Danger Zone

Jackson County Hospital Scottsboro, Alabama The lounge door flew open, Dr. Carla Blake stuck her head in and shouted, "Brace yourselves people, we've got victims from a five-car pileup coming through the doors any minute! We're going to need all hands." Jenna Williams sighed and closed her locker, leaving her purse and coat inside. It happened every time she agreed to work an extra half shift. No matter that she'd been there since two that morning and it was now four in the afternoon, fate would see that going home wasn't an option for at least another hour. That it was Friday only stacked the odds against her. But that was the life of an E.R. nurse. Sometimes it was plain old inconvenient, but she loved her work and it paid the bills. Two other nurses, along with one intern, who'd worked the extra-long shift exchanged weary glances with her, but not one complained out loud. Instead the group shuffled back out to the E.R. floor. Arguing or complaining would be pointless. When Dr. Blake spoke, the E.R. listened. She hadn't been dubbed the dictator for nothing. Once the ambulances rolled in, thoughts of going home or the unfairness of it all vanished. The world narrowed until nothing else existed. Gurneys rushed through the emergency entrance with paramedics shouting information about their patients. Jenna jumped into the organized chaos, her movements instinctive and in precisely timed rhythm with her coworkers. Twelve victims arrived, two critical. Just over ninety minutes later both criticals were in surgery and holding their own. Six of the other patients had been treated and released and the remaining four were admitted for observation related to moderate head injuries. The E.R. was quiet again and the exhausted staff released a collective sigh of relief. Not losing a patient after a major pileup was something to celebrate. "Got any plans this weekend?" Jenna glanced up from her locker and gave her friend Gina Daniels a you're kidding look. "Ballet practice with Bec. We're gearing up for recital. We'll be practicing every Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon from now until the end of May." Gina sidled up next to her as if what she had to say was top secret. "Dale asked me out." Jenna's lips spread into a genuine smile despite the clawing fatigue. "Really? When did this happen?" Dale and Gina had been dancing around the concept of dating for weeks now. "Lunch." Gina looked around covertly. "He fell into line behind me and popped the question between the salad bar and the cash register." Shouldering into her coat, Jenna pressed for more details. It wasn't every day that a single nurse snagged the hottest new resident. At least not in this small town, where new residents were as scarce as a lunar eclipse. "Where's he taking you?" Her own social life was so dead that she'd long ago decided that living vicariously through her friend was about the only excitement she could hope for. "The Jazz Factory in Huntsville." She grinned. "And after dinner, we're going dancing." Jenna's eyes rounded. "Dr. Dale dances?" Dr. Dale Parker was not only one of the hottest new residents at Jackson County Hospital, he was brilliant. Everyone loved him. And he was nice, really nice. Every unattached female at the hospital had her sights set on him. "Evidently he does," Gina confirmed. She winked. "I hope he can horizontal mambo." "You are bad," Jenna teased, a flush heating her face. It had been so long since she'd had sex that just the idea of it flustered her. It was tough to have sex when she wasn't even dating. It was equally tough because she was a mother whose twelve-year-old daughter required a full-time chauffeur and endless attention. "If I'm lucky," Gina hissed under her breath, "I'll be real bad." Jenna grabbed her purse and closed her locker for whatWebb, Debra is the author of 'Danger Zone ', published 2007 under ISBN 9780373217700 and ISBN 0373217706.