Page 347 of Under Her Skin

Delaney looks mad as hell. “They are not demands. I’m being more than fair. I said I’ll do the remainder of this schedule for the month of December. That’s pretty nice of me, considering I have a wedding to plan. I’ve got double and midday shifts that will take up my time for getting things done, but I’ll do it and not make things hard on you or the other nurses. But the new schedule should have me on the first shift and only five days aweek.”

“Monday through Friday,” I add. “No weekends. You do realize she doesn’t have to work at all,right?”

“Yes, I heard she’s going to be Mrs. Billionaire. So why even keep working, Delaney?” she asks, and I see it in her eyes.It’s the green-eyed monster also known asjealousy.

“I love my work,” she says. “But Blaine’s right. This isn’t the only hospital to workin.”

“Have him buy you one, Delaney. Then you can make your own schedule. A couple of hours each morning and let the rest of the staff work the hard hours. When did you stop being a teamplayer?”

“She’s on my team now,” I say and pull Delaney back with me. “If you won’t make the next schedule the way she asked, then leave her the hell off ofit.”

Delaney is not saying a word. Her body is tense, and I feel terrible about asking her to do this. Everything was great up until this point, and I feel like it’s myfault.

“I think we should get home now. Terry and Colby changed their baptism time to later in the evening. There’s no reason to wait around. Your parents will be here in a couple of hours, and I’d like you to be mellowed out by that time. This littlematter…”

She cuts me off with a glare as she stops. “This is my career. Not some littlematter!”

“I’m not saying it’s not important. I know it’s important to you,” I tell her and pull her along so we can get out of the hospital and to the truck where no one can eavesdrop on our conversation, which is sounding more and more like anargument.

“Well, I may not be able to have things the way you want them tobe.”

I wait until we get outside, then I say, “You shouldn’t allow your career to be defined by one place. Your career—your passion—can be done anywhere. This is not the only place to be a nurse. And that woman in there is just jealous of you and the money you’re marrying into. She shouldn’t even be aboss.”

The walkway has been covered with snow again that hasn’t melted off yet, and I find it slippery. “They should’ve thrown some salt on this already. Come on, let’s go back inside and get some or someone’s going to gethurt.”

As I turn around to go back, I feel her hand slipping in mine and yank her up before her ass hits the ground. “Oh!” she shouts as I pull her backup.

“See? Damn! You were nearlyhurt!”

As we go back into the hospital, I hear a voice, and my name is coming out of some woman’s mouth. “Yes, that’s right. I remember that article on Blaine Vanderbilt. The one claiming he was intoSatanism.”

Fury explodes inside of me. I can’t believe people are bringing up that old article written by that crazy oldman!

Delaney looks at me with a nervous expression on her pretty face. “Don’t worry about that,Blaine.”

That’s easier said than done. I know all too well how things can get out of hand with rumors. And right now is not a time I’d like shit like that to be thrown around.Not with Delaney’s parents here in town for theweek!

How is it that you can do so many good things and it doesn’t overshadow the stupid or bad shit you’vedone?

The truth about what happened in the warehouse is that I was there to make a deal. Not with the devil per say, but the person I dealt with was, indeed, an evil man. And I knew that. But I bought the clothes from his connectionanyway.

Young children were used in the factories that made those cheap clothes. Women were used too. All the employees worked under horrible conditions, and I made money on thattorture.

And that did make me an evil man. I’m making a change today that will help me on my new path. The right path. What makes me mad, is that no matter what good I do, it’s the bad I’ve done that will followme.

A helpless feeling comes over me—a feeling I shouldn’t have on this day that’s so full of miracles. Delaney asks the lady at the reception desk, “Do you happen to have any salt back there for the sidewalks. Mr. Vanderbilt is worried about people slipping and getting hurt. We’ll put it out if you havesome.”

She retrieves a bag of it and hands it to me. “Here you go, Mr. Vanderbilt. How nice ofyou.”

I know she overheard that woman talking, too, and I find it hard to look into her eyes. “Thanks,” I say as I take the bag fromher.

“Mr. Vanderbilt?” she asks, making me turn back around. “Don’t listen to what anyone says about that thing that happened a couple of years ago. Who cares about that? I’ve seen you do a lot of good recently. That’s what matters in this life. There’s not one of us who hasn’t done things that are bad in one way or another. Don’t let it get to you. You’re a great man and getting greater all thetime.”

I look her in the eyes and find a smile on her face that lights her pretty, brown eyes up. “Thank you. That means a lot tome.”

She nods, and we go to sprinkle salt over the slippery surface of the sidewalk people have to use to get into and out of the hospital. Delaney pats my back as I move along it. “Blaine, you really can’t let things like that get into yourhead.”

“I know,” I tell her. “I talked to the preacher while ago, and he told me where I can get a marriage license. He also told me he was available the whole day of New Year’s Eve to perform theceremony.”