Page 14 of Love Everlasting

“Miss Shannon won’t let me ride my horsy,” Evie said with a sad sniff, no hesitation at all in throwing Shannon under the bus for trying to do the right thing.

Shannon sighed. Again.

Sam smiled up at Shannon, and her stomach plunged at a mottled yellow and purple bruise around his eye. She put a hand to her mouth, feeling like a despicable human being. “Oh no, did I do that?” she whispered, nodding at his shiner.

His twitch of a smile was in perfect sync with the sparkle in his eyes. “Afraid so, Teach, but trust me—it’s a lesson I learned well.”

Shannon punished her lip with her teeth. “Sam, I am so sorry.”

He peered up with that rare gravity she’d seen before despite the curve of his lips. “I’m not. I had it coming, Shannon, and besides” —he winked— “my patients think I look like a pirate, striking fear in the hearts of both maiden and man.”

“Are you?” Evie asked, eyes wide.

Sam’s gaze lingered on Shannon, the sober apology in his eyes at odds with the playful tone he just used with Evie. “Not anymore,” he whispered before refocusing on his patient with his killer smile. “So … what’s your name, pretty girl?”

“Evie,” she said softly with a sweet smile, and Shannon could have sworn the little dickens fluttered her lashes.

“Wow, a beautiful name for a beautiful girl!” He rose and placed a palm to her forehead. “You’re definitely warm, so what hurts, sweetheart?”

“My tummy and my head.” Evie gave him a sad-eyed gaze.

“And she threw up,” Shannon said sweetly, satisfied when Sam took a step back.

“Okay, then.” He turned around, dimples working overtime as he grinned at Evie over his shoulder. “How about I give you a horsy ride over to the table, Evie, so we can take a better look?” Butting up to the bed, he scooted low so Evie could climb onto his broad back, looping his arms to brace her legs. “Ready? Hold on tight, sweetheart, because here we go.”

Shannon battled a smile when he galloped to the examination table yelling, “yee-haw!” and all sorts of cowboy jargon, unwilling to give him a chance to soften her heart. Yes, he was a kind and decent individual when it came to children, but when it came to women? She issued a silent grunt, her guard going up with a tight fold of arms as she followed behind. He was little more than a Casanova, and she wasn’t about to give him a chance to con her again.

“Don’t let him bamboozle you, Shan. The man has a masters in roguery, so it might be good to lend him an ear, but nothing else.”

Another grunt made it to her lips, only this one slipped out, braising her cheeks when it drew the bamboozler’s gaze with a curious smile.

“Okay, cowgirl,” he said to Evie after he’d finished his examination, whipping a Tootsie Roll Pop out of his pocket like it was a gun. He aimed it at her with a Clint Eastwood squint. “I reckon you’ve got a touch of cowgirl virus, ma’am, so I’m gonna give you a swig of this here cowboy juice to help you feel better …” He paused to measure out some cherry-looking medicine that Evie gulped down, then handed her a Pedialyte juice box from the fridge. “I need you to drink as much of this here cherry juice as you can, little lady, then bunk down here for a while to get some shut-eye. Nurse Serena and I need to keep an eye on you for a while, okay?”

The Tootsie Roll Pop bulged one of her cheeks as she nodded, garble coming out when she tried to talk. Sam calmly removed the pop for a moment while Evie blinked up at him. “But when am I going to get to ride my horsy?” she whispered, a glaze of tears starting to form.

Sam popped her sucker back in with a kiss to her head. “A day or two, sweetie-pie, I promise, but first you gotta get better, and a nice long nap will help that along.” He picked her up and deposited her on one of the several beds tucked back in a dark corner of the room, placing her drink box on her nightstand and removing her shoes. “Finish up that lollipop, ma’am, and I’ll be back to read you a story before you get some shut-eye, okay?” Fluffing the pillow behind her, he placed a kiss on her head and returned to where Shannon stood, thinking what a great guy he would be if he wasn’t such a player.

“She’s going to be out of commission for a couple of days, but I want to keep her in sick bay for a few hours to see how she handles the Tylenol and Pedialyte.” He glanced toward the room where Evie was sucking on her Tootsie Roll Pop, the serious concern in her eyes in total contrast to the twinkle that always resided there. “And I want to watch her fever for a while because it’s tipping close to 103. I don’t like the look of her throat either, so if you can let her dorm mom know, Shannon, I’d appreciate it.” Gaze connecting with hers, his caring and responsible air almost disarmed her.

Almost.

“Will do, Doc, thanks.” She spun around and dashed for the door, anxious to put as much distance between her and Sam Cunningham as she possibly could.

“Shannon, wait—”

But she didn’t. Miss Myra and her Southern etiquette would have had her head if she’d seen her bolting down the hall like one of the kids, as if she were fleeing for her life. But in a way, she was. Sam Cunningham had not only put the fear of God in her that night, he’d put something else far more sinister and dangerous.

Desire. Attraction. Longing.

A deep-seated longing for something she would never have with the likes of him.

Correction. She’d have the desire and attraction all right—that’s what players like Sam did best—but the longing for something more, something real, something that would last forever? It wasn’t in the DNA of a player who had no use for God, and Shannon had no desire for a relationship of any kind with a man like that. Especially one who had turned her world upside down with a single kiss. Something cold slithered her spine as she hurled the front door open. God help her, imagine the damage he could do if he stole her heart …

Ooomph! Shannon bounced off Serena on the other side of the door, almost spilling the two Cold Stone milkshakes the young girl carried in a cardboard caddy. “Serena, I’m so sorry,” she said as she steadied the student nurse who volunteered in sick bay, noting the freshly applied lipstick and potent scent of perfume.

“No problem,” the young girl said with a bright smile, sidestepping Shannon to hurry down the hall.

No doubt to ply Dr. Love with a milkshake as cold as his heart.