Page 11 of Doctor Charmer

“You shouldn’t try to move too much,” he says from across the room, striding to the other side of the bed.

“Griff, this is Dr. Morgan,” I say, tipping my chin in Reggie’s direction.

His eyes take him in, his brow pinching. “You were in earlier?”

He nods, his gaze moving from Griffin to the monitors above his bed. “Yes, I was checking on you.”

“I ordered him to. I needed to know how my brave volunteer was doing.” I give him a reassuring smile to let him know everything is going to be okay. With him awake, seeing him talking, lucid, I allow myself to believe what the doctors have been telling me. He’s going to be fine.

Griffin’s glance rises to meet Reggie’s gaze and short head nod. “No one says no to Coach.”

His words cause me to laugh. Yeah, he’s going to be all right. Humor. It’s one of the most under-used tools we possess. Griffin has been taking notes.

“Certainly not me,” Reggie adds, shooting me a quick wink when Griffin turns his head. His smile lingers on me for a long beat, and I wonder if this is part of his charm package.

“How is everyone else? The other doctor didn’t have any information. Then they gave me a shot, and I was out.” Griffin twists his neck to flip the hair from his light brown eyes, which I’ve caught whispers of the girls in the back of the van obsessing over during a rest stop yesterday, filled with concern. He cares for the team.

I wait to see if Reggie wants to take the lead. His curt nod is appreciated. He lets me lead. “Everyone, for the most part, is doing okay. Shaken, not stirred.” I use humor to appease his concerns. “Everyone’s been checked out and released except for three. Dalia, Chelsea, and Victoria are being admitted.”

“Chels?” Griffin calls out the one girl on the team who has put him in the friend zone. She appears immune to his charming ways, and I can tell it drives him insane.

“Broken ankle, from what I understand.” I look to Reggie to elaborate.

His hand lands on the bed frame. “We’re just being careful. Nothing to worry about.”

“I’m going to have them put all of you together on the same floor,” I say without consulting with anyone. I have no idea if that’s something the hospital will allow. But I’m sure they’re scared, and being near one another should help. “I’m going to be staying too. I can’t leave my team when they need me most.”

“So we’re out of the tournament?” Griffin jokes.

I throw back my head in laughter. An unrestrained laugh. He’s going to be fine. We all will. “Oh my god, I hadn’t even thought about the tournament. We are so out. Undefeated, but out. Maybe they’ll send us a medal.”

Griffin lowers his hand to his ribs. “That would be kinda cool. The undefeated underdogs. I like the sound of that.”

Reggie leans forward, his fingers flying across the screen. “I can do better than getting you guys on the same floor. I can get you in the same rooms. Two to a room, any preference?” Hedirects his question to Griffin, who turns to face me. His eyes lock with mine as we both speak at the same time.

“Not Chelsea,” he says.

“Chelsea,” I say, and we both fall into laughs. I turn to a confused Reggie. “Dalia and Victoria have insane crushes on Griffin, and this young man”—I give his forearm a playful smack—“knows it and feeds it like nobody’s business. If you put either in his room, we’d need a twenty-four-hour chaperone.”

“We’re all adults,” Griffin reminds me. Not every girl on the team has reached twenty-one, but these three have. Doesn’t matter, they are still my responsibility.

“With his injury, I think you both are overestimating his abilities.” Reggie gives a smirk while tapping on the screen. “Chelsea it is.”

“Coach?” Griffin’s plea is a validation song to my soul.

“Done.” Reggie gives me the out I didn’t really need.

“Sorry, not sorry.” I shrug. “Did you speak to your parents?”

He nods, his expression shifting. “I told them they didn’t have to come. They have a house full of relatives up for the holiday. That’s another reason I volunteered.” He shoots a quick glance toward Dr. Morgan and leans in my direction, his voice lowering. “Did the police ask you any questions?”

I recall their visit. Thankfully, I had collected myself after my meltdown in Reggie’s arms. They were in and out in less than five minutes. “Yeah, for the police report. Why?”

His brow furrows. “I was telling them about how we avoided the initial accident, and then the truck was headed our way. You shouted something to the girls right before you jumped on me, but I couldn’t recall what it was. What did you say?”

Of all the things for him to ask. And in front of the good doctor. A light chuckle escapes my lips as I try to push down the embarrassing statement. I might as well rip off the Band-Aidand get it over with as quickly as possible. That he brought it up means it’s been on his mind, and he won’t let it go easily.

“I’m not sure how I thought of it at the moment.” My giggle pulls Reggie’s attention away from his tablet. “It was a split-second statement; the truck was going to smack into us. I said, ‘Girls, grab your balls’.”

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