Seaside Heartbeats: A Sweet Romance (The Seaside Hunters Book 2)
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Authors: Stacy Claflin
SEASIDE HEARTBEATS
THE SEASIDE HUNTERS
by Stacy Claflin
Copyright ©2015 Stacy Claflin. All rights reserved.
Edited by Staci Troilo
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is purely coincidental or used fictitiously. The author has taken great liberties with locales including the creation of fictional towns.
Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited. Do not upload or distribute anywhere.
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One
Brayden Hunter stared at the clock, the second hand unmoving. Or was it his imagination? He slumped in the seat at the hospital cafeteria, every muscle aching. His job was too much. All he wanted was to go home and sleep. He'd been up all night consulting the ER doctors over the phone.
"You okay, man?" asked Jeremy, one of the nurses in his clinic.
Brayden stretched his neck and then looked at his friend. "Yeah. I probably just need some more coffee."
"I hear you. I was at that beach party way too late last night."
"Sounds like fun. I'm tired from being on call last night." Brayden yawned. "I heard it all night from my condo."
One of the hospital's cardiac surgeons sat down. "At least you don't usually have to come in when they call you. Two nights ago, I was there all night. No climbing back into bed for me."
"That's why I didn't get those extra five or six years of education. Only twelve for me." Brayden half-smiled as he picked up his sandwich. He took a bite, finding it dry and bland.
A few more guys sat down at the table, and the conversation quickly moved to sports. Brayden tried to keep up, but between his heavy eyelids and the sandwich threatening to cut his tongue, he just listened—barely. It was hard to focus when this exhausted.
"Did someone say coffee?" asked a perky voice. Cali, another of the nurses from his cardiology clinic, stood smiling by the table. She held two coffees in her hand.
Cali reminded him of his baby sister, Sophia. She had been so happy and full of life, no matter what life threw her way. His heart ached just thinking about her.
"Brayden did," Jeremy said, nudging him.
Cali slid him the white paper cup in a brown sleeve and squeezed next to him. "I overheard you saying you needed coffee, and I just happened to be on the way to the stand." She smiled widely.
"I appreciate it." Brayden yawned again. He sipped the hot, soothing drink. It was strong—just what he needed.
"Hope you like double-shot lattes."
"Today I do." Brayden took another long sip. He could feel the caffeine working already.
Cali's face lit up. "There's going to be a concert at the beach over in Kittle Falls tonight around dinner time. Wanna join me?"
Some of the guys around the table gave him encouraging looks.
Dating was the last thing Brayden wanted, and he didn't believe in mixing work with pleasure. He'd seen how it could make things awkward professionally when others had dated coworkers and things didn't end well.
"I appreciate the offer, Cali, but I need to get some sleep after being on call all night."
"I'm sure it'll be over by ten. Plenty of time for sleep after that." She batted her big, blue eyes. Just like Sophia always had when she wanted something, and he'd usually given in. Brayden's heart ached all the more.
"Cali, when are you going to give up?" asked Jeremy. "Brayden hasn't gone on a date the entire time I've known him."
"I know," Cali said. "It's such a waste. A young, handsome doctor like you." She shook her head.
"Waste?" Brayden asked. "I help save lives all the time. Besides, there's no time for dating."
"You can make time, you know." Cali tilted her head, looking into his eyes.
"Not with a sixty hour work week." Brayden took another sip of the coffee. "Tell you what. Tomorrow, I'll get you a latte. In the meantime, I'll bet Jeremy would love to go to a concert."
"I'm always up for a good time." Jeremy looked hopeful.
Cali looked over at Jeremy and shrugged, not looking particularly interested. "Okay."
Brayden let out a sigh of relief. Between his parents and people at work trying to set him up, he'd had enough. He was a successful cardiologist, and he wanted to keep it that way. If his mom had her way—he not only dated someone, but actually had a family—he would be miserable.
A wife would undoubtedly be unhappy with his long hours, and understandably so. And the family would consist of babies crying all night long. He didn't want those things. He went to school to be a cardiologist. Brayden loved helping people so that they could live longer. He often saw lives transformed.
A month earlier he'd seen a heart attack patient who had been weak and sick. Just that morning, the man returned for a follow-up appointment, able-bodied, stronger, and excited for the years ahead. That was what it was all about.
If his parents wanted grandkids, they had four other sons who could provide them. Just because Brayden was the oldest, and now back home, didn't mean he needed to have a family. It wasn't in his plans. He was actually looking forward to being the cool uncle. Then he could play with his brothers' kids and still keep his career—which he really needed to stay serious about.
The hospital gig was supposed to be temporary, but somehow had already stretched into almost a year. He needed to press past his fatigue and find the right building in Kittle Falls to build his new practice.
Laughter distracted Brayden from his thoughts, bringing him back to the lunch table. Jeremy and Cali discussed their date while everyone else was back to sports.
He looked up at a clock to see the time. "I've got to get back, guys."
Cali moved out of his way, and Brayden took his tray with a half-eaten sandwich. Hopefully it would be enough to get him through the afternoon. He exchanged goodbyes before heading back to the cardiology department.
Brayden passed through the waiting room, filled mostly with older people. He noticed a young blonde reading a fashion magazine. Her hair was pulled back, and she wore workout clothes—in other words, she didn't look like a typical cardiology patient. Perhaps she was bringing a grandparent to the office.
He hurried back into his office to find a new stack of papers and folders on his desk. He flipped through the files of his patients for the afternoon. It was going to be a long one. Brayden drank the remainder of his coffee, and then threw the cup into the trash bin.
He had about fifteen minutes before seeing the first patient, so he quickly went through the stack of labs he'd been neglecting. The caffeine kicked in, and he got through the stack with three minutes to spare.
He picked up the stack of files and flipped through the first one. It looked simple enough. A case of supraventricular tachycardia. SVT was typically easy to manage, at least compared to most of what he usually saw every day.
Brayden knocked on the door before entering the exam room. He stopped when he saw the only person in the exam room was the gorgeous blonde from the waiting room. He hadn't paid attention to the age of the patient on the paperwork.
"Lana Summers?" he asked.
She smiled and stood, extending her hand. "Yes. Nice to meet you, Dr. Hunter."
Brayden shook her hand. Her skin was so smooth and soft, and she smelled like tropical flowers, reminding him of his last trip to Hawaii. It took him a moment to find his voice. "It's my pleasure. Have a seat, please."
Lana sat back down in the patient chair, and Brayden sat in the plush wheeled chair. He rolled it over closer to Lana. Usually, he stayed by the desk to look over the nurse's notes on the computer. "Tell me about your SVT," he said, looking into her beautiful blue eyes. They reminded him of the ocean during the summertime.
She leaned forward, bringing the scent of her perfume to him. He took a deep breath, loving it. "Well, it just started the other night when I was sleeping. My family's spending the summer in Kittle Falls in a house on the beach. I woke up because my heart was pounding so fast I didn't know what was going on. I was afraid I was going to stop breathing." The fear in her eyes showed she wasn't exaggerating.
Brayden looked over the file. "It says here when the paramedics arrived, your heart rate was two-thirty-three." He raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you didn't pass out."
Lana's beautiful eyes widened. "Me, too, Dr. Hunter. But I was determined to stay awake."
He gave her a reassuring look. "I'm glad you're okay, but rest assured SVT is rarely deadly."
"Rarely? So, it can kill people? I looked it up online today and didn't see anything about that."
"Usually, only the elderly—and rarely."
"What if I have another attack?"
"Episode," Brayden corrected. "There are several ways to lower your heart rate on your own. One is to stick your hands under cold water. A lot of people find that works. Others cough or even hold their breath. And if you ever feel faint, you can try putting your head between your legs."
She stared at him for a moment. "You mean it's that easy?"
"Most of the time. Though I wouldn't call it easy. It's scary to have an episode from what I understand. I'm sure I'd be scared, too."
"But what if that doesn't work?"
"In most cases, it'll just resolve itself like it did for you." He looked at the file again. "By the time you got to the ER, it looks like your heart rate was in the normal range."
Lana nodded. "Yeah, but what if it doesn't go back to normal?"
"We have medicines that can shock your heart back to a typical rhythm."
"That doesn't sound pleasant."
"It's not, and it's only for extreme cases."
She looked down at her hands for a moment before looking back to him. "What's extreme?"
"Without breaking patient confidentiality, I can tell you a little about a case I consulted on a while back. The patient was pregnant and had a heart rate over three hundred bpm, and it had lasted for hours. To be honest, none of us could believe she was still conscious. She received the treatment."
Lana stared at him. "Was she okay? The baby?"
"Both are fine."
"Is there anything I can do to prevent this from happening again?"
"You can avoid high levels of caffeine and alcohol. Eat well and stay active—general heart care will help to keep it strong and healthy. I don't believe there's any scientific proof, but I've noticed SVT episodes happen more in the warm weather, so try not to get overheated."
"No caffeine?"
"That's not what I said." Brayden smiled. "Just don't overdo it. Small amounts should be fine, though you might want to avoid it for a while after an episode."
They spoke for a little while until Lana appeared to feel better about the whole thing.