Cedar Bluff's Most Eligible Bachelor (Cedar Bluff Hospital) by LAURA IDING

with Simon following behind her. “My God, Hailey, what happened?”
    “I ran into Simon on my bike,” she said quickly pre-empting his response. “I couldn’t see a thing. My goggles were totally fogged up.”
    “You rode to work in a thunderstorm?” Rachel said, her tone rising incredulously. “A car crash was the least of your worries. What if you’d been struck by lightning? Why on earth didn’t you call me? I would have driven you to work even on my day off.”
    In hindsight, that would have been a smarter thing to do. But she’d already dodged Rachel’s questions regarding her decision to ride her bike everywhere. She hadn’t wanted to outright lie to her friend.
    She’d come to Cedar Bluff to forget the past. Not be reminded of it on a daily basis. Yet here she was, reliving it anyway.
    “I should have called,” she acknowledged, glancing at Simon. “See? This really was my fault. Even Rachel thinks I’m stupid.”
    “Why were you riding your bike in the thunderstorm?” Simon asked, his intense gaze unwavering. “Did your car break down?”
    She hesitated, not sure how to answer that one. But she needn’t have worried.
    Rachel rolled her eyes. “Car? What car? Hailey doesn’t own a car. She rides everywhere on that bike of hers. And I mean everywhere!”
     
     
    Simon couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Hailey didn’t own a car? Because she couldn’t afford one? Had to be. He couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting the ease of car transportation.
    “Thanks for blabbing, Rach,” Hailey muttered.
    Simon lifted a brow, but let the comment go. “I’ll drive you home,” he announced.
    Hailey’s eyes widened. “That’s not necessary,” she started to say.
    But Rachel cut her off. “Yes, it is necessary. I’m covering your shift, so I can’t drive you home. And I don’t care what you say, there’s no way on earth you’re going to be able to crutch-walk three miles to your apartment.”
    Simon bit back a curse at the image. What was wrong with her? Why was Hailey being so stubborn? “I’m driving you home,” he said again, in a steely tone that left no room for argument.
    Rachel flashed an odd glance at him, but then nodded. “Good. So that’s settled.” She turned back to Hailey. “I have to go take care of my patients, but call me later, okay?”
    “Okay,” Hailey agreed, resigned acceptance in her tone.
    When Rachel left, a heavy silence hung over the room. Simon scrubbed his hand over his jaw, searching for something to say.
    She shifted her weight on the cart, sucking in a quick breath when she moved her right leg. Her face was whiter than the hospital bed sheets and when he looked closely, he saw a faint sheen of sweat covering her brow.
    “Have you taken anything for the pain?” he asked. She looked awful. Worse than awful.
    “No.” She worried her lower lip between her teeth in a habit he shouldn’t have found endearing but did. “I was thinking of asking for some ibuprofen but I don’t want to take it on an empty stomach.”
    Ibuprofen? For a broken leg? “Do you have something against narcotics?” he asked warily.
    She gave a small shrug. “They make me itch.”
    Since itching could be an early sign of an allergic reaction, he sighed and nodded. “Okay, there is non-narcotic pain medication too, you know. I’ll talk to Jadon, see what he’s ordered.”
    “I’d really rather wait until I get home,” she said, when he moved toward the door.
    “Getting in and out of a car and then from the car into your apartment is going to hurt,” he told her bluntly. “I suggest you have something now.”
    He took it as a good sign that she didn’t argue. Taking control of the situation, Simon arranged for her to get a dose of the medication now and a prescription filled by the outpatient pharmacy here at the hospital. Jadon was happy to write her discharge orders after getting the official all-clear on her CT scans from the radiologist.
    Simon still couldn’t