Free Chasing Trouble (Texas Trouble) by Becky McGraw

him.  He was serious, there wasn't a bit of humor in his eyes or on his unsmiling face.  "You don't even know me," she told him with a shake of her head.  "And what the hell could you need a doctor for in your business?"
    "Health and Safety," he told her.
    With a snort, she told him, "Some how, I think your dad would have a problem with that...and I don't know the first thing about oil well drilling or the dangers involved in that.  I know my dad got hurt on a rig, but other than that, nada."
    " My dad is the one who suggested it to me this morning.  It's a great idea," he told her with a smile then added, "You can help prevent what happened to your dad from happening to someone else, what better motivation could you have?  You'd be perfect for the job," he told her.
    "Your dad suggested it?"  That was something that Jenny would never have expected.  Chase's dad had barely even acknowledged that she was a doctor, because she was a woman, and he wanted to hire her now?
    "Yeah, he did.  We've been talking about hiring a medical professional for a while now to train and supervise on-site medics to act quickly if there are accidents at the sites.  All we have now are roughnecks who double as medics."
    "I know how those rigs operate, and it's all about the bottom line , isn't it?  That's not something I would be okay with.  Safety of the workers should be a priority, not making money," she told him.  Her dad had been a statistic that proved that fact. 
    According to her dad, the company had removed the hand rails on the stairs and safety chains to drill faster.  A piece of the drill string, or pipe, turned loose and shot mud on the stairs, and he was running up them at the time.  He slipped and fell, breaking his back and almost dying in the process.  He was very lucky to be alive, let alone still be able to walk.
    "Our rigs don't operate like that," Chase said firmly.  "The safety of our crews is our first concern.  My grandpa almost lost his life working for Pinion, before he started Rhodes Drilling.  We take safety seriously."
    Jenny sucked in a breath , then repeated, "Pinion?" 
    That was the same company her dad had worked for when he was hurt.  The same company that had paid just a minimal amount of the monumental medical bills that almost bankrupted her mother and father.  If not for his disability check, they wouldn't be surviving, which was another reason it pissed her off that her brother took advantage of them.
    "Yeah, Pinion Drilling...they're infamous for their safety violations.  The worst."
    "That's the same company my dad worked for when he got hurt," she said.
    "He's not alone ...a lot of men have lost life and limb with that company.  I'm surprised OSHA hasn't shut them down, but not so surprised.  The owners pad the right pockets."  Chase's face turned red and his eyes were troubled.
    She put a hand on his thigh and said softly, "You have no idea how sad that makes me...to think of all those guys who are just trying to make a living for their families, and that company is abusing them and their trust."
    His full lips kicked up at the corner and he challenged, "So do something about it, Doc."
    "What the heck can I do?"  Jenny was a doctor, not an OSHA inspector, or oil derrick expert.  She knew emergency medicine, not bores and kellies , which her dad had tried to explain to her once, but she had failed miserably to comprehend.  She had no idea what precautions were needed to make an oil derrick safe for workers.
    "You can come to work for me and help me put a better safety program in place.  Help me train our safety officers and on-site medical personnel.  Help me make sure they're doing all they can to protect the crews."
    "This has been a strange day," she said on a sigh.
    "I'll send you to all the classes so you can learn about rig safety...at our expense.   It wouldn't take you long to get up to speed."
    "I don't know..." she said.
    "C'mon, Jenny, you'd be a good fit for the