“Seven.”
“How far away is the hospital?”
“Just under an hour and a half?”
“Holy shit, that’s a serious drive.”
I shrugged. “It’ll be fine. And it’s necessary. I still have some things I need to work through. And I promised my therapist back in Vegas, Dr. Tomb, that I’d find someone here to keep working with me.”
She smiled softly. “Well, if you ever need someone to talk to in between appointments, I’m here for you.”
I felt comforted by her words. “Thank you. I really appreciate that.”
Chapter 19
Khloe
“When was the last time this happened?” Quinn asked.
“Four months ago. I figured we’d get another day off before then. But apparently not,” Mom said.
I smiled. “I’m just glad we all get to go out. This never happens. It’s nice.”
Mom sighed. “Finally, a Sunday off! You think your father would give me more of those since Sundays are the only day Quinn takes off from the hospital.”
“Hey, I didn’t take off. This is just how my schedule landed,” she said.
“Oh, yeah. Because you’re practically attached to that place,” I said.
“Maybe now that you’re with Kent, you’ll take more days off,” Mom said, grinning.
Quinn playfully slapped Mom from the back seat, and I started laughing. When the three of us had the same day off, we always made plans to go a couple of towns over and do some shopping. Get some lunch. Millerton had the cutest boutiques and thrift shops. And then, we always got lunch by the lake at our favorite seafood restaurant.
“So, how are things with Kent?” Mom asked.
I turned around. “Yeah, Quinn. How are things now that you’ve locked him down?”
She shot me a look. “They’re going just fine, thank you very much. We got together for some dinner last night.”
“A Saturday night dinner. Classy. Where did he take you?” Mom asked.
Quinn smiled brightly. “To my favorite pizza place.”
“You never were much for romance,” I said.
“Hey, that place has great desserts. And he didn’t even make me split one. Mine, I tell you. Desserts are all mine,” Quinn said.
Mom laughed. “Well, I’m glad things are going well. He’s treating you like a gentleman?”
I shot Quinn a look and silently told her to lie. She winked at me before mouthing, “Tell you later.” Then, she nodded.
“Oh, yes. He’s the perfect gentleman. He’s wonderful, Mom.”
Which, in Quinn speak, was “he’s a damn animal, and I love it.”
Way to go, Kent.
As we traveled through Salisbury, I tried to come up with a way to tell Quinn about Jay and me. I mean, Mom and Dad already knew. Mom had been smiling at me and winking the entire ride into Millerton this morning. And if Quinn saw any of those interactions, she’d be pissed. The town would be gossiping about it soon enough. So, I needed her to hear it from me.
Especially with Mom grinning at me like a maniac.
“So, I actually have some news of my own,” I said.
“Oh?” Mom asked.
I shot her a look before Quinn slid to the front.
“What’s the news? Huh? You get up to anything good this weekend?” she asked.
“Are you even buckled in?” I asked.
“I have it stretched out as far as it will go. That’s safe, right?”
I snickered. “You’re insane, you know that?”
“Just tell her already,” Mom said.
“Wait, tell me what?” Quinn asked.
“Thanks, Mom,” I said flatly.
Quinn swatted me. “What aren’t you telling me?”
I cocked my body to look at her before Quinn grinned.
“No,” she said.
I snickered. “I haven’t even said anything.”
“No, you didn’t!” she squealed.
“Yes, she did. She really did. All night,” Mom said.
“Mom!” I shrieked.
“Holy shit, you had a date with Jasper!” Quinn yelped.
“And she stayed the night! Dad and I found her car early Saturday morning in his in the driveway. Oh, it was so cute. I wanted to get a picture of it, but your father wouldn’t let me. Such a stick in the mud, that man.”
“Tell me everything. Holy hell. Why did you hide this from me, you jerk?”
Quinn slapped me again, and I slapped her back. It started a fight between us that Mom had to break up with her arm as she tried to keep the car straight on the highway. But eventually, things settled down, and my sister looked at me with massive doe eyes, waiting for my story.
“I didn’t hide anything from you. I just—”
Mom kept peeking at me as Quinn smiled.
“You had a good time, didn’t you?” she asked.
I sighed. “It was great. I mean, he cooked this wonderful dinner. Made breakfast. It was fantastic,” I said.
“As a mom, I shouldn’t be condoning this. But it’s about time with the two of you.”
“Really. I mean, I know you loved John. We all know you loved John. But Jasper was your first love,” Quinn said.
“That you never got to explore,” Mom said.
“How do you feel about all this?”
I paused. “I don’t know. I mean, there’s a part of me that wonders if I’m betraying John.”
Mom took my hand. “But you’re not, honey. I know a part of you knows that.”
I nodded. “Yes, a part of me does. I don’t know. I just—I can’t even bring myself to sort through the guest bedroom. Am I really ready to strike something up like this with Jay, of all people?”
Quinn smiled. “Nice to hear that name again.”
Mom squeezed my hand. “Yeah. It was weird, hearing you call him Jasper.”
I shrugged. “It was weird calling him Jay for a while.”
“Did you guys talk at all?”
“Yeah, did you get to ask him any questions?”
“Or, did you guys just get to the good stuff?”
Mom snickered. “No details, please. Let’s keep it PG while I’m around.”
I rolled my eyes. “I wouldn’t dream of doing anything else.”
“Yuck,” Quinn said.
The three of us had a nice laugh as we finally crossed over into Millerton.
“Is it just me, or does this drive get longer and longer?” Mom asked.
“No distractions. I want to know if Khloe got any of her answers,” Quinn said.
I smiled. “I did, actually. And honestly, it was something I should’ve already known.”
“Why did he never call you, then?” Quinn asked.
The car fell silent as I tried to find a way to tactfully say it.
“Remember when I fell into that deep depression after John died?” I asked.
“Is that what happened?” Quinn asked.
“That makes sense,” Mom said.
Quinn nodded. “I’ll never forget it. For a while there, I had to force you to shower, and you wouldn’t eat.”
“Just think of those few months. But an entire year, an eighteen-year-old boy, and an aunt who really didn’t show a lot of support,” I said.
“Are you kidding me?” Mom asked.
“She didn’t get him any help?” Quinn asked.
I shook my head. “According to Jay, she was just as depressed. But I guess she lashed out during her depression. You know, got angry.”
“That poor boy,” Quinn murmured.
Mom sighed. “Well, I’m just glad the two of you are getting back on a good track.”
“Do you know where things go from here?” Quinn asked.
“No. I mean, not really. We have plans to see each other soon. But nothing more concrete than that,” I said.
Mom took my hand again. “I’m happy for you, sweetie.”
Quinn smiled. “Me, too.”
I turned around in my
seat. “Now, tell me, Quinn. How good of a kisser is Kent?”
“Are you serious?” Mom asked.
Quinn groaned. “Oh, girl. I gotta tell you about some of his tricks.”
“What tricks?” Mom asked.
I laughed. “It’s just kissing, Mom.”
“Yeah, and what tricks is he pulling on my baby girl?” Mom asked.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait. We can practically dance around the fact that Khloe slept with Jasper Friday night. But I can’t talk about how Kent kisses?” she asked.
“She slept over, Quinn. You know your sister. She didn’t sleep with the man,” Mom said.
The car fell silent before my sister burst out laughing.
“What?” Mom asked.
I felt myself blush as Quinn howled with laughter.
“What am I missing?” Mom asked.
I buried my face in my hands as Quinn gasped for air in the middle of her roaring.
“Wait, did you sleep with him?” Mom asked.
“PG, remember?” I asked.
“Holy shit!” Quinn squealed.
“What have I gotten myself into?” Mom murmured.
We finally arrived at our first location, but we still had to take a few seconds to compose ourselves. Quinn couldn’t stop laughing, I couldn’t stop blushing, and for some reason, Mom started tearing up.
“What’s wrong? You okay?” I asked.
“Oh, Mom. We’re big girls. We can handle ourselves with men,” Quinn said.
She sniffled. “I know. I know. It’s just—”
She wiped at her tears as I looked at my sister.
“Mom, what’s going on?” Quinn asked.
I took Mom’s hand. “Yeah, what’s on your mind?”
She sighed. “I’m just so happy that my girls are happy, you know? You’ve both been through such hard times. So much heartache. So much pain. And it’s just—so good to see you guys laughing. And blushing. And happy, you know?”
I felt my own eyes watering as Quinn kissed Mom on the cheek.
“We love you, Mom,” she said.
“Yeah, we do,” I said.
“You and Dad have always been the perfect example of a happy relationship.”
“So, thank you for giving us something positive to model.”
She smiled. “I love you, girls.”
“We love you, too, Mom,” I said.
Quinn unbuckled herself. “Now, who’s ready for some shopping?”
We all hopped out of Mom’s car and started into our first of several stores. We walked up and down the aisles, and I saw Quinn already picking out an outfit for her next date with Kent. Mom kept throwing all sorts of insane clothes at her, things I knew my sister would never be caught dead in. As I giggled to myself in the corner, my eyes fell onto something.
Something tucked away in the corner.
I bent down to pick it up and heard it squeak. It startled me at first until I pulled it from behind a display.
“Oh, my gosh. That must’ve dropped out of my bucket. Here, I’ll take that from you.”
I turned around, and one of the store’s workers took the squeaking thing from my hand.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Oh, we tried out a line of luxury animal toys all last month. And needless to say, it really didn’t do well.”
I blinked. “Do you still have any?”
She shrugged. “Most of them we donated to the local animal shelters. But I might still have a few in the back. Why?”
“Could I see them?”
“Uh, sure. Yeah. I’ll be right back.”
As I stood there, waiting for her to come back, I kept looking over at Quinn. She came out of the dressing room and modeled a dress that looked stunning on her. Bright red, with a pair of matching heels. She had white jewelry held up to her neck and her ears, and she looked like a million bucks.
“Quinn!” I exclaimed.
She raised her head and held up the jewelry.
“What do you think?” she yelled back.
I gave her two thumbs up as Mom clapped her hands.
“Here. This is all we’ve got left,” the woman said.
Her voice ripped my attention back to her, and my eyes dropped to the box. There were a lot of stereotypical things. Massive bones for dogs to chew on. Squeaky toys and feathers to chase around for cats. But something purple at the bottom caught my eye.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Oh, that’s a heavy-duty Frisbee.”
I pulled it out of the basket. “Why does it smell like bacon?”
“Because if a dog chews through the hard plastic, there’s a treat waiting for them.”
I paused. “Isn’t the point of a heavy-duty toy to prevent the animal from chewing through it?”
“Like I said, the ideas didn’t really go over well.”
I nodded. “Uh-huh.”
There were a couple of interactive toys and a massive bone I thought Piper might like. So, I picked out a few things for her. And since the toys were steeply discounted, I walked away with five gifts for the good golden retriever for under thirty bucks.
Oddly enough, it felt good to spoil Piper a bit.
“Ready to head to the next store?” Mom asked.
I held my back at my side. “Ready when you guys are.”
“What smells like bacon?” Quinn asked.
I snickered. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“No, seriously. What smells like bacon?” she asked.
“I bought some toys for Piper, and one of them has bacon inside it. Now, can we get out of here? I’m ready to go into the bookstore,” I said.
“I’m right there with you,” Mom said.
“Fine. But you know Mom won’t let you leave that in the car, right?” Quinn asked.
“She’s right. I don’t need my car smelling like fake bacon.”
I rolled my eyes. “I get it. Okay? Now, come on.”
And as I pulled the two of them out the doors, an idea occurred to me.
I now had a reason to visit Jay once we all got home.
Chapter 20
Jasper
“Willem?”
I turned around. “Yes, Chief?”
“My office. Now.”
I paused. “Sir, I need to—”
“Office.”
I looked over at Kent, but all he did was shrug. Shit. I had to be in my car in ten minutes if I was going to make it to my appointment. And something told me the Chief was about to hold me up. I drew in a deep breath as I walked over toward his office. I slipped inside, waiting for him to turn around.
Then, he uttered those three terrible words.
“Close the door.”
Piper sat beside me as I reached around. I closed the door and felt my heart leap into my throat. I’d worked on the force long enough to know shit like this wasn’t ever good. Especially with the look on Chief’s face.
“What’s going on, sir?”
Chief turned to face me. “I went out on a large limb hiring you.”
I nodded. “I understand, sir.”
“A lot of people way over my head weren’t too keen on hiring someone with outwardly proclaimed PTSD.”
I paused. “I understand, sir.”
“So, I’ve been trying to do what I can to prove to them I’ve made the right call in you. That I’ve put you in the best spot I can to succeed.”
“It’s much appreciated, sir.”
“The VA in Hartford called. I’m sure you already know how overtaxed they are.”
I nodded. “Yes, sir. Though, I do have appointments set up with Dr. Shuckle.”
Chief leaned against his desk. “Dr. Shuckle called me with some concerns about you traveling so far to get to appointments with him.”
“He called you?”
“Yes. So, I’ve been working with him as well as your prior therapist to find you someone closer to home. Your doctor’s main concern was the long drive back after a particularly stressful ses
sion. He’s concerned about your safety. And honestly, so am I.”
“So, what does this mean?”
“I want you to have all the tools you need. So, Dr. Shuckle and Dr. Tomb are in the process of transferring your paperwork to a doctor about ten minutes outside of town. Dr. Raley.”
I nodded. “Thank you for all you’ve done, sir. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t. I know you’re serious about getting help. And in lieu of you not having an appointment tonight like you thought, Dr. Tomb has made herself available for a Skype session should you need it. She wanted me to forward that to you.”
“Thank you. I think I might take her up on that. Is there anything else?”
Chief sighed. “Don’t disappoint me. You’re under a microscope right now.”
I shook my head. “I don’t plan on it, sir.”
“All right, Willem. Dismissed.”
Kent eyed me as I walked through the room. I gave him a thumbs-up, and my partner relaxed. But I was anything other than relaxed. I had to make sure I proved my chief right. I had to make sure I proved that I wasn’t a hiring mistake. I didn’t understand how much tension my PTSD would kick up. Hell, I figured if they hired me, then it wasn’t an issue.
Apparently, it was.
I got into my car and saw I had several missed calls on my personal phone. Two from Dr. Tomb, one from the VA hospital—which I assumed was Dr. Shuckle—and one from a number I didn’t recognize.
I dialed that number back first.
Dr. Raley’s receptionist answered the phone, and we went through the process of setting up an appointment for me. After that was settled, I hung up the phone and quickly called Dr. Tomb back.
“So, I take it you talked with your chief?” she asked as she picked up the phone.
“I did. And before you start apologizing, thank you.”
She sighed. “You’re welcome, Jasper. I know that it’s pretty controversial, therapists reaching out to talk to bosses and all that. In a lot of places, that’s frowned upon. But Dr. Shuckle and I thought it was best to use him as a pivot to find you a doctor as soon as possible. Especially since I’m not familiar with the doctors in that area.”
“It’s okay. I promise. I mean, the chief seems very willing to help me, so it’s not all that bad.”
Dating My Best Friend: A Second Chance Romance Page 12