Page 8 of Dr. Sexypants

The buzzing of her phone broke the spell, and she quickly brought it to her ear.

“Adam? What’s going on?”

She listened intently, and I knew it was good news because she collapsed into the chair next to her.

“Oh, thank God!”

Her relief was fleeting before panic fell across her face again, and she jumped up and exclaimed, “Brian was shot?”

She looked over at me, like she wanted me to do something.

I mean, if the ER was short-handed, I wouldn’t hesitate to go, but I knew they were fully staffed tonight.

Still, I grabbed my phone off the counter and stepped outside to call Allie McDowell, the charge nurse on duty. She’d let me know if they needed me.

I saw Kristy was off the phone and standing in the doorway, so I switched to speaker in order for her to hear what was going on.

“This is Allie.”

“Hi, Al, it’s Justin Weaver. I just wanted to make sure the ER is stable, and you don’t need me with everything that’s going on tonight.”

“Hey, Dr. Weaver. I appreciate you checking in, but Dr. Williams is here; we’ve got everything under control. Sergeant O’Shaughnessy is in surgery with a team that flew from Charleston to repair his femoral artery. Lainey came in under her own steam to get checked out, simply as a precaution. One of the suspects was DOA, and the other has already been released and sent to jail. We don’t need you until your morning shift.”

“Okay, that’s good to know.” Kristy took a step onto the patio, so I asked, “Any updates on Sergeant O’Shaughnessy?”

“They were able to get him into surgery right away—the helicopter was already in Charleston, so the surgical team arrived not long after he did.”

“That’s good news. If anything changes, let me know, will you?”

Kristy was now standing so close, I could smell her shampoo again, and it was driving me wild.

“Of course, Dr. Weaver. I’m sorry your date didn’t work out.”

Fucking small towns.

“I’m just glad Lainey’s okay.”

“She is. Shaken up, but okay. She, uh…” she trailed off.

“She what?” I prompted.

“I don’t think your date is going to be rescheduled. Adam Callahan was acting pretty protective of her, and she didn’t seem to mind. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’m happy for them.”

“There’s someone out there for you, Dr. Weaver.”

I held Kristy’s gaze and replied, “I’m sure there is.”

“See you in the morning, Doc.”

“G’night.”

I tossed my phone onto the patio table as I debated my next move. But Kristy decided for both of us when she launched herself at me.

Spoiler alert: I didn’t mind one bit.

****