Chapter 19 Ewan
EWAN
“Faaaa…”
I crash down on the couch, my entire body aching in a way I didn’t know possible. Which means that tomorrow is going to introduce a whole new level of sore. Something that is hard to wrap my brain around right now, since this bone-deep throb is already overwhelming.
Propping my injured foot up on the coffee table, the plastic of the walking boot making a loud thud as it hits the wood, I suck in a breath, trying to ignore the hurt. To both my body and my pride. Because that second one definitely took a hit. Maybe a harder one than the first.
Definitely harder than the first.
My foot will heal. Detaching the muscles in my foot was not how I wanted today to go, and healing from this is not going to be a fun process.
I’m stuck in this damn boot for weeks according to the ER doc, although I’m hoping that a visit to Doc Galindo here in town will provide a better update on Monday.
It’s the living down the teasing from my brothers about falling through a hole in my boat and having to be carted away by my girlfriend at my own event that is going to hurt the most. Because those fuckers will never let me live it down.
Hell, they’ve already started.
Once they got the all clear text from Maisey while we were at the ER that nothing was broken, it was game on.
Everything from that point on was fair game.
By the time we got back to Reel Madness, I had more than fifty unread messages in the sibling group chat—that was on top of the twenty-plus I had already read.
Five older brothers and a younger sister isn’t a blessing when it comes to group texts.
“Let’s get this bad boy off and see what kind of pretty colors we can see, huh?” Maisey says, sauntering into the living room.
I perk up, my weary body coming back to life with her choice of words. She’s changed out of jeans and her EMT T-shirt into a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top that is not helping matters either, showing off all of her curves and more than a little cleavage, making my dick twitch.
Parking herself on the coffee table facing me, she leans forward to grab a throw pillow, showing off even more cleavage, and it’s like I’m a teenager all over again, sneaking looks down her shirt.
Doesn’t matter that I know just how perfect those tits are and how even more perfect they feel and taste—stealing a glance like this feels forbidden.
My mouth waters and my fingers tingle, wanting to play, but I need to behave.
Maisey runs a hand down my leg, testing my ability to control myself, then starts to unbuckle the boot. The Velcro makes a harsh noise, filling the silence of the apartment, but only barely registering over the blood rushing through my veins.
“Ooof, now those are quite the shades of purple and green…”
I look down, and sure enough, my foot and ankle, which are about three times the size they normally are, look like I stepped on a tube of purple paint, with a mysterious shade of green mixed in. There is no question that I lost the fight here.
“Would you believe if I said you should see the other guy?” I joke.
Maisey laughs, her boobs jiggling under her tank top, stealing my attention for a second. But only a second, because then she runs her hand down my leg again, and my dick reacts as if on cue.
“Problem is, I’ve seen the other guy—he looks unharmed.” She continues to stroke my leg, making it harder to breathe, every inch of me wishing it were a different part of me receiving that treatment.
“Not true. Pretty sure one of the gas shocks on the fish box lid is busted.”
“Not quite the same thing as muscular detachment and a trip to the ER.”
No, no it’s not. A gas shock is a standard part that you can buy in any number of stores, including my own. Fixing it will take fifteen minutes at most. Maisey’s right—all the real damage done here was to me.
“When the call came over the radio, and they said Hooked on a Reeling…” Maisey’s voice cracks, her hand stilling on my leg. “I thought I was going to throw up. I know it could have been anyone, but…”
My stomach sinks, the realization hitting me of what that must have been like for her.
Maisey was such a professional, handling the call today the same way she did with Kendall that day in the parking lot—although her bedside manner with Kendall was a little gentler than it was with my stubborn ass—that I didn’t think twice about it.
She was in nurse mode. At least on the outside.
But inside, girlfriend mode was still there. Freaking out.
“Oh, baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
“I’m not saying you fell in the fish box on purpose.” She giggles, squeezing me before going serious again. “Just that I couldn’t turn off that part of my brain. Had you been severely injured, poor Landon would have been on his own.”
I nod, understanding completely. “I get it. But I’m thankful you were there. And I meant what I said; I loved getting to see you in action. I loved watching you that day with Kendall, and I loved watching it today on the boat and at the hospital.”
I pause, taking another second to allow myself to be distracted by her cleavage again. Her fingers strum lightly against my skin, making it zing with each new touch.
“Especially the hospital. I thought I’d seen you in your element helping Kendall, but that was nothing compared to this afternoon. And you seemed to really hit it off with the staff.”
Maisey’s cheeks tinge and she looks away. “I was worried there for a second that I was overstepping. Some ERs get really touchy about EMTs jumping in, and I get it, because I was that way. There are moments you just want to tell people to stand back and let you do your job, you know?”
I do. Well, I don’t, not like that. But, conceptually, I get it.
“If I were on shift and this whole situation had come in,” she gestures between us. “Female EMT brings in her boyfriend and then tries to start helping, I would have sent me packing. Probably with an armed escort.”
“You’re mean,” I tease. She nods, owning up to it with a guilty smile. “But Allison, was that her name? She didn’t seem to mind.”
Maisey nods, lighting up. “No, she was actually really happy to find out that I’m a fully licensed nurse paramedic in the state. Since they are short-staffed at the moment, having me there with you meant that she could get away with having her nurses focus on other patients.”
“Aren’t I lucky.”
Maisey scoffs, slapping the side of my leg. “You are. You got very personalized attention.”
I laugh, knowing that I got the best attention and care possible today.
Not only from Maisey and the team at Tifton Regional, but the entire town once we got back to Reel Madness.
I became an instant point of interest, people stopping me what felt like every ten feet to ask me how I was feeling, if I was okay, did I need anything, could they get me something, or some other annoying but intended to be helpful question.
Didn’t matter that I needed to work and that I had left a pile of things undone thanks to my fall—I had to attend to assuring everyone I was fine.
“What were you two all whispers about when I came back from my scans?”
Maisey swallows, an impish smile tugging at one corner of her mouth. Okay, now I’m intrigued.
The question has been nibbling at the back of my mind all afternoon.
I asked her while we were in the ER, but she’d brushed me off, telling me we’d talk about it later.
I tried asking again on the ride back to Hickory Hills, but was once again given the proverbial Heisman stance, with nothing more than “later, once we’re at home. ”
Well, we’re home now.
“So, earlier today, actually, not all that long before we got the call about you, Landon had mentioned to me that he had heard through the small-town, rural Georgia grapevine that there was an opening in the emergency room in Tifton. I was trying to casually deduce if that was true.”
My ears perk up at the thought of a job opening locally for Maisey. No, that’s not true. My whole body reacts. In the back of my mind I’ve secretly been waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for her to get a call and leave again. But if she had a job offer here…
“Really?”
That impish smile grows, taking over her face, making her eyes light up.
“Yup.”
Her single-word answer doesn’t help much. I don’t know if she’s confirming that is what they talked about or if they have the opening. Her face isn’t giving anything away either. Other than that she’s loving the tease.
Leaning forward, she runs her hand along my leg, resting her hand on my knee, showing off even more of that perfect view. Fuck me…I swear she knows what she’s doing.
“And do they?”
“They do. I have an interview scheduled for later this week.”
Holy shit!
I lurch forward, only reminded that I can’t jump up and grab her as she holds out a hand to stop me. Giggling, she leans back, licking her lips.
“Maisey, that’s incredible.”
“Not that working for Dad and Landon isn’t nice, but I want to be back in a hospital. That’s my world.”
“They’ll understand.”
“I know,” she agrees. “Landon’s the one who told me about the position, so…”
She shrugs, the thin strap of her tank top sliding off her shoulder. She doesn’t bother to adjust it, letting it hang there, the top curve of her breast peeking out even more. My dick twitches, and I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to hold back. I’m too worked up.
My hands ache to hold her. To show her how much she means to me, and to take care of her the way she’s taken care of me today. To repay her for being there. To convince her to stay.
“You know, after today, once again seeing how sexy it is to watch you in action, I might just have to start injuring myself more.”
“If this works out though, I won’t be an EMT for much longer. You’ll be stuck with Landon coming to your rescue all the time.”
I shake my head. “Nope. I’ll put in a request. Only hot blondes.”
Maisey giggles. “Depending on which dispatcher you get, they still might send you Landon.”
Touché…
“Okay, fine. But I would still get to have you as my own personal nurse when we’re home.”
“Ohhh, is that how you think this is going to work?”