by Lucy Ryder
Frankie’s partner, Dale Franklin, followed with a covered stretcher, grunting his thanks when Paige helped him haul it onto the porch. They heard Frankie demanding, “What happened? How bad is it? And—what the hell, Ty?”
Paige had the feeling the last question didn’t have a thing to do with Harry and hurried back to stop Frankie from interrogating Ty about “The Night”. His murmured response was drowned out by the sound of Dale’s footsteps thudding down the passage behind her and by the time they entered, Frankie was checking Harry’s BP and ignoring Ty.
He had his hip propped against the counter, arms folded across his wide chest, when Paige returned. His mouth was pressed into a firm, unsmiling line that made her think he hadn’t liked Frankie’s questions. With his hooded gaze on Paige, he gave a terse report of what they’d done, grabbing Paige when she went to help.
He yanked her hard against his body, his grip tightening when she rammed an elbow into his hard belly.
“Let them do their job,” he growled against her ear. She turned to snarl at him but his gaze was oddly gentle. It was then she realized she was shaking from head to toe, barely keeping it together. She held her body rigidly and sucked in an unsteady breath, praying she wouldn’t fall apart until she was alone.
Ty’s heat finally seeped into her limbs. She didn’t know how he did it, considering he was as wet as she was. She forced herself to move away. “I’m f-fine. You don’t need to b-baby me. Harry…”
“Will be fine,” he murmured, his big body a strong, warm wall at her back. “Thanks to you.”
The last words were so soft she almost missed them and then wished she had when tears burned the backs of her eyes. She pressed a hand to her lips to keep them from wobbling.
“What if we’re too late?” She bit down on her thumb as Frankie and Dale loaded Harry onto the stretcher. He suddenly looked old and frail and she needed to do something more than stand there and fall apart. “What if—?”
“You got to him, Paige,” he interrupted firmly, detaining her when she went to follow the EMTs. “Why don’t you go change into dry clothes? I’ll drive you to the hospital.”
“No,” she said, shrugging off his hand. “I’m fine. I’ll go in the ambulance. Besides, I know how much the thought of going to the hospital scares you,” and hurried from the kitchen.
*
When he was finally alone, Ty shoved an exasperated hand through his hair and released his breath. “I am not scared,” he muttered irritably. And when the silence mocked him, he cursed. Then, because it was more satisfying, he cursed her.
If he was scared, it wasn’t of going to a hospital where he might never be able to fulfil his passion.
It was Paige.
She terrified him; with her huge eyes…and her damn open, engaging smile. A smile that he’d missed over the past few days—more than he wanted to admit. A smile that made him smile just thinking about it.
And the look in her eyes when she’d watched the EMTs load Harry onto the stretcher had momentarily rendered him stupid and made him forget her fierce independence. She’d been more than clear the other night had been a one-off thing. At the time he’d thought it was what he wanted too, but the past couple of days he’d barely seen her and… He sighed. He’d missed her, dammit.
So he’d come to Port St. John’s to be alone…big deal. Everyone deserved some alone time without being badgered and called a coward.
Little Miss Medic expected him to carry on as if everything was fine. But nothing was fine. Not his damn hand, not his uncertain future and certainly not the way he kept thinking about her when she wasn’t around. Thinking about the way her breath hitched an instant before she surrendered…the breathy moans she made when he brushed his fingers over her soft skin and the look on her face when she came.
Cursing up a storm, Ty repacked the emergency kit.
She was just a woman, he reminded himself. A little more annoying and bossy than most, but still…just…a…woman.
So what the hell was his problem with Paige?
“Absolutely no problem at all,” he snarled to the empty house. “Besides, why the hell should I care if Miz Independence wants to pretend nothing happened? In fact, I’m relieved.” A muscle twitched in his jaw. “No, I’m ecstatic,” he muttered through clenched teeth. “Because now I can go home, have a nice long shower and move on without having to worry about bossy, annoying pain-in-the-ass distractions.”
Realizing that he was starting to sound like a crazy person, he set his jaw and stomped over to the doors leading to the deck. He locked them with an impatient twist of his wrist and looked around for Harry’s house keys because there was no question the old man would be admitted for observation and tests. And to ensure that happened, Ty reached for his phone to call his father. Henry Chapman had been Harry’s doctor for thirty-five years and would want to know.
But Ty couldn’t find his phone anywhere. After searching the entire house, he remembered that Paige had picked it up to call emergency. She’d most likely shoved it into her pocket without thinking.
Finally, Ty locked the house and stomped back home. When he caught himself thinking of it as home, he paused, oblivious to the wind blowing snow into his face and down his wet shirt.
What the—? Oh, no. No way. This freezing, storm-battered town was not home and the sooner he returned to his life in balmy Malibu the better.
He’d hit his favorite beach, he decided darkly, and cuddle up to some lithe, tanned beach bunnies who wanted nothing more than a good time.
Yeah. A good time sounded…good. No, it sounded great.
Muttering, he stormed through his front door and promptly fell over something lying just inside. Swearing, he picked himself off the floor and in the light of his torch saw Paige’s shoulder bag, its contents spilled across the floor.
Dammit, the woman needed a damn keeper. She was a walking disaster. But he was not—would not be—anyone’s keeper. Especially a woman who’d blown his mind with her soft mouth and sensual moans then turned around and pretended he was the annoying neighbor.
Shaking his head at all the stuff women carried in their handbags, Ty began stuffing everything back. When he came across her keys, wallet, cellphone and lip gloss, he sighed and rose.
Looked like he wouldn’t be moving on just yet.
At least not until he made sure she got home okay.
Despite the ugly road conditions, he made it to the hospital without incident and headed straight for ER. It was like a scene from a television medical drama and Ty wished he was a million miles away.
He sucked in air, conscious of his pounding pulse and the constriction in his chest. On a purely intellectual level he realized he was having a mild panic attack. His testosterone scoffed at the idea and he forced himself forward.
Casting a quick glance over the room, he decided that no one appeared in any immediate danger and went looking for Paige. He spotted her bent over a chart, bedraggled and wet. She muttered something and turned abruptly, uttering a little yelp of surprise when she ran into him. He shot out a hand to keep her from falling over a nearby crash cart.
“T-Ty? What are you doing here?”
She was pale and lines of stress pinched the area around her eyes. His gut clenched hard.
“Harry?”
She stared at him for a couple of beats. Her throat worked as though she was having trouble getting the words out and then her eyes abruptly filled. Aw, man.
His chest squeezed and with a muttered curse he gently pulled her in, instantly struck by her terrifying fragility.
She was such a tough, feisty woman that her tears sliced at him with sharp claws.
“Dammit, Paige,” he murmured into her damp, tousled hair. “I’m sorry. I’m so damn sorry. Harry is….he’s special to you, isn’t he?” He set his jaw, finding her tears more devastating because she was so determined not to fall apart.
In the course of his job he often had to give people bad news about their loved ones
. It was never easy, but Paige…dammit, she slayed him. His throat tight with an emotion he couldn’t name, Ty tightened his arms around and murmured soothing words into her hair. He was determined to be there for her, if only it—like their night—was this one time.
Finally she sucked in a deep breath and lifted her head. They were so close Ty could see his reflection in the tears clinging to her inky lashes. And felt himself fall. Hard. Right into her huge damp eyes. Right into the swirl of blue and green and gold.
And for the first time in his life he experienced the air being sucked from his lungs—heck, from the entire universe—leaving his mind in chaos and his heart and lungs aching like he’d been kicked in the chest.
Oblivious to his inner turmoil, Paige gave a ragged laugh and dropped her forehead against his chest. “He’s… I think he’s going to be okay,” she murmured. “He came to in the ambulance. Dr. Chapman… I mean your…f-father…sent him for a bunch of tests but his vitals look promising.” She drew in a shaky breath and stepped away to brush impatiently at the tears on her cheeks. “Anyway…” she grimaced and took the clipboard a nurse thrust at her as she hurried past “…we’re swamped.”
“I thought your shift was over,” Ty began, but Paige was already moving away, her attention clearly on a mother and child nearby.
“Paige?”
She flung over her shoulder, “Look, I’ll see you later. Maybe.” She stopped abruptly and turned, her gaze searching. “Are you okay? Being here, I mean?”
“I’m fine,” he growled with exasperation, ignoring the urge to get the hell out so he could feel fresh air on his face. Paige’s gaze was searching and he sighed, holding his arms out at his side. “See. Fine.”
Paige expelled an exasperated breath and said in a tone that suggested she was rolling her eyes, “Okay, you’re fine,” she muttered, and turned away, only to stop and swing around. “In that case, will you look in on Harry? See he’s got everything he needs, I mean?”
Ty murmured that he would and was still standing there, embarrassed by his outburst, when his father appeared beside him.
“Tyler,” Henry Chapman greeted him with a worried frown. Lines of tension bracketed his eyes and mouth as he took in Ty from head to toe. Upon seeing Ty unharmed his frown eased. “You’re okay.”
“I’m fine, Dad.” He sighed and caught himself rolling his eyes because everyone thought he was a wuss. “Harry’s skin was grey and clammy when we found him and we have no idea how long he’d been unconscious.”
“He’s a tough one,” Henry mused. “But he admitted to being sick the last few days. It’s probably just electrolytes, but we’re running a full battery of tests. You made a good call there, son, giving him magnesium and honey.”
“It was Paige’s idea.”
“Paige…?” Henry’s expression cleared and he laughed. “Oh, you mean our ER pediatrician.” He turned to look around and Ty’s gaze followed to where she gave an abashed mountain of a guy a piece of her mind. “She’s a little firecracker, isn’t she? We were exceptionally lucky to get her. The kids love her.”
“Dad, about that. Why don’t you put her in Paeds instead of ER?”
Henry shook his head. “We don’t have the funds for a children’s ward, Tyler, and no specialist to run it. I try to send all the under-twelves to her but my request for a children’s wing and a full-time pediatrician is under review. Besides, she’s only here to pay back her student loans and we can’t offer what those big city hospitals can. I’m hoping to change her mind but until then…” He looked around. “Look, I have to go. Dinner Sunday?”
Ty shocked himself by saying, “Will it be okay with Rhonda?” He’d met his father’s new wife—a retired high school science teacher—but had avoided any family dinners because the truth was, somewhere down deep was that kid who wanted to punish his father for not playing a more active role in his life. But he was thirty-five years old, for God’s sake, too old to be harboring grudges like an angry adolescent.
Henry sent him a sharp look. “Of course it’s okay. It’s your home too.” He caught sight of someone trying to get his attention. “I’d better go.” He started walking off but paused to say across his shoulder, “Oh, and that cute girl?” Amusement gleamed in eyes the exact shade of Ty’s. “The one who beat you up?” Henry chuckled at Ty’s expression. “Bring her too. You need a little fun in your life. God knows, life with your mother wasn’t easy but not all women are like Renée, son.” He inclined his head towards Paige. “And that little girl has the biggest heart of anyone I know. Just looking at her makes me smile.”
Ty shoved a hand through his hair and sighed. Just looking at her made him smile too. It also made him think about things a son shouldn’t be thinking in front of his father. “She’s not a little girl, Dad,” he reminded Henry mildly. “She’s a specialist.”
“And a damned good one too,” Henry retorted. “But look at her, son. Doesn’t she just light up the room?”
Clearly Harry hadn’t expected an answer because he immediately headed off, leaving Ty to watch Paige until she disappeared into an exam room. Irritated with himself, he shook off the odd pang of loneliness, because if his childhood had taught him anything, it was that he didn’t like leaving things up to chance. He wanted to know his next course of action and he’d learned to ignore things he couldn’t control.
Like relationships and feelings.
Because who the hell could control those?
And then there was Paige Carlyle. His father was right. She did light up a room; whether with her smile or her big eyes that sparkled with the same wonder and enthusiasm as the little kids she treated, she tended to draw people to her like a moth to a flame.
And Ty wasn’t any different.
He’d come to Washington to be alone and make decisions about his future. Instead he’d spent most of it deliberately avoiding thinking about what he would do if he couldn’t be a trauma surgeon and actively seeking out a woman who didn’t want anything more from him than he had to offer.
And it was driving him nuts.
Yeah, shocking, he admitted wryly, especially as he’d never wanted anything more from women than brief mutually satisfying affairs. Paige didn’t fit into any mold and she was independent to a fault. She’d also turned his ordered existence upside down, leaving him floundering in a sea of frustration and emotional turmoil.
He liked order, dammit, and he liked control; neither of which could be equated with Paige Carlyle, and brought back memories of his childhood he’d rather forget.
When a passing nurse sent him a curious look he realized he’d been standing there scowling like a crazy person. Sighing, Ty turned and headed for the exit, determined to regain control of his life.
He was almost at his car when he realized he hadn’t asked for his phone and that he still had her keys, lip gloss and phone. Sighing, he retraced his steps and approached the nurses’ station. He would hand over her keys and wallet and leave.
And that would be that.
On impulse he sent the frazzled nurse a friendly smile and, leaning forward, said, “Can you do me a favor?”
Her eyes widened and she went pink. “Um…sure, what can I do for you?”
“Two things actually.” He flashed a quick look at her name tag. “Nurse Tucker, is it?”
“It’s Nancy.” The woman dimpled with pleasure and fluttered her eyelashes. “And if it gets me another sexy smile, I’ll have your babies too.”
The other nurse at the station snorted and said, “I’d like to know what your husband would say to that, Nance.”
“Oh, shoo, Shaz!” Nancy giggled. “A woman’s entitled to flirt a little.” She winked at Ty. “So what can I do for you, handsome?”
“It’s for Paige Carlyle.”
“You mean Dr. Cutie?”
His mouth curled at the moniker Paige couldn’t seem to shake. “Yep. Can you dig up some dry scrubs for her? Oh, and when she’s finished for the night I want you to stall her.”
>
Nancy and the other nurse shared a curious look. “No problem with the scrubs, consider it done. But…she’s already put in a full shift and…”
“Long enough to call me,” he explained. “She came in the ambulance with Mr. Andersen and needs a lift home.”
Nancy looked unsure for a moment and Ty understood that they were protecting Paige from potential crazy stalkers. He dug his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out his ID.
“Henry Chapman will vouch for me,” he said, showing her the ID.
“All right, Tyler Reese,” Nancy said, her flirtatious smile back in full force. “And what number should I call?”
Ty rattled off his number before realizing that Paige still had his phone. “No wait, call Dr. Carlyle’s cell number, she still has mine.” He could see Nancy’s curiosity bump up a couple of notches but she promised to call him when Paige was finished for the night.
Ty thanked her and left, ignoring the voice in his head demanding to know what the hell he thought he was doing.
He didn’t have any answers. He only knew that his life was as out of control as his feelings for one sexy, pain-in-the-ass distraction.
CHAPTER TEN
IT WAS AFTER ten when Ty parked in front of the house and killed the engine. He’d stopped at an all-night burger joint despite Paige’s insistence that she wasn’t hungry.
“You didn’t have to wait for me,” she said for the tenth time in as many minutes. “Especially when you’re afraid of hospitals.”
Ty opened his door with a look of exasperation. “I’m not afraid of damn hospitals. And I didn’t wait. I got Nancy to call me. End of story.” He got out and shut the door.
Her eyes tracked him, big and capable and a little irritated, as he rounded the hood. Okay. She rolled her eyes.
Clearly that discussion was over.
Shivering in the freezing air that had invaded the interior, she looked around for her shoulder bag and was just about to freak out when she remembered that she hadn’t had it with her in the ambulance.
It reminded her of Harry and her heart squeezed before she remembered that he was fine. She’d already checked on him and he was sleeping comfortably, which was a lot better than the alternative. She paused a moment to wonder what would have happened if Bertha hadn’t started that afternoon. No one would have thought to check on him and—
