Chapter One

 

 

He was the last Gallagher bachelor.

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Half an hour before, Wyatt and Mia had tied the knot, putting an end to Wyatt’s single status and leaving Dylan the lone bachelor among the men of his family.

Maybe there was something in the water. If so, he’d be very careful about what he drank. He liked his sisters-in-law, including the brand-new one, Mia. Jack, Sean and Wyatt all seemed happy. They wanted to be married, wanted to settle down with one woman. That was great. For them.

 

So far, he’d take his horses over any woman. He liked women. He liked them a lot. Liked being around them, liked talking to them, really liked having sex with them. But one woman? Forever?

 

Not him. He hadn’t met a woman yet who tempted him to give up his freedom.

Not that there weren’t some women he found pretty damn intriguing. Dr. Samantha Striker being the most recent.

 

Though she’d worked at Marietta Regional Hospital for close to a year now, Dylan had only met her a couple of weeks before. His new stallion kicked Clay Landers, one of his longtime ranch hands and Dylan’s right-hand man, in the abdomen and it was serious enough that Dylan took him to the hospital instead of waiting for an ambulance.

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Dr. Striker, the trauma surgeon, had taken Clay to have emergency surgery quickly, but the process took a lot longer than Dylan had hoped it would. He waited around until she came to talk to him afterwards. Wearing baby-blue scrubs, a scrub cap, and with a surgical mask hanging from her neck, she looked pretty solemn, but when she saw him she put on a reassuring smile that didn’t particularly reassure him.

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Dylan was no doctor, but with three brothers who were, he knew a little about medicine. Especially farm accidents.

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“I’m Samantha Striker, the trauma surgeon,” she said, offering a hand. “We didn’t actually meet when you brought in Mr. Landers.”

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“Dylan Gallagher,” he said, shaking hands. “No, you got him up to the OR in record time.”

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“Internal bleeding isn’t something to fool around with. You did the right thing bringing him in. I suspect it would have taken an ambulance quite a while to get out to your ranch.”

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“Good. I worried about that, but his injury seemed serious and I was afraid to wait. How is he, Doc?”

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“Before surgery, he said I could talk to the boss about the accident and his surgery. I take it you’re the boss?”

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“Yes.” And it was Dylan’s hellion horse who’d kicked the crap out of Clay. “Is he going to be okay?”

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She hesitated almost imperceptibly before answering. “He should be, but it’s a serious injury. He had a liver laceration, which caused internal bleeding. We repaired it, but he’ll need to stay in the hospital for some time. I can’t say how long at this point.”

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“I’m not sure how long he’ll stay in the hospital. He hates them. No offense.”

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“None taken.”

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He looked at her a minute before asking, “Is there something you’re not telling me, Doc?”

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“Why do you ask?”

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“I have three brothers who are doctors. I can tell when they’re bullshitting me.”

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She smiled at that. “I knew who you were the minute I saw you. You and your brothers bear a strong resemblance to each other. And no, I’m not bullshitting you. He should recover from the accident.”

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“Those are carefully chosen words. If I were on his HIPAA, could you tell me what it is you’re worried about?”

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“Are you on his HIPAA?”

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“No. So I’ll just wait until you talk to Clay and he’ll tell me.”

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She pulled off her cap and rubbed the back of her neck. Thick, wavy, blonde hair reached her shoulders. Damn, a very pretty blonde. Dylan really went for blondes. And redheads and brunettes. But especially blondes.

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“I’ll give you a call when he wakes up.”

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“Thanks. Say, Doc, what are you doing tomorrow night?”

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She blinked at him. “Are you asking me out?”

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“Why, is that a problem?”

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“Not exactly a problem. But I have a boyfriend.”

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“Damn. That’s too bad. Let me know if you two break up, okay?”

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She laughed. “You’ll be the first to know.”