“Aw, Cap.”
“A leader’s gotta lead, right?” I said, backing out of his room. Korbin flipped me the bird before I vanished around the corner in seek of Paisley. An orderly behind the nurse’s desk gave me her room number, and I headed in that direction, trying to pull myself together before seeing her. I was torn between so many emotions, relieved that she was okay but angry, angry she’d disobeyed me and gone into that building anyway. She’d put her own life at risk, an inexperienced rookie balancing the rope between acceptance and self-sabotage. She’d saved a life, sure, but this time had been a fluke. We were rarely so lucky.
Rounding the ER corner, I heard Paisley speak from a few rooms down. I continued, figuring it was just a nurse, but then stopped in my tracks when her tone got louder and more intense.
“I’m fine, Jer,” she was saying, and the irritation in her tone was evident.
“I don’t like this, Paisley,” replied a male voice, one I didn’t recognize. I took another hesitant step forward and peeked into Paisley’s room around the corner. She was sitting on the bed, already fully clothed and lacing up her boots to leave. Standing near the far wall was a man I didn’t recognize. Tall and lanky, with glasses and disheveled hair. I could sense the tension in the air without even going in. I knew not to interrupt. Part of me wanted to turn around and get out of there, but a more significant part forced my feet to stay, curious as to what was happening in Paisley’s room. It wasn’t my business, and I damn well knew it, but I still couldn’t pull myself away.
“Do you know how scared I was to get this call?” the man asked. “I thought for sure you were dead.”
“I’m fine, Jeremy,” Paisley said again. “Barely a scrape. I asked them not to call you.”
“And why would you do that?” Jeremy demanded. “I’m your fiancé, Paisley. I deserve to know what in the hell is going on with you. You should have called me.”
I took a step away from the door, the word fiancé ringing in my ears like some foreign, poisonous word I’d never heard before. Paisley never told me that she was engaged. But then again, why should she? We were coworkers, not friends; it wasn’t my business, even if I wanted it to be.
I started to turn away to leave them at it, but Paisley was too quick on her feet. She rounded the corner just as I stepped in the opposite direction, prepared to bail.
“Hansen,” she said and stopped short. The man, Jeremy, came up behind her, and she suddenly seemed to catch herself. “I mean, Captain, sorry.”
“I just wanted to stop by and check on you.” My response sounded awkward to my ears, but what else could I say? Especially in front of her so-called fiancé.
“Well, I’m fine,” she said, forcing a smile that I could tell wasn’t genuine. She seemed tense with her fiancé around, different than she was around her work crew and me. “Just a few bruises, no broken bones. I heard Korbin is okay, too?”
“Thanks to you,” I said, hyperaware that Paisley’s fiancé was staring at me over her shoulder. I opened my mouth to get ready to introduce myself, but both Paisley and Jeremy spoke at once.
“It was no big—”
“I don’t think we’ve met,” Jeremy said, cutting Paisley off. He stepped up beside her and held his hand out to mine. “I’m Jeremy, Paisley’s fiancé. Who are you?”
“This is Hansen,” Paisley said quickly. Her introduction was quick and clean, unemotional. “My captain.”
“Erik Hansen,” I said, shaking Jeremy’s hand while simultaneously trying to ignore the awkward sensation in the air between us. He had a firm grip, a grip that seemed almost warning-like.
“Jeremy Miller,” he said. “Paisley’s soon-to-be husband.”
“Congratulations, you two,” I said, hoping that neither of them noticed the catch in my throat. “Paisley didn’t mention any of this at work.”
“So, it would seem,” said Jeremy. I looked at Paisley, who was scowling, looking like at any moment she might turn around and bitch slap the man behind her.
“I’d like to come back to work, Cap,” Paisley said to me, brushing off Jeremy’s comment. I cleared my throat, careful not to look too long at Jeremy.
“I gave Korbin a few days to rest,” I told her. “I’d like you to do the same.”
“But I don’t—”
“That will be great,” Jeremy said, stepping up beside Paisley to grab her hand, claiming her right in front of me. “God knows she needs it.”
I watched the expression on Paisley’s face cloud over, anger simmering dangerously close to the surface. I wanted to see her snap at him and stand up for herself, but somehow, she bit her tongue and smiled tightly instead.
“So, I’ll see you Monday?” she said.
“Sure.”
I watched Paisley and Jeremy go, noticing how they walked an arm’s length apart, untouching. Even from where I stood, I could see the tensed muscles in Paisley’s body, the way she distanced herself from Jeremy’s touch.
In my pocket, my cell phone buzzed again. I took it out and looked at the screen, seeing Julia’s face smiling up at me. Horrible dread filled my stomach as I silenced the call and slipped the phone back into my pocket. Things weren’t going well with Julia and me, and my sudden longing for Paisley’s company wasn’t helping the relationship. I feel like a crook, a cruel man, the person I swore I’d never be. Once upon a time, I’d looked at other men, the ones who treated their women like shit, the ones that cheated and never had any human excuse for it, and I loathed those men.
