Blair’s hand appears in front of me with a glass of ice water. My fingers accidentally brush hers as I take it from her. That tingle from the garden is back again, this time shooting right up my arm and setting every hair on my body on end.Damn nervous system.
Her eyes widen, a small gasp escaping. Feeling her eyes on mine, I nod and mumble a strangled, “thank you,” before sucking back the offered drink.
Sensing I’m OK–well, as much as I’m going to be–Case redirects everyone’s attention back to the pizza oven, walking over and working to pull out the now cooked pizzas.
“You OK?” Blair asks again, softer this time.
“Yeah,” I say scratchily, my throat still burning. “Sorry about that. Guess I forgot to swallow.”
A curious expression crosses her face before she quickly schools it. “We all have those moments. Believe me, I can be as clumsy as they come sometimes. If there’s a step to miss or a food to go down the wrong way, I’m your girl. Not that I’m saying you’re clumsy, obviously.”
Somehow, that puts me at ease. Maybe it’s that I’ve always held the golden-haired beautiful girl from Boston up on a pedestal.
Seeing her again has put me on edge, which is not an easy feat these days.Maybe she’s a miracle worker. I mean, just her existence led me to my true life path after all.
Not that I can tell her that, not right away.How creepy would that be?
I shoot her a grin. “I’ll keep that in mind and warn you of any upcomin’ hazards.”
She returns my smile. “Much appreciated. My own superhero.” We laugh at that. “I’m glad there’ll be a few friendly faces to see around the hospital tomorrow.”
I study her, not hiding my surprise. “You’re nervous?”
“Wouldn’t you be?” she shoots back.
“Considerin’ I only started at the hospital a few months ago, yeah. I’m just surprisedyouare. You seem so…”
A slow but small smile appears. “Good to know I’m notthattransparent then,” she laughs. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ve just built it all up in my head, but it’s been a long time since I was working in a hospital ER. I’ve been working in private practice for a while now.”
"Where was that? If you don’t mind me askin’?”
“I’ve been in Rochester, Minnesota for the past few years.”
My eyes widen. “Workin’ at a certain big hospital there?”
“Yeah. It was a great opportunity that I jumped at when I was offered a fellowship…” I read between the lines when she doesn’t continue.
“I’m guessin’ it was time for a change?” She nods. “I totally get that. When we all decided to move here, we were all in the same situation. Ready for somethin’ different but not realizin’ it.”
Her brow arches “You’re not from here?”
“Alaska, yes. But all of us brothers were actually spread out across the country before our grandfather passed away. There was a stipulation in his Will that the ranch would become ours if we lived here together for two years,” I explain.
Blair leans back in her chair. “Wow. That’s kind of cool. How’s it been then? I’m guessing you’ve all been working on upgrading the ranch since then?”
“Yep. As you’ve probably noticed, it’s still a work in progress even after six months.”
Case calls for everyone to eat, and it hits me that in our quick conversation, only once did I feel a little uneasy.Then again, it’s not like I can tell her that I used to watch her at college, is it?
I also feel a tug of disappointment that our stolen snippet of time has been interrupted.
Blair stands, taking her glass of wine with her. “It’s been nice talking to you. We should definitely do it again,” she says just as her stomach grumbles. “But as you can tell, I really need to eat. Ready to wow me with your cooking prowess, Sutton?”
Plastering on a confident grin, I push my chair out to join her. “Sure am. Hope you like mushrooms.”
Her face falls and my heart hammers against my ribs. “Don’t tell me you’re allergic?”
She drags it out for as long as she can before her lips twitch. “Nope, but the look on your face was worth it.”
