In Good Hands
She waved off the compliment with a too-casual gesture. “I happen to think I’m beautiful even when I don’t make the effort. Beauty comes from within.”
Roger shook his head. “In your case, beauty comes from inside and outside.”
She took the compliment gracefully with a regal nod of her head, but something still didn’t sit right. He leaned forward.
“So you’ve given up medicine all together? Just to water plants?”
She shook her head. “No, no. Like I said, I do research. And before you ask, it’s not the kind of research you’re thinking of. No laboratory funded by a pharmaceutical grant. No Ph.Ds and definitely no Bunsen burner in sight.”
He nodded like he understood her. Which he didn’t. “So what kind of research?”
“New age.”
It took him a moment to process her words. And even then it was another moment beyond that. Meanwhile, she was cringing. Not obviously. Just a little, as if she expected him to start mocking her. He didn’t. During his mother’s last year, she’d explored crystals and aromatherapy and more. He never saw that it made any difference except to her. It gave her something to focus on before her death, something to explore. In many ways, he believed it gave his mother some peace before the end. In fact, when she’d finally died, he’d thought she was just meditating there for a moment.
“So you’re researching the effects of what? Crystals? Acupressure? Qigong?”
She straightened, obviously surprised that he hadn’t started laughing. “I tried those. They haven’t produced the results I’m looking for. So I’m looking at other modalities now.”
“Such as?”
“Energy healing. No needles. No herbs or crystals. Just—”
“Prayer.”
She shrugged. “Some people call it that.” She tilted her head. “You sound like you know something about it.”
“My mother spent the last year of her life on alternative healing. I got the tour along with her.”
“And?” she pressed. “You don’t seem to be dismissive of it, even though she died.”
He lifted his hands, trying to find a way to express his thoughts. “I didn’t expect a cure, and I don’t think she did either. And I have my own health issues that are making me think about alternative methods lately.” He had, in fact, spent half his afternoon searching the internet for some sort of blood pressure treatment. Something that a hospital couldn’t offer.
Her lips curved in a soft smile. “An open mind. I like that.”
“Yeah,” he said slowly. “You know, I’m beginning to think the universe does work in mysterious ways.” Because right here, right in front of him might be the answer to his prayers. But just in case he was wrong, he tried to think logically about it. He started tallying up facts in his brain.
His blood pressure was out of control. So out of control, he might have to quit his job.
He’d exhausted all the options that modern medicine could offer.
She was a doctor, but was serious about alternative methods and sounded like she took a scientific approach.
He needed to find a cure. Maybe she had the answer.
“So,” he said, feigning casualness, “find any therapies that work?”
She nodded, the most confident movement she’d made during the entire discussion. “I think so, yes.”
“Okay then,” he said, coming to a quick decision. “I’m game. Let’s do it.”
She blinked, obviously not following him. He didn’t blame her. It’s not like he had explained where his brain had taken him.
He smiled. “You’re a former doctor doing scientific research into energy healing.”
She nodded.
“Well, I’m a patient who’s looking for some nonstandard treatments. For high blood pressure. Really high blood pressure.”
She gaped at him. “What?”
“I want to hire you, Amber. For the magical mystery tour of energy healing. I’ll do whatever you want, however you want, so long as I don’t have to quit my job to do it.”
6
AMBER STARED AT the man who had just given her the two top orgasms of her life. “You want me to be your doctor?”
“Yes,” he said firmly, as if that made all the sense in the world.
“Do you know how completely unethical that is? I mean, we just… You…” She couldn’t even put into words what they had done except that it had been incredible. The last thing she wanted was to suddenly step into a professional relationship with him.
He just waved away her concerns with a mild shrug. “Well, you just said you’re a researcher now, not really a doctor.”
“That doesn’t mean—”
“And I’m not asking for traditional medical science, obviously. Been there, done that, and it’s not working. I want you to do the other stuff. Acupuncture, voodoo, mystical whatever.” He spread his arms wide. “Experiment on me. Just so long as I can keep my job.”
She sighed. She hadn’t thought of him as a quick fix kind of guy. From what she’d heard and seen of him so far, he made quick decisions, but that was because he was a quick thinker. Not because he was searching for a short cut.
“I’m sure your doctor discussed with you all the other options for lowering your blood pressure. Diet, exercise—”
“Yeah. I’m doing it. Not helping.”
“Medications.”
He ran through the litany of meds he’d already tried. She leaned forward.
“Just how high is your blood pressure?”
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a little card where he had recorded all his readings for the last five months. Her eyebrows shot up. Yes, he certainly did have a problem. “How long has it been like this?”
“Climbing steadily since my teens. You’re looking at my stable point for the last year and half.”
“And you’ve been on—”
“Every hypertension medication known to mankind.”
She passed back his card while trying to keep her expression neutral. From what he described, he certainly needed something. If modern medicine wasn’t helping him, then he had to look elsewhere. She knew exactly what she’d recommend for him, but it was drastic and not even remotely guaranteed.
“So?” he pressed. “Will you do it? Will you help me?”
She shook her head. “I can’t be your doctor. I won’t. We’re…” She didn’t want to say they were in a relationship, because they weren’t. But they certainly weren’t strangers, either. “There are some lines I won’t cross.”
He sighed. “Fair enough. But how about advice? You give advice to friends, right? And after this, I’d really like to call you a friend.”
She cautiously nodded. Yes, she could see him as a friend.
“Okay then, friend, what would you recommend for me?”
She bit her lip and pulled out the most drastic course of action she could think of in the hopes that he would compromise and do at least some of the items on her list. “As a friend, I would tell you that I think you should go on a raw-food diet, start meditating and hire someone to do energy sessions on you. And, of course, take a long vacation—right now—to really examine your life. Something’s out of whack and you won’t know what it is until you stop completely and listen.”
To his credit, he didn’t even blink. But he did have a question. “Listen to what? Meditation tapes like mantras and stuff?”
She shook her head. “To your body. To your soul. To what you really want to have in your life and what needs to just disappear.”
He shrugged. “That’s easy. My body likes red meat, my job and you. And not necessarily in that order.”
She laughed because he was being absolutely serious and kind of sweet at the same time. “As your friend, I recommend you do a two-week retreat. Raw food, yoga, meditation and absolutely no electronics whatsoever.”
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
Вы ознакомились с фрагментом книги.
Для бесплатного чтения открыта только часть текста.
Приобретайте полный текст книги у нашего партнера:
Полная версия книги