Kian (Undercover Billionaire, #1)(49)

“The deer?” He sounded confused.

“Yes, the deer. It’s hurt.” At least now he was listening to her.

“You want me to fix a deer?”

“What is so hard to understand about that? You’re a doctor,” she reminded him in frustration.

“I’m a people doctor,” he told her slowly, as if she were dumb.

“So you can’t help an animal?” she snapped. The deer looked at her with such sad eyes, Roxie felt like sobbing. “It’s innocent.”

“I’m on my way,” he said, his voice placating. She didn’t care. She knew he had a big heart, and he wouldn’t let the animal die if he could help it.

“Good. I’m going to check on Lily again. Hurry.”

She hung up the phone and missed whatever he’d been saying. But she had no doubt he’d be there quickly. He was probably driving at warp speed. Lily was still sleeping, so Roxie stood there at her car, keeping her eye on both the injured deer and on Lily, who was oblivious in the back of the car.

Now that she had a moment to think, she realized it had been Kian she’d thought of first in her emergency, and he hadn’t hesitated to come to her aid. What that meant, she really didn’t know. She only knew she could count on him when it mattered most.

Could she count on herself in the same way? Honestly, she couldn’t answer that.





Chapter Twenty

It was unreal, the urgency and panic Kian felt as he raced down the road to find Roxie and Lily. She had told him they were both fine, but he wouldn’t believe it until he was there, until he saw them, felt them, knew they didn’t have life-threatening injuries. He’d warned Roxie that vehicle she was driving was a death trap, and less than a week later, she gets into a wreck.

One way or another, she was getting a safer vehicle. He didn’t care if it ended in them in a knockdown brawl. It was going to happen. He was a doctor, so he knew there were some things that simply were beyond his control. That didn’t mean he had to like it, and it didn’t mean he was simply going to sit idly by while those he cared about died of injuries he could have prevented.

His heart pounded, and he couldn’t get control of his breathing as he nearly broke the speed limit by double. It was okay with him if a cop started chasing him. Then he’d have emergency vehicles on the way to the scene of the accident. It had taken all that was inside him not to call that ambulance he said he was going to call.

Roxie had always been a stubborn woman. She could be injured and not wanting to make a big deal out of it because she was so focused on a damn animal. Not that Kian was against animals. He loved the furry creatures. It was just that he was more concerned about people.

Kian’s first true breath didn’t come into his lungs until he located Roxie’s car on the side of the road. She was standing in front of it, and he couldn’t yet see the deer. His eyes were focused fully on her. But as he came to a stop in front of her, he looked down, and sure enough, it was a yearling, the horns barely sticking from its small head. And the poor thing was twitching. Most likely, there was nothing he could do for the animal.

Roxie didn’t look up as he climbed from his truck and approached her slowly. Her face was washed of color, and she was gazing despondently at the creature on the ground. Shrugging out of his coat, he wrapped it around her shoulders, and finally, she looked up.

“I’m fine, I promise. I need you to check on the deer,” she insisted.

“I promise you I will, but I’m going to check you first,” he said, his voice commanding. He was in his element now, with a patient who didn’t think she wanted or needed help. He knew how to handle this situation.

“I told you I don’t have injuries,” she said, her eyes flashing to the deer again.

“Good, then this won’t take long at all,” he informed her.

She let out a frustrated breath but then allowed him to lead her to the side of the car. “I’d rather you were lying down,” he said as he looked around.

“I’m fine standing,” she said with a huff. “Get this over with.”

Kian did as thorough an exam as possible on the side of the road. He pushed and prodded, took her heart rate, and listened to her lungs. She sounded fine, and though she had some soreness where her seat belt had dug in when she came to a sudden stop, she didn’t appear to have any injuries. He’d feel a hell of a lot better if he could have her scanned as well, but those were expensive tests, and he knew she’d balk at them when there was no physical evidence indicating she needed them. Maybe he’d wait to begin that battle.

“You seem okay,” he said.

“I know I am. Will you check the deer now?” she huffed.

“No, I need to check Lily first,” he insisted. He opened the back door, and Lily was just waking up, her sweet little eyes shining up at him as she opened her eyes. She gave him a little smile before sticking her thumb in her mouth.

His heart melted right there in his chest as he reached for her and slid his fingers down her flushed cheeks. She didn’t appear to be injured at all, but he’d still feel better doing a basic exam on her.

Having no idea how to undo the straps securely holding her in, he had to move aside for Roxie to get her out of the seat. He watched, though, so he’d be able to do it next time. This was important stuff to know, and he wanted to be an active parent. He didn’t want his child raised by nannies or, if he took that route, solely by his wife. His own parents had been wealthy, and yes, they’d had staff in the house whom Kian and all his siblings had loved, but they hadn’t let the staff raise the kids. His parents had come to their sporting events and school plays. They’d been an active part of their lives. That was exactly how Kian planned on parenting.