Brandon stared at Cassidy for a full five minutes before her eyelids began to flicker. It seemed to take a couple of more minutes after that before she was awake. Even though he trusted Jamie and was sure she was fine, it was a relief to have her conscious again. “Hey, there,” he said quietly, once she was looking up at him.

“Hey,” Cassidy said, looking a little confused. “Where’s Jamie?”

“Oh, he said I could do the procedure,” Brandon teased. “I took out your kidneys. Hope that’s okay.”

Her pretty face looked only slightly amused as she began to sit up. He helped her by putting his arm around...