Page 3

He couldn’t tell if she was serious or teasing. But she didn’t wait for him to argue. Instead, she gestured toward the open door of the nearest exam room.

“Come on. Let me patch you up before you start scaring patients.”

He hesitated. Was that an insult? Or more teasing? She probably shouldn’t be saying anything to him. But Pirate was already heading toward the room, tail high and wagging, posture relaxed.

Traitor.

Daniel followed, stepping inside. “Don’t want to be any trouble.”

“Kind of what I do for a living.” Polly turned on the overhead light and motioned toward the chair beside the bed. The bay was private and clean—a single bed, sink and storage cabinet packed into a compact space.

He sat. Pirate lay down beside him without command, his one good eye watching the pretty nurse with polite curiosity.

Polly pulled on gloves and gently took Daniel’s injured hand in both of hers. Her fingers were warm against his chilled skin.

“Looks like you didn’t break anything,” she murmured, inspecting the blood and swelling. “But you opened yourself up pretty good.”

Daniel didn’t answer. Just watched her work.

She washed his skin with saline, then cleaned the wound with antiseptic, unbothered by the blood or torn skin. She moved with practiced confidence—wiping, dabbing, assessing.

“You’ve got good reflexes,” she said softly.

He blinked. “What?”

“Last time,” she said, glancing up. “When that guy shoved me. You were fast. Barely said a word, but you were there as soon as I hit the floor. You could have walked on by the room and not gotten involved.”

“I didn’t like the way he talked to you. I sure as hell didn’t like him touching you.”

Polly blinked. Her cheeks flushed a little, but she didn’t look away. “Neither did I.”

Several more quiet moments passed. With her head bent over his hand, he studied the variation of colors in her hair—wheat, caramel, honey—every bit of it natural and curly, as far as he could tell. He inhaled the scents coming off her, too—soap, antiseptic and something milder and more enticing from her hair itself, like a crisp green apple.

He mentally shoved aside those observations and focused on the stark, white cabinets on the wall. Yeah, he was attracted to Nurse Polly Cooper. But he shouldn’t be. And he wasn’t going to do a damn thing about it. A relationship would never work. Hell, a date wouldn’t work. But maybe she could be a friend. Or, at least, a friendly acquaintance. If she didn’t see him as a hotheaded jerk who punched walls and didn’t say much.

“I was…off tonight,” Daniel admitted. “Some kid in group started talking. I know everybody there’s got issues. But it just…hit me wrong.”

“You don’t have to explain.” Her voice stayed gentle but firm. “I’ve worked trauma. I’ve seen what it does. No judgment here.”

He didn’t respond—but something loosened in his chest.

Polly reached for gauze and began wrapping his hand. “Sorry if it stings.”

“It’s fine.”

“You always say that?”

“Only when I’m bleeding in public and trying to be a tough guy.”

She chuckled, and the happy sound went straight to parts of him he didn’t think reacted to things that were soft and beautiful anymore. “You and Pirate make quite the team.”

Of course she’d remember his dog’s name, too.

Daniel glanced down. “He’s the smart one.”

“I like that he wears a patch.”

“He only had the one eye when my unit adopted him overseas. One of my buddies named him. He was a scrounger roaming the streets where we patrolled. Don’t know if he lost the eye in an accident or fight or something else. Then, when I lost mine…” He hesitated as the past tried to overwhelm him again. “They let him ship home with me. Twinsies, you know.”