King(6)

“I’ve got to see this guy,” Jewell said.

“Who?” Beth asked, coming into the kitchen.

The women went silent.

Evie decided she might as well tell. “I was just telling them that King was younger than I thought and not bad looking, either.”

“Yes, he is attractive.” Beth didn’t seem to be disturbed by everyone talking about her cousin. “How did it go at his house today?”

“Pretty well, considering I think he was fishing for information on Shade.”

“I thought he might. He asked me a few questions about Shade, too. I think that’s pretty understandable.”

“Why? It’s not like he raised her,” Raci butted in.

“No, but he did keep an eye out for her.” Evie could see Beth was going to defend her cousin, so she changed the subject to getting dinner done. One by one, the men came in from the factory, filling their plates. Evie fixed her own plate and then took a seat at the table. She was tired and didn’t really pay much attention to the conversation going on around her, so when she was finished, she got up from the table.

“Evie, I forgot to ask, would you mind taking care of King again tomorrow? This one patient I have has me behind on all my others, and Ton has the flu. I wanted to stop by his house and check on him tomorrow.”

“Sure, I don’t mind. Should I take him lunch? He didn’t seem happy that I came without it today.”

Beth blushed. “I’ve been fixing him a plate at lunch and taking it. If it’s not too big a hassle, would you mind?”

“That’s fine. I think it put him in a bad mood.”

“That’s his normal personality.”

“Then I’d hate to actually see him in a bad mood.”

“Hell, Evie, what man can stay in a bad mood with you around?” Train came up behind her, putting his hand on her ass.

“Plenty,” Evie said, moving away from his touch; she was too tired to mess around tonight.

She stacked her dirty dishes then went upstairs to her room, getting ready for bed. She turned out her light then locked the door. It had been a while since she had locked the men out, but she needed a good night’s sleep. She was getting older; the all-nighters were becoming fewer and fewer.

She didn’t know if it was because she was getting bored, but she had told Shade the truth—she was looking forward to a vacation. Working at the factory all day and partying all night was becoming old. She had begun thinking lately of going back to work with Beth or the hospital. The time in Queen City would give her time to make her mind up.

Evie rolled over onto her stomach, thinking about Lily and the expression on King’s face. She had a feeling King wasn’t happy with Lily’s marriage. She hoped the man kept his thoughts to himself; Shade wouldn’t be happy with his interference.

Evie shivered under the covers. She hated the thought of the two men not getting along. King and Shade both were used to getting their own way, and while King might be used to dealing with the seedier side of life, she was sure he had never dealt with someone of Shade’s caliber. If he took Shade on, it was a battle he wouldn’t win, and he would very likely end up out of Lily’s life forever.

* * *

The next day, Henry opened the door before she could knock. She flashed him a smile as she stepped into the house, handing him the plate of food Beth had made for him.

“You’ll need to reheat that before giving it to him.”

“Okay.” He walked her down the hallway, knocking on the door before opening it for her and closing it behind her.

As she entered, she saw King was sitting at a chair by the window.

“Hello. How are you doing today?” Evie asked brightly, her chirpy voice making her wince at herself.

“Fine.” His mocking gaze had her smile disappearing. “Do you want me to move to the bed?”

“No. I can do it where you are.” Evie set her satchel on the desk, opening it to put her gloves on. When she turned around, King hadn’t unbuttoned his shirt. “You can unbutton your shirt.”

He unbuttoned his shirt, keeping his eyes on her the whole time. Evie waited patiently, not letting him embarrass her. When he finished, she jerked the tape off.

“Ouch.”

“Sorry.” That would teach the bastard. She didn’t know what he was up to, but she wasn’t a young girl or dependent on him for a payday; she didn’t have to tolerate his behavior.

She threw away her dirty gloves and the bandages, going to her satchel for fresh ones. She then cleaned his wound and placed a fresh bandage on. When she finished, she took his temperature.

“You’re healing well. No temperature.” Evie closed her satchel.