Marie Ferrarella - M.D. Most Wanted стр 2.

Having removed her own surgical cap, Alix shook out her short, curly blond hair as she crossed to him. It was at least a granola bar, I hope.

Reese grinned and shook his head. Nope. Chocolate bar. Pure sugar in a sticky wrapper. I think the candy in the vending machine down the hall is melting.

She tended to agree, having hit the machine more than once for an energy surge in the past week. Alix frowned in mock disapproval. Shame on you, Dr. Bendenetti. What kind of an example are you setting for your patients? Youre supposed to know better.

His shrug was careless, loose-limbed. The movement hinted that there was an ache there somewhere, waiting to emerge and make him uncomfortable. He needed a new mattress, he thought. And the time in which to purchase it.

But first things first. Know where I can get a reliable alarm clock?

Alix smiled to herself. She knew of several women on staff at the hospital, including two physicians, who would have been more than happy to volunteer to wake Reese up personally, any hour of the day or night. So long as they could occupy the space beside him in the bed right before then.

There was no denying it, Alix thought, looking at her friend with an impartial eye. Reese Bendenetti was one desirable hunk, made more so by the fact that he seemed to be completely unaware of his own attributes. To her knowledge, he rarely socialized. When he did, it was to catch a beer or take a cup of coffee with a group from the hospital. Never one-on-one, except with her, and theirs was a purely platonic friendship. They had a history together, going back to medical school. Hed known her when she was still married to Jeff. Before the boating accident that had taken him away from her.

Alix knew firsthand what a solid friend Reese could be. It seemed to her that it was one of lifes wastes that Reese didnt have anyone in his life who could truly appreciate the kind of man he was.

Sometimes, she mused, dedication could be too much of a good thing.

But there was still time. Reese was young. And you never knew what life had in store for you just around the next corner.

Is that what happened this morning? she asked as they walked out of the room connecting two of the operating rooms. He raised a brow at her question. I happened to see you peeling into the parking lot.

Reese smiled ruefully. Driving too fast was a vice of his, and he was trying very hard to curb it.

But this morning thered been a reason to squeeze through yellow lights that were about to turn red. He absolutely hated being late for anything, most

of all his work at the hospital.

My alarm suddenly decided to turn mute, he confessed. I woke up fifteen minutes before I was supposed to be here.

Shed been to his apartment on several occasions and knew he lived more than fifteen minutes away from Blair Memorial.

You can really fly when you want to, cant you? His stomach growled again. Rotating her shoulders, Alix smiled. Join me in the cafeteria if you feel like it. Im having a late breakfast myself. Julie was up all night, cutting a tooth to the sound of the Irish Rovers singing Danny Boy. Shed played the CD over and over again in hopes of putting Julie to sleep. As it was shed spent half the night pacing the floor with the eighteen-month-old. In the meantime Ill see if I can scrounge up a rooster for you.

You do that. But instead of following her, Reese began heading down the corridor toward the back of the hospital. Ill see you downstairs in a few minutes, he promised. Therere some people in the E.R. waiting room I have to talk to first.

She nodded. There was protocol to follow. She knew how that was.

Her own stint on the other side of the operating arena had been a negative experience. Reese had been there with her, to hold her hand when the surgeon told her that everything humanly possible had been done, but that Jeff had still expired. Expired. As if hed been a coupon that hadnt been redeemed in time, or a drivers license that had been allowed to lapse. Each time shed had to face a grieving family sincewhich mercifully was not oftenshe remembered her own feelings and tempered her words accordingly. Neither she nor Reese believed in distancing themselves from their patients. Thats what made them such good friends.

Ill save a bran muffin for you, she called out to Reese.

He made a face. Bran muffins were just about the only things he didnt care for. Knowing that, Alix laughed as she disappeared.

Reese continued down the hall to the emergency waiting room area. This was the part he liked best. Coming out and giving the waiting family good news instead of iffy phrases. Tomas Morales had been to his office late last week. Choosing his words carefully, Reese had cautioned the man that playing the waiting game with his condition was not advisable. Morales hadnt wanted to go under the knife, and while Reese understood the mans fear, he also understood the consequences of waiting and had wanted to make the man painfully aware of them.

Painful being the key word here, he thought, because Morales had been in agony when he was brought into the hospital. His oldest daughter, Jennifer, and his wife had driven him to the emergency room.