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SAMANTHA

My workday was finally done At last The dictation ofup the phone with the recovery rooency appendecto well With an extra four hours tacked on to lasses, rubbed ain

I stood from the desk, raisedin for soone to Texas for the birth of his first grandchild, plus covered my usual duties in the OR

I looked at my watch, did the math Twenty-three hours and six minutes until I was due back for my next shift Laundry needed to be done Apartment cleaned Finish the latest thriller on my e-reader Sleep

God, I was dull, the excite into bed at a ridiculously early hour Alone Working seventy-plus hours a week made me crave sleep, not fun I’d only been in Cutthroat a few months and everyone on staff was friendly, but I was an oddity It wasn’t often soraduated froical residency by twenty-five

Most nurses were older than e and the fact that I was legally allowed to wield a scalpel made so on them

An ER nurse nao?” I took in the apologetic look on her face for giving me another patient For a small-town hospital, we’d been crazy busy all day Full moon, perhaps

Inwardly I groaned but only nodded as I grabbedit over er? It wasn’t as ifanywhere

“Prostate check” The corner of her ave We were professionals, no ers into the rectus “Third time this year You’re new and haven’t met Mr Marx yet, but he’s Cutthroat’s resident hypochondriac”

I knew of them, people who either read too ht into the ER or were lonely and wanted some TLC A prostate check meant the first, hopefully, and not the second “Gotcha”

“Room three”