Was TannertheTanner? Did he own the bar?
It dawned on me that I didn’t know anything about him anymore. I didn’t even know if he was still in touch with my sister. They’d been inseparable while they were dating, but after I left, I’d pushed thoughts of him to the recesses of my mind, never to be thought about again.
My walk home was filled with questions, and the emptiness of my apartment didn’t help my unsettled stomach.
My phone rang just as I picked out my clothes for my first day at the hospital tomorrow.
“Hey, kiddo,” I said, knowing how much my sister hated when I called her that.
“I’m letting that one slide because you’re jetlagged. How does it feel being back in the country? Although I’d have preferred if you’d moved a little closer to home.”
I looked around the empty room. “I need furniture and…well, everything else.”
She laughed. “I was asking more about your state of mind, but if you need some interior design help, I can fit you into my schedule in about three years.”
“What? No friends-and-family privilege?” I yawned and stretched my back.
“You’re deflecting.”
I was, and I wasn’t ashamed of it.
“And you never mentioned Tanner lived in Cliffborough.”
When her reply didn’t come, I looked at the screen to see if she was still on the line.
“I didn’t think it was relevant,” she said after a moment. “You haven’t mentioned him in all the time you were gone.”
“Neither did you.”
“Why would I?”
Was it me, or did she sound a little prickly?
“I don’t know. Maybe because he practically lived at our house when you were together. How did I not know you’re still friends?”
“Well, you know now. Maybe you can reconnect. Just…”
“Just what?”
“Be nice to him.”
What did she mean?
“Why wouldn’t I be nice to him?”
I didn’t need to see her to know the expression on her face just from hearing her huff. “Oh, I don’t know, because you hate him?”
“I do?”
“You would always change the subject whenever I talked about him, so I stopped. I thought you didn’t like him or were doing yourI’m your big brother and I’ll protect you from the bad guysimpression when I told you we broke up.”
Had I done that? I didn’t remember.
“I’m sorry, kiddo. I promise I’ll be nice to Tanner. Hell, at least now I know two people in this city.”
“That’s the spirit. Now go sleep to get ready for your big day, Doctor Mitchell.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
