"It's what keeps me young and beautiful," Mo said with another wink.
"What in the hell happened?" Brian yelled, making John stir in his bed.
"You didn't listen, that's what happened," Mo said, directing the young nurse's attention to her.
"What the hell? Did that guy punch me?"
"He sure did. And I thought you said he was harmless," Mo said, not even trying to hide her mirth.
"I could sue you," Brian said, hatred flying from his eyes.
"Go ahead and try it, sonny," Mo said, her lips no longer twitching.
Sage almost, not quite, but almost felt sorry for the nurse because she knew he wouldn't be working at the hospital too much longer, probably not beyond the night.
"Why don't we take you to one of the on-call rooms so you can lie down?" Sage said, not wanting to touch the man, but trying to help him stand.
"I don't need you to doctor me. You're just a freaking resident," Brian snapped, no longer flirty.
"That's fine with me," Sage said as she stood upright and backed away from the spluttering kid.
Spence and two other nurses arrived just then to see what all of the commotion was about. It only took a few moments for them to assess the scene, and all three of them covered their mouths as they tried to hide their amusement.
"This woman messed with my training and put me in a situation to be harmed," Brian gushed as he looked up at Spence.
Spence stuck out a hand and helped the nurse up before turning to Mo. "What happened, Mo?" Even though he was asking, it was already pretty obvious.
"John came in again and we woke him up. Sage warned the new nurse what happens when John wakes up, but he refused to listen," Mo said, a twinkle back in her eyes.
Turning to Brian, Spence got a stern look on his face. "I've had several complaints that you refuse to listen. This time, it landed you on the floor." There was no arguing with Spence when he used that tone.
"I'm so through with this Podunk town and this crappy teaching hospital," Brian snapped as he glared at each of them and then stomped from the room.
Spence turned and looked at Mo with a brow raised.
Mo held her hands up in mock defense. "Hey, I was only trying to show the kid the ropes. It's not my fault if he doesn't listen."
"Well then. It looks like you're going to have a new nurse to train tomorrow, Mo," Spence said as he turned and walked from the room.
"I knew the first night that boy wouldn't last," Mo said to Sage as they followed Spence and the other nurses from the room.
Sage thought that John Duncan must be scratching his head, thinking he'd been admitted into a psychiatric hospital instead of his usual place. Yes, it was crazy, but tonight had been pure entertainment.
"I'm sure glad I haven't gotten on your bad side, Mo," Sage said.
"Ah, girlie, you're too pure to get on anyone's bad side," Mo replied with her cackle.
"I don't know. Spence sure as heck gets irritated with me often enough."
"That's because you're a hot woman," Mo said as she moved toward the exit. "I'm taking a smoke break. Unless the entire town of Sterling shows up, I don't want to be interrupted."
With that, Mo left Sage, and the emergency department went back to its calm setting. At least Sage couldn't say that her job was boring. There always seemed to be something new happening.
Standing outside with the snow drifting down while she tilted her face up to the dark skies, Sage laughed in delight. This was something she'd certainly missed while living in the hot sun of California. Yes, it made driving a true pain, but who cared when you got to feel the delicate flakes of snow fall on your tongue and melt in your mouth.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself."
Sage jumped at the sound of Spence's voice and turned to find him beside her. "I'm not playing," she insisted. "It was just really slow, so I thought I'd come out for a breath of fresh air."
"Take all the time you want to stand out here and play . . . er . . . get some air. You're right, it is a slow night."
"Yes. I normally love to keep busy, but after the last couple of shifts, this is perfect. I just hope the newly fallen snow doesn't cause a mountain of accidents."
"Most of the people here are smart enough to not go out unless they have the proper vehicle," he said, then looked pointedly toward the parking lot. "You won't be driving yours home. The roads won't get plowed until morning."
"I'll be fine. I'll just drive really slowly. Besides, I'm out of here in an hour. The roads will be cushioned without being icy," she said as she spun in a circle, causing the flakes falling all around her to swirl in her human tornado.
"As I said, you won't be driving home. I looked at that car of yours. It's not fit for the roads of Montana."
"Look, Dr. Whitman, just because I don't have some fancy-schmancy truck doesn't mean I'm a menace to the highways. I'll take it slow." She hated that he felt he had the right to come out here during her moment of peace and say whatever pleased him.
Do this! Do that! Move it, Dr. Banks. In the ER she couldn't complain about Spence's orders, but when it came to what and when she drove, he didn't have a leg to stand on. And since he had such fine legs, that was a shame.
"We can argue more about it in an hour," he said peremptorily.
She looked at him while he stuck out his tongue to catch a snowflake. Despite his last words, for him, the subject was finished. He'd had his say, and in his opinion the conversation was over and done with.
Sage scooped up a large mass of snow and began forming a ball. She was nearly finished when he noticed what she was doing, and he took a cautious step backward.
"Now, Dr. Banks, I would just put that down slowly if I were you."
"I'm not you, Spence. Why so formal all of a sudden?"
"Retaliation will be swift and furious," he warned her with a gleam in his eyes that she should have tuned in to.
But she'd never been able to resist a challenge, and the snowball in her hand and his arrogant smile were just too much to resist. Without giving it much conscious thought, she let the ball fly from her palm. It whizzed through the air, aimed with deadly accuracy right at his incredulous eyes. But he turned at the last second and the snow exploded against the side of his head.
He lifted a hand and wiped the snow from his hair. "I can't believe you actually threw that."
She was already regretting her impulsive decision. She'd started a war with only one possible outcome, and that wasn't her victory. Still, if she was going down, she'd do it fighting. First, she'd attempt escape, but if that didn't work, it would be all weapons set on automatic fire.
"That was my pager," she said, and she immediately turned and began running toward the side doors she'd come through earlier.
"Not gonna happen, Sage. Mine would be going off, too, but good try," he yelled, his voice seeming to be only inches behind her ear.
She tried to pick up her pace but found herself sliding-beneath the fresh layer of snow was packed ice. She was going to fall flat on her rear if she didn't slow up. Of course, she was going to fall if she stood still.
She'd take her chances with the snow. Speeding up, she saw freedom in her sights when suddenly, strong arms wrapped around her waist, spinning her around and stealing the breath from her lungs, and then she and Spence were launching into the air.
"We're going down," he said, stating the obvious.
Sage cried out, expecting this to hurt, but he somehow managed to turn them around before they fell, and his back landed with a splash in the snow while she bounced against his chest-his delectably hard chest.
"Mmm, now this isn't bad," he said as he brought his hands up to cradle her head.
Finally on the verge of feeling what it would be like to touch him, what his taste would be, what passion he could invoke, Sage almost took his mouth with hers. But before she lost complete control, her hands, almost of their own accord, scooped up another large mound of snow, which she dumped right in his face, leaving him sputtering. He released her in his attempt to clear his air passages.
She twisted off his body and was attempting to rise to her feet when he snaked his arms around her again and she landed in his lap.
"Let me go," she said, but a giggle burst free. She couldn't help it. She hadn't roughhoused in the snow since she was a little girl, and though it was freezing out, she was having more fun than she could remember having in years.
"Not until I get my payback," he said, and she found herself on her back, the snow making a crater around her body. Her ears grew numb with cold.