Chapter 38

38

Hodges had a real corncob shoved up his ass. Chad told him that, too. And to back off. It was just a link to a stupid article in the Texas Medical Board’s weekly blog. It wasn’t even a print publication or the journals.

But Chad sensed it was something else eating at the other man.

The only thing he could put his finger on was… Genny . Doug Hodges still wanted Genny. And it was starting to get around the hospital that Chad and Genny might be involved.

Rumors would start slowly—then build like wildfire. He didn’t give a damn—it was the truth. And when he and Genny made it a permanent thing, once Chad convinced her he was the man she wanted for life, everyone would know.

Hell, he’d shout it from the roof, if she’d let him.

“That didn’t go too well,” a voice said behind him. Chad turned. Guthrie stood there, a smirk on his face as he watched Doug Hodges take off, his lab coat all in a twist. “That guy seriously doesn’t like you.”

“He thinks I have a thing with your sister. She’s the most current love of his life.” And he suspected the guy was causing problems Genny hadn’t told him the full story about. Chad was going to find out tonight just what that guy had been saying to her and Aubrey. If he needed to rearrange the guy’s thinking for him, well, Chad would recruit Guthrie to help him do it. “He also seems to think I’m standing in his way. And possibly Aubrey.”

“What do you mean?”

“He just said a few things about that damned blonde walking her ass around the ED like she owns it, getting in everyone’s way. Only in not-so-nice words.” And that was one of the things that had Chad feeling edgy. There had been real anger in Hodges’s tone when he’d spoken about Aubrey. “Almost slugged him, just on principle alone. You follow her home tonight? Make sure she gets there okay?”

Dr. Hodges and Dr. Michaels were good friends. And Chad had seen Michaels glaring at Aubrey earlier. Word had it they’d had an argument in the hall on the third floor as the shift had begun.

Aubrey could handle herself—she ran the ED with extreme and kind of frightening efficiency. She also didn’t suffer fools. If Michaels or Hodges became too problematic, she could handle it.

But it was still hard for Chad not to want to protect. Now that he knew she wasn’t the befanged scary monster luring innocent male doctors to their doom, anyway. He’d taken a closer look—saw the shy fear for himself. Of course it made him want to protect.

“I’ll do that. I’m about to sign off for the night. I’ll just…find a reason to hang around the ED until her shift ends. When are you off?”

“Another hour or so. I’m covering for Dr. Howard. Family emergency.” One of the pediatricians in his department had a tendency to have a lot of family emergencies. A bit surprising for a man who had no family in the state and wasn’t involved with anyone.

Chad was monitoring that situation closely, too.

But he had other concerns tonight, and not just the fact that some paperwork had disappeared from his department. He was going to go check on his woman between patients. Just to make sure she was okay.

Hell, he just wanted to see her. No use lying to himself. The woman had captured him. There was no denying it.

“I’ll head on down now. Gunn is walking around this place somewhere. Has a parishioner in the ED. I think Genny is on the schedule for another hour or so, too. Gunn can wait around. Drive her home,” Guthrie said. He’d checked his phone—probably didn’t see Chad’s expression at that.

He was definitely not letting his woman ride off into the sunset tonight with her pastor of a brother. That was just definitely not going to happen.

“I told her I’d give her a ride. I’m going to convince her to take me out and feed me. I need real food. Not cafeteria…whatever it is. And I don’t want to eat alone. I want to find out what Hodges has been saying about me. Genny gets all the good info.”

“Genny doesn’t gossip.”

“No, she doesn’t. But she hears it, at least. Besides, if I take your sister with me, I won’t look like an antisocial loser.”

“I suppose every little bit helps.”

Chad left Genny’s brother behind. Guy had always been a real pain in the ass. But he wouldn’t be too bad of a brother-in-law, once Chad finally caught Genny permanently.

He was making plans in his head, in the elevator. For the rest of the night, certainly. And for the rest of their lives, if she was up for it.

Her, him, a few redheaded babies. Or dark-haired babies. Chad wasn’t picky, as long as that woman let him be the one to make those babies with her.

Those plans had to be put on hold when Caine nabbed him as soon as he came out of the elevator for a consult on an eight-year-old with a laceration on his leg that hadn’t been treated properly at home. It had been too many days since the injury and they were afraid of bacterial infection now.

Genny was at the desk. She saw him milling around and smiled. He almost stepped over and had a talk with that woman. She was doing too much, too soon.

Buzzing around like she always did.

Well, the woman needed a keeper. Chad was signing up for the job. He’d take her back to his place tonight. He had some things they could heat up. Then they’d take turns heating up each other.

Gunn was there, in the waiting room. Talking to a family Chad vaguely recognized from a ranch a few miles north of town. Gunn was good with people, calming them. No denying that.

Aubrey came out of the elevator, an irritated look on her face. Genny immediately went to her. Those two gorgeous women were two peas in a pod, no denying that.

“Beautiful ladies,” Caine said, following Chad’s gaze. “Men notice.”

“Yes, so I’ve seen for myself.” Hodges was right there. He had an agitated look on his face. Chad looked at Caine. “Hodges is causing her problems. He’s been giving Aubrey trouble, as well, I think. He and Michaels both. Significant trouble. Trouble that is starting to concern me.”

“I’m…aware. I’ve seen a few things lately. I’m just waiting for Aubrey to tell me what’s going on. I have to let her handle it first.” Caine was a shrewd man. And slow to anger. But a good man to have at your back. “She’s good at what she does, she just needs to show her authority. But people already listen to her. She could do my job one day.”

“No denying that. I’d work for her. In a heartbeat.” She’d won his loyalty the instant she’d tried to protect Genny from that man who’d kicked her. He’d never forget watching her wrap herself protectively around Genny that night. “Now, Guthrie…I’m sure he would, too. He’s getting a bit slobbery where Dr. Fisher is concerned.”

“So the wind blows that way?”

“I think so. Guthrie is taking it slow, though. I don’t think he’s ever been that fascinated by a woman before. He’s worried he’ll scare her away.”

“Good luck to him. Sometimes they just come out of nowhere and your entire world just…centers. Trust me, I know.”

“Nikki Jean is the only woman in the world who could handle you.”

“Of that, I am one hundred percent certain. And one hundred percent certain she’s the only woman I want to handle me for the rest of my life.”

“I’m starting to feel the same way about a certain little nurse who is doing far too much tonight,” Chad said. The elevator opened and Guthrie came out, a pair of nurses with him, both with sighing, in-love-with-Guthrie expressions on their faces. Chad had seen those kinds of looks before. But Guthrie had eyes for Aubrey only. “We’re just keeping it quiet for now. I’m not even sure if that clown there knows.”

Caine laughed. “Enjoy. He’ll catch on eventually.”

“When he’s not so consumed with his own woman, maybe.”

They just kept talking. While Chad waited for his woman. He wasn’t making any secret of exactly what he was doing.

When she looked up and their eyes met, Genny smiled.

She knew it, too.

Caine laughed when Chad got too distracted.

“Come into my office. Away from temptation. I have a patient I want to ask you about. There were…bruises. I could just be seeing things, but you’re listed as his only pediatrician. He’s not been seen in four years.”

“No checkups and immunizations?”

“Not that I can tell. Parents moved around a lot.”

He didn’t make it back to the ED for another fifteen minutes. When he did…his eyes met hers. And held.

Genny smiled.

And his world just felt right in every way that mattered.