Badland Bride (Book 2 - Dakota Hearts)

by Lisa Mondello

  He was looking at her again.

  “I’m not going to pass out,” she said.

  A low chuckle rumbled from his chest that Regis found enticing.

  “No, but you do have this deer-in-the-headlights look about you.”

  “Do I?”

  “Is something wrong? Did I come at a bad time?”

  “No, it’s just...” She didn’t know exactly how to verbalize the oddness of having Dr. Keith McKinnon in her motel room.

  Keith looked around the room, walking a few steps before he turned to her. “Looks okay to me. You didn’t leave your dirty towel on the bathroom floor, did you?”

  “Of course not. Besides the maid has been through the room today.”

  “Were you expecting someone else?”

  “No. No, that’s not it.”

  His brow narrowed. “Do I make you uncomfortable, Regis?”

  Now there was a loaded question. The thing was, Dr. Keith McKinnon did make her uncomfortable. But for all the wrong reasons. Regis liked the way he looked at her. She liked the sound of his voice when he said her name. Her real name. She even liked the fact that he refused to call her by the nickname her dad had given her long ago even though she’d repeatedly corrected him.

  “I’m not used to having people in my motel room. It’s usually…just my own quiet space.”

  His dark eyebrows lifted. “Never?”

  She shook her head. “I visit ten to fifteen different cities and towns a year. This is a first.”

  His lips lifted on one side in a way that Regis could only call sexy. The warm feeling in her chest grew.

  “I like that. Being a first. But if you would prefer I leave, I will. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

  “I’m not uncomfortable,” she said quietly. “You brought me dinner. The least I can do is offer you a seat at my table to enjoy it.” She looked back at the small desk and realized there was only one chair. “You can take the chair at the desk and I’ll sit on the bed.”

  “Good choice. You need to keep your leg elevated.”

  She hobbled over to the bed and eased down on it while Keith carried the food to the desk.

  “I have some sodas in the mini-fridge.”

  Keith went to the mini-fridge by the dresser and pulled out two cans of soda. “Want a glass?”

  “No, it’s just one more thing to clean.”

  He put the cold soda on the nightstand next to her and then handed her one of the Styrofoam containers with a set of plastic utensils and a napkin.

  “I thought the diner was closed this time of the night,” she said, lifting the lid and fully breathing in the aroma of good home cooking.

  “It is. My mother is working down at the shelter again. It’s actually the elementary school, but for now it’s a working shelter. At least, it’s been for the last couple of weeks. Tomorrow everyone should be in temporary housing while they rebuild.”

  “Your mother owns the diner?”

  He smiled with pride. “Since before I was born. Every single one of us McKinnons took our first steps across that dining room floor. Although my mother will swear we all never walked, we just ran.”

  Regis smiled picturing it. “How many McKinnons are there?”

  “Five boys.”

  She dropped the fork full of food in the container. “Five? Your mother ran a diner and raised five boys at the same time?”

  “Amazing, huh?” he said with pride.

  The both took a bite of food and were quiet for a few moments. Regis had eaten out of many a Styrofoam container over the years, but there was nothing like home cooking.

  “So what about you?” Keith finally asked.

  “What about me?”

  “Where are you from?”

  “Everywhere.”

  He frowned. “No one place to call home?”

  Regis lifted a shoulder. “I’m an Army brat. I’ve lived on bases all over the world.”

  “Wow. That must have been quite an adventure for your parents and you.”

  “Just my dad and me,” she said. “My mom didn’t like the Army life. Or family life for that matter. She took off when I was six. It was just my dad and me after that. Just me when he was on tour.”

  He looked shocked, like most people did when she said that. “Who’d take care of you when your father was gone?”

  “I usually got placed with another family on base…or two or three while my father was gone. Homecomings were better than times he shipped out. Most families were going through their own trials with a parent gone. It was hard taking care of a snotty kid like me who didn’t exactly want to be with them any more than they wanted me to be there.”

  “You? Snotty?”

  “I was a kid. Aren’t all kids snotty when they’re missing their dad?”

  “You have a point. That must have been rough on you though.”

  “Like anything else, you learn to adapt. At least it made acclimating to my present job easier since I’m always on the road.”

  “So where’s home?”

  She shrugged. “Here right now. Next month, who knows?”

  “You’re a gypsy.”

  His voice was as smooth as silk when he said the words, almost as if he liked the intrigue of it.

  “I guess you could say that. Except I’m not going to tell your fortune or dance for you.”

  He raised his eyebrows with a wicked grin. “Now that sounds very enticing. I wouldn’t mind seeing you in silk and gems.”

  Warmth flowed through her as the heat in Keith’s eyes flared.

  “Do you talk this way to all of your patients, Dr. McKinnon?”

  “Hawk.”

  “I though you said I could call you Keith?”

  His lips tilted to a slight grin, then looked at the container sitting on her lap. “You’re dinner is getting cold.”

  * * *

  After dinner, Keith checked the bandage on Regis’s leg.

  “Make sure you keep this dry for at least another day. As long as you can walk on it without pain, you can get around. But keep your activity down to a minimum or you’ll risk opening up the wound again.”

  “No can do. I already had to cancel a long list of appointments today. Now I have an even longer list of properties to see tomorrow.”

  “I talked with my cousin, Ian, earlier. He mentioned you’d called him about rescheduling your inspection of the Center.”

  She frowned. “Center?”

  “It’s the old mill by the river. It was being converted to a community center, but there’s space for the Wounded Veterans Center there as well as its other functions. Ian is a wounded veteran. My brother, Ethan, is a retired Navy Seal. They’ve been working to get the old mill transformed into a center for the vets in the area as well as have it funded by regular functions. Dances and weddings and such. My younger brother Logan and his fiancé are hoping to be the first to have their wedding there. It’s a pretty spot. Or at least, it was before the flood waters came in.”

  “Oh, that’s right. I’m sorry. I talked with a lot of people today. I do remember talking to a man named Ian. I didn’t make the connection.”

  “There are quite a few of us in these parts.”

  “I guess so. I look forward to meeting them while I’m here.”

  He nodded. “I would like to see you again.”

  “I don’t think I’ll really need a follow-up appointment for this. I should be able to wrap this myself now that I’ve seen you do it twice already.” She reached for her cell phone so she could check her calendar. “To be quite honest, I don’t think I could fit—”

  “I wasn’t thinking of an office visit. I was thinking more alone the lines of having dinner again.”

  She eased the cell phone back into place on the night table. “Excuse me?”

  “I enjoyed being with you tonight. I thought you might like a repeat.”

  * * *

  The deer-in-the-headlights expression was back on her face, Hawk realized. Re
gis was staring at him, wide-eyed with her lips slightly parted. He waited for her to respond but he wasn’t altogether sure she was even breathing until she finally spoke.

  “I don't like to get…involved,” she said.

  “You’re never in one place long enough for that, are you?”

  “No.”

  “You eat alone every night?”

  “Most of the time, yes. Sometimes I have dinner with one of my colleagues if they’re in the same town, but most of the time we’re all too exhausted and have too much paperwork to do.”

  “Sounds lonely.”

  “It’s the nature of the beast.”

  “It doesn’t have to be. Especially when someone is offering you a home cooked meal.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “Home cooked?”

  “Yeah, my house. Okay,

  “Your house.”

  “Well, not exactly home cooked like my mother’s. But I have a pizza stone that needs breaking in. We can be creative.”

  She shook her head. “I...when I’m on the job, things get complicated.”

  “You don’t like complicated?”

  She sighed slowly, seeming to choose her words carefully. “Sometimes I have to deliver bad news, like with the Proctors. I hate it. It’s the worst part of my job. But it’s a fact. It makes things easier if I just keep to myself.”

  A grin tugged at his mouth. “I didn’t propose marriage, Regis. Just pizza.” He kept his tone matter-of-fact, trying to ignore just how badly he wanted her to say yes. He’d been watching her all night, wondering if the intrigue he’d felt earlier in the day would be gone. She’d greeted him with messy hair, make-up smeared down her cheek, and old gray sweats that were probably two sizes too big and still she looked like the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. He looked at that cluster of freckles on her cheek and wanted to rub his thumb across it as he looked into her eyes.

  Hawk watched the choices play across her face. But then she was shaking her head again. “Thank you for the offer, but I have to decline. And thank you for this tonight. I was wondering if I was going to get to eat more than just Cheetos and peanuts from the vending machine outside.”

  He forced a smile he didn’t feel. “Well, I’m glad we had the chance to talk tonight then.”

  She started to get up off the bed, but he held her back with his hand.

  “I’ll let myself out. You stay off your leg at least for tonight. Make sure you come back to the office if your leg gives you trouble.”

  Hawk had his hand on the doorknob when Regis stopped him.

  “Thank you for tonight. I’m not…I don’t usually have to depend on people. I’m glad you stopped by.”

  “It was my pleasure.”

  Hawk whistled as he left Regis’s room and made his way to his truck in the motel parking lot. She’d turned him down, but he could see that she was conflicted. To him, that just meant he’d have to win her over another way. One thing was for sure, he was more intrigued with Regis Simpson than he was when he’d arrived tonight. And that only made him want to see her more. And he would. He was sure of it.

  He slammed the truck door closed and turned the key in the ignition, whistling while the engine fired to life. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d whistled.

  # # #

  Chapter Four

  Her leg was bleeding again. It wasn’t even noon and she’d already managed to get off schedule after brushing up against the fender of her car while taking pictures of a house with roof damage. It should have been a quick appointment, lasting no more than ten minutes to talk to the owner and take pictures. Instead, she needed mending. Again.

  Disgusted with herself, Regis pulled her sedan into the clinic parking lot. She killed the engine and drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. She should have gone back to her hotel and just patched her leg up herself. But…

  But she was here at the clinic to see Dr. Keith McKinnon again. Yeah, the reason for that wasn’t too big of a mind stretch for her. She’d thought of nothing but him since he’d shown up at her motel room last night.

  What the hell was she doing? He’d asked her to dinner. And she’d emphatically said no. She never dated men while on the road. They’d get attached. She’d get attached. And then she’d move on to another town. That was the story of her childhood. She didn’t want to repeat it in her adult life.

  Besides, long distance relationships never worked. She’d learned that one the hard way when she’d held on too long.

  “And this is not a date,” she muttered, opening the car door. “I’m only here to have my leg wrapped again and then I’ll be back on the road.”

  Oh, why couldn’t Keith McKinnon be a crusty old doctor? Instead she couldn’t stop thinking about the drop-dead gorgeous country doctor with a heart of gold she’d only seen in heroes in movies.

  Ten minutes later she was sitting on the same examining table she’d sat on the day before, looking into those deep blue eyes that had haunted her all last night. He’d dispensed with wearing the white jacket he’d put on yesterday, making it hard to see him as the caring doctor he’d been. Instead, strong muscles were clearly visible beneath the fabric of his long sleeved gray shirt. The blue jeans he wore were faded and had stains that clearly had defied laundering.

  “Am I keeping you from something?” she asked.

  “You just caught me. I was heading over to the mill to help with some of the cleanup.”

  She nodded. “That’s another thing on my list that I’m going to have to reschedule. Again.”

  Regis fought the tears of frustration she’d been feeling since yesterday’s mishap. So many people were counting on her and she was failing.

  “Come on. It’s not that bad,” Keith said, lifting her chin with his finger. The sympathy she saw in his eyes was more than she could take. She lost the battle with her emotions as the tears she’d been holding back fell down her cheek.

  Reaching behind him, Keith grabbed a tissue box and held it out for her. She took two and nodded her thanks.

  “I’m so embarrassed,” she finally said when she got her emotions in check. “I don’t normally blubber like this.”

  “Why not? It looks like you were overdue.”

  She shook her head. “I can hear my father in my head tell me to buck up. ‘Soldiers don’t cry.’” She lowered her voice in that deep way she always did when she mimicked her father’s admonition. She hadn’t done that in a long time.

  “You were a soldier?”

  “No, my dad is.”

  “Oh.”

  His sudden silence had her looking up at Keith. “What?”

  He shrugged as he grabbed a fresh roll of gauze from the cabinet. “I don’t know your father, but I do know a lot of people in the military. Male or female, they do cry. How could they not? And plenty of people cry with them. There’s nothing wrong with some tears.”

  His kind words only made Regis feel worse and her tears renewed.

  “I can’t do what I have to do with this leg.”

  “The longer you stay off it, the better chance the wound has to heal and stay closed.

  “I can’t stay off my feet long enough for this to heal.”

  “You don’t have sick time from work?”

  “It’s not that. I’m sure I can call my office and they’ll send another adjuster out here to replace me. But…”

  He cocked his head slightly to one side and waited for her to go on.

  “I’ve been at this a long time,” she said. “There are a lot of people who do what I do who aren't thorough.”

  She glanced up at him, hoping he’d get her meaning. After a second, he nodded.

  “It’s very noble to be conscientious about your job. In fact, that’s something I got from you immediately. You care about what you do. I’m sure not everyone would be as dedicated.”

  “Thank you. I just want to make sure these people get what they need first.” She took a deep breath and used the tissues to wipe her cheeks. “So what’s the
prognosis? Am I back in the saddle when you get me patched up?”

  His slow sigh gave her the answer. “If you want this leg to heal so you can really get around the way you need to, you’re going to need to stay off it for at least another day.”

  “That’s not poss—”

  “Or every time you bend your foot or rub up against something, you risk re-injuring yourself.”

  “So warned.”

  He finished inspecting her leg and then wrapped it up. He dropped his latex gloves in the trash and turned to her.

  “Who do you have on your list today?”

  “My schedule is in the car.”

  “Then let’s take a look.”

  Fifteen minutes later they were standing in the clinic parking lot. Regis pulled her tablet from the car and was now scrolling down the list of names of people she’d need to contact.

  Keith was standing incredibly close to her. She felt the heat of his body as it shielded her from the March wind, and the light smell of aftershave. She hadn’t noticed it earlier, but that was the difference about him today. She’d noticed the light scruff of hair on his jawline yesterday, but now it was cleanly shaven. Just standing so close to him made her head light, making it hard to concentrate.

  “You were going to go to the mill today,” he said, seemingly unaware of his effect on her.

  “That was the plan.” The wind whipped her hair around her face. She fought with trying to keep it from obstructing her vision for a few seconds. When it subsided, she noticed Keith was staring intently at her list.

  “Okay, then,” he said, moving away from her and leaving her in the wind. He opened her driver’s side door and reached inside the car, pulling out her camera.

  “Okay then what?” she asked.

  “We’ll take my truck. This is the only camera you use?”

  Confused, she said, “Yes. But don’t you have appointments?”

  “I had them all this morning. I was just about to leave when you came in.”

  “Doesn’t anyone else besides me need a doctor around here?” she said, chuckling.

  Keith laughed too and the sound of it made her smile. Not just a smile on her face, but a smile she felt inside. Good Lord, when was the last time any man had made her feel that way? Ever!