West Coast Nurse

By Fanny Q. Howe

“Your crisp white uniform makes me nervous, you know.”

Nurse Ellen Mallory shares a San Francisco apartment with her younger sister Katie, and supports them both with her job at a small, private hospital in San Francisco. There she meets Dr. David Chase, a dark, brooding, dedicated type, and whenever they’re in the same room, the sparks are flying, whether from anger or—could it be?—passion. It doesn’t help that she’s a cool, efficient machine at work, even if behind her closed bedroom door it’s a different story, when her fears for herself and the aimless and drifting Katie feel overwhelming. Then Ellen introduces Katie to her beau Dr. Stephen Hull, and the pair hit it off—but Katie, reluctant to be pinned down, cuts loose at a party that is raided by the police, and Katie, arrested on drug charges, attempts suicide in her cell. Will Ellen be able to overcome her inability to reach out, to ask for help, to take chances, before it’s too late—for Katie or for herself?