Page 17 of Hard Hat Hottie

The little white shuttle bus pulls up, obstructing my view, so I force myself to get back to work, although admittedly distracted by what just happened. I take two steps and freeze as Vince, Gino, and Gus stand side by side looking like Larry, Moe, and Curly. As if on cue, the three of them double over in laughter. “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Making my way to my earlier spot, I’m again startled by something out of the corner of my eye. But this time it’s up here on our level. That damn cat. “How did it get up here?”

“It probably followed Gino. You’re not the only one in love around here.” Vince snorts.

I open my mouth to toss back a smart reply and then think better of it, deciding instead to try to get this morning back on track. I admit I woke up in a bad mood. I’d had too much scotch last night with Char, and hit the shower frustrated again after dreaming of the hot nurse, this time in pretty pink lace panties. Even under the spray of the warm water, I couldn’t get off for fear I’d utter noises Joyce and my mother might hear.

Finally managing to get out the door, I made it to the car only to discover my front passenger side tire was flat from drivingover a nail. I once again arrived too late to see her walk in to work, but still had to face the wrath of these three.

Holding up the nail gun, I return to the area I’d been working. I’ve barely shot five nails into the periphery of the dry wall when Gino bellows, “She’s back.”

Deciding as much as I’d like to chance her looking up at me, it’s not worthy of the ribbing I’ve had to take since the moment I arrived here. I flick Gino the middle finger before returning to focus on what I’m doing when suddenly the guys all start shouting at something down below. My spine stiffens at the thought someone’s hurt.

That she could be hurt.

Dropping the nail gun like a handful of hot lava, I sprint to their side in such a rush, I tilt over the edge of the scaffolding. There, the black and tan tabby dangles precariously from one of the rungs of the ladder below. But that feline is the last of my worries, as the platform shifts under the weight of everyone’s scrutiny, my stance too far forward to regain my balance, and I plunge forward.

“Harry!”

CHAPTER SEVEN

HARLOW

“Harlow. Come quick,” Shay yells from the front of the ER.

This has me on high alert, my skin growing cold as I freeze, my feet feeling rooted to the floor. Shay never yells. She’s honestly cool as a cucumber. I love what I do in emergency medicine, as well as in the field as a Guard medic, but I’m averse to change. Keep me in surroundings where I feel comfortable and that’s where I perform my best. But Shay can bounce from the general admission floor to the ER, or even the ICU, without batting an eye.

Running in her direction, pulling Gretchen’s oversized lab coat around my exposed midriff, I find ER room fourteen full of commotion. From this angle, all I see is a large shirtless form lying on the stretcher. Gretchen has secured an IV and appears to be pushing medication, while Dr. Robertson paces about the room with the hospital zone phone to his ear.

For as frantic as the situation appears, it seems they have plenty of manpower. I attempt to seek out Shay, to determine what was so pressing that I needed tocome quick. My eyes land on three men huddled in the far corner of the room, one appearing pale and another wiping a shaky hand across his forehead. They’re quiet as church mice, their backs almostagainst the wall as if they’re trying to stay out of the way. As my mind clears, I realize they’re wearing construction uniform pants and white shirts.Like the guys outside.My head spins and while I still can’t see his face, I find the man on the stretcher in front of me is wearing tan, construction style boots.

My hand flies to my chest, realizing one of them has somehow gotten hurt on the job. And by the way my coworkers are running about, this isn’t a minor injury.

“Sadie’s going to cover your patients.” I turn to find Shay standing beside me. Again, she doesn’t look terribly alarmed. But I have a feeling the place could be burning down around us, and she’d wear a similar expression.

“Why would Sadie need to?—”

“Oh, girl. You can’t miss this.”

“What?” I’m totally baffled.

“I’ve just gotten off of the phone with the orthopedic surgeon. He’s on his way. By all counts, you’re pretty lucky the wrist fracture appears to be the worst of your injuries,” Dr. Robertson advises the patient from his bedside. “I was shocked to find the CT scans show no injury to your skull, brain, or spine. But that wrist needs to be reset.”

A patient care technician quickly pulls up the patient’s chart on the bedside computer and opens the image of the angulated broken bones of the wrist. I can’t help but cringe at the unnatural angle of the bones on the screen.

“Once Dr. Davis arrives, we’ll give you some sedation in addition to the pain medication you have on board, so he can align the bones long enough to immobilize the wrist.” He points to the two angulated broken bones on the screen. “You’ll likely have to have it surgically repaired, but we need to ensure there are no issues with circulation or nerve damage by aligning the bones before you go to the OR. Allowing it to stay out of place for too long could cause long-term damage.” Dr. Robertson stepsaway, and my gaze connects with Shay, who taps her finger on her chin, her countenance more than a little peculiar.

I inch closer, my curiosity killing me, until I see the dark blond hair and gasp. I spin to face Shay, my mouth hanging open in horror. “What happened?” I barely recognize my own voice as it cracks with emotion. I don’t know this man, but somehow feel connected to him. How’s that possible?

“From what I gather, he fell off of the scaffolding.” She points to his coworkers in the corner. “The guys said that a cat had made it up onto the platform. Before anyone could grab the stray, it had gone over the edge and was hanging on for dear life. And apparently, your hard hat hottie went over after him.”

My hand flies up to cover my mouth, my breaths against my open palm shaky.

Gretchen comes back to his side and advises she’s giving him a sedative because the surgeon is here and will be reducing his fracture shortly. She turns to look at me. “He’s a big boy. This could take a few doses.”

Moving a bit closer, I stop as our eyes connect.Oh, my god. It’s really him. This poor thing.I instinctively place my hand over his in a feeble attempt to comfort him. Between finally seeing his gorgeous face up close and personal, mixed with all the flirty behavior, and it’s like my nonsensical brain has decidedIdo knowhim somehow. “Hi.” My speech trembles to the point I barely recognize it as my own.

Green. My hard hat hottie’s eyes are a brilliant green.

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