Dying for a Cupcake Read Online Free PDF

my eyes.
    “But what?” Stepping back from him, I tilted my head. “I thought you texted me that Dr. Rodriguez was starting full-time this week.”
    After attending the combined B.A. and M.D. program at the University of Missouri’s School of Medicine and completing a three-year residency in family medicine, Noah had returned to Shadow Bend and opened the Underwood Clinic. The only medical center in a forty-mile radius, it was always packed with patients. Until recently, because of the long hours and low pay, he’d been unable to entice another physician into joining his practice, but last month he’d finally found an altruistic doctor who was willing to move toa small town, work ten-hour days, and settle for less money.
    “She did.” Noah was still avoiding my gaze. “But now that Elexus is on board and it appears that I’ve got Mother’s situation under control, I need to keep a promise that I made to one of my professors.”
    “Oh?” I did not like where this conversation was heading, which seemed to be in a direction what would take Noah away from Shadow Bend.
    “My med school mentor, Dr. Johnston, asked all of us to pledge to do a tour of duty every year with Disaster Doctors.”
    “Which is?” I asked.
    I had no intention of making this easy for Noah. It felt too much like the last time he’d walked out on me, which had been back in high school when my father went to prison. Recently, I had learned that I might have misinterpreted Noah’s actions at the time. A few months ago, he’d told me that when we were teenagers he’d broken up with me to protect my grandmother from his mother, who had threatened to have her arrested as an accomplice to my father’s suspected embezzlement. He’d also claimed that he’d tried to get back together with me. But I still wasn’t sure I believed his assertions or fully trusted him. Which was a big part of why I was still trying to decide between him and Jake.
    With Noah’s past betrayal in mind, even though I knew I was being petty, I hardened my expression and waited for an explanation. I’d been patient about his mother and his work, so now that he had some free time, I wasn’t happy that he wouldn’t be spending even a minute—or at least a couple of weeks—of it with me.
    What was it with him and Jake? Intellectually, Iunderstood they were both principled guys with commitments they were honor-bound to fulfill, but emotionally it felt as if I was always last on their priority list.
    “Disaster Doctors is an organization that sends medical teams into places that have recently experienced either a natural or man-made disaster,” Noah explained. “Health care personnel sign up for one or two weeks, bring their own equipment and supplies, and take care of the victims of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and—”
    “And war, right?” I’d been thinking about what a man-made disaster might be, and combat was the only logical one that came to mind.
    “Yes, DD goes into battle zones.” He tried to pull me into a hug.
    “Where are you going?” I moved out of his reach. This was not a discussion that I wanted to have while I was distracted by his touch. The chemistry between Noah and me might not have been quite as hot as the one between Jake and me, but he still could make me sizzle.
    “Léogâne, Haiti,” Noah answered with a smile. “And there’s no war there.”
    “Great.” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice. “So instead of agonizing that you might be shot at or blown up, I can worry about you contracting cholera or AIDS. What a relief.”
    “I’ve had my cholera vaccination and I’ll double-glove, always wear scrubs, masks, and protective eyewear,” Noah assured me.
    “But the cholera vaccine doesn’t provide a hundred percent immunity.” I watched a lot of
National Geographic
on television, and there had been a recent series on Haiti and its many diseases. “And gloves get punctured.”
    “I’m aware of that, and I’ll