Page 59 of Protect My Heart

They couldn’t have a long-term relationship. Another thump against her ribs.

She squeezed her eyelids closed and willed her heart to understand. No way could she risk her heart on a cop, not knowing if he’d come home at the end of a shift. She’d put over a thousand miles between her and CJ, and she still worried about him. The violence he dealt with on a daily basis... Emotions coiled around her torso.

Her eyes flew open. Maybe she should take the job in Virginia. Her life was getting too tangled up here. One more thump in her chest. Not yet. Just because she and Jim didn’t get the white picket fence, it didn’t mean she couldn’t help him move on. Nothing said they couldn’t savor the now.

She wanted the now.

A smile crept to her lips as the idea took hold in her brain. She untangled her legs from the chair and rose, throwing her hair back.

She often told her patients, “The best answer is not the clear-cut choice, but a combination of many.”

She wondered if Jim knew that as she headed up the stairs.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid.” Jim cracked open a beer and slammed back half the can in one gulp. So what if Doc takes a job out east? It didn’t matter to him.

Liar. The voice in his head called him out on his BS.

“What?” He looked at Tigger. “I’m an ass aren’t I?”

His dog raised his head to look at Jim.

He paced the confined ice house. Jim didn’t want to admit it to himself or anyone else, but he wasn’t just falling for Doc, he was sunk. Hook, line, and sinker. “I blew what could have been the greatest thing in my life.”

His companion cocked his head, an ear flopped over.

One lone chuckle rumbled from Jim’s chest. “Doc would say I’m projecting or worse, she’d ask me why I reacted the way I did.” She was a smart woman. She probably already knew.

Jim lowered to the cot and dropped his head into his hand. “I should tell her about Kari, not that they are anything alike but...”

“She’d be better off without me. A smart lady like that could go anywhere and do whatever she wants.” His life was here. He had his family and his work.

A cold nose nudged his arm. “And I have you, Buddy.”

Tig’s tongue rolled out, and he gave a sharp bark before doing a circle and plopping down on his dog bed.

Jim stroked his dog’s head. Her face flashed in his mind. The hurt in her eyes, the confusion, he was a prize prick. He glanced at Tig. “She’ll still like you. Lucky bastard. I’m the one in the doghouse.”

A thought hit Jim like a stun gun. “CJ’s gonna be pissed.”

Nothing he could do about it tonight. He bumped the heat up, stripped off his shirt, and had his jeans at his ankles when Tigger jumped up and barked.

Tripping over the pool of denim at his feet, Jim lost his balance and landed on the floor with a thud. From the puddle of fabric on the floor, he reached for his gun. He may be half naked but he’d be damned to be caught unarmed.

“Are you okay in there?” Doc’s voice cut through the thin walls.

He holstered his weapon. “Yeah, I’m changing. Be right there.”

After the second try to pull on his pants, he kicked them off and answered the door.

Doc’s eyes grew wide before a sleepy look hooded them. She licked her lips.

The cold air rushing in did nothing to slow the heat growing in his belly and below.

She cleared her throat. “May I come in?”

He leaned against the door jamb and forced his eyes to stay on her face, but his peripheral vision worked just fine. He couldn’t miss her long tan legs under the short, belted coat. Yes, yes, hell, yes! His dick screamed, but he didn’t think his heart could take it. It would be best if they ended this thing between them now, before she tore his heart into tiny bits. He knew if they continued and she left, the good time gals wouldn’t be enough to repair the damage.

“Not sure if that’s a good idea at the moment.”