Badland Bride (Book 2 - Dakota Hearts) (3 page)

He needed some sleep.

“Are you doing okay, Regis?” he asked.

“Please don’t call me Regis.”

“It’s your name.”

“Everyone calls me, Reggie. I never respond to Regis and have never been happy with that name. So, it’s Reggie, okay?”

“Okay, Regis,” he grinned at the flash of annoyance that cut through her fear. “I'm going to make this quick.”

“I told you not to call me – ah!” The middle of her retort was cut off by a yelp as Hawk slid the needle into her arm. “What the hell, Hawk…er, Dr. McKinnon,” she growled.

He bit back a laugh. “If you prefer it, to be fair, you can call me Keith.”

“I’m thinking of another name right now.”

Then he did laugh. She was feisty for sure. And he liked that about her.

While he was sure she was a tough woman, he found her attempt at ferocity to be almost cute. Not that he was about to tell her that. He wasn't stupid. He dropped the syringe into the biohazard container on the floor.

“Are you going to be okay driving?” he asked.

“Sure.”

He looked at her intently.

“What?”

“Your face has a little more color. For a while there I thought you really were going to pass out.”

He touched her arm to help her off the table. Her face flushed and she pulled her arm away. “I’m fine.”

“Good. Nancy has that paperwork for you to fill out before you leave.”

“I know all about paperwork,” she said, chuckling.

“I’m sure you do. I’ll make that call to the pharmacy for you.”

Hawk walked in the opposite direction that Regis went, and resisted the urge to turn back to look at her. For God’s sake, she was a patient. She was here in town to help people he knew needed her to do her job so they could get on with their lives.

Yet, he didn’t want to see her leave and he definitely wanted to see Regis Simpson again. But not like this and not here. He’d fought the urge to ask her out for dinner. He’d find a moment that was right.

When he reached his office door, he turned around and caught her looking over her shoulder at him as she walked down the hall. He’d make that moment come very soon.

Fifteen minutes later, Hawk emerged from his office and walked to the front waiting area. Nancy was sitting behind the computer, inputting information from the paperwork Regis had just handed her. She lifted her eyes from Regis’s paperwork only long enough to give him a teasing glance.

“Here is the name of the pharmacy,” he said, handing Regis a piece of paper.

“Thank you, Keith.”

He ignored the expression on his receptionist's face. Nancy had an opinion about everything and he was sure he'd hear it once Regis left.

“Make sure you stay off that leg tonight. It’s probably going to hurt a lot more once the adrenaline rush wears off.”

“I will.” Regis was out the door before Hawk could say anything more. And there were a whole lot of things spinning in his head that he wanted to ask her starting with dinner and where all that spunk he saw in her came from. He’d do that later.

He finally turned and stole a glance at Nancy.

“Keith?” she echoed.

“Breathe one word and I’ll tell everyone your middle name is Aggy.”

Nancy gasped. “You wouldn’t dare.”

He smiled teasingly. “Only one way you’ll find out.”

Nancy rolled her eyes and went back to her typing as Hawk walked back to his office, unable to suppress his grin. He had some paperwork of his own to fill out for the Wounded Veterans Center if he was going to get out of here early. He had a house call to make tonight and he didn't want to be late.

# # #

Motel rooms had been her home for far too long. Regis was so familiar with the blandness of each motel she stayed at that she never really paid attention to details. It only served to remind her about a childhood spending long periods of time in other people’s homes on Army bases around the world while her dad was on tour somewhere else. At least now, she could be in the quiet of her own space without having to put on a smile for people she barely knew.

She’d managed to hobble her way out of the car and into her motel room and fire up her laptop so she could check which appointments she was going to miss the rest of the day. She’d have to switch around appointments tomorrow and bump a few to later in the week to keep her already heavy workload manageable. As soon as she’d figured out a workable plan, she called the homeowners who’d given her cell phone numbers with the news. Naturally, some were disappointed they’d have to wait another day or two for the inspections and it meant she had to stay a little longer in Rudolph to get all her work done. But it couldn’t be helped.

Dr. Keith McKinnon had been right about one thing, she felt the pain in her leg more now than she did when she’d initially fallen. With each movement on the bed, pain shot up her leg and brought tears to her eyes.

She finally closed the laptop and pushed it to the side of her bed, debating the need for getting up and grabbing the remote so she could watch television. Before boredom could win out, she heard a knock on the door and decided it must be the pharmacy delivering her prescription.

“Please let there be pain killer in there, too,” she whispered. Then she called out, “Just a minute!”

Easing herself up off the bed, she limped to the door being careful her sweatpants leg didn’t fall over her bandage and cause the elastic to squeeze her leg. Even the slightest pressure was enough to send her through the roof. It was a struggle to get up on her tippy toes to look out of the peephole, but when she did, she stepped back, putting weight on her injured leg. Shooting pain nearly leveled her as she opened the door.

“I’d ask how you’re doing, but from the look on your face, I’m guessing it’s not so good.”

Dr. Keith McKinnon stood outside the doorway looking better than he had earlier walking up the handicap ramp at his office. She, on the other hand, looked like road kill. She didn’t have to look to know she had a serious case of bedhead from trying to take a nap earlier. Her old sweatpants and sweatshirt were comfy, but so big it made it hard to tell she was female underneath them.

She touched her hair just to make sure it wasn’t sticking up. “What are you doing here?”

He lifted the white bag in his left hand. “Your prescription. When I called it in to the pharmacy they said they weren’t making runs out this way due to all the flooding and roads being washed out.”

She looked at the Styrofoam containers in his other hand. The glorious smell coming from them immediately made her stomach growl. “And what’s that?”

“Dinner. For us. That is, if you’re up for it.”

She stepped aside to give Keith room to walk inside the motel room.

“Am I another house call?”

His voice was gentle as he spoke, making her head light. “No. But since you’re from out of town, I knew you didn’t have anyone else here to check on you so I thought I’m make sure you were getting along. I figured you probably hadn’t been able to grab a bite to eat yet either.”

Warmth spread through her chest. “You wanted to check on me?”

“Sure.” He lifted the containers. “Should I put these over on the table?”

She nodded, a sudden feeling of melancholy enveloping her. Keith didn’t know how close to the truth he was. It had been a long time since there’d been anyone concerned with checking on her. In fact, she only spoke to her father about once a month because he was always so busy. The fact that Keith thought enough to stop by, and with dinner no less, was a first for her. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

He was looking at her again.

“I’m not going to pass out,” she said.

A low chuckle rumbled from his chest that Regis found enticing.

“No, but you do have this deer-in-the-headlights look about you.”

“Do I?”

“Is something wrong? Did I come at a bad time?”

“No, it’s just...” She didn’t know exactly how to verbalize the oddness of having Dr. Keith McKinnon in her motel room.

Keith looked around the room, walking a few steps before he turned to her. “Looks okay to me. You didn’t leave your dirty towel on the bathroom floor, did you?”

“Of course not. Besides the maid has been through the room today.”

“Were you expecting someone else?”

“No. No, that’s not it.”

His brow narrowed. “Do I make you uncomfortable, Regis?”

Now there was a loaded question. The thing was, Dr. Keith McKinnon
did
make her uncomfortable. But for all the wrong reasons. Regis liked the way he looked at her. She liked the sound of his voice when he said her name. Her real name. She even liked the fact that he refused to call her by the nickname her dad had given her long ago even though she’d repeatedly corrected him.

“I’m not used to having people in my motel room. It’s usually…just my own quiet space.”

His dark eyebrows lifted. “Never?”

She shook her head. “I visit ten to fifteen different cities and towns a year. This is a first.”

His lips lifted on one side in a way that Regis could only call sexy. The warm feeling in her chest grew.

“I like that. Being a first. But if you would prefer I leave, I will. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“I’m not uncomfortable,” she said quietly. “You brought me dinner. The least I can do is offer you a seat at my table to enjoy it.” She looked back at the small desk and realized there was only one chair. “You can take the chair at the desk and I’ll sit on the bed.”

“Good choice. You need to keep your leg elevated.”

She hobbled over to the bed and eased down on it while Keith carried the food to the desk.

“I have some sodas in the mini-fridge.”

Keith went to the mini-fridge by the dresser and pulled out two cans of soda. “Want a glass?”

“No, it’s just one more thing to clean.”

He put the cold soda on the nightstand next to her and then handed her one of the Styrofoam containers with a set of plastic utensils and a napkin.

“I thought the diner was closed this time of the night,” she said, lifting the lid and fully breathing in the aroma of good home cooking.

“It is. My mother is working down at the shelter again. It’s actually the elementary school, but for now it’s a working shelter. At least, it’s been for the last couple of weeks. Tomorrow everyone should be in temporary housing while they rebuild.”

“Your mother owns the diner?”

He smiled with pride. “Since before I was born. Every single one of us McKinnons took our first steps across that dining room floor. Although my mother will swear we all never walked, we just ran.”

Regis smiled picturing it. “How many McKinnons are there?”

“Five boys.”

She dropped the fork full of food in the container. “Five? Your mother ran a diner and raised five boys at the same time?”

“Amazing, huh?” he said with pride.

The both took a bite of food and were quiet for a few moments. Regis had eaten out of many a Styrofoam container over the years, but there was nothing like home cooking.

“So what about you?” Keith finally asked.

“What about me?”

“Where are you from?”

“Everywhere.”

He frowned. “No one place to call home?”

Regis lifted a shoulder. “I’m an Army brat. I’ve lived on bases all over the world.”

“Wow. That must have been quite an adventure for your parents and you.”

“Just my dad and me,” she said. “My mom didn’t like the Army life. Or family life for that matter. She took off when I was six. It was just my dad and me after that. Just me when he was on tour.”

He looked shocked, like most people did when she said that. “Who’d take care of you when your father was gone?”

“I usually got placed with another family on base…or two or three while my father was gone. Homecomings were better than times he shipped out. Most families were going through their own trials with a parent gone. It was hard taking care of a snotty kid like me who didn’t exactly want to be with them any more than they wanted me to be there.”

“You? Snotty?”

“I was a kid. Aren’t all kids snotty when they’re missing their dad?”

“You have a point. That must have been rough on you though.”

“Like anything else, you learn to adapt. At least it made acclimating to my present job easier since I’m always on the road.”

“So where’s home?”

She shrugged. “Here right now. Next month, who knows?”

“You’re a gypsy.”

His voice was as smooth as silk when he said the words, almost as if he liked the intrigue of it.

“I guess you could say that. Except I’m not going to tell your fortune or dance for you.”

He raised his eyebrows with a wicked grin. “Now that sounds very enticing. I wouldn’t mind seeing you in silk and gems.”

Warmth flowed through her as the heat in Keith’s eyes flared.

“Do you talk this way to all of your patients, Dr. McKinnon?”

“Hawk.”

“I though you said I could call you Keith?”

His lips tilted to a slight grin, then looked at the container sitting on her lap. “You’re dinner is getting cold.”

* * *

After dinner, Keith checked the bandage on Regis’s leg.

“Make sure you keep this dry for at least another day. As long as you can walk on it without pain, you can get around. But keep your activity down to a minimum or you’ll risk opening up the wound again.”

“No can do. I already had to cancel a long list of appointments today. Now I have an even longer list of properties to see tomorrow.”

“I talked with my cousin, Ian, earlier. He mentioned you’d called him about rescheduling your inspection of the Center.”

She frowned. “Center?”

“It’s the old mill by the river. It was being converted to a community center, but there’s space for the Wounded Veterans Center there as well as its other functions. Ian is a wounded veteran. My brother, Ethan, is a retired Navy Seal. They’ve been working to get the old mill transformed into a center for the vets in the area as well as have it funded by regular functions. Dances and weddings and such. My younger brother Logan and his fiancé are hoping to be the first to have their wedding there. It’s a pretty spot. Or at least, it was before the flood waters came in.”