Page 8 of Sergeant O'
When he’d come out of surgery, “like a champ,” according to his surgeon, Dr. Tate, it felt like I could breathe again.
He’d been fortunate that Adam’s brother, Alan, a retired Marine who’d apparently been a badass during his service, had been on-scene and knew exactly what to do until help arrived.
Although, that part was apparently off the books, since Alan was not law enforcement and shouldn’t have been assisting Brian and Adam in the first place.
I knew when the doctor had shared the news with the anxious group in the waiting room because I heard a small cheer go up.
Brian had been born and raised in Haven Springs. Everybody knew him, and almost everyone liked him—judgingby the overflowing waiting room. I’d be willing to venture that those who didn’t like him, he’d either arrested or dated.
And from what I remember, he’d dateda lotin high school. Although he’d been pretty hot and heavy with Sylvia Concannon the summer before I headed off to college. But when I moved home, Sylvia was my real estate agent, and her last name was Day.
Now the only gossip about Brian’s love life was his lack of one, and how every mom, grandma, and aunt in town wanted to fix him up with the single girl in their family. He was considered quite the catch.
Still, I had my suspicions that being in law enforcement had just taught him how to be covert about who he was messing around with.
One thing was certain—that wasn’t going to be me.
Brian was the guy who’d stay late to cover a shift without a second thought about canceling plans he’d already made with someone. The guy who meant it when he said he cared; he just cared about his job more.
His work took precedence over everything and everyone.
I’d been there, done that, and had promised myself I’d never do it again.
So, he could take his flirty smile, adorable dimples, and cute nicknames and shove them where the sun didn’t shine.
Chapter Three
Brian
Fifteen minutes later, Doris Grossman, wearing a tie-dyed scrubs top and pink bottoms, walked into my room with a clipboard and started writing down the numbers on all the monitors I was hooked up to.
“Brian O’Shaughnessy, I hear you’re being a difficult patient.”
I twisted my mouth and shook my head like I had no idea what she was talking about.
“No, ma’am. I’m not being difficult.”
“I beg to differ. You ticked your nurse off, and not many people have been able to get under Jade Beaumont’s skin.”
I’d like to get Jade Beaumont under me.
“I told her I was sorry.”
The little voice in my head asked, “Mmm, didja though?”
“Pro tip—don’t tell the person administering your pain meds you don’t want her to be your nurse.”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean it. I want her to be my nurse.”
“Sorry, she already headed back to the ER. I’ll be taking care of you for the rest of the night.”
I wanted to object, but she didn’t give me a chance before asking, “On a scale of one to ten, with a ten being unbearable and a one being nothing hurts, how’s your pain?”
I paused to assess how I was feeling.
Other than being mad that Jade had bailed on me—never mind I’d initiated it, I felt pretty good for having just gotten shot.
“Two, maybe a three.”
