Page 6 of More Than a Helping Hand

“Yes.”

I scan the rest of the information, and the name of his employer catches my interest. “You work at Stargazer Springs Ranch?”

“Yep.”

“Very cool.” I don’t tell him that my brother works there because that could make things weird.

And weird is the last thing I want.

But it’s kind of that way already because he’s so tall, and I’m short. I’ll just about need a stepstool to reach his mouth so that I can take his temperature. But I start with the blood pressure cuff because I can easily reach his arm. I wrap the band around, but not enough Velcro overlaps to keep it in place. This is the one we typically use. “Please don’t flex your muscles while I’m trying to get this on.”

Delight dances in his eyes, which is a nice change from the pained expression there minutes ago. “I’m not flexing.”

“Then I’m going to need a bigger cuff.” And a splash of cold water.

I thought it was bad luck that I ended up with the cactus guy, but the nurses gathered in the hall outside the door make me think I landed the prize patient.

Nancy is the first to speak. “On a scale of one to dragon breath is cooler, how hot is he? Has he dropped his jeans yet?”

“The man is in pain. He didn’t come here to be gawked at.”

“Come on. Just give us something to dream about later.”

“I don’t have time to chat. I’m just getting the bigger cuff.”

“Why?” Lucia dances her eyebrows. “Muscles are too big, huh? You got to touch his arms. I’m so jealous.”

“Y’all are acting crazy.” I grab the cuff and hurry back into the room. He should be thankful they aren’t the ones in here with him.

“You must’ve been running to get it. You’re all red in the face.” Anderson’s voice is smooth like melted chocolate.

“I’m fine.” Or at least I will be. Since my ex, I haven’t been attracted to anyone. And for good reason. I thought that part of me had died. But this cowboy is easy on the eyes. I’m allowed to think he’s good-looking. However, I’m a professional and will behave as such.

I get a reading with the bigger cuff, then inch up on my tiptoes to slide the thermometer under his tongue. The way he’s looking down at me is making my toes curl in the best of ways. My cheeks will be red until the man leaves, so I do my best to hurry this along.

“When are we going to start getting these things off me?” He’s calm, given the circumstances.

“The doctor will be in soon.” I walk back out and let the doctor know the situation.

Then I wait. Thankfully, the other nurses are dealing with patients now, so they aren’t hounding me about the hot cowboy in room seven.

After a few minutes, Anderson hisses, which probably means the doctor is finally pulling out the spines.

But only a minute later, the door opens and the doctor walks up to me. “I’m going to need you to get tweezers and remove the spines. He managed to get his jeans off and probably shouldn’t put them back on unless he wants to get poked again. Anyway, he’s on the exam table.”

The poor guy. And poor me. But I’m a professional.

I push open the door, and the cowboy turns his head to look at me. “This is embarrassing. And I’m prone to rambling when uncomfortable. Just warning you.”

He’s stretched out on his stomach, and there is a sheet covering him from the waist down.

After pulling on a pair of gloves, I shift the sheet, uncovering one half of his backside. My hope is that I can preserve a bit of his dignity. And maybe not overheat in the process. “We’ll get these out and send you on your way as soon as possible.” I grab the tweezers. “Did you fall off a horse into a patch of cactus?”

A low chuckle rumbles through him. “I wish it was a cool story like that. I fell onto a cactus, but I was inside! I should submit my story to Ripley’s because nobody will believe it.” His arms are crossed and tucked under his head, and that position shows off his arm muscles and hints at the back muscles hiding under his shirt.

He works on the ranch and fell on cactus inside. I could jump to conclusions, but there has to be a hundred other explanations for how he ended up this way. Besides, if something like that happened, Parker would’ve texted me.

“Inside, huh? That’s tricky. Did your girlfriend buy a new cactus plant and forget to tell you?” I’m doing my best to make normal conversation while working on the man’s behind.

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