Colton Holiday Lockdown - C.J. Miller Mills & Boon Romantic Suspense

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do that. One minute, you’re cradling them in your arms, the next, they’re grown and rolling their eyes at you. What about that new doctor? He’s worth a second look.”

      “Rafe? He’s not new exactly,” Gemma said, feeling the heat rush to her cheeks.

      Jessica hadn’t attended high school with Gemma. Tom had moved to town to work on Theo’s ranch, bringing his pregnant wife with him and Gemma had hit it off with Jessica immediately. They’d been fast friends ever since. “Oh, come on, you said you thought he was cute in high school. What about now?”

      Still cute, although seeing him now brought entirely different feelings. She didn’t feel like giggling and blushing when she saw him. She felt like seeing if he was as incredible a kisser as he was a doctor. “He is. I’m not blind. But I’m also not interested in an affair. He’s only here until we find a cure for the virus, then he’s heading back to New York City. His dream job awaits him.”

      “His dream job, but maybe his dream girl is right here.”

      Gemma laughed. “No way. I dated a doctor once and you know how that went down. Badly. Like a ten-mile-long-train-wreck badly.”

      Jessica sighed. “I do. But that was one person, one time. You can’t judge the whole lot of doctors over one jerk.”

      Gemma waved her hand. “I’m too busy, anyway. I’ll worry about finding a boyfriend when men can come and go freely in this town.”

      “Valentine’s Day is right around the corner.”

      A day Gemma didn’t like much. Being single for the majority of Valentine’s Days in her life gave her a different perspective. The perspective that she didn’t need another excuse to drink wine and eat chocolates—that she bought herself—in her home alone. “Not right around the corner. It’s not even Christmas yet.”

      “You know as soon as those Christmas decorations are put away, the red hearts and boxes of chocolates come out,” Jessica said.

      Gemma nodded, but she thought of the bare shelves at the grocery store and shops along Main Street. If the quarantine wasn’t lifted, nonessentials like seasonal items wouldn’t make it on the shipments into town.

      She couldn’t imagine this dragging on for that many months more, but what if it did? What if every person in Dead River succumbed to the virus?

      Dr. Colleen Goodhue said she had only seen rare cases where a virus obliterated an entire town, usually in third world countries. The Dead River virus was proving to have staying power. It was stronger and stealthier because it kept its human host alive long enough to infect many others.

      With her grandmother and best friend sick, Gemma had plenty of reasons to devote everything she had to finding a cure. Knowing so much was on the line only drove her harder.

       Chapter 2

      At the end of her shift, Gemma found Dr. Goodhue and Rafe in the lab. Dr. Goodhue seemed shell-shocked as she looked through some notebooks, but as usual, Rafe worked like a man on a mission.

      “It’s hard to believe someone would do this,” Dr. Goodhue said. “I called the home office and they said they’d send more supplies, but it will take time. How will our research continue without a proper lab?”

      Gemma didn’t like to hear Dr. Goodhue sounding distraught. She was the most experienced in this type of work and while the break-in and fire were upsetting, they didn’t have the option to quit.

      “We’ll work with what we have left,” Rafe said.

      Rafe wouldn’t let time pass while they waited for a shipment and forgo possible progress. From the beginning, he had been driving them hard, urging them to work more and longer. He had good reasons, but sometimes Gemma thought breaks and time away could give them a fresh perspective.

      What did Rafe do with his free time? Did he have free time? Gemma didn’t go out often, and rarely now that she worked so much. What would it be like to have a social life again and how would she feel if Rafe was part of it? Her conversation with Jessica had given her something to think about.

      “What is left?” Dr. Goodhue asked, slamming closed the notebook she was reading.

      Gemma had spaced out. Was Dr. Goodhue speaking to her?

      “Rafe and I collected blood samples from our current patients. Those are places to start,” Gemma said.

      “What about patient zero? We can’t obtain more blood from her!” Dr. Goodhue said.

      Until they had evidence to prove otherwise, they believed Mimi Rand was patient zero. Mimi Rand, the ex-wife of Dr. Lucas Rand, had died in the clinic, but not before she had infected several other people in town.

      “We don’t know that blood from patient zero will help,” Rafe said.

      Rafe had mentioned the possibility of the virus morphing over time. Their patient information indicated that patients who had contracted the virus early on seemed to be faring better than those who had been admitted more recently.

      Mimi Rand was dead. Dozens of others had died. These were facts not far from Gemma’s thoughts.

      “We’ll salvage what we can and we’ll reproduce the results we need,” Gemma said. “Rafe? Our shift ended an hour ago. I’ve been waiting to speak with you.” She had decided she would reach out again, offer her friendship and see if he needed to talk.

      Rafe turned in his chair. He looked at her as if he expected her to speak to him now. At least he’d faced her.

      “Alone. Please,” Gemma said. Talking in their protective suits was uncomfortable and no way would Rafe open up in front of Dr. Goodhue. He might not open up at all, but the chances were better if they were alone.

      Rafe stood. He looked at the clock on the wall. “All right. Let’s scrub out.”

      Twenty minutes later, changed into street clothes, Gemma searched for the right words to explain what was on her mind. The latest interference in their research was a good reason to take a step back and regroup. If they were tired and run-down, they’d be ineffective and inefficient. Maybe if Dr. Rand, Anand and Felicia hadn’t been so drained, they would have heard the break-in and prevented someone from getting into the lab.

      “I’m hungry. Mind grabbing a bite with me at the diner?” Gemma asked. A friendly environment would make it easier to talk. In the clinic, despite his treating her as a colleague, Gemma still felt strict professional boundaries.

      “I have dinner with Danny,” he said.

      She didn’t want to give up so easily. “You can grab some carry-out. This won’t take long.”

      “You can’t tell me what you need now?” he asked. He used that irritated tone he sometimes had with the rest of the staff. Gemma ignored it. Some doctors thought they could strong-arm others into bending to their will.

      Gemma was not one of those people. Even though she didn’t enjoy confrontation, someone needed to talk to Rafe and have him blow off some steam before his head exploded.

      “No.” Gemma folded her arms across her chest.

      Rafe jammed a hand through his hair. “You are persistent. You win. Let’s go.”

      He’d agreed if only because he knew she wouldn’t back down. That was fine with her. When she had a problem on her mind, she needed to say it. Then she would smooth things over.

      * * *

      The Dead River Diner was crowded. As they searched for a free booth, Rafe felt eyes on him. He was accustomed to stares in this town. From the time he had been a young boy, he’d been given looks that made it plain he was not welcome.

      Whether it was because he was now an outsider or his medical degree

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