CHAPTER ONE

      HAILEY ROGERS walked into Cedar Bluff’s emergency department on Saturday afternoon, fluffing her blonde hair to get rid of her helmet head.

      “Hi, Hailey,” Rachel, one of her nursing colleagues, greeted her when she approached the desk. “You’re working arena team two today.”

      “Sounds good.” Hailey had started at Cedar Bluff hospital about two months previously, but she’d worked in the emergency trauma center at Trinity Medical Center in Milwaukee for several years, so she hadn’t needed long to learn Cedar Bluff’s way of doing things. Rachel had been her preceptor but they’d quickly grown to be friends.

      “I’ll be right next to you in team three,” Rachel said cheerfully. “So if you need something, or have questions, just let me know.”

      “Thanks.” Hailey appreciated Rachel’s sincere offer. The other nurses were friendly too, but most of them were married with children so they weren’t exactly anxious to stop for a bite to eat after work, or go to a movie. Rachel was single, and she and Hailey had bonded after a particularly stressful shift a few weeks back.

      Moving to Cedar Bluff had been a good decision for her. She loved the homey atmosphere of the hospital and the town. Plus, her apartment was only a few miles from the hospital, making it easy to ride her bike to work every day.

      Hailey glanced up at the assignment white-board and couldn’t suppress a tingle of excitement when she noticed the physician leader assigned to her team was none other than Dr. Simon Carter. She knew who he was, of course. His chocolate-brown eyes, mink-colored hair and broad shoulders stood out dramatically, in her humble opinion, among the rest of the physicians. But in the two months since she’d started in the ED, they’d only worked together a few times and those had all been during her orientation, with her preceptor primarily interacting with him.

      He seemed like a nice guy. And one