Stockman’s Stormcloud (Stockmen #3)

Five

The hospital room was quiet except for the soft hum of the medical equipment, when a sudden, gentle thump broke the silence. Dex woke to something jumping onto his bed.

Still stuck in the stupid hospital, he peered over the dumb oxygen mask to find a whopping, fat, orange cat had landed on the bed. Its weight caused the bedsheets to rustle, as its paws made faint taps against the mattress as if checking for softness.

‘What the flip?’ He pulled down the mask. The sterile hospital room was cooler than the hot oxygen mask that gave him the aftertaste of a medicinal tablet.

But the cat snuggled against his leg like he owned the bed, filling the air with a warm, slightly musky scent that was a blend of clean fur and a hint of whatever cat food it had recently eaten, a mix of fish and poultry, lingering on its breath.

It tucked its fluffy tail under and then gave a contented purr that was a soothing, low, steady rumble, like a distant engine. And for a man who enjoyed working on engines, it was oddly calming.

‘What do you want?’

It didn’t even blink, staring at him with yellow eyes that were too small for its fluffy body. Its whiskers were bent downward, highlighting the fur around his mouth and chin, giving it the look of an old man’s beard. But that purring didn’t stop .

Dex flicked on the overhead light, emphasising the bright orange rings that ran around the cat’s enormous chest and paws. He was a big cat.

‘I remember you.’

‘Mr Purrington, where are you?’ A female’s hushed voice called from the corridor.

‘Is that…’ Nah, it couldn’t be.

A woman with blonde hair entered his room, and he lost his ability to breathe. Again.

It was Nurse Kitty.

‘There you are, Mr Purrington.’ She rushed to the bed. ‘I’m so sorry about this.’

Dex couldn’t speak, still struggling to breathe.

‘Are you okay?’

He nodded. Now struggling to swallow.

‘Are you sure?’

Flipping hell, she touched him. Her fingers were cold, but so darned soft on his wrist as she checked his pulse. And those lips. He remembered those lips, with that sweet chin, and her fine perfume.

‘You need to keep the mask on.’

‘No.’ He ducked away from her, finally finding his voice. ‘I need water.’

‘Sure.’ She poured him a cup and held it out with a straw. ‘Nice to see you’re still with us.’

‘Don’t get used to it. I’m leaving soon.’ Daylight couldn’t come around quick enough.

‘I heard.’ The nurse checked over his chart and did his blood pressure, which had to be going through the roof. ‘Are you in any pain?’

‘No.’ The cat’s purring was irritating, but if he pushed the cat off the bed, that’d chase Nurse Kitty away. ‘What’s your name?’

She paused, shyly peering at him over her chart. Those luscious lashes flickered over some pretty, light-blue eyes.

This woman was gorgeous. She should have been on some wholesome food commercial selling junk to families or selling bibles to believers or something. She should not be here, in this room—alone—with someone like him.

Breathe.

But he had to ask, even if it was a struggle to say it louder. ‘You have a name, don’t you?’ If her name was Kitty, he was going to have a cardiac arrest.

No woman affected him like this—it had to be the medication he was on. Especially since he’d sworn to never trust a female again, and he was not about to start now, no matter what drugs they gave him.

Yet, he had to know the simplest of pleasures first, and that was to at least learn her name.