One Summer In Santa Fe

She caught herself looking at his lean, muscled legs, bared by almost indecently short jogging shorts, and the way his chest pumped with each breath he dragged in and pushed out. “Er, just reviewing my anatomy.”

“What?” He tilted his head up to look at her, a frown on his face.

“Nothing. Don’t let me interrupt your exercise. I just wanted to say hi.” Embarrassment flooded her. She hoped he hadn’t caught her looking at his legs or that magnificent chest. Working with someone and finding them physically attractive could be a snag. Not that she couldn’t be professional about it, but it could certainly make her assignment, uh, interesting. A perk she hadn’t thought of. Working with a handsome man could never be termed a hardship.

“No problem.” He waved away her concern. “I was just about through anyway, ready to cool down.”

“Did you find a camp for Alex?” Distraction. That’s what she needed to keep her mind off of Taylor’s gorgeous body revealed by those shorts and tight T-shirt.

“Yep. Got him all signed up, and he starts tomorrow morning. Thanks again for that suggestion. I don’t know what I’d have done otherwise.”

“I’m sure he’s thrilled.” A warm feeling pulsed through her that he’d taken her advice. Though it had been a little thing for her to make the suggestion, she had been glad to do it.

“Yeah. He about hugged me to death.” A frown briefly crossed Taylor’s brow, and he looked away.

“Hugs bother you?” she asked, watching him closely. Many men weren’t comfortable with affection. They wanted sex, sure, but real affection was another thing. Intimacy? Forget about that, too. She’d found that out with her doctor ex-boyfriend. Sex equated intimacy, then you rolled over and went to sleep. Right. While your partner stared at the ceiling for a few hours.

“Not usually. Just not used to them.” He placed a foot up on the rock beside her and stretched out his leg, then switched to the other side. “I’m not very demonstrative by nature.”

“There’s a theory out there that we need four therapeutic hugs a day for survival, eight a day for maintenance and twelve for growth,” she said. “I read that somewhere. Stimulates the immune system and fosters well-being.”

“That’s a lot of hugs in a day.” He trained piercing eyes on her and raised his brows.

“I kind of like it. And there are documented benefits of therapeutic touch.”

“There’s a lot of that stuff going on in Santa Fe, but not much in the traditional settings. More in the outpatient setting, though I think there could be benefits for inpatients, as well.”

Piper nodded. “I took a few courses on healing touch and have used it successfully for pain control when nothing else works.” The touch was a form of meditation and self-healing that some people responded to.

“Really? There is a school for healing touch here, and I think it’s mostly for nurse-type people if you’re interested.”

“I’ll think about that, but as I’m only going to be here a few weeks, I probably won’t have the time.” She’d witnessed too many incidents of success with the technique to doubt it. “Works for me when I need it.” Boy had she needed the human touch over the years. Raising her sister, losing her parents at a young age. That had been a brutal loss to her and her sister. That single event had changed her life. She’d been forced to grow up overnight.

The loving hands of her aunt Ida had sustained her when she’d needed it. Those loving touches were a thing she missed now. Unfortunately, the current ache in her life couldn’t be filled by the simple touch of family. She was beginning to suspect that she craved a satisfying relationship, that she just hadn’t found and wasn’t willing to stick her neck out for. Maybe loneliness was something she’d just have to get used to, like an ache that would never go away. By now, it was certainly her constant companion. Sure, she had friends and people to do things with, but she always went home alone. That hollow ache could be dulled, but never seemed to go away completely. Looking at Taylor, she knew he’d never be able to fill that void. She wasn’t what someone like him craved.

He took a step closer, but then stopped, recalling his conversation with Alex about personal hygiene. “I’m hot and sweaty now, but I’d be willing to give the hug thing a try another time.” His gaze dropped to her mouth and lower and the breath that had returned to him after his run was somehow stuck in his throat.

Hugs, huh? He’d have never thought that hugs were beneficial, just some sort of activity that made people think they felt better. Denial was powerful, especially during emotional situations, which was why he tried to avoid them. But standing here looking at Piper and how attractive she was, the hint of a flush on her face and neck, he’d be willing to consider testing her theory at some point. Her full lips curving up at the corners nearly made him reconsider. It had been way too long since he’d been in a relationship, considered having another one. Not that he’d do that with Piper. She was a coworker and a temporary staff member. As he glanced over her figure again, he reflected she was a fine-looking staff member.

“So, I know you’re a traveler, but what brings you to Santa Fe? Family, boyfriend?” This wasn’t like him, he thought, and frowned at that. He wasn’t this interested in people and generally didn’t make polite conversation. Something about Piper made him want to know more.

Before answering, she tucked her hair behind one ear and shot a quick glance at him. “Oh, I’m not really sure. I’ve been a lot of places, but not New Mexico. This short assignment seemed like a quick way to see the area and grab a bonus, too. And you?”

“I started out in Albuquerque at the university there and migrated up to Santa Fe. My sister lives here, too.” Piper’s answer just generated more questions in his head. “I was wondering how you know so much about children. Do you have any?”

“No. I don’t have my own children, but I’ve had to pretty much raise my little sister since our parents were killed years ago.”

“I see. That must have been tough.”

She gave a small, sad smile. “More brutal than you’ll ever know.” Unable to look away from the intensity of him, she met his gaze and held on, seeing how far it took them.

The heat of attraction poured off Taylor as he stared at her mouth, and her heart skipped a beat just imagining long, slow body contact with him. She swallowed, a hint of desire crawling along her spine in reaction to him.

Attractions between nurses and doctors happened. The intensity of their work lives pushed the attraction to higher levels. Unable to look away, she stared at Taylor, and he held her gaze, seeming unafraid of the connection forming between them. But then, according to Alex, he wasn’t afraid of anything. Someone like her wasn’t going to scare him one bit.

In the distance, the faint yip-yip of a coyote signaled the fall of night. Desert nights were a sight to behold, especially, when she was out in one with Taylor in front of her.

She blinked as the persistent yip penetrated the web of attraction between them. Oh, God. She was simply staring at him. And he was…staring back. She licked her lips, and pushed her hair behind her ear as her mouth went dry, feeling much like the desert around her. This wasn’t good.

Then Piper sat up and listened, not sure what she had heard. “Did you hear that?” Whew. Anything to provide a distraction, divert Taylor’s attention from her and hers from him. Taylor seemed to break free of the hypnotic spell between them, took a step back from her and huffed out a quick breath. The tension stretching between them snapped.

“Oh. Hear what?” Taylor asked, running his hands through his hair as he turned away. “I don’t hear anything.”

“Kind of sounded like the noise I heard earlier. I was thinking it sounded like a coyote, but I’m not sure.”

Sudden cries for help echoed through the park. “Now I hear something.” He paused a second, listening, and cries for help carried through the park. “Let’s see what’s going on.”

They raced to the top of a small hill and found an elderly gentleman sitting on the ground, a pile of bloodcovered fur at his feet.

“Oh, dear,” Piper said.

“What happened?” Taylor said as they approached the distressed man. Piper knelt beside him.

“Coyote. Attacked my dog,” he said between wheezing gasps.

Piper checked his pulse, then pressed her hand to his cheek. His coloring was a startling red. “Sir, do you have any medical conditions?”

“Please. Just help. My dog,” he said, and tears flowed down his rounded cheeks.

Piper looked up at Taylor, her blue eyes full of inquiry. He knew the question in her gaze, and when he looked down at the animal, he knew it was already too late and shook his head.

“Let’s see what we can do about you first.” Her calm voice and soft tone was designed to comfort the man beside her.

“Oh, no! Is Muffin dead?” he asked, and clasped her arm.

Piper took his hand and drew his attention away from the site. “I don’t know. We’ll help Muffin all we can, but I think you need some help, too.”

The man responded to Piper and nodded. “Okay. Okay.” He fumbled in his pocket and withdrew an inhaler. Piper held his trembling hand to his mouth as he took two puffs of the medication that would assist his breathing. Tears still trickled down his face. “I’m short…of breath.”

“Were you bitten, too?” Taylor asked, and knelt beside them. The dog was past any help they could give it. A small dog was no match against a coyote that was probably rabid. The kind of behavior the man described was unusual for the normally reclusive coyote. They would have to report it after the man was seen to.

“No. It just tore out of the brush and attacked poor Muffin.” He wiped his tears with his hands, which were covered in scratches. “I tried to pull it off.”

Taylor assessed the man’s condition. Without medical equipment, he was limited as to what he could do. Basic first aid was about it. “That was a very brave thing to do, but it appears that the coyote got a piece of you, too.”

“What?”

Taylor pointed to the puncture wounds on the man’s hands and forearms. “It bit you, too.”