A Surgeon To Heal Her Heart. Janice Lynn

was going to confront Stone with the harsh reality of why he needed to forget her.

      That harsh reality had certainly scared off the last man Carly had brought home.

      * * *

      Had Carly given Stone a bogus address?

      If she had, Stone couldn’t say he’d be surprised.

      He hoped she hadn’t, but had to wonder. She’d thrown it out at a point where the last thing he’d expected was an invitation to her home.

      She hadn’t technically invited him to her house, but hadn’t that been what giving her address to him had essentially been?

      As he’d only moved to Memphis a month before and was still learning the city, he programmed the details into his GPS and noted she only lived six minutes from the hospital and about fifteen from him as he lived over the bridge on Mud Island.

      At least, he’d know pretty quickly if she’d told him the truth. And if she hadn’t?

      Well, that should tell him that she wanted him to leave her alone.

      Only she didn’t want that. He knew she didn’t.

      She hadn’t even been able to say the words.

      He’d flirted with her at the hospital on more than one occasion. She’d flirted back. Not overtly, but her smiles and sassy eye flashes and little laughs at his jokes had all been leading up to something. What had happened yesterday that had her scurrying back?

      No matter how many times he replayed the conversation, he couldn’t fathom what had put her on the defensive.

      Not quite liking the looks of the run-down neighborhood and having been warned not to go wandering around parts of Memphis he was unfamiliar with, Stone questioned again if Carly had given him a made-up address. He turned onto her street, and, best as he could tell, the houses on the street were small, older, but decently cared for.

      His GPS told him he’d arrived at his destination and he pulled up his SUV outside a small once-white frame house that even in the dark he could tell needed some major TLC. Much more so than the surrounding homes.

      That surprised him.

      Carly was meticulous in her care of patients and all that she did at her job. To ignore upkeep on her home didn’t fit what he believed about her. He could be wrong, but he struggled to wrap his mind around the neglect that registered.

      He wouldn’t have guessed her to live in the house of obvious worst repair on her street.

      Then again, maybe she rented the place and her landlord was the slacker.

      As a nurse, she made a decent salary to where she could afford to move if she was renting and things weren’t up to par. If she had some long-term lease that had her trapped in the run-down house, maybe he could call on a lawyer friend to get her into something better maintained.

      He would help her find another place.

      A place closer to his on Mud Island.

      There was another car, a much newer sedan, parked in the drive beside hers. Did she have a roommate?

      She must have just pulled into the short gravel driveway right before him as when he turned off the SUV’s engine and opened his door, Carly got out of her car.

      “You really didn’t need to do this,” she said immediately, before he could ask about the other car. “Yes, it’s bulky, but I would have gotten the box inside without any problems. I was doing just fine before you came to my rescue.”

      “No need to risk hurting your back when you have me.”

      Whether she wanted him or not, he planned to help Carly because he suspected more was going on than met the eye with the woman who’d captured his imagination.

       CHAPTER FOUR

      STONE WAS AT Carly’s house.

      Now that he was there, what was Carly supposed to do with him?

      Let him carry the box to her porch and send him away?

      It was what she wanted to do, what she was tempted to do.

      Somehow she didn’t think he would agree to it though. He had that “let me be your knight in shining armor” look that she’d seen in the movies her mother enjoyed watching, but that Carly had never seen in real life.

      Until now.

      If Stone went inside, it was quite possible her mother would be asleep and Carly could avoid that explanation. But Joyce would be there and ready to head to her home to spend the evening with her husband.

      Joyce seeing Stone would raise questions. From Joyce, but perhaps more so from Stone.

      Maybe she could have him set the box just inside the doorway and get him back outside prior to Joyce realizing they were there. Before Stone realized there was someone else in the house.

      Unlikely, but she could try.

      Or she could just tell Stone everything.

      Which made her stomach hurt.

      She didn’t want him to feel sorry for her or feel obligated to offer help. The past had taught her people might think they wanted to help, but most only offered idle words.

      She had this. She could take care of her mother.

      She could, she was, and she would.

      Or was it that she was afraid he’d pull a Tony?

      Wasn’t that what she actually needed him to do? What would be best for her and Stone?

      So, why was she hesitating?

      “It’s no problem,” Stone assured her, pulling Carly back to their conversation as he lifted the box out of her backseat.

      “Thank you.” She shut the car door then moved ahead of him to unlock her front door.

      She turned, wondering if Stone would be agreeable to drop the box in the foyer and leave.

      Maybe she was a runner after all, because if she could escape this moment, her tennis shoes would be getting a desperately needed workout.

      Stone carried the box, stopped just inside the doorway and asked, “Where would you like me to put this?”

      She pointed to a small wooden bench that had once upon a time belonged to her long-gone grandparents. “Right there is fine.”

      He set the box down. “What’s in this thing, anyway?”

      “Stolen goods from the hospital.”

      His eyes narrowed.

      Nerves still shaking up her insides, Carly grinned. “Gotcha.”

      His lips twitched. “Maybe a little.”

      “It’s expired hospital supplies that were going to be tossed,” she admitted, wondering if she was strong enough to toss him out the front door before Joyce saw him. The nurse must have been tied up with Audrey or she’d have already greeted Carly.

      Stone glanced toward the box. “What do you do with the supplies?”

      She shrugged. Best to stick with the truth. “Use what I can and donate the rest. Let’s go back outside.” Please. “I think I left something in the car.”

      “Oh.” He turned toward the front door, but they were too late.

      “I thought I heard voices in here,” Joyce said, entering the room, then stopping when she spotted Stone.

      Carly’s stomach dropped.

      Startled, Stone glanced toward Carly, then back at the woman who was gawking at him as if she didn’t believe her eyes. She must not have because she was adjusting her glasses as