The Marine's Secret Daughter. Carrie Nichols

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      “She’s going to be fine.” The nurse flashed a reassuring smile. “Someone is coming right out to get her.”

      The door to the ER buzzed open and another nurse in dark blue scrubs stepped through, pushing a wheelchair in front of her. She called for Meg. Riley swallowed and helped Meg stand.

      “Meg, I figured that must be you when I saw the name on the face sheet from triage.” The trim, fortysomething nurse glanced at him, did a double take and smiled. “I would say it’s good to see you, but considering we’re in the ER, I won’t.”

      “Hi, Jan. I’d...” Meg coughed and settled in the chair, and Riley started to follow them into a small treatment area. “I’d say the same, but yeah, ER and all.”

      Jan stopped and gave him a sharp look. “Are you a relative?”

      “No.” But if you think you’re keeping me out here and away from Meggie, think again, lady.

      “He’s...” Meg’s gaze bounced between him and Jan. “I’d like him with me.”

      The nurse nodded and started forward again. He sighed, glad he didn’t have to fight and claw his way back there to be sure they did their best for Meg.

      “We’ll get you fixed up right quick,” Jan said cheerfully as she wheeled Meg down a short hall with curtained treatment areas. “I ran into Brody the other day at the Pic-N-Save. He said Fiona is enjoying her trip. Bet you miss her like crazy. It was the Grand Canyon, wasn’t it?”

      Meg bit her lower lip. “Yes. Grand Canyon.”

      “They went by motor home, didn’t they?”

      “Yes.” Meg’s fingers gripped the sides of the chair, her knuckles white.

      Riley looked to Meg, but she ignored him. Who was Fiona and why would Meg be missing her like crazy? And who was Brody?

      She’s made a life for herself complete with new friends in the past five years, dumbass.

      The nurse stopped in front of a curtained treatment area, engaged the brake on the wheelchair and helped Meg transfer to a narrow stretcher. She closed the curtain and pulled a hospital gown from an overhead cabinet. “Sir, if you’ll wait on the other side of the curtain for a moment.”

      “Yes, ma’am.” He was loath to leave Meg, but took a step back. Getting escorted out by security wouldn’t be a good idea.

      “Thanks.” The nurse smiled at him as she yanked the curtain closed in his face. “Now, Meg, take off your shirt and unhook your bra.”

      The curtain hadn’t closed all the way and he could still see Meg. He should be a gentleman about this. But he needed to reassure himself they were taking proper care of Meg. Yeah, right.

      Jan, the nurse, clucked her tongue, saying, “Oh, my.” Riley stiffened as she continued, “Looks like you’ve got some mold on the back of this sweatshirt.”

      “I must’ve brushed up against it in the basement,” Meg responded.

      “I’ll bag the shirt up just as a precaution and look for a scrub top for you to wear home,” Jan said and there was some rustling.

      “There, all covered,” Jan said, as if signaling the all clear, and Riley stepped back around the curtain.

      A tech came in right behind him and took Meg’s vital signs while the nurse did an evaluation. He clenched his jaw. How many questions did they have to ask before they treated her?

      The curtain flew aside and the doctor stepped in, stethoscope looped around his neck and holding a clipboard. He introduced himself and pulled a small black stool up to the stretcher and sat down.

      “So you’ve had an asthma attack. Was this one any worse than the others?”

      “No, but I had used up my inhaler and someone got a little freaked out.”

      Riley opened his mouth but thought better of arguing and shut it again.

      “I see. Let’s have a listen.” The doctor stuck his stethoscope under the gown and listened to Meg’s chest, right upper, left upper, right lower, then left lower, then repeating the process on her back all the while explaining, “We’re going to get your asthma exacerbation under control by giving you several updrafts back to back and, if necessary, an IV steroid.”

      When he finished, he went to the computer to document his findings and the nurse tied the gown. “It says you have inhalers. Did you say you used one today?”

      Unable to keep silent any longer, Riley stepped away from the wall he’d been leaning against. “The one she had was empty. I found her at—”

      “And you are?” The doctor turned and studied Riley over the top of his glasses.

      Riley flexed his fingers. Good question. What was he to Meg? Blowing out the breath he’d been holding in, he said, “Riley Cooper, sir.”

      The doctor glanced at the chart. “Are you a relative?”

      Riley stepped closer to Meg. “I’m—”

      “He’s just, uh...just a neighbor.”

      Well, that answered who and what he was. His gut burned at being relegated to such a mundane role in Meg’s life.

       Chapter Two

      “Meg gave her permission for him to be here,” Jan said into the silence.

      Meg rubbed her nose and avoided eye contact with Riley, but sneaked a look at his arms folded over his well-defined chest. And yes, she knew that chest was rock-hard from when he’d caught her on the stairs.

      Good grief, what was she thinking, and more to the point, why was he back here after all this time? Just her luck to have an asthma attack in the middle of cleaning up the place for—of all people—Riley. Why had she let him talk her into coming to the ER? And why had she assumed the mold in that basement had been cleaned up in the first place? If she’d known how bad it was, she would’ve refused the job. Or at least refilled the inhaler before going.

      She needed to be paying attention to the doctor, but Riley’s looming presence dwarfed everyone and everything else. Well, he couldn’t overwhelm her now. His surprise appearance at the cottage had flustered her and thrown her back into the old habit of thinking he hung the moon. That’s the explanation she had for letting him bully her into coming to the hospital. But she was an adult with a good life in Loon Lake and was working hard to provide Fiona with the security every child deserved. Riley might be sexier than ever, but she couldn’t let him in. Not after he’d made it plain his presence was temporary. She had to assume the marines were still his passion, his first choice. He’d shattered her heart and she wouldn’t allow him to do that to Fiona. Meg’s job as Fiona’s mom was not only to provide but also to protect.

      And yet, hadn’t she hurt Fiona by keeping her existence a secret from Riley? Hiding a child wasn’t pay back, no matter what Riley had done. Fiona had every right to know her father, and vice СКАЧАТЬ