Next of Kin

“Thanks.” A hand to her sore neck, she set off down the wide corridor. The name Jane Doe was posted on the wall next to the second room on the left. She tapped the partially open door, then stepped inside.

And held her breath.

A tall, athletic man in jeans and a white T-shirt was holding a blanket-wrapped bundle and rocking back and forth on his heels like a seasoned parent. He held a cold compress gently against the patch on the baby’s eye. Jackie thought he might have been humming a soft tune, but he stopped as soon as he noticed her.

“Hi,” she said.

Casey Guthrie had changed out of uniform and cleaned himself up. Oh, did he look good. Now Jackie did care about her ratty hair and her awful, soiled uniform. She pulled out the elastic from her ponytail and tried to run her fingers through her hair. She couldn’t.

“Hi,” he said softly.

“How’s our Janey?” Jackie moved close enough to brush her fingers over the fuzz on the baby’s head. Though she’d expected the baby to wear an eye patch, the sight of it made her own eyes tear. She distracted herself by referring to the baby’s chart.

She checked the list of medications and saw everything she would have expected from mydriatics and cycloplegics, which would keep the pupil dilated, to the antibiotics that would ward off infection.

“She’ll have to wear that pressure patch for at least a day,” Jackie said.

“Yes. I was here when the surgeon stopped by to see how she was doing. As you suspected, there was a glass shard in her eye.” Casey broke the news in a quiet, sympathetic tone. “The doctors are hoping damage won’t be permanent, but at this point they just don’t know.”

“Oh, Casey.” She moved in close enough to kiss the little one’s forehead. “Does she seem to be in pain?”

“Mostly she’s been sleeping. Nurses have been in here ’round the clock. One just left to get a clean dressing.”

Jackie noticed Casey start his rocking motion again. “You’re good with kids. Do you have any?”

Though he didn’t wear a ring, she wasn’t going to simply assume he wasn’t married.

He grinned. “No wife. No kids. But I’m glad to get a little practice in. It may come in handy when my big brother starts a family.”

She noticed he didn’t say when he had kids. Did that mean he wasn’t planning a family for himself? A nurse bustled into the room then, and he handed Janey over to her—not before touching his forefinger to the side of the baby’s cheek.

Again, Jackie felt thick, bittersweet emotion stealing over her. Where was this child’s father? She blinked away a threatening tear, then noticed Casey wasn’t gazing at the baby anymore but at her.

Oh, Lord. He must be appalled at how awful she looked.

“I haven’t had a minute to myself since I saw you last,” she confessed. “I know I look like hell.” The accident had strained the ER department to the limit, even though they’d called in extra nurses and doctors.

“You were incredible.”

Casey’s eyes shone with admiration and, oddly, that made her want to cry again, too. What a crazy day.

“Hardly.” She turned to the chart once more, not knowing what else to do, and stared at the blurred lines of writing.

“You were a real hero today.”

“No.” She wasn’t. She’d helped some people a little, but there’d been too many she couldn’t help. That poor man incinerated in his own car. And Janey’s mother crushed and trapped under the tractor-trailer rig…

She blinked rapidly, but still felt her eyes growing damp.

No, she wasn’t a hero. She’d only done her job, and now she felt so…so tired. And more taxed emotionally than she’d admitted to her co-workers.

“Let me take you home.” Casey put an arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. She was reminded of riding with him on the bike, leaning against his back for support. Strange that she’d felt comfortable enough to do that. She barely knew Casey Guthrie.

Gently she eased out from under his arm. “It’s nice of you to offer. But I can take a cab.” It was more than nice of him to offer, actually. If he’d been at the hospital for most of the night, he had to be exhausted, too.

She attempted a smile and a feeble joke. “Anyway, I don’t think I can take another ride on your motorbike.”

He laughed. “That belongs to the department. I do own a bike of my own, a sweet little Harley that I know you’d love.” He winked, acknowledging the joke. “But I brought my car this time. Come on.”

There was no polite way to avoid walking down the corridor with him and taking the elevator together to street level. Outside, in the faint light of dawn, he led her to the visitors’ lot and she made out the sleek lines of a luxury sports car.

A white convertible Saab. She thought sadly of her totaled Mazda. “Nice car. I didn’t know cops were paid that well.”

“We aren’t.” He unlocked the doors and held the passenger one open for her. She hesitated, then decided she had no energy to argue the point. If he wanted to be chivalrous, then she would let him. He waited until she was settled, then closed the door gently and loped to the driver’s side.

“As a man with no ties or responsibilities, which is the way my big brother, Adam, always describes me, I can afford to spend most of my money on toys.”

Toys meaning fast cars and motorcycles. And women, too? Jackie could only speculate. Now that the emergency was over, she was able to fully appreciate just what a hunk this motorcycle cop was. Besides his great build and hot smile, his eyes held a certain sparkle that she guessed would appeal to women. No doubt he had a very active social life.

Unlike her.

She gave him directions to her condo, a few blocks back from the beach. She’d moved here two years ago, after selling the house she’d lived in with Andrew. At the time, leaving had been painful, but no way could she have stayed. Even packing had been more than she could endure. Her brothers, bless their hearts, had taken care of all of that, including the garage, Andrew’s study, his clothes…

Don’t go there, Jackie.

As she concentrated on relaxing her muscles, she realized that the pain in her neck was easing. The medication she’d taken must have finally kicked in. She leaned back against the leather seat and closed her eyes. Casey, thank goodness, took the corners slow and easy. She wondered if he would drop her off on the street or come up to her door.

From what she’d seen of his manners so far, he would insist on walking her to the door. At which time she would thank him politely and he would leave. She would grab a quick bite to eat, then crash into bed.

Only, what if he asked if she would see him again?

He won’t. I’m not his type.

She was sure she’d pegged him right as a real ladies’ man. And she didn’t date that sort. Never had. Not even the bold and daring old Jackie had ever cared for that kind of a guy.

Okay, if that’s true, then stop thinking about him. And definitely stop looking at him as if you’d like to eat him for breakfast.

She tried thinking about what she would eat when she was home. What, if anything, did she have in her fridge right now? Her intended trip to the grocery store yesterday had been curtailed when the unseasonably warm weather had drawn her to the beach instead.

“Hungry?” Casey asked.

“You must have been reading my mind. I was trying to remember what I had in my fridge.”

“And?”

“Condiments, mostly,” she admitted. “Though I may have a pizza in the freezer.”

Just saying the word pizza made her realize how famished she was. Several hours ago she’d grabbed an energy bar and supplemented it with two or three colas since. But that was all.