All Wound Up

“Not me. I’m good right here.”

Shaking his head, Grant grabbed Barrett by his shirt. “Coffee, Barrett. Now.”

“I miss all the juicy stuff.”

“Thanks for everything, Doc,” Grant said as they left the room.

“You’re welcome.”

They closed the door, leaving Aubry alone with Tucker.

“Is there something you want to discuss?”

“Yeah. First, thanks for not mentioning the first time we met.”

She laid the chart on the table next to his bed. “I can understand you not wanting your brothers to know about that. Besides, I promised you I wouldn’t ever tell anyone about that. I’m sorry for the slip.”

“Not a problem. It’s just that . . . you don’t have any brothers or sisters, do you?”

“No. But I still understand. It wasn’t your finest moment. If they knew, they’d never let you live it down.”

“Understatement.”

She paused, waiting, wishing she could make him feel better. She knew his head was fuzzy and likely hurting—bad. “Is there anything else? You really should get some rest.”

He looked up at her. “Yeah. There is something else. Can I get your phone number? I’d like to not come here again as a way to see you.”

She laughed. “I think we went through this before. There are so many reasons why the two of us shouldn’t see each other—either professionally or personally. One, because you have to stop getting hurt. Two, because I lead a very busy life.”

“So do I. Which doesn’t mean you never have any downtime. You should get out and have some fun. You are allowed to do that, aren’t you?”

“On occasion. But not often.”

“So on the ‘occasion’ that we both have, I’d like to take you out. At least to thank you for being so concerned about the well-being of my testicles.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been asked out quite that way before.”

He grinned. “I’m nothing if not unique, Doc. So is that a yes?” He pulled out his phone.

She sighed. “I have a terrible feeling if I say no that you’re going to end up in my ER again.”

“I’ll take a pity yes for now. And then I’ll convince you I’m worth it.”

She gave him her number and he entered it in his phone. Then he gave her his number. “So you don’t think I’m some random spammer when I call you.”

“Okay. Now that we’ve done that, I need to explain your aftercare, which I want you to take seriously.”

She told him everything he needed to know about his concussion. “We’ll get you a printout before you leave.”

“I’m due to pitch in three days, Doc.”

“You need to take that up with your team physician. I’d like him to examine you and he can assess your readiness to pitch. You might have to sit out a game.”

He heaved a big sigh. “That’s not what I want to hear.”

“I’m sorry, but the last thing you need is to get dizzy and drop to the ground while you’re on the mound. Your health is the most important thing.”

He looked down at the paper she gave him. She knew he was disappointed, so she reached down and grasped his wrist.

“Plus, it looks bad on TV.”

He laughed and looked up at her. “Yeah. I get it. I’ll talk to Phil and make sure he knows what went down.”

“Make sure that you do, because I’ll be talking to him as well.”

“Damn. Okay.”

She started to pull away, but he grasped her hand.

“Aubry.”

“Yes?”

“Thanks. I’m glad you were here tonight. It was good to see you again.”

A flood of warmth enveloped her. There was something about this man that called to her, that made her feel things she had no right to feel about anyone. Not right now, not when her work was so critical. Distractions could be bad.

And a baseball player, of all things . . .

“I’m glad I was here to help you.”

“I’m not talking about the medical stuff, though you do make me feel better. You make me feel . . . a lot of things.”

She shuddered in a breath when he tugged on her hand, drawing her closer.

This was all kinds of wrong, but as she leaned over him, she couldn’t resist the pull of attraction. And when he cupped the back of her neck, she wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on hers.

Until the door opened. She pulled back so fast she nearly lost her balance.

“So what did we miss?” Barrett asked, holding a cup of coffee in his hand as he rounded the end of the bed. “Anything good?”

Tucker glared at his brother. “No.”

“Anyway, I’ll be sure you get that list of discharge instructions, Tucker,” she said, trying to gather her wits about her and remember the real reason she was in his room. And it wasn’t to kiss him.

She turned to his brothers. “You’ll need to read those instructions as well. I wouldn’t recommend he be alone tonight.”

“I’m staying at his place for a few days,” Barrett said. “He won’t be alone.”

She nodded. “Good. If you’ll excuse me, I need to see to other patients.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Tucker said, giving her a look she recognized as regret.

“You’re welcome.”