“Lucky you.”
“Your fiancé is all patched up. I think he left.” Bob gave a significant look, but she averted her eyes.
That scene with Ash and Spencer was beyond embarrassing. The last thing she wanted was to become the object of emergency department gossip.
Bob put a hand on her shoulder. “None of my business, Skye, but if you need to talk, you know I’m here.”
Her throat constricted at the unexpected tenderness. “Thank you, but I’m fine.”
Bob was many things—boss, mentor, and teacher. With his paternal concern, he was also the father she wished she’d had growing up.
His shoulders stiffened. Her tone must’ve been too sharp. She had never been good at interpersonal…stuff.
The corners of his mouth curled up into a smile. “You know why I wanted you to work here?”
The sudden change in conversation caught her off guard.
Because she was the best. But it would be impolite to admit it. There was prestige for the hospital to hire the best of the best.If not for her test scores, then why?
“You always work your ass off. No one could match you on your exam scores. For that alone, I hired you.” His eyes softened. “But that’s not why Iwantedyou. You care, especially for the patients who have nothing—the homeless, the street kids, the druggies, the ones who were raped and abused.” He pointed to the trauma bay. “You didn’t hesitate. You knew what needed to be done, and you did it to save that baby.”
There was a reason behind her passion, and someday, she would repay her debt to society. Everyone deserved a chance, and not everyone got one. She never had. And, while she and Forest had crawled out of their desperation together, not everyone was lucky enough to find the strength they had.
“If marrying Spencer McAdams is going to make you happy, then I wish you the best of luck. But, if you’re having any second thoughts, don’t do it.”
Spencer must have said something about their engagement.
“How did you?—”
Bob held her at arm’s length. “I saw who you ran to after the fight was over. It wasn’t your fiancé.”
“He’s no one. Just a stranger…”
Bob’s eyes narrowed. “Well, sometimes, nobodies can become somebodies. I’m just saying, being in the wrong relationship can hurt more than you know.”
Her eyes widened at his message. “Bob?—”
Nancy ducked her head into the break room. “Go home, Dr. Manley.” She gestured to Skye. “Three stabbing victims in the lobby. They’re bleeding all over the linoleum. Come on.” She ran off.
Skye nudged Bob toward the door. “She’s right. Go home, and get some sleep. You’re my relief from all this craziness, and I have a feeling, I’m going to be happy to see you on the other end.”
He shook his head as he walked away from the chaos she was now running toward.
As she treated the three bleeding gang members, it occurred to her that, while talking to Forest, she had forgotten to mention Spencer's proposal or the kiss with the more interesting man. Forest was going to love that story.
She hummed the melody to “Manic Monday” while laying down a line of stitches, thinking about Ash in his T-shirt and jeans that hung low in all the right places and his promise of dinner.
After dealing with a lobby full of patients with their flu symptoms, vomiting illnesses, broken bones, and other minor catastrophes, her shift ended on a down note. A two-year-old entered the emergency room with a fever. A simple thing really until his blood work came back. She admitted him to the cancer service amid the tears of his parents.
When she finished her patient’s note, the wise eyes of Bob Manley stared back at her. “Rough shift?”
“I’ve had worse.”
His brows drew together with concern. “Someone’s waiting for you outside. I guess you have a lot to think about over the next three days.”
Yes! She had a string of days free from the craziness of the emergency department. Bob had offered up his cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and she’d graciously accepted. She’d had plans with Spencer, a celebration of their engagement, but now, she’d be heading there alone.
First, she looked forward to getting to know Ash better over dinner.
