Page 59 of Falling for the Orc All-Star

“If you wanted kids right away, I’d be cool with that,” I whisper.

“What?” she squawks as we enter the exam room where I always start my sessions.

“I don’t know!” I fire back, uncomfortable, shifting from crutch to crutch as I maneuver myself onto the paper-covered table. “Something about you makes me crave family. Togetherness. Forever-ness. Is that a word?”

Ingrid swallows hard enough that I hear it. “I don’t think so.”

“Well, it should be.”

“Maybe. But remember, slow. We said things should move slowly.”

“Slow isrelative,” I sulk. If this were the olden days, I would have already brought her the heads of her enemies and a chest of silver, and she’d be riding back to my clan’s territory.

“Hey, man. You ready for some therapy pool action today?” Kev slides into the room with a broad grin.

Ingrid leaves.

I sigh.

“What now?” Kevin groans.

“I’m in love.”

“Oh. Does she know that?”

“Yep.”

“And she...?”

“Wants to take it slow.”

Kev pats my shoulder. “Okay, tell you what. I’ll put on relaxing music, dim the lights, and get the bubbles going. You get to be out of the immobilizer and float in the therapy pool, letting the warm water do its magic. You’ll feel like a new Orc in no time.”

“Maybe,” I grumble. “I’m okay with taking things slow, really. But when I’m with Ingrid, sometimes my mouth forgets what my brain told it to do. I say dumb things. Like I wanna have your babies.”

Kev looks horrified. “You didn’t really say that, did you?”

“No. But... Well, close.”

“Jesus. Don’t tell me. Just put on these XXXL trunks, Romeo.”

“Hey, Ingrid?”

“Eddie?”

I look up from the insurance codes I’m putting in and see one of Pine Ridge’s EMTs, Eddie Hyde.

My stomach tightens. Eddie is the definition of swarthy, handsome in a brutal way, with dark brows, thick features, and something wicked in his smile. Right now, he’s not smiling.

“Kevin in here?”

I nod. “What’s up?”

“Just brought his wife in to the ER, and she’d like him to come over.”

My throat closes up for a second, then lets out a crow-like caw, “What? Is Marina okay?”

“I think she will be. Just a little lightheaded; she had—had a little accident at work. They’re running some tests. You think he could go sit with her, or is he with a patient?”