His attention flitted to her hair and this time lingered an extra second before falling to her hip and then her legs.
So, he wasn’t immune to her womanly curves after all, even though he was obviously trying to be.
He glanced away, then cleared his throat. “We were expecting someone older and with more experience.”
“I’m twenty-eight and have been with Premier as a traveling nurse for four years.”
“No offense.” He met her gaze again. “But I specifically requested Premier’s best nurse for my dad’s recovery. His life depends on it.”
“I am their best. You did read the résumé Premier sent you, didn’t you? It highlights my experience, my references, and my success.”
“I did. But the paperwork didn’t mention your age.” His dark-brown eyes were especially rich and expressive, and at the moment, they were expressing frustration.
She wasn’t what the McQuaids had expected. She got that. But usually, even with skeptical patients, she was able to prove herself fairly quickly. “Now that I’m here, you might as well give me a chance.”
He hesitated, then shook his head firmly. “Sorry. I can’t take any risks—”
“Come on, Ty,” the pilot cut in. “What choice do we have now that Dad is home?”
Her muscles tightened. “T.W. is already here?”
The men both nodded.
“He got home earlier than expected,” the pilot explained.
“You should have told me.” Before either one could say anything more, she grabbed her luggage and started forward at a jog, urgency propelling her into action.
She wasn’t on the pathway long before it ended in a stairway. She wasted no time in hefting the suitcases and stepping down.
“Hold on.” From behind, Tyler grabbed the handles of both.
“I don’t have time to argue with you any longer.” She wrenched her luggage free and continued down the steps. “Go ahead and call Premier and request a replacement. In the meantime, I need to get to T.W.”
He remained right on her heels. “Fine. Since you’re all we’ve got, we have no choice.”
This guy was something else. She wanted to spin around and give him a piece of her mind. But she was in too much of a hurry to reach T.W. to waste her breath on a rude and egotistical rich man who clearly thought he knew more about medical care than she did.
His fingers closed about the handle of one of her suitcases again. “I can carry your luggage to the house.”
She hastened her steps ahead of him, pulling out of his reach. “I’m competent enough to handle my own luggage.” She was also competent enough to handle T.W.
She tried to inhale a calming lungful of air. Family members of her sick patients sometimes reacted irrationally. That meant she couldn’t take anything they said or did personally. Not when they were stressed and worried and exhausted from dealing with so much.
She had to remember that.
Even so, that didn’t mean she had to like Tyler McQuaid. Because she didn’t. Not in the least.
4
Heaving echoed from the bathroom in the early morning hour, and Tyler’s body tensed with the need to rush to his dad’s side.
But the new nurse was with Dad. She hadn’t left his side since yesterday afternoon when she’d arrived.
Kinsey. What kind of name was that anyway? He’d never heard it before. Plus, he’d never heard of a twenty-eight-year-old woman having bragging rights to being the best nurse in the best nursing agency in the country.
He was beginning to doubt Emberly’s research and decision to go with Premier. How could the company be the best if they sent such young and inexperienced nurses out? How could they be the best if they were forcing him to wait until the end of the week for a replacement?
If they were as good as they claimed, then they wouldn’t be making such critical mistakes, and they would have dropped everything to find a much more experienced nurse—someone with more than four years on the job. They certainly didn’t have the same philosophy that he did at the ranch about making sure each customer was treated like royalty.
