Small-Town Nanny
Page 19
“Still,” he said, sounding insistent. She wished he’d go away. But if he did, she’d be alone. She was tired of being alone.
What did that say about her life, that she was so lonely she wanted this man, this stranger, to stay with her? There was something comforting about his presence.
“I’ll call your sister, then,” he said. He pulled off his cowboy hat and brushed a hand through short, dark hair. His eyes still watered.
“You should get your eyes cleaned out,” Kayla offered.
The nurse gave him a good look as she helped Kayla onto the bed. “I’ll have an aid flush your eyes out. Right now let’s get you settled. I’ll be right back and we’ll get you changed into a gown.”
Kayla gripped the edge of the bed as another wave of dizziness hit. “I’m sorry you’ve been dragged into this. And for the pepper spray. I’ll pay to replace your contacts.”
“No need to apologize.” His voice rumbled close by. She felt his hand on her foot. He was removing her shoes. First one and then the other. She forced her eyes open and watched him. He was looking down so she had a view of the crown of his head, of his dark hair.
“Thank you.” She managed to get the words out, closing her eyes again to block his concerned expression and the tumultuous emotions that bounced around inside her.
Needing someone was not her thing.
“You’re welcome,” he said, standing up. “Is there anything else I can do?”
She shook her head, the movement costing her. She put a hand to her temple. “Make this headache go away?”
He put a hand on her shoulder briefly. “I’m sure they’ll give you something.”
And then he was moving toward the door and the nurse was there, agreeing that they would get her something for pain.
“I can’t,” Kayla tried to explain. The nurse gave her a curious look. “No narcotics.”
Boone Wilder, babysitter, bodyguard, whatever he thought of himself, stopped at the door. “I’ll be here when you get back from CT. And we’ll have to call the police and file a report.”
The door slid open and his partner stepped inside. She wasn’t tall but Kayla got the impression this woman with her long dark hair, dark eyes and pretty face could intimidate almost anyone.
“Kayla Stanford, this is Lucy Palermo. We’re partners in MPW Bodyguard services.” Boone waved at the other woman in introduction.
“Palermo. Wilder. What does the M stand for?” Kayla asked as she leaned back on the bed.
“McKay. Daron McKay,” Boone said.
“Of course.” She covered her eyes with her hand to block the bright fluorescent lighting. “Our dads have worked together in the past.”
“That’s what Daron told us,” Lucy said with just the slightest Hispanic accent.
The nurse rested a hand on Kayla’s arm. “Time to get you into that hospital gown.”
“We’ll be out in the hall,” Boone said as he settled his hat back on his head.
“You don’t have to stay,” Kayla shot back, knowing he wouldn’t listen.
“You can’t get rid of us that easily.”
Of course she couldn’t. And even though she’d said the words, she didn’t mean them. Even strangers who had been paid to keep tabs on her were better than nothing.
She was so tired of being alone.
Copyright © 2016 by Brenda Minton
ISBN-13: 9781488007316
Small-Town Nanny
Copyright © 2016 by Lee Tobin McClain
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com