by Codi Gary
As Hunter walked out of the surgery suite, he heard a crash. He opened the door to the on-call room and found Jax standing with his hands on the wall, breathing hard. Since Jax was usually so quiet and easygoing, people often forgot that he’d once been a soldier. That he was powerful and dangerous.
Apparently, the wall had learned it, too. There was an indent in the plaster, where he must have punched it.
“Hey, man, you okay?”
Jax turned around slowly, leaning his head back against the wall. The front of his blue scrubs were red with blood, and the dark skin of his knuckle was split and oozing. Jax’s dark-brown eyes were squinted, as if he was in pain or trying not to cry.
“My patient died on the table. He was only twenty-one.”
Hunter came closer and squeezed Jax’s shoulder. He didn’t say it was okay or assure him that he’d done all he could, because that was the last thing he’d want to hear if the situation was reversed.
“I’m okay. Just never gets easier, right?”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Jax stood back up and Hunter released his shoulder.
“I’m going to try to get some sleep,” Jax said.
“Want me to look at that hand?”
Jax flopped down on one of the beds and covered his eyes with his forearm. “Nah, it’s fine.”
Hunter left him alone and headed down to the waiting area to find Enrique. He hoped Jeff’s family had made it there, too. His patient was going to need support when he woke up.
Hunter tensed when he bumped into Trent.
“What’s up, Doc? How’s the patient?”
“He should recover, barring any complications. What are you still doing here?”
“I left and came back. A couple accidentally started a fire in their hotel room during some candle play. They suffered some smoke inhalation, and Mr. Cook at the Bear Mountain Inn is not happy, but they’ll be okay.”
“Well, I’ve got to find my patient’s family…”
“Say, Doc, while I’ve got you, I’d like to know what the deal is with you and Penny Davis.”
Hunter could feel his eye start to twitch. “There is no deal. Penny and I are just friends.”
“Yeah? So, no interest in her whatsoever?”
“None.”
Trent slapped his shoulder, a wide grin on his face. “Good. I didn’t want to get in the way of anything.”
“You’re not. Penelope Davis can date whomever she wants.” Before he could stop himself, he added, “But the thing is, I don’t think you’re right for her.”
Trent’s smile melted, and a hard expression Hunter had never seen before settled over the other man’s features. “Is that a fact?”
Trent might have had a few inches on him, but Hunter stood straight, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah, it is.”
Silence stretched between them as neither one of them blinked or backed down. Finally, Trent gave him a curt nod. “Then I guess it’s a good thing it isn’t up to you.”
As he walked away, he waved a hand over his shoulder. “Good talk, Doc.”
Hunter had no idea what had come over him. He knew that he didn’t want to see Penny hurt. She deserved better than a man who would break her heart.
Then Penny’s last words to him rang through his mind.
“If you really want a say in who I date, then you should ask me out yourself.”
Penny wasn’t what he wanted though. He wanted someone his own age. Someone who wanted to get married and have kids. Who was done partying.
But then why does the thought of her with Trent make me sick?
Chapter 7
Trent stepped into the Grizzly, immediately looking for Penny. She was handing two neon-blue drinks to a couple of giggling young women as she wore that polite, tight smile on her face. Man, he would like to get her to really smile again, instead of seeing that fake shit she gave everybody else.
Well, everybody but Hunter Gracin.
That dude was in serious denial. Telling him that it was her choice, and then challenging him.
Shit, at least he was here, trying. Even if it was only for a night of amazing sex. Or two or three. He was the one putting himself out there, while Gracin sat back and refused to make a move.
She spotted him and he grinned as she glared at him.
“You can’t take a hint, huh?”
“What can I say? When I know what I want, I go after it.”
“Vince, I am taking a break.” She came around the bar and grabbed Trent’s arm, pulling him outside. Once they had some distance on the main door, she released him. “Seriously, do you enjoy embarrassing me?”
“That’s not my goal, actually. My plan is to wear you down until you say yes.”
“And I’m telling you that I have a lot on my mind and don’t have time for anything, especially not a—”
He covered her mouth with his hand, stopping whatever insult she was going to fling his way. “Now, before you say something you don’t actually mean, I want to tell you that you sound stressed. The best way to relieve stress is with a little fun. I promise not to even touch you if you agree to go on a date with me.” He removed his hand and gently tucked a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear. “Besides, you can’t spend all of your spare time pining for Dr. Stick-Up-His-Rear.”
Penny stared up into Trent’s deep-brown eyes, trying not to laugh at his nickname for Hunter. Hunter wasn’t always straitlaced and stodgy. He could actually be fun when he wanted to be.
Besides, Penny could tell just by looking at Trent that he would be too wild. Is that what she wanted? To get roped into shenanigans with a guy who probably still liked drinking games?
Come on, when was the last time you said yes and had a good time?
Pursing her lips, she folded her arms over her chest seriously. “If I agree to one date with you, I want a real date with a plan. Do not take me down to the river with a six-pack of beer and a bunch of cheesy lines, or you’ll be walking funny for a week.”
“Got it. Anything else?”
Patting his chest, she gave him an evil grin. “Yeah. Don’t bring up Hunter again.”
He covered her hand with his, pressing her palm to his hard pecs. “Believe me, when I’m with you, he’s the last thing I want either of us thinking about.”
Penny was still wondering why in the heck she’d said yes to Trent when she walked out of the Grizzly at nearly three in the morning. Maybe because his line about stress and fun had hit home. It had been a long time since she’d gone out to have fun. She enjoyed hanging out with her friends, but because most of them were either married or in a serious relationship, she hadn’t really cut loose in…
Well, five years, actually.
She was about to turn right and head down the street for home when a couple of guys started hollering at her from the parking lot.
“Hey, bartender! Wanna come party with us?”
Penny would have told them to go straight to hell, but an arm suddenly wrapped around her waist in an iron grip.
“Sorry, guys, she’s taken,” Hunter called back.
The drunk men laughed, and Penny found herself being pulled toward Hunter’s SUV.
“Again, I can take care of myself.”
“Yeah, I know.” He put something in her hand and she realized it was her spare car keys. “I swiped them from the little metal box you keep above your tire and dropped your car up at the shop before work. I got your truck a tune-up and now it’s running perfectly. They even fixed the AC.”
Penny stared at the keys. He had taken her car to be fixed while she was at work.
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know that, too.”
She bit the inside of her cheek, her heart pounding.
“I’ll pay you back.”
“No, you won’t. I did this so you would have a safe car.”
“It’s too much—”
“Good God, can’t you ever say thank you?”
Actually, no. That was one of the hardest things for Penny to do. Accepting help, no matter how small, was difficult. She was so used to taking care of herself and everyone around her that she didn’t even know how to let someone take care of her. It made her feel weird. She didn’t like it.
They got into the car and drove to her place in silence, her mind buzzing. What did this mean? She’d told Hunter if he wanted any say in who she dated, he should take the job himself and then he’d shown up tonight to take her home. Did that mean he wanted more than just friendship?
Her heart was slamming in her chest by the time they pulled up to her house. Finally, while she was unbuckling, she managed to speak. “Thank you for driving me home.”
“You’re welcome.”
She grabbed the door handle, pausing. “Why did you do it?”
“What?” He sounded genuinely surprised by her question, but really, he had to have a reason. Some kind of motive.
“Why did you show up tonight? Fix my car? You didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to make sure you got home safe.”
Yes, but why? Because you care? Because you’re that kind of guy?
“That’s it? You were only worried some drunk tourist was going to accost me?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with that?”
Stupid girl.
“Nothing. How very chivalrous of you.”
She hadn’t meant to sneer the words, but she wasn’t about to take them back. She kept looking for something that simply wasn’t there. She’d practically blasted him with her feelings and he was still oblivious.
Before she humiliated herself again, she climbed out of the car and slammed the door.
Hunter’s SUV shook as the door crashed closed and he was utterly stunned. What in the hell had he said now? He’d shown up to get her from work, had her car fixed, and she’d almost busted his door off? What the hell did she want him to say?
Against his better judgment, he jumped out of the car and followed her up the walk.
“Penny, stop! Why are you so pissed at me?”
She stopped to unlock the door, not even bothering to face him. “Because you’re a wimp.”
Okay, that was uncalled for. Heat prickled along his skin as anger boiled through him. She still wouldn’t look at him, and he finally had enough. He put his hand on her shoulder and spun her around to face him. “What the hell does that mean?”
Penny stepped into him and poked him in the chest. “It means that you can’t even admit why you drove me home tonight. You’re a wimp.”
“I told you, I was worried. I was trying to be a good guy.”
“You can be a good guy and still admit why you drove me home, why you got my car fixed. Be honest with yourself and with me.”
“I am—”
“You aren’t.”
“Penny, you are going to have to spell it out for me, because I have no idea what you’re getting at.”
“Fine. The reason you showed up tonight is simple. You want me, Gracin. But you don’t want to want me.”
Hunter sighed. “Of course I find you attractive. You’re beautiful—”
Penny cut him off. “No, you don’t just think I’m attractive. You want me. Like knee-weakening, skin-tingling, heart-pounding desire. I know that because there is no way I could feel this way about you and have it be one-sided.”
Hunter was thrown. He knew that Penny had a crush on him, but he thought they were friends. “Penny, you’re a lot younger than me—”
“Nine years is nothing, Hunter. We are both consenting adults.”
“But you still want to go out and party. I’m done with that.”
“Oh, so I don’t see you in the Grizzly with Jax and Dex every week?”
Dex was Hunter’s other good friend, who wasn’t doing much hanging out now that he had a serious girlfriend, Allie Fairchild. “Fine,” Hunter said. “I like to meet my friends for drinks. But if I had someone to come home to, I wouldn’t be there. I’d be home with them. I want to settle down. I want to get married and have kids. I’m thirty-five years old.”
“God, you say that as if you’ve only got a few years left! I want all those things, too, Hunter, but my life doesn’t have to stop for me to get them. I am ready to love someone forever, to be committed to only them, but I don’t think that means you have to close yourself off from the rest of the world. I know all this, and you’re seriously trying to tell me that you think I’m too young for you?”
“Penny, the first time we met, we almost slept together because we were both too drunk to think rationally.”
“So the hell what? People get drunk and hook up all the time, even women in their thirties. Or have you not been paying attention to all the trolling that happens at the Grizzly?” She shook her head at him, and wrapped her hands in the front of his shirt. “You’re making up excuses because you’re scared.”
“I’m not scared. I’m just saying that you—”
She didn’t let him finish his sentence though. Suddenly, her arms were behind his neck and she’d planted her lips over his, kissing him hard. Hunter’s cock raged to life when her breasts pressed against his chest, and when that little tongue of hers slipped into his mouth and tangled with his.
He was about to push her back into her door when she pulled away, breathing so hard her chest heaved.
“That is what you should have done the second I came out of the Grizzly.”
He was so stunned, words completely failed him.
“I’ve waited five years for you to wake up and realize you’re supposed to be with me, Hunter. I’m not wasting any more time.”
And before he could respond, she’d opened the door and slipped inside, leaving him aching for her and seriously confused.
Chapter 8
The week had passed like a whirlwind for Penny. After she’d asked Vince for the time off and he’d grudgingly said yes, she’d set up interviews for both jobs. She’d driven to Red Lodge on Tuesday for her interview with Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary. She’d loved the facility and the staff had been so nice. The pay was decent and she could still live in Bear Mountain, where her house and friends were.
And Hunter.
The reminder of him brought a pang to her chest. She hadn’t seen or heard from him since the kiss and it killed her that he still hadn’t asked her out. He must be sitting back on his laurels, overthinking everything. It was frustrating as hell. And she was done. Or at least she should be done.
On Wednesday morning, she’d flown out to San Diego for her interview on Thursday. Walking through the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park had been a dream come true, and she’d especially loved the cheetah and Anatolian program. The director had seemed impressed with her. Although the city itself was a little overwhelming, it would be cool to live that close to the beach.
Plus, I could put enough distance between me and Hunter to maybe move on.
Is that what she wanted? After five years of waiting and hoping, was she finally giving up?
Penny tried not to think about it. Trent was due to pick her up any minute. They’d been exchanging texts and phone calls all week, and when he’d found out they both had today off, he’d been so eager to take her out that it had almost made up for Hunter’s rejection.
As she put the finishing touches on her makeup, she jumped when her doorbell rang.
With a deep breath, Penny opened the door and found Trent standing on her porch in a black collared shirt and jeans. His gaze swept over her, and she noted the appreciation in his eyes. It seemed he liked her tight jeans and black halterneck top.
“You look gorgeous.”
“Thanks.”
She stepped out to lock the door, and he laughed. “Aren’t you going to invite me in and show me around your place?”
“Nope.”
“Alright, I can take a hint.”
“Can you?” she teased.
“You need to stop lying to yourself. You know you always wanted to go out with me, but
you liked playing hard to get in the beginning.”
“Did I, though? Or am I giving in so you’ll stop pestering me?”
“At this point, I am just happy you said yes. I’m not looking to waste a minute of our date.”
With a grin, he held out his hand to her. It was a surprising gesture, and she shocked herself even more when she took it.
“So, where are we going?” she asked.
“How do you feel about dancing?”
At least she’d worn her comfortable heels. “It’s been a long time for me. I might need a couple shots to get me started.”
He opened the door of his Explorer, wiggling his eyebrows. “That can be arranged.”
Trent drove through town to the South Paw, the only bar that had live music in Bear Mountain. It was only open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday during tourist season, and was usually packed.
Trent held her hand while they waited in line and when they walked through the front door. The band was rocking “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and the heat of too many bodies made the air sweltering as they headed into the bar.
Penny scanned the crowd as Trent flagged down a bartender. She hardly recognized anyone. Was she too old to be here?
Trent came back holding two shots. “Alright, body shots.”
“What?”
“You take the shot, then lick salt off me and take the lime from my mouth.”
“Yeah, no, I will never do that.”
Trent grinned. “Never say never, kitten. Bottoms up.”
Several hours and six shots later, Penny giggled as she tipped back another shot. Trent stood in front of her with his shirt up, exposing his rock-hard abs that were sprinkled with salt. Penny had caved on the body shot already, licking salt off his neck, but there was no way she was taking a lime from his mouth.
