Too Hot to Sleep. Stephanie Bond

enough,” she said quietly.

      He glanced up, his eyes flashing, ready for battle.

      “He won’t be able to breathe,” she added, then donned more gloves and found tape and scissors. With resignation that she’d probably get written up and reprimanded, if not out-and-out fired, Georgia leaned forward and finished the bandaging, then gave the animal a perfunctory examination. The dog and the cop were wide-eyed and silent, but she could feel the man’s anger had dissipated. “Officer—?”

      “Medlock,” he supplied.

      “Officer Medlock, my knowledge of a dog’s anatomy is limited, but it appears he does indeed have a broken leg. He might have a broken rib or two as well, but his breathing is good, so I don’t believe his lungs were punctured. There’s no blood in the mouth, nose, or ears, so if he has internal bleeding, it does not seem to be profuse. And that—” she stepped back and peeled off her gloves “—is absolutely all I can do.”

      He smiled suddenly and her breath caught in appreciation. Officer Medlock was a great-looking man. Pushy, but great-looking. When she realized she was staring, embarrassment swept over her. Her appreciation of his masculinity was stirred only because of her state of…stirredness.

      “Thank you, Dr.—?”

      “I’m an R.N.,” she said. “Nurse Adams.”

      “Nurse Adams,” he repeated. “Thank you for giving me peace of mind, ma’am.”

      Her pulse kicked higher under his scrutiny. Few, if any, grown men called her “ma’am.” It was kind of…pleasurable. “You’re welcome. Now please get out of here while I still have a job.”

      Ken tried to study the woman’s face without appearing to. Her dark blue eyes were heavy-lidded and astonishing, and her mouth…The woman had that fresh-faced, girl-next-door vitality that provoked neighboring boys to buy binoculars. He mentally shook himself, realizing that last night’s incognito phone call was behind his heightened awareness. The dog whined, reminding him of his immediate priority. Gently, he rewrapped the animal and lifted the bundle from the table.

      The nurse held open the door. “I was just going off duty,” she said with the barest hint of a smile. “I’ll show you the exit.”

      “To guarantee I make it out of here?” he asked wryly.

      “Something like that.”

      As he laughed good-naturedly, she removed a leather shoulder bag from behind a counter, then told a clerk she was leaving and ordered an immediate disinfecting of exam room three. As she joined him, he was overwhelmed with the urge to know her, to find out if she were involved with anyone. He scoffed inwardly. Of course someone as beautiful as she would already be involved, maybe married, and probably to a doctor who earned ten times as much as a policeman. Ken tried to keep the dog’s head covered as they headed toward the exit so he wouldn’t get the woman into trouble, but the poor mutt whined most of the way, raising eyebrows. His unwilling cohort kept her eyes averted and walked swiftly.

      “Georgia!”

      At the sound of the name that had been on the periphery of his brain all day, Ken halted midstride. The woman next to him hesitated, then kept going.

      “Georgia!” someone repeated, louder. He turned to see a plump woman jogging toward them. The comely nurse turned as well.

      Ken’s feet stopped moving as his brain tried to assimilate the information. This woman’s name was Georgia? He’d never met anyone named Georgia. What were the chances he’d meet two in less than twenty-four hours? He zeroed in on her voice and tried to match hers with the one running through his head. It was possible—he almost laughed—but highly unlikely.

      Still, his mind raced for a logical-sounding question that might help him determine if this fabulous-looking woman was the same…No, she simply couldn’t be.

      “Get out of here,” she hissed out of the side of her mouth.

      But his feet refused to move.

      “Georgia,” the woman gasped, lumbering to a halt in front of them. Then she zeroed in on the whining blanket. “Is that a dog?”

      “Melanie, did you need something?” Nurse Adams asked her, while frowning at him and nodding toward the exit.

      The other woman craned her neck, eyes alight with curiosity, then handed his companion a yellow sticky-note. “I almost forgot to give you this message. Rob phoned and said he was called out of town unexpectedly.”

      Ken swallowed and nearly dropped his patient. Rob?