Heart's Desire (11 page)

“Try to see Austin soon so that he hears about the franchise from you and not from Helen Knowland. I like Helen, but she is such a gossip.” He shot a glance at Chloe, Helen’s granddaughter.

“You won’t believe this, but I had Chloe sign a letter of agreement that any conversations she overheard at the café, or anything I said on the phone with my suppliers or anyone else, had to remain private or she would be fired instantly.”

“You did that? And she signed it?”

“Yes. She wanted the job.”

“Good going.” George smiled and put his arm around Maddie’s shoulder.

Emily approached with a cupcake on a dessert plate. “May I interest you in a cupcake, George?”

“Actually, I had my eye on one of those red velvet ones. Excuse me,” he said and walked away.

Emily smiled at her husband and then focused her gaze on Maddie. “We are all so happy for you, Maddie.”

“Thanks. I think.” Maddie sighed heavily.

“Oh, George does that to everyone when there are legalities involved. Enjoy the moment. All the rest will be work, and you know that. But I was curious about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I noticed all your friends were here. I was surprised you didn’t invite Nate.”

“Nate?” Maddie stared at Emily blankly.

“Did you forget about him?”

“No, I didn’t forget. Believe me. But he hasn’t been here for the past eleven years, while I’ve scrimped to make all this happen. He hasn’t been part of my crowd, I guess. I thought I would talk to him privately.”

After their conversation at the café, she’d been surprised at how easily their friendship had returned. But she’d held back from inviting him. Was it because she knew he was only going to live in Indian Lake for a year? Or was it because she wanted to keep him as a friend and nothing more? Each time she thought about Nate, she was more confused than ever.

“Good. One-on-one is very good,” Emily replied, then bit into her chocolate-fudge cupcake.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

N
ATE
FINISHED
HIS
morning rounds by seven o’clock and began a scheduled ablation procedure at seven-thirty. His surgical nurse was Sophie Mattuchi, whom he’d known since high school. He hadn’t heard a thing about her skills or reputation, but he made it his business to read over her file. Sophie had signed on at Indian Lake Hospital as a registered nurse out of Bronson School of Nursing in Michigan, and she’d gone to Indiana University Hospital–Indianapolis for two years for further training. She’d been back in Indian Lake for the past three years and everyone on staff liked and respected her.

From a private interview with Sophie, he discovered that she had helped care for Ann Marie Jensen in her off-duty hours during the woman’s last days.

Sophie had thirty ablations under her belt by the time Nate was hired at the new cardiac center. Her experience at this point wasn’t much more than his.

Though Dr. Caldwell believed that this procedure would take approximately three hours, Nate wasn’t quite so sure. The patient, fifty-year-old Gwen Petrowski, had undergone a triple-bypass surgery seven years earlier. She’d had two angioplasties and one stent put in. Studying the patient’s records and X-rays, he saw that she didn’t smoke or drink, which was encouraging. Unfortunately, she had a great deal of heart disease in her family history. Until eighteen months ago, her arrhythmias had been somewhat controlled by medication. But recently they had increased in intensity and length according to the readouts from her Holter Monitor test.

After scrubbing in and donning his sterile face mask, surgical gown, cap and booties, Nate entered the O.R. The nurses wheeled the gurney in and moved the patient onto the operating table.

Nate stood over his patient wearing his face mask, surgical gown, cap and booties. “Gwen, can you hear me? They gave you something to make you very drowsy. You’re in the EP lab now. You won’t feel anything as I insert this catheter into your groin and then as it goes into your heart.”

“I’m scared,” she said, trying to move her hand, but it had been strapped down.

Nate leaned over and peered into her frightened eyes. “You’re going to be fine. Everything is going to be just fine.” He touched the top of her head, which was covered in a surgical bonnet. “You believe me, don’t you?”

“Yes,” she replied, closing her eyes slowly. “I believe you.”

The anesthesiologist injected the drugs into Gwen’s IV.

Nate turned to Sophie. “Do you have the catheter ready?”

“Yes, Doctor,” Sophie answered. She stood at his side waiting for further instructions. “You just lead the way.”

Nate looked down at his patient. “You relax, now, Gwen. We’re going to fix this heart up for you. You’ll feel like a young girl again.”

Gwen tried to smile, but she was already falling asleep. “Promise?”

“I promise you that,” Nate said.

Nate began the procedure by numbing the area of Gwen’s groin where he would insert the thin guide wire. Along with the catheter and guide wire was an intravascular ultrasound catheter that Nate would direct up the blood vessel and into Gwen’s heart. He used a special dye that would help him place the catheter in the right spot.

“Sophie, I need another catheter here,” Nate said, extending his right hand.

Sophie placed another catheter wire in his gloved hand.

Nate went back to work, watching his progress on three different screens.

In an adjoining room were twelve computer screens that helped other nurses and assistants chart the procedure.

“Sophie, I want pictures of everything here. I think we have an upper-valve problem that may be trickier than we’d thought,” Nate said, studying the monitor.

“I’m sorry. I thought we were doing this procedure because the lower chambers of the heart were in question.”

“That’s my point. We may have to do both.”

“I understand, Doctor.”

“This is going to take all morning, if not longer. So buckle up, boys and girls,” Nate said with a low laugh.

For the next several hours, Nate used the electrodes at the end of the catheters to stimulate the heart. Once this was done, he could locate the exact position of the problem areas. Using a mild radiofrequency heat energy, Nate destroyed these areas, or “the mischief makers” he told the nurses he called them. Once this tissue was ablated, the abnormal electrical signals that had created the arrhythmia in the first place could no longer be sent to the rest of the heart.

Four hours into the operation, Nate took a break and went to the adjoining computer room and checked all the screens. The intravascular camera was excellent and revealed to Nate just what he knew he would have to do.

He went back into the surgery area and took the guide wires and catheters from Sophie’s capable hands. “I have it now, Nurse.”

“Yes, Doctor,” she replied and stepped aside.

For two more hours, Nate worked on the area at the top of the heart near the aorta, trying to ablate as much of it as possible. Nate knew that if this had gone untreated, Gwen would have found herself a stroke victim, or worse.

By the time the procedure was over, Nate was tired, hungry and thirsty.

He peeled off his surgical clothes and threw them in the large trash bin in the scrub room. “Sophie, did you talk to the family?”

“Yes, I did, but they’re waiting for you.”

“Good.” Nate pushed the swinging door open and strode toward the family waiting area.

Nate knew that the chairs in the narrow room with windows looking out onto the hospital courtyard could only be comfortable for an hour. Certainly not all morning long. Gwen’s husband, a thin man wearing jeans and a Green Bay Packers windbreaker, stood up the minute he saw Nate. Two teenage girls were immersed in playing games on their iPads.

“Doc!” the man said. “How is she?”

“She’s just fine. She came through like a champ.” Nate shook his hand. “I want to tell you, Mr. Petrowski, we did a lot more than we had originally planned, but I think I got it all. The procedure was twice as long as we had expected, but I found a great deal of damaged area at the top of the heart. That was pretty tricky, but I think it’s really good now.” Nate smiled confidently.

“You’re happy. I can see it in your face,” Mr. Petrowski said.

“I am. Happy for you. She’s going to be fine after her recuperation, of course.”

“When can we see her?”

“They’re taking her up to the room now. You can go with them, if you like. She has to lie completely still for six hours. She’s pretty groggy, so it won’t be a problem. She’ll stay all night, and then I’ll check on her in the morning and we’ll release her as long as there aren’t any complications. Probably about eleven, I would think.”

Mr. Petrowski shook Nate’s hand again. “I can’t thank you enough, Doc. Gosh, this is just, well, a miracle.”

Nate nodded. “It is pretty miraculous. Even I think it is.” Nate stepped to the side as the girls rose from their chairs and smiled at him.

“Thank you, Doctor,” they chimed.

“You’re welcome,” Nate replied and then went back into the surgical area.

* * *

N
ATE
HAD
AN
hour and a half until his next surgery. He knew just what he wanted to do with that time. He walked out the hospital doors toward the employee parking lot, and spotted Sophie at the entrance.

“Good job, Doctor,” she said brightly, pushing back her curly dark hair. She had lipstick on, and some blush, and she was wearing her street clothes.

“You going home?” he asked.

“Yeah. Carrie will assist you this afternoon.”

“Carrie. Hmm. I met her last week, but I can’t remember her.”

“Petite. Strawberry blonde.” Sophie smiled and then began rummaging through her purse.

“Ah, I remember Carrie,” he said.

Sophie tossed her curls away from her face and flashed him a provocative smile. “Well, see you Thursday.”

“Yeah,” Nate replied. She looked back over her shoulder as she walked away, and she waved to him and smiled again.

He waved back, scratched his head and bounded across the parking lot toward his car. Nate wasn’t quite certain, but if he didn’t know better, he would guess that Sophie was flirting with him.

Nate stuck his key in the ignition, turned the Hummer on and pulled out of the parking space.

Nate walked into Cupcakes and Coffee and found a line of over a dozen people. Chloe was waiting on customers as quickly as she could. Looking over the heads of the others in line, Nate noticed that Emily Regeski, Sarah’s aunt, was working the cash register. There was no sign of Maddie.

“May I take your order, sir?” Chloe asked when he reached the front of the line, blowing a lock of dark hair from her eyes. “Hey, you’re that guy.”

He leaned over the counter. “I am.” He chuckled. “But exactly what guy are you talking about?”

“The one who was here with Maddie the other morning.” She winked at him.

“Guilty,” he said.

The patrons who had been in line in front of him had all been served, and as no one else had entered the café, Nate was now the only one at the counter. Emily closed the register after he paid.

“Nate Barzonni! How are you?”

“Just fine,” he offered.

Emily walked out from around the counter and up to Nate. “I didn’t get a chance to hug you at Easter.”

“Yeah.” He patted his stomach. “I was preoccupied.”

She hugged Nate and then held his arms and scrutinized his face. “I can see the years away did you good. Handsome as ever. No, I take that back. More handsome.”

Chloe, not to be left out, jumped into the conversation again. “So you know Sarah, too?”

“Yes. Maddie, me and Sarah, we all hung around together back in those days.” Nate looked at Emily. “I thought maybe Maddie would be here today. I just finished a surgery and have an hour till my next procedure.”

Emily’s face brightened. “That’s right, you’re at the hospital now, aren’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Maddie told us,” Emily informed him. “Oh, but I’m so sorry. She’s in Chicago all day.”

“Chicago?”

“She didn’t tell you? She’s having a meeting with a mergers and acquisitions company for her franchises. George helped set it up for her,” Emily said proudly.

“Franchises.”

“Yeah,” Chloe chirped. “Cupcakes and Coffee Cafés will be everywhere, just like Starbucks.”

Emily shook her head. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Chloe. It’s just the first meeting with the investor. We have no idea what the terms of agreement will be. But it’s all so exciting, isn’t it?” Emily asked Nate.

“It is,” he said morosely, but both Emily and Chloe were so excited for Maddie that they didn’t pay attention to his response. “Well, I guess I’ll just call her tomorrow.”

“That would be great,” Chloe said. “I know she’ll be wanting to hear from you.” Chloe nodded so forcefully that Nate was reminded of a bobblehead doll.

“Thanks, Chloe. I’ll do that.”

“You have her cell number, right?” Chloe asked.

“Uh—” he patted his pocket for his phone “—I don’t. Just the number here. I should put it in my contacts.”

“Absolutely,” Chloe said and scribbled the number on a paper napkin. “Here,” she said. “Gosh, I almost forgot. What can I get for you?”

“Can I get a coffee to go? And I’ll try one of those turkey croissant sandwiches over there.”

Emily whispered, “I’ll put it in our new Panini machine with a slice of Gruyère. It’s one of Maddie’s inventions. Fabulous.”

“Okay, I’ll try it.”

Nate paid and waited for Emily to wrap up the hot sandwich in foil, then left the café and got into his car.

Staring at the little house that Maddie had turned into a warm and friendly spot to enjoy coffee, friends and a sweet treat, he marveled at all she had done. He couldn’t be more proud of her if she’d won some major award. She’d had an idea, and she’d believed in her dream long enough and hard enough to make it come true. He considered her to be a genius because she’d made something out of nothing. That was the definition of genius to him. An idea was only ether and energy until someone put faith in it and molded, coddled, loved and forced it into existence.

She was a marvel to him and he hadn’t had enough time yet to tell her.

That was something he intended to rectify—soon.

He pulled the lid off his steaming cappuccino and took a sip. He took another sip. Then he whistled with appreciation. “Darn, that’s good. Really good.”

Nate was a coffee lover, and to his recollection, Maddie’s coffee was the best he’d ever tasted. The drink the other night wasn’t just a fluke. Maddie’s blend was exceptional. Was it possible that Maddie had bested the gourmet restaurants in Chicago and New York he’d visited? Was the milk different? Had she found better beans? What other tricks had she discovered in the years they’d been apart?

He tasted his sandwich and found it was remarkable as well. It was just a simple turkey sandwich, but the meat was better, not the usual commercial sliced meat sold to restaurants. Nate had a sneaky suspicion that Maddie actually baked this turkey herself. The cheese was high quality and the croissant was especially buttery. She’d told him she made all her baked goods in-house, which was why she worked late at night. Maybe she made the croissants and brioches, too.

Nate was hooked. He knew where he’d be getting his lunches now that he was living in Indian Lake.

Digging in his pocket for his keys, he sat back in his seat. If this was such a big meeting in Chicago, why hadn’t she told him about it? Nate felt his earlier exuberance deflate.

He knew why.

She didn’t trust him.

Maddie was still angry with him for leaving her the way he had. She had always impressed him as a person who was loyal. But the flip side of that loyalty was a person who would hold a grudge forever.

Despite the fact that she had kissed him as if she thought he was the last man on earth, the fact remained that Maddie didn’t trust him.

And without trust, there couldn’t be love.

Either way, Nate, old man, you’re done for.