Page 48 of Charmed, I'm Sure
“Magnolia,” I ground out, “if you keep looking at me like that, this whole ‘taking it slow’ thing is going to be a lot harder than it should be.”
“Pun intended?” she asked, a devilish smirk curling her lips.
“I think you lied. I think youaretrying to kill me.”
“I’m sorry,” she said with a light chuckle, then cleared her throat and fixed me with a determined gaze. “Let’s start over.”
When I quirked a brow, she made a shooing motion with her hand until I backed up enough for her to hop off the counter.
“Magnolia Bellevue.” She held out her hand, a sweet smile stretching across her face as her eyes met mine.
Chuckling, I shook my head as I took her hand. “Taylor Hallows.”
“Charmed.” She gave our hands a gentle shake, her smile widening as she inclined her head slightly.
The scoff that escaped me was involuntary, but the smile thatfollowed was entirely for the woman in front of me. Eyes locked onto her aqua and gold irises, I ran my thumb across her knuckles and gently pulled her toward me. Wrapping my opposite arm around her waist, I watched her eyes widen as I tilted her back. “I’m sure.”
And then I kissed her to the sound of the wind whipping against the building, rain hammering on the roof, and the soft jingle of her damn cat’s bell as he sauntered across the shop.
12
Save a horse
Taylor
“Whatchagotforme,Chels?” I asked, sinking into a chair in the corner of the nurses' station.
“We’ve got a back pain in bed two, a snake bite in trauma one, and a puncture wound in bed four.”
“Do we know what kind of snake it was?”
“Not sure. EMS just got them settled in the room. Britt is taking the report, and Dr. East is in there now, so I think you’re off the hook on that one.”
Swiveling my chair toward the computer, I pulled up the triage notes for the other two patients I needed to see and let out a heavy breath. I was exhausted.
It was midnight by the time the storm passed through our sleepy little town, only the outer bands sweeping across the parish with light wind and rain. By then, Mags and I were both worn out and ended up dozing on the vinyl benches of her shop. Well, "sleeping" might be a stretch. Even propped against the wall, my feet dangled off the edge. It didn’t help that Meowfoy’s bright blue eyes seared into mine all night, as if he were just waiting for me to drift off.
A cat. I was a grown-ass man, and I was scared of a damncatthat looked like a giant cotton ball with feet.
By the following morning, the coast was clear to leave our little bubble, but I hadn’t seen or heard from Magnolia since watching her walk up her front porch steps. By the time I made it back to my parents’ house, my dad had called my mom on the landline and asked her to inform me that Team B would be implemented as soon as the roads cleared. That brought us to today—two days since the storm started, one since I saw Magnolia, and I was already itching to be in her orbit again.
But as storm cleanup continued outside the hospital doors, patients flooded through them, and it was my job to ensure they could return to their lives as quickly—and safely—as possible.
Rolling my neck, I slid back my chair and stood. “Bed four first?”
After a quick nod from Chelsea, I motioned for her to lead the way to the patient’s room while I repeated their information in my mind. Bedside manner was crucial in the medical field, and I took pride in it. I wanted my patients to feel safe and comfortable talking to me, especially after going through something traumatic.
Clyde Jarvis, 45 years old.
Male.
Pronouns: he/him.
Reason for visit: puncture wound to the right hand from handling a fallen fence board while cleaning up his yard.
With a steadying breath, I plastered on as non-exhausted a smile as I could muster and stepped into the room. “Hey, Mr. Jarvis. I hear you’ve got a nasty puncture on your palm. Let’s get you fixed up so you can get out of here. How’d y’all fare during the storm?”
By the time seven a.m. rolled around, I was nearly dead on my feet. One shift down, two more to go before I got a day off. Not that it would be much of a day off since I needed to help my parents pick up the yard. That was where I was heading now, even though everything in me wanted to drive down that gravel drive leading to a bright teal door.
