Grumpy Doctor’s Holiday Twins (Forbidden Doctors #17)

5. Melody

5

MELODY

I walked toward Ethan's temporary office as slowly as I could. My first week under my belt and I hadn't had to interact with him once, but it was D-day. We had to decide on the designs for the entire pediatric ward and make a plan for the float. When Mindy emailed us both and I responded but Ethan hadn't, I knew I'd be facing a challenge. John told me Ethan seemed out of sorts, and I was seeing that firsthand.

I approached the outer office area where his secretary sat behind her desk wearing a bright green Christmas sweater and antlers on her head, typing away at her keyboard. I was supposed to meet with him, but I got a message earlier today from her that said he was canceling on account of a personal issue. But I couldn’t do this alone, so I came a few minutes early to see if I could squeeze in even five minutes of his time. I knew he was avoiding me, but we both had to do our jobs and face this at some point.

"Hi, I have a four o'clock with Dr. Sinclair." I pointed at the schedule book in front of her that had my name scrawled under the four o'clock time slot. It said nothing about a personal issue, nor had it been crossed off.

"Oh, yeah. Melody Winters. He said to send you an email to cancel. Didn't you get it?" The bubbly blonde smacked her gum and shook her head purposefully so her reindeer antlers on her head would bobble. It was cute, but I wasn't easily distracted like a child.

"No, I didn't," I lied, "and I'm missing patients for this, so tell him I need at least five minutes." I held a hand up to my mouth and spoke to her in a conspiratorial way as if I had a major secret and said, "It's for Christmas." With an added wink, she was already calling him on the intercom.

People in this town were so easily manipulated and predictable. The mere mention of the holiday had her doing exactly what I wanted. With a name like Mistletoe Springs, however, what else could you expect? The founding fathers probably had Christmas trees in their houses year round, with Yule logs burning once a month.

"Thanks," I told her. "I'll wait over here." I pointed at the chairs stationed just outside his office doors, and she nodded at me with a smile as she started telling him I was here.

With Thanksgiving this week and next weekend being the deadline for decorations, we had a lot to do. Not to mention the toy drive that was supposed to already be set up, collecting gifts for sick kids who got admitted during this time. The responsibilities should have belonged to someone who had been here longer, but I inherited them.

I didn't mind so much. As I sat down, I thought about how my own Christmas spirit had taken a hit over the years. Without Mom around, it was difficult to be in the mood. She was the one who made it so special, and without her, all of our regular traditions faded out.

Dad didn't have his own place, and it was too far for John to come just to decorate a tree. We had a tabletop tree so the toddlers wouldn’t mess with it and get hurt. And gingerbread day was off the cards now that my littles were always underfoot. Maybe we could attempt it if John spent the day with us, but Dad with his wheelchair had a hard time corralling them. Especially when I was using the oven. It wasn't like I could just shove them in a playpen anymore. They were too big for that now.

"Hey, Melody, right?" I looked up from my hands that were folded neatly in my lap and saw Dr. Hart approaching. His blond hair was neatly coiffed to one side and slicked back. He had a very dapper tan sweater and dark brown corduroy slacks, the very picture of style and class. It almost took my breath away when he sat next to me.

"Hey, Dr. Hart." I angled my body more to face him, and he waved me off with one hand.

"Call me Lucas. My patients call me Dr. Hart, and I get sick of hearing that all day." His smile was dazzling, perfectly white, straight teeth. This man would look amazing on the cover of Gentleman's Quarterly . And he smelled good too, like pine and honey.

"Lucas." I chuckled. "I understand that. I get called Nurse Mel all the time, and it's such a relief to get home and hear my kids scream, 'Mommy!'"

He didn't even shy away when he heard I had children, which was a bonus, but I knew I was setting myself up for disappointment by even being interested or attracted to him. My life was filled with diaper changes and sippy cups, and now the hospital responsibilities threatened to overwhelm any time I got with my own kids this holiday season.

"What brings you by here?" he asked and glanced up at the name placard on the door behind us. It still didn't read Ethan's name, but with his position being so temporary, I figured John wouldn't even bother.

"I'm here to talk to Dr. Sinclair about the Christmas decorations for the ward, and the toy drive too. We're both in charge of it." The weight of that responsibility alone was daunting, but the float, and then add to that all the festivities in town. December was promising to be a whirlwind.

"Oh, I think some holiday spirit is in order! It would be amazing to have a tree in every hallway and wreaths on every door. We could make ornaments with the kids who were well enough and hang them on the trees." Lucas smiled and bobbed his head in agreement to his own ideas as he clasped his hands around one knee. I could see the flicker of excitement in his eyes. This man loved Christmas a lot.

"That's a great idea. You know, I’ll tell Dr. Sinclair about that. I think the kids would really love it." My heart felt drawn to him and happy in his presence. Dad and I had been so depressed and full of grief for so long, I felt good to be around someone so full of joy for the holidays.

"Yeah, and man, if you need any more good ideas, I have tons of them."

"Yeah, okay… I'd like that." The more he spoke, the happier I felt. My hometown didn't quite feel like home without Mom, but even the newcomer was in the spirit. I could take a lesson from him.

"You know, I feel like we really click. I'd like to get to know you better. Would you want to have lunch with me?" he asked, and I felt my body grow warmer. It was a sweet thought, but I didn't have time. And my heart still felt beat up after running into Ethan. I needed more time.

"You know, I'm just moving back and I still have a lot of unpacking to do. Plus all the responsibilities for the holidays. I just don't have time. Maybe after the first of the year, we can see how things are going?" It was all I could offer, and I felt stiff offering that. As much as my body was attracted to him, my heart wasn't ready. I'd be a fool to lead him on.

"I have ten minutes," I heard, and it startled me. I turned over my shoulder to see Ethan standing in the doorway of his office with his hand on the knob. He had a stern expression and immediately, the wind was sucked out of my sails.

"I'll let you go. Hey, it was nice chatting," Lucas said as he stood. "Good afternoon, Dr. Sinclair." He waved and then walked away, and I slowly stood and walked past Ethan into his dim office.

There wasn’t a trace of holiday in this room. The blinds were drawn, only the single lamp on his desk lit. It felt like the ghost of Christmas past had come to visit and left him in mourning like me. Even the house plants were drooping, and I thought they were plastic.

"I thought I had my secretary cancel." He sounded grumpy and cold, and his expression matched his tone as he hovered by the door and didn’t even bother to sit at his desk. John was right. It was bad. I felt sad for him.

"I know, but we're in charge of this and I can't really do it alone." I took a deep breath and said, "I think we could have a tree in every hallway, maybe ornaments to represent our current patients. Lucas suggested we?—"

"Whatever you choose is fine. I'll give you cash." Ethan finally loosed his hold on the doorknob and walked past me and sat down at the desk. The light cast long shadows over his face, and I hardly recognized him. I felt like it was more than just lacking Christmas spirit. He was hurting and angry.

"Ethan, I know things are awkward and tense between us, but we have to do this. It's just a job. We'll work together as professionals, and then you'll go on your way to Egypt or wherever you're headed. We can do this." I wanted to flip on the lights, but it was his office. I figured he'd be grumpy with me then and not just grumpy in general.

"I said, I'll give you whatever you want. We should hire a fluffing company, have them decorate everything and then put up flyers and bins for the toys." He looked down as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket and started counting bills that looked like hundreds. I knew he had cash to spare. He came from money and used it like a tool to get what he wanted, and it appeared he wanted me to leave.

"I think we should be involved. You know, give the staff some hope…?" I stepped closer, and he sighed hard. This wasn’t going to be easy.

"I'll pay you, then. You show the staff the Christmas cheer and get the work done. How much, two hundred an hour?" His gaze met mine, and I looked him in the eye. This wasn't my Ethan, not the one I fell in love with. Something had happened to change him.

"At least just listen to my ideas." My bottom lip quivered, and I felt it. He had to have seen it. It happened every time I was about to cry, and I hated that I had a tell.

"Fine," he grumbled and folded his wallet shut.

I told him about the trees and the wreaths. Both of those ideas were mine, but the part about kids making ornaments was all Lucas, and I made sure to let Ethan know it was his idea. I just wanted to feel that magic again, of Christmas and belonging and charity. But Ethan sat stoically and said nothing. When I was finished, he grunted.

"Fine, yeah. Whatever. Just do it and I'll pay you."

I could see this wasn't just his being a holiday Grinch. This was personal. He was angry with me. I knew him well enough to know that until I got to the bottom of why he was so upset, he would continue acting like this, but I didn't dare confront him.

It broke my heart to see him so discouraged. "Ethan, I'll accept that you don't want to do this and I'll take your money, but I get to make all the decisions, then. You can't complain about how I spend it." The hospital had a budget, but his funds would go a long way to help make this a merrier Christmas, and if I worked it out correctly, I might even be able to corner him into helping me.

"Just tell me how much it is. You're free to go now." He waved me off and turned toward his computer, but I felt a giddy grin coming on. Somehow, I was going to convince this man to remember all the things he loved about this season, even if that didn't include me. And when he left Mistletoe Springs, he'd take a bit of the holiday cheer with him.