Chapter Ninety-Four

Trapper left a message for Leah to come to his office when she had the time. He was ordering lunch in and invited her to join him while he made phone calls for caterers, a minister, and Antonio's. She was in the basement going over the work that had been started while she and Trapper were away in Washington.

"David, these programs will have to be changed. Our databases aren't hierarchical, they're relational. These database searches are assuming everything is in sorted order by key, but it's not. It's last in, first out. You'll have to pass the search up a specific key, and then sweep the database." David didn't say anything, but rather looked at his shoes. "David, I'm not the principal, and this isn't high school. Can you tell me what happened? You didn't do this. You know how our databases are structured. Who did this?"

"Kevin, but it was at my direction. I should have checked it better before I left it for you."

Her hopes were now dashed that she would be able to rely on David as her lead going forward. A person ready for technical lead wouldn't make that kind of careless mistake. "Yes, you should have. I want you to sit with Kevin and go over the database structure, and then have him redo these. I need them finished by the end of the week. I don't care if you two have to stay late every day to do it. Am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am," he answered, taking the listings and leaving the large cubical at the end of the row that remained empty other than the times Leah was in the basement.

Feeling a headache coming on, she stroked her forehead with the tips of her fingers. Interviews for technical lead just zoomed to the top of her list when she should really be working on schematics for the new silo. She'd be taking work home with her, which would make a certain doctor very unhappy. Then again, if he expected her to be patient with his long hours, he should be patient with hers.

She winced. His concerns for her health made his reasons more valid than hers. Collecting her paperwork, she left the basement for her office, but was halted by Gloria. "Trapper's been looking for you. He ordered lunch in."

The corner of Leah's mouth turned up. "Thank you, Gloria." Her smile faded as the throb in her head reminded her of not only her headache, but the reason behind the headache.

Trapper's door was open, so she knocked lightly on the door and continued in. "I hear there's lunch in this office."

Looking over his glasses, he grinned and stood, walking around his desk to her. "Where have you been?" he asked before he met her lips with his.

"In the basement." Answering his frown, she said, "I'm surprised you didn't look there."

He smiled and wrinkled his nose. "You don't work in the basement anymore. Why would I look there?"

"Do you go where you need to operate, or do they bring the patient to your office," she said, answering his sarcastic expression with a sneer.

Laughing, he guided her to the credenza behind his desk where lunch waited. "Touché."

Trapper sat at his desk poring over his charts while he ate. Leah sat on the sofa concentrating on her programs and nibbled. Every now and then, she'd close her eyes and rub her temple. The movement caught Trapper's eye time and time again until finally, he removed his glasses and turned his chair toward her. "Leah?"

"Hm?" she grunted without looking up from her listings.

"Is there something wrong with your head?"

She quickly looked up. "What kind of question is that?"

"You're squinting and rubbing your temples. Do you have a headache?"

"Yes, I do," she answered, returning to her work. "But I can't take just anything because of my other meds, so I just deal with it. More than likely, it's tension. I had to dress down David earlier today, and that's when it started." She sighed. "As a matter of fact, I really need to put these programs down and get started on hiring a new technical lead." Gathering her paperwork and moving her plate to the top of the stack, she headed for the door, smiling back sweetly. "See you later. Oh. Thanks for lunch."

He shook his head, laughing. "Do you think that's going to work? Leah? Leah!"

Friday night came much too soon for either Trapper or Leah considering how far they were behind from their excursion to Washington. Things were getting done, but slowly.

"Leah, are you ready to go?" asked Trapper as he stepped into her office without knocking. "Oh, excuse me. I didn't know you had someone with you."

"Andy Randall, this is Dr. McIntyre, our Chief of Surgery. Dr. McIntyre, Andy is interviewing for the technical lead position on my staff."

Trapper nodded. "Leah, I hate to interrupt, be we have an appointment."

Stepping around her desk, she took Trapper's arm and began pushing him out the door. "Andy, would you excuse me for just a minute?" As soon as the door was closed, she turned. "Trapper, you'll have to go on without me."

His brows danced in annoyance. "The caterers? The party?"

Wrapping her arm in his, she walked him toward the elevator. "I just have to finish this interview, and then I have one more after that. I'll be there shortly. Just show the caterers to the kitchen. They'll know what to do."

"I can't make an announcement if you're not there."

"John," she said, moving her eyes up to his and wearing a captivating smile. "Everything will be fine. No one is expecting this, so it doesn't matter if you tell them at the beginning, in the middle or at the end. Anyway, I'll be there before any of our guests arrive. Now bend down here and kiss me, so I can go get these interviews done."

When he did, the kiss he received was more than normally would have been acceptable in the hall of the executive suite, but considering the lateness of the afternoon, he indulged her and then with a crooked smile, watched her walk away.

Leah drove down Steiner Street, grimacing at the number of cars that lined the street in front of the house. She didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until she arrived in front of Trapper's house and let it out when she found the driveway empty. Gathering her purse and briefcase, she trotted up the front steps and tried the door. It wasn't locked, so she stepped in, only to see Trapper standing in the kitchen rubbing the back of his neck. He saw her in the entry way and hurried to her, looking down at his watch.

"It's been two hours. Are you all right?" Taking her briefcase, he leaned a little further and gave her a quick kiss.

"I'm fine. I was able to get hold of two of Andy's references, and both were really good recommendations, so I hired him. I had to do the second interview, but all I could offer was the programmer job. He's thinking about it. Is anyone here yet?"

"Our guests are just starting to arrive. And the kitchen is a disaster."

She smiled. "If you'll put my briefcase by the desk, I'll just run upstairs and freshen up, and then I'll take care of the kitchen, while you answer the door." She moved her hand to his cheek and tiptoed into another kiss, this time a much longer one that got him to smile. "Now relax. I'll take care of the caterers."

Ernie walked up behind Trapper. "I couldn't help over hearing. You're usually unflappable. Why are you so nervous?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "Is something going on besides the grants?"

Moving his arm around her shoulders, he said, "What else could possibly be going on other than Leah's late, and the caterers are wreaking havoc in my kitchen?"

"Caterers, Dr. McIntyre, could never fluster you before tonight. Now what's going on?"

He smiled. "I'm going back to the kitchen and sending out some drinks."

As Trapper arranged for trays to start circulating between answering the door, Leah rushed into the kitchen right into his arms. "Whoa, girl. It's too crowded in here for you to be moving that fast."

She giggled. "Sorry. But I don't know anyone else I'd rather run into," she said happily tiptoeing and giving him a peck on this lips.

"Well, it's nice to see you so cheerful considering the real reason for this party," he replied, kissing her back.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you have seemed a bit depressed about getting married."

Her brows arched. "Did I say no?"

"Well, no. But you didn't exactly say yes, either. You haven't even been wearing the ring."

"Not true." She pulled a chain around her neck out of her blouse and dangled the ring in front of him. Dropping the chain, she threw her arms around his neck. "Yes," she said, laughing. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes," she continued with a kiss somewhere on his face between each word. She didn't stop until he was laughing loudly.

"Okay, okay," he said, still laughing. "You're going to give it away. There's someone at the door. Oh," he said, turning back. "Did you get in touch with Angela today?"

Leah frowned. "No. And her answering machine is still full. Maybe she went somewhere for the weekend."

"That's probably it. I wouldn't worry about it."

While Trapper entertained their guests, Leah organized the kitchen. "You there," she said to the person shouting orders. "Find someone to drive down to the store on the corner and buy four twenty-pound bags of ice." She pulled a twenty out of her pocket and placed it in his hands. "There's a galvanized wash tub right outside the back door. Bring it in here, take the white wine and champagne out of the refrigerator, put them in the tub, and ice them down. Put a few bottles of each in the freezer to start chilling. That should leave room in the refrigerator for the food. Lay a few bottles of the Merlot on top of the ice, and when you use one, replace it with another. Set the rest of the reds on the back porch. They'll be too warm sitting in this kitchen. I want trays of food and drinks continuously circulating."

"What if we run out of ice?"

"I gave you a twenty. Go get more," she said on her way out of the kitchen.

Trapper saw her come out of the kitchen and called her over to the group he was standing with. "I'd like you all to meet Leah Haverty, the hospital's CIO and technical genius. This is Bill and Evelyn Bower. Bill is Chief of Surgery at Bay General. And this is Boyd and Maggie Stephens. Boyd is the County Medical Examiner."

Leah shook hands with everyone. "I'm so glad you all could come," she said with a smile and an extended hand.

"Ms. Haverty, I've been working on Trapper here to let us borrow you for awhile," said Dr. Bower. "The people installing our computer system are having issues."

"Well, all installations don't always go according to plan. I'm had my share of issues, Dr. Bower. Mrs. Bower, I love your bracelet. Blue's my favorite color."

A hand came down hard on Trapper's shoulder, and when he turned, he laughed and gave the owner of the hand a hug. "Davey, glad you could come. This is Dr. and Mrs. Bower from Bay General and Dr. and Mrs. Stephens from the ME's office." He waited for their greetings. "And this is Leah Haverty."

Davey gave her a toothy grin. "So this is the little lady who catches big fish, huh?" Taking her hands in his, he shook them warmly. "Trapper's told us all about you."

She cleared her throat. "Us?"

"Oh, I fish with him. Well, not anymore. Seems he's saving his fishing days for you."

Taking the man's arm, Leah stepped between him and Trapper. "Well, if you fellas don't mind taking a woman on your no-female weekends, you can still fish with him. I'll just be one of the guys."

Davey looked her up and down. "It would be real hard to think of you as one of the guys, Ms. Haverty…"

Holding her hand up to stop him, she corrected him. "Leah."

"Leah…well, it would, and it might be a little awkward for you, especially when some of the more colorful language starts flying."

A sly smile formed on her lips. "If you can't take it, don't dish it out."

Trapper laughed. "It seems you've been issued a challenge, Davey."

Laughing with him, she said, "If you folks will excuse me, I need to make sure the wine and champagne continue to flow. I'll be right back."

Davey moved to Trapper's side and leaned slightly in. "Looks like you've caught a keeper."

Grunting as he nodded, Trapper wore a smile as he watched her disappear into the kitchen.