Teresa Southwick - Midnight, Moonlight & Miracles

Along with other parts of him. How could he be walking wounded one minute and hyperaware of a beautiful woman the next?

The answer was simple, a five-letter word. Megan.

Insanity was the only explanation for his sudden, powerful urge to pull the nurse into his arms.

If she took his pulse, he wouldn’t be able to hide his reaction to her. His heart was pounding, and she’d know it, too, as soon as she put her fingers on his wrist to take the reading. This whole thing was a bad idea. What had he been thinking to ask for her? He obviously hadn’t been thinking. At least not with his head.

Why now? Why did he feel something? She’d made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him, which was fine and dandy because he didn’t want anything to do with her, either—or did he?

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For my editor, Karen Taylor Richman.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to tell this story. I hope I’ve done it well.

is a native Californian. Having lived with her husband of twenty-five-plus years and two handsome sons, she has been surrounded by heroes for a long time. Reading has been her passion since she was a girl. She couldn’t be more delighted that her dream of writing full-time has come true. Her favorite things include: holding a baby, the fragrance of jasmine, walks on the beach, the patter of rain on the roof and, above all, happy endings.

Teresa has also written historical romance novels under the same name.

Dear Reader,

I’m thrilled to be part of Silhouette Special Edition. The books in this line have always been among my favorites, bringing me countless hours of laughter, tears and emotion-packed entertainment. It is with pleasure and a great sense of accomplishment that I join the ranks of these wonderful authors with the release of my first full-length Special Edition novel. It’s a dream come true.

There are several people I’d like to thank for helping me turn my fantasy into fact. First, Susan Mallery, a talented and generous writer who also happens to be a dear friend. Susan always gives her support, encouragement and, especially, honesty. Second, my agent, Linda Kruger, for her organization, enthusiasm and determination. Third, Karen Taylor Richman, a terrific editor, who gave me this opportunity and also gives great ideas and expert guidance.

Finally, I’d like to thank you, the reader. In the end, your opinion matters most. I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. May you find Midnight, Moonlight & Miracles filled with laughter, tears and emotion.

Happy reading,

Teresa Southwick

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Trauma team to the ER. Code three—ETA. Five minutes.

Megan Brightwell read the message on her beeper. Adrenaline pumped through her even as she looked at the turkey sandwich she’d just purchased from the hospital cafeteria. Code three meant paramedics were bringing someone in with lights and sirens—a possible life-threatening emergency. She grabbed the sandwich and raced from the cafeteria, turning right toward the emergency room.

Five minutes gave her three to wolf down food and one for indigestion. That left her just enough time to put on her I’m-too-cool-to-be-excited-about-being-on-the-trauma-team face.

Right on time the paramedics wheeled the patient in.

“Put him in trauma two,” she said, glancing at the patient. A man. His eyes were closed, shirt torn and bloody, ditto the jeans.

The two EMTs did as instructed and, on her count, the three of them grabbed the sheet and transferred him to the hospital gurney.

“What have we got?” she asked.

“Motorcycle accident. Male. Mid-thirties. Normal vitals. Unconscious when we got to the scene. Witnesses said he tried to get up and his leg buckled. He woke up en route but keeps drifting in and out. Superficial scrapes, one nasty gash left shoulder. Bump on the head. Facial abrasions. We started an IV.”

“Did he have ID on him?” she asked.

The paramedic handed over a wallet. “Simon Reynolds.”

“Mr. Reynolds? Can you hear me?” She glanced at the man. His eyelids flickered and he groaned but didn’t look at her. “Where’s his helmet?”

“Wasn’t wearing one,” the EMT responded.

Shaking her head in disgust, she yanked her bandage scissors from her pocket. The blunt, angled end made it easier to cut away his tattered shirt and the bottom part of his pants. She grabbed a disposable razor and shaved five circular spots on his chest, then attached stickies for the leads that would hook him up to the heart monitor. The machine would take constant pulse, respiration and blood pressure.

“What have we got, Megan?” Dr. Sullivan hurried into the room and stood on the other side of the gurney, surveying the victim. He palpated the belly and then prodded, searching for evidence of internal injuries.

She filled him in on what the EMT had said.

“Take him to X-ray for a CT scan. We’ll see what shows up. His vitals are normal, and it doesn’t look like there’s any bleeding in the belly. He just looks like hamburger.”

“So he’s not toast,” she agreed, going with ER-speak for he looked a lot worse than he was.

“Probably not.”

“Mr. Reynolds, I’m taking you to X-ray.” His eyes flickered, but he didn’t say anything.

Megan tugged on the end of the gurney, wheeling it out of the room and through the double doors for the short trip to radiology. Looking down at him, she sighed. “His guardian angel was working overtime tonight.”

“Can you hear me, Mr. Reynolds? I want you to open your eyes now.”

Simon decided maybe he would open his eyes if only to silence that bossy female voice. He wanted to tell her not to waste any more time and energy on him. He’d been aware of her—and other people—moving around him, doing X rays and bloodwork, beeping and poking and prodding. All their efforts were wasted on him, and it was time to tell her so. But when he looked up, a blond, blue-eyed knockout of an angel was staring back at him.

If he was dead, she was slumming. He’d already been living in hell. Dying would only make it official.

“Welcome back, sleeping beauty,” she said.

“Isn’t that the one where the wake-up call is a kiss?” He forced the words past what felt like gravel in his throat.

“I’m a nurse, not the fairy-tale police.”

“Not an angel?” He remembered hearing something about a guardian angel.

She shook her head. “Not even close.”

“Then I’m not dead?” A purely rhetorical question. The pain knifing through him was clear evidence that he was alive.

“You’re still a member of the human race,” she confirmed.

Maybe a member of the race. He wasn’t so sure about the human part.

“Where am I?” He knew it was a hospital, but details were fuzzy.

“You’re in the ER at Saint Joseph’s. You’re on a heart monitor, standard procedure for trauma patients.” She glanced at the beeping machine beside him and the screen with lines spiking across it. “Next time you decide to give Evel Knievel a run for his money, I suggest you wear a helmet. Didn’t you get the memo that protective headgear is the law? And it’s designed for the purpose of preventing nasty goose eggs like the one you’ve got there.”