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

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then what?”

“You aren’t…I wasn’t expecting someone so…” She took a deep breath.

“So…handsome?”

Color immediately stained her pale cheeks. “Young. You look like you just graduated college.”

He chuckled. “So they didn’t tell you I was good looking. They told you I was old.”

She sighed heavily. “No. Mr. Bennett didn’t say anything except your name is Hawk. What kind of person walks around with a name like that anyway?”

“Me,” he said. “And I can assure you that you are in good hands. I may not be a crusty old doctor, but I not only went to college, I made it all the way through med school, my internship and a stint at the city hospital in Sioux Falls before coming back to Rudolph and starting my practice here.”

Her shoulders slumped. “I didn’t mean to imply—”

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” he said. “Let me help you—”

He bent down to help her to her feet, and he caught a whiff of her soapy scent again. Normally he didn’t notice such things. But he was having a hard time not noticing every little detail about this woman from the slight hook of her nose to the patch of too many freckles on her left cheek.

“No, I can do it.”

“Okay, follow me,” he said as they made their way down the hall to the first examining room. He opened the door and let her into the well-stocked room first. Then he carefully helped her to climb onto the examining table before going to the sink to wash his hands. When he was done, he put on a white medical jacket that was hanging from a hook on the door, and then turned to her.

“Now that you know my name, why don’t you tell me yours?”

“Regis Simpson. But people call me Reggie.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why would people call you Reggie when Regis is such a pretty name?”

Her lips lifted to a sideward grin. “You’ve got one hell of a bedside manner, Doctor.”

“Did it make you forget the throbbing in your leg?”

She thought a second and then chuckled softly. “That’s
not
why you said that to me.”

“Are you sure about that?” She was easy to tease and Hawk quickly realized he liked this woman’s spunk. But she was here for a reason and once she was settled on the examining table, he immediately fell into professional mode.

“While I get what I need to clean your leg, why don’t you tell me what happened?”

“I got into a fight with a rusty old fence on the other side of town and lost. I had to pull a piece out but I don’t think it’s too bad. It just won’t stop bleeding. I hope I didn’t hit an artery.”

Hawk looked up from the stainless steel tray he was putting gauze, saline solution and other supplies on. She was actually worried about it. “If you’d hit an artery you wouldn’t have made it over here alive. You
are
bleeding a lot though, so let’s have a look.”

He pulled the table extender out and helped her lift her leg.

* * *

Regis never felt so foolish in her life. Handsome? Yeah, she couldn’t deny that. But to ask her that? Was he full of himself of what? Never mind that she’d already been thinking that from the moment she’d seen him walking up the ramp.

“You didn’t have a medical bag,” she finally said.

He glanced at her. “Excuse me?”

“When you came up to the door you said the doctor does house calls in the middle of the afternoon. But you didn’t have a medical bag so I naturally assumed...”

His face suddenly showed understanding at her fumbled attempt at an explanation. “I keep the bag locked in the truck. You never know when you have to run out quickly, especially now.” Turning his focus to her leg, he said, “I’m just going to pull your shoe and sock off so I can see how far down this cut went.”

Regis looked above him, behind him and at the posters on the wall warning of germs and the importance of washing your hands as the doctor peeled off her blood-soaked sock and shoe. She closed her eyes to the pain as he turned her ankle.

“Let’s clean out this wound and see how bad it is,” he said. “Just lift your leg so I can put the towel underneath.”

Gripping the table, she did as she was told and turned her head to the side as the cool liquid flowed over and stung her skin.

“You’re not going to pass out on me, are you?”

“Not if I can help it.”

“Nancy?” he called out, startling her.

A few seconds later, a middle-aged woman wearing a nurse’s jacket with cats printed all over it was standing in the doorway.

“I wasn’t sure you heard me come in,” she said, looking over at Regis’s leg and frowning. “Oh, you got yourself a nasty one there. Where’d that happen?”

Regis took a deep breath as the doctor worked on her leg. “Over at the Bennett property.”

Sympathy shown on the woman’s face. “I heard the whole first floor was flooded.”

“It’s about that bad,” Regis said.

Hawk looked up at the nurse. “I didn’t have time to fill out the paperwork for Miss—”

“Simpson. Regis Simpson,” she said.

Hawk nodded. “Would you mind getting all that paperwork together while I take care of this wound?”

Nancy shook her head and frowned. But by the motherly look she gave Hawk, Regis knew she was teasing. “Didn’t remember which form to fill out, huh? It’s a good thing you’re not at Sioux City General anymore. You think the other nurses would put up with this?”

“He didn’t want me to bleed all over the new carpet.”

Nancy chuckled with raised eyebrows. “That was very thoughtful of him. I see you already have this poor girl whipped. I’ll get that paperwork.”

As Nancy left, Hawk’s hands paused on her leg as he looked up at her, giving her a wide smile that reached the depths of his eyes.

“You’re getting me in trouble.”

“I have a feeling you can do that all by yourself.”

She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting from a country doctor, but the man standing next to her was not it. His eyes were the deepest shade of blue Regis had ever seen. He was tall, leanly muscled and had one of those ruggedly handsome faces that would've looked perfect in a cowboy movie. And she couldn’t believe she was sitting on an examining table with the hots for her doctor.

# # #

“It’s really not as bad as it could have been,” Hawk told her.

“How do you figure that when it hurts like hell?”

“You could have broken your leg. You’ll have to be more careful out there and wear some sensible shoes. I’ve been out to the Bennett place since the floods came through. They still have a lot of debris to cleanup and it’s tricky stepping.”

“I found that out the hard way. I’m more ticked off about the ragged tear in my best pair of dress slacks than this puncture wound.”

“Pants can be replaced. By the way, where did the name Regis come from?”

“My parents.”

She tilted an eyebrow and he wondered if it was in challenge or if she were teasing.

He hesitated a moment and then said, “What?”

“I’m just waiting for the standard comment about Regis being a boy’s name and oh, your father must have wanted a boy.”

“Is that what everyone gives you? Standard lines?”

She shrugged as if she weren't uncomfortable with the topic. “I’m an insurance adjuster. Everyone wants to see me around here right now and everyone is always giving me a line they hope will help their claim.”

His lips lifted to a grin. “Then I won’t make that mistake.”

“I appreciate that,” she said.

“So is it is true?”

“Is what true?”

“Did your father want a boy?”

Regis paused a fraction of a moment. “Yeah.”

He’d hit a raw wound and it wasn’t the one on her leg. He let the name thing go and concentrated on her wounded ankle with gloved fingers gently probing at the damaged flesh. “You’re not going to need stitches. But you may end up with a nasty scar.”

She blew out a quick breath. “Good. I can add it to all the other ones I got as a kid.”

“You're the insurance agent who denied the Proctor family's claim without even looking at the property.”

Her sigh made him look up. A wry smile curved her lips. “Does that mean you're not going to treat me?”

Hawk chuckled as he stood. “If I didn't treat people who did things I didn't like, I wouldn't have much of a practice.” He gathered a few items from a nearby cabinet and walked back over to her.

“I don’t discuss my cases without my clients’ permission.”

“Evan Proctor said it was a technicality,” he said as he began to clean out the wound. Her hands were gripping the edge of the table, but she didn't make a sound of pain, keeping her voice even. “Their policy had lapsed during the time frame of the flood.”

“As I said, I don’t discuss my cases without—”

“They’re people. Not cases. These people lost their valuables, their homes and their livestock.”

“I know that. That’s why I’m doing everything I can to help them. But unfortunately, some things are beyond my control.”

Hawk let the statement slide by, resisting the urge to tell her that there was always something that could be done. But it wasn’t his job, and with the weight of the last few weeks bearing down on him, he realized he’d just crossed a very important line.

Once he'd finished cleaning her leg, he looked up at her. “Sorry, it’s been a rough couple of weeks around here and many long days.”

He’d expected annoyance, which was well earned for his transgression, and yet what he got from Regis Simpson was a sympathetic smile. That somehow made him feel worse.

“I know it’s hard to see people you care about hurting. But it’ll get better eventually,” she said.

“That’s what I’m hoping for.”

“You asked about my name. Now it’s your turn. What’s the deal with Hawk?

“No deal. Just about everyone around here has known me since I was a kid, so everyone calls me Hawk.”

“What’s your name?”

“Didn’t you read the sign?”

“There has to be a story that goes with Hawk. What is it about that name you don’t like?”

“Nothing. My nephew is named Keith.”

“Then why Hawk?”

The image of Wade flashed in his mind and Hawk immediately felt that familiar pain he always felt when he thought of his older brother. “Your leg is wrapped. Make sure you keep it clean and dry tonight.”

“Ah, you don’t like talking about it?”

It was clear Regis knew she’d hit on something, but she didn’t push further and for that he was glad. She was knew in town. She knew nothing of his family or of their personal tragedies. She dealt in tangible loss. And right now, a whole lot of people in Rudolph needed her help.

He pulled off his gloves and dropped them in to the trash. “Are you staying at the motel in town?”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“I thought the subject was your wounded leg.”

“What does my staying at the local motel have to do with my leg?”

From the little he’d seen of her, Regis Simpson was a pistol. And he liked that, Lord help him. He’d been with women in his life and none of them challenged him. He wasn’t a yes-dear man and he didn’t want a yes-dear woman or someone who was only interested in being on the arm of a doctor and what his profession could provide. If he’d cared about any of that, he would have stayed in Sioux City instead of setting up his practice here in Rudolph where it was needed.

“You’re going to need some antibiotic to help prevent a Staph infection. I have some antibiotic here but it’s not as strong as I’d like. I am going to call in a script to the pharmacy in the next county. They deliver and I need an address for them to send it to you. Are there any meds you’re allergic to?”

“Ah, no.”

“Then I have enough for what you’ll need tonight. I’ll give you the pharmacy information so you can call and arrange for delivery.”

“I can pick it up.”

“No you won’t. You need to stay off this leg. At least for the night. You need to give it time so it doesn’t open up again. And you’re going to need a tetanus shot.”

“So I’ve heard.”

Her reaction was instantaneous and amusing. He'd never seen an adult look so absolutely petrified at the mention of a shot.

He resisted the urge to laugh at the face she was making. “When was the last time you had a tetanus shot?”

She thought a moment, then shook her head without answering.

Frowning, he said, “Just as I thought. If you can’t remember, it’s been too long.”

“I’m sure I’ve had one at some point. Maybe before college.”

“And how long ago was that?”

“Eleven years.”

“I’ll finish bandaging your leg. Then we can see about doing that paperwork and getting you up to date on your shots. I’m surprised your boss doesn’t require it given the work you do.”

“Really, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. You said the fence was rusty? Well, even if it’s not, it’s probably full of bacteria from the flood water. Do you have any idea what kind of pollutants flood waters carry? You don’t want to take a chance—”

She started to protest but he cut her off.

“And neither do I,” he said. “It’s your choice, but it’s really for your own good and I strongly advise you have it to prevent getting tetanus. Besides, there are too many people depending on you to do your job so they can get on with rebuilding. They’ll be plenty mad at me if I don’t take good care of you.”

She bit her bottom lip until he thought she’d draw blood.

“Something wrong?”

“I don't like shots.”

He scratched the back of his neck, fighting the smile pulling at his lips. “No one likes shots. But they’re necessary. You had no problem driving here after pulling a hunk of metal out of your leg, but the thought of a shot scares you?”

She tried to glare at him, but the fear in her eyes drained all of the fire from it.

A wave of protectiveness washed over Hawk as he left the room to retrieve the syringe and vial of medicine from the locked cabinet. When he returned to the room, she was white-knuckling the edge of the table.

Tense was only part of what she was feeling. She looked terrified and her response, given what she had to deal with on a daily basis, intrigued him. Hawk’s eyes darted to Regis’s pale face. She'd sunk her teeth into her bottom lip and was worrying at it again. He thought of her lips and how many times over the past fifteen minutes he’d thought about kissing them…and hating himself for thinking that. Not here. Not like this. That’s two transgressions in one day with the same woman.