Man Cave

  Chapter 1 SAMPLE

  On A Manhunt

  Book 3

  Vanessa Vale

  Man Cave by Vanessa Vale

  Copyright © 2023 by Bridger Media

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the products of the author's imagination and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from both authors, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  * * *

  Cover design: Sarah Hansen/Okay Creations

  Cover graphic: Marishiav/Shutterstock

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

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  About Vanessa Vale

  1

  THEO

  * * *

  I’d been at the job three hours and I was already having second thoughts. Not about Hunter Valley. The town was cool as shit. I’d been here before since Maverick pretty much moved his ass up here because of a work project… then a woman project. And Dex, who had a Hunter Valley woman project of his own, but was settled in Denver with her.

  There wasn’t a woman messing with my life.

  I’d done that all by myself. Maybe I should have visited Family Health Services before I quit being a trauma surgeon and accepted the job. Over the phone. It was like buying a boat sight unseen only to arrive at the marina and discover it was barely afloat.

  The clinic wasn’t sinking. I was.

  Over the weekend, I’d gone from a eighty-hour a week trauma surgeon to Monday through Friday, plus every other Saturday morning general practitioner. It wasn’t the extra free time, although that was something to get used to. It was the patients. So far this morning I’d treated a man for chlamydia, handing him not only a prescription for antibiotics but some condom samples. After that, I pulled an eraser out of a six year old’s ear and performed a newborn baby well-check.

  “Doing okay?” Verna Jeffries asked, holding out a mug filled with steaming coffee over the check in counter as I walked by.

  I slung my stethoscope around my neck and eagerly snagged it, mentally blessing her practical nature.

  I scanned the waiting area–which was currently empty–as I took a sip. The practice was in a converted old house. The entry was the original family room, fireplace and all. The bedrooms had been converted into exam rooms. My office, which I shared with Dr. Archmont, was the old den.

  It was a long way from the hospital’s clinical interior.

  “Good coffee,” I said, surprised. The brew at the hospital in Denver was mostly a HAZMAT situation except for the ICU break room, which I frequented–used to–way more than a surgeon based in the ER should.

  “I get the beans from Steaming Hotties.”

  I knew the place because Mav wore the damned pink t-shirt from the place often enough.

  “To answer your question, yes. Doing okay. So far, so good,” I replied, inwardly sighing. No one had died anyway, which was a possibility of my old job.

  But was treating sexually transmitted diseases the escape I really wanted?

  I had enough money. I could quit entirely. Buy a boat that floated and sail the seven seas.

  She laughed. Her dark eyes were filled with humor, although I expected it was at my expense. From what she told me this morning, when she handed me the first batch of insurance paperwork, that she was a grandmother of three, liked to snowshoe and had the best sourdough starter in town.

  I had no idea what the last meant, so I’d only nodded when she’d overshared. Or maybe she regular-shared and I was used to non-sharing.

  “It’ll take some getting used to,” I added diplomatically.

  “Getting used to what? Seeing this many patients in a day?”

  On the computerized schedule I had twelve patients plus a one hour window for call-in urgent visits like kids with unplanned ear infections.

  I shook my head. “Having patients be conscious.”

  Because patients sedated and prepped for surgery didn’t tell me their quirks and talents. If they had chlamydia, it was the least of their worries.

  With a head cock, she eyed me, as if giving me some kind of her own swift assessment, just like I gave to every patient when entering an exam room.

  “I think you’re going to find all your patients awake. Except for the babies. Those you might want asleep.”

  I considered the one I’d just seen, who’d been blissfully asleep except when he got an immunization, and nodded. “Wise words.”

  Her head tipped the other way, down the hall. “Your eleven o’clock is in room one. Annual. London’s probably done with vitals.”

  Verna held out her hand and I gave the coffee back, eyeing it wistfully.

  “I’ll take care of it,” she said, as if I was dropping a child off at the first day of kindergarten instead of being separated from caffeine for thirty minutes.

  London, the efficient and knowledgeable nurse, came out of the exam room. She handed me the open laptop. “She’s ready for you. Since it’s her annual, I have everything set out for you. Just stick your head out when you’re ready to do the exam and I’ll come back.”

  Annual. Annual.

  Gynecologic annual. Not a cardiology annual or sports physical annual.

  The newborn I saw earlier was… different for me. I hadn’t held an actual baby in years. Couldn’t remember the last time.

  A woman’s breasts and vagina I was well acquainted with, in a personal setting, not a professional one. Not since my OB/GYN rotation during residency.

  I was a doctor. I saw bodies all the time. This was clinical. Completely clinical. The woman wasn’t imminently dying from a car accident or fall. Easy. Get in, get out.

  I knocked on the door, opened it and entered, glancing at the name on the patient record on the laptop screen.

  Mallory Mornay.

  “Miss Mornay, I’m Dr. James and I understand you’re here for your–”

  My words dropped off when I finally lifted my gaze to the woman who sat on the exam table.

  Mallory Mornay. I know I said the name aloud, but I didn’t put it together until now.

  Not Mallory Mornay, the random woman who was here for a woman’s annual reproductive health screening.

  This was Mallory. Mallory.

  Bridget’s best friend Mallory, who was outgoing, vivacious and extroverted. Sexy and bold. Hot as hell and the woman I dreamed about fucking ever since I first met her in July. She was a goodie-goodie first grade teacher and I wanted to dirty her up. Do filthy things to her. With her.

  And she was sitting here in a paper gown, ready to part her legs nice and wide.

  And not in the way I’d been imagining in the shower as I rubbed one out. Fuck. FUCK!

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  Also By Vanessa Vale

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  * * *

  On A Manhunt

  Man Hunt

  Man Candy

  Man Cave

  * * *

  The Billion Heirs

  Scarred

  Flawed

  Broken

  * * *

  Alpha Mountain

  Hero

  Rebel

  Warrior

  * * *

  Billionaire Ranch

  North

  South

  East

  West

  * * *

  Bachelor Auction

  Teach Me The Ropes

  Hand Me The Reins

  Back In The Saddle

  * * *

  Wolf Ranch

  Rough

  Wild

  Feral

  Savage

  Fierce

  Ruthless

  * * *

  Two Marks

  Untamed

  Tempted

  Desired

  Enticed

  * * *

  More Than A Cowboy

  Strong & Steady

  Rough & Ready

  * * *

  Wild Mountain Men

  Mountain Darkness

  Mountain Delights

  Mountain Desire

  Mountain Danger

  * * *

  Grade-A Beefcakes

  Sir Loin of Beef

  T-Bone

  Tri-Tip

  Porterhouse

  Skirt Steak

  * * *

  Small Town Romance

  Montana Fire

  Montana Ice

  Montana Heat

  Montana Wild

  Montana Mine

  * * *

  Steele Ranch

  Spurred

  Wrangled

  Tangled

  Hitched

  Lassoed

  * * *

  Bridgewater County

  Ride Me Dirty

  Claim Me Hard

  Take Me Fast

  Hold Me Close

  Make Me Yours

  Kiss Me Crazy

  * * *

  Mail Order Bride of Slate Springs

  A Wanton Woman

  A Wild Woman

  A Wicked Woman

  * * *

  Bridgewater Ménage

  Their Runaway Bride

  Their Kidnapped Bride

  Their Wayward Bride

  Their Captivated Bride

  Their Treasured Bride

  Their Christmas Bride

  Their Reluctant Bride

  Their Stolen Bride

  Their Brazen Bride

  Their Rebellious Bride

  Their Reckless Bride

  * * *

  Bridgewater Brides World

  * * *

  Lenox Ranch Cowboys

  Cowboys & Kisses

  Spurs & Satin

  Reins & Ribbons

  Brands & Bows

  Lassos & Lace

  * * *

  Montana Men

  The Lawman

  The Cowboy

  The Outlaw

  * * *

  Standalones

  Relentless

  All Mine & Mine To Take

  Bride Pact

  Rough Love

  Twice As Delicious

  Flirting With The Law

  Mistletoe Marriage

  Man Candy - A Coloring Book

  About Vanessa Vale

  A USA Today bestseller, Vanessa Vale writes tempting romance with unapologetic bad boys who don’t just fall in love, they fall hard. Her books have sold over one million copies. She lives in the American West where she's always finding inspiration for her next story. While she’s not as skilled at social media as her kids, she loves to interact with readers.

  vanessavaleauthor.com

 

 

  Vanessa Vale, Man Splain

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