Liza Hunt, Pediatric Nurse — Virginia K. Smiley

When Liza Hunt was appointed head nurse on the pediatrics ward at Jackstown General Hospital, she felt that her life was complete. Confident of her nursing skills, she found challenge and fulfillment in working with her small patients. Even her social life was just the way she wanted it. Debonair Dr. William Prentis Lee, the top surgeon at Jackstown General, had agreed easily to the pixie-faced nurse's stipulation that there would be no strings attached to their frequent dates.

It was not until sandy-haired Jaimy Atkins, an 8-yr-old appendicitis patient, was admitted to Y-2 that Liza's confidence in her life's plans began to waver. The engaging youngster, a ward of the Valley Haven Home, snagged Liza's heartstrings in precisely the way nursing texts had warned her to beware of. She couldn't keep the little boy at the emotional distance a nurse must maintain with her patients, and Michael Waldon definitely did not help matters.

A tall man with a gentle manner and laughing eyes, Mike owned a dairy farm where Jaimy spent all his free time away from the Home. Devoted to the child, Mike wanted to adopt him but was thwarted by his bachelorhood and by the fact that Jaimy's father, whose whereabouts were unknown, still had legal custody of his son. It unnerved Liza to realize that Mike, whose attractiveness was undeniable, would want strings, firmly attached. In the midst of her uncertainty Liza met Sue Smith, a stunning redhead who was a frequent companion of Mike's. then Bill Lee made a startling offer. And to cap it all was the crisis over Jaimie...