Conflicts of the Heart

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual person, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

Copyright © by Julie Michele
Gettys

“
Gettys serves up a unique tale of a mother’s love that never falters and her unending struggle of overcoming modern-day obstacles.” –Jaime Geraldi-Romantic Times Reviews.

This book is dedicated to my loving husband Bill.

Acknowledgements

This book would not have been published without the help from my agent, Dawn
Dowdle, or the people who read for me, critiqued, and kept me writing. My thanks to Shirley Kennedy, Elnora King, Elisabeth Macdonald. When we ran into title problems, my friend Jona Caldwell rescued me and came up with the title
. A special thank you to the wonderful mother and her autistic son who inspired me to write this book.

Cover by

Fantasia Frog Designs

One

“If you think you can have a career and
raise a five-year old autistic kid by yourself, you’re nuts. I’m going to enjoy watching you fail.”

Dana Claiborne shrugged off Joel’s parting words. She hurried across the parking tarmac, weaving between parked cars to the main entrance of Templeton Hospital.
Her decision to move back to Ashton, her hometown, made perfect sense to her now. She’d always loved the Central Valley. No more chilly bay area days. No more meddling ex-husband; just freedom, a new job, a perfect place to raise her son, and lots of warm sunshine for seven months of the year.

She gazed up at the imposing building. Starting over sent a rush of fear through her. In Palo Alto, she had some semblance of security, at least until this past year when her world fell apart,
and she had to make a decision she now prayed she would not regret. Stop it! She shook herself free of negative thoughts and strode up the steps. Today she came in to get a feel for the place before officially starting her job tomorrow. Her neighbor, a friendly woman she barely knew, surprisingly agreed to watch her son, Michael, for the morning. Her baby. The lost look in his eyes as she released his hand gave her the impetus to make this work. He was her reason for being here. She had to succeed for him and, the more she thought about it, for herself as well.

Automatic doors whispered shut behind her as she stepped into the cool, spacious lobby. Visitors bearing gifts and flowers strolled toward the bank of elevators and various corridors. Soft music poured from the sound system, along with the muted paging of doctors and nurses.

She made her way down a corridor of the first floor, like any visitor coming in to see a relative or friend. A group of nurses passed, a few exchanged opinions on a movie they’d seen, others commented on negotiations and a meeting. Curiosity drew her to the auditorium where the nurses were headed to meet with the union representative.

“You want to catch the man in action?” Gil Hargrove had called that morning. “I understand he's in the hospital today.”

Dana interpreted Gil’s words as a call to action. After all, her new job as Human Resources Director made her the chief negotiator for Templeton Medical Center. Her instructions were to bring in an acceptable contract with the nurses. Borland Hospital in San Jose had been her training ground for five years. Her reputation as a negotiator equaled that of Patrick Mitchell’s, the union representative she hoped to see in action today.

The large lecture hall resembled a movie theater more than a hospital auditorium. On stage, she saw a blackboard with a union meeting notice. For a Sunday, the large crowd, maybe two
hundred people, surprised her. At Borland, few showed up on a day off for meetings unless the issues were heavy and they expected long, grueling negotiations to follow. Gil had warned her.

Over the loudspeaker, a female voice announced, “Here's Patrick Mitchell.”

A tall man in his mid-thirties with medium-blond hair ambled out and sat on the apron of the stage. He wore a short-sleeved shirt open at the collar and khaki slacks. Microphone in hand, he scanned the large crowd, grinning as if reassuring the audience of their camaraderie.

The nurses went wild, cheering and screaming as if he was a rock star.
Dana had never seen anything like it. This could make her job very difficult. Gil had warned her to come over and check this guy out. With so many loose ends to tie up in Palo Alto before her move, a visit seemed pointless. Patrick Mitchell couldn’t be much different from any other rep in the business. She could tell by his striking appearance and the response from his followers that she might pay dearly for that error.

He signaled for silence. Several whistles from approving females in the audience broke the hush that had fallen over the auditorium.
Of all the rotten luck. Nobody told her that she was up against a man everyone adored.

She stood at the back of the auditorium next to the last row of seats. At her right, a young student nurse murmured to an older woman, “I'd join the union just to be around him.”

The older nurse chuckled. “He can park his shoes under my bed anytime.”

Mitchell called the meeting to order. “This will be our toughest year. Are you with me, no matter what it takes?” The audience cheered and stomped their feet.
“All the way?” His fist raised in the air. Another cheer.

With him as her adversary, this job presented her with a huge challenge.
If Dana learned anything from her marriage it was to never walk away from a challenge. If she got anything out of her marriage, she learned to stand up and fight for her beliefs. Unless invited, management wasn’t allowed. She slipped out of the auditorium, finishing her tour an hour later on the fifth floor. Patrick Mitchell stood at the nurses’ station passing out Professional Nurses Association leaflets. The nerve of this guy. He blatantly broke the rules, soliciting on-duty staff. The young clerk behind the counter smiled as if she couldn’t do enough for the man. Her ire rose to new heights. Now she understood why Gil wanted her to take this job. The fear she experienced earlier melted away like wax running down the side of a candle.

Dana wanted to stroll up to introduce herself and watch him wiggle his way out.
Too bad that he persisted in breaking the rules. She found establishing boundaries the hardest part of starting a new job, and this man wasn’t going to make it easy. She sucked in a deep, nervous breath preparing to introduce herself when the clerk handed him the phone.

Dana watched his smile broaden. Out of curiosity, she skimmed through the pamphlets he’d been passing out. These promises he was making to the nurses were good. Too
bad he wouldn’t be able to keep them. No wonder negotiations had stalled.

“Hi, honey.” The warmth in his voice didn’t match the bravado he used on stage earlier. “Daddy misses his little girl.” He paused. “I know, baby. I want you to come to California too.”
Dana felt a pang of guilt for listening.

“Put your mommy on the phone, honey.” A moment later, his tone rose. “Listen, Elaine.
I’m doing everything I can to settle this contract. I’ve broken enough rules in this place to get my butt canned. All I want is Lisa here with me this summer.” He paused, listening. “I don’t care what the judge ordered--” He stopped, glanced around, gazing directly into Dana’s eyes. “I’ll call you tonight. Tell Lisa, I’ll talk to her then.” He handed the phone back to the clerk.

He must be divorced, and his ex-wife had custody of their daughter. What a screwed up world. She sensed his all too familiar stress. At least she had Michael. Every time she thought of him, her heart swelled. Patrick’s constant breaking the contract rules now made a little more sense. Nevertheless, she had a job to do, and that was to enforce their agreement.

A moment later, seeming more composed, he stood beside her. She glanced up into his cool green eyes. “May I have one of these?” She held up the leaflet he had no business distributing at the nursing stations.

“Are you an employee?”

His ingratiating smile tickled her. He treated her like one of his nurses. He probably fully expected her to have a pen in hand ready to sign up on the spot.

“I’ll be tomorrow. I’m--”
Before she could introduce herself, a nurse flagged him to her side.

“
Keep the flyer. How will I find you?” He walked away.

“I’ll find you
,” she called out after him. No doubt, she would. He was her job. Now she realized she actually had to walk a thin line to come to an agreement. Controlling her feelings for his position with his child might play a part in their day-to-day dealings.

The next morning at her kitchen table, pouring coffee, Dana thought about her fitful night worrying about her new job, and all the trouble Michael had given her this morning. He splashed the bathroom full of water during his bath and refused to dry himself. Then it took her fifteen minutes to settle him down in front of his TV so she could have a few minutes to herself. He understood a change was in the air, and he didn’t like it. Poor little guy. He had a trying day ahead, as did she, but she had the ability to cope with hers.

She sipped her coffee and leafed through the newspaper, trying to calm herself before taking Michael to his new daycare center, and then begin her first day on the job. Back in Palo Alto, she had a woman stay with Michael during the day. He related to her on some level, giving Dana the space to pursue her career. In Ashton, he was going to a day care center for the first time. Dear God let this work out.

On the business page, she spotted two significant stories that meant double trouble: the struggling economy and shock of shocks, a picture of Patrick Mitchell holding a rally in the parking lot of Templeton. He wanted to win. The telephone call he received yesterday from his daughter had given her some insight for all the trouble he’d been causing in the hospital. She understood about breaking rules to survive when you wanted to help someone you loved. If she succeeded, she had a decent future.

When he discovered her position, he’d certainly think she came in to spy on him yesterday. Well, she had. That’s why Gil called and told her to go in and catch him in the act. In addition, Patrick never gave her the opportunity to introduce herself properly. Then again, she should have stepped up and told him who she was. Now she must pay the price for letting him assume she was a nurse.

She shook thoughts of him from her mind. The boxes stacked from one end of her apartment to the other drew her attention. What a mess. She had enough stuff to fill two apartments. This place left a lot to be desired, and came with all the usual problems of an older building, small rooms with thin walls. She couldn’t afford anything better right now. Her second order of business after she settled the contract and she got on her feet: find a new place in a better neighborhood. She sipped her coffee and glanced out the window, down at the swimming pool in the center of her apartment complex. The crystal blue water rippled in the early morning breeze, so peaceful and serene, opposite to the jumbled feelings roiling around in her. She hesitated in calling friends to come visit. Though her circumstances were not her fault, she did still have some pride.