his eyes. “I never believed it, but the Logans have not been particularly lucky in the romance department. Their women don’t seem to hang around.”
“They leave?”
He shrugged again. “Or die.”
Her eyes widened and she swallowed a chuckle. “Oh, my. Is that why you haven’t married?”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Nah, just haven’t met the right one.” He looked her over curiously. “What about you?”
“I thought I had, but I was wrong.”
“I thought someone would have tried to take you off the market. What did he do?”
“He left at the worst possible moment,” she said and smiled. “No fairy-tale ending, but I’m over it now.”
“Ready to go again?” he asked with a flicker of sexual challenge in his blue eyes.
“I like taking my time,” she returned, thinking he would be a tempting package for some other woman. She met his gaze. “I know it’s part of your style to flirt with women and to flatter. You don’t have to do that with me. My ego can handle the direct approach.”
He glanced at her mouth, then back to her eyes, and he gave a sensual grin. “What if I like flirting with you?”
“I think you should save it for the legions of women around here who want to—” she paused, then added Trina’s words “—lasso your heart.”
He roared with laughter. “You’ve been talking to Trina.”
“No. Trina’s been talking to me.”
“So you’re not gonna try to lasso me,” he said, rubbing his chin. “I wonder if my feelings should be hurt.”
“I’m sure you’ll survive,” she said in a dry voice. “No ropes, no chains. If I want your body or your face, it’ll be for a media photo op that will get you your new wing.”
“Some men might see that as a challenge,” he told her.
“I’m glad you’re too intelligent for that,” she said with far more assurance than she felt. Intelligence was one thing, the male ego another.
The elevator stopped. “We’ll see,” he said. “But right now you get to meet some of my kids. Hey, Betty,” he called to a nurse. “How’s TJ?”
“A little down. His mom might not be here until tomorrow morning.”
Tyler winced and swore under his breath. “TJ is seven and has six brothers and sisters. His family lives three hours away and his dad has a broken leg, so his mother is doing triple duty right now. He has surgery tomorrow to repair a hole in his heart. This is his room.”
“Hey, bud,” he said as he entered the room. “What’s up?”
TJ was thin, his face drawn and his eyes frightened. Jill’s heart immediately went out to him.
“My mom won’t be here until late tonight.”
“I heard,” Tyler said. “I’m sure she’ll be here as soon as she can. I need you to rest for surgery tomorrow.”
“Will I really be able to play baseball after the operation?”
“No reason from my end. Who knows? After you recover, the majors may be calling you.”
TJ smiled.
“Hey, I brought someone to meet you. Her name is Jill Hershey.”
“Hershey?” TJ repeated. “Like the candy?”
“Yeah, eye candy,” Tyler said and winked at her. “Like the kiss.”
“Is she your girlfriend?”
“No,” Jill quickly said. “I work at the hospital.”
TJ glanced at her street clothes in confusion. “You’re not gonna take any more of my blood or give me any more shots, are you?”
“Not me,” she assured him. “Dr. Logan tells me you have a lot of brothers and sisters. Are you the oldest?”
TJ shook his head. “I’m in the middle. I had to come early for surgery because one of my sisters got sick and they didn’t want me to get sick before the operation.”
“Oh,” Jill said. “It can be boring in the hospital.”
“Yeah.”
“Boring?” Tyler repeated indignantly. “Them’s fighting words.”
“Well, you get to do the interesting stuff like surgery,” Jill pointed out.
“And TJ gets to lie around and have people wait on him.”
“The food is gross,” TJ said.
“What do you like to do at home?” Jill asked.
“After I get my operation, I’m gonna run and run and never stop running,” TJ said, his words pulling at Jill’s heart. She could tell that was a dream Tyler would make come true. “I read a lot,” he said. “My mom reads to all of us every night.”
Jill glanced at the stack of books on his bedside stand. “Would you let me read one to you?”
TJ’s eyes lit up. “Sure!”
Jill felt Tyler’s hand on her shoulder. “You—” His pager went off and he glanced at it. “Another doctor. Probably needs a consult.” He looked at her with a mixture of approval and basic male interest that made her heart jump and her brain go uh-oh. “I’ll be back.”
Jill didn’t really want to like Tyler, but she was hard-pressed when she looked at TJ and knew he probably dreamed every night of running, and Tyler would make that dream a reality. Good press, she thought, and tried to compartmentalize as she picked up a book from the table.
Jill read several books to TJ, and much later Tyler appeared and removed the book she was currently reading from her hands. He pressed his finger to his lips and pointed at TJ, who was sleeping.
Taking her hand, he led her from the room. “I didn’t intend to put you to work tonight.”
She let go of his hand and waved hers in a dismissing gesture. “It was a small thing. I didn’t mind at all.”
He paused, studying her. “I think there’s more to you than meets the eye. You look cool, as if you are totally pulled together, as if no one could ruffle your feathers or get to you,” he said. “But TJ did. I thought you didn’t like kids.”
Jill stifled a sigh of frustration. “I never said I didn’t like kids. I just said I’ve been most effective working on projects for adults,” she said, then changed the subject. “How was your consult?”
“Two consults, and I checked in on another patient. That’s what took me so long. There’s one more thing I want you to see,” he said, and touched her back to guide her toward the elevator. “One floor up, then I’ll take you to dinner.”
“Dinner’s not necessary,” Jill said.
“Sure it is.”
“No it isn’t.”
“Sure it is,” he repeated. “Haven’t you ever heard you’re not supposed to argue with the doctor?”
“Is that one of the bits of fiction they teach you in med school?” she asked sweetly.
Tyler chuckled. “No respect. I get no respect.” The doors whisked open. “I can’t let you read to her,” he said as they rounded a corner, “but I thought you might like to see my youngest patient.” They stopped in front of a nursery window, and he pointed to a small baby off to the side. “Meet Annabelle Rogers. She’s three months old.”
Jill saw the nursery full of isolates