Page 53 of The Desperate Warrior

“Mindy, he’s a doctor. We work with him.”

“Doesn’t make him any less cute.”

“He’s engaged, remember?”

She grinned from ear to ear. “Not anymore.”

“Really? He seemed so crazy about his fiancée. Remember how Dr. Caldwell was droning on at the Christmas party about how Dr. Winslow’s fiancée was from some high falutin’ family? And how beautiful she was?”

“Oh, yeah,” she chuckled, “that was after he had a few too many drinks. Anyway, Charlotte overheard Dr. Winslow telling Dr. Caldwell that he and his fiancée had called it quits.” Her light eyes danced. “That means he’s available,” she chimed. “Come on, you know he’s easy on the eyes.”

Jules shrugged. “A little, I guess. But don’t you think he’s kind of old?”

Her voice shot up in disbelief. “Old? He’s only in his early forties. He’s like a fine wine that only gets better with age. You know he’s handsome. Come on, admit it.”

“He’s somewhat handsome, I guess.”

Mindy rolled her eyes.

“I can’t help it if I’ve been a little … preoccupied. You know, with trying to walk.”

Color filled Mindy’s fair complexion. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”

“No worries,” she said easily. The accident had no bearing on why she wasn’t impressed with Dr. Winslow’s looks. Sure, she’d noticed that he was uncommonly handsome, but she wasn’t remotely interested in him romantically. The problem was that she only had eyes for Brock. Of course, she wasn’t about tomention that. Or the fact that even though he and Luke were supposedly living across the street, they spent the bulk of their time at her house. She certainly didn’t want to think about how the mere thought of going home and having Brock there—even with his frosty disposition—filled her with anticipation. No, that was a can of worms better left unopened.

Mindy smirked. “Yeah, well, apparently, the rest of the female staff isn’t too preoccupied to notice Asher. He’s turned more than a few heads. You might be the last one immune.”

“I’m not interested in Dr. Winslow,” Jules said firmly.

“Yet …” Mindy teased with a wicked giggle.

“No yet about it. End of story,” she snipped. “If you’re so taken with him, then why don’t you go out with him?”

“I would if it weren’t for Joe.”

Joe was Mindy’s on-again and off-again boyfriend. She complained about him being a Neanderthal with his shaggy hair and baseball cap that he wore backward, but Jules could tell that Mindy was crazy about him.

Mindy sat back, looking thoughtful. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll change your mind about Dr. Winslow after spending time with him in your cooking class.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” she muttered. Now that Dr. Winslow had left the break-room, the two of them were alone. Jules needed to take advantage of this time to get some information. She leaned in. “Any word about Steve Randall?”

Mindy sobered instantly. “Not directly, but strange things have been happening.” She glanced around the room before lowering her voice. “Several nights ago, LouAnna left the clinic after a shift and found her tires slashed.”

Jules’s stomach tightened. “Seriously?”

“That’s not all. The other day, I put my dog Rocket in the backyard to do his business, and he got out of the fence, which has never happened before. I searched everywhere. Finally,hours later, he came trotting down the road, pretty as you please.”

“O—kay,” Jules said slowly, “What does that have to do with Steve Randall?” She had to remember that Mindy was paranoid.

Mindy’s face tightened. “There was a note tucked under Rocket’s collar.”

Jules felt her pulse spike. “What kind of note?”

Mindy’s expression grew troubled. “It said, ‘You weren’t there for her. Now you’re gonna pay.’”

The breath whooshed from Jules’s lungs. “Do you think it was from Steve Randall?”

“Who else could it be from?”

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