“Shut up. And check him out.” Emily tilted her head toward the examination area. A man with dirty blond hair sat on a hospital bed, his left hand pressed against the lower right-hand side of his body. His face was pinched in obvious pain.
He had scruff for days and hair that was mussed just enough to look like a woman had been running her fingers through it. He wore a black leather vest and leather boots with thick soles.
“When did he come in?” I asked.
“About fifteen minutes ago. Justine checked him in.”
“That means his information is already in the system,” I said, reaching for my tablet with his medical files. “Justine is a powerhouse of organization and efficiency.”
“She missed her calling as a Marine general.”
I grinned, turned my attention back to the patient’s chart, and reviewed his symptoms. “Appendicitis.”
“You sure?”
“Can’t be completely sure without examining him first, but yeah, I feel pretty confident.”
“Wanna bet?” she asked.
“What did you have in mind?”
“If you’re right, you have to come out to happy hour with me and the other nurses.”
“And if I’m wrong?”
“How often are you wrong?” she asked. “You’ve been here a month, and you’ve already got the best diagnostic statistics of any doctor in the ER. I’m literally betting that you’re right to ensure that I win.”
“Now you’re just trying to flatter me.”
“Is it working?”
I smiled. “Kinda, yeah.” I raised the tablet again and looked at the man’s chart for his name.
“Adderly Ford,” I said. “What kind of name isAdderly Ford?”
“The hot kind.”
“You’re boy crazy.”
“Boy crazy is for teenagers. I’m man crazy—and totally proud of it. You could do with being a little man crazy.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I bet he smells like woodsmoke and whisky,” she said dreamily.
He probably smells like cheap perfume and sex. A man who looked like him—dressed like him—yeah, he screamed skirt chaser.
I looked in his direction. He was staring at the ground, wincing with each breath.
“Please sniff him and report back,” Emily said.
“Emily,” Justine barked from a few feet away.
I saluted Emily and left her to go toe-to-toe with Justine. With the tablet in one hand, I approached the man.
“Mr. Ford,” I greeted. “I’m Dr. Ward. I’ll be examining you today.”
He slowly raised his head and stared at me with glassy, gray eyes. Dove gray. Beautiful. Fringed with long blond lashes.