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Authors: Avery Gale
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things, but right now she could barely manage even a flicker of interest.
She’d dealt with enough of that “exclusive club” mentality during her years in private schools to last her several lifetimes…she damned well wasn’t playing the same asinine game as an adult. Before she could work herself up into a good “mad,” Joelle felt her body relaxing despite her best efforts to fight the fatigue. The seat was warming around her and in less than a minute she felt the weight of sheer exhaustion pull her under. Joelle knew she was losing the battle to stay awake, but she couldn’t work up the energy to care. Despite their ridiculous speed, the ride was smooth and she finally surrendered. Leaning against the side of the car, she let go and fell into a sweet abyss of sleep.
Ryan had seen the battle between fear, frustration, and fatigue waging in Joelle’s eyes and knew the heated seat would help her body’s need for rest win the war. He smiled to himself at how quickly she’d fallen asleep despite the fact she was strapped in the back of a car rocketing down the highway at an obscene speed.
“Might as well throttle this beast back. Phoenix said the perp slipped through the trees and escaped.” Brandt rubbed his hands over his face in frustration. “You know, a part of me is pissed they missed him—no doubt Kip’s fucking truck alerted two thirds of the people in the county he was headed in that direction. But a bigger part of me is relieved because who knows what they were barreling into.”
“And that really isn’t their area of expertise—despite the fact I’m sure they were well armed.” Ryan didn’t try to hold back his chuckle. Hell, his cousins had all been born and raised on a ranch so guns had been a part of their lives since they were old enough to hold them. It hadn’t come as a surprise to anyone who knew Brandt when he qualified for sniper training. Even though he was a skilled marksman, killing hadn’t come easy to him and the man he loved like a brother had paid a huge emotional price for his time as a SEAL.
Brandt hadn’t talked to Ryan about what went down on that last mission, but the scuttlebutt among the teams had provided more than enough information. Ryan knew how difficult Brandt’s battle with PTSD had been because he’d stayed in close contact with his Uncle Dean and his other cousins during the past year. Ryan had encouraged them to be patient and supportive, assuring them Brandt would fight his way back to the surface soon enough. There had been times when he’d wondered if he hadn’t led them astray, but from the looks of things now, Brandt was definitely on the mend. Funny how the right woman at the right time can make all the difference.
“Oh I’m sure they both had weapons with them, but I’d like to talk to whoever was there. Phoenix might have managed some restraint if the adrenaline didn’t kick his control to the curb. But Kip? Hell, he probably wouldn’t realize what he was feeling was an adrenaline rush, and he damned sure wouldn’t feel a moment’s remorse. You pull him out of a woman’s bed at this hour, that boy is gonna shoot first and ask questions sometime next week.” Brandt’s sly grin assured Ryan the ornery kid he’d once known was still inside the morose man they’d all worried about for the past year and a half. Relief flooded him as he realized their crazy plan to share a woman might actually work.
He’d always worried he wouldn’t find a woman who would be willing to put up with the brutally demanding schedule of doctors in rural areas. But, Ryan had never wanted to specialize in some boring peripheral branch of medicine just to ensure he rarely worked anything but normal office hours. After spending several summers in Pine Creek, he’d always dreamed of settling into a small town—there was something about the intimacy of knowing everyone in the community that seemed right to him.
A single trip to the Pine Creek Emergency Room
She’d dealt with enough of that “exclusive club” mentality during her years in private schools to last her several lifetimes…she damned well wasn’t playing the same asinine game as an adult. Before she could work herself up into a good “mad,” Joelle felt her body relaxing despite her best efforts to fight the fatigue. The seat was warming around her and in less than a minute she felt the weight of sheer exhaustion pull her under. Joelle knew she was losing the battle to stay awake, but she couldn’t work up the energy to care. Despite their ridiculous speed, the ride was smooth and she finally surrendered. Leaning against the side of the car, she let go and fell into a sweet abyss of sleep.
Ryan had seen the battle between fear, frustration, and fatigue waging in Joelle’s eyes and knew the heated seat would help her body’s need for rest win the war. He smiled to himself at how quickly she’d fallen asleep despite the fact she was strapped in the back of a car rocketing down the highway at an obscene speed.
“Might as well throttle this beast back. Phoenix said the perp slipped through the trees and escaped.” Brandt rubbed his hands over his face in frustration. “You know, a part of me is pissed they missed him—no doubt Kip’s fucking truck alerted two thirds of the people in the county he was headed in that direction. But a bigger part of me is relieved because who knows what they were barreling into.”
“And that really isn’t their area of expertise—despite the fact I’m sure they were well armed.” Ryan didn’t try to hold back his chuckle. Hell, his cousins had all been born and raised on a ranch so guns had been a part of their lives since they were old enough to hold them. It hadn’t come as a surprise to anyone who knew Brandt when he qualified for sniper training. Even though he was a skilled marksman, killing hadn’t come easy to him and the man he loved like a brother had paid a huge emotional price for his time as a SEAL.
Brandt hadn’t talked to Ryan about what went down on that last mission, but the scuttlebutt among the teams had provided more than enough information. Ryan knew how difficult Brandt’s battle with PTSD had been because he’d stayed in close contact with his Uncle Dean and his other cousins during the past year. Ryan had encouraged them to be patient and supportive, assuring them Brandt would fight his way back to the surface soon enough. There had been times when he’d wondered if he hadn’t led them astray, but from the looks of things now, Brandt was definitely on the mend. Funny how the right woman at the right time can make all the difference.
“Oh I’m sure they both had weapons with them, but I’d like to talk to whoever was there. Phoenix might have managed some restraint if the adrenaline didn’t kick his control to the curb. But Kip? Hell, he probably wouldn’t realize what he was feeling was an adrenaline rush, and he damned sure wouldn’t feel a moment’s remorse. You pull him out of a woman’s bed at this hour, that boy is gonna shoot first and ask questions sometime next week.” Brandt’s sly grin assured Ryan the ornery kid he’d once known was still inside the morose man they’d all worried about for the past year and a half. Relief flooded him as he realized their crazy plan to share a woman might actually work.
He’d always worried he wouldn’t find a woman who would be willing to put up with the brutally demanding schedule of doctors in rural areas. But, Ryan had never wanted to specialize in some boring peripheral branch of medicine just to ensure he rarely worked anything but normal office hours. After spending several summers in Pine Creek, he’d always dreamed of settling into a small town—there was something about the intimacy of knowing everyone in the community that seemed right to him.
A single trip to the Pine Creek Emergency Room
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