“I look forward to it.” I stepped down from the table and grabbed my crutches. “See you later?” I raised a questioning eyebrow.
She crossed her arms before she could hide the twitch of her lips. “You’re a relentless ballbuster.”
“I’m told I get that from my father. I think I’m feeling a Kit Kat instead of my usual. See you later?” Our gazes met, and suddenly those three words were laced with a ton of intention.
“Fine. See you later,” she whispered. If my imagination wasn’t fucking with me, her voice held a touch of a rasp
I nodded and hobbled away. I stopped short at an itch in the back of my knee. I was comfortable with crutches now but still clunky as hell with annoying shit like that. I stopped and swiveled to give it a scratch and noticed Danielle staring at me. Our eyes locked again, and she turned around on a huff.
A huge smile pulled at my cheeks all the way back to my room.
14
Danielle
“Do you ever go home?”my boss, Rachel, inquired as she peeked into my office.
“I do … eventually.” I gave her a quick smile over my computer screen as I typed up the last of my notes, hoping she didn’t catch the tension in my reply. Tonight, I’d planned to meet Jack, not just run into him and pretend we were simply in the same place at the same time.
“You know, you don’t have to do every single session.” She crossed her arms and leaned into the doorjamb. “There are plenty of assistant therapists who can monitor patients under your supervision.” She clicked her tongue and shook her head. “That would give you time to catch up on notes earlier and then maybe go home and catch some late July sunshine.”
“But we’re getting complicated cases lately; I don’t feel right just handing my patients over.”
She was right, though. If I accepted help sometimes, I wouldn’t have to work so many hours. Even though it made sense, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I took comfort in control at work. Plus, until Jack, I wouldn’t know what to do with any free time.
The rest of the therapists had left over an hour ago, and after Rachel’s exit, I planned to mosey into the cafeteria as if I hadn’t obsessed about it since my session with Jack this afternoon.
We had this … connection. Granted, Jack was isolated here from the people he knew, and I was a familiar, friendly face he’d most likely latched on to. But sometimes, it felt like more. We talked about everything and nothing at the same time each night, sometimes for hours. I didn’t know anything about his personal life, and he knew nothing about my shitty past, and I didn’t want that to change. The last thing I wanted to see in his eyes was pity. I had that in spades from my family.
“All right, see you tomorrow. And get out of here. Do something fun.”
I returned Rachel’s smile with a stiff grin of my own. My idea of doing something fun was splitting a Kit Kat with my patient. I needed help.
Sucking in a shaky breath, I made the short walk from my office to the cafeteria. Scanning the room, my heart sank when I realized it was empty. My chest deflated in disappointment. He either hadn’t come, or I’d made him wait too long.
“Hey,” I jumped at the smooth whisper breezing against my neck. My head swiveled to Jack’s contrite half smile. Gray sweatpants hung on his hips, and a navy-blue New York Yankees T-shirt stretched across his broad chest. I held in a desperate sigh as my tongue darted to the side of my mouth to check for drool. I was twelve again, only this time, admitting my hopeless crush had both professional and personal repercussions.
“I was on my way here when my mom called. Then my dad grabbed the phone, and they both wouldn’t let me go.” His baby blues rolled.
A chuckle fell from my lips, relaxing me for a moment. “They must miss you. Weren’t they just here a couple of days ago?”
Jack hopped to a table and rested his crutches on the edge before pulling out my chair. I stumbled a moment as my heart squeezed in my chest. It wasn’t the first time someone had pulled my chair out for me, but the effort I knew he had to put forward to do it warmed my insides.
“They called for information on my sister. They said she’s acting strange and something’s up.” He slid into the seat next to me, his gaze dropping to the table as he shrugged. “She was supposed to go away to school in San Diego and couldn’t wait to go. It’s all we heard for months. Now, she’s not going.”
“Not going? Not going to school?”
“No,” he sighed. “She’s still going. She’s enrolled in a school in Manhattan. The very same one my dad tried to convince her to attend when she first brought up leaving. Now, for no reason, she’s changed her mind and is staying. Plus, she’s never home anymore. She works with my mom in a school, teaching art to kids—she’s an artist like I told you. She’s always out with friends but doesn’t give any explanation as to where. She’s eighteen, so they don’t feel like they can press her.” He cupped his forehead and groaned. “It was a long conversation of going around in circles.”
“So they called you so—”
“I could get it out of her? Yep.” I laughed at his defeated nod.
“Do you think she maybe … has a boyfriend?”
He cocked his head from side to side. “I thought of that, and if she does, I get why she’s hiding it. My dad still thinks of her as a kid and would give whoever it was a hard time. But she’d say something by now.” He dropped his head to his hands and pinched his nose. “I hope that’s all it is. I didn’t let on, but I’m a little worried, too.”
A smile creeped over my lips at Jack’s knitted brow. He was sexy all over, but the most attractive part of him was always how nice he was. Even when I’d first known him, Jack Taylor was simply a genuinely good guy. After marrying and being burned by an awful man, witnessing Jack’s pure sincerity and concern for his sister got me right in the chest.
