Goats solve their differences head-on. They don’t give the silent treatment or yell, they butt heads then it’s over.Cowboy Marvin has learned humans resolve issues differently especially those romantically involved. His curiosity sparked, he has invited authors to stop by on Fridays and share the first fight out of their latest book.
First Fight Friday
with a scene from
By My Side
Kate is a nurse from A&E who is transferring a patient up to a
ward when she witnesses a consultant being far too severe on
a patient. Sadly, Kate has recently had experience of a
surgeon being harsh to someone she loves and, incensed,
she immediately goes off to find someone to tell.
Lurking in a cupboard, venting at some colleagues, she is so distracted, she doesn’t notice the man himself coming up
behind her and he is not impressed. Taking the matter
in hand, he escorts her to Sister’s office to have it
out with her and here is where we pick the story up…
ward when she witnesses a consultant being far too severe on
a patient. Sadly, Kate has recently had experience of a
surgeon being harsh to someone she loves and, incensed,
she immediately goes off to find someone to tell.
Lurking in a cupboard, venting at some colleagues, she is so distracted, she doesn’t notice the man himself coming up
behind her and he is not impressed. Taking the matter
in hand, he escorts her to Sister’s office to have it
out with her and here is where we pick the story up…
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Mr Elliott was tall and dark: a striking man, whose features, suffused with even a modicum of warmth, might have been quite good looking on anyone else, but on him, they favoured only his gravitas. Unfortunately, in the serious light of her current situation, Kate couldn't help but quake.
Grey-blue eyes bore into her as the silence lingered like a guillotine above her head and the trembling inside her began to grow.
"So you think, Nurse…" he said, deliberately peering closer at her uniform to read the name on her badge. "Excuse me, Staff Nurse Heath, that I should be reported for speaking plainly to one of my patients, do you? Maybe you would be kind enough to enlighten me as to why?"
Kate’s jaw clenched. He was patronising her, she was well aware of it, but while the little courage she had left remained, she was going to speak her mind. With the callous words of the surgeon who had recently treated her grandfather so appallingly hurtling to the forefront of her mind, she looked up into his steel-armoured eyes.
"It was quite obvious that you were completely out of order in there," she said. "What gave you the right to judge that poor lad? I bet you don't even know the first thing about him; stuck up there in your ivory tower where life is so easy and Armani suits grow on trees. Who’s to say it wasn’t a genuine accident? But you wouldn't think of that, would you? You just laid into him. He was a quivering wreck by the time you’d finished."
Mr Elliott stood, poised in obvious frustration for a moment and then, when his voice finally broke, it was clenched and steady, as if a great force was being needed to keep it so. "And how should I have addressed the situation instead, may I ask?"
By this time Kate was rapidly running out of fire. She knew how to fight when her opponent shouted back, but this cool, calculated analysis had her on the wrong foot. She searched for something further to say, but came up blank.
"What, no sound advice? No words of wisdom?"
Kate bristled and shot him a glare, cursing her brain for letting her down right when she needed it.
"Maybe I had better remind you of your objections. I think the word 'bully' was in there, and from what I can remember you were attempting to incite mutiny on one of my wards. So would you care to elaborate on any of that? You were very free with your opinions a few minutes ago." He looked at her for a moment as her brain struggled hard to find the right words to say. "Maybe you should try running my team, doing my clinics and operating on my patients for a few days and then come back to me. At least then you might have some idea of what you're talking about."
"I wasn't questioning your abilities as a doctor,” she said, suddenly finding the spark she needed and tossing it right back at him, but her conviction was waning.
"Oh? Well, that is a relief." His tone had taken on a sarcastic quality that ignited the dying embers of her rage.
"No, it was your lack of compassion that I was questioning," Kate said. "It's not your right to play judge and jury, deciding who should be worthy of treatment and who should not. Are you absolutely certain he was the one to blame for the crash? It’s just as likely that he wasn’t. In fact we had one, just the other day, where a woman swerved to avoid a cat and crashed head-long into a van coming in the opposite direction."
Elliott's face paled. His stone wall cracked just a little as Kate could see the doubt settling in. For a second she could sense his turmoil and found new strength in his weakness. She looked at him straight in the eyes. "Precisely."
"Do you know what happened to bring him in here?" he asked, pausing for a moment to see if Kate would respond, but she didn’t. "No, you don't, do you? So I say to you, if someone had been a bit harder on that lad a few years ago, then maybe I wouldn't have another patient fighting for her life on ITU right now." He let out a small breath. "Maybe you should keep your nose out of business that does not concern you from now on and go back to… A&E?" He looked at her for confirmation of her department. "And concentrate on your own job. And the next time you try accusing someone of being 'unprofessional', I suggest you make absolutely sure your own behaviour is beyond reproach, or it might end up being you that gets reported for misconduct and not the poor wretch who finds himself on the sharp end of your malicious and ill-founded gossip."
Kate was defeated. Tears threatened to well up but she was damned if she was going to give him the pleasure of seeing it. She looked at the dull grey floor in front of her, Elliott's crisp black leather shoes firmly blocking her way. He hesitated for a moment, his brow crinkling and then he opened the door and stood back, letting her slip away in silence.
Copyright © Wendy Lou Jones
Wendy's bio:
My name is Wendy Lou Jones. I was born and raised in West Sussex, England and moved to Birmingham to study Medicine at University, where I was lucky enough to meet my husband. We now live in a little village in Herefordshire with our two grubby boys. I discovered a love of writing not long after my youngest son started school. And if you were to ask me what it was that made me make the switch, I’d tell you quite simply, that it started with a dream.
Mr Elliott stood, poised in obvious frustration for a moment and then, when his voice finally broke, it was clenched and steady, as if a great force was being needed to keep it so. "And how should I have addressed the situation instead, may I ask?"
By this time Kate was rapidly running out of fire. She knew how to fight when her opponent shouted back, but this cool, calculated analysis had her on the wrong foot. She searched for something further to say, but came up blank.
"What, no sound advice? No words of wisdom?"
Kate bristled and shot him a glare, cursing her brain for letting her down right when she needed it.
"Maybe I had better remind you of your objections. I think the word 'bully' was in there, and from what I can remember you were attempting to incite mutiny on one of my wards. So would you care to elaborate on any of that? You were very free with your opinions a few minutes ago." He looked at her for a moment as her brain struggled hard to find the right words to say. "Maybe you should try running my team, doing my clinics and operating on my patients for a few days and then come back to me. At least then you might have some idea of what you're talking about."
"I wasn't questioning your abilities as a doctor,” she said, suddenly finding the spark she needed and tossing it right back at him, but her conviction was waning.
"Oh? Well, that is a relief." His tone had taken on a sarcastic quality that ignited the dying embers of her rage.
"No, it was your lack of compassion that I was questioning," Kate said. "It's not your right to play judge and jury, deciding who should be worthy of treatment and who should not. Are you absolutely certain he was the one to blame for the crash? It’s just as likely that he wasn’t. In fact we had one, just the other day, where a woman swerved to avoid a cat and crashed head-long into a van coming in the opposite direction."
Elliott's face paled. His stone wall cracked just a little as Kate could see the doubt settling in. For a second she could sense his turmoil and found new strength in his weakness. She looked at him straight in the eyes. "Precisely."
"Do you know what happened to bring him in here?" he asked, pausing for a moment to see if Kate would respond, but she didn’t. "No, you don't, do you? So I say to you, if someone had been a bit harder on that lad a few years ago, then maybe I wouldn't have another patient fighting for her life on ITU right now." He let out a small breath. "Maybe you should keep your nose out of business that does not concern you from now on and go back to… A&E?" He looked at her for confirmation of her department. "And concentrate on your own job. And the next time you try accusing someone of being 'unprofessional', I suggest you make absolutely sure your own behaviour is beyond reproach, or it might end up being you that gets reported for misconduct and not the poor wretch who finds himself on the sharp end of your malicious and ill-founded gossip."
Kate was defeated. Tears threatened to well up but she was damned if she was going to give him the pleasure of seeing it. She looked at the dull grey floor in front of her, Elliott's crisp black leather shoes firmly blocking her way. He hesitated for a moment, his brow crinkling and then he opened the door and stood back, letting her slip away in silence.
Copyright © Wendy Lou Jones
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By My Side by Wendy Lou Jones
Betrayed by her boyfriend and best friend, Lena is left empty; trapped under a weight of guilt and loneliness. Then, at her lowest point and when
she needs it most, a mysterious stranger comes into her life with a tale of friendship,
family, and finding love in the most
unexpected of places…
By My Side by Wendy Lou Jones
Betrayed by her boyfriend and best friend, Lena is left empty; trapped under a weight of guilt and loneliness. Then, at her lowest point and when she needs it most, a mysterious stranger comes into her life with a tale of friendship,
family, and finding love in the most
unexpected of places…
Katy Heath is definitely not thinking of love
when she comes across consultant, Adam Elliott, berating some poor patient on the ward one day.
In fact it is Dr Peter Florin who quickly has everyone’s hearts aflutter with his easy
smiles and practised charm.
when she comes across consultant, Adam Elliott, berating some poor patient on the ward one day.
In fact it is Dr Peter Florin who quickly has everyone’s hearts aflutter with his easy
smiles and practised charm.
Yet Katy comes to realise that there’s more to Adam than his determination to push everyone away and it’s not long
before she finds herself longing to reach out to touch
the man within, healing the pain of his past.
before she finds herself longing to reach out to touch
the man within, healing the pain of his past.
As Lena is drawn into Katy’s story, she begins to learn – just as Katy does - that the course of true love never did run smooth.
'What a beautiful storyline this was. This is the first time I have read a book about a story within a story and at first I wasn’t sure if it was going to work but I soon became wrapped up in the story of Kate and Adam. It is full of emotion and romance and is very delicately written it was a very moving read... I have to admit to having a lump in my throat whilst reading this book it is a very emotional book and I won’t forget the ending of this book in a hurry. This book was both heartbreaking and at the same time an uplifting read it really is a thought provoking book. Pop this one on your TBR lists but have a box of Kleenex at the ready.'- 4 Stars from ReaLovesBooks
'Powerful and emotional is how I would describe By My Side, added to the fact that I just did not want this story to end. I loved the ending but as I was approaching it, I had to slow down my reading because I wasn’t ready to let it go just yet! Every step in Kate and Adam’s story was striking and important and at times, I felt like I was reading with a lump in my throat. Combined with Lena’s involvement, towards the end this book was always going to be a little different and unlike so many other emotional romance novels, it was the perfect ending.'
- 4.5 Stars from Reviewedthebook
- 4.5 Stars from Reviewedthebook
By My Side
is available on
Amazon ~ iTunes ~ Kobo ~ Sainsbury's ~ Nook
Check out Wendy's debut book
A really sweet and emotional read, and an excellent debut
from Wendy Lou Jones.’ - My Written Romance
from Wendy Lou Jones.’ - My Written Romance
My name is Wendy Lou Jones. I was born and raised in West Sussex, England and moved to Birmingham to study Medicine at University, where I was lucky enough to meet my husband. We now live in a little village in Herefordshire with our two grubby boys. I discovered a love of writing not long after my youngest son started school. And if you were to ask me what it was that made me make the switch, I’d tell you quite simply, that it started with a dream.
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