Page 13 of Knight's Journey

“You’re working the third floor? I wonder why our paths haven’t crossed. Lenfield is not a big hospital.”

Bridget’s hand rested on the door handle as she turned to answer him, her smile frozen on her face. “It seems big to me, but I just started as a floor nurse. I had a few minutes before I needed to check on my patients, so I thought I would call to check on my kids.”

She wasn’t sure why she was explaining herself to the doctor who didn’t seem to understand the concept of personal space. She wasn’t sure if he was nosy or if he was flirting with her. Either way, mentioning she had kids would likely send him running in the opposite direction either way, as it did most men.

“Worried your husband is feeding them ice cream for dinner? My son always tries to pull that one on me during the weeks he’s with me. I promise we typically choose pizza over ice cream.” He turned to prop his frame against the railing, his arms crossing over his chest as a lock of brown hair fell on his forehead.

Wow, she thought. In three sentences, he managed to appear innocent as he asked if she was married while sharing he wasn’t scared away by the idea she was a mother and he was either separated or divorced from his son’s mother.This guy is good.

“Definitely not worried about what they’re having for dinner. I’m usually the one choosing ice cream, and I’m here, so there’s that. Anyway, have a good night.”

Bridget disappeared through the door to the third floor before the doctor could reply. She pushed her conversation with Mathias and the doctor from her mind. Keeping herself busy with small tasks, she tried to not count down the minutes until the end of her shift.

Chapter Five

Zane barely registered the moan leaving his throat as he stirred from a deep sleep. He released a long breath as he waited for the pain in his gut to subside. His eyes fluttered open, taking in his surroundings in one slow, sweeping glance. As he took in the beige walls, gray counter, monochromatic dispensers on the walls, and the rolling stands with bags of fluids he couldn’t identify, he realize he was no longer in the intensive care unit.

He vaguely remembered being moved to a private room sometime during the night, but the pain killers the nurses gave him kept him half-unconscious most of the time. He didn’t like feeling out of control, but considering the damage the knife did to his gut, he tolerated the sleep-inducing drugs for the relief they provided.

He heard movement to his left before he saw her. Dressed in scrubs and comfortable sneakers, the nurse stood at a laptop affixed to a cart. Her eyes were transfixed on the screen as she typed notes into what he figured was his patient file. She was one he had not yet seen, and though there wasn’t anything about her that stood out, he couldn’t stop watching her.

She was petite. He guessed she stood no taller than five-five and probably weighed one-forty soaking wet. Her scrubs hinted at the curves lying beneath. Her face was long, with high cheekbones and a full mouth. Her skin held a light application of makeup, he noticed, enough to make her complexion appear translucent and her tawny eyes appear wide. Her chestnut hair swung about her face when she moved, the ends caressing her jawline. The top strands were twisted away from her face and secured with a bobby pin, showing off the gentle slope of her forehead.

“There are a lot of people who are going to be happy to see you awake.”

She surprised him by speaking without lifting her eyes from the laptop screen. He would have guessed she was too preoccupied to catch him watching her. He didn’t respond right away, savoring the huskiness of her voice which sounded more like it belonged to a sexy siren on the other end of a phone sex hotline than to a nurse.

“You mean I still have people here waiting?”

“Oh, they’ve been popping in and out all day asking for updates. We couldn’t even get you to stay awake long enough to eat. You must be starving.”

His brow furrowed. “How long was I asleep?”

The nurse finally glanced at him, and Zane suddenly cared very little about the answer to his question. Her eyes mesmerized him with its swirls of rich browns reminding him of the chocolate mousse marble cheesecake his mother was famous for.

“No idea. My shift just started, but the nurses on the early shift said you slept the day away. Would you like to try to eat some broth? Sorry I can’t offer you more. The doctor said liquid diet for now.”

His stomach ached at the idea of eating, so he shook his head, which was more of an effort than he expected. He felt as weak as a kitten, even though his surgery had been a couple of days ago.

She went back to her laptop, typed for a few minutes and then closed it, facing him. “Are you up for some visitors, Mr. Wilder? We’ve kept them confined to the waiting room while you were resting.”

“Zane,” he replied automatically. “Who’s here?”

“You said Zane? I have you in the computer as Daniel.”

He grimaced. “That’s me, but I go by Zane.”

“Oh. Um, I don’t know who’s here. I’m just sure someone is. They’ve been coming in shifts, so someone would be here when you woke. And a couple of the more intimidating ones have kept a vigil outside your room. I didn’t ask why, but after reading in your file about your stabbing, my imagination sort of took over.”

He smirked. “It’s probably not near as exciting a story as what you’ve imagined.”

She grinned, and her irises swirled into a warm golden hue. “Then don’t tell me what really happened. I’d rather believe my exciting version. So should I send your visitors in?”

“Sure. I’m surprised you’ve kept them out for this long.”

This time she chuckled, and he felt his pain ease as the sexy sound tickled his ears. His lips curved into a slight smile.

“They’ve been pretty determined, from what I hear, but the supervisory nurse on the first shift is not one to mess with. Can I get you anything before I leave?”

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