Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
She couldn't afford a crutch.
But even the distance couldn’t stop her brain from thinking of him dozens of times every day.
God, she was pathetic.
“Things got… bad.”
His jaw ticked. She could sense his mounting frustration as though it were a physical presence in the room with them. But he didn’t call her on it. Instead, he seemed to shore up an epic amount of patience and asked, “Because you aren’t healing from the trauma you endured?”
Oh, if only that horrific week of her life was the only demon chasing her.
If you don’t come back on your own by your birthday, I will send someone to bring you back. You need to get on board with the plan.
She shivered. Her birthday was in a few weeks, and she’d rather die than fulfill that command.
She cringed at her own poor analogy.
“Yes.”
His eyes narrowed, and for a second, she feared he’d call her on her semi-bullshit, but the door opened, and a woman dressed in eggplant purple scrubs bustled in. “Well, hello there, honey. It is good to see you awake and alert.” She veered straight for the computer, setting down a bag of clear liquid before she clacked away on the keyboard. “I’m Miranda, and I’ll be the nurse taking care of you until around seven thirty tonight. Are you having any pain right now?”
She stopped typing as she waited for an answer.
“Just a little.” Kelsie tore her gaze from Ty. She could feel the heat of his stare as she focused on the nurse, who happened to be a beautiful woman, even in baggy scrubs. She had shiny auburn hair tied back in a neat bun and a flawless face of tasteful makeup. If she had to guess, Kelsie would put her somewhere in her mid-thirties. No ring circled her left ring finger.
“Scale of one to ten?” Miranda asked. “One being practically no pain and ten being the worst you could imagine.”
“Um, I don’t know. Maybe a four.” Her wrist chose that moment to throb as though calling her out for downplaying the discomfort.
“Okay.” The nurse entered the information into the computer. “When I’m done switching your IV bag, I can grab you some pain medication. Does that work?”
“Sure.”
“All righty.” Miranda finished up at the computer, grabbed the IV bag, and set about exchanging it with the nearly empty one hanging on the pole. As she worked, her gaze flicked to Tyler at least five times.
To keep from firing off a snarky comment about pictures lasting longer, Kelsie bit her lower lip.
“So, you must have some friends in high places,” the nurse said, aiming a flirty smile at Ty.
He shifted in the chair, arching an eyebrow. “How’s that?”
“I heard a rumor that security removed a man very much fitting your description from this very room yesterday. And now here you are again with explicit permission suddenly in her chart, allowing you to stay even though she’s barely woken up.”
“Your point?”
The nurse pursed her glossy lips. “Someone pulled some strings for you.”
Kelsie frowned. Security chased him out of her room? Why? And how was he allowed access to her today if she hadn’t granted permission? Not that she minded. If anyone were going to visit, she’d want it to be him. She didn’t want the hungry gleam in Little Miss Nurse’s gaze as she batted her false eyelashes at Ty, though. She could do without that.
Ty grinned. “What can I say? I’m persuasive.” He winked, and Miranda giggled a tinkly laugh, making her sound as though she only possessed two functioning brain cells.
A twist in her lower belly had Kelsie’s frown deepening. What kind of nurse flirted with a man right in front of her patient? How unprofessional. For all Miranda knew, Tyler could be her—
“So, how are you two connected? Are you Kelsie’s uncle?” Miranda’s grin grew seductive as she probed for information.
Uncle? Is she freaking kidding me?
“Looks like you’re done there,” Kelsie said with a bite, tipping her chin toward the IV bag Miranda was still fiddling with.
One of Miranda’s shapely eyebrows rose. “So, it’s like that?” she muttered.
Kelsie was positive the question wasn’t meant for her ears, but she caught it anyway. She narrowed her eyes and tried to will the nurse away with a scowl. She was the patient, so didn’t she have the right to refuse someone coming into her room? Nurse Miranda was about two seconds from landing on that list.
After pushing a few buttons on the IV’s control panel, Miranda grinned again. “You’re right, I’m all finished.”
Her false friendly cheer grated on Kelsie’s raw nerves, as did the way she practically drooled over Ty. The annoyance was almost enough to prompt her to request a male nurse, and that would be an epic disaster. But it spoke to how bothersome she found Miranda if she was willing to endure severe panic attacks instead of watching her RN slobber over Ty.