Free EMS Heat 01 - Running Hot by Stephani Hecht Page B

any sleep?”
“I don’t know.” He blinked stupidly. “What day is it?”
She chuckled. “At least tell me you get off soon.”
“Another hour and I’m out of here.”
Janet took a sip of her coffee and immediately started to cough. “This tastes horrible,” she sputtered between hacks.
“I warned you.” Calvin didn’t even attempt to hide his grin.
“Whatever, we need to get going anyway. I want to get the incoming patient settled so neither of us has to stay late.”
He yawned before he nodded and got up. Just one more hour and I can get home and into bed. To be tucked in with crisp sheets and my favorite pillow would be heaven right now. That and a shower. I probably smell like the hind end of a buffalo.
They left the relative quiet of the hallway leading to the break room and entered the busy emergency department. The sounds of beeping equipment mixed in with the low buzz of conversations and the louder yells from the irate drunk in room eight.
“What do we have coming in?” he asked as he reached the nurses’ station.
“It’s Indian Jack.” Gladys glowered, her face as sour as always. An aging nurse who should have retired years ago, she had permanent wrinkles on her face from always scowling and a boulder-size chip on her shoulder. Even her hair seemed hostile. Dyed a dull red, she always kept it swept up in a chunky bun, the strands always in perfect order as if even they were afraid to cross her by straying.
Calvin nodded in understanding. With Indian Jack, she didn’t have to say more. A frequent flyer at their hospital, it seemed they were dealing with him on a bi-weekly basis. Unlike Gladys though, he didn’t begrudge the homeless man. Sure, Jack may be stinky, a drunk and have a foul mouth, but at least he was entertaining with all his stories. “How far out are they?” he asked no one in particular.
Of course, Gladys felt it her duty to chime in on that one, too. “They should be rolling in any minute.” She nearly snarled as she grabbed an empty chart and began to get the paperwork started.
“Who’s bringing him in?”
“Alpha 304.”
Happy Pants made the sneer again, but Calvin knew it wasn’t in regard to Jack this time. Gladys had clashed with the crew from that ambulance on more than one occasion. She’d never made it a secret that she couldn’t stand the sight of them.
Calvin on the other hand was hard pressed to hide his excitement, for as much as Gladys hated the medics from 304, he liked them. Or rather one of them. Even as he thought about James, a thrill went through him, making his heart race. For months now, he’d been admiring the paramedic from afar. Too afraid to even talk socially with the guy, let alone make a move. Crap, he didn’t even know if James was gay or not. Sure, he’d heard gossip the medic preferred guys, but he knew one couldn’t put too much stock in rumors.
The ambulance bay doors swished open. James and his partner came in, pushing the cot between them.
Calvin froze for a second, his breath caught in his throat, struck by how handsome the medic was. From dark hair that was cut regulationlength to his sharp blue eyes, he was already sexy. But then another glance showed how lickable his muscular body looked. His navy uniform molded to his frame and he went from handsome to ballcrunching desirable. James laughed at something, his full sensual lips curling up into an almost mischievous grin. Once the man spotted Gladys though, all good humor fled his face.
“Where should we put Mr. Hunt?”
James shocked him by using the patient’s last name. His already high opinion of the medic went up a couple of notches. Even though Jack was crazy, homeless and the ambulance company would never see a dime out of him, James still treated the man with the upmost respect.
“Put him in five,” Gladys grunted.
Her backhanded comment made Calvin so appalled he nearly dropped the chart in his hand. Five, or the eyewash room as they dubbed it, had to be the