Free His Bidding (The Best Medicine #1) by Ella Blythe Page B

subject.”
    He was sharp. She allowed herself a slight giveaway of a smile in his direction, but followed up by saying, “It’s a crush. That’s all.”
    “One of the doctors in this place, eh?” He put a finger to his lips, which he’d pursed in thought. “Hmm. Is it that young fellow who just started? The tall one with the reddish hair? He’s certainly got eyes for you, missy.”
    “Does he, now?” Brynn queried in amusement. She knew who he meant. One of the student doctors who’d just started rotations on the surgical recovery floor – she was pretty sure his name was Jacob – had indeed been trying to catch her attention the past couple of times he’d come through as their shifts overlapped. But before she could confirm or deny, neither of which she’d actually planned to do in response to Mr. Elgin’s persistent curiosity, a much more surprising guess was put forth.
    “No, I’m wrong,” Mr. Elgin said. “It’s the boss-man who comes in with the young fellows.”
    Brynn nearly dropped the tray of instruments she was holding. Dr. Hitchens had been in charge of this latest batch of grads, a pet project of his regardless of a jam-packed schedule, and he’d been the one present on at least two visits to her wing this past week. Considering how many young, good-looking new guys there were in that handpicked group, she would have expected it to take forever for Mr. Elgin to give the slightly older “boss-man” so much as a passing thought.
    He picked up on her wobble, too, as the instruments clanged together and made a racket. She was even more grateful now that he had a private room than she had been moments earlier. His voice wasn’t loud, but the content of their conversation was not something she’d want anyone to hear, not even Lisa on a good day.
    “I’m right.” He made it a statement, not a question, and Brynn turned slowly to give him a long look. Whatever he saw in her eyes, it made his smile fade. “Oh, my dear girl. I’ve misspoken. I’m sorry. I was just teasing.”
    She shook her head, not wanting him to feel bad. “No, no, you just...caught me off guard, that’s all.”
    As she set the tray down on the counter next to his bedside table, he reached out an arm and patted her gently.
    “I shan’t ask again. I promise.” He smiled again, which lightened Brynn’s spirit immediately. “And I won’t tell on you, either.”
    She laughed and gave his hand a pat in return. “Thanks for that, Mr. Elgin. It’ll have to stay our secret.”
    He made a similar zipping-of-the-lips motion to that which Lisa had given her earlier, which made her laugh again, and she made a pass to fill up her favorite patient’s pitcher of water before glancing at her watch.
    “Oh, wow,” she said, her eyebrows rising.
    “Get outta here, young lady,” Mr. Elgin ordered with an exaggerated finger-wag. “You’ve worked long enough for one evening! Go home and sleep! I know I’ll be able to rest with you out of my hair for the day.”
    She laughed. “Yes, sir. I’m in again on Wednesday, so rest up before then, okay?”
    They said their goodbyes and Brynn felt her tiredness hit her all at once as she left his room.
    “You look like you just hit the wall,” one of her fellow nurses, a cheerful woman named Julie, greeted her as they crossed paths at the station. Brynn offered a tired smile.
    “Yeah, and just in time for you to relieve me.” She handed Julie her notes from the night, gave her a quick catch-up on what had been done and anything out of the ordinary to expect during the day shift, then waved and made a beeline for the on-call room. She couldn’t wait to get her belongings out of her locker and head to her apartment, where she could sleep for a solid twelve hours without interruption. She had a couple of days away from this place, though one of those was her scheduled shift at the Clinic. She never minded working at his private practice, of course, even on days when she was attending