Page 3 of Cherished By the Fearless Mountain Man

This is only my second week on the job, but I’m loving every minute of it.Being a home nurse has been my dream since nursing school.At first, I pictured myself in a big hospital, like the one fromGrey’s Anatomy, until I realized that real hospitals aren’t anything like the shows.What I wanted was to serve a small town and be part of a tight-knit community.Timber Peak Valley is exactly that.Working regular hours also beats the irregular shifts nurses have to work at the hospital.So yeah, when the job of a home nurse became available in this small town, I was elated.

But to be honest, now that I’m here, it’s all suddenly super real.It makes me nervous to know that I’m responsible for a slew of patients without someone supervising my every move.Yet a strange excitement curls in my chest.I’ve worked hard for this.I can handle it.I want this.

I glance at the next patient on my list.It’s a guy named Brock, who had a chainsaw accident that resulted in a deep leg laceration.Lives alone.Grumpy, stubborn, and apparently allergic to help.Doesn’t matter, though.Grumpy or not, the guy needs me, and it takes more than some annoyed facial expressions to scare me off.

I pull out the directions his family scribbled down when Brock was at the clinic and squint.The first part sounds easy, but then I get confused.Turn left at the big pine tree with the yellow ribbons, then go past the broken fence.If you hit the pile of firewood shaped like a bear, you’ve gone too far.

Seriously?I blink, then read it again, wondering if it’s a joke or a riddle.Either way, this is what I’ve got to work with.I'd better get going.

I throw the papers on the passenger seat and start the engine.

“All right.Big pine tree, yellow ribbon, questionable bear-shaped firewood.I’ve got this,” I tell myself.

After all, getting to meet all kinds of interesting people and visit places I’d never have come across myself is also part of the charm of working as a home nurse.

When I spot yellow ribbons fluttering in the wind on a pine tree branch, I’m happy and relieved.By now, my GPS has abandoned me, but I’m sure I’ll find Brock’s house without it.

I pass the broken fence next, proud of my navigational skills, until I come across the bear-shaped firewood.I turn the car around, which is hard to do on a narrow mountain road, and drive back at a snail’s pace.To my right, I spot a tiny dirt road that I missed before.A wooden mailbox clues me in that it leads to a house.Bingo.

A rustic cabin comes into view, and I park my car.When I get out, I’m amazed by how quiet it is up here.The trees sway in the wind, and birds chirp from all directions.The scent of pinecones fills me with a blissful feeling.It must be amazing to live here.Not that there’s anything wrong with my apartment in Timber Peak Valley town center.I’ve got views of the mountains, but this is something entirely different.It’s peaceful.Out here, you’re immersed in nature, not watching it from afar.

I grab my backpack containing my medical kit and head up the wooden porch.I rap my knuckles against the door.

“Hello, it’s Willa,” I announce.

“It’s open,” a deep voice replies.

I try the doorknob and sure enough, it’s unlocked.I wipe my feet on the welcome mat and step inside.

“I’m in here.”

I follow the voice into the living room and almost drop my bag when I see the face that belongs to the deep timbre.Brock is on the couch, his leg propped up on some pillows.He looks grumpy but hot as hell.Jesus Christ.His flannel shirt is half unbuttoned, clinging to a chest that looks like it was carved out of granite.His beard is thick, his jaw sharp enough to cut glass.His hair is a tousled mess like he just rolled out of bed.Or wrestled a bear and won.I’m not even joking.Brock looks like he could win a fight like that.

And those eyes?Deep, dark, and currently narrowed at me like I’m a Girl Scout trying to sell him cookies.

“Are you the nurse?”he grunts, like the word personally insults him.

I blink, trying to remember how to speak.“Uh… yep.That’s me.Willa, the nurse.”

Great.Day two of week two on the job, and I’ve already turned into a cliché.Flustered by a hot, grumpy mountain man who looks like he hasn’t smiled since last century.

But I’m a professional.I’ve got this.

“How are you feeling?”I ask as I approach him.

I do my best not to stare at his muscled arms and legs, but it’s like it’s stronger than me.He’s wearing shorts, probably because pants would irritate his wound, and his muscled legs are doing things to me I’ve never felt before.Not with a patient anyway.

I’ve seen my fair share of body parts during my training as a nurse.It’s all clinical.Functional.Nothotorugly.Not something to gawk at.

But Brock’s body?Yeah… It’s not like other people’s.His body looks so good that it makes me wonder what it’d be like to run my hands over it.

And I need to stop thinking like that.Immediately.

I clear my throat, still waiting for his reply, but all I get is a shrug.

“Mind if I take a look?”I ask.

Another shrug.Another grunt.

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