Chapter One


Kristina groaned at the sound of her cell phone ringing. It was too early in the morning. Her alarm clock hadn’t even gone off yet.

“Hello,” she grumbled not bothering to look at the caller ID. Only one of her family members was crazy enough to call her at such a God forsaken hour. To say she wasn’t a morning person was putting it lightly.

“Hey little sister,” Courtney replied way too cheerfully for the given hour.

“Do you have any idea what time it is?” Kristina questioned, half growling.

“Time for you to get up and get ready for your first day at work of course.”

Kristina opened her eyes with reluctance. There was no use in trying to rush her older sister off the phone. A glance at the clock told her that her alarm clock would be going off in the next few moments. No need to try to sneak in a few more minutes of sleep. It would just make her more irritable than she already was. She exhaled softly.

“Try again Court.”

Her sister laughed. “Late night?”

“No. I’m just tired. I spent all day yesterday unpacking.”

Wow. It sounds like San Angelo is giving you all the fun you can handle.”

Kristina rolled her eyes at Courtney’s sarcasm. “More than you realize. I ran into the worst drunk the other night.”

Oh. Oh.
 
Kristina smiled. “Tell me about it.”

“Other than your drunkard did you meet any cute bachelors?”

She groaned. “Perish the thought. Right now I could be single the rest of my life and it wouldn’t be long enough.”

“Let me know when you find one,” Kristina joked.

“The question is will you be receptive to him if I do.”

Kristina groaned. “If this is what you call wishing me luck on my first day you have some work to do.”

Kristina rolled onto her back. Her sleepiness was fading but she still needed a cup or two of coffee. Still she loved her sister. She wouldn’t tell her other sister’s but Courtney was her favorite sister, because she was strong, resilient.

Courtney had been through a lot in her life because of her birth defect. She was born with Diplegia, a type of Cerebral Palsy. Courtney’s legs were twisted at and odd angle that caused her to walk slow and her movements to be jerky. If her sister was on her feet too long pain could overtake her but Courtney wouldn’t complain.

Her sister had worked hard to fight the doctors’ prognoses that she wouldn’t be able to walk by the age of fourteen. Even then the teasing Courtney had endured when they were children and teenagers, she still turned out to be a kind a giving person. Still Courtney had her limits. All of her sister’s did. Kristina met one who tried hers a couple of nights ago.

“So tell me about this guy?”

Kristina sat up and rested against her headboard. “Well there are only two words to describe him, sexy and idiot.”

Courtney laughed. “Oh come on. He couldn’t have been that bad. You did call him sexy first.”

Embarrassment swept over Kristina as she recalled the proposition she received last night. One she wasn’t going to repeat, especially not to Courtney. If she did she might not hear the end of for a long time to come.

“Trust me he was. He makes our cousin John seem like a Saint.”

She held the phone away from her ear as Courtney’s shriek of laughter traveled through it.

“He can’t be that bad.”

That’s what you think.

“Well let’s just say after my experience Saturday night, I’m ready to face anything San Angelo has to shell out.”

“Anything?”

Kristina rubbed her eyes. “When have you ever known me to exaggerate a situation?”

Courtney sighed. “Unfortunately . . . never.”

Kristina jumped when her alarm clock began to blare. She reached over and turned it off quickly. “Well I believe it is time for me to begin getting ready for work. I want to be on time.”

“Yes and you do move like a tortoise in the morning.”

Kristina shrugged. “I can’t help it. I take after dad.”

“In more ways than you will ever know,” Courtney murmured.

“And on that note I will talk to you later. Have a good day Court.”

“You too Kris. Call me later and let me know how it goes.”

Kristina smiled. “I will. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Kristina hung up the phone and crawled out of bed. She headed for the shower and exhaled softly in relief when she stood under the warm spray. She reflected on the conversation she just had with Courtney. She had been telling the truth when she said she was ready to face anything now.

She bath quickly, then turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Stopping in front of the mirror she brushed her teeth and checked her reflection. She felt tried but she actually looked rested. She had stopped crying over Warren months ago but her sleep pattern hadn’t returned to normal yet. Still, she had slept pretty soundly last night.

Walking back into her room she dressed for work. She smiled to herself as she walked back into her bathroom. It had been pure luck when received the chance to move to San Angelo. She was definitely going to take advantage of the opportunity.

Kristina crossed the room to her vanity mirror and picked up her hairbrush. She brushed her hair back out of her face, happy that her hair was cooperating today. She braided it in one neat French braid that stopped an inch or two below the base of her neck. She secured the braid with a hair band.

Heading downstairs she walked into the kitchen, inhaling the aroma of the coffee sitting in the coffee pot calling her name. She could kiss Melissa for buying the programmable coffee maker for her. She took the time to enjoy her two cups of coffee and watch the local news. Some of the headlines made her shudder and want to stay indoors.

Once she finished the second cup she noted the clock on the wall and smiled, punctual as usual. She turned off the television and placed her empty mug in the dishwasher before walking out of her apartment and toward her car. A short drive later she pulled up in front of Doctor Robert Cantu’s dentist office.

She fought back her anxiety. There was nothing to be nervous about. She was good at her job. If nothing else it was the one thing she excelled at. She opened the front door and gasped. The waiting room was the first thing that came into view followed by the people filling the waiting room to the seating limit and a little beyond. A few people were standing as well. He must have a huge patient base as well. From the looks of it all of those patients liked him very well and had an appointment this morning. 

The office had only been open for thirty minutes according to the hours Margaret told her.  She had been told to come in late this morning since she didn’t have a key yet. Doctor Cantu was supposed to drop the key off to her yesterday, which would have been her opportunity to meet her boss face-to-face for the first time. Instead Margaret had called yesterday to inform her to show up later because Doctor Cantu was indisposed. Margaret would have dropped off the key herself but she and her husband hadn’t made it back from Midland yet.

She was eager to meet the man who had been desperate enough to hire her without meeting her in person. Margaret told her the last hygienist had left without notice leaving them in the lurch. They had been searching for a qualified replacement for weeks before Kristina found the job posting and applied. Well she would have her opportunity and soon. She hoped the praise Margaret gave him was true. Doctor Cantu sounded like a pleasure to work for. It was the one thing that made it hard to leave her last job. Her boss and co-workers had been wonderful people. She wanted it to be the same here.

Just then the door a few feet from the desk opened and a man who she assumed was Doctor Cantu came out with his head buried in a chart. She gasped again as he looked up and her gaze met the same intense gray eyes that she had seen at Burk’s Saturday night. Only they had been bloodshot and blurred. Still they had been intense then. His soberness did nothing but magnify it.

Her thighs clenched at the attraction that surged through her and she willed herself not to give into the temptation. She could tell he recognized her too when shock fell across his face. He spoke first.

“Who are you?”

She looked down at her scrubs thinking it would be obvious to a man in his position. Who else would wear scrubs in a dentist office?

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This had to be a nightmare. One she would wake up from and hopefully soon. The sound of a child’s laugh made her eyes snap open and Doctor Cantu reappeared in front of her.

Nope she was definitely awake. This was going to be so awkward.

Maybe he wasn’t the Dentist. He could just be a strange man in a doctor’s coat studying a patient’s chart for fun.

Oh whom was she trying to kid?

What were the chances she could find another job by tomorrow? Did she really want to? Taking a deep breath she tried to remain calm. The waiting room was full of his patients and she had already received enough curious looks when she walked in. Then there was the fact she felt her skin practically tingling from the stares penetrating into her back. She had a feeling these people were intrigued by her interaction with her new boss. No need to give them anything to talk about. She could be an adult about this, a rational adult. 
   
“I’m Kristina Ward, the new dental hygienist.”

Doctor Cantu seemed to remember his manners and shifted the file in his hand to the side while extending his free hand to her.

“Dr. Cantu at your service. Pleasure to have you onboard.”

“I’m glad to be here,” she managed to choke out. She hated to lie but she had no choice with so many witnesses nearby.

He checked his watch and smiled. “And early at that. You’re off to a good start.”

She looked around the full dentist office. “Apparently not early enough.”

* * * *

Robert smiled at the enigma of a woman standing before him. She was more beautiful today than she had been Saturday night. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a french braid that was perfect for the oval shape of her face and her creamy cocoa colored complexion. She was tall, leggy, with a curvy figure that enhanced the medical scrubs she was wearing. But it was her amber eyes that captivated him the most. There was a deep sadness within them. He wondered if it was the reason why she had been so willing to come to San Angelo.

 Someone coughed behind him making him realize they weren’t alone and several people were on the edges of their seats trying to pick up sound bites of his conversation with his new employee. He knew first hand some of them could be gossips. No need to give them anything to talk about. He offered Kristina a gentle smile.

“Could you follow me to the back?”

She looked indecisive for a moment but finally nodded. “Sure.”

After his behavior Saturday night he didn’t blame her. He would probably think about running in the opposite direction as well. All he could say was he would never drink bourbon ever again. He would stick to his customary beer or two then he would stop. He turned and led the way to back of the office.

“I will give you a more in-depth tour of the office later. But right now I’ll show you the basics. There are three examination rooms and the fourth is the x-ray room. All I need you to do is prep the patients and if you can’t fix what needs to be done let me know and I will do it. In the waiting room the patients have signed the sign in sheet.”

He led her to the room where he kept the patient records. “Some are new patients and we will have to start a chart but most of them are old patients and have been coming to me for a while now. They will have records on file.”

Opening the door he showed her the neatly organized filing system. “They will be found here. If you need a new chart that are in the drawer on the back wall with all of the necessary labels and documents to go within the file.”

He flashed her another smile and was surprised when she frowned. Woman loved his smile. They told him so all the time. Not because of any major dental work either. Other than braces and an occasional whitening his smile was his, along the one dimple in his left cheek.

He chose to ignore her frown. “Any questions so far?”

She shook her head. “Not at this time.”

“Good. We have a closet for you to lock your purse up in if you need to. Once you are done come find me in exam room two with Margaret. I already have one patient waiting for an x-ray. I could use your help in prepping patients. Place them in rooms one and three.”

He watched her expression become one of business and knew she would work out just fine. As long as his behavior Saturday night didn’t ever come up. He turned and walked in the direction of room two saying a silent prayer while he did. Today was going to be a long day but if he was lucky he might be able to through it and without thinking about how her luscious hips filled out the pants of those scrubs. He stifled a groan at the thought.

Oh yeah. It was going to be a long day