Free The Cowboy's Redemption: BWWM Billionaire Western Romance by Christin Jensen

Chapter 1
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    Double shifts at a hospital make the days melt together, like butter… or mud. Once upon a time, those same days would mix not unlike how one would stir paint together, pale colors turning vibrant shades that made the canvas of days more interesting to behold when she returned home.
    Once upon those days meant something… sometimes they still do. Unfortunately, it was hard to see it that way now.
    Coffee breaks had once been something Melinda enjoyed as well. She’d sit down, with a cup in her hands, her eyes pouring over the information in a patient’s file, and she’d enjoy the words being thrown back and forth between a couple of nurses or an anecdote from one of her friends who found something strange in a recent surgery. It had been nice.
    She felt like her work brought good results, she was saving lives. Melinda could remember receiving a very lovely ‘thank you’ card from one of the patients she had been able to save with another doctor’s assistance—it hadn’t been a life threatening situation, but when the option to operate had become an insistence to amputate, Melinda had found another option. It required the use of some serious anti-biotics and it had been risky, but the patient had been able to recover and keep their arm.
    She remembered feeling incredibly happy with herself, and even though double shifts meant less sleep, less opportunity to go out and socialize, she was changing things; Melinda was saving lives. That much had made the blank canvases each day brought more colorful, even if the colors weren’t particularly radiant or bright—it was still a beautiful result in the end.
    And one day, like an abrupt spray of a completely different color, appeared on her canvas in the shape of a name and a warm smile. He was an amusing sort of fellow; the kind who loved jokes and the happier things in life over others and wasn’t afraid to show it. Eddie had been a friend of a friend, introduced to each other in a little party the residents at the hospital prepared for a special occasion (Melinda forgets which). He hadn’t been particularly striking in good-looks, but he had charmed her in ways she hadn’t quite expected he would.
    So when he turned up in the E.R a few weeks later after having gone out on a few dates, Melinda couldn’t help a smile—albeit a concerned one—after she greeted him.
    “Oh, Eddie,” Melinda had sighed the moment her eyes landed on his. “ What have you gotten yourself into this time?”
    And then he grinned despite the split lip and the large piece of metal protruding from his arm. “Oh, you know,” He had replied cheekily. “Silly accident.”
    Melinda’s brown eyes twinkled at his attitude, amused despite knowing that it was most likely the result of the anesthesia swirling in his bloodstream. “Well, let’s get you out of here.”
    He gave her a nod, smiling at her sheepishly and when Melinda peered at his chart, she realized vaguely that she could be actually falling for him.
    “He’s a cutie, huh?” Melinda had chuckled at the words of Hara, one of the resident nurses who enjoyed commenting on the good-looking patients that walked through their halls. “So, is it true he’s the same guy from the party? You know the on you’ve been dating?”
    “I can’t exactly be giving out patient information, Hara.” Melinda retorted, grin in place.
    “Well, he won’t be a patient for long,” Hara giggled, taking a swig from a coffee cup. “And when that happens, you should probably go celebrate or something. If you know what I mean.”
    A flush dusted over Melinda’s cheeks and rolling her eyes she walked out the break room to get back to work. Hara had been right about him… about how he wouldn’t be a patient for much longer… it just didn’t happen in the way Melinda wanted. Eddie had had several complications, each time confusing Melinda more and more, each time making their conversations drift from the amused and the flirty to more