“Do I look like as big a train wreck as I feel?” she asked, suddenly self-conscious.
He squeezed her hand. “You look as beautiful as you did when you were busy tryin’ to rescue me.”
A flicker of warmth at the compliment was quickly overshadowed by embarrassment. “Not much of a rescue, was it?”
He gave a little laugh that she had to smile at. “You were so determined that you didn’t realize I wasn’t the one in need of rescuin’.”
She glanced around. “How did I get here? And where is here, exactly?”
“I carried you to the nearest hospital. Shay Falls Community.”
She tried unsuccessfully to sit up. “What do you mean, you carried me? How on earth did you manage that?”
He used the bed controls to raise her up. “You were already in my arms when you passed clean out. I knew this place was just up the road.”
“Two miles away! You couldn’t possibly have carried me that far.”
“I’m stronger than I look.”
“You were hurt.”
“I ain’t sayin’ it was fun.”
She sank deeper into the pillow behind her head. “Wow. Thank you so much.” She thought of the injuries she’d catalogued on him. “Is that why you’re still here? Did they treat you, too?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t need treatment. I just stayed to make sure you were all right. They kicked me out last night, but I stopped in this mornin’ to see how you were.”
He’d really been worried about her. She couldn’t help but feel a flush of pleasure at the thought. Still, she wasn’t the only one who hadn’t realized they needed rescuing.
“Of course you need treatment. I saw that injury. You were shot in the chest, weren’t you?”
He hesitated. “It’s nothin’.”
“Nothing, my foot.”
Fighting a wave of dizziness, she leaned over to him. Without even thinking of the propriety of what she was doing, she took hold of his shirt with both hands and yanked. The snaps gave way, and his shirt pulled open to reveal a rock-hard, extremely masculine chest with just a smattering of curly hair. She swallowed and surveyed the injury that was indeed there.
And she frowned at it.
“It doesn’t look nearly as bad as I remember,” she said. “Did the bullet come out through the back?”
“Nope. I took it out.”
Her mouth fell open. The question of why came to mind, and an answer just as rapidly. Hospitals had to report all gunshot wounds to authorities. For some reason, this man didn’t want anyone to know what had happened. Maybe she should butt out.
“I got in front of a hunter’s bullet,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. “Huntin’ season’s on around here. I ain’t big on doctors, so I treated it the old-fashioned way.”
She blinked. Must be a cowboy thing. “Oh.”
She was still holding his shirt open with one hand, smoothing the area around his damaged chest with the other. The hole had looked ugly and pus-filled when she’d seen it last. Now, it was clean, and the angry redness around it had subsided. Unbelievably, the wound was already closing.
“Well, whatever you did, you did it right,” she said. “This looks much better. Maybe you should consider a career in medicine instead of ranch work.”
“I don’t work a ranch no more,” he said, and his face hardened. “Not for a long time now.”
“Sorry.”
He stared at her intently as her fingers traced over the lines of his muscled chest. From this close, she could see that his eyes weren’t pure violet. Flecks of yellow dotted the irises, looking like sparkling little highlights in the morning light. That, coupled with her blow to the head, likely accounted for the bizarre golden gleam she’d thought she’d seen in his gaze after the accident. Those eyes were so intense. And the way he was staring deep down into her, well, it was hypnotic. Captivating. Something compelling that she couldn’t turn away from.
His other hand reached for the fingers she was using to stroke his skin, and she froze. Why ever had she been doing that? Instead of tugging her away, however, he covered her hand with his own and held it over his heart. She could feel the pulse beat thundering in his chest, and hers responded with a jungle dance of its own.
Every line of his face was taut, from the intent line of his brow down to his finely chiseled jaw. Her gaze fell to his lips, which were no longer twisted in a smile. Even wearing a serious expression, that mouth was perfectly curved. His lips were full, almost criminally sensual. She couldn’t help thinking about kissing them, and she licked her own. They felt dry, whereas his appeared perfectly soft, moist, and brownish pink.
She leaned closer, watching those lips move as he faintly, almost inaudibly, whispered her name.
“Good morning,” came a voice from behind her.
She whirled around, the spell between them shattered. A doctor stood in the doorway, glancing over a chart she assumed was hers. He looked up and noticed her rather incriminating pose, still tugging Caleb’s shirt open across his bare chest while he clutched her hand against him.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” the man said in an almost humorous tone. When his gaze shifted to Caleb’s and then hers, however, the smile faded. He took on a similar expression to the one Caleb had locked on her just seconds before—the one he was now directing back at the man in the starched, white medical coat.
Rose pulled away and sat back in bed, watching as the two men traded stomach-churning looks. Something unraveled between them as they stared at one another, and she almost felt like she was the one intruding on a private moment. Then the doctor’s eyes found hers, and a whole new roller coaster began until she felt downright giddy.
What was happening to her? One thump on the head and she felt like a rabid fan meeting rock-and-roll idols. This wasn’t like her, not one bit. If she didn’t know better, she’d think she was channeling her mother, also known as Often-Wed Wendy. Rose groaned inwardly. She’d obviously hit her head harder than she thought.
Would every man she encountered trigger such a visceral attraction? An ironic about-face for her, considering she’d never had any taste for that sort of nonsense. She’d ignored the parade of forgettable guys who’d tried to capture her attention in high school, and then she had gone to college in pursuit of a vocation with a low percentage of males. Not to mention her gynecology checkups were always peppered by surprised—and sometimes doubtful—looks when she admitted she was still a virgin. And now Little Miss Virgin Nurse had developed the hots for two guys in ten minutes? She was in trouble. Big, big trouble.
“Rose Hartford?” the man asked, seeming to come to his senses first. Good thing, considering she’d been the one who’d slammed into a tree.
She settled deeper against her pillows. “That’s me.”
“I’m Dr. Williams.” As he strolled into the room, she saw the name embroidered on his lab coat beside the hospital logo. Stephen A. Williams, M.D., it read. Hospitalist. “How are you feeling today?”
“Really stiff and sore.” And out of her mind, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to mention that. Asking whether extremely heightened libido was normal after an accident didn’t seem like the way to go in present company.
Caleb cleared his throat. “You ain’t the same doctor who treated her yesterday.”
The man glanced at Caleb. “I’m covering Dr. Jacobs’ shift. And you are?”
“A friend,” Caleb said, emphasizing the last.
“Hardly a friend,” she corrected, and both men shot her a sharp glance. “I hit the poor man with my car.”
“And we became fast friends,” Caleb went on.
She had to grin at the mischievous twinkle in his eye when he hooked his hands behind his head and smiled.
“I’d like to have a look at you,” Dr. Williams said, which wouldn’t have been an odd request from a doctor except that he was still eyeing up Caleb when he said it.
Funny, Rose had just been thinking the same thing ab
out the good doctor—in a much naughtier context. Man, concussions sucked. Or they were damn fun. She hadn’t quite decided which yet.
When he strode up to stand on the side of the bed opposite from Caleb, she sized this new man up. He was about Caleb’s height, maybe a little taller. His hair was darker brown, stopping just short of black. The cut was short and combed back. Very professional. Doctorly. So was the striped tie he wore over a green dress shirt and tightly creased black trousers. Both men were magazine-model handsome, though Caleb’s features were a bit narrower and more rugged. The doctor’s face was clean-shaven, so smooth it made her want to rub her cheek against his.
“Is it all right if your friend stays in the room while I examine you?” he asked.
She considered that for a moment and nodded. The prospect of Dr. Williams’ hands on her sent a little happy dance along her spine.
He checked the pulse along her wrist, and she hoped he wouldn’t wonder why it was wobbling erratically. He seemed more interested in peppering her with the usual bedside questions, though. Her birthdate. What day it was. If she knew where she was. Who the president was. She made a political remark, and he laughed. He shined a penlight in her eyes and then took out his stethoscope. Asking her to breathe deeply while he listened to her heart and lungs was a joke. He was lucky she could breathe at all, what with him pressing the chestpiece all over her front and back. She felt his fingers searing her every time they brushed against her hospital gown.
When he sat on the bed beside her to check her head and neck for lumps, a hot rush of tingles shot through her body. That was nothing compared to what happened when their eyes met. Those eyes! They were real showstoppers, and not just because they seemed to be regarding her with the same scrutiny she was giving him. She had to do a triple take to be sure she was seeing it right, but there it was. His eyes were a cobalt blue, not violet like Caleb’s, but they had the exact same sparkles of yellow. She had an odd picture of the California gold rush alive and well in Shay Falls and found herself imagining flecks of shimmering gold exploding from the mountains to land in the eyes of unsuspecting, gorgeous-as-hell men.
She giggled at that, and the doctor launched an eyebrow well up his forehead. “Everything okay?” he asked.
Rose sobered instantly. “Sorry. Never mind.”
He resumed his survey of her neck, and all she could focus on was the experience of him. There was a trace of expensive cologne wafting from his clothes, but also an outdoorsy, masculine scent that sped her pulse and made her keep inhaling conspicuously through her nose just to indulge it. His manner was gentle, yet efficient and thorough. He studied her with a thoughtful almost-frown that was actually cute, damn him. Most of the doctors she’d known were stodgy, fuzzy-eared seniors, not movie stars. Were all the doctors at Shay Falls Community as kissable as this one? If so, she was in for one hell of a ride once she actually started her thirteen-week nursing contract.
He checked over her limbs next, and once apparently satisfied she was in one piece, he shifted toward her again and picked up the chart he’d laid beside him on the bed. “Well, your blood work and vitals are fine, and your X-rays and CT scan were normal.”
She blinked. “I had a CT scan?”
He smiled. Lord, she could practically see rainbows and butterflies dancing in the background behind him.
“Last night,” he said. “Do you remember being brought in?”
“No.” She thought hard, though, and bizarre, disjointed flashes of concerned faces and rushed voices came back. “I do remember a few things after I was here, I guess. But it’s all hazy, like a weird dream.”
“And the accident? Do you remember that?”
“I was driving to the hospital. I was supposed to start work here yesterday, actually.”
He nodded. “I heard about that. And by the way, the charge nurse notified your agency about what happened. You can get in touch with them later today, if you’d like. What else do you recall?”
She smoothed her hair, a bit dismayed to find a good deal of her braid had loose ends hanging out of it. “A wolf ran in front of my car. I swerved, but I hit it. Or at least, I thought I hit it. When I went off road and wound up smashing into a tree, Caleb was there. Turns out I’d hit him without even realizing it.”
She and the doctor both eyed Caleb, who sat quietly. Replaying his rescue brought up a distinct memory that widened her eyes, and she pointed at him. “Were you naked when I hit you?”
His violet gaze shifted rapidly between her and the doctor. “Not technically naked,” he said. “I may have shed a layer or two after the accident.”
“You were naked,” she insisted. “Unless I really hit my head hard. Why were you outside like that?”
“Perhaps the bigger question is,” the doctor interjected, watching Caleb carefully, “what was a wolf doing in the middle of the road in broad daylight? Sounds like the wolf population around here needs to be a lot more careful.”
“The men, too,” Rose added, nodding to Caleb. “Caleb was already hurt before the accident. A hunter shot him. Here, look.”
She reached over to Caleb’s shirt again, but this time, he caught hold of her hand and stopped her. A little pulse shot up her arm with the contact.
“The doc’s here to examine you, not me,” he said.
“Just let him look at it. Please? It’ll make me feel better.”
Caleb sighed and let go of her hand before peeling back one side of his shirt. If anything, the wound looked even better than when she’d seen it just minutes ago. What the hell?
Dr. Williams seemed much less pleased, however. He took one look and pursed his lips. “That doesn’t seem to be healing very fast,” he said.
She gaped at him. “What do you mean? This just happened yesterday, Doctor. When I first saw it, the surrounding edges were significantly reddened, and there was purulent drainage. This looks much improved. Amazingly so.”
Despite her nursing assessment, the doctor looked unconvinced. Caleb just shrugged. “It was worse yesterday. I got hit by a, well, a special kind of bullet. But I got it out.”
The way he said “special kind” made her wonder, but the doctor nodded as though he understood perfectly. If he was surprised to hear Caleb had done bullet-removal himself, he didn’t let on. Maybe Shay Falls cowboys did a lot of their own first aid.
“I don’t recall there being any hunting up here,” the doctor said.
Caleb grunted. “There is now.”
The men eyed each other for a weighted moment. Then, as suddenly as the cloud had descended, the doctor seemed to shake it off.
He turned back to Rose. “Having any dizziness, headaches, or nausea?”
“Headache. I don’t feel dizzy right now, though.”
“Good. You also had some respiratory issues when you came in. Dr. Jacobs put you on oxygen and nebulizer treatments.”
She reached a hand to her upper lip but felt no oxygen tubing strapped beneath her nose. “I remember coughing a lot.” Which explained the sandpapery feeling in her throat. “Is that normal?”
“It’s a common reaction after inhaling the particles released when an air bag deploys. You were weaned off the oxygen during the night, however, and your lung sounds are clear. Let’s try getting you up to see how steady you are on your feet.”
She nodded but didn’t move. Having been a nurse for a few years, she knew he meant he would write an order for a nurse or physical therapist to ambulate her later. Her mouth fell open, then, when the doctor stood up and held a hand out to her.
“What, now?” she asked.
“Unless you had other plans,” he said with a smile.
She smiled back, feeling utterly disarmed by the white, even teeth he flashed at her. “You’re quite the full-service physician, aren’t you?”
Caleb muttered a sarcastic remark she couldn’t quite hear.
“Let’s have you walk around the station and see how you’re feeling,” the doctor said. “If all goes well, I ca
n go ahead and discharge you home.”
She took his hand and swung her legs around to dangle over the side of the bed. Someone had been thoughtful enough to put slipper socks on her feet and pull a second hospital gown on her backward, creating a makeshift robe that covered her hind end. A good thing, as from what she could tell, she wore nothing beneath but her panties. Without the “robe”, Caleb would be getting quite a show from where he was sitting now.
Then again, who had put the socks and gown on her? For that matter, where had he been when her clothes had been removed in the first place?
She tried not to think about it, focusing instead on the doctor’s confident grip on her hand.
“Take it slow,” he said as she scooted to the edge of the bed. “Let me know if you experience any dizziness.”
Oh, mercy, it was happening again. His touch sent a shiver through her that she was sure he must have noticed. She got up slowly, vaguely recalling her previous collapse. A heavenly body had been there to catch her that time, too. But she didn’t want to risk a repeat and cancel the going-home plan.
When she was fully on her feet, he took her forearm. “Okay so far?” he asked.
“Right as rain.” Except the pounding in her head. And heart.
He let her set the pace as they headed out into the bright, all-white hallway. The unit was bustling with activity as various personnel saw to their patient care duties. A few stopped to give her curious looks while the doctor himself helped ambulate her. No sooner had they gotten fully into the hall than Caleb appeared, walking beside her. Now she was flanked by two gorgeous men who did all sorts of wild, downright disturbing things to her stomach. Their presence was quite unnerving, really. How was she supposed to walk when her knees felt weak?
Sure enough, when Caleb’s arm brushed hers, she faltered. He slid an arm around her waist immediately.
“Are you okay?” he asked in a cowboy lilt that did precious little to steady her gait.
“Sure,” she said a little breathlessly. “I’m fine.”
“Any dizziness?” Dr. Williams asked.
Disobedient Cowboys [Lone Wolves of Shay Falls 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 2