Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 71226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“Your girl told us what kind of pizza you like,” Gentry said to Odin as he tossed a pizza box down in front of the big man. “She said she’s sorry she can’t join us for our impromptu end of the first day celebration. She said she was busy with a baby bear.”
Odin grunted and flipped the pizza box open.
Hux set the drinks down, ripped open the boxes, and handed everyone a drink.
I took a beer.
Bernice took a Dr. Pepper.
Just as her hand closed around the cold can, her breath hitched.
At first I thought it was due to her touching Hux’s fingers, but the wheezing started soon after.
Shit.
I reached behind me into the cubbyhole where she’d stowed her purse, fished around, and pulled out her inhaler.
I’d learned today as she was running around with us that she was an asthmatic.
She’d had a bad day today and had taken a hit off her emergency inhaler twice between patients.
Odin and I had kept an eye on her throughout the day, fully expecting her to be overextended.
But she’d trucked through.
I handed her the inhaler, and Hux watched her like a hawk, eyes only for her.
Bernice took a puff of her inhaler, held her breath, then let it out slowly.
The wheezing slowly stopped.
Her shoulders slumped. “Today was a bad day.”
“Cold air and allergens,” Odin mused. “We might need to take a look at your medications. Maybe make a few changes.”
Bernice finally took the drink from Hux and popped the tab open.
She took a quick sip, then said, “What kind of pizza’s in that box?”
The way she asked it made Hux grin. “The normal kind. I didn’t put anchovies on it this time.”
Both Bernice and I scrunched up our noses in disgust.
The pizzas were revealed, and I was happy to see that my favorite kind was in there as well.
My eyes met Gentry’s. “Thank you.”
He winked, taking a slice of meat lovers, leaving me the plain old cheese.
Not the most adventurous, but it was the most pure.
I loved me some cheese pizza.
There were no other competing flavors to contend with the cheese and sauce.
We ate and talked about our day.
Odin told them how I was puked on by a small child. I told them how Odin had some of his beard hair ripped out from an old lady. Bernice told Hux that some old man felt her up.
All in all, it was a good day.
Hopefully, all the days wouldn’t be like this.
Since the doctor had died, there were quite a few appointments to make up, and we might be quite busy until we were able to catch back up.
Dinner was hurried since we were all so tired, and within twenty minutes, we were all filing out of the building.
“See y’all at nine!” Bernice called as she walked toward the truck her brother had helped her recently pick out.
I’d talked with her about it over lunch, and she’d shared that she would’ve gone the same route as me had it not been for her brother forcing her to get something more fit for a Montana winter.
Gentry helped me into the truck, but instead of closing the door once he had me in the seat, he yanked me to the edge and wrapped his big arms around my waist, stepping between my legs, hugging me tight.
“Missed you.”
I had missed him, too.
“Did you have a good day?” he asked. “Other than the getting puked on part?”
I turned to press my lips to his throat while threading my arms around his neck.
He pressed deeper, pressing our bodies together from head to hips.
I squeezed his hips with the inside of my thighs before answering, “It was okay. I hope that it calms down, because I don’t want to go that crazy all the time. It was nonstop work from the moment we opened the practice until we closed the doors behind the last patient. Dr. Pendelton used to allow walk-ins, so there were also those patients trying to get seen, too. We tried to accommodate them the first few hours, but eventually we realized that it wasn’t possible and started sending them away with appointments. We need more nurses. At least two more. Probably a couple of techs, too. Maybe a phlebotomist.”
His fingers splayed across my rib cage, and he clenched them, causing me to squeak as he tickled me.
He chuckled and pulled away. “Sorry.”
I ran the backs of my fingers along the length of his jaw. “How was your day?”
His eyes gleamed. “Pretty damn good. Reunited that kid with his parents. Though he has a hell of a fear of women now. But he’ll make it. Got a bunch of nowhere with trying to find his trail. But we’ll get there.”
I dropped my hand to his throat and lightly squeezed. “You will.”
He hummed as he started to press kisses to the side of my neck, going upward until he reached the shell of my ear.