Here And Now (American Valor 2) Read Online Free

man with a stethoscope dangling around his neck. Although he was about the same age, this guy was blond and wore glasses. He stopped short at the sight of her and offered his hand. “Are you Karen’s replacement? We haven’t met yet. I’m Chad Ferguson.”
    That was a name she recognized as being one of the ER doctors.
    “I’m not sure who Karen is,” she said, taking his hand, “but I’m Rachel Dellinger. I transferred down here from the floor. Tonight’s my first night.”
    “It’s good to have you,” he said with a nod and a smile before turning his attention to Lucky.
    “So, what in the hell did you do, man? I couldn’t believe it when Dottie said you were in here. Thought I’d come check on you to make sure you didn’t do some real damage.”
    It was then she noticed the fresh blood and dirt on the backside of Lucky’s right arm. Which meant he was the guy from the parking lot.
    Lucky’s gaze momentarily slid to her, then back to the ER doc. “Nothing major. A little bit of road rash and that’s it. Give me five minutes and I’ll be outta here.”
    “No rush,” Ferguson said as he grabbed a couple of latex gloves from the dispenser on the wall. “Not like there’s anything going on out there anyway.”
    “You know you just jinxed it, right?”
    “Hell, yes.” Ferguson laughed. “You know there’s nothing I hate more than a quiet ER. Now let me make sure you didn’t break anything.”
    Rachel tried to back out of the way, but found herself hemmed in as Ferguson manipulated Lucky’s arm, working it to and fro, testing the elbow and then the shoulder.
    “Any pain in your wrist? Hand?”
    “Nope.”
    Then, as if the room couldn’t be any more crowded, another woman she didn’t yet know poked her head in the doorway. “We’ve got an ambulance en route. Patient is twenties, male. Motorcycle versus pickup.”
    “Ask and ye shall receive,” Ferguson said with a wide grin on his face. He took a moment to strip off his gloves and toss them in the hazardous-waste bin. “Things look fine, like you said. Let Rachel get you all bandaged up. But don’t be too long. This could be a good one.”
    As the ER doc rushed out of the room, she turned to grab wound cleanser and gauze pads from the supply cart. “Without a mirror, there’s no way you can see to clean it properly.”
    “You can go.” He tugged the bottle of wound cleanser from her hands. “I can take care of this.”
    Rachel grabbed the bottle back from him and set it down next to the gauze pads, daring him to try that little maneuver a second time.
    Once she was convinced he’d leave things well enough alone, she yanked a set of latex gloves from the dispenser and immediately pulled one on her right hand while leaning over to get a closer look. It was nothing more than a scrape, a pretty good one that had to hurt like hell. And when it started to heal and scab over, it was bound to pull and break open every time he bent his elbow.
    “So you’re the idiot from the parking lot.”
    The smile was gone from Lucky’s face this time when she looked up at him. Not that she could really blame him since she hadn’t really meant to say that last little bit out loud.
    That’s when she heard him mumble something under his breath about her driving skills. Obviously he didn’t think riding around on a bicycle in the almost dark didn’t play a part in their little incident in the parking lot.
    She blew out a frustrated breath and pulled on the second glove, snapping the latex against her palm while reminding herself that when she became a nurse she swore she’d treat all patients with care, no matter their gender or race or rotten disposition and holier than thou attitudes.
    “So, obviously you work here in the ER,” she said, turning her attention to the sterile packaging she was tearing open. “What do you do? Are you a doctor?” She held her breath hoping he wasn’t since she kinda hit him with her truck even though it was totally