One Long Moment

*** Based on Christian Morals--Christian Romance ***

Book 4 in the Three Cross Faith 2: Health and Faith Series: Dr. Isabel Smith works in her sister's café in the Cole-Hart Neuro Center before she goes to work at her real job as an OB-GYN at Timber Cross Hospital. She gets to deliver babies for other happy couples, knowing she'll never have that happiness for herself.

Dr. Nick Wright works for Austin Cole at the Cole-Hart Neuro Center as a neurosurgeon and neurologist. He lost his wife two years ago and will never marry again. Everyone he knows seems to die, so he's isolated himself from everyone.

Can these two doctors actually date, even though there is some bad blood between them?

Excerpt

The word lonely didn't start to describe how Dr. Nicholas Wright felt all the time. He worked hard, but came home to nothing. No people, no pets, and not even a plant. Everything in his life had died. He considered himself to be a bringer-of-death, or cursed—if that were even possible.

To stop some of the sadness, he buried himself in his work as a neurosurgeon at the Cole-Hart Neuro Center in Timber Cross, Texas. Ever since one of the other single neurosurgeons, Debra, had gotten married, he was one of two unmarried experienced doctors left in the hospital. Thus, he picked up all the slack from the married folk when he could, so they could have a good home life.

He'd never marry again, after his wife, Kristin, had died suddenly about two years ago. It was up to his coworker, Norman, to be the next—and the last—one to marry. But Norman was a confirmed bachelor with many women in his little black book, and wasn't about to put down roots. In Nick's mind, all weddings for the older folk within the established medical practice were over. It'd become as stale as his life felt.

That bright morning at the end of May, he went to the Cole-Hart Neuro Center before six, and stopped in for a cup of coffee at the new café. They'd built on an addition after the main doctor—Austin Cole—wanted a place to go for a midday pick-me up. He didn't want to visit the full cafeteria where the patient families ate meals, but wanted a fun spot to hang out and laugh on tough days. Nick liked this place, because the owner, Star, and her sister ran it in the early morning. They were full of fun and life, which he missed at his home.

He ordered a latte, waited for Star to make it, and chatted with her while she whipped the cream. She was a voluptuous dark-haired woman with greenish eyes, and a personality everyone noticed. From the dimples in her cheeks to the permanent smile on her face, she ruled every social event.

"It's a beautiful day out there," Star said to him as she made his coffee. "You should call in sick and go canoeing or something."

Nick just smiled. "There aren't any rivers close by. Any suggestions?"

She chuckled. "Your bathtub."

He had to laugh at her. She was a fun person, but was married. The wedding ring on her finger along with the huge engagement ring beside it were a definite show-stopper for him. He'd met Landon—her husband—with Star at church. They were the types to have people around them all the time, with everyone bubbly and laughing. Nick was more of a hermit and an introvert, compared to Star and Landon. Nick always blended into the background. He couldn't be happy, with everything on his mind.

"What's going on today?" Star asked him, as she handed him the drink.

He paid for it and stepped back. "The usual."

"Work, work, and then bed. I get it. You doctors need more down time to have fun. Have you considered the fun night at church? I think this week, they're going to a park to show an old movie. They give you some of the lines on a card, and you're supposed to say them with the characters." She chuckled. "Landon and I will be there, so you won't be alone."

"I have to work."

Her eyebrows lowered in frustration. "I didn't even tell you when it was. You're such a party pooper."

He grinned and lifted the latte to his lips. "I have to work every night. I don't have time for play, when people's lives are depending on me." He took a sip of the delicious hot liquid.

She leaned a bit closer. "You still need down time."

"That's what sleep is for." He laughed and stepped away, carrying his briefcase on his shoulder. "Have a great day, Star. I'll be heading upstairs in a bit to start my dreary life."

"Party pooper," she muttered.

That should be his nickname. It was true, and everyone seemed to know it. His dead wife, Kristin, would've laughed at the name, and then forced him to go to the movie. But he'd never do that without her. Since she was dead, he couldn't bring himself to go. He'd tried to date, but it was never right. No one could fill her shoes. He really missed her.