Page 20 of On the Edge

“He does.” Jonas’s tone was fond. “Must have some husky somewhere in his mutt mix.”

“Did you get him as a puppy?” I asked as Oz brought Jonas a stick to throw.

“He was closer to a year when I found him at the local shelter.” Jonas launched the stick away from the snow unicorn. “I asked which dog had been waiting the longest, and it was this chill fellow. He was my present for surviving my second divorce.”

“Pretty nifty consolation prize.” I chuckled, already hating both of Jonas’s ex-spouses.

“Oh, Oz is no runner-up.” Jonas accepted the stick back from Oz. “He’s worth a heck of a lot more than my ex, that’s for sure.”

“He’s a good dog.” I bent to pet him but forgot I was unevenly balanced on my scooter at the end of the ramp.

“Careful!” Jonas grabbed for my elbow as I lurched toward him, but all that ended up doing was propelling us both into a snow drift along the edge of the porch. The snow was likely cold and wet, but I wouldn’t know because all my senses were busy taking note of Jonas underneath me.

“You okay?” Jonas’s voice was a husky whisper against my cheek.

“Uh-huh.” I could barely manage that much speech. He was warm and solid and bigger than me, which I’d known, but now that we were stacked together, it was rather obvious he had a couple of inches on meeverywhere.Moreover, his face was directly below mine, and his beard was every bit as soft as I’d imagined. His gaze was as startled as mine, but there was something else in his eyes.Heat.

I’d seen lust before, but this was the first time from Jonas, and that heat warmed me all the way to my toes. Insufficient jacket be damned because I wasn’t moving until spring. Unless it was to move closer. That arousal I’d felt last night was back times a thousand. If Jonas’s eyes were heated, mine must be afucking inferno because my usual ability to mask my emotions was obliterated by Jonas’s nearness.

I exhaled, feeling his beard ruffle against my lips. Scratchy. Ticklish. Intoxicating. I did it again. It would be so damn easy to?—

“Here, let’s get you back inside.” Before I could register what was happening, Jonas sat up, rolling me off him long enough for him to stand. He hauled me up, righted my scooter, and started steering me back to the house, all in a matter of seconds.

“Jonas—”

“I need to get ready for the swing shift I’m covering.”

And we needed to talk, but I was no more eager for that than Jonas, so I let him go. Later, I’d let myself remember what he’d felt like underneath me, and that would have to do. Judging from Jonas’s haste to get away, I wasn’t likely to get a repeat experience.

Chapter Ten

Jonas

My swing shift had been due to end at midnight, but as usual, the clock inched closer to one before I could head home.Probably for the best,I reminded myself as I finished up with my last patients. If the household was asleep when I made it home, so much the better. And, of course, by household, I really meant Declan, who’d been on my mind the whole shift.

“Thank you, Doctor.” Mr. Egret, the nervous young father of Erin, a cranky preschooler with a sore ear, looked as ready to be home as I was, flyaway hair, flannel pajama bottoms, and all.

“I’m not a medical doctor,” I said lightly, correcting the common misconception. “I have a doctorate of nursing practice along with a nurse practitioner’s license. Here in the ER, I’m mainly a nursing supervisor, but I occasionally cover another NP’s shift, like today.”

I usually enjoyed these shifts immensely as I missed patient contact in my supervisor role and needed the relief from all the administrative tasks. Before I’d let myself be talked into the supervisory role, I’d been a full-time NP in the ER, and prior to that, an RN. I was quickly becoming one of the longest-tenured employees in the Mount Hope emergency department, but I wasn’t surprised when Mr. Egret’s face fell, his weary smile replaced by a deep frown.

“Oh. Can we see an MD before we leave?” he demanded sharply before changing his tone to smug superiority. “We just want to make sure it’s only an ear inflammation and that we don’t need antibiotics for an infection yet.”

We’d been over this several times already. Erin’s ear was mildly pink, showing minor signs of inflammation consistent with a common cold and no signs of bacterial infection at this point. Thus, in keeping with established current practice, no antibiotics were needed, but the Egrets had been reluctant to believe me.

“You understand, right?” Mrs. Egret was tall and thin but frail, with the air of a frazzled sparrow.

“Of course.” I adopted my most patient tone as I clicked open the tablet I used for patient notes. “The current wait time for a consultation with an on-call doctor is going to be another two to three hours, more if any acute cases show up to triage.” I managed to deliver this news in a bored yet sympathetic tone.

“Seriously?” Mr. Egret turned pink around the edges of his ears and narrow face.

“We’re packed,” I reminded him. “The winter weather means cold and flu cases are up, and the icy sidewalks and roads lead to more serious accidents that land people in the ER. Not to mention, it’s New Year’s Day, so we have plenty of dehydration cases and such from folks overdoing it on New Year’s Eve.”

I opened the cubicle door to show myself out. “I’ll let the desk know you’d prefer to wait for an MD. And you might want to collect your things.” I gestured at the bored, sleepy kiddo in the center of the exam bed, surrounded by discarded toys. “You’ll likely be sent back to the main waiting area in the meantime.”

“On second thought, maybe we can go home, see how she does the rest of the night, then try to get in with our regular pediatrician in the morning.” Mrs. Egret spoke quickly, undoubtedly hoping to make her point before her spouse could object.

“Excellent plan.” My smile was fake, but my relief that they would be taking poor Erin home to bed wasn’t.

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