“I just met the woman replacing Laura,” he says, and I stand there as I whisper, “Oh.” Laura was Gabe’s head nurse at the medical clinic; she was best friends with Bethany, their office manager. Bethany started off working together with Gabe, and it slowly progressed to them dating and getting engaged. I’ve never seen him happier. He had me build his dream house, but little did he know, she was going to be a runaway bride. He stood at the alter waiting for her to walk down as their families looked on, only to get the news she took off. She was offered a sales position in Chicago for a medical company. So just like that, Bethany was gone. It also didn’t help that she got his best nurse Laura a job at the hospital. Not only was his fiancée gone, but she had also taken her best friend with her. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s the biggest one for four towns over. We have people coming from all over to have Gabe treat them, but he refuses to move to the city and he refuses to give in to the hospitals. Instead, he does what he wants to for him.
“Yeah, that,” he says as he sits on the stool at the island while I stand on the other side. “Plus, she lives in your old fucking house.”
“Don’t even fucking think about it.” I point at him, and I’m not even sure I know what I’m threatening him about. “She doesn’t need you sniffing around her just to add another name to that list of yours.”
He looks at me like I have two heads. “What the fuck are you talking about? You know Crystal?”
“Oh, her.” I cross my hands over my chest. “I thought you were talking about Hailey.”
“And if I was?” he asks. His eyebrow goes up in challenge, so I change the subject.
“Why are you so pissed about it?”
“She wants to place her bed in the middle of the room. Diagonally,” he says, gesturing with his hands. “Who does that? So I fired her.”
“So you fired her?” I ask, trying not to laugh at him.
“Yes, but then the little, the little,” he says, trying to come up with a name, “the little woman called my father and quit.”
Now I don’t even try to hide the smile. Instead, I belly laugh out loud. “It’s not fucking funny. I had to apologize to her.”
I put my hand in front of my mouth and gasp. “You did?”
“Fuck you, Walker,” he says. “I knew she was fucking trouble from the minute I got her application. She comes from one of the top hospitals in the US. She was even given a reference from the head of surgery, who called and begged me to turn her down.” He gets up, getting more scotch. “I told my father to turn her down, told my father it wasn’t a good idea, but then Grams came in, and it was a done deal.”
“Why would she want to leave a big hospital for a small medical clinic?” I ask him. The oven beeps, and I turn to take the fish sticks out of the oven and place them on Mila’s small plastic plate. I get the ketchup out and squeeze a bit on the plate. “Mila, come eat, honey.”
“Okay, Poppa,” she says, jumping off the couch and walking over to the island. She tries to climb up, but instead, Gabe picks her up and places her down. “I could’ve done it, Uncle Gabe.”
“I know, but I didn’t want you to fall down and do a big boo-boo,” he says.
My little girl rolls her eyes at him. “I’m a big girl now.”
“Yes, you are,” I say to her. “Now, make sure you blow, okay, because they just came out of the oven.” I push the plate in front of her as Gabe steals a tater tot.
“From what my father said, she came down with Hailey,” Gabe says. Mila butts into our conversation.
“I like Hailey; she calls me Princess Mila,” she says as she grabs a tater tot, dipping it in the ketchup, then she blows and bites a piece off. “She looks like a princess,” Mila says as I just nod and try not to let my thoughts go back to the look of sadness on her face the minute I opened my mouth and mentioned her husband.
“Eat because it’s almost bath time,” I tell her as she eats all her fish sticks. “You want to hang out while I put Mila to bed?” I ask Gabe. He nods his head and heads to the living room to sit on the couch, changing the TV to the sports channel while I take Mila back for a bath and story time.
Forty-five minutes later, I finally return to find Gabe sleeping on the couch. I turn off the television and make my way to my bedroom. I turn on the baby monitor, then peel off my shirt and finally get into the shower. I stand there in my big walk-in shower and let the hot water rain down on me. I close my eyes, thinking of the week ahead, but instead, I picture the beach, the waves, or better yet, the woman watching the waves.
My dreams play tricks on me that night as I toss and turn. I only wake when I get kneed in the balls by Mila, who climbed into my bed sometime during the night. I groan and look at the clock, 5:30 a.m. I roll off the bed and catch my breath as I hold my balls. Sliding my jogging pants on, I go to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. Gabe’s gone, so he must have taken off sometime in the middle of the night. I grab the coffee and sit at the island, looking outside. The whole back wall of my house has a panoramic view of the ocean. I’m about to take a sip of coffee when I see blond hair, and my head whips up. It’s blowing as she walks down the beach wrapped in a blanket. When she gets to the steps that lead to my house, Flounder runs down and jumps on her. I rush outside and yell, “Flounder.” I see that she is on her back now with the blanket off her and her cup of coffee tossed in the sand. Flounder sits on her and licks her face as if she is a treat.
“No.” She tosses her head from right to left. “Stop, fuck.” She tries to push him away, but he thinks it’s a game and continues to lick her face while she squeezes her eyes shut. “Fuck off.”
“Flounder.” I issue the command, and he stops right away. She opens her eyes and rolls to her knees. I take in her cotton pjs as she picks up the blanket and shakes the sand off it. “What the fuck were you doing?” I ask her as she bends to grab her cup. She whips her head up to look at me.
“Me?” she says as she dusts the sand from her back. “Your dog attacked me while I was walking on the beach.”
“He doesn’t like people on his property,” I say as I pet his head, and he lies next to me.
“I’m sorry. Since when is a public beach your property?” she says and then puts up her hand. “You know what? Fuck that. Keep your dog leashed or I’m calling animal control next time.” She turns to walk away.
“For what? Licking your face.” I smirk at her and see her take in my shirtless chest.
“Licking my face?” she shrieks out, then lifts her shirt. I see that she is bleeding and her shirt is torn. “He bit me.”
I want to see if she is okay, but I stop when she turns. “I’d better not need a tetanus shot.” She opens the blanket again and drapes it over her shoulders, then she walks away.
“Flounder, that wasn’t nice,” I tell him as he tilts his head to the side and looks at me. “Not nice.” When I look up, she’s already gone. I go inside just in time for Mila to come into the kitchen. “Poppa, can I have Lucky Charms?” I nod, picking her up and kissing her sleepy face. She wraps her arms around my neck and lays her head on my shoulder, and we sit on the couch lost in our own thoughts.
Chapter Ten
Hailey
I storm up the steps and walk straight into my bedroom, scratching my head because it was itchy from all the sand in my hair. After deciding to take an early morning walk, I was enjoying the sound of the crashing waves and emptying my mind. It was the first time in a long time that I just had a blank thought until I looked up and saw that fucking dog launching himself at me. My first instinct was to cover my face, which is when he snipped at my shirt, tearing it, and I felt the burning right away. I tried to push him away, but he thought it was a fucking game. I toss the blanket in the wash along with my pjs, making my way to the bathroom and the hot shower. When I finally feel like I have no more sand in hair, I put on a pair of leggings and a loose shirt and make my way to the kitchen. This time, Crystal is up and dressed in her scrubs. She looks up from her toast as she t
akes me in. “What the heck happened to you?” she asks as I shake my head, pouring a cup of coffee.
“Fucking dog attacked me this morning when I was taking a walk.” I raise my hand for her to see my battle wound. She comes closer and takes my wrist to examine the wound.
“He tore the skin. You’d better hope he’s had all his shots,” she says as she walks back to her toast and bites off another piece.
“I don’t think he would put his daughter in danger like that,” I say, not mentioning his name. “Asshole. Blamed me.” I sit down with my cup of coffee and open my laptop. “As if he owns the fucking beach.”
“What time did you go for a walk?” she asks as she looks at the clock. “It’s only seven?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” I tell her as I click open my email. “It’s getting better but …” I shrug as I try to forget what I want to say.
“Okay, I have to go,” she says, picking up her bag. “You have bail money saved up in case, right?” she asks as she takes the keys to my car.
“I have you covered. Now, can you try not to kill him?” I smile at her as my email finally stops pinging. Picking up my laptop, I make my way to my bedroom and outside where I sit in the swing. By the time I look up, it’s three p.m. and my stomach is growling. Time for a break.
I grab an apple and make my way to the beach to sit down and watch the water. The water is calmer today, the wind almost nonexistent. I gaze into the distance at the water that seemingly never ends. I look down the beach and see Mila running with the dog. But her father isn’t trailing her this time. Instead, a woman I’ve never seen watches as Mila runs and the dog knocks into her as she tries to steady herself. She doesn’t get a chance before the dog comes running back and knocks her off her feet. She flies through the air, landing on her side, and her cries echo off the empty beach. I’m sprinting down the beach and make it to her before the woman does, falling to my knees beside her. “Mila, honey, are you okay?” I ask her as I pick her up and place her on my lap, where she’s holding her wrist.
The woman finally makes it to us. “Mila, honey, are you okay?” I look up at this woman and glare at her while Flounder comes over and lies down near her feet, putting his paw on her as she cries. The woman tries to take Mila from my arms, and she wails even louder, so I turn my body as I get to my feet.
“Where is Jensen?” I ask the woman who stands with her hands on her mouth. I carry Mila to Jensen’s house, and as we are walking up the steps, Mila starts sobbing again, holding her wrist. “We need to get her to the doctor,” I say as I walk in the open door. Another woman in the kitchen throws the towel that she is folding down and races over. “We need to get her to the doctor. The dog knocked her off her feet, and she landed on her arm,” I tell the woman who just nods as she walks to the counter to grab her purse and keys. She also tries to take Mila, who shakes her head and burrows herself deeper against my chest.
“Norma.” The lady talks to the one who was on the beach. “You need to move your car, so I can get out.”
The woman looks at me now, up and down. “I think I can handle this without a stranger holding my granddaughter,” she says to me with a snide leer.
“Listen, lady, I don’t know who you are, or what is going on right now, but if you don’t move your car, I’m going to ram it out of my way,” I say. The lady next to me stands straight, looking at Norma, who just walks outside, gets in her car, and takes off.
“What the hell is her problem?” I look down and find Mila looking at me. “Are you okay, Princess Mila?”
She shakes her head as we walk outside and get into the car. “I’m going to have to tie you in your seat so you’re safe, okay?” I tell her as I place her in her chair, and she wails out the minute her arm is moved, and it just plops down. “Okay, okay,” I say as I pick her back up. “New plan,” I say as I get inside with her on my lap. Wrapping one arm around her, I manage to buckle myself in. “Sorry but you need to hurry up please,” I tell the lady driving as I look down at Mila. My heart breaks for the pain in her eyes, so I lean down and kiss her head. “You are so brave, Mila. So, so brave.”
She closes her eyes and dozes off, and the lady drives us to the clinic right next door to Jensen’s office. “I’m going to take her in,” I tell the lady. “You need to run over and get her father.” I walk into the clinic while she runs to Jensen’s office. I get to the counter, and I’m about to talk to the lady behind the desk when I see Crystal and tears run down my face. “She got hurt,” I say. I try not to move her, but she whimpers out in pain while she sleeps.
Opening the door, Crystal waits for me to walk in, then starts issuing orders to the other nurses. “Someone get Gabe.” I follow her to a room, and she asks me, “What happened?”
“I was sitting outside eating an apple because my eyes were hurting from the computer, and I saw her and that fucking dog playing.” I look down as Mila opens her eyes, and I smile at her. “She got hurt, but she was so brave,” I say as I try not to lose my shit.
“I think it’s her shoulder or her wrist.” I look at Crystal who comes over and looks at Mila.
“Hey, Princess Mila, you think I could see what is wrong with you?” she asks Mila as she looks at me with fear in her eyes.
“I’m not going anywhere. I promise I’ll be right here, but Crystal needs to check and see what’s wrong, okay?” I say. Once she nods, I walk to the examination table and place her on it. Her arm just flops down, and the bone in her wrist is crooked. When Crystal grasps her wrist lightly, she cries out, and I sit next to her head.
“Look at me, Princess, just … I know it hurts, but I promise you she will make it okay.”
“Don’t cry, Hailey,” Mila says. “I won’t cry if you don’t cry.” I nod my head just as Gabe walks into the room.
“What the fuck is going on?” he says as he takes in Mila on the table. “Where did all this blood come from?” he asks. I look at him in confusion and then look at the floor and see that the blood is from my feet.
“It’s from Hailey,” Crystal tells him as she looks at me. “She probably cut her feet, and with the adrenaline, she didn’t notice.”
I look at my feet, and the burning suddenly breaks through, but I don’t notice it till Gabe talks. “Her shoulder is dislocated,” he says just as Jensen runs into the room, his face white as a ghost.
“Mila,” he whispers as he takes in the scene. “Mila, honey. Poppa is here.” He comes to my side as he gets down and kisses her nose. “What happened?”
Gabe talks because my tongue has suddenly swelled in my mouth and doesn’t move. “Flounder crashed into Mila, and Hailey is bleeding all over my floor.” Jensen looks down at my bloody feet.
“I was sitting on the beach, and then she was there with …” I shake my head, not even remembering the name of the woman.
“I was with Grammy Norma,” Mila says. “It hurts, Poppa.”
“Okay, folks, I have to put her shoulder back in place.” He looks at Jensen. “It’s going to hurt, and she will cry, but there is nothing we can do about it.”
“Okay,” Jensen says and looks down at Mila. I get up and start to walk away to give them their own time, but Mila shouts out for me.
“You stay with me, Hailey,” she says as she looks at me with big tears in her eyes, and I nod my head as tears escape the side of my eye. “You promised.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell her as I stand next to the table. “It’s going to hurt,” I tell her, “but how about we get some ice cream after?” I talk to her while Gabe and Crystal set everything out. Gabe nods for me to keep talking to her as he goes on the other side and takes her arm in his hand. “What is your favorite flavor?” I ask her, trying not to look at what Gabe is doing, but she doesn’t answer because he snaps it back in place. She yells out in pain, and I sob, putting my hand to my mouth to stop it.
“All done,” Gabe says, then looks at Jensen and me. “She is going to need X-rays for the wrist, but by looking at it, I can
say it’s broken, so she is going to need a cast.” Her sobs slowly start to stop.
“You were so brave, Princess,” I tell her as I squat down eye to eye with her.
“It hurt just a little bit.” Mila picks up her good hand as she pinches her finger and thumb together.
“You can go now. She just needs her family, not a stranger.” I hear from beside me. I look over, not meeting his eyes, since all he does is look at his daughter.
“Mila, I need to go and have Crystal look at my feet now, okay? I’ll come back and see you later.”
“Okay,” Mila says as she looks at me and then her father. I lean down and kiss her head before turning and walking out of the room.
Chapter Eleven
Jensen
Every Monday, I usually do my turn of visiting the job sites to make sure we’re on time and especially on budget. I only just got back to the office after lunch and was sitting at my desk when Jessica, the nanny/cleaning lady/cook who comes in every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, called and told me Norma was there to visit and they were going to go for a walk on the beach. I didn’t think anything of it till about thirty minutes later when I heard Jessica running in yelling for me.
“Walker,” she yelled out hysterically. I flew out of my chair and ran to the front where she was standing with tears pouring down her face. “Mila.”
I stood there in place, my heart sinking to my stomach as fear seeped into my bones. “She’s next door.” Not even listening to anything else she was saying, I ran past her, my lungs burning as I prayed to every single god that I thought would listen to keep my baby safe. I was beside myself with worry, I had just walked in and saw my baby crying on an exam table, with her arm hanging lip. I didn’t know what else to do so I blamed the one person who was in front of me, Hailey. I was mean and rude, dismissing her like she didn’t just put my daughter before herself.
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