The Best Laid Plans by Amy Vastine Page B

wouldn’t live forever, but she certainly didn’t want to think about when they were dead and gone. The worst times in Emma’s life had been when her mother and sister were sick. Watching helplessly as they stared down death was so frightening. It was especially frustrating for Emma because she’d been studying to be a nurse at the time of her mom’s diagnosis. She’d felt as if she should have known what to do, but she had no experience in oncology.
    “Let’s talk about something else. How about I tell you about the guy I’ve set my sights on?” Emma offered.
    Her mother was all ears. She leaned forward and waggled her eyebrows. “Do tell.”
    “Well, Dr. Scott Spencer is smart, sophisticated and gives every dreamy doctor on television a run for his money.”
    “You and your doctors,” she said with a shake of her head. “Have you two hit it off?”
    “We had lunch together the other day.” Emma left out the fact that Dr. Gavin and two other nurses had joined them. Scott had spent most of the time talking to Emma, so it was as if they were by themselves. “I think he likes me.”
    “That confirms that he’s smart. I’ll take your word on the good-looking part. What about his sense of humor? Is he funny? Is he sweet?” These were the traits Maureen thought were essential in a husband. Emma’s dad was one of the most good-natured men she’d ever known. He was nice to everyone he met, although he could be a little shy like Kendall sometimes. But once anyone got to know him, they found out he had the best sense of humor. When Emma was a little girl, she’d thought she could marry her dad someday.
    Scott wasn’t nearly as funny as someone like Charlie. He was very sweet, though. He was good with his patients and pleasant to work with so far.
    “I think you’d like him,” Emma said.
    “If you like him, I’ll like him.” Maureen sat back in her chair. “I can’t imagine ever falling for a doctor. In all my years as a nurse, there wasn’t one doctor I ever wanted to take home with me.”
    “That’s because you had Daddy waiting for you at home. How could anyone compare?”
    Maureen laughed. “Right, that’s why.”
    Her mom could laugh all she wanted. Emma’s parents had the kind of marriage she dreamed of having. It was similar to what Kendall and Max had. Their foundation was not only built on love but on mutual respect. They had a friendship as well as romance. There were good times and bad times, but they knew they could always count on each other. Emma couldn’t wait to be involved in that kind of relationship.
    “Well, I’m going to ask him to be my date to Kendall’s wedding. You’ll see for yourself that there are doctors out there who would make perfectly acceptable mates.” At least that was the plan, and Emma’s plans always worked out.
    * * *
    S HOWING UP TO a shift with a new hairdo meant spending the first hour of work answering the same question: “Did you get your hair cut?” As if it wasn’t obvious. Emma dreaded people’s reaction to her cut.
    She found out quickly that a dramatic change like hers didn’t lead to questions but rather exclamations that served no other purpose than to inform her of the fact that her hair was gone. As if she might not be aware.
    “Whoa! You cut your hair off!” Bobby, the night-shift nurse, was the first to express his surprise.
    “I did.”
    Just then, Tammy walked into the ER. She almost dropped the cup of coffee she was holding. “Oh, my gosh! Emma, your hair is gone!”
    “It’s not
all
gone,” Emma said defensively, swiping her bangs out of her face.
    “I love it,” Tammy said, coming over to touch it as if it wasn’t real. “Do you love it?”
    “I like it. It’s going to take some getting used to, I guess. It feels so weird to wash it. That’s when it feels like nothing’s there.”
    “Holy cow, Emma has no hair.” Tessa set her tablet on the counter, mouth agape. “I loved your hair. I can’t believe you cut