Straightening, he crossed to the wardrobe, pulling out a clean pair of uniform pants and jocks. Pulling on the clean clothes, he gathered up his dirty ones and turned around to find Jezebel watching him.
She looked quite small sitting in the middle of his big bed. The vet had informed him that she was young and probably a first-time mum. Did she have any idea what was going on inside her? Was she getting anxious?
Crossing to the bed, Ryder leaned over and rubbed behind her ears reassuringly. “It’s all right, Jez. We’ll get through this together. In case I get faint I’ll make sure Dee is here to take over.”
Shit. Dee. He’d had every intention of phoning her if he and Jezebel ran into problems with the birthing, but now… Crap.
Ryder shoved a hand through his hair. Would she even be willing to help him? But then, why not? It wasn’t like he’d forced her into sex, right? And maybe it would be a little awkward - who was he kidding? He had no idea how she’d feel. The look she’d given him that morning had been decidedly cool and almost uninterested.
Okay, that had hurt, more than he’d ever thought. He’d had a few cold looks before from women with whom he’d indulged in sexual intimacy and then left, mainly because they’d chosen to disregard his warning of nothing serious, but it had never worried him. Even their tears hadn’t been enough to make him go back for more, because that would have given them false hope. He’d even, he’d admit, been callous enough to be on another date with another woman a few days later.
But Dee’d given him that cool look and it had hurt. He’d stood there, frowning, wondering how to approach her, what she’d felt, what to do, damn it, but then she’d just looked at him and almost - well, hell, dismissed him.
No woman had ever dismissed him. Ever.
He brightened. That was it! It was her cool disregard that attracted him so much.
Wait. What? Attracted him? He almost fell over. What the hell? He wasn’t attracted - wait, yes he was. Okay, he was attracted to her, because, face it, she had a really lush body that apparently he’d never noticed before, but-
His head was starting to hurt.
He looked down at Jezebel to find her doing a fair impression of a big-bellied Sphinx, her front paws spread before her on the scruffed up doona, her ears straight up as she watched him, her belly spilling out each side of her.
Okay, he had a pregnant lady to look after. Jezebel needed him when the time came - sure as shit he wasn’t going to tell his mates that, they’d piss themselves laughing - he’d just have to get through it somehow, have the vet on speed dial and annoy the heck out of him if he had to. Besides, it couldn’t be that different from women having babies, right? He’d delivered quite a few who had chosen to come early and not wait for the arrival at hospital. He was sure he could manage the tiny things coming out of Jezebel if there was a problem.
Only kittens came out in sacs sometimes, whereas human kids didn’t. Oh shit, he was going to have to go to the vet and get some education on kitten birthing. He’d threaten the vet with death if that ever got out.
“The things I do for you,” he informed Jezebel. “You know once those kittens are old enough you’re getting fixed, right? No more kittens. You can’t trust those randy toms, they don’t use protection and they’ll tell you anything. They-” He stumbled to a halt as his words hit him.
Protection? Holy shit, he hadn’t used protection! Crap on a stick, not once had he rolled on a rubber when he’d made love to Dee, not once! And he’d been buried deep inside her when he’d come - twice.
For a second he thought frantically, “She’s on the pill. Most women are, right?” then remembered that Dee was a virgin, or had been until he’d freakin’ come the first time inside her! With a curse, he dropped his dirty clothes on the floor and bolted.
Within minutes he was on the motorbike roaring back into town, pulling up outside the newsagent, ripping off his helmet as he bounded into the shop. “Babe, we need to talk! Now!”
“Really?” Pete looked up from the open newspaper on the counter.
Ryder snapped his head right and left as he searched for any sign of the luscious blonde. “Dee! Damn it, woman, come here!”
“Oohh.” Intrigued, Pete leaned further forward on his bent elbows. “What’s she done now?”
“Where is she?” Ryder strode down the aisle towards the little kitchenette at the back.
“Not here, actually. Can I give her a message?” There was no doubting the hope in Pete’s voice.
“Where is she?” Ryder stuck his head through the doorway to find the kitchenette empty. “Up in her flat?” He started towards the other doorway leading to the back room and stairs.
“Not there either,” Pete called. “She’s gone out.”
“What?” Ryder swung back. “Where?”
“No idea.”
“For how long?”
“Didn’t say, but I don’t think she’s expecting to come back soon. Told me to leave the key with Del if I closed before she returned.”
Del. Right. Of course her cousin would know.
Ignoring Pete’s curious face, Ryder hurried out of the newsagent, narrowly missed knocking Farris over, and swung into the clothes shop to see Del standing near a table arranging a pile of t-shirts.
“Where is she?” he demanded.
Del looked up at him. “What’d she do now?”
“Never mind that. Where is she?”
“Buggered if I know. She left without telling me.” Del frowned. “She’s acting really odd lately.” She slid him a look. “Know anything about that?”
“Where would she have gone?”
“How about you answer my question first?”
Ryder glared at her.
“How about half my question?”
“Half your question? How can I - never mind! Where is she?”
Placing the t-shirt on the pile, Del turned to him, one hand braced on her slim hip. “I have no idea. I swear.”
“If I find out you’re lying-”
“Pfft. If I was, you’d never know.”
Wasn’t that the bloody truth. He took a deep breath. “Fine. I’ll phone her.” He yanked his mobile out of his jacket pocket.
“Good luck with that,” Del said. “She didn’t take it with her.”
“What?” He frowned, half irritated, half relieved. “Then she can’t have gone far.”
“She left an hour ago. Bill saw her car heading out of town.”
“Which direction?”
“No idea, he didn’t say.”
“I’ll ring him.” Ryder started dialling.
“Wait up.” Del stopped him.
He looked at her.
“Maybe Dee just needs a little time to think things through.”
Ryder went cold then hot. Cripes, how much did Del know of what had happened?
Her eyes widened. “Are you blushing?”
“What? No!” His face felt like it was on fire. Time to retreat. “I gotta go.”
“Hang on a minute-”
His mobile rang in his hands and he glanced down to see the ambulance station’s number. Thank God! “Work. Gotta go.” Striding from the clothes shop, he put the phone up to his ear. “Ryder.”
“Got a call out,” Donny said. “Where are you? I’ll pick you up.”
“I’m right across the road, be there in seconds.” Swinging onto the motorbike, Ryder shoved the mobile into his pocket, slid the helmet on and throttled the bike.
Called out to a farm where a farmhand had fallen from the barn roof he’d been mending and managed to impale his leg on a star picket, Ryder had to shelve his worry to the back of his mind, but it never quite left him. No sooner had they delivered the farmhand to the hospital than he and Donny were called out to a car accident, his spike of fear that it might be Dee calmed when he found out from Kirk, who was already there, that it was a van carrying a man. Not that it made it any better, but it wasn’t Dee, which meant he could go into professional mode.
If it had been Dee, he wasn’t so sure that he wouldn’t have fallen apart.
Cripes, where had that weird thought come from? He dismissed it immediately.
They were on their way back into town when they passed a dark blue Ford Laser hatchback with bright yellow daises on the front doors. Recognising Molly’s car, Ryder waved, smiling when she waved back.
As he passed the car, he saw that she had passengers in there, recognising Ash easily as she sat in the passenger seat, which meant that the other two passengers were probably Del and - yes! He caught sight of a pretty, serious face gazing out the window as he passed. Dee. She was with them.
He sank back into his seat in relief. Okay, she was safe, he knew where she was, she was with the girls.
And his seed was inside her.
For one insane second he almost slammed on the brakes, only to remember that he had a patient in the back of the ambulance he was supposed to be taking to hospital, not on a field trip to see the woman whom he’d shagged without protection.
Jesus! He actually slapped his forehead in exasperation. Nothing he could do right now, he had an injured man in his care.
Setting his jaw, clenching his teeth, Ryder continued towards town. See, this is what happens when you let your dick rule your head. Things go to hell in a hand basket. He’d have to see her after, at least he knew where to find her now. She might not have her mobile, but the other girls carried theirs.
Besides, the woman should have been carrying hers when she drove out of town. Anything could have happened and she’d have no way of calling for help.
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. Damn it, he was going to ream her good later for leaving town without telling anyone and not taking her mobile. Goddamn woman with her stubborn, independent ways. He ought to have Kirk slap her in handcuffs so she could do nothing else but listen.
Or I could do it. Bet she’d look real cute in nothing but a pair of handcuffs. Heh heh. He started when he realised he was getting a stiffy. Jesus! What is wrong with you?
He white-knuckled it all the way to the hospital.
They’d missed lunch, so he spent a couple of hours with Donny cleaning and restocking the ambulance, doing the paperwork while they ate sandwiches.
Simon stuck his head around the door just as Ryder was shoving a file onto the shelf. “Hey, I’m going to the pub after work for dinner. Coming?”
“I’d like to, but I have something to do first.” Dee. Not do her. See her. Not that doing her is a bad idea, but - shit!
“Sure, no worries.”
Ryder took a deep breath. “Next time.”
“It’s a date.” Simon fluttered his eyelashes. “Sugar plum.”
“I’ll give you sugar plum.” Ryder hesitated. “Listen, can I talk to you later?”
“Sure. Everything all right?”
“Actually, forget it.”
“Uh huh.” Simon leaned against the doorframe.
“What’s the ‘uh huh’ shit?”
“You need man cave time.”
Donny looked up from where he sat at the desk. “What?”
“Man cave time,” Simon repeated.
“Are you two an item?”
Ryder gaped, Simon grinned.
“Not lately,” Simon replied. “He’s not even coming to dinner with me, never mind seeing my man cave.”
“You start spreading shit around,” Ryder warned Donny, “I will rip your nuts off.”
“I don’t think anyone would believe me.”
“Because there is nothing to believe.”
“Sure.” Donny looked back down at the paperwork. “Like I said, no judging here.”
Ryder glared at him.
“Wow, I thought I was the only one who got those looks,” Simon said. “You really are a fickle bastard, aren’t you, honey?”
Donny sniggered.
Before Ryder could give a foul-mouthed retort, the station house phone rang.
Donny answered it. “Gully’s Fall Ambulance Station. Oh hi, doc. Yeah, he’s here. It’s about who? Dee?” Donny looked at Ryder, the laughter fading from his eyes. “It’s the doc at the A & E department.”
Dee was at the hospital? Alarm gripped Ryder as he grabbed the phone from his workmate, placing it to his ear to bark out, “Ryder here. What’s wrong, Eric? Is Dee all right?”
“Kind of,” Eric replied.
“Kind of?” Ryder’s grip on the receiver tightened. “What do you mean ‘kind of’? How bad is she hurt?”
From out of the corner of his eye he saw Simon approach, all humour wiped from his face.
“She had a little accident at home, fell onto some broken pottery and gashed her arm badly.”
His heart actually stuttered with a touch of relief, though concern still warred inside him. “I’m coming right now.”
“Glad to hear it. She won’t let me put stitches in and is threatening to leave.”
“Don’t you let her walk, Eric. I’ll be right there and she will have stitches.” In the background he heard Dee arguing, Del’s voice chiming in. “You tell Dee I’m coming and if she leaves, I will personally hunt her down and drag her arse back there.” He hung up. “Donny, you’re holding the fort. The next shift will be in shortly, you give them handover. I may not get back in time.”
“Knowing Dee,” Donny replied dryly, “you’ll be arguing with her until midnight.”
“There’s going to be no arguments,” Ryder said grimly. “Call me if you need me.”
“No worries. Have fun.”
Fun? Dee was hurt, there was nothing funny about it, even less so when she had such a phobia of needles. Hell yeah, Ryder knew exactly why she was kicking up such a fuss about stitches, but the woman was going to have them if needed.
“Let us know how she is.” Simon watched Ryder get on the heavy motorbike. “Maybe you need reinforcements. Want me to come?”
Ryder pulled the helmet on, fastening the strap beneath his chin with impatient jerks. “I don’t need reinforcements. I can handle Dee.”
“Mmmm.” Hands in pockets, Simon arched one brow.
Ryder roared out onto the road, heading towards the hospital, there in a matter of minutes and parking the motorbike near the A & E entrance. He was pulling the helmet off as he strode into the A & E, using the ambulance bay to enter directly.
A small group of people stood in the middle of the A & E arguing. Several large spots of blood were on the floor. Ryder’s gaze swept over the group. Del looking frustrated, Eric with one hand on his hip as he tried to reason with his patient, a nurse called Sandy gesturing in annoyance, and a pale-faced Dee gripping a tea towel to her upper arm. Blood dribbled from the wet material to drip onto the floor.
“I’m not having stitches,” she growled. “Give me some Steri-Strips. A bandage. Cripes, I’ll go home and wrap a bloody sock around it if I have to!”
“Don’t be an arse,” Del snapped.
“The cut is deep,” Eric said calmly. “Steri-Strips won’t work.”
“So just wrap it good and tight. Use that glue shit or something you people have in the ‘fridge. Crap on a stick, I have glue in my shop if you need it.”
“Dee, be reasonable,” Sandy said.
Like that was going to happen. Ryder dropped the helmet onto a nearby bench and strode forward. Enough was enough.
“I’m going home,” Dee declared. “You won’t do anything about it, I’ll do it my bloody self.”
“You leave and Ryder will kill me,” Eric retorted.
“Ryder can kiss my fat arse.”
“Dee,” Ryder said.
Everyone looked around at him with varying degrees of emotions.
Relief and anger warred for supremacy on Dee’s face.
“Thank God you’re here,” Del said.
“Amen,” muttered Sandy.
Ryder snagged Dee around the waist, hand clamping on her hip as he turned her and propelled her towards one of the trolleys. “Come on, babe.”
&n
bsp; “No bloody way!” She tried to hang back.
He simply placed himself behind her and used his body to crowd her forward. “Don’t make me pick you up and dump you on it.” He yanked the curtain aside, turned her around, shifted his hands so he gripped both her hips, and backed her up to the narrow bed.
“Don’t make me kick your arse, Montague!”
Dee Miller had a phobia around needles, but anyone who knew her was well aware that she didn’t always listen to commonsense, not when it came to needles. She’d sooner cauterize a wound with a smouldering stick than have a needle. It was jump her, hold her down and get the needle in. Well, that’s what her parents had done when she’d been a kid, but it wasn’t something that could be done now. Maybe.
“This is illegal.” She glared up at him. “I have to consent.”
“I consent for you.”
“You can’t! You don’t have the legal right!”
“Really? We’re going to argue legalities?”
“Bloody oath! I am not having needles anywhere near my skin!”
And she wasn’t walking out of here without stitches if he had to hold her down himself. But he knew Dee better than she thought. Arguing with her wasn’t going to work, she’d had enough time to get a full head of steam up.
Speaking calmly, he framed her face with his palms. “Babe, listen to me.”
“No, I-”
“Babe.”
“Ryder, I can’t - no.”
Bending down, he looked her directly in the eyes. “Dee.”
Unexpectedly, her eyes filled with tears.
That hit him hard, deep down. Those beautiful eyes swimming with glittering tears, the scared look on her face, the way she shifted closer to him as though seeking reassurance.
Gently, slowly, he moved his head forward, placing his mouth at her ear, speaking softly, forcing her to listen, to stand still. “Let me look at your arm, babe. Okay? Let me look, check it out.”
A shiver went through her. “I don’t want a needle.”
“Let me see.”
She swallowed, sniffed. “Ryder.”
“Babe.”
Several seconds of silence then she nodded, barely discernable, a silky strand of her fragrant hair tickling his nose. “Okay.” When he drew back, she whispered fiercely, “Just a look.”
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