Free Cedar Bluff's Most Eligible Bachelor (Cedar Bluff Hospital) by LAURA IDING

pregnant wife and son.”
    “I don’t think so,” Seth argued lightly. “For one thing, you don’t look as if you’ve really recovered from hitting Hailey. Not that I blame you, that had to be horrible. But honestly? I could really use the money as I missed that shift the other day. Kylie really wants to move into a newer and bigger house before the baby is born. We’re scraping up some money for a decent down payment.”
    Damn. The one argument he couldn’t fight. He’d never take a needed shift away from a colleague, much less a friend.
    Seth could finish off the shift if he wanted to.
    But Simon still didn’t want to go home to his empty house. He glanced around, almost desperate for something to keep his mind occupied. With a frown, he noticed the census board wasn’t overly filled with patients. “I could still help out—if things are crazy. Free of charge,” he added hoping he didn’t sound as pathetic as he felt.
    “Nope,” Seth said cheerfully. “No worries, we have everything under control. Seriously, man, it’s just not that busy.”
    It figured. Monday nights were generally one of the quietest days of the week.
    “How’s Hailey?” Seth asked with a keen glance.
    Simon wasn’t fooled by his friend’s deceptively casual tone. The last thing he or Hailey needed was for rumors to start flying. And considering how he’d held her hand during her examination in the trauma bay, he figured the rumors were already brewing. “Fine, considering I slammed into her with my car and nearly killed her.”
    Seth arched a brow. “I don’t think a broken leg qualifies as nearly killing her. But, hey, glad to hear she’s doing all right.”
    “Yeah, well, she made it pretty clear she wanted me gone, so I don’t think she shares your view of the accident,” Simon countered.
    But Seth only grinned. “And that’s bugging the hell out of you, isn’t it?”
    Simon was about to tell him to shut the hell up when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, that the new unit clerk, Mary something or other, was blatantly eavesdropping on their conversation. Her eyes, dramatically green from colored contacts, shifted under his gaze and she turned away.
    He grimaced. Great. More fuel for the gossip mill. He loved living in Cedar Bluff, but compared to the blissful anonymity he’d experienced in Chicago, living in this place was like living in a bubble where everyone stuck their noses into everyone else’s business.
    Which normally wasn’t a problem for him. People in Cedar Bluff usually left him alone, because obviously he’d never given them anything to talk about.
    Until now.
    “Hardly,” he said, narrowing his gaze on Seth, silently warning him to drop it. “And if you don’t need my help, fine. I have some paperwork to finish in my office, anyway. There are several quality cases that need to be reviewed.”
    “You’re hopeless, my friend. Truly hopeless,” Seth muttered, shaking his head in mock dismay. “What a lame way to spend your night off.”
    Simon ignored him. Seth couldn’t know that tossing and turning in his bed, thinking of Hailey, would be far worse than any torture imaginable. “If you get slammed with patients, let me know.”
    “Sure,” Seth said, glancing down as his trauma pager began to vibrate. “No worries.”
    Simon did his best to concentrate on the cases he needed to review, but after reading the same case three times without comprehension he shoved it away with a disgusted sigh.
    Seth was right. He was truly hopeless.
    He shut off his computer and stood. When he dug in his pocket for his car keys, he realized he still had Hailey’s apartment keys.
    For a long agonizing moment he wondered if he’d subconsciously kept them on purpose.
    Because now he had a good excuse to see Hailey again.

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    T HE next morning Hailey crutch-walked the short distance from her bed to the bathroom, groaning under her breath with each clunky step.
    Every muscle in her body was