“Not particularly,” River said, guilt threading through the anger. “I’m sure Mathew has mentioned enough.”
Confusion lit Penny’s face. “Mathew?”
“I’m assuming you two talk.”
Penny’s blank look melted into humor. “Uh, no. Mathew doesn’tdo… feelings. Neither of my brothers is very good at that. At least not with me. And even if they did, I doubt they’d want to confide in me about their relationships. Too scared that I’d psychoanalyze them.”
Something about her easy, unoffended tone had River’s shoulders loosening despite herself. It also stirred a dangerous kind of curiosity. What would a therapist say about the way River automatically braced for people to leave her? She’d never been wanted.
No. She wasn’t going there. Not with Mathew’s sister standing in the driveway holding lunch like this was any other Tuesday.
As if Pennycould hear the internal back-and-forth, she said gently, “If you ever need to talk to someone, you could come to my office. Sometimes the first step is the hardest.”
River actually considered it.
But only for a heartbeat.
Then she shook her head. “I’m fine. Just… working through some stuff.”
Penny’s expression stayed soft. “You don’t have to do it alone.”
River nodded, even though the words landed too close to the bruise.
Penny shifted the container in her hands. “I don’t mean to pry.” She hesitated, like she was choosing her next words with care. “It’s just… when Mathew went through his divorce, it hit him harder than people realized. He didn’t talk about it much, but?—”
Divorce.
The word punched the air out of River’s lungs.
For a second, the world went oddly distant, like sound had moved underwater. Mathew had been married. He’d been divorced. And he hadn’t told her.
Penny’s face changed the instant she saw River’s expression. “Oh.” The word came out quiet. “River… I assumed you knew. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
River managed to blink. Managed to stand there without falling apart in front of Mathew’s sister.
Penny’s grip tightened on the lunch container. “Jason insisted I bring food for everyone,” she said quickly, like she wasn’t sure what to say after practically dropping a bomb on River with just one sentence. “And he wanted to include you too. Turkey clubs on sourdough. I hope that’s okay.”
21
MATHEW
There was no denying that River wasn’t happy with him working so much. And it ate at Mathew throughout his entire shift at work. He couldn’t help but wonder if he was making a mistake.
He’d been asked to come in instead of just being on call—and it wasn’t even mandatory, not with how many shifts he’d already taken. And he hadn’t exactly been honest with River when it came to having the ability to back out.
Maybe he was regressing. Because taking the shift had seemed second nature. He hadn’t seen anything wrong with it until he’d called River to let her know, and she’d immediately reminded him of their plans.
Mistake.
For the second time in one week, no less.
He dragged a hand through his hair and trudged toward the scheduling office. There had to be a way for him to trade a shift.Then again, it was so last-minute that he wasn’t sure there were any other options.
The moment he stepped up to the door, he overheard another doctor making a similar request.
“I know this is last-minute, but is there a way I can switch my shift this weekend? I need Sunday off for a family matter.”
Before she could be denied, Mathew stepped closer. “I’d be happy to switch shifts with you.”
