Page 35 of Legacy of Danger
He must have mumbled something marginally coherent, because Mariah answered, "That's it. I'm going to call Casper back and get Shelby transferred."
"No!" he said, grabbing her shoulder.
"What? Why not?"
He gave her the two inches it took for her to slide free of his grip. "I mean, you said that we just need to give it time, right?"You call that a recovery line?Lame. Why not put up a billboard that read:unstable freak, steer clear?
"Sure, but I'm not a neurologist, and what's going on with her, I can't explain." When she swallowed, the movement of her throat froze him in place. He couldn't stop staring at the graceful line of her neck. "Whatever is happening to your sister is way out of the scope of care for any doctor at this hospital."
"You saying you can't hack it?"Damn it. Stop saying stupid shit.
Her pale skin went ashen. "What?"
How'd that foot taste, shoved into his mouth?
Christ, she didn't deserve to be the target of his ping-ponging moods. Didn't matter that his fear of screwing up any relationship with a woman drove those hot-and-cold responses. But it sure seemed like every time he dared to hope that he could have a normal relationship, reality reminded him why hope was a crappy plan. And without a filter stopping these knee-jerk verbal reactions to his warring desires and fears... no one deserved to be treated like this.
"What I'm saying is, you took care of Shelby and Eric in the ER and when they were critically ill. That's pretty good. Uh, good skills. What services can be done in Casper that can't be done here?"
Her mouth opened and closed. She tugged on the stethoscope around her neck. He recognized it as her nervous tic by now. "I feel that we aren't making any progress, and in fact backslid this morning, for a reason I can't determine."
"Eric's awake."
"Sure, but why?"
"Time? Patience?"
"Maybe." How badly he wanted to run his fingertip over the skin to smooth the furrows between her dark brows.
"We'd really like to keep our family all here in Copper River." Keep them close. Protect them from whatever was stalking the Taggart family.
"Even if it's not optimal care? That doesn't make any sense."
Smart woman, trying to put pieces together, even if the pieces didn't fit. He needed to shut that activity down, fast.
"That's our family's decision." He tried to cap the statement with as much finality as he could muster but remain civil.
"Well. Okay, then."
She chewed her lower lip; what he wanted was to crush his mouth to hers. That decision would be yet another in a long string of mistakes on his part.
So he settled for a half measure. "I'm sorry to be so short with you. Now, and earlier yesterday. It's just"—no way could he explain the real reason—"uh, I'm worried about my family."
Her shoulders lifted and fell. "Understandable." The woman had more grace in her right pinkie than he ever could hope to possess. Maybe he could repair the damage. Maybe he could get a second chance.
Or maybe, instead of mooning over the woman in front of him, he should act like a big brother and focus on his sick sister.
"All right. I'll go sit with Shelby." He tried to soften his stupidity with a passable smile that felt all wrong. When had he truly smiled last? Well over a year ago.
Except for the coffee incident with pretty doctor the other day. And at brunch yesterday. She'd made him smile, and for those brief moments, his life had been filled with light and happiness.
The muscles in his neck tensed with an effort to hold back any more inappropriate statements.
"Okay." She didn't meet his eyes. "I'll be back in a bit to check in on her again."
Her quick steps faded down the hall. As Mariah turned into the stairwell doorway, he caught one more glimpse of her glossy brown hair as it slid over her shoulders with the movement.
Then she was gone.
The air went stale, lifeless.
