Second Chances by Valerie Hansen

Author:Valerie Hansen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2001-09-09T04:00:00+00:00

Belinda waited until she figured Sam would be through seeing patients for the day, then phoned his office. His receptionist put her call through without delay.

“Hi. It’s me,” Belinda began. “How are you?”

“Beat. This has been one of those days. I had three emergencies before nine.”

“Is everybody okay now?”

“Yes,” he said with a weary sigh, “but it shows how badly we need our own hospital. I don’t want anybody to suffer because I don’t have access to the equipment I need to help them.”

“Neither do I.” Belinda had never heard Sam express such purely altruistic sentiments. Moved by his clear concern for others she asked, “Would you like to come for dinner tonight?”

“Maybe tomorrow. I didn’t sleep much last night and I have a surgery scheduled for seven in the morning so I’m going to bed early.” He yawned, then added, “Want to go to bed with me and keep me company?”

The man seemed to have a special knack for ridding her of any tender feelings toward him almost as soon as she acknowledged them, didn’t he? “Please, Sam. Don’t start.”

“I know, I know, you’re not that kind of girl. If I had a nickel for every time…”

Rather than let him continue in that vein, Belinda purposely interrupted. “Getting back to your plans for building a hospital. I saw Paul today. He—”

“I know you did. I even know where you had lunch.”

“Good. Do you also know what we talked about?”

“Not everything.”

She could sense Sam was smiling on the other end of the line. That was a good sign. “Basically, Paul wanted me to tell him what your plans were for the Whitaker property,” Belinda explained.

“Did you?”

“Of course not. I wouldn’t break your trust.”

“At this point, I can’t see that it matters much. All he’d have to do is ask Prudence, providing she remembers what we talked about. She was pretty out of it the other night.”

“Only because she’s so scared of change,” Belinda said wisely. “The Whitaker house has become her refuge. According to Gram, the only time Miss Prudence was away from home for more than a few hours, after she turned twenty-one, was when her father was in the hospital in Little Rock. She wanted to stay close so she spent the night in the city.”

“All the more reason she should support my project,” Sam said. “I’ll remember to mention that the next time I talk to her. In the meantime, tell Randall as much as you want. Say whatever it takes to convince him he belongs on our side. He’ll be a valuable ally if the old lady refuses to listen to reason.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“As always,” Sam quipped.

Belinda didn’t feel much like trading witty remarks. Instead, she bid the doctor a simple goodnight. As she hung up the phone she closed her eyes and sighed. Sheila was right. The most important elements in Sam’s world were prestige and profit. People finished a distant third.

Was Paul any different? she asked herself. His concern seemed to be for

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