Page 40 of Grumpy Sunshine

“I’m not most women,” she pointed out.

No.No, she was not.

I took the steps two at a time, like usual, and she took them at the speed of light, easily keeping up with me despite only taking one at a time.

By the time we got up to the surgery floor, we were both slightly breathless.

“You work out a lot?”I wondered.

“Not really,” she admitted.“I just get my exercise in when I can.There’s no time for exercise.”

I grinned.“There’s always time.”

“Well, between school and work and my side hustles, there’s really not.”

I wanted to know what her side hustles were so badly.

Though, I guess I did know one of them.

I’d overheard her talking to a fellow student a while back as she talked about her life, and how she sold feet pictures to get by.

I wasn’t necessarily a foot man, but the idea of some other dirtbag out there seeing her feet really fuckin’ pissed me off.

Two years ago when Aella had walked into my life, whether she knew it or not, she’d gained a stalker.

I watched her every chance I could get at work.

I even had Apollo find the website where she sold her feet pics so I could stalk her that way, too.

I was a goner for her, and she had no clue.

“Oh, thank God you’re here,” Dru called out the moment we made it into the nurses’ station.“I need you stat.I was just about to page you.”

“What’s going on?”I asked, immediately in work mode.

Aella took my leather jacket from me—I always left my Truth Tellers MC cut at home when I was working—and waved her hand.

I walked with Dru, boots, jeans and all, down the hall to a patient’s room.

“He came in yesterday for vomiting and nausea,” Dru explained.“He’s ten years old.The doctor on call kept him through the night, and he was supposed to be transferred to Children’s in a couple of hours.They suspected appendicitis.Anyway, long story short, he’s in a bad way.The appendix needs to come out now, and Dr.McCain is in surgery right now.”

“Chart?”I asked, wanting to review everything before I walked into the room.

“I got it, Dru.Thank you,” Dr.Marsh said, dismissing her.

I gritted my teeth.

I didn’t like Dr.Marsh.

He was a good doctor, from what I could tell, but I didn’t like the way he treated the nurses and techs on the floor.I didn’t like it even more that he made them feel uncomfortable every time he came into the room.

He always stood too close.Touched too much.Let his eyes linger too long.

It was a perfect storm of smarmy, and I couldn’t stand the guy.

I hated that I had to deal with him today, though.

As a surgeon, he was the best.

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