Thankfully, she put him out of his misery with a simple nod. “Let me get dressed.”
Soon, they were walking hand in hand down a trail that led them through the fields on the property. He squeezed her hand and glanced down at her. “It was busy tonight.”
“So you said,” she mused, her tone less upset.
“Like really busy.” He chuckled. “I don’t know what was going on. But every few minutes we had people coming in needing help. Broken bones. Stitches. Heart attacks. The flu is going around. It was… a lot.”
She chuckled along with him. “I get it, Mathew. You were needed.” Was there a tinge of sadness in her voice now? Would she break it off with him because his job was too demanding of his time? There were going to be days when he’d be on call. Copper Creek was small, but that didn’t mean the local ER wasn’t busy.
He huffed out a sigh, not sure how to approach the topic. “I’m sorry.”
River slowed, forcing him to do the same or risk losing contact with him. She frowned up at him, her brows drawing closer together. “Do you think I’m mad that you stayed at work?”
“Well… yeah,” he murmured, gripping the back of his neck. “My work prevented me from our date.”
She shook her head. “This was a one-time thing. And I’m not stupid. I know that your job is important. There will be the occasional instance when you’ll be needed. But that’s not what I’m most upset about.”
“It’s not?”
“No.” River reached up with her free hand and cupped his cheek. “I’m upset that you didn’t tell me you were staying late. You’ve been proving to me that you’re prioritizing what we have. I can see that. You’re making a wonderful effort. But part of prioritizing me is remembering to call me when our plans have to change. I was worried about you.”
“Worried?” The relief that overcame him felt like taking in a gulp of air for the first time after being starved of oxygen. “So, you’re not mad?”
“Oh, I was pretty upset,” she admitted. “Still am, if I’m honest. But I wouldn’t be a good girlfriend if I didn’t have some understanding. What you do—your job—it’s incredibly important. People need doctors. But you’re not the only doctor who works in that hospital. Saving this town doesn’t fall entirely on your shoulders. But that’s beside the point, the point is, you should have let me know.”
He grasped both of her hands together and nodded. “Of course. You’re important to me. I want you to know that.”
“I do.”
Mathew’s jaw tightened as he searched her face for any sign of a lie. Would she lie to him about how she felt? Would she walk away from him when she got tired of waiting for him?
Like Victoria?
She said herself that this was a one-time thing. He knew better than to believe he’d be perfect. He’d have regressions. There was a lot of room for growth when it came to how he wanted to lead his life.
The biggest problem was that he’d been enjoying tonight. The working part. He’d allowed himself to fall into old habits without another thought for anyone but his patients. It wouldn’t be difficult to make the excuse that he hadn’t been accountable to anyone but himself for so long, but that wasn’t quite right either.
If it was that easy to forget about his plans with River tonight, then how easy would it be to forget about them again? She deserved better than this.
“Hey,” her soft voice dragged him from his guilt-ridden thoughts. “Where did you go?”
“What do you mean? I’m right here.” He smirked at her, but she wasn’t amused.
“You know what I mean.”
He sighed, then pulled her in for a hug and kissed the crown of her head. “I’m trying to figure out how to prevent this from happening again.” It was the most honest he could be with her. He hadn’t told her about Victoria—or that he’d been married before. Nothing had come from that marriage but problems, and he wanted to pretend that part of his life never happened. River didn’t need to know about Victoria yet. She didn’t need to know he’d failed at being a good husband before.
This relationship they had? It was new. It was important. And he was bound and determined to make it work.
“It’s okay,” she whispered against his chest. “I promise.”
He nodded, but her words weren’t enough to ease his mind.
Later, when he had finished getting ready for bed, his phone buzzed on his side table. Smiling, he reached for the phone to see if River was sending him a goodnight text.
But it wasn’t River.
Victoria:Sometimes I wonder where we went wrong.
