Page 5 of The Sheriff & the Nurse

“It’s been chaos today. You were there when that epidural only worked on half of that mom’s body.” He grimaced.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know she was in so much pain that she didn’t remember that was one of the risks.”

“The husband was the worst.” He splayed his hands.

Lily nodded. The husband had flipped out on Jacob. Labor and delivery could be the happiest of locations. The Spirit was strong when a baby was born, and Lily relished those moments. But often the labor was excruciating and both mom and dad sometimes lost their cool.

“I feel as bad as they do when something doesn’t work right.”

“I know.” She did know. Pretty much everyone in the unit gave their heart and soul to their patients, but many things were out of their control. Her heart stretched as she tried to easea new mom’s suffering during labor and it broke right in two those excruciating times the situation escalated to dangerous and sometimes perilous conditions.

“Have a great day,” she said. She wasn’t in the mood to chat with anyone today, too occupied with what she was going to say to Dr. Hampshire when he confronted her.

Lily hurried to the door. Her hand was on the handle when Jacob stopped her with, “Hey, I’m sorry that your boyfriend is … a cheater.”

“Oh … um … no, he’s not. It’s all good.” She turned from the door and pasted on a smile. Thank heavens no paparazzi would be taking photos of her reaction. She wondered how Miles, the humblest hero she knew, would handle all that attention. The beautiful, talented, and hilarious Eva Chevron must be more than worth any inconvenience. “I’m super happy for him. Eva Chevron is amazing.” Her words were true, but they didn’t come across as enthusiastic as she needed to be about this situation.

“You … aren’t furious?” Jacob’s brow knotted.Helooked furious.

She took a step back but ran into the door. “We actually broke up … a bit ago. It’s been a long time coming. We grew apart. Long distance is rough. He’s a great guy and I am really, really happy for him.”

“Oh, that’s good.” One brow lifted and his hazel eyes suddenly sparkled. “So … you’re free to date? Asking for a friend.”

“I’m actually not free. I’m very serious with someone.Veryserious.” Maybe Jacob would spread the word she was already dating someone and Dr. Hampshire would keep his distance. Doubtful, but maybe.

“Oh.” His lips drooped. “I’m too slow. You moved on as quick as Lieutenant Coleville.”

She shrugged and gave a weak laugh. “My mom’s been after me to get married. I’m thirty. No time to waste.”

“Hmm.” He studied her as if he knew she was a big fat liar. Her mom was after her to get married, but Lily was definitely lying about the new boyfriend.

Lily waved goodbye and rushed out the door, checking the hall each way before hurrying to check on the first mom on her rounds.

She went through the rest of the day glancing over her shoulder. Thankfully the unit was busy and she could focus on the task at hand and savor being part of the miracle of birth. Dr. Hampshire’s office was on the clinic side of the hospital. He had no reason to come near her, but somehow he made the unwanted run-ins happen.

Finally, her twelve-hour shift was over. She’d worked a twelve yesterday as well and stayed at Grandma’s house which was near the hospital. Grandma had home health coming in three times a week to bathe her and check in on her, but it was always great to stay with her, clean and shop for her, and spend some time together.

As soon as Lily walked down the steps and put her nurse responsibilities to rest, it hit her. All the stress of Miles and Eva revealing they were together and what that meant for her walloped into her like a sledgehammer.

What was she going to do? She needed a fake boyfriend. She looked around the brightly lit hospital foyer as if the right man would magically appear. There were single men here in Kalispell, but Jacob and Dr. Hampshire were the only ones she knew very well. Rhett Coleville built custom homes in town. She could look him up, but he was four years younger than her and she didn’t know him as well as Miles, Easton, and Walker. She wouldn’t let herself think about Clint.

At home in Coleville, the only single men close to her age were the Coleville brothers. They all were noble and handsome cowboys. They’d help her if she asked. Easton the bull rider was far too flirtatious. Walker, Easton’s twin brother, the roper, was ...

Walker would actually be perfect. He was thoughtful, handsome, tough, protective, and Lily had long suspected he had a crush on her. Would that be taking advantage of another Coleville brother? Miles had always been too kind to her. After their break-up conversation, she knew what she’d long suspected—he’d wanted to ‘set her free’ and end the relationship years ago. Though he appreciated having the support from her and a ‘girl back home’ had helped him at times too, recently he’d only stayed in it because she acted like she wanted to and it was more convenient not to break up and hurt her.

Lily was embarrassed that she couldn’t get away from Dr. Hampshire and felt guilty for using Miles. She couldn’t do that to Walker, knowing she wasn’t drawn to him and suspecting he was interested in her. Even if he went into it knowing it was fake, it wouldn’t be fair to him.

That left Clint.

An image of the rugged, handsome, mesmerizing cowboy sheriff played before her eyes. Succulent. If she told Clint she was in danger and the only way to stay safe was for him to be her fake boyfriend, he would agree. She knew he would, but only because he was a natural protector of women. He probably had ‘Valiant Protector’ tattooed across his back. Did he have tattoos? He hadn’t when they were younger. What would the man Clint Coleville tattoo on his back, or would it be clean, firm, tanned skin? Well-developed deltoids, trapezoids, and lats. Yummy. She was dying to see for herself. All that muscle.

I thought we weren’t thinking about Clint, a voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like Daisy’s teased as Lily exitedthe building and slowed her steps, glancing around the brightly lit parking lot. A few cars finding a spot. No sign of Dr. Hampshire.

The voice was right, and she hadn’t called Daisy. She’d call her later. Guaranteed Clint didn’t think about that night and their near-kiss. He’d been engaged six months ago and the witchy Sheryl Dracon had dumped him. Who could dump Clint Coleville? Lily could only imagine what being engaged to Clint would look like, feel like. She closed her eyes for just a moment and remembered his strong arms around her, his enticing lips trailing down her face.

No! It was a no, remember? She needed to focus on the issue at hand.

What was it about Dr. Hampshire that terrified her so much? Why did she instinctively feel like she needed to protect herself and Grandma from him? Maybe she was misconstruing his weird comments into threats and it was time she stood up to him, again, and dealt with the consequences.

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