I saw the corner of his lips twitch. “Cute.” He looked at it. “The stethoscope is a nice touch.”
I chuckled. “I thought so, too.”
His eyes met mine. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” We stood there for a moment. “Uh…when’s your next shift?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Mine, too. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
“Yeah,” he replied with a nod, holding my stare. “See you tomorrow.”
I turned and walked back to my Jeep, sliding into the driver’s seat as he got into his. When I backed out of my space, I glanced over as I stopped behind his vehicle to shift into drive, and I smiled when I saw him place the lone duck in his windshield.
Chapter 13
After another shiftat the hospital, I pulled into my driveway and shut my car off before leaning back against my seat.
My eyes drifted to the ridiculous duck on my dashboard that Haley had given me. I didn’t get the appeal of collecting rubber ducks for the window, butoneI could tolerate.
I’d worked with her nearly every shift since that first one two weeks ago. I could see why the other doctors wanted to keep her around, why her fellow nurses were glad she was staying, even if it would be in a different role. She was damn good at her job, and you could tell she loved what she did. No one who worked there had a bad thing to say about her.
As for what happened between us, I was able to push it to the back of my mind, only because she made it easy to do so. She didn’t bring it up, and despite a part of me half-expecting her to be, she wasn’t awkward around me because of it. I think her lack of remorse and the way she didn’t act differently toward me simply because we slept together on an impulsive, drunkenwhim eased some of the weight of that guilt I had felt. It made it easier to brush aside.
Like she said that day: it was aone-timething that didn’t mean anything.
I finally let out a breath, grabbed my small duffle bag I carried for work, and got out of my car, locking it before I headed down the walkway to my front door. Two weeks back on the floor in the emergency room had kicked my ass. I was tired. But I didn’t deem it a bad thing because maybe, if I were exhausted enough, I would sleep better than I had been.
I’d been sitting in my car because I was stalling going inside.
Because I knew what I would be met with when I did.
Nothing.
I hadn’t thought this entirely through.
I didn’t necessarily regret getting the house—I was glad to have my own space to come home to—but I never considered how damn quiet it would be. As I settled in, I realized I’d overlooked how constant silence might affect me. I’d been more focused on proving to everyone—especially myself—that I was in a good enough headspace. Now, in the quiet, the confidence I felt was starting to crack.
I wasn’t so sure of myself now. The doubt lingered, gnawing at me in the quiet, turning certainty into something jagged. If I were honest, it was fucking with me more than I cared to admit.
When I shut the front door behind me, it echoed, and I let out a long breath. I dropped my bag in its usual spot near the door and kicked off my shoes before heading to my room to shower.
Fifteen minutes later, I was back in the kitchen, cooking chopped broccoli, yellow peppers, red peppers, and carrots in a pan before adding the chicken I had already cooked back in. Ipoured a sauce I had made with broth, soy sauce, honey, toasted sesame oil, and red pepper flakes over it, mixing it and bringing it to a boil before removing it from the stove.
I plated some of the homemade stir-fry and put the rest in a container for work tomorrow. Then I stepped onto my deck and sat at the patio table, watching the sunset. A few boats sailed by—probably headed to the marina—and as I watched them, my mind blurred.
“When we get to go home—not back to base home, buthome,home—you know what we’re gonna do, Pierson?”
“What’s that?” I asked, entertaining Noah’s question as we stepped out of our barracks.
“You’re gonna take your ass on your fancy little ferry boat from Bayport and come into Charleston, and we’re gonna charter one of those boats for some deep-sea fishing.”
“That right?” I chuckled.
Noah nodded with a grin. “That’s right. We’ll be the Goose and Maverick of the sea for a day.” I snorted, shaking my head at the stupid reference to his favorite movie. “You ever been?”
“A few times with my dad and brother, but not since I was a teenager.”
