Amanda’s Patient Hunks Read online

  Men of Montana 14

  Amanda’s Patient Hunks

  Nurse Amanda Jenkins has had a suitor who wouldn’t give up on her, no matter how much she pushed him away. She’s been carrying around a burden that hardly anyone knew about.

  Jimmy Dempsey has had his eye on Amanda for nearly two years. He’s given her time to get used to him being nice to her, but his past has stopped him from fully pursuing her. It’s time he takes the next step.

  What Amanda and Jimmy don’t know is that Terence Hawkins has had his eye on Amanda for the past year, too. During a confrontation, the two men find out about each other, and Amanda finds out about Terence’s feelings. Feathers are ruffled, of course, but the wheels in Jimmy’s brain begin to turn.

  At a chance meeting, Amanda finally has to let Jimmy in on her secret because she does want a relationship. Will she accept Jimmy and Terence’s advances?

  Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys

  Length: 52,613 words

  AMANDA'S PATIENT HUNKS

  Men of Montana 14

  Eileen Green

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  AMANDA'S PATIENT HUNKS

  Copyright © 2018 by Eileen Green

  ISBN: 978-1-64243-055-4

  First Publication: March 2018

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2018 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at

  [email protected]

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  DEDICATION

  This book goes out to all the readers who love the Men of Montana series. Several people have been asking me when Amanda was going to get her own story. Well, here it is.

  Thank you all for loving the books so much that I can continue bringing you the stories of my beloved characters.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Eileen Green, writes erotic romance novels interlaced with intrigue, and occasionally, shape-shifters. Cowboys, Law Enforcement, and now, Military, are some of her favorites to write about.

  When asked how long she has been writing, Eileen answers, since the 7th grade, a long time ago. Her English teacher, Mrs. Weekes saw potential in the student who began to dabble in writing. Eventually, marriage, kids, and then single motherhood came along, and her writing took a backseat as life does when faced with obstacles.

  The writing continued even though page after page sat in boxes or on the computer, waiting for the day they would be allowed to be free to tell their stories.

  Life dealt a cruel twist to her family and friends in 2010. The lesson learned was to not live with regrets. She began to write again looking for the right path to go down.

  Her first erotic romance novel came from a dare and Lyndee’s Saviors was written. Now, under Eileen Green, there are two series, Men of Montana and The Tundra Protectors, and the beginning of a third, Tiger’s Lair, which is a spin-off of Men of Montana. A couple of stand-alone books are included in her menagerie of books.

  Romance stories with happily-ever-after endings are her favorite, making sure she writes them because every romance needs to end with all characters being forever in love.

  Eileen divides her time between Washington and California, although she really loves Washington. The beauty there providing a welcome backdrop to write.

  For a full list of her books, please check out her website, www.authoreileengreen.com

  For all titles by Eileen Green, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/eileen-green

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Landmarks

  Cover

  AMANDA'S PATIENT HUNKS

  Men of Montana 14

  EILEEN GREEN

  Copyright © 2018

  Prologue

  They say silence is golden. That was the old adage. But for Jimmy, it screamed at him like a banshee. The silence in the house was too much for him there, and it had been for the past five years. The previous day’s weddings proved to him just how long he had been that way, and how he had pushed people away.

  Today was his wedding anniversary. His seventh. December 21st.

  It was a time when he should have been looking to wander as the seven-year itch saying goes.

  Instead, he was a fucking widower. He’d lost his Mary, his beloved high school sweetheart, in a twisted moment of fate when thieves went to rob the bank she worked in. Not only did they take her from him, but they also took their unborn son. Since then, Jimmy had been trying to hold it together. He had to help raise his sister, Lily, for they lost their parents when she was still a teenager, but now Lily had her own life—she had two men who loved her very much.

  The house was too quiet now. Lily was gone, now living with her husbands. Their housekeeper, Ruth, was away for the evening, visiting her sister. Outside, the ranch was noiseless, save the occasional moo or whinny from one of the animals.

  Sitting in his recliner, Jimmy looked around the room that held so many reminders of the past. The silence seemed to be screaming at him from pictures of relatives past. Mom, Dad, grandparents, his wife. There were no pictures of his son, for he hadn’t had a chance to live when his wife was taken from him.

  Anger filled him at the loss. His mother had taken her life, perhaps inadvertently, but they would never know for certain. She had become hooked on pain meds after the death of their father, and she was gone a few years later, leaving Jimmy to raise his sister.

  Lily had a lot of emotional baggage, and he had constantly been trying to help get her past all of that. It wasn’t until she finally accepted Kyle and Morgan’s advances that she was strong enough to put all that behind her and move on with her life.

  Half of his men had pursued Erin, the manager at the Tipsy Tavern and had won her heart. They married and were now living in the house Jimmy had had built for them. It was a beautiful Victorian that sat about a mile north of his own house.

  Feeling deserted, Jimmy could only remember the past in this room.

  Five and a half years ago, he had reached the pinnacle of happiness. He had been married for a year to his high school sweetheart, Mary. She had surprised him one night at dinner by placing a positive home pregnancy test stick under his plate. When he looked to see why his plate was wonky, he found it, confusion striking first. When it dawned on him what it was, he was ecstatic.

  Five months later, they were
decorating the guest bedroom for the son they would bring home in a few months. Both were looking forward to adding to their family, and they had even discussed more babies in the future.

  Things were tight for them since his father hadn’t taken care of things financially. Jimmy was doing all he could to bring the ranch back to where his great-grandfather had it a hundred years before.

  Mary had insisted on working to help with finances, at least until she was ready to have the baby. Working at the bank in Kalispell had been something she loved doing. Most of the customers were regulars, and occasionally, a tourist would saunter in. Being able to converse with travelers, finding out where they were from and where they were going, was fun for her.

  One day, the unthinkable happened. There were only four people in the bank at the end of the day when three men had burst into the bank wearing ski masks and holding guns. Two had rifles, and one had a handgun.

  Demanding money, one of them pushed Mary into the vault and watched over her as she filled the bags they had brought. When the two came back out of the vault, the other two had cornered the other three occupants, their guns trained on them.

  As the three gunmen were getting ready to leave, threatening Mary and the others not to make a move, the one customer, an older gentleman, clutched his chest. He apparently had been having chest pains since the intruders had gained entry to the bank. However, he had remained silent under the fear.

  The security guard who was huddled with them told the police that Mary stepped over to the older man to help him. A shot rang out, striking her in the back. The doctor told Jimmy later that the bullet had gone straight through her abdomen before it lodged into the man she was trying to help.

  Both had been rushed to the hospital. The baby had died instantly, while Mary hung on until Jimmy arrived. He held her in his arms, his words of love coming between sobs. She died in his arms.

  The older gentleman died several days later, his heart not able to withstand the shock of the robbery and being shot.

  Jimmy had lost his two loves that day, and he never really pulled out of it.

  Now, looking around the room, with silent eyes from the photos watching him, he felt overwhelmed. Were they judging him? Mocking him since he sat around at night doing nothing with his life?

  Rising, he let out a howl of anguish and swiped his arm along the surfaces where picture frames sat. Sweeping them all to the floor, he followed suit with all the pictures, even pulling the ones from the walls.

  He let himself fall to his knees on the worn-out area rug that had seen better days and cried. In his ears, he heard the painful keening of a man whose heart had been hurt so badly, that he felt sorry for him.

  Tears for his parents who had been dealt a bad hand in life washed through him. Tears for his wife and child that he had lost without having much of a life with them fell and saturated his jeans. His whole life bled out through his tears for he felt he might just die.

  “Don’t give up on yourself, my love. We will wait for when it is your time to come, but you must live. Find love. Be happy.” It was the same message that came to him from his beloved Mary whenever he shut his eyes at night, but tonight, he knew he needed to move on.

  He didn’t know how long he had cried, and he hadn’t cared that someone might find him that way. His life had been a litany of taking care of everyone and being caught in the past that he realized he hadn’t been living. Mary wouldn’t have wanted him to wallow in his grief, living only to hold onto the memories that he held in his heart.

  That needed to change. The ranch needed him. His sister did, too, even though she was with her own men.

  Jimmy had his eye on Amanda, the nurse at the hospital for a few years now, yet hadn’t seriously pursued her. Feeling as if his own demons had been purged, he knew it was time to get serious about her.

  * * * *

  The hospital was quiet. Night was always the dullest shift to work, but it was the only time Amanda could work. It was cheaper to get a sitter at night since that was when most kids would be sleeping. She had a wonderful young woman who was attending college during the day and was available at night.

  Genny had answered an ad Amanda had submitted on Craig’s list for a roommate and sitter. The room would be free of charge in exchange for the sitting, but the woman provided her own food. They had become friends in the past two years that Genny had lived there, and Jasper had come to like her, too, but he still didn’t change.

  That last six years had been difficult on Amanda, having to raise a tween and then a teenager. Money was always tight, but what Amanda wanted the most was to find a man who might love her. How was she supposed to have a relationship if she never had any free time?

  Since she took over guardianship of her brother, she hadn’t dated. Jasper had been through enough, and she didn’t want to upset him by introducing someone different to their lives. Genny had been a transition for him, but he finally had accepted her. Amanda just didn’t know how to go about dating. Besides, would a man want an instant teenager going into a relationship?

  There was Jimmy. She had met him over a year and a half ago when a group of kids had been brought in to the hospital. They had been kidnapped and were being transported to Canada by a group of human traffickers. Jimmy had been one of the folks who had worked together to help rescue them.

  When she had gone to inform the sheriff of Lake County something was going on up on the third floor, she had backed up into the massive rancher. Turning her head, she looked up, and up. The man stood nearly a foot taller than her, and she was five seven.

  His blond hair was long, down to his shoulders. A goatee highlighted a strong square jaw. Amid that, his lips were lusciously full for a man. There was a bit of crookedness to his nose at the bridge. It probably had been broken at some point. His eyes were sparkling as he gazed down at her, as if he were amused. They were blue, like forget-me-nots that grew in her backyard.

  It was his size that had really thrown her. Wide shoulders, nearly as wide as the doorframe, led down to a large chest. If she had touched it, would it be as hard as she thought it would be? Thick muscles made up his biceps that were bulging from under the T-shirt he had worn. She could only imagine what his abs looked like. His waist looked trim as did his hips. Muscular thighs had been clad in tight blue jeans.

  She hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind since then. There had been a few encounters with him. However, she kept pushing him away. Her life was so full, and she didn’t know how to manage another person in her life.

  These were the things she thought about when it was slow at work. Graveyard was usually quiet in the winter, which she was thankful for.

  The phone rang. And there went her mellow night.

  Chapter One

  The woman was knocked off her feet by the impact of the explosion, landing about five feet away from where she had been standing. The scent of gas and fire filled the air as she looked at what used to be her apartment building. Now where was she going to go?

  A shadow covered her, drawing her attention upward. A firefighter in full gear was kneeling beside her, already removing his helmet and face mask. When they were gone, she was looking into the face of a gorgeous man. Piercing blue eyes and a wicked smile were his best features.

  “Are you all right, miss?” he asked in an aged-whiskey baritone voice that did something to her cunt. She was a goner to the man, and she didn’t even know him.

  The phone ringing had Amanda pulling herself out of the story on her Kindle and shoving the device into the top drawer of the desk she sat at. Reaching out, she picked up the receiver as she glanced at all the Valentine’s Day decorations. “Nurses station, Amanda.”

  She listened to the order that was coming in, hung up, and checked around for the lead nurse. The lady was walking toward her.

  Amanda hung up and stepped out from behind the counter. Once Patti came up to the counter, Amanda informed her, “Cardiac patient is being sent up. Heart failure. Which
room do you want me to put her in?”

  “209 is empty. That way she’ll be close. Go ahead and set it up. I’ll send Alan in to help you out.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Amanda acknowledged her orders and then began to walk toward the room assigned to the patient.

  “Amanda,” Patti said, stopping Amanda in her tracks.

  Amanda turned around. “Yes?”

  The dark-haired woman smiled at Amanda. “What have I told you about calling me ma’am?”

  “Not to call you ma’am.” Amanda was brought up with manners. Although Patti told her not to address her as ma’am, it was hard for Amanda to get out of the habit. “Sorry.”

  Patti was always happy. She was from Boston, and she still had the accent. It was amusing to hear her talk sometimes, for when she got excited or spat out words in orders, her r’s disappeared. It was so out of place here in Montana.

  The woman smiled at Amanda. “Go on. Get the room ready. I’m sure those orderlies will be up here very soon.”

  With the hospital being as small as it was, it didn’t take long to get from the ER to the units. Sometimes, when the call came about a patient being sent up, the orderlies arrived within a couple of minutes. Amanda needed to get moving.

  Prepping the room, she was ready by the time Alan showed up with personal supplies for the patient. The patient arrived a minute later. They helped get the older woman from the ER bed to the bed already in the room. Amanda began to take stats on the lady, ignoring the harsh mumblings of the patient. She didn’t seem to like being here, even though it was for her own good.