Doctor Wolf’s Human Nurse (Fated To The Wolf #9)

3. Abby

3

Abby

A week flew by. Abby settled right into the clinic’s routines. The staff were extremely helpful and friendly. They welcomed her with open arms.

“Most people aren’t lucky enough to have a job they look forward to going to every morning,” she told herself, as she pulled into her parking spot.

Sawyer was extremely charismatic and had a way of putting all patients at ease immediately -- young and old, man or woman.

She had noticed, though, that lately he had been tense. When he wasn’t with patients, he hadn’t been joking around or smiling as much.

His face changed immediately after they finished with a little boy who was getting stitches out of his knee. The young man had wrecked his bike, jumping off homemade ramps. Sawyer had been joking about becoming a stunt double for the movies and laughing when the mom made a face at him. As soon as they left, the grim look returned as he walked into his office.

Abby walked behind him and watched him plop into his office chair with a sigh. She leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked at him speculatively and chewed on her bottom lip for a second, debating whether she knew him well enough to ask questions.

He looked up at her and gave a tired smile. “Is everything okay?”

She nodded. “Actually, I wanted to ask you the same thing. You don’t seem like yourself lately.”

Sawyer shrugged. “I’m good. Just tired, I guess. Taking over a doctor’s clinic is a lot of work, and I feel like I’m doubling as a doctor and a paper pusher.”

“You don’t have to do everything alone, you know.”

Nodding, he replied, “I know. I just like to know everything that is going on with the business – all the ins and outs. Well, everything except for cleaning the bathrooms. I’ve never enjoyed that particular chore.”

She giggled. “I know what you mean. I’m here if you need me.”

Abby started to walk away but he stopped her. “Do you wanna grab some dinner tonight?”

Startled, she stopped abruptly and turned around. “Dinner?”

Her heart leaped and butterflies danced in her tummy. She felt like an idiot, repeating what he said, but he had taken her by surprise.

Laughing, he said, “Yeah. You know that meal that people eat in the evenings, usually with friends.”

“Oh, that dinner,” she said. “Sounds great.”

“Text me your address and I’ll pick you up.”

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped on it. “There you go. Send me a text ten minutes before you get there.”

He looked at his phone. “Huh. You’re within walking distance of my place. You’re a block and a half over.”

“Awesome,” she said. “I’m heading to room three. See you in a bit.”

Even though he is trying to hide it, there is something bothering him.

She shook her head. If he didn’t want to talk about it, then she wasn’t going to push him. It wasn’t like they were best friends and he would confide in her.

Abby thought about the dinner invitation, not really sure how to take it. She didn’t think that he had asked any of the other staff to go eat with him.

Don’t read too much into it. He’s just being nice because I’m new in town and Xyla is preoccupied with her new husband and job.

In spite of her warning to herself, Abby took in her appearance. She found a pair of jeans that fit her perfectly, a lacy blouse, and a pair of high-heeled boots. Abby didn’t think that he would take her out to any place that was fancy enough to require a dress.

She put on some eyeliner and let her hair fall down her back, almost to her butt. Then, she waited anxiously for his text. She tried to read a book, but she kept glancing at her phone every five minutes.

What in the world is wrong with me? It’s not like this is a real date or anything. He’s my boss and just trying to be nice.

Abby started to wonder if he had changed his mind when her phone blinged at six-thirty.

They went to a local Japanese restaurant. He ordered chicken, steak, and shrimp hibachi, and she had a couple of California rolls with spicy shrimp.

They sat across from each other. The warm glow of the candles heightened the romantic mood she had been trying to shake all night long. He had a deep, sexy laugh that made something inside of her stir every time she heard it. They had only met a couple of weeks ago, but there was something about him that brought her to her knees.

“What was being with Doctors Without Borders like?”

He paused for a moment, slowly chewing the piece of steak he had just put in his mouth. His eyes got dreamy, as though he had been transported far away.

“It was a mixture of so many things. I remember going to South Sudan. The camp was overwhelmed and understaffed, and the supplies were running dangerously low. We all had to make improvisations to keep going. My friend, who was from the Appalachians in Virginia, called it hillbilly ingenuity or hillbilly engineering.”

“They are an amazing group of people who can take a whole lot of nothing and turn it into something terrific,” Abby said. “I’ve known a few people from that area, too.”

He nodded. “Trying to help the kids was the worst. Some of them didn’t understand what was going on. They only knew that they were hurt, hungry, or didn’t feel good. I wish that I was some kind of healing witch and could make them all better, but unfortunately, I don’t have those abilities.”

“That would be a great talent to have.”

“I know that we did make a difference, though. The days were hard, but the rewards reminded me why I got into this field.”

Abby thoughtfully chewed one of her pieces of California roll and thought about what it must have been like in the high-pressure, extremely tense situations. She had just gotten her license after finishing her clinicals, and while she was very proud of her accomplishments, her experiences were nothing compared to his. A couple months of intense hospital rotations and a few nerve-wracking solos weren’t in the same league as what Sawyer had done. Doctors Without Borders wasn’t for the faint of heart, and Sawyer had been doing it for years. It was definitely for seasoned professionals who could handle anything thrown their way. Her admiration for Sawyer grew as he told a couple more stories about his adventures.

He paused to take a bite and then said, “Have you ever thought of doing something like that?”

Shaking her head no, Abby said, “No. I admire what the medical personnel who join organizations like that do, but I’m not sure that I have what it takes.”

“You’d be surprised,” he said, smiling at her. “But you’re right, it’s not a life for everyone, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You will do amazing things right here in Angel’s Creek. You work with the patients wonderfully. They all love you.”

She blushed at the compliment. “Thank you.”

Her stomach fluttered at the compliment. She smiled back and then looked away before she got caught up staring into his incredibly beautiful eyes.

Knock it off, she reminded herself for the millionth time that day. He is your boss and mentor. You need this job, and the last thing you need to do is mess it up by flirting with him.

Still, it was hard to ignore the way that he made her feel. Heat flooded her body every time he looked at her a certain way and it made her toes curl. He was just a little older than her, but somehow that made him seem even more attractive.

Stop it, Abby, she scolded herself.

She took a sip of her drink, trying to pay attention to something else, anything else, besides how attractive Sawyer was.

He continued talking about his time working with people in different countries, in makeshift hospitals, with limited supplies, and in difficult situations.

“The people made it all worth it. We might look different or speak different languages, but deep down inside, we have the same heart and soul.”

Abby smiled and nodded. She imagined what it would be like to be in a relationship with him. He was someone who was strong and passionate. Sawyer had seen the worst that the world had to offer but had become stronger because of it.

After dinner, he walked her to her front door. He hugged her briefly, sending a tremor of heat and want through her. She thought about asking him in but decided that would be pushing it and would be inappropriate.

“Thanks for dinner. It was very nice.”

“Anytime. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

He looked into her eyes and for a moment, Abby thought that he was going to kiss her. Her lips tingled in anticipation. She was disappointed when he smiled at her and then walked back to his truck.

She stripped off her clothes, thinking about him. Her thoughts wandered to a different time and situation when they didn’t work together and she could have kissed him without worrying about the consequences.

In her mind, she could picture their bodies moving slowly together, and how it would feel when he touched her.

Shaking her head to get rid of the thoughts, she ran the cold water for a couple of minutes and then got out. She jumped into bed, her last thoughts of the handsome doctor who had captured her attention.

Work was normal the next day. She and Sawyer had gotten into a routine so everything ran smoothly. Abby was still certain that he was worried about something that he hadn’t told her about, but she wasn’t going to press him. She figured that he would tell her about it when he was ready.

Like normal, it was a constant stream of people. At one point, Abby looked at Sawyer and asked, “Are there really this many people in Angel’s Creek, or are they just going home, changing clothes, and coming back?”

He laughed. “There are a lot of people in Angel’s Creek and the surrounding areas. There are a couple of towns, even smaller than this one, that dot the landscape. They don’t have any kind of medical facilities there, so they come here.”

“Makes sense,” she said.

Abby was tired when she got home. She walked into the house, put her purse on the table by the door, kicked off her shoes, and collapsed onto the couch. Telling herself that she was just going to close her eyes for a second, she fell asleep. Her buzzing phone woke her up.

Sean is working tonight. How about if I bring some Mexican food over?

Abby nodded and then realized that Xyla couldn’t see her. Sounds good.

She jumped into the shower and pulled on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, just as Xyla knocked.

They hugged and then dug into the food.

“I still can’t believe that you managed to get this place fully furnished. It’s amazing.”

“Benny, who owns the inn, hooked me up.”

“He’s a nice man. I think his wife died a long time ago and he’s a little lonely. Sean says that he does a lot for people. He helped Zac’s wife when she first came to Angel’s Creek. Apparently, she was running from an ex-fiancé who wanted to kill her.”

“Wow. That’s awful,” Abby said. “At least my ex-boyfriend wasn’t that terrible. It was bad enough that I caught him having sex with our professor in her office.”

“That was a bad day. I remember him trying to explain himself that night while we were getting drinks. Your reaction reminded me of Andy Griggs’ song, ‘Kiss This’ . ”

“He had it coming.”

“How are you adjusting otherwise? I know you moved here because of me, but between Sean and my new online nursing job, I haven’t spent a lot of time with you.”

“It’s alright. It feels good just to get away from Mom and Dad. They were constantly hovering. I can’t tell you how unnerving it was to go into my apartment and find everything rearranged, cleaned, or whatever.”

Xyla raised her eyebrows and tilted her head slightly. “I can only imagine. The few times that I met them, they seemed to be a little, well, overwhelming.

“How are things at the clinic?”

“Good. Sawyer is amazing. He is great with the patients.”

Xyla studied her face and smiled knowingly. “Interesting.”

“What?” Abby tried to sound indignant but failed.

“Spill.”

Knowing she couldn’t hide anything from her best friend, she sighed heavily. “I really like him. Every time I get near him, my entire body tingles. I’ve had a couple of… well… fantasizes about him, but I keep telling myself that he’s my boss and off limits.”

“He’s a great guy. You could do worse.”

“I need my job,” Abby groaned. “I can’t let my feelings get me in trouble.”

“Wait and see what happens,” Xyla said.

They talked for a while longer. Xyla told her how it felt to be a human pregnant with a shifter’s child. It was definitely different than being pregnant with a regular human child. Xyla talked about how great Sean was, and it was easy to see how much she loved her new mate.

I hope I get to feel the same someday.