“We took in a record two and half million. Marianne called me this morning when the final tally came in.”
“She’s got to be proud of that. She had some big shoes to fill.” Colt hid his expression of dislike. He really didn’t care much for the woman. Lance went through a hard time after the death of his friend and colleague and Marianne walked away from him.
“I think this will be the last year for me. She’s able to do it on her own now.”
Colt flicked him a look. “She make a play for you again.”
Lance nodded.
“She was not right for you man.”
“Yes, I know.”
“What about Tammy? She’s down to earth—and single, and as you said sophisticated and elegant,” he suggested slyly. He was one of the few people that knew about Tammy’s feelings for his brother. Yes, Elaina made promises but he had his ways of getting things out of her.
Lance shook his head. “She is too committed to her profession.”
Colt looked at his brother’s profile as he glanced off in the distance. Lance was always very reserved but was there something in his tone that time? “We could lay her off. Debbie’s been doing things on her own all weekend. It takes her a little longer, and she’s tired, but it’s as if she has improved.”
“We can’t lay her off. She can’t afford it,” Lance answered simply. “Even if we did, she’d find another way to fill the void like take extra shifts at the hospital.”
“Sounds like she’s avoiding something,” Colt hedged.
“Sounds like it.”
“Did you two—”
“—That’s none of your business Colt,” Lance cut in sharply.
There was that show of barely contained anger again. “You’re right.” He shut his mouth after that. They never pried into each other’s personal lives, but this was Tammy. She was practically part of the family. She’d looked after all of them at one point and seemed to always to put the concerns of her patient’s and friends above her own. “She works too much, though.”
“She works too much to avoid life. She deserves a fucking spanking.”
Colt actually swerved the truck on the road at that statement. He was trying to gauge his brother’s expression and spent too long looking at him. “Christ, Lance!”
“Watch the road.”
“Yeah, well, you can’t say shit like that and not expect to floor me.”
Lance smiled.Violent lovemaking. “Sorry.”
“Liar.”
He chuckled.
The next day Tammy was in Doctor Hartley’s office working. She was already exhausted from a sleepless night, and jet-legged on top of it. She did her best to concentrate on her job and thought she was doing great until Rita, the other clerk that worked with her pointed out that she’d mixed up scheduling. She’d overheard her booking an appointment and Tammy had entered it in the computer wrong. “Oh gosh.” She quickly fixed it.
As the day progressed she caught a few more. She just couldn’t shake the events over the past weekend, and what had happened between her and Lance. It was a fairytale, and those never lasted. She was being practical, wasn’t she?
“What is wrong?”
Tammy glanced up and saw Colt and Elaina standing at the counter. “Pardon?”
“I’ve been standing here for about a minute speaking to you and you’re just staring off into space.”
“I’m tired,” she quickly explained. “Jet lag.”
“Sure it is,” Elaina said suspiciously. A glint of amusement entered her expression.
