Page 9 of Her Three Rangers

She nodded, but didn’t say anything else. I took another sip of coffee and closed my eyes for a moment, glad to have made it through that conversation without too much trouble.

Now I just had to make it through the rest of the day.

The door to my office was open, but Jenny knocked softly anyway as she stepped inside. “Should I start another pot of coffee while I’m back here, or are you okay?”

I looked up at the clock. It was nearly lunchtime, but I was still sorely tempted to go for another cup of coffee. Or three. Or six.

“No,” I said, hating my self-control just a little. “Thank you, though. I should probably eat something soon or I’m going to be bouncing off the walls.”

She gave me a sympathetic smile. We both knew I wasn’t going to be bouncing anywhere today. I was seriously dragging my butt after spending half the night to and from the clinic to check on Rambo.

And even though I had only crossed paths with the guys a couple of times throughout the night, I knew they had spent their night the same way.

I was pretty sure we’d already gone through a couple of gallons of coffee between me, Jenny, and the three of them.

“You’re in luck, Gracie,” my grandmother’s crisp voice called out from the corridor outside my office. “I brought lunch.”

Jenny and I exchanged a glance and grinned. We didn’t even bother to wonder how on earth she had overheard our conversation from out there, or how she had slipped back here without either of us noticing.

Being neither seen nor heard when she didn’t want to be was her grandma-superpower, and her habit of knowing exactly where we were and what we were up to had gotten Jenny and I more than a few stern lectures growing up.

“Thank you, Nana,” I called as she walked past my office door to the small break room. “I’ll be right there.”

“Something sure does smell amazing, Mrs. Black,” Jenny called, following the scent out the door without another look in my direction. “If Gracie doesn’t hurry, I’ll make sure her share doesn’t go to waste.”

“Not a chance of that happening,” I said, already standing up from my desk and walking toward the door. “I smell fry bread, and it’s the only thing that’s gonna get me through the rest of the day.”

By the time I made it down the hallway to the break room, there was already a line forming at the door. Ty and his two friends were hovering just outside the room, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I walked past them.

“Come on in,” I said, motioning for them to follow me. “There’s not much room, but I’d be willing to bet there’s enough food to go around.”

My grandmother scowled as they filed in behind me, but didn’t object as I grabbed a stack of paper plates and began portioning out the bread.

“We don’t want to impose or anything…” Ty began, his voice trailing off as I handed him a plate and rolled my eyes.

“You’re definitely not imposing, Ty.” I gestured toward the large serving platter my grandmother had brought with her, still piled high with food. “There’s more than enough to go around, and I know you all had a long night, too.”

“Not gonna argue with you there, Doc,” he said, grinning as he took a big bite.

I handed another plate of food to each of his friends and gave them what I hoped was a warm smile, though I was still so tired it might not have been too convincing.

“With everything going on yesterday, I don’t think I had a chance to introduce myself.” I held out my hand to the shorter, stockier man. “My name is Grace Black. This is my Nana, who happens to make the best fry bread in Texas, and my assistant, Jenny.”

He swallowed a large bite of bread and nodded. “Cody Mason. Nice to meet you.” He nodded toward my grandmother and Jenny. “And you two ladies as well.”

Jenny smiled and my grandmother gave a quiet grunt—the closest thing to a hello they were likely to get from her today.

“Grace Black,” I said, smiling and shaking the hand of the taller, cockier looking man. “Good to meet you.”

He took a long moment to look me up and down before the corners of his mouth twitched up into what was almost a smile. “Jaeger,” he said, simply.

I could still feel his eyes—all of their eyes, really—on me as I turned back to my grandmother. “Thank you again, Nana. Is this what you were cooking this morning?”

Her lips pressed into a thin line as she handed me a plate. “We have guests, Gracie. They might be… unexpected… but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let them stay out there starving all day and night.”

I had to stifle a laugh. Guests was a bit of a stretch, especially considering the interrogation she’d given me earlier that morning.

“We appreciate it, ma’am,” Ty said. “And we appreciate being able to come in and check on Rambo through the night. That was awfully nice of you, Grace—er, Dr. Black.”