He bent to get a beer from the fridge. “Nobody died. Bumps and bruises mostly. Lucky for them, they were all wearing seat belts. The driver got it the worst when she hit the steering wheel. I had to stay with them ’til the paramedics got there.”
“And how are you?” Lauren asked softly.
He popped the cap. “Fine.”
No, she thought,you’re not.Frustration and concern roiled inside her. “You had an exciting day all around,” she observed.
He swigged his beer. “I’ve had better.”
Lauren took a deep breath. Say something now? Or say nothing and let the silence eat at both of them?
Say something, she decided. “Renee came by this morning looking for you.”
“She found me.”
Lauren waited. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“We can discuss it later.”
He lowered the bottle. “There’s nothing to discuss. She came. I dealt with it.”
“That’s very reassuring. But it’s not enough.”
His eyes were very dark. “You don’t trust me.”
“Of course I trust you. But you have to trust me, too. You should be able to share with me how you’re feeling.”
“I just had to tell some parents their sixteen-year-old daughter is on her way to intensive care. I can’t be feeling the feelings all the time the way you do.”
Ouch.
“So you’re going to close down and keep everything to yourself.”
He didn’t say anything.
He was a guy, she reminded herself. Guys had a tendency to compartmentalize. She needed to be patient.
“I understand you need to separate your emotions in order to do your job,” she said, choosing her words with care. “But a visit from your ex-wife... You need to talk to me about things that affect you personally.”
“I didn’t say anything about Renee’s visit because it doesn’t have anything to do with you.”
The words slapped, stinging color to her cheeks. Her mouth jarred open.
Jack dragged a hand through his hair. “Oh, Christ. I meant, it doesn’t make any difference to me. To us.”
“Wow.” She shut her mouth to swallow. Opened it to say, “We are now dealing with textbook levels of denial and compartmentalization.”
“I’m not some patient you’re seeing at the free clinic, sweetheart. I don’t need you analyzing me. I don’t need fixing.”
Heat and hurt swarmed to her face. Maybe she’d been guilty in the past of treating lovers like clients.Fixer-uppers. But not Jack.
“I’m not trying to fix you. I’m trying to know you. I’m trying to be supportive.”
“If you don’t know me well enough to believe I wouldn’t run around on you with my ex-wife, I don’t see much point to this conversation.”
She had obviously hurt his pride. Trust, she thought. It was clearly a hot-button topic. “I’m not accusing you of sleeping with her.”
