“Sorry, ma’am. I’ve been up since daybreak.” He pushed himself onto his elbows and rubbed the sleep from his clear blue eyes. When he smiled, he showed off deep dimples and nice teeth.
“So you were hurt?”
“Just a minor injury. I was thrown by a horse.”
“Oh, just that, huh?” In a millisecond of time she evaluated his long legs and the fresh bruising on his thigh and knee under crisp, dark hairs.
“I think we need a proper hello. Hi, I’m Brennan Colt.” He thrust out his hand.
She hesitated before finally laying her palm against his, caught by the sudden warmth and tingles that shot up her arm. The calluses on the underside of his knuckles scraped her skin, not in a repulsive way, but more of a tweaking of her nerve endings. As she’d told Isabelle’s mom, Charlotte hadn’t had the chance to get out and tour the town, but she’d met a handful of cowboys—real cowboys who worked the land from dawn to dusk and liked their boots dirty and their hands dirtier. A sweet energy rushed over her. Pulling her hand away, she cleared her throat. “Nice to meet you, Brennan. Can you tell me where you’re injured?”
The corners of his mouth lifted wider and his eyes dazzled with charm. “My left ankle and I have a little scratch on my head.”
“How’s the pain in the ankle?”
“I’ve had worse.”
“That really didn’t answer my question. Check out the chart. On a scale from one to ten, where would you place your pain?” She ran her hands down the thighs of her scrubs. The awareness remained in her arm.
“Four.”
“Can I take a look?”
“Be my guest.”
She had a feeling the cowboy had an overload of charm, but she was immune to mile-wide smiles and intriguing blue eyes. She focused on examining his leg, using the tips of her fingers to gently slide along the thick, muscular chord covered in soft hair. She paused at his knee. Nothing was broken so far. “I’ll have to take your boot off.”
“Go for it.”
As carefully and slowly as she could, she dragged the boot off. Then the white sock downward and when she got to his ankle he jerked and cursed.
She looked up at him. “Still a four?”
“I’m a bit ticklish.” There was that smile again. Too bad her nipples didn’t get the message to stay professional.
Rolling the sock off completely, she laid it next to him. “And inflamed too. I don’t think anything’s broken but I’m guessing Dr. Healey will want an X-ray.”
He gave a half shrug. “Whatever you see fit as long as I can get back to my chores this afternoon.”
“I respect your work ethic, but you’ll have to rest, at least today. I’m going to look at your head now.” He had silky, thick hair and she parted the waves as she examined the cut. “You’ll need a couple of stitches, but at least it has stopped bleeding.”
“Could have been worse, I guess.”
“I need to get your vitals.” She reached for the blood pressure cuff and he held out his arm. She wrapped the cuff around his large bicep, realizing he was still staring up at her. Concentrating on pressing the bulb and not the deep dimples bracketing his plush lips she got the reading and jotted the number in his chart.
“Am I still alive?”
“Perfect blood pressure, but let’s take a listen at your heart to make sure.” Using the stethoscope, she leaned in and pressed the chest piece over his heart. She caught a scent of leather and spice soap. She liked it. His gaze was on her, making it hard to focus. “Heart’s beating fine too.” She dragged the earpieces off and hung the stethoscope around her neck. “One more thing. Your temp.” She slid the thermometer under his tongue. “Now keep this here until it beeps.”
While the thermometer worked, she made a few notes in his chart, but none of them mentioned that she needed her own blood pressure taken.
“I feel fine. It’s just a bruise.”
She looked up at him, seeing him holding the thermometer. “You need to keep that in your mouth,” she gently chastised.
He sighed and stuck it back under his tongue.
Once it finished, she took it and dropped off the protector cover into the trash. “It’s a bit more than a bruise, but I think you already know that.”
“Trust me. This ain’t nothing.”
“How about we wait for the X-ray to decide on how bad it is.” She smiled. “Dr. Healey will probably want some bloodwork too.”
Did his color pale some? Were there beads of sweat across his forehead?
“Is it necessary?”
“Very necessary.”
“For whom?”
“Mr. Colt—”
“Brennan.”
“Okay, Brennan. Lab work is routine. I assure. If you’re afraid of needles—”
He grimaced. “I’m not afraid.”
“Okay then. I’ll be right back. I want to speak with Dr. Healey.” She stepped out and closed the door behind her. She met Meka’s gaze who was smiling from one hoop earring to the other.
“Do you need some water? You look a little flushed.”
Charlotte did need a cold shower, but she didn’t say that to the other nurse. “He certainly is full of charm, isn’t he?” She continued into Dr. Healey’s office, asked if he wanted to see the patient or get lab work first, then she went back into the exam room.
“Dr. Healey would like to get the work up.”
“If you say so. What if I resist?”
She searched his face, seeing the teasing lines around his mouth. “Do you give every nurse a hard time like this?”
“Only the cute ones.”
Her throat constricted. She felt her bottom lip tremble and she ignored his flirting. This wouldn’t be the first time, but it certainly was the first time she felt a sexual tension between her legs. Maybe it was loneliness, or maybe she simply found the cowboy attractive. After all, she was a woman who enjoyed a man’s attention just as much as the next lady. Her career didn’t give her steel walls of resistance.
She took out the items she needed from the medical chest.
When she turned back around, she found him sitting up, his legs hung over the edge of the table. One sock on and the other off. His hat was pushed back on his forehead. The hem of the gown had lifted high on his firm thighs. One thing was for sure, the cowboy didn’t mind showing a little leg…or magnetism.
Placing the tools on the tray next to the exam table, she pulled on gloves and snapped them into place. “Do you have a preference of which arm I use?”
“Is neither an option?”
She didn’t bother looking at him. “How about we try the left. I think I remember seeing some healthy veins. That’ll make my job easier.” Once he held out his arm, she wrapped the band around his bicep and pushed around on the veins that were like tunnels. “Yup, we have one.” Tearing open a packet, she took out the alcohol wipe and cleaned his skin. “You’ll feel a stick.” Charlotte worked quickly, got the amount she needed then loosened the band. “That wasn’t too bad, was it?”
He didn’t answer.
In fact, he looked a bit pale.
“You should lie back and take it easy.”
“I’m fine,” he mumbled about the same time a blank expression flooded over his face.
She had no time to react before the cowboy came tumbling down.
*
Squinting against the overhead light in the exam room, he realized he’d fallen asleep. A second later he realized he wasn’t alone.
Looking up into amber eyes, flushed cheeks on a heart shaped face, he swallowed hard. Was he dreaming? He’d been wishing before he dozed off that he’d find a perfect woman to make all his troubles disappear.
After he woke up fully, exchanged some words and she examined his leg, he felt a bit off his kilter by the beauty. Lord knew, he wasn’t trying to come off as a desperate man, but when he got nervous, he tended to make a blatant fool of himself. He couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off his face, until she pulled out
the needle and then his world turned upside down, but not in a good way—at least not in the way he hoped.
Since he was a kid, he hated getting shots, or having his blood taken. He always got weak, but how could he tell the beautiful nurse? He realized he was a bit old to still carry the fear, but even now, he felt his head spin.
The last thing he wanted to do was be yellow bellied in front of her. He wasn’t too good with the opposite sex, at least not like Baxter or his other brothers. Prime example…Dr. CC Peladora, the beautiful vet at Grinning Spurs. There for a hot minute he thought he was in love with her, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
As the pretty nurse wrapped the tight band around his bicep, Brennan took the time to explore her features and some of the tension disappeared for a different kind of strain. Her dark hair was pulled up on top of her head, but a few unruly curls had escaped and hung around her high cheekbones. Her eyes were surrounded by thick lashes and a sprinkling of freckles scattered her cheeks. She smelled amazing…until she brought out the alcohol. The odor stung his nostrils.
His plan was to not look at the needle, but he’d never been one to learn his lesson.
He felt weak. A little wobbly. She said something, but he couldn’t quite wrap his brain around the words.
Oh shit! He couldn’t go down.
No!
But he couldn’t control the blackness as it took over his body…
Cowboy Creed (Cooper's Hawke Landing Book 1) Page 25