“Mouth shut.” I cleared my throat. “Um...do you have a...um... “.
“Daddy.” She dipped her head. “I’m not talking about this with you.”
“I mean, as long as you talk to Grey. He can tell you about what to watch out for in boys.”
“Ugh, no. He’s worse than you. He thinks my running shorts that everyone wears are too short.” She shook her head vehemently. “I’m not seeing anyone, okay? Boys want too much of your time.”
I really couldn’t argue with that. Wasn’t I irritated with Brooklyn for focusing on her career more than me? Well, partially. There was still this little thing that I wasn’t sure I could trust that she wouldn’t go back to her ex.
“Once you meet a guy who likes and accepts you for you, and understands that your goals require a lot of your time, then he’s the one.” Elle waited for me to open the door, and I waved my hand over the sensor. “Once you do meet him, and you need to talk about how to balance love and your goals, you can come to me anytime. I’ll try not to hate the whole time.”
“Love you.” She rested her forehead on my chest for a second before she and the dogs rushed through the house as she led them to the large backyard, where they roamed freely.
“Love you.” Watching her jog away from me, an inexplicable sadness assailed.
One day, I wouldn’t be the most important man in her life. One day, Elle would be caught up in her own love life, like her brothers. One day, I would feel like Darren did towards Ethyn and try to keep her as my little girl.
But right now, I still had her, and we were all going to have a good time eating, playing games, watching movies, and ringing in the New Year together.
The frustration and anger I had for Brooklyn faded as I shifted my focus to my mother and my children and headed to the kitchen to sneak some beef when my mother wasn’t looking.
Chapter 10
Brooklyn
Working during the holidays was always busy and tough. Wanting to be with the man you love, who doesn’t want to speak to you, made my job unbearable. I found myself irritable and ready to snap at the slightest whine or insult from staff and patients. I had to keep reminding myself that it’s no one's fault that I chose a profession that demanded so much of me. A profession I still loved and planned to do until I couldn’t anymore. Yet, I knew Mama and Carter were right. He had to be my priority at some point because he deserved that.
My ego had been hurt when Joi kissed him in front of me that first day, and my heart ached when she called him in the middle of the night after we’d been making love all day. I was ready to leave him then, convinced he and Joi weren’t quite over. And after a month of togetherness, intimacy, and new declarations of love, I expected Carter to accept that I had moved on from Bishop simply because I said it—a man who’d already been with a woman for years who loved another more deeply.
Carter wasn’t the man to hope I did right by him. He needed to believe I wouldn’t, and so far, he didn’t believe me because I hadn't given him a reason. I checked my watch.
7:06
Time to go home, change, and get my man.
Now, I sounded like Mama. I laughed out loud, catching the stares of families and patients as I walked to Dr. Boswell’s office, rubbing the necklace Carter had given me. She was a vibrant ginger in her mid-fifties, married with no children, andhad bragged earlier about a New Year’s Eve party she and her husband planned to attend once she clocked out at eight.
At my knock on her half-opened door, she looked up and smiled. “Everything okay?”
“I need to leave early.” I remained at the door.
She whipped off her glasses. “Everything okay at home? Is it your mother?”
“No, she’s well and visiting family back home. I need to leave early because I need a life outside of here.” No sense in lying now to get out of work when I rarely took time off and never called in.
“Maybe in a couple of hours. We’re busy.” She looked back down at her notes.
I took a breath and tried again. “What time are you leaving again?”
Dr. pursed her lips. “I’m not the resident.”
“And I’m the resident working her life away while everyone else has some sort of work-life balance. Maybe I want a husband to take me to a fancy party, too. But guess what, how can I have a meaningful relationship if I’m always here?” I retorted.
She quirked a brow. “You can have the next two days off. We need you here tonight.”
“With all due respect, Dr. Boswell, I work my ass off and in three years have only had maybe ten days off, including holidays, so you and all the residents and doctors can spend time with your spouses and children. I’m done with that, and tonight was my night off, until you wanted to spend time with the hubby.” I took the stethoscope from around my neck. “I’ll see you when I return in two days.”
Dr. Boswell rose from her chair. “You’ll have to meet with the Dean on campus if you walk out that door without permission, Brooklyn. No one else is on the floor tonight.”
