Ace’s gaze immediately sharpened, narrowing as he studied her. “That’s just snow falling from the eaves. You okay, Doc?”
“Oh, yeah.” She forced a laugh that sounded hollow to her own ears. “Loud noises and all that.” She tried to shake off the feeling of being exposed and turned back to make a notation in his chart.
The truth was, she hated loud, unexpected sounds. They took her right back to moments she didn’t want to remember.
Ace’s focus followed her as she scrawled her notes in his thickening chart.
“You know,” she began, keeping her tone light, “as your doctor, I’d recommend looking into mental health support. There are several excellent professionals you could Zoom with. You could even use my office if you wanted.”
One side of his mouth lifted into a sardonic grin. “You think I need my head shrunk?”
“Definitely,” she retorted, smiling despite herself. “You’re stitched together more often than not, and you’ve been coming in here more frequently, according to your medical records. Something’s off. Whatever happened with that plane crash, Ace? You haven’t dealt with it. You need to.”
The grin faded from his face, replaced by something quieter and more serious. He crossed his arms, leaning back just enough that the table creaked beneath him. His gaze locked on hers, steady and probing. “What about you?” he asked quietly.
Her fingers froze over the chart. She blinked. “What?”
“What are you dealing with, Doc?”
The question was so unexpected, so direct, that she felt like the floor had shifted beneath her feet. She looked away, but the weight of his stare didn’t let up.
They’d run into each other around town more than a few times, enough for her to know his habits and his quirks. And any time he got himself injured—which was more often than not—he showed up at the clinic. But never once had he asked her a personal question. Not like this.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He didn’t look away, his gaze steady, peeling back her layers. “I think you do. Loud noises, huh? What else bothers you?”
She turned to face him fully, trying to muster the confidence she always felt in the exam room. “Nosy patients,” she said flatly.
“Fine, but if you need help, I can sober up.” He winked. “Do you need help?”
Charming, sexy, and wounded. A total disaster, basically. “No. Just pay your bill on time.”
He sobered, looking dangerous instead of damaged. “I’m here if you need me.”
Her throat tightened. “That’s kind of you,” she murmured. “I don’t need help—of any kind. Stop drinking. Listen to your doctor.”
“You’re not my doctor,” Ace said lowly. “Just because you patch me up once in a while doesn’t give us a doctor-patient relationship, May. Don’t forget that.”
She couldn’t breathe. “What are you saying?”
“The words make sense. I’ll lock the front door on my way out.” Ace’s jaw flexed. “You need to be more careful opening the place by yourself so early in the morning.”
“Brock and Ophelia will be here in a few minutes, if you want to wait for them,” she offered.
His expression blanked. “Yeah, Christian left me a message when he hit town and probably called them as well. I’m sorry about Tamara. I’ll see you later, May.” He loped out of the examination room and down the hallway, disappearing. The tension in the room relaxed. How odd.
She shook herself out of it and cleaned the room, sterilizing it. Then she moved into the hallway, ready to make that coffee.
The knock on the clinic’s front door was sudden and sharp. She jumped again, her shoulders jerking before she could stop herself. Oh for goodness’ sake. She knew they would be coming. Clearing her throat, she pressed her hand to the door, willing herself to stay in the present. She wasn’t that person anymore. She was in control.
She opened the door. “Sorry. I forgot that Ace locked this.”
“Hey, Doc,” Ophelia said as she entered the reception area, her voice steady. “Ace? Why was Ace here?”
Damn it. She shouldn’t have said anything. “Um, forget I said that.” Did she just violate HIPAA?
Ophelia’s eyes narrowed. “Okay. For now, we put the body in the hospital operating room instead of your office.”
