Stockman’s Stormcloud (Stockmen #3)

Six

Si x

The patient was so brash, staring at her so coldly, like she’d done something wrong.

‘It’s S-S-Sophie.’ She swallowed hard, trapped under the intensity of his stare. ‘Sophie Pendleton.’

He gave a gruff nod, sliding his mask back on before breaking eye contact, which allowed her to breathe again.

‘Why?’

‘You know my name and all about me.’

‘That’s part of my job. Declan—’

‘Ugh!’ He cut her off, holding up his hand. ‘If we’re going to be involved in some sort of friendly engagement, you’d better call me Dex.’

‘Fine, Dex.’ She couldn’t stop her smile. ‘Now that you’re awake, do you want to get out of bed?’

‘To leave? Hell, yeah, I’m in.’

‘I was thinking more of a short walk down the corridor.’

‘I’m down for that.’ He went to move, but paused as he took a few breaths, while nodding at Mr Purrington. ‘What about the cat?’

‘I’ve got him.’ She shifted the lump of fur to the end of his bed. ‘Do you hate cats?’

‘I’ve never owned any or know of anyone who has one. We class cats as a feral animal, like rabbits.’ He rolled to the edge of the bed and sat up slowly. The pain was obviously bothering him enough to make him pause and just breathe.

‘How are we going to do this?’ He pointed at the tubes and oxygen mask .

‘Well, if you play nice, this is where I can do my job to ensure you don’t trip over any tubes.’

The corners of his lips curved with only a hint of amusement. ‘Can’t have that now, can we?’ He struggled to breathe, taking in a flurry of quick breaths.

‘Hey, slow breaths.’ She rubbed his back in slow circles. ‘How about we start you on those breathing exercises?’

Dex scowled at the floor as if annoyed with himself. Given this guy’s peak physical condition, it had to be annoying for him to be forced into taking breathing lessons.

‘Let’s start with something simple,’ she continued, with her tone calm and encouraging. ‘I want you to imagine that you’re blowing out a candle. Just a gentle puff, nothing more.’

His scowl deepened. He didn’t puff but huffed with irritation.

‘You can do better than that.’ Her unwavering patience drew a reluctant nod from him.

‘Good, just like that,’ she encouraged as he exhaled slowly, the struggle obvious.

But he sat straighter, as if his pride was returning.

‘Now, let’s take a shallow breath in through your nose. Don’t worry about going deep just yet. Do what you can, a little at a time.’

At first, he rolled his eyes. But she wasn’t giving up on him, coaxing him through several ragged breaths where each inhale and exhale was accompanied by a slight wince of pain.

‘How about we try something a little different, to stop that pain…’ She pointed to his arm that protectively hugged his ribs. ‘I want you to focus on the rhythm as you inhale through your nose and fill your stomach, skipping the need to expand your lungs. Then exhale slowly through the mouth. Got it?’

He just glared at her.

‘We’ll do it together, slowly. Ready?’

Dex still wore that same glare as if she was suggesting something stupid.

‘You do want to get better, don’t you?’

‘Fine.’ He adjusted the mask over his mouth.

‘Ready?’

He barely gave a nod.

‘Breathe in… One… Two… Three… Fill the stomach. Then exhale… One… Two… Three.’ She breathed with him.

‘Stop.’ He gripped his knees, shoulders bent as if he was going to be ill.

‘Are you getting light-headed?’

He gave a curt nod as his scowl deepened. ‘Do I have to do this?’

She sat close beside him on the bed, her hand on his upper arm, ready in case he keeled over. ‘It will make it easier for you to breathe. And with that fractured rib—’

‘I get it.’

‘Let’s try again, but only to the count of two.’

Again, they went through the process. Sweat beaded across his forehead, but there was a glimmer of accomplishment in his eyes.

She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. ‘Good. The plan is that we’ll get you to do the four-by-four.’

He arched an eyebrow at her. ‘Are you talking about four-wheel drives?’

‘I’m talking about box breathing. It’s where you’ll inhale for four seconds. Hold for four seconds before you exhale for four seconds. Then hold for four seconds before inhaling again.’ Yet poor Dex was lucky to do one deep lungful. ‘Eventually, we’ll get you to do the four-seven-eight breathing pattern as part of your recovery.’

‘How long before I’m fully recovered?’

She shrugged. ‘Honestly, it’s up to you. The effort you put in will dictate how quickly you recover.’ She tugged his arm and helped him to his feet. ‘Got shoes?’

‘My brothers took my clothes.’

‘Why?’

‘Because I’d break out.’

She giggled. ‘I’d believe that.’

‘So, Sophie Pendleton, just to be fair,’ he said, standing so much taller than her, ‘I’d better let you know that I’m feeling the breeze in this gown. I’m a man who doesn’t care who sees my arse, but some patients may get offended. Or you’ll have the staff wondering what you’re doing walking the halls with a near-naked man.’

‘Oh.’ She blushed, a full body glowing rush of red heat that ran from her toes all the way to her forehead. ‘I’ll be right back. Keep breathing.’ She even grinned at him over her shoulder, but that was only met with a scowl.

She returned shortly with another gown. ‘Put this on. And let’s hope these slip-on scuffs aren’t too small.’

Surprisingly, he put them on without complaint.

She strapped his oxygen tanks into the simple trolley with its small wheels, then hooked his IV bag to it. She could feel Dex watching her, while he stood holding the bed, taking teeny breaths.

‘Now what?’

‘Now we go public.’ She held out her right elbow to him, because he’d need the balance if he was light-headed. But walking and breathing would help his lungs, hopefully stopping his need to concentrate so hard.

‘Sophie Pendleton, if I’m going to be seen walking the halls with a woman, you’ll be doing it my way.’ Dex held out his left elbow to her.

She giggled at the guy, being all formal, as she held his elbow, the skin warm and the muscles strong. ‘Coming, Mr Purrington?’

The cat just rolled on the bed as if rolling in Dex’s scent.

‘The cat likes your bed.’

‘He can have it. I’ll be gone in the morning.’ Dex was already heading for the door.

‘Slowly. I don’t want you to faint.’ She leaned in closer to adjust his breathing mask, catching a whiff of his scent, that was both rugged and captivating. Despite the sterile hospital environment, his natural scent lingered to reveal an enticing blend of hard work and raw masculinity.

It was an intoxicating combination that spoke of strength and endurance, it was like catnip for her.

‘Are you looking forward to going home?’

‘Yes, to getting out of here, but also no—I’m being forced to crash on Bree’s couch.’

‘Bree? Your girlfriend.’ Didn’t that douse her desires with a bucket of cold water.

His curt laugh was brief as he stopped to breathe. ‘The enemy more like it.’

‘Is that the redhead who brought you here?’

Dex nodded. But the look he had was of pure admiration for this bossy Bree. ‘Did Bree stay?’

‘When?’

‘The night I arrived.’

‘Why?’

‘I need to know if she did. I had her promise me something.’ He gripped the oxygen cart with a powerful hand, the veins accentuating the muscles along his forearm, as he shuffled down the corridor, in between short stops to breathe.

The trolley had a simple, black metal frame and two rubber wheels that rolled quietly over the polished linoleum floors. The bent handle made up part it’s spine, where it securely strapped the cylindrical oxygen tank. A hook sat on top to hold the clear, coiled tube to stop it snagging as it trailed up to the patient's face. Despite its simplicity, the trolley was a lifeline, and a constant reminder of the fragility of the patient’s condition as she kept a light touch on his elbow, accompanying him through the sterile, echoing corridors of the sleeping hospital.

‘Bree was here.’ The bossy britches. ‘We couldn’t get her out.’ Sophie had tried, but that stubborn redhead refused to move, playing the part of some bodyguard to the king. ‘You know, Bree made me find a spare bed for her grandfather to sleep on.’ After Charlie went and visited everyone in the ward like it was some social outing.

‘Charlie’s a good man.’ Again, Dex stopped to breathe. Only this time, he tugged his arm free from her grip to grab the rail that ran down the corridor, dragging the oxygen cart behind him. ‘And what did Bree do? Annoy everyone, I’ll bet.’

‘Surprisingly, no.’ Oops, that wasn’t meant to slip out. ‘Bree pulled out her tablet and read while watching over you.’

‘That first night?’

She nodded. ‘Your oldest brother—Ryder? —came in an hour later and sat with her.’

Dex stopped, his eyes widening as he took short, sharp breaths. ‘Big guy, short beard, angry looking?’

‘Angrier looking than you?’

‘That’s him.’

Sophie nodded. ‘He’s a man of few words.’

‘That’s him.’ Again, Dex started shuffling down the corridor. ‘What was Ryder doing while I was forced to take a nap?’ He scowled at the floor, like he’d been betrayed for being put into an induced coma. But they had to because his lungs were spasming so much he couldn’t breathe on his own.

Didn’t anyone explain this to Dex? Or was he fishing for facts? ‘You’d been upgraded to intensive care by then. Your brother Ryder and Bree sat beside your bed, sharing a thermos of coffee.’

‘Where were you?’

‘I was put in charge of watching over you.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘I stayed in the room with your family, monitoring your vitals for the first six hours, until you…’

He stopped and glared at her, his jaw flexing as if he were gritting his teeth. ‘Say it.’

She had to answer him. ‘Until your lungs had stopped spasming and were able to function normally.’

‘Flipping hell.’ He brushed his fingers through his thick hair, which was long on the top, short in the back. There was a hint of a tattoo barely brushing along the base of his strong neck and straight shoulders. This man had such a powerful stance he made the drab hospital gown look sexy!

‘I’m sorry.’

He glanced at her, his frown faltering, as if he didn’t understand her, or believe her. ‘That’s your job, right?’ His dark eyes walked over her unflattering nurse’s scrubs. They normally hid everything, yet the way he examined her body, it was as if he had X-ray vision like superman or something. No, superman was a hero. Dex was just dark, like a dangerous villain.

Dex started walking again. ‘Where was the cat?’

‘In the office, sleeping. All Mr Purrington wants to do is sleep.’

‘They let the cat wander the halls of this hospital, to jump on strangers’ beds, in the middle of the night.’

‘There was a little girl sleeping in your bed a few nights ago. They got on well, and we played lots of checkers before she went home. Do you play board games?’

He barely shrugged, concentrating as he walked and breathed. ‘Not since I was a kid.’

‘I have plenty to choose from.’

‘Why?’

‘Some people can’t sleep. And I like board games. You don’t need batteries or an electrical outlet to use them.’

Again, he paused. Only this time, he quietly looked at her for a long time. But it was the kind of look that made her shiver.

How in the world did anyone create such a man, who, with one look, had her toes curling in her nursing shoes?

But she had a job to do, dragging her eyes away from the demon of sexiness to face the empty corridor.

She tugged on his elbow to resume walking. After all, Dex was just a patient who was leaving tomorrow. ‘You said you played board games when you were a kid?’

‘Sure.’

‘What was your favourite?’

‘Um…’ He inhaled sharp breaths, still walking with determination. She could tell he wanted to push it, but she di dn’t want him breathless, either.

‘Go on? Tell me.’ Dex needed to rest and playing a board game would help to occupy his mind.

‘I liked Battleship. My brother Ryder used to flog us at Monopoly, which makes sense being who he is.’

‘I have both those games here at the hospital. Battleship is a favourite among the boys who stay as patients.’

Yet, she should have said nothing and put Dex back into his bed and said a firm goodnight.

But what was the harm of one game with the man who was only a patient? Especially if she was never going to see him again. ‘What do you say, Dex? Do you want to play a game?’