Asshole. I didn’t fire back some snarky sisterly comment as I usually would. Instead, I pushed my food around with my fork, staring at my plate so hard it blurred. I forced myself to stay silent for several moments before I finally spoke, my voice flat. “He’s engaged…”
The quiet scraping of silverware stopped, and I could feel both their gazes on me. After a moment, my mom set her fork down on her napkin. “What?”
“Brett is engaged.” I let out a small, bitter laugh as I looked up from my plate. “I accidentally stumbled across the announcement in the paper at work the other day.”
Wes blew out a long, slow breath as he stared at me. “Hales, I—I wasn’t—I didn’t…” He trailed off with a sigh. “I’m sorry. I was being an ass, trying to get a little rise out of you. I wouldn’t have said that had I known.”
“It’s fine. I’m fine,” I said, waving a dismissive hand before sipping my wine. “It’s been over for a year. I don’t harbor any feelings for him. Really.It’s fine.”
It was partly true. I didn’t have feelings for Brett, but a raw ache coiled low inside me. I couldn’t figure out how to explain it without sounding pathetic.
So, I opted not to explain at all.
With that, any talk about our love lives ended, and after dinner, we moved on to lighter conversation.
A few days later, I was back at work, nearing the end of my third twelve-hour shift.
I just finished discharging a patient and sat down to do my charting when Marie plopped into the seat next to me. “Plans tonight?”
I kept my gaze on the screen as I typed, shaking my head. “No. I have a paper I was going to work on that’s due Monday.”
“Well, you’re off all weekend. So, work on it tomorrow. A few of us are headed to our favorite bar after shift.”
I finally looked over at her, noticing the conspiratorial grin on her face. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?” she asked, her grin still in place.
My brow arched suspiciously. “Like you’re plotting something sinister.”
“Notsinister,” she said. “Just…fruitful.”
“Fruitful…” I deadpanned.
“Look, you’ve been in a funk ever since you saw that announcement. You know it. I know it. And you need to get your mind off of it. What better way than to have some drinks and let loose a little? Plus, it’s First Responder Night, so who knows? Maybe you’ll find a hot cop who likes to use handcuffs outside of work or a firefighter who will show you his hose.”
I snorted. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I prefer astute and insightful,” she said with a smirk. “Come on. Worse comes to worst, you get to hang out with my pretty face for a bit longer.”
I sighed, turning back to the computer screen. “Fine. But the first round is on you.”
Marie grinned. “Deal.”
Chapter 5
It had beenone of those days.
Restlessness pulsed through me, stronger than usual, and if I didn’t keep myself busy with something—anything—my thoughts would grow louder and start to overpower me.
I wasdesperatefor a distraction.
After dinner, I went to the gym, hoping to wear myself out. When I finished, though, the idea of going home and sitting with my racing mind wasn’t at all appealing. So I got in my car and just drove—no plan, just a need to outrun my thoughts.
After an hour, I ended up parked along the side of the curb outside the emergency room at Bayport General. Not because I planned to be seen. I just…I missed it.
I missed everything—the ER’s adrenaline, the feeling ofmaking a difference. Being a doctor was who I was, and knowingIwas the only one holding myself back made the frustration build inside me.
When I first came home, everyone convinced me to take some time for myself before returning to work, due to the episodes I had experienced during my shifts back at base. I agreed, but after only a couple of weeks, I found myself with too much damn time on my hands and missing it and the diversion from my mind that it provided.
