All You Can Handle (Moments In Maplesville Book 5) by Farrah Rochon Page A

prevent swelling. It should already feel a little better now that the joint is back in place.”
    “It does,” Ian said. “How did you do that? My finger,” he said. “Where did you learn what to do?”
    She looked up at him. “In, um, in medical school,” she said.
    Ian’s head jerked back. “Wait. You went to medical school?”
    She nodded. “I got through one year of residency, but things didn’t work out. So.” She hunched her shoulder.
    “So you decided to bake cakes? That’s a pretty big change.”
    “Yes, but I’m much happier baking cakes than I ever was in the ER,” she said. She glanced up at him before continuing. “I wasn’t in medical school because I wanted to be a doctor. I was there because everyone else thought I should become a doctor. It was never discussed. I was never even asked if it’s what I wanted. It just...” She hunched her shoulders. “Happened.”
    “All those years of school don’t just happen.”
    “They do when you’re Carter White’s daughter.” Her words, though spoken lightly, held a trace of bitterness. “My dad’s a doctor. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps.”
    “What about your mom?”
    “She’s the executive director of a nonprofit in Houston.”
    Ian let out a low whistle. “Sounds like the bar is set pretty high in the White household, huh?”
    “You have no idea.” She huffed out a brief, humorless laugh. “Maybe I should call my dad and tell him all my medical training was finally put to use.” She nudged her chin toward his finger. “How is it feeling?”
    “A hell of a lot better than it did ten minutes ago.”
    “That’s probably because it’s numb from the ice. It’s going to be sore for a while.”
    “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I’ve got you living right next door.” He started to speak again, then stopped.
    “What?” Sonny asked.
    “I was going to make a joke about the two of us playing doctor, but it sounded lame even to me.”
    “Thanks for sparing me,” Sonny said with a laugh. She ambled over to the bike and ran her finger along the reddish-orange engine cover. “I’ve never ridden one of these before.”
    “To be honest, I haven’t been out for a ride in a couple of months,” Ian admitted.
    She whipped around to face him, her forehead creasing with confusion. “You rebuild bikes but you don’t ride them?”
    “I do, usually. I just haven’t had much time since I started working for Trey.” He looked at her. “Do you want to?”
    “What? Ride your motorcycle?”
    Actually, if she were going to ride something of his, the motorcycle would be his second choice.
    “I don’t know,” Sonny said, staring at the bike with a cautious dip to her brow, but Ian thought he sensed a bit of excitement lurking behind her gaze. She wanted to take a ride.
    “Come on,” Ian said. “You know you want to.”
    “I’ve seen the results of enough motorcycle accidents to know better than to get on one, especially with someone nursing an injured finger at the helm.”
    “My finger is feeling better already. Come on, Sonny. I promise it’ll be safe,” Ian said. “Besides, I owe you a tour of Maplesville. You’ve been here two weeks and still only know this house and Kiera’s catering company.”
    “And The Corral,” she said.
    She looked up at him, her eyes wide, as if she let the words slip without thinking.
    “Yeah,” Ian said after a deep breath. “We can’t forget about The Corral.”
    There was that electricity again, humming between them like a live wire. God, he wanted this woman. He wanted her so damn much.
    “You promise to be safe?” she asked him. “No showing off with crazy motorcycle tricks?”
    “Never,” Ian said. “I’ve got Kimmie to take care of, remember? I’d never do something reckless on the bike. It’ll just be a nice stroll around Maplesville.” He paused for a beat before he said, “Maybe I can entice you to stay a bit longer.”
    There was only a brief flash of