YOU SHOULD’VE LISTENED.
Then the one beneath it.
SOME CHOICES FOLLOW YOU HOME.
“I hope your silence means you’re considering it,” Dr.Jacobs said.
Meg set the cards aside, face down.“I’m not sure?—”
“Meg, you are one of the smartest doctors I know.Don’t waste your talent handing out Band-Aids in the wilderness.I can give you a week to think it over.I’ll send an official written offer.”
The line went dead.
She opened the door to find Sarah waiting with a tablet.“Bay one’s ready.Knife fight.”
Meg accepted the tablet and swiped through the file as Sarah turned and walked to the exam room.
What she wouldn’t give for just dehydration or a sprained ankle—anything but the new normal of broken noses and alcohol-fueled brawls.
She scanned the tablet, eyes catching on the name field.
Noah Wilde.
Her breath caught.
He couldn’t be hurt.Not him.
The memory of Lydia’s blood overwhelmed her—warm and sticky, coating her hands.The girl’s chest caving beneath her CPR efforts.
She yanked the curtain back and prepared for the worst.
But Noah sat on the exam table and held a bandage to his arm.
Sarah arched a brow from where she stood by the supply cabinet.
Meg ignored her.“I’ve got this.Check on bay three.”
Sarah left and the curtain swished closed.She likely assumed Meg’s reaction stemmed from Meg’s two-year crush on Noah.If only Sarah knew how close Meg was to unraveling at the sight of his blood.
“Howdy, Doc,” Noah said.
She drew a slow breath to calm herself and stared at the glittery letters on his chest.“Nice sweatshirt.What happened?”
He lifted the bandage.
A three-inch gash on his forearm, edges clean.Blood oozing slowly.And his stupid, smug, handsome face completely calm.His eyes steady, watching her.
Meg moved to the sink and let cool water run over her hands.She scrubbed methodically, then snapped on fresh gloves.
Noah’s hand brushed her elbow as she turned back.“Meg?”
She blinked hard as his face came into focus—the concerned set of his brow.The panic attacks had only gotten worse since the cave.
His eyes softened as he read her emotions with unnerving clarity.He squeezed her arm gently and nodded—a silent reassurance that he was okay, that she was okay.
She forced herself to breathe.“Didn’t peg you for the type to jump into a knife fight.”
Noah shrugged.“Guess that’s what happens when you try to break up two hotheads with more testosterone than sense.”
