hree years ago
Cool air brushedover Clara Hayes’s cheeks as the music boomed around her.
She’d been to so many of these Amber Ridge street parties. One a year since she was born. Well, except for the ones she’d missed while she lived in New York.
“It still hasn’t sunk in that Monday’s my first shift at Amber Ridge Hospital. I’ve wanted this for so long.”
She nodded absentmindedly at Malcolm’s words. She’d needed a moment to sit and rest, because even though she hated to admit it, the chronic fatigue often weighed her down if she exerted herself. Malcolm had joined her, sitting at the small table beside her. They’d gone to high school together, and he’d just moved back to Amber Ridge to work at the local hospital as a doctor.
She should be paying more attention to him. But most of her focus was on something else…orsomeoneelse.
Holden. He stood beside a taco truck, beer in hand, talking to one of her older brothers, Jesse. They were both home on leavefrom the military. They were best friends.Had beenbest friends since joining the same dangerous Ghost Ops team. Now Holden was basically family.
At least, everyone else saw him as family. Not her. Not in the same capacity that she saw her brothers, anyway.
Suddenly, Holden’s hazel eyes caught hers, making the breath freeze in her lungs.
One side of his mouth lifted, showing a signature dimple.
She gave him a small smile before quickly looking away. Did he see the pink of her cheeks? The widening of her eyes?
Probably.
God, she’d become so fearless in every other aspect of her life. Why not with him?
Sure, he was a gazillion feet of gorgeous, with the broadest shoulders she’d ever seen. And he was kind and funny, and whenever she heard his voice, every hair on her arms stood on end.
But she was a grown-ass woman, dammit. A grown-ass woman who’d gone through a lot in her nearly twenty-seven years. She shouldn’t be blushing like a schoolgirl every time he glanced her way.
Twenty-seven. Man, she was getting closer to that big thirty, an age that once upon a time she hadn’t known if she’d reach. She’d done a lot in the last couple years, but she definitely hadn’t experienced everything she wanted to experience.
Sex. She hadn’t had sex.Argh.
Why? Because she’d always been too busy building her career as a lawyer. Then she’d gotten her diagnosis and moved back home.
Was that pathetic? To be twenty-seven years old and still a virgin?
“Were you treated at the Amber Ridge Hospital?”
Her attention snapped back to Malcolm. “What?”
“Hodgkin’s lymphoma, right? Were you treated here or in New York? I know there’s an oncologist who splits his time between here and Bozeman, but I wasn’t sure if you moved back before or after treatment.”
People rarely mentioned her cancer, usually because they didn’t know what to say beyond offering their sympathy and looking at her with pity. It was kind of refreshing that Malcolm had brought it up himself.
“I came back to do my chemotherapy here. I wanted to be close to Mom. I wanted to be home.”
Once upon a time, the word cancer had felt big and scary. But now? Now it was just a part of her story.
Malcolm nodded. “Your hair looks nice.”
Her hand twitched to reach up and touch her short blonde locks. A few years ago, she’d had long, thick hair. And even though it was growing back, it wasn’t as thick or soft as it had been.
But she was alive. Not just alive—she’d kicked cancer’s ass and become stronger for it. “Thanks.”
“Can I ask you something personal?”
She frowned. Asking about her cancer had already been personal. “Depends on what it is.”
