush and pulled her hair into a ponytail.
The
night had finally quieted down in this busy little hospital just north of
Dallas. Accepting the position over nine months ago, she thought that the small
size and location of the facility might make for less activity so she opted for
the night shift, hoping for a little trauma excitement from time to time, but having
no idea it was going to be all night
excitement almost every night. But truthfully, she loved it.
When
she approached the trauma room, Makenzie hadn’t expected the scene that faced
her. The paramedics unloaded a young female patient, a victim of a drive by
shooting on the freeway.
“Doc,
large caliber gunshot wound to the upper left chest. She hasn’t breathed on her
own since we arrived on scene,” the paramedic said. He continued to give
Makenzie the report while they moved the girl to the trauma bed. Makenzie
looked at the girl and her heart caught. Blonde hair, creamy skin and clear
blue eyes was surrounded by medical equipment. So young and innocent,
practically angelic.
“We
coded her twice on the way in,” the paramedic continued to report.
The
team worked with the girl for quite some time trying to stabilize her enough
for surgery.
“Can
I help you,” Veronica asked the woman.
“Yes,
my daughter. She’s here somewhere.”
“Ma’am,
who’s your daughter?”
“I
don’t know where she is.”
“Yes,
I see. What’s your daughter’s name? Maybe I can help.” Veronica held the
woman’s hand in an effort to console her.
“Serena.
Serena Turner. Is she here?”
“Yes
ma’am, come with me. Dr. Holder will talk to you in a few minutes.”
Once
Serena was stabilized, the team took her up to surgery, leaving Makenzie to finish
up the paperwork. She stood in the trauma room making notes from the monitor
strips. Deep in thought, she didn’t realize that someone was standing in the
room.
“Are
you Dr. Holder?” the gentleman asked.
Makenzie
turned
aroundto
find a man and woman staring at her. “Yes, I am. How can I help you?”
“Serena
is our daughter. Can you tell us how she is? They asked us to sign papers for
surgery, but we want to know how she really is.”
Somehow in the midst of everything, the
parents wandered out of the private family waiting room and found Serena’s
trauma room without being noticed. They were completely unaware that they were walking
into a bloody and cluttered trauma room.
“I
can understand that you both have a million questions and I...,” she tried to
find her compassion through her anger at such a horrible act, but she was
rudely cut off.
“Mr.
and Mrs. Turner, I need to ask you a few questions about the car that carried
the people doing the shooting,” he rudely interrupted Makenzie as she spoke to
them about their daughter’s life, barely hanging in the balance.
“Please
excuse us just one moment,” Makenzie uttered under her breath as she squeezed
the mother’s hands. She turned to the officer and grabbed him by the shoulder.
“Officer,
please come with me.” She escorted him and his partner to a tiny private room
behind the admissions desk. The room was tight even for one person, three
people made it more than uncomfortable.
Makenzie
slammed the door and spoke in a low, but very controlled, angry tone. “The next
time you interrupt me with my patient or a family, you’ll need to seek
treatment for yourself. They’re more than likely going to say good-bye to their
daughter tonight. Any questions you have for them are less important at the
moment. My ER, my rules. And stay out of the way of patient care. Are we
clear?”
Ryler
noticed everything about her. She stood with her hands on her hips, her chest
protruding forward and fire blazing from her dark eyes, aimed right at him.
Even with her svelte frame, she postured towards him like a linebacker ready to
rumble.
“Whoa
Rye, looks like there’s a new sheriff in town and she has your number,”
Detective Christopher Maxwell teased his partner, but then quickly lost his
smile when Makenzie cut her eyes at him and he realized she wasn’t playing.
“Excuse
me, there’s no room for humor here,” Makenzie barked.
“Chris,
shut up. I’m truly sorry, Dr. Holder. We’re just trying to get an adequate
description of the car. We have varying accounts from witnesses and I need a
clear understanding of the car and shooter.” He stopped to raise his hands in
an act of surrender. “It won’t happen again. And, it’s ‘detective.’ Detective
Ryler Buchanan and my partner, Detective Chris Maxwell.”
He
softly smiled as he extended his hand to Makenzie. She wanted nothing to do
with him however, and quickly turned her back to him so that she could exit the
tiny room. When she moved, she felt his breath close to her neck, causing her
senses to alert. She got a whiff of his clean, masculine scent. It was more
than she wanted to think about at that very moment.
Makenzie
shook her head and left the room without looking at or speaking to the detectives
again. She joined the family of the young girl, completely dismissing Ryler and
his partner.
“Wow,
Rye, she’s a total babe. Did you see the way she looked at you? That gal is
smokin’ hot and she obviously works out. I bet she could kick your ass.”
Ryler
used his elbow to nudge his partner, who was enjoying a laugh at his expense. “Dude,
cut it out. She was right, we were outta line. Shit. I’ll be lucky if the
family doesn’t report me to the department.” He paused, showing remorse for his
actions. He pulled out a chair and removed his suit jacket. “Grab some coffee.
I have a feeling it’s gonna be a long night.”
They
helped themselves to stale coffee from the break room and continued working the
case.
Dr.
Horton returned to the family upstairs, waiting outside the surgery department.
She found them huddled together and praying silently, awaiting any news of the
young girl, Serena. When she approached them, Mrs. Turner stood and rushed her,
anxiously anticipating her words. Her face wet with tears. Her eyes swollen.
Quiet sobs came from the crowd that had now gathered to support this precious
family.
“Mr.
and Mrs. Turner, I don’t have any news at the moment. I just came to check on
you both and ask if there was anything that I could do for you or get you while
you wait. It may be awhile, would you like some coffee? Can I call someone for
you?”
The
parents nodded, their faces wrought with fear. Mrs. Turner gripped the Bible in
her hands. Mr. Turner had his arm tightly around his wife’s waist, supporting
her small frame.
Makenzie
phoned the nurses in the ER, letting them know her location should they need
her. She also inquired about the rude detectives and confirmed that they were
still perched in her temporary office.
Just great, I’d like to go rest, but my lounge
is occupied by Detective Knowitall, she thought to herself.
She
decided to remain with the family, avoiding the detectives and their inquiring
minds.
Why is it that police officers are always so
sexy? she thought to herself. She shook her head, trying to rid
herself of such thoughts. Those two were both gorgeous, but they reeked of
trouble and the last thing she needed was a detective nosing around in her
business. There were too many skeletons to keep hidden. But Detective
Buchanan’s breath on her skin, his scent... itstirred
something in her.
After
several hours, Dr. Trynn came out to speak with the family. “Sweet Serena is
holding on at the moment,” he said.
He
didn’t make any unreal promises to them, but the next twenty-four hours would
be telling. “Give the nurses a few minutes to get her settled, then you both
should go in together to see her.” He hugged the parents in an act of
compassion. He turned, “Dr. Holder, can you join me in a walk to the ER?”
“Sure,
Dr. Trynn.”
“Makenzie,
you’re settling well in the ER. The teams love you and have given you a great
deal of praise over the last nine months. The board met recently and decided
that we would like to make you an offer of Chief of Emergency Medicine. I was
saving this conversation for Monday’s staff meeting, but since we’re both
awake, we might as well discuss it, if you have the time?”
Makenzie
looked up at Dr. Trynn and smiled. Finally,
a Chief position and a place to call her own. No more temporary doctoring.
“Phillip, I’m thrilled. It’s an amazing offer and I’d love to accept.” She
shook his hand and started to walk away.
“Makenzie,
there are a couple of things that I need to clear up, maybe you can answer a few
questions I have for you. And don’t you have some questions for me?” His tone
made her stop dead in her tracks. Questions? What questions would he have? The
thought of him having questions made her heart race and her breath quicken.
Geez, it was amazing that she could start sweating so quickly.
“Sure,
I have a question. When will I see my million-dollar pay raise?” she asked in a
tease. Her intent was to divert his questions if she could.
“Well,
I can’t say that there’s a million-dollar package,” he smiled humbly, “but you’ll
see an increase in your salary for sure. Your schedule will change as well with
most weekends off, one of the luxuries of being the Chief ER Physician. I’ll
have Lola in administration contact you regarding your faculty headshot. But I’m
most curious about your resume’.” He paused and raised an eyebrow to Makenzie. “You
were Chief Surgery Resident and had a successful Surgery Fellowship at
Columbia. Why are you not exploring your obvious talents?”
Makenzie
took a deep breath and paused to construct a convincing answer. “Phillip,
things have happened in my life that triggered a desire to work in the ER. I
love what I do and I get to set the patients up for a great surgeon like
yourself. Besides, I get to work my shift and go home. I love truly being able
to treat patients, not being on call and dealing with all the healthcare reform
stuff.” She smiled and walked away, back to her private quarters in the ER.
Makenzie
realized that she wouldn’t be able to keep curious minds away forever. Lead ER
Physician was a great position, but it meant that they would put her picture
and information on the hospital website. This meant unprotected exposure.
“Shit, how do I get out of this one,” she mumbled to herself aloud.
After
a few minutes of thought, she began to doubt her decision to accept. A great
opportunity offered an even greater risk. Her shift would end soon and she
decided to mull over the idea with a hot bath when she got home.
Her
thoughts about the hot bath interrupted by someone opening her door. “Sorry to
bother you, Mak, but can you please come speak with the detectives so they will
get away from my desk?” Veronica asked with a prickly attitude. For a charge
nurse, she was usually very restrained, but the detectives must’ve gotten on
her nerves and too much in her way.
“Sure
Veronica, I’m right behind you.” Mak walked to the control desk and found
herself face to face with the sexy law
man.
“Officer,
hmm, sorry, Detective Buchanan, the patient made it through surgery, but she’s barely
hanging on by life support. She’s in ICU and her parents are with her now.”
Taking a note pad from the counter, she scribbled a phone number down and
handed it to Detective Chris Maxwell, avoiding contact with Ryler completely.
“If you call the ICU desk, they’ll ask if the family wants to speak with you.
Is there anything else that I can do for you?” Makenzie made eye contact with
Veronica, then David, one of the other nurses on duty sitting just to her right
behind the desk. She could tell by Veronica’s demeanor that she had something
to say and was patiently waiting her turn.
“No
ma’am. We’ve pieced together a description of the car and shooter. There was
another incident on Central Expressway just moments ago. Fortunately, no one
was injured at that scene. We need to move on our end, but if you hear anything
about Serena, please call us.” Ryler spoke softly and she appreciated the
change in his demeanor. She noticed his bright blue eyes twinkled when he
looked at her.
Ryler
handed Makenzie his business card. He noticed that she studied the card, while
he took a good long look at her. His curiosity about her peaked, but he chose
to walk away quietly.
When
the officers were clearly safely beyond hearing range, Makenzie turned to
Veronica and David, but she was verbally accosted before she was able to speak.
“Whew,
that man has the hots for you, Mak. I know for a fact that he’s single. Um, hmm,
single and gorgeous.” Veronica snickered as she picked up a chart.
“You
called me back down here so that he could see me again, didn’t you?” Makenzie
asked her with bantering tone.
Veronica
didn’t answer, she simply snickered.
David
motioned for her to come close. “Mak, Ryler is a good guy. He’s had a hard life
and sometimes he gets pushy trying to do his job, but he’s really good at it.
He felt really bad about interrupting you with the Turner family. Don’t judge
him too harshly, give him a chance.”
“Guys,
I just met him. But for the record, I’m not available and not looking to be, so
drop it. I don’t want to hear any more about it, if you don’t mind.” Makenzie
raised her hand to silence the personal exchange. “Now, do you have any
patients for me to see?” She took on a commanding posture.
“Yep,
I’ve got a gentleman who needs stitches in his foot in room five,” David cocked
a grin and handed Makenzie the chart.
“Seriously,
who needs stitches in their foot at not even five o’clock in the morning?”
“Some
dad stepping on his daughter’s tea set in the dark before his morning coffee,”
David uttered under his breath as he accompanied Makenzie into the next room.
They
both tried hard to stifle their laughs.
DeLaine Roberts, Best Selling Author
Chasing Air, Launching October 21, 2013
One lucky commenter will receive an advanced copy eBook of Chasing Air as soon as it's ready at Amazon.
