He studies me for a few seconds. “You handled that situation really well,” he praises. “With consideration and compassion, but also with a firm hand. I’m impressed.”
“Thank you. Unfortunately, I often find myself in this situation. The staff doesn’t know what to do, so they fall back into their regular routines. It’s fine. We’ll figure it out and get a temporary system in place to help things run smoothly. However, it doesn’t leave us much time to walk through things right now. What are the essentials I need to know today, and what can wait until later?” I question as I look at my watch.
Lev hands me a piece of paper with instructions typed on it. “Here’s the security code for the practice, and the security code for your apartment. The apartment is upstairs, and I’ll walk through it with you in a second. My brothers and I have power of attorney, so we’ll pay the bills and manage all the necessary business-related items. As long as you can manage the medical practice part of it, we should be fine. Anything that comes up, you can call me, Shaw, or Lowell. I’ve put all our numbers on that sheet. Shaw’s a rancher and hard to get a hold of during the day, but he’s available at night. Lowell’s a writer and can be available any time, although you may have to ring him more than once, as he tends to live in his own world. Daytime is best for me, but I own the bar down the street called The Black and Gold if you need something at night or just want to come in for a drink.”
We talk through a few other essential items, then he leads me to the back of the practice and up a set of stairs. At the top of the landing are a door and keypad. He asks me to punch in the apartment security code. Squeezing past him to get to the landing, I feel every line of his hard body brush up against mine, causing tingles to race down my body. I close my eyes for a microsecond and savor the shivery feeling; it’s been a long time since I felt physical attraction. I take a slow, deep breath and turn around to face the keypad. As I turn, my butt grazes against his front, and I hear him inhale sharply. I quickly type in the code and wait for the green light per the instructions in my hand. Once the keyboard lights up, I open the door and hear him exhale slowly behind me. It takes a moment to clear my cloudy thoughts, so I miss what he says in the next few seconds.
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”
He smiles knowingly and gives me the instructions again. “When you get inside, enter the second code, or an alarm will trigger. I’ve already entered it this time.”
I make a quick note on my “cheat sheet.” Finally coherent enough to look around, I see a beautiful apartment. A living room is situated off to the left in front of a large bank of windows, which are letting in a tremendous amount of light. In front of the couch stands a tall fireplace, wrapped in white shiplap, with a TV above it. To my right, in the kitchen, is a massive black island covered in a white marble slab, with eight barstools situated around it. Running my hands over the sleek marble in appreciation, I’m guessing this is where I’ll eat. The kitchen includes all the amenities and aesthetics of my dream kitchen: White shaker cabinets to the ceiling; gold drawer pulls; and gorgeous state-of-the-art appliances, including a gas stove. This kitchen tempts me to pull out my very dusty cookbook.
Lev gives me a quick tour of the bedroom and bathroom (also gorgeous), then asks for the keys to my vehicle so he can bring up my luggage.
As I hand them over, I hold his hand for just a second. “I’m very sorry your friend, Dr. Bradford, had such a terrible accident. If there’s anything I can do to help, beyond managing the practice, please let me know.”
He rubs his thumb across my hand for a second before taking the keys and heading towards the stairs. I follow him downstairs so I can start seeing the remaining patients.
“Mine is the black Range Rover,” I call out to him. “Bags are in the back seat and trunk area. Thank you for bringing my luggage in, and for all the information. If I need anything, and I’m sure something will probably come up, I’ll be sure to call.” Even though I’d just held his hand, my hand automatically reaches for his again. Good grief.
Lev looks down at my hand for a second, then reaches out to shake it. As his hand clasps mine, he looks at me and smiles a small, secretive smile. “You’re a pleasant surprise, Dr. Michaels. I’m looking forward to getting to know you. Don’t forget to come visit me at the bar. Drinks are on me. Also, before I forget, we stocked up your fridge, so you should be fine for a day or two.” With those words, he goes out to get my luggage. I stand there for a second, holding my tingling hand.
What in the world am I doing?
CHAPTER 3
LEV
After setting Dr. Kate Michaels’ bags in her new apartment, I head home. While she looked like the picture in her file, it didn’t even come close to conveying just how beautiful she was in person. Blonde hair, green eyes and a tall, athletic body. One thing was bugging me, though. While certainly beautiful, she couldn’t hide the shadows in her eyes. An air of sadness or pain was wrapped around her like a cloak this morning, stirring up my need to protect her against whatever or whoever was causing her pain.
Frowning, I run through her background in my head. Nothing in her background check seems to suggest a cause. I need to take another look, and maybe ask Lowell if we should do a deeper check.
“Eagle’s Nest,” the sign announcing the name of our ranch, stands tall at the entrance of our driveway. I’m looking forward to a night in and dinner with my brothers. The last few weeks have been exhausting as we ran from home to hospital to work and sometimes to the practice. For once, we’re on the same schedule. We’ll eat an early dinner, and then after dinner we’ll all go to the hospital and visit with Thayer for a bit. They say talking to him while he’s in a coma helps. The last few nights, we told him about the difficulties we’ve had finding a new travel doctor to cover his practice. Tonight, I’ll enjoy telling him about the delightful Dr. Michaels, who’s so easily taken charge with his staff. Thayer Bradford hates people messing with his stuff or people. I grin. Maybe it’ll bug him enough that he’ll get his ass in gear and wake up.
Pulling up to the garage, I see several other vehicles parked inside, including a dark green heavy-duty pickup truck stamped with the Eagle’s Nest logo and black luxury SUV. It looks like both Shaw and Lowell are already home.
