It did pinch, and Annika squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to flinch.
“So, who was the asshole?” Daniel did not look up from his work.
“No one.” Tears welled in her eyes. Everything came back. She concentrated on her hand, but when he looked at her, she had to bite her lip to keep the tears from falling. She failed.
“Well, ‘no one’ really had your brother riled up.” He spoke softly, but Annika caught an edge in his voice.
Annika wiped away her tears and swallowed hard. “Why do you care?”
“Because I do.” His lips pressed together, but kindness filled his eyes when he stole a glance at her.
More silence.
“Steven. He’s the asshole.” She found herself speaking into the silence. Must be a technique they taught in nursing school.How to get people to spill their guts without saying anything.“I’m not sure what that says about my taste in men, but we were engaged—and then we weren’t.”
“Seems like you dodged a bullet there.”
Annika stared at him.
He looked up as if he could feel her gaze. “You know, him being an asshole and all that.” Daniel’s touch was gentle as he started the stitches, sending a small thrill through her.
Annika snuck a glance at him as he focused on his work. Long dark lashes framed those green eyes perfectly. His hair was thick, the color of brown autumn leaves that had fallen, with just a touch of wave. Her fingers wiggled at the thought of running them through it.Wait, what?
“Whoa, easy there.” Daniel glanced at her. “No wiggly fingers.”
“Sorry.” She kept still and changed the subject to cover her flush. “Where is everybody?”
“Out on a call. Which is good.” He didn’t look up. Probably a good thing, as Annika could still feel the heat in her face from her wayward thoughts.
“Why?”
“Technically, I shouldn’t be treating you here.” If he hadn’t already been looking at her hand, Annika had the distinct feeling he would have avoided her gaze.
“Why are you treating me, then?” She tried to keep still.
“You need stitches.”
“You could have forced me to go to the ER.”
“Yes. I could have. But you looked terrified of the ER, so I came up with plan B.” He glanced up at her and flushed, almost embarrassed, then quickly bent back to his work. “You seem to really like teaching.”
Annika smiled. “I love it. Chase Creek Elementary all the way!”
Daniel froze for a split second as she pumped her good hand.
“Oh. I’m sorry, no sudden movements. I do get a bit overexcited about my job.” She slowly put her hand down and concentrated on being still. This must be how her students felt all the time. “I really love being with the children and watching them discover how the world works.” She switched gears. “My parents wanted me to go to medical school—but I couldn’t do it. I took a year or so off after college—after I had decided against med school—to save up some money for grad school. Teaching is part of me. It’s like I need to do it.” She hadn’t talked about this in forever, but it felt easy to share with him.
“Well, that’s something we have in common.”
“You teach?” She grinned.
He chuckled, a low rumble that Annika could have listened to forever. “No. Med school. I applied after nursing school. Pressure from everyone—” he lifted his gaze to her and rolled his eyes “—about not living up to my full potential, and I got in. But it wasn’t for me. I decided to do my graduate work toward my DNP instead.”
“So why do you do this?” She indicated the base with her good hand.
“Um...well.” He hesitated, suddenly unable to meet her eyes. “This is just a side gig—like you working Phil’s. I like to keep busy.”
“I work at Phil’s because I need the money.” She shrugged, then grinned at him as an idea struck her. “You should come to my class and talk about this. The kids will find it exciting. The helicopter, the whole thing.”
