Have Gown, Need Groom by Rita Herron

had its limits—he’d run through a jungle full of snakes, walk through fire, risk his life to keep the streets safe, but there was no way in hell he’d put on a silly elf suit.
    No sooner had the sheriff left, than Jake’s partner and friend, Trevor Muldoon, loped in, grinning. Although Muldoon was in his fifties, Jake admired the older man and his commitment to his job. He was also one of the few cops he’d known who’d been able to keep a family. Muldoon enjoyed dispensing advice, constantly urged Jake to search for a good woman, and bragged about the difference his marriage had made in his life. So far, Jake hadn’t bought any of the malarkey. “Hey, man, how’s the b—”
    “Don’t say it,” Jake warned, knowing the older man intended to make him the butt of his jokes.
    Muldoon chuckled. “The chief wanted me to find out if this shooting had anything to do with the investigation.”
    “I don’t think so,” Jake said. “The local sheriff was just here.”
    “Yeah, I saw him take off. I hid in the hall, didn’t want anyone to see me.”
    Jake nodded. “Sheriff claimed the punk kid who shot me tried to steal the car on a dare. He’s too amateurish to be the mastermind we’re looking for. I need more time.”
    “We’ll follow up on the kid. Chief wants you to tie this thing up before Christmas,” Trevor said. “Says he’ll have to pull you back in soon.”
    “I’ll have the case solved by then,” Jake said. He’d step up the investigation, use every available clue and possible resource he had.
    The intercom buzzed in the hallway and a voice paged Dr. Hartwell.
    Trevor frowned at the announcement. “Your doctor?”
    “Yeah. You’d better get out of here, man.”
    “Keep me posted.” Trevor slipped out the door, and Jake leaned back against the pillow. He’d been wondering where the elusive beautiful doctor had been this morning. Wiley had phoned first thing to tell him he’d enlisted Hannah to drive him home. Jake had considered telling Wiley to forget it, that he’d take a cab, but then he’d decided why not? The sooner he got to know the doc the better.

    H ANNAH WAS on her way to answer the page when she saw a man slip from Jake Tippin’s room. Hmm, even though he didn’t have family, at least he had a visitor. Not one of the salesmen from Wiley’s, though. And how odd—she’d noticed the same man earlier—he’d been lurking in the hall. When the sheriff had left Jake’s room, the man had slipped behind a medicine cart until the lawman had disappeared. Who was the stranger, and why wouldn’t he want Sheriff Walker to see him?
    The intercom announced her name again, and she shook off the uneasiness, knowing bigger problems awaited her. Having just completed an early-morning rotation in the ER, she was exhausted, but the minute she’d heard the page, adrenaline had kicked in. Adrenaline spurred by nerves. Her stomach clenched as she spotted Seth’s parents enter the chief of staff’s office ahead of her.
    The Broadhursts were prominent retired physicians who’d donated scads of money to the hospital. They had power, influence and the backing of the board.
    And they most likely hated her.
    Why had she been asked to meet them in the chief’s office? Had they listened to the apology she’d left on their answering machine at home and decided to confront her?
    She twisted her fingers together as she stared at the closed door. They couldn’t have her fired for what she’d done to their son, but they could make her life hell, could create dissension, could make her want to leave.
    Maybe she should simply ask for a transfer. She could move to Atlanta, complete her residency at another hospital, make the situation less awkward for everyone. She’d already heard some nasty rumors floating around—she’d been having an affair, had rubbed it in Seth’s face when she dumped him. In a small town like Sugar Hill where everyone knew everyone else, the gossip about her jilting Seth