Chapter 20
Despite being flattened by Hurricane Vaughn, Mariah felt super duper fabulous as she trudged through a never-ending day of work on Friday.
Truthfully, a lot of the collapse of the Very Good Night had to do with her hang-ups, where her past and her past relationships were concerned. Poor guy had no idea about the minefield he'd wandered into and pretty much got caught in the blast zone.
But his mixed messages didn't help, either. He was right: he needed to get a grip on his seesawing emotions. And he needed to get a grip on his past and stop it from affecting the future. Or the present.
They were a hot mess separately, but together?
She had an inkling about his past mistakes, so that was exhibit A. Then last night's sexy not-sex served as exhibit B. Guy went out of his way to help out, protected her from moron ranchers with guns, provided light counseling duties, and then spent the night letting her use him as a security blanket.
What woman wouldn't be all goo-goo eyed over that tender scenario?
A woman with massive abandonment and confinement issues, that's who.
Granted, she had good reason for her personal issues. But her history wasn't anything she'd project on her worst enemy, much less a warm, delicious-smelling, hard-muscled rancher. Who fit perfectly into worn jeans.
Mariah sighed as her ovaries squirmed.Down, girls. She had strict parameters for what she did and did not require from an acceptable partner, and not sticking around town removed Vaughn from the checklist early.
She turned back to the computer and clicked on her patient list. A few more people to see and then she could take her coworkers up on the offer to get drinks after office hours. Working tomorrow's local MMA bout would bring a nice change of pace to this bizarre week.
Pushing open the exam room door, she brightened at the sight of her next two patients.
"Hi, Shelby. Eric. How are you two doing?"
"Feeling great. When can I drive again?" The bruises on half of Eric's face moved as he talked, making an interesting light purple, green, and yellow rainbow.
Shelby elbowed him and squinted. "If you can drive, then I can drive."
"You have bolts of metal attached to your leg. Besides, you still can't see," he protested.
"Hey, I can see a lot better than a few days ago. Besides, you're not a doctor." She shot him an impish smile with a lift to her chin.
"You know, I can be. If you're lucky." He winked at her.
"Dude. Here? Seriously?" A corner of Shelby's mouth quirked as she raised a shoulder. "Sorry," she said to Mariah. "Head injury and all. He doesn't know what he's saying." She shifted in her seat, readjusting the leg with the external fixator, and groaned.
The sound flipped Eric's flirty grin into a tight grimace, and he wrapped a hand around her shoulder.
Mariah's chest twisted in on itself. She cleared her throat. "So, tell me how things have been going since you both left the hospital."
Shelby's vision had improved to the point where she could see blurry faces. Mariah unwound the bandage from the metal and pins around Shelby's lower leg, checking the wound edges and the stability of the external fixator frame. The ex-fix would stay on for another week or so until orthopedics removed it and readjusted the internal hardware. For now, there was no evidence of infection, thank goodness.
Eric passed his neurologic tests with flying colors. Per the specialist's recommendations, he had to stay on light duty, with no driving for another week until Mariah could retest him. One look at Shelby's fierce scowl, and he closed his mouth on whatever he was about to say.
"Need help getting out to the car?" Mariah asked.
"No, my brother's in the waiting room."
"Vaughn?" Heat climbed her neck as the word escaped before she could stop it.
Shelby smiled like a Cheshire cat. Mariah groaned to herself.
"No. Kerr's doing the driving today." An eyebrow rose. "Vaughn's at the fight weigh-in tonight."
"Weigh-in?" A weird prickle walked down her spine. No.
"The MMA bout in Lander tomorrow. Poor guy turned himself inside out this morning trying to make the last bit of weight."
