He looked at his watch and stepped on the gas. The car was one of his favorite releases. He also flew his own plane, went scuba diving whenever he had time, skied, and had climbed several mountains in Europe. He was a man who liked to scale heights, in every possible way. To defy the impossible and win. It was why he loved his work. People accused him of playing God. But it wasn't really that. It was the thrill of insuperable odds that stimulated him. And he had never yet been defeated. Not by women or mountains or sky, not even by a patient. At forty-seven he had won at everything he touched, and he was going to win now. He and Nancy were going to win together. His dark hair blew softly in the breeze and his eyes almost crackled with life. He still had a tan from his recent week in Tahiti, and he was wearing gray slacks and a soft blue cashmere sweater that was just the color of his eyes. He was always impeccably dressed, perfectly put together. He was an exceptionally good-looking man, but there was more to him than that. It was his vitality, his electricity, that caught one's attention even more than his looks did.
He pulled up to the curb at the airport precisely at the moment Nancy's plane was touching down. He showed a special pass to a policeman, who nodded and promised to keep an eye on the car. Even the policeman smiled at Gregson. Peter was a man no one could ignore. He had an almost irresistible charm, and a strength that showed through everything he did. It made people want to be near him.
He wove his way expertly into the airport lobby and spoke rapidly to a ground supervisor. The man picked up a phone, and within moments Peter was ushered through a door, down a flight of stairs, and into a tiny airport vehicle, then rushed out to the run-way, where he saw the ambulance standing by, the attendants waiting for the patient to be taken off the plane. He thanked his driver and hurried to the ambulance, where he quickly checked inside to see that his orders had been carried out. They had been, to the letter. Everything was there that he needed. It was hard to tell what kind of shape she might be in after the flight, but he had wanted her in San Francisco immediately, so he could keep a close eye on things. He had a lot of planning to do, and work would begin in just a few days.
The other passengers were held back a few more minutes while Nancy was carried out through the forward hatch. The stewardesses hung back, looking grave, averting their gazes from the bottles and transfusions that hung over the bandaged girl, but the nurses seemed to be speaking to her as she was carried out. He liked the look of the nurses, young but competent, and they seemed to work well as a team. That was what he wanted. They were all going to be part of a team for the next year and a half, and everyone was important. There was no room for reluctance or incompetence. Everyone had to be the very best they could be, including Nancy. But he would see to that. She was going to be the star of this show. He watched her being carried toward him and waited until the stretcher had been gently set down inside the ambulance. He smiled at the nurses but said nothing, and held up a hand gesturing them to wait as he eased in beside Nancy and sat down on a seat next to her. He reached for her hand and held it.
“Hello, Nancy. I'm Peter. How was the trip?” As though she were for real. As though she were still someone, not just a faceless blob. She could feel relief wash over her at the sound of his voice.
“It was okay. You're Dr. Gregson?” She sounded tired but interested.
“Yes. But Peter sounds a little less formal between two people who're going to be working together.” She liked the way he said it, and if she could have, she would have smiled.
“You came out to meet me?”
“Wouldn't you have come out to meet me?”
“Yes.” She wanted to nod, but she couldn't. “Thank you.”
“I'm glad I did. Have you ever been to San Francisco before, Nancy?”
“No.”
“You're going to love it. And we're going to find you an apartment you like so much you'll never want to leave here. Most people don't, you know. Once they dig in their heels, they want to stay here forever. I came out here from Chicago about fifteen years ago, and you couldn't get me back there on a bet.” She laughed at the way he said it, and he smiled down at her. “Are you from Boston?” He was treating her as though they had been introduced by friends. But he wanted her to relax after the long flight. And a few minutes without movement would do her good. The nurses were also glad of the opportunity to stretch as they chatted with the two ambulance attendants. Now and then they glanced in to see Dr. Gregson still talking to Nancy, and they liked him already. He exuded warmth.
“No, I was from New Hampshire. That's where I grew up anyway. In an orphanage. I moved to Boston when I was eighteen.”
“It sounds very romantic. Or was the orphanage straight out of Dickens?” He gave everything a light touch, a happy note. Nancy laughed at the question about Dickens.
“Hardly. The nuns were wonderful. So much so that I wanted to be one.”
“Oh, God. Now listen, you—” And she laughed at the tone of his voice. “When we're through with our project, young lady, you're going to be ready for Hollywood. If you go hide in a convent somewhere I'll … I'll … why, I'll head off the bridge, damn it. You'd better promise me you won't go off and become a nun somewhere.” That was easy. She had Michael to get ready for. Her dreams of being Sister Agnes Marie had faded years ago, but die wanted to tease Gregson a little. She already liked him.
“Oh, all right.” She said it begrudgingly but with laughter in her voice.
“Is that a promise? Come on, say it … I promise.” “I promise.”
“What do you promise?” They were both laughing now.
“I promise not to be a nun.”
“Whew. That's better.” He signaled to the two nurses to join them, and the attendants moved toward the front. She was ready to go now, and he didn't want to tire her with too much patter. “Why don't you introduce me to your friends.”
“Well, let's see, the cold hands are Lily, and the warm ones are Gretchen.” All four of them laughed.
“Thanks a lot, Nancy.” Lily laughed benevolently as Nancy smiled to herself. She felt safe with her new-found friends, and all she could think of now was what she would look like for Michael after it was all over. She liked Peter Gregson, and suddenly she knew that he was going to make her someone very special, because he cared.
“Welcome to San Francisco, little one.” Lily's cool hands ware replaced by his strong, graceful ones, and he kept a light hand on her shoulder all the way into the city. In an odd way, he made her feel as though she had come home.
Chapter 7
The ambulance doors swung open and they carried the stretcher expertly into the hotel. The manager was waiting to greet them, and the entire penthouse suite had been reserved for their use. They were only planning to stay for a day or two, but the hotel would provide a breather between hospital and home. Marion had business meetings in Boston, and besides, for some reason Michael had insisted on a few days in a hotel before going home. And his mother was ready to indulge his every whim.
The ambulance attendants set him down carefully on the bed, and he made a face. “For Chrissake, there's nothing wrong with me, Mother. They all said I was fine.”
“But there's no need to push.”
“Push?” He looked around the suite and groaned as she tipped the ambulance attendants, who promptly vanished. The room was filled with flowers, and there was a huge basket of fruit on the table near the bed. His mother owned the hotel. She had bought it years before as an investment.
“Now relax, darling. Don't get overexcited. Do you want anything to eat?” She had wanted to keep the nurse, but even the doctor had said that was unnecessary, and it would have driven Michael crazy. All he had to do now was take it easy for another couple of weeks, and then he could go to work. But he had something else to do first. “How about some lunch?” Marion asked.