Page 51 of Moonlighting with the Werewolf

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the slack jaws of a couple out for a stroll. At my warning glower, they rushed on. Sasquatch had likely heard it from his position near the door as well, although his expression remained as impassive as ever.

I snagged Kerrigan’s hand, but she pulled it free and shook her head. “No. Don’t, Conall. Just don’t.”

Despite her plea, I couldn’t leave it be. “It’s not like that, Kerrigan. Iwantcomplicated— I want you. But the timing’s off. Maybe after this threat?—”

“I’m seriously supposed to come here every day, take care of people who despise me, occasionally cross your path, and what?” Tears bordered her eyes as she shrugged a shoulder. “Act like nothing happened between us?”

“You’re right—that’d be unfair. Sabine insists she can handle it, so I guess we’ll see. I’ll call in Doc Morris if need be.”

Pain flooded Kerrigan’s features. “Oh, so suddenly I’m expendable? That guy will never take as good a care of Elias as I will, and I can’t accept that—Iwon’t.”

“I’m not firing you. I’d love for you to stay on. I’m trying to give you an out if it’s too much.”

“Do me a favor, and don’t do me any favors.” Kerrigan whipped around, leaving me to puzzle out that statement. She yanked open the door to her car, and I pushed it closed.

“Wait. Just give me a goddamn minute to think.”

“You don’t need a minute; you already decided. You want this to be easy, so I’ll make it easy. Anyone requiring medical care is welcome at my clinic. I should be there growing my practice anyway.” She opened the car door again, and I slammed it shut again.

Not sure why. Guess I was the pigheaded ass she’d accused me of being. “Fine. I’ll escort you home.”

“No, thank you.”

“With our enemies hiding in the surrounding woods, you need an escort,” I said.

“Deputy Sasquatch?” Kerrigan called over my shoulder, and I did a double take, wondering when he’d left his post. “Will you take me home? I’m assuming that’d be preferable to me strangling the alpha of your pack?”

Sasquatch dipped his head, following her orders as promptly as he filled mine, and what the hell?

Kerrigan started around the hood of her car, and I caught her wrist, alarm screeching through me. The idea that this could be our last interaction gnawed at me, propelling me to the brink of desperation.

Sasquatch wedged himself between us and planted a firm hand on my chest.

A growl emanated from the back of my throat. “Trust me, you don’t want to fight me right now.”

“You need to cool off before you say or so anything you’ll later regret.” His gaze drifted to the hawk circling the air above us. “Trustme. There are certain things you can’t take back.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Over the pastfive lonely and rather depressing days, I’d continued to brainstorm treatments that might help Elias between examinations of my other furry patients.

The snap of my blue gloves into place filled the exam room, and I moved to examine the chihuahua who’d eaten the beak off a rubber duckie. His owner brought him in right away, conveying that his breath seemed more labored than usual and asking about the odds of the puppy passing it without help.

I placed the stethoscope on Rex’s furry, white and tan chest. His heart rate was normal, but his breaths did sound labored. He wasn’t choking, though, and he obviously was getting oxygen.

Elias was still on oxygen, too. Thanks to exchanging numbers with both Gideon and Gina—or the Double G’s as I’d taken to calling them—I’d received a couple of updates. Gideon was worried about Elias’s temperature, although Sabine kept insisting werewolves simply ran hot. But was it normal for someone in his condition to sweat through three hospital gowns a day, Gideon had asked.

Short answer: no.

Long answer: factoring in the combination of lupine and homo sapiens genes, I had no earthly idea what temperature was ideal. Only that canines did run slightly higher and if I could take enough temperatures from enough werewolves, I could compare and contrast.

As far as Conall went, there’d been no keeping me in the loop, no communication, no nothing. Or I guess that would make it something, and in this case, it was a whole heap of sadness over being suddenly secluded from Conall, as well as any werewolf ongoings.

The chihuahua on the table gave a yip and bit at the end of my stethoscope, apparently unhappy I’d dared to think of another canine while it was his time to shine. “Sorry, Rex. But did you seriously not learn your lesson about eating things you shouldn’t?”

And had I not learned my own lesson about daydreaming about the loss of a man I had no business tackling a relationship with anyway? It was pointless and painful, with a side of stinging rejection. Still, Elias deserved my all, regardless of what’d transpired—or was no longer transpiring—between the alpha of his pack and me.

While I took comfort that Elias wasn’t any worse, the fact that his health wasn’t improving gnawed at me, a wound I couldn’t stop worrying over and picking at.

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