Angela Hunt - A Time To Mend

Enough. Fix the dog up and send them home. And he’d have done his part to keep peace in the office.

Jonah settled into the rhythm of the swaying ambulance, then motioned to Jacquelyn. “If you hand me that bottle of saline solution behind you, we can start cleaning out his mouth.” He reached for a pair of sterile gloves and snapped them on. “I don’t know how many regulations we’re breaking here today—” He looked up at her and paused, struck by the fine shape of her mouth and the slender column of her throat. When he could speak again, his voice was more subdued. “But I trust this is for a good cause.”

Jacquelyn did not look up. The fringe of her lashes cast shadows on her cheeks as she monitored the dog’s breathing and reached for the saline. “Yes, Doctor, it is. If you have a dog, I’m sure you understand.”

Jonah leaned over the animal, his jaw tightening. “I don’t have a dog. I live alone.”

She did look at him then, and in her expressive eyes he saw mingled tenderness and pity. “Well, I’m sure you’ve loved a dog sometime. And you know we dog people would do just about anything for our animals.”

He lifted a brow and looked back down at his patient, gingerly running a gloved finger around the inside of the dog’s jowl to check for any abrasions or lumps. “He won’t bite me, will he?”

“No,” Jacquelyn answered, taking the animal’s massive head into her hands. She cast Jonah an inquisitive look. “For some reason, I thought you’d have a dog. I kinda figured you were the Chow type. Or maybe a Rottweiler.”

“No dog, no cat, not even a gerbil,” Jonah answered, absently reaching for her hand. She inhaled sharply at his touch and he ignored her reaction, though the slight contact sent a giddy sense of pleasure through his own senses.

“If you please, Nurse,” he said, keeping his eyes upon the dog as he moved her hand toward the animal’s muzzle, “would you retract this flap of skin? I need a clear look inside that mouth.”

“Of course.” Her strong, sure fingers left his and pulled back on the loose jowls. Jonah flipped on the overhead dome lights and peered into the animal’s mouth. A series of red, angry welts glared through a thin layer of whitish foam. His hunch was right. Jacquelyn’s dog had disturbed a nest of insects, probably yellow jackets from the vicious look of things. During his E.R. rotation Jonah had treated a little boy with similar welts.

“No pets at all?” Jacquelyn made a soft clucking sound as she handed him a square of sterile gauze to wipe the inflamed area. “How do you live? No shoes chewed, no vet bills to pay, no snores waking you in the middle of the night.” Grateful green eyes slanted toward him. “How can you come home to an empty house when you could have unlimited hugs and snuggles?”

His inner antennae picked up what could have been a not-so-subtle flirtation and he stiffened, instantly on his guard. But she was studying the dog, concentrating on the animal, and after an instant Jonah decided that she meant nothing by the remark. After all, she had been at the park with a man. And if Jonah’s luck was running true to form, he was the last man on earth an intelligent woman like Jacquelyn would ever be drawn to. The women he attracted were like radio stations—anyone could pick them up, especially at night.

He gently wiped the swollen area, then tossed the soiled gauze toward a trash bin. “I hope my house won’t always be empty.” Now who’s dropping hints? He took pains to keep his eyes on the patient; it wouldn’t be wise to lose himself in Jacquelyn’s emerald gaze.

“Oh?” Her voice was cool and impersonal. “Planning on getting a pet—or a wife?”

He lowered the animal’s lip and motioned for her to turn the dog’s head so he could check the other side. He couldn’t bring himself to risk touching her hand again.

“I don’t know.” He reached for another square of gauze. Funny, he should have been annoyed at this interruption of his holiday, yet he was enjoying every minute of this chance encounter. “Maybe I can find a wife who will give lots of snuggles and not chew shoes.”

It was the most pleasant, teasing thing he had ever said to her, and he didn’t dare lift his gaze to see how she’d respond. She remained silent for a moment, almost as if she were holding her breath. When she spoke again, her voice was light. “If you’re very lucky,” she said, one hand beginning to stroke the dog’s sweaty side, “you’ll find a wife with a dog.”

Enough. Stop now. Why in the world was he flirting with a nurse? He scarcely knew Jacquelyn Wilkes, and he had no idea how she was reading his comments. If he wasn’t careful, tomorrow she’d be telling the entire office that he’d asked her to marry him, and when he denied it she’d sue for sexual harassment or breach of promise or something.

He frowned. “You animal lovers are the strangest people.” He wiped the inflamed gums with the sterile square. “You’re totally illogical. People like you are the happiest when they are the most inconvenienced.”

He looked up, expecting to see her usual stern expression, but she only smiled and took the dirty gauze from his gloved hand.

“Isn’t that what love is all about?” she asked, looking at the dog with a tenderness he’d never seen in her eyes before.

The ambulance engine slowed and died, and a moment later the surly paramedic opened the rear doors. “End of the road for the mutt, Doc,” he said, gesturing to the clinic outside. “Your office, just like you ordered.”

Jonah smiled his thanks and grabbed the end of the stretcher. “Just give me a hand getting the dog in, and I’ll see you get a commendation for going above and beyond the call of duty.”

After injections of steroids and antihistamines to treat shock and counter the insect venom, Jonah measured out a ten-day supply of amoxicillin from pharmaceutical samples, then labeled a prescription bottle for “Bailey Wilkes.”

“I’d say give him two and a half of these twice a day, but you’ll want to double-check the dosage with your vet.” He made a note on a chart he’d improvised from the supplies on hand, then looked up to find Jacquelyn studying him, a glint of wonder in her eyes. He frowned. “Something wrong?”

“No,” she said, a smile trembling over her lips as she soothed the recovering animal. “It’s just that—well, you’ve surprised me, Doctor. Dr. Kastner would have let Bailey die right there at the lake. Probably ninety percent of the doctors in this hospital wouldn’t want to be bothered with an animal, especially on a holiday.”

“Ninety percent of the doctors in this hospital don’t have my seriously skewed personality.” He snapped the file shut and slid it toward her. “They don’t care if their patients like them.”

A blush ran like a shadow over her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I was wrong to say that.”

She looked so vulnerable, so guilty, that he had to stifle an urge to walk forward and pull her into his arms.

“No, you were right.” He looked away, pretending to search for something on the desk. “A doctor must be careful not to get so involved that he can’t see things clearly. But I’ve always found it’s far easier to get involved with the patients than with—”

Attractive nurses. He stiffened, embarrassed at what he’d almost said. Fortunately, Jacquelyn’s attention seemed focused on the animal.

“I guess you could say I’m just a sucker for eyes that color,” he whispered, keenly feeling the great gulf between what he was and what he suddenly wanted to be.

“They’re coffee-brown,” she said, casting him a fleeting smile. “I’m a sucker for Bailey’s eyes, too.”

He turned away to clean up the counter, allowing her to misunderstand what he’d meant. Don’t even think about it, he warned himself. She’s your nurse. She has a boyfriend, that’s plain enough. Remember the past, stay aloof. Romance and medicine don’t mix.