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A waving arm drew their attention to a table near the front of the stage. Payton made out Jean’s red hair. Next to her sat Doris and Robin. Luke led the way, making a passage for China. Payton followed behind. He couldn’t help but notice the gentle sway of the fabric over her high rounded behind. She had nice curves that the scrubs had kept hidden.
Payton tore his thoughts away from China and concentrated on making his way to the table. Doris, Jean and Robin had large smiles of welcome on their faces as they reached them. He shouted, “Hello,” over the din of music and melee and took the last available chair, which put him between Robin and China. Robin scooted closer.
Jean leaned over the table and spoke to China. “Thanks for coming. I didn’t think you would. I know how you feel about these places.”
Payton looked at China. She had a smile on her face but it didn’t reach her eyes. Why didn’t she usually come with them?
“Yeah, I was real surprised when she called me for a ride,” Luke announced proudly, looping his arm across the back of China’s chair. His possessive action made Payton tense.
The waitress came by and took their orders. Payton noticed that China ordered a cola, not alcohol.
He leaned in her direction to be heard. A sweet scent that suited her tickled his nostrils. Something floral. “You’ve never been here before?”
She turned toward him, which brought her lips within kissing distance. Her eyes grew wide and she stared at him. “No.”
“Hey, who’s going first?” Luke asked. His hand touched China’s shoulder and she sat forward.
“First?” Payton asked.
“Yeah, to sing.” Jean grinned.
“I’ll do it if you’ll sing with me,” Robin said, looking at Luke.
“Let’s go do it,” he agreed, grabbing Robin’s hand.
Minutes later they were on stage, crooning to a 1960s song from the karaoke machine.
Payton couldn’t resist smiling at the horrible theatrics. He glanced at China. She had relaxed and eagerly clapped when they were finished. He wasn’t sure if it was to be supportive or from relief that they had finished.
Luke and Robin returned to the table to a round of applause. As the night progressed others took their turn on stage. Payton found he was glad he’d come. This was as foreign to him as a visit to the moon would be, and he loved it. There was a freedom to laughing and enjoying himself without worrying about others’ expectations. Close to eleven, Payton decided it was time to call it an evening and told everyone at the table.
“Oh, no, you don’t. You haven’t sung yet,” Jean said.
“Yeah, everyone has to sing,” Luke added.
“Come on,” Robin joined in.
“I don’t think …” Payton looked around the table. They all gave him earnest looks not to back down.
“We’ve all taken our turns at embarrassing ourselves, so you have to also,” Doris said, with all the authority of a judge.
“Last call for karaoke,” a man on stage said into the microphone.
Jean looked at China then back at him. “I guess that means it will be a duet. China, you haven’t sung yet either.”
Payton turned to China. She went pale and shook her head.
“Hey, we have a duet here,” Doris called, raising her hand and pointing to Payton and China.
They shook their heads in unison. The man with the microphone said, “It looks like they could use some encouragement so let’s give them a hand.”
China’s chin went to her chest and her shoulders slumped. Payton didn’t even have to wonder if she was embarrassed. The crowd went into wild clapping, hooting and slapping the table. Payton leaned over and said to China, “I don’t think we have a choice.”
He stood and offered his hand. At least this would be one more experience he’d never had.
China looked at Payton’s outstretched hand. Her heart drummed against her chest wall and her palms became damp. The crowd was still loud with its cheerleading. She hadn’t sung in public since she’d been in the middle-school church choir. This was not the place she wanted to start again, and Payton was certainly not the person she wanted to share the moment with.
She arched her neck to look at him. His smile was reassuring. “Come on, let’s get this over with.” He closed and opened his hand.
China placed hers in his and his large, strong fingers curled around hers. He gave a gentle tug. The crowd had died down some, but when she stood the noise level rose again. Payton led her to the stage, not releasing his grip. She gained confidence from the simple gesture. They’d hardly spoken other than about patient care, and now they had to do something as personal as singing together.
A spotlight circled until it came to rest on them. “I don’t want to do this.” Payton had to bend to hear her. She could only imagine the intimate picture they must be portraying. Panic crept through her.
“Come on, you look like you’re going to a funeral. It can’t be that bad.” He grinned at her.
Payton looked comfortable with the situation. He probably frequented nightclubs regularly and did this sort of thing often. She was completely out of her element. She didn’t go to clubs and certainly didn’t make a spectacle of herself, singing karaoke. He acted as if this could be fun. Humiliating yourself wasn’t fun.
Everyone in town would know about this by morning. Her parents would be horrified she’d even stepped foot in this place. They would be upset when they found out. This had been one of Chad’s hangouts. One of those places she’d been forbidden to go after he’d left.
Some of her friends had used fake IDs during high school to get in. In college she’d been invited on weekends but she’d always made an excuse about why she couldn’t. The only reason that she’d come tonight had been because she’d let Payton dare her into it. Now the worst was happening. She’d disappoint her parents after working so hard not to add to their pain.
The first strain of an old love ballad began. Could it be any worse? “My Endless Love.”
She groaned loudly enough that Payton glanced at her. He no longer had a sappy grin on his face. In fact, he looked a little green. With rising satisfaction, she grinned. This might turn out to be fun after all.
The words to the song began to scroll on the monitor. Payton’s tenor voice sang smoothly. “‘They tell me …’”
He’d surprised her again. The man could carry a tune. She picked up the next line and he took the other. Soon China forgot that she was in front of a group, singing with a man she wasn’t sure she even liked. She had became so caught up in the sound of Payton’s beautiful voice. They harmonized together on the chorus.
On the second stanza, Payton grinned at her when it was her turn to sing. She slipped on the first word but pulled herself together and gave it her best effort. The noise in the room gradually ceased as they finished with a long drawn-out note. The crowd went wild. China glanced at Payton. A smile of pleasure brightened his face. She’d not seen that look in his eyes before.
Payton wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his hard body. She circled his waist with a hand. Briefly she noted she could feel his ribs.
“I think they liked us,” he said near her ear. “We should bow.”
She nodded, overwhelmed by being so close to him and how much she’d enjoyed singing with him. Who would have thought? He led her into a bow.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe that was the best we have heard tonight,” the emcee announced. “Are you two a couple?”
China shook her head vigorously and stepped out of Payton’s hold.
“Well, you could’ve fooled us,” the man said, as China headed off the stage.
She made her way back to the table, not looking left or right, to pick up her purse. She had every intention of walking straight out the door. China pulled up short when she realized Luke was no longer sitting there. He was her ride home. Where was he?
China searched the area, horror making her heart beat faster. She needed to get out of here.
“You were great.” Doris, Jean and Robin spoke in unison.
“Thanks. Where’s Luke?” She looked from one woman to the other.
“He was on call. He had to go in,” Robin said. “We’re going over to the Hut and see what’s going on there for a little while—want to come?” Robin asked.
China had no interest in going to another nightclub. “No. I think I’ve had enough excitement.”
“I can take you home,” a voice she knew far too well said from behind her.
Did she have a choice? A taxi would take too long. Walk? Her house was too far and it was too late. “I would appreciate the ride.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
Payton seemed as anxious to leave as she was. Picking up her purse and saying goodbye, she made her way to the door. Payton stayed close behind her.
China took a deep breath as she entered the night air. The wind gusted around her, a sure sign that it would rain before morning.
“I’m parked over here,” Payton said.
He strode through the parking lot but not so fast that China couldn’t easily keep up. At the end of the row they walked between two cars and were at his vehicle. With a soft beep the doors unlocked. Payton opened the passenger-side door for her.
“You know, you really don’t have to hold the door for me.”
“I’m just being a gentleman.”
“Thank you, then.” She slipped down into the low seat. “I may need more help getting out than in.”
He chuckled softly. “I can do that too.”
Payton closed the door and went around to get in behind the wheel. Starting the car, he pulled out of the parking space and asked, “Which way?”
“Back toward the clinic. I only live a mile or so away.”
Payton’s vehicle really was nice. She ran a hand over the smooth leather of the seat. China knew luxury cars. Rob had had one when he’d wheeled into town. He had been a big-time real-estate man from Los Angeles, looking for investment property. He’d come by the clinic and taken a liking to her.
Always a bit of an outsider, Rob made her feel wanted, had filled her head with promises of being the center of someone’s world. Just as quickly as Rob had arrived, he’d disappeared, leaving China crushed. Lesson learned. She rubbed the seat again. Payton’s car and hers were one more thing they didn’t have in common. The feel of the leather reminded her not to pin her hopes on someone. The small-town life, white sands and blue waters and especially her wouldn’t hold a man. She’d accepted what her life was and would be.
She and Payton rode in silence as if they were both glad to have a reprieve from the noise inside Ricky’s. Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes.
“Hey, don’t go to sleep on me. I’ll have to take you to my house if you do.”
Her eyes flipped open and she sat up straighter. “Make a right one block past the clinic.”
“So I’m guessing you don’t want to go home with me.”
China wasn’t going to comment on that statement. She wasn’t up to their usual conversation. He made the turn she’d indicated. “Go three blocks and turn left and the house is the second on the right.”
Payton smoothly maneuvered through the tree-lined streets and pulled into her drive.
China opened the car door. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Hey, wait a minute. I’ll help you—”
“I’ve got it. See you later.”
She was out and gone before he could open his door. He watched in the illumination of the headlights as she bypassed the walk to the front entrance of the bungalow and continued toward the detached garage further down the drive. Her dress blew in the wind that was picking up. He caught a glimpse of trim thigh before she pushed the hem back into place. Reaching the stairs, she started to climb them.
So China lived in the apartment above the garage. Flowerpots lined the steps. She really loved plants and seemed to have a green thumb. Maybe he’d been a little harsh with his comment about garden clubs. The plant care he was familiar with was done by someone who showed up in a van and brought new plants to replace the brown ones. Neither his mom nor Janice would ever damage their manicures by messing in dirt.
China was nothing like the other women he knew. She was a dependable nurse, helpful beyond necessary, gardener, a darned good singer, and she had the prettiest brown eyes he’d ever seen. What more was there to discover about Little Miss I-can-hold-my-own-in-a-battle-of-wits?
Payton waited until the light flickered on inside the area above the garage before putting the car in reverse and backing slowly out of the drive.
China was the most interesting woman he’d met in a long time. Did he want to discover more?
CHAPTER THREE
NEAR LUNCHTIME, ON TUESDAY of the next week, Doris stuck her head inside Payton’s office and said, “Hey, Jean needs to talk to everyone. It’s a slow day, which doesn’t happen often around here so we’re going to eat and meet at the picnic table out back.”
She headed down the hall without waiting for a response. That might have been the longest invitation he’d ever received to lunch and he came from a society family who made them a regular affair. Doris, he’d learned, was the mother hen of the group. Robin the precious child they all tolerated, Jean the leader who used a kitten-soft hand but everyone heeded, Luke the fun guy who popped in, and China … He smiled.
Monday morning she’d arrived at work with no comment on their duet on Friday night. He’d overheard the other women teasing her but she had not said a word to him that hadn’t been professional in nature. He would have thought she’d softened toward him after their evening out, but not China.
Still, it was a nice day and he looked forward to taking his meal outside with the others. He was slowly feeling more a part of this close-knit group. There had been none of the same camaraderie at the large E.R. he’d left. The staff had come and gone with too much regularity. Golden Shores was slowly turning into a place he could belong. To make life even better, he’d just received a much-awaited phone call that his boat had arrived. Sailing topped his agenda for his next day off.
Payton stepped out into the bright sunshine and breathed deeply. He felt better just by being in it. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d ever done anything like have lunch with co-workers, other than grabbing something from the machine on the way through the snack room. He wanted to live differently and this certainly qualified. There would have been no “Let’s go out back to eat” if he was still in Chicago.
“Hey, Payton, we saved you a spot.” Jean shifted around on the cement bench, giving him a place to sit. Doris sat next to her and moving around the table was Luke and beside him China. As he maneuvered his leg under the table his knee hit China’s leg. Her gaze jerked to his before she lowered her gaze and pulled her leg out of contact with his.
He glanced at her lunch. She had a sandwich and raw vegetables. At least she didn’t have one of those nasty prepackaged microwave meals with all the preservatives. When she noticed his interest, she moved her meal more squarely in front of her but didn’t meet his look. He couldn’t help but grin. She was self-conscious.
“We’ve been asked to cover the medical tent at the concert Saturday night. I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you more notice. I only do what the higher-ups ask. For your trouble you will all be awarded the next day off.”
Everyone but him groaned.
“It’s Sunday. That’s our day off anyway,” Luke said.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t notice that.” Jean smiled. “Our shift will be from eight until.”
“Until?” Payton asked.
“Until it’s over,” everyone, including China, said in unison.
“Where’s the venue?” Payton asked.
“On the beach near the state park. They put up a large stage and in comes the crowd,” Luke offered between bites of sandwich.
“How do they charge and control the crowd?”
“Don’t. This one is to encourage tourism around the Gulf area to help the economy after the tornado that came through last spring,” Luke said.
Payton remembered it. He’d seen a little of the TV reporting when he’d been in the hospital, recovering from pneumonia.
“People are bused in from parking lots out of town. It’s a big deal. And a lot of fun.”
Jean held up a hand. “Now that Luke has given us an enthusiastic overview of the event we need to get down to the medical particulars. We should expect the usual. Too much to drink, falls, turned ankles, the occasional black eyes from hands being slung during dancing. I’ve already spoken to Larry. He and Robin will take the early shift.”
She looked at Payton then China. “You two will have the late shift. You’ll need to be at the tent no later than nine o’clock and stay to see that the tent is dismantled. That means bringing everything back here afterwards. Remember I said you get the next day off.” She gave them a bright smile. “Doris and I will be splitting up to help with the paperwork. Let’s plan for the worst and hope for the best.”
China had always enjoyed working the concerts. She loved music and it was a great way to enjoy some of the best. The artists were world class and they were giving of themselves to help others.
An hour before she’d been assigned to arrive she stepped off the hospital shuttle bus. She’d left her car parked behind the clinic. China headed for the area where the medical tent was located. The warm-up act was already on the stage and the noise level was rising. Crossing the section of the beach highway that had been closed, she made her way to the entrance gate and showed her badge. As she walked, she passed food venders, T-shirts sellers and trinket hawkers. The excitement and intensity in the atmosphere grew the closer she moved to the stage. The medical tent had been stationed on a concrete area with easy access to the road in case an ambulance was needed and just far enough away from the major activity that it was easy enough to talk without shouting too much.
Larry and Robin were seeing to a patient as she entered. To her surprise, Payton was already there. He wore a polo shirt that hung loosely from his broad shoulders across his chest and a pair of tailored khaki shorts that made her think of preppy men and tennis matches. This was no T-shirt with a slogan and slouchy pants kind of guy, the kind she tended to notice. If she had to pick a word for Payton’s looks it would be classy and they had an appeal.
Her familiarity with guys like him was little to none. No wonder Payton seemed to rub her the wrong way so easily. She had no concept of his kind of guy, didn’t know how to react to him. As long as he kept his criticism to himself, she found he had some positive qualities.
Payton was patiently putting a small bandage on the moving target of a two-year-old girl’s finger. The mom was blissfully watching Payton, not her child. He seemed oblivious to the woman’s admiration.
China had to admit it made an almost Norman Rockwell moment. Payton’s dark head, leaning over the little girl’s blonde curls, had her wondering if he’d ever thought about being a father. He was good with kids.
Had he ever gone skimboarding? The boy had returned to have his stitches removed but she’d been with another patient and didn’t know if they had really made plans. Not wanting to step over the line into personal space, she’d not asked. It was unlike her to be standoffish but every time she and Payton moved beyond the professional—Jean’s birthday was the biggest example—things got too personal. Too uncomfortable. Payton seemed to be from the same mold as her father. She wanted no part of that.
Anyway, he was just another co-worker, and tonight he was more so as they would be partners.
Larry and Robin were still seeing to a patient when Payton finished.
“You’re certainly here early,” China remarked.
“Yeah. I wanted to see what was going on. I’ve never been to a concert on the beach. There really is a crowd.”
“Yes, there is. I never did things like this either.”
“Why? You live right here.”
“I was too busy doing other things.”
Cooking, cleaning, washing clothes. It had needed to be done and she had been the one to do it. Her mom had been locked in her grief over not knowing where her brother was to the point she hadn’t been able to function.
Payton glanced around the tent. “I haven’t had a chance to look around. We’re not busy now and Larry and Robin are here for another thirty minutes so how about you give me a tour?”
“You go on. They …” she nodded to the others “… may need help.”
“Come on, China. Quit making excuses. I’m not going to bite.”
She huffed. “I know that.”
“So have mercy on the new guy and show me around.”
Not wanting to cause a further scene, China nodded her agreement.
“Even though you’re not on the clock yet, carry a radio in case we need you,” Jean said, from where she sat at a small table with a laptop.
Payton took the radio she offered.
China headed out of the tent. Why did he always manage to goad her into doing something she wasn’t sure she wanted to do?
She circled and weaved behind the back of the throng toward the ocean.
“Hey, wait up,” Payton called. “A tour guide is supposed to stay with the person she’s guiding.”
“And the group is supposed to keep up.” She headed down the middle of the beach.
“Where’re we going?” he asked, catching up.
“This is the best way to see things otherwise we’ll always be fighting the crowd.”
They walked through the sand until they got about halfway to the stage and she stopped.
“This is part of the state park area.” She swept her hand around. “I guess you’ve seen it when it is empty. That over there …” she pointed “… is the Beach Hut. The wildest place on the beach. They have mini-concerts and dancing all the time.”
“Do you go often?”
Her head whirled and she glared at him. He was serious. “I do not.”
“You’ve never been?”
She shook her head. That had been more Kelsey’s scene. They were as different as daylight and darkness but Kelsey loved her dearly. Missed her daily. Wished they had the relationship that they had once had as girls.
His look was one of pure disbelief. “Not once? Didn’t sneak in as a teen?”
“No.” That had been Kelsey’s specialty. Thank goodness she hadn’t gotten caught. It would have killed her parents.
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