River Wolf (2 page)

C
olby Jensen whistled
as she strode through the hospital doors. Eight hours of emptying bedpans, distributing magazines, flowers, and lunch trays while entertaining cranky patients, then she was free. Free from community service, free from the halfway house, and free from Alba, Maine.
God, I can’t wait.
The mantra echoed in her thoughts as she headed for the elevators. St Martha’s had two major wings and seven floors for the residents of Kennicanton County.

The whole population of Alba could fit within the precincts of the hospital. Well, maybe not the whole town but most of it. The sooner she blew out of there, the better. The elevator dinged her arrival to the fifth floor ward, and she stripped out of her jacket as the doors parted.

Miranda Wilson stood like a sentinel awaiting her arrival. Her stony face gave Colby pause, and she exited the elevator slowly. No way was she late. Flicking a quick look at the clock on the far wall above the nurse’s station, she sighed with relief. The clock literally ticked onto the hour.

Whew
. Heart still hammering, she met Miranda’s gaze. The floor’s charge nurse had overseen Colby’s community service from day one and she’d been a fair, if stern, taskmaster. “Your card?”

The dreaded time card—Miranda initialed it at the start of a shift and the end. Twice in the last twelve months she’d refused to fudge the time when Colby arrived late—once because her car had a flat tire and the second time when she’d overslept. Tardiness would not be excused, no matter how reasonable the reason. Tugging the card out of her purse, she passed it over. “Good morning, Miranda.”

“Good morning, Colby.” Miranda carried the time card with her to the nurse’s station and Colby trailed her. Her good mood diminished under the other woman’s cool attitude. At the desk, she studied the card before retrieving her pen. “You have an eight hour shift today?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Gripping her jacket tighter, she tried to keep her tone without revealing her nervousness. Eight more hours and her sentence would be complete—unless Miranda decided to dock her some time. She wouldn’t do that, would she?

“You’re going to be dealing with the brute in five-ten. He’s in a mood this morning.”

Oh, joy
. The brute in five-ten arrived at the hospital in bad shape, then lapsed into a coma. When he woke, in a bear of a mood, he actually growled at the nurses. Colby almost liked the bastard, since he at least didn’t whine. Course, he hadn’t thrown a tray of food at her. “I’ll run across the street to the burger joint on my break.” She’d found the key to keeping him cooperative—super-sized double cheeseburgers.

“You don’t have to do that,” Miranda said, her distracted tone didn’t offer any confidence. “Though I won’t complain if you do. For some reason, he really likes you.”

“No, just really likes burgers.” She’d discovered his preference rather by accident. She hated hospital food, so a year of eating in the cafeteria had given her a whole new respect for ramen noodles. Once, during a late shift, she’d stopped to get a couple of burgers for herself. Five-ten had been assigned to their floor—two broken legs and a bad concussion. According to his chart, he’d been in a coma, but when he woke they moved him upstairs. Personally, Colby thought the move had more to do with his sour disposition than his actual physical health. “And I don’t mind. Every time I’ve brought him burgers this week, he’s been much more cooperative.”

Miranda gave her a considering look. “Then run across and get them now, before you start your shift. That way you can beard the beast in his den. He thought you were on the night shift, and had no idea it was your day off yesterday. He’s been impossible.”

“It’s not my break.”

“Honey, you don’t have to waste your break on him. Just go get them and come back, then start on the rooms. You’ve got two to clean, and five-ten, and if you could take care of five-twelve, five-fourteen and five-sixteen after you feed him. Then come back here and go over the exit interview with me.”

That was it? Hope kindled inside of her. “I can do the other rooms, too.” She actually liked the patients. It was the only part of her community service she did like. Helping people was kind of cool.

After initialing the date, Miranda smiled. Her expression, so utterly rare and inconsistent with her bossy attitude, floored Colby. “We have a new girl starting today.” She nodded down the hall and Colby twisted to look. A slender waif-like girl with long stringy blonde hair pulled into a nappy looking ponytail grunted as she carried a laundry sack out of one room. Her sullen expression coupled with hostile eyes combined to radiate
don’t fuck with me
.

“Wow.”

“Oh, she’s got spunk, that one. She reminds me of another handful that was assigned to St. Martha’s a year ago.” The tender, almost nostalgic tone pulled Colby around to stare at the charge nurse. “You’ve really come into your own, Colby, and if you ever decide to complete your RN training, I’ll write you a recommendation.”

Her mouth opened then snapped closed again. How did she respond to that?

“Enough socializing. You have burgers to fetch and work to do.” Miranda thrust the timecard at her. “I’m looking forward to signing and dating it for the last time this afternoon. Don’t worry, I already filed the paperwork with the court. You’ll be free to go when your shift is over.”

Free to go.

Tears pricked her eyes, and she blinked them rapidly. “Thanks. I’ll go get those burgers.” She stuffed the card back into her purse then tugged her jacket on. At the elevator, she paused and glanced back to the nurse’s station, but Miranda had already gone.

The cramp in her gut was back, and her nerves fluttered. She’d been counting down the days forever, or so it seemed. So why was she all of a sudden worried about it being her last day?

Maybe because I have no idea where I’ll be tomorrow…

T
wenty minutes later
, she returned to the floor with a bag of burgers, fries and even a vanilla shake in hand. Well, one vanilla and one strawberry, because she could drink either and she’d give five-ten the other. At room five-ten, she juggled the tray of shakes with the bag of burgers to raise her hand to knock. Her community service made her a nursing assistant for a year and, while she’d attended nursing school, she’d never completed her degree or licensing. So, she knocked before she entered—she had no desire to see anyone naked and she was pretty sure they didn’t want her to see them that way either.

Before her knuckles made contact with the wood, a gruff voice called, “Come in.”

Dude has ears like a bat
. It wasn’t the first time he called for her to let herself in before she could knock. It had as yet to become creepy. Releasing the latch, she leaned her hip into the weighted door and shoved it open while still balancing the food.

Bare-chested—he hated the hospital gowns—with his blankets resting somewhere in the vicinity of his waist, Luc Danes stared at her with raw hunger in his deep green eyes. “Burgers?”

“Three of them today. I actually ordered five, but I plan to eat one.” She hadn’t been hungry until she’d stood inside Mac’s Shake and Grilled. The local place was the only place she went for burgers because they were off the chain—real meat, fresh fries, and hand-mixed shakes.

“So that means I get four?” The corners of his very full mouth curved into a grin.

“I figured I’d save the fourth one for later when you get grumpy.” Another perk to being an assistant on community service was she didn’t
have
to be as nice to him as the other nurses were. Considering he threw food tray across the room the first day he’d been assigned to her floor, narrowly missing the worker who’d delivered it, the nurses maintained a healthy distance from him.

At her quip, his grin grew wider. “Come closer. I smell fries.”

“Dude,” she said, pausing at the foot of his bed. “Cut the creepy wolf playing grandma act, cause you’re not eating me today. Got it?” Some patients needed a firm hand, others needed a brick to the side of the head. Luc had always struck her as the brick type.

Surprise flared in his eyes, but his grin didn’t waver. “I’m starving. They tried to serve me runny eggs, cold bacon and something they called a muffin but had the consistency of fossilized bread.”

“Eww,” she said, wrinkling her nose. Sympathy flared through her. “Personally, you couldn’t pay me to eat the eggs here.” She passed him the bag of burgers.

“I don’t care what they called it, but it wasn’t eggs.”

Surreptitiously, she glanced at the wall nearest the door. No trays were on the floor and, thankfully, no eggs dripped down the wall.

Luc pulled open the bag. His left arm was in a cast, but he had the use of his fingers. Both of his legs were casted as well and strung up for support. “I didn’t throw the food. I thought about it though,” he admitted in a grumbling tone as the paper bag crumpled. He pulled the first burger out, unwrapped the foil then took a huge bite. “Oh my God,” he groaned with his mouth full of food. “I love you.”

“Yeah, you say that to everyone who brings you burgers. Strawberry or vanilla?” She held the shakes up then froze when his gaze locked on her. The heat in his eyes scorched her. “Shakes. Not me.”

“Pity.” His wink removed any disappointment from the word. “Which do you prefer?”

“I asked first.”

He took another bite, all the while staring at her. A part of her wanted to flee the rawness in his eyes, but the rest of her held completely still.
What the hell is it about this guy that makes me feel like prey
? Hating the sense of helplessness swamping her, she raised her chin. She’d stared down the judge who’d given her the sentence, the assistant district attorney who listed off her actions as criminal, and then her mother, when she’d disowned her. She could handle one damn patient.

Silence punctuated by the sound of the foil crinkling followed as she fought to hold his gaze. The stare-off occupied the next couple of minutes until he’d finished the first burger. Finally, he sighed. “Tell me which one you prefer, please?”

“I like them both.” Since he’d caved first—because he had, dammit—she relented.

“Really?” He touched the side of the bed. “Come, have your burger with me.”

“Hmm, no go, dude.” Since he had as yet to decide which he wanted, she set the vanilla on the tray table and slid it into place for him. “I have a shift to work. Rooms to clean and paperwork to process.”

“Oh.” Disappointment seemed to wreath him, and it tugged at her. “But I can come back to check on you in a bit, maybe give you a hand if you need it…”

“Sponge bath?” The tease sent heat rushing to her cheeks, and she scowled. He laughed, whether at his words or her reaction, she couldn’t be sure. “Teasing, sweet cheeks. Teasing.”

“Yes, well they call it sexual harassment these days.” Strawberry shake in hand, she reached for the bag and he caught her wrist.

“Truly,” he murmured. “My apologies. I wasn’t trying to upset you. Especially not on your last day.”

How the hell did he know it was her last day? His hand was huge and encompassed her wrist easily. The warmth of his skin on hers sent her pulse skyrocketing. “Well, be nice to the nurses and maybe someone else will bring you burgers.”

“Tell you what…” He kept his voice low, but his thumb caressed her pulse point. “Come see me before you leave today. I want to make you an offer.”

“I am so not giving you a sponge bath again.” He’d convinced her to do it the first day she’d met him. Since he’d been in such a sour mood, and she’d wanted to make his day better, so she’d complied. His very physical reaction to her ministrations, however, had been awkward to say the least.

“Pity, but I can live with disappointment. No, I think you’ll like this deal. Just promise me you’ll come see me before you leave.”

“What do I get if I keep my promise?”
Never give anything without negotiation.
A hard lesson to learn, but one she had tattooed to her soul.

Lips pursed, he studied her. When her glance landed on where he held her captive still, he released her. “I’ll behave and not throw anything at the nurses today.”

Well, that was definitely a start. How far could she push him? “And?” While waiting for his answer, she took a sip of the strawberry shake and claimed her burger from the bag. He could have the fries. As much as she loved potato products of all kinds, she couldn’t afford to indulge. Her hips were round enough.

“Not enough?” His eyebrows rose. A healing cut bisected one of his brows, but it only made his square-jawed face appear more rakish. They’d had to shave part of his hair due to his head injury, but even with the brutal cut, he still looked sexier than a man who’d been in a coma for two weeks and the hospital for three and a half should.

“You’ve terrorized the floor since they moved you here.” Tucking her wrapped burger into her purse, she fixed her strap and then took a drink of her strawberry shake. “Not to mention, you’ve not cooperated with any of the questions they ask you. When they try to administer medication, you snarl and you’ve thrown four food trays by my count—all of which
I
had to clean up, I might add.”

“I haven’t thrown one since you pointed it out.” Chagrin actually erased his smile. “You’ve been kind to me, Colby, and I appreciate it. So if you want me to earn your return visit before you leave, I will promise to be on my best behavior all day. Satisfied?”

“No,” she said, not missing an ounce of the innuendo lacing the last word. When his smirk faded, she nodded. “But it will do for now. I’ve got another seven hours to work. I’ll stop by on my way out.” At the door once more, she paused. “Good luck on your recovery. Broken legs suck.”

“You’re telling me, sweet cheeks.” His voice followed her from the room. “Seven hours and I expect to see you back here. Don’t make me chase you.”

A chill raced along her spine. “Nobody chases me,” she warned him. “Not anymore.”

“Then don’t be late.”
Damn man wants the last word
. She let the door close behind her. She was already behind and, last day or no last day, she needed to get her work done. Besides, the last time she’d been the subject of pursuit, she ended up in jail and sentenced to community service. No more chasing and definitely no more catching.