Free From Brooding Boss to Adoring Dad by Dianne Drake Page B

gestures involve giving me back my hospital, but since my hospital won’t fit into the box.” He opened the lid. Studied the stethoscope for a moment, then pulled it out and put it around his neck. “Tadeo,” he said. “Come over here. I want to try something out.”
    The boy obliged, taking care not to walk too close to Erin. When she noticed, she stepped back to give him freer passage to Adam. “What is it?” he asked.
    “Haven’t you ever been examined by a doctor?” Adam asked, frowning.
    Tadeo shook his head. “Pabla says we don’t need doctors. Sometimes Trinique looks at me, but never a doctor.”
    “Pabla’s his guardian,” he explained to Erin. Then, to Tadeo, “Well, we’re about to fix that. This is called a stethoscope, and when I put it on your chest, I’ll be able to hear your heart beating.” He smiled up at Erin. “Unless ma’am Doc would rather I examine her first.”
    “Ma’am Doc is just fine without an examination,” Erin said, as little skittery goosebumps trotted their way up her arms. Something about seeing Coulson with pants cut well above his knees and an unbuttoned cotton shirt revealing a rather nicely bronzed, hairless chest was attracting attention from her she hadn’t known she had for him. He was all lean, in amazing proportions, and thinking about all that virility laying a hand to her chest, albeit a hand holding a stethoscope, shook her all the way down to her toes. “But thank you for asking,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t sound as unsteady as she suddenly felt.
    “And thank you for the stethoscope,” he replied, holding up the bell in salute. “I do appreciate this, Red, and just for you being so kind, I promise not to bother you about the hospital for the next twenty-four hours.”
    “A promise made before that you haven’t kept yet.”
    “Well, this time I’ll keep it.”
    She smiled. “I’ll believe that when I
don’t
hear it.”
    “You wound me, Red. When I make a promise, I always intend to keep it.” He arched playful eyebrows at her. “You’ll just have to keep reminding me.”
    Which would put them in closer proximity than she wanted. “Like I said before, Coulson. I’ll believe it when I
don’t
hear it.” She rubbed her arms, trying to fight back the multiplying goosebumps, cursing inwardly that he always did that to her.
    He winked at Tadeo, who smiled back at him. “One of the lessons you’re going to have to learn about women, Tadeo, is that no matter how hard you try to convince them, it’s never hard enough. They make you work for it.”
    “Why?” he asked, innocently.
    “Yes, Coulson. I’d like to hear why.”
    “That’s the nature of a woman,” he said, trying to keep a straight face.
    “Or is it the nature of a woman who’s trying to stand her ground against the nature of a man?”
    Tadeo, clearly bored with the repartee between the two, picked up the bell of the stethoscope and laid it to his belly. Adam quickly adjusted it, smiling at Erin. “I think he’s trying to tell us something.”
    “Out of the mouths of babes.” The air between them was practically sparking and it totally confounded her how an innocent conversation over nothing could turn into something else. But it had. One wink, one arch of the eyebrow and she had been seduced.
    “Babes who have other things on their minds,” he said, inserting the earpieces. “Now, Tadeo, this isn’t going to hurt at all. All I’m going to do is listen. Nothing’s going to poke you.” Bell to the chest, he started to listen. Looked up at Erin. “Nice,” he murmured. “Excellent resonance.” He moved the bell a couple of times, nodding, listening.
    Amazing, Erin thought, how something taken so for granted in the medical world was so important. She’d never thought about a stethoscope. There’d always been one around. Her father’s. Then hers. And Adam was acting like a child on Christmas morning over a simple thing.
    “Can I hear?” Tadeo asked,