The Nurse's Brooding Boss by Laura Iding

on board, and it wasn’t as if he’d had a lot of spare time, since the trauma bay had been jumping, but, still, he should have called.
    His brother should be here too, dammit. He’d have to call Rufus Kingsley, the private investigator he’d hired, to see if the guy had made any progress on finding Joel.
    Exhausted, he didn’t stop by Lacey’s room to look in on them. The house was blissfully silent. Carefully, so as not to wake them, he tiptoed past their room, heading for his.
    He closed his eyes, hoping the turmoil in his brain would ease with some badly needed sleep.
    But, instead, he dreamed about Elana. Only, this time, his subconscious hadn’t been satisfied with her gift of forgiveness. He’d wanted more. And when she melted into his arms, she wasn’t crying. She was gazing up at him in wonder, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him.
    He was sweating when Tucker’s crying woke him up the next morning at six sharp. Groaning, he turned over and pulled his pillow over his head to drown out the sound. More than anything he wanted to go back to the steamy, erotic Elana of his dreams. Even if she was just a figment of his imagination.
    But what if Lacey needed help? What if the baby really wasn’t doing any better?
    The image of a ready and willing Elana evaporated, and he dragged himself upright and yanked on a pair of sweats.
    Blinking the remains of sleep from his eyes, he made his way into the kitchen. Lacey glanced up when he walked in, and he considered it progress when she didn’t jump like a scared squirrel.
    “Are the antibiotics staying down?” he asked, eyeing the crying baby propped on the table.
    “Yesterday the medicine stayed down, but this morning he threw them up,” Lacey said, her eyes mirroring his exhaustion. Immediately he felt guilty about wanting to sleep in. Obviously rest and relaxation wasn’t an option for Lacey. “I wasn’t sure if I should try to get him to take another dose or not.”
    “I wouldn’t,” he said, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Did he get up during the night?”
    Lacey nodded, her expression still troubled. “I fed him right away so he wouldn’t wake you up.”
    Considerate. Lacey must still feel as if she was imposing. She didn’t ask about Joel, though. He wondered if she feared his brother was gone for good.
    “Give him some of the rehydration solution,” he suggested. “If he’s throwing up, he might be a bit dehydrated.”
    “All right.” Lacey pulled herself up from the table to get a bottle of the sugar water. Brock had to admit, if Tucker didn’t start feeling better soon, they’d have to take him to the hospital for IV antibiotics.
    He needed to get Elana out of his mind. She didn’t need him, but Lacey and Tucker did.
    And Tucker’s health took priority over his useless dreams.
     
    Brock called Rufus Kingsley, leaving a message for the PI to call him back. Rufus called back within the hour.
    “I think I might know where your boy has gone,” he said in lieu of a greeting. “Does your uncle have a cabin in the middle of the woods in Marshfield, Wisconsin?”
    “Yeah.” Why hadn’t he considered the possibility of the cabin? His uncle and his father used it for deer hunting, a sport Brock couldn’t get into, but Joel used to go up with them every year. “Do you think that’s where he is?”
    “Possibility, although from what I hear, it’s not exactly a nice place to live year-round. April is still pretty cold at night; if he’s there, I’m sure he’s freezing his butt off. I’m heading there now and will let you know.”
    Finally, progress on finding his brother. Elana’s words came back to him. You can’t force him to be a father . Muffling the voice in his head, he agreed, “Sounds good. I don’t know exactly where it is, but my uncle Joe will probably tell you. His number is in the book.”
    “Already on it,” Rufus said. “I’ll keep you posted.”
    “Thanks.” When Brock hung up, he saw Lacey