Without him.
Chaos would ensue for sure.
“You don’t exactly know that, and I can’t just sit on my couch and do nothing. I need to work.”
Murphy narrowed his eyes. “You can take time off. Graham and I can handle it. And Jake can even help, too.”
Owen shook his head and looked down at the kids before whispering. “It’s been over a damn week of me doing nothing. I took time off. I’m not an invalid. And we have a deadline coming up on that project both you and Graham have been too busy for. I’m not letting that fall to the wayside because of a little accident.”
Fire hit Murphy’s eyes, and Owen sighed. “Little? You’re calling that a little accident.”
Blake let out a breath and bent down to pick up Noah from Rowan’s arms. “Let’s go make sure Owen’s bed is made, honey.”
Rowan gave her mother a look that told her she wasn’t fooled but followed Blake and Noah to the back of the house where little ears could be spared.
“You can take time off, damn it,” Maya put in. “I don’t understand why you can’t just let other people handle the reins.”
“Seriously? You’ve known me for how long, and you have trouble figuring out that I need to do things? I have lists to create. Calls to make. And emails to ensure haven’t been deleted off the company server because Graham and Murphy hate dealing with people.”
“Hey.”
Owen raised a brow at his brother. “I know you. Don’t try deny anything I just said.” Owen took a deep breath. “Now let me work in peace. In fact, I’m going to walk you guys out because I’m allowed to get up and move every hour, and this is my time.” He held up a hand, happy that his side didn’t hurt as he did. “Let me do this. You need to stop treating me like a baby.”
“Then stop acting like one,” Maya snapped but leaned down to pick up the diaper bag. “Fine. We’ll leave you, and we’ll even walk you out, but we’re still coming back to check on you. It’s what we do, and you can’t stop us.”
“I can try,” he mumbled and shut his mouth at Maya’s glare. He wiggled himself off the couch, aware that the others were watching him for every deep intake of breath, every wince. He’d let the pain get to him later because, first, he needed to get the others out of the house so he could function.
Yes, he’d been hit by a car, but it could have been way worse.
He would be fine.
Fine.
Finally on two feet, he gestured with his good arm for the others to lead the way out. Maya held Noah, as Blake made sure Rowan had all her things. Murphy kept an eye on Owen since his little brother refused to let Owen walk alone. Sure, Owen probably would have done the same thing if Murphy were in his position, but still.
When they’d made it to the porch, Owen looked over, surprised to see a moving truck in his neighbor’s driveway.
“Looks like your new neighbor is finally settling in,” Blake said. “I would have thought they’d have gotten their stuff before now.”
Owen almost shrugged but thought better of it at the last moment. “I was busy before the accident, and I think whoever moved next door must have been too because I haven’t even seen them yet. They may have been around more this last week, but I wasn’t here. Maybe it just took them this long to find time for the movers or something.” He could understand that since his job tended to take over his life, as well. Not that it had recently since the others had cut him off. However, that would change just as soon as his family got in their vehicles and left.
He looked over at the other house again and froze when a familiar blonde head popped up from behind the truck. His heart raced and his throat went dry. Holy hell.
“Holy shit,” Murphy murmured from his side. “Is that the hot nurse from the bar? Liz, right?”
Maya leaned over so she and Noah could get a better look and smiled. “Well, look at that.”
“You didn’t know she’d moved next door?” Blake asked.
“No,” Owen said softly, trying to get his brain to catch up with the rest of him. Hell, he’d forgotten how beautiful she was, considering he hadn’t seen her since they wheeled him away for surgery, and he’d been a little drugged up at that point. He wasn’t drugged up now and his dick was about to stand at attention just at the mere sight of her. “Maybe she’s just helping her friend?”
The brunette from the bar walked out of the house at that point, and Murphy let out a soft laugh. “Maybe Tessa moved next door instead. Come on, man, let’s go meet the neighbors.” Murphy turned to him. “You okay to walk, or do you need me to grab the wheelchair.”
Owen set his jaw. “I’m good.” He would be, damn it, even if he ended up sweating through his shirt from the exertion. He wasn’t in that much pain, it was just uncomfortable. Thankfully, his incision site barely hurt anymore. And since he’d caught sight of Liz, he wasn’t thinking about pain. No, the endorphins running through his system just from seeing her were taking care of any discomfort he might have.
“Hey, ladies,” Murphy called out, and Blake sighed from Owen’s side.
“He is seriously going to flirt with your neighbors right now on their moving day,” Blake said with a laugh. “You can’t take him anywhere, can you?”
“That’s why we love him,” Owen said with a smile. Of course, he only had eyes for Liz at that moment, who had turned at the sound of Murphy’s voice to look at them. Her eyes had gone wide, and her face paled slightly. He hoped she was just surprised because going pale at the sight of him wasn’t the reaction he had hoped for, and definitely not the best way to start things.
Start things?
What the hell was he talking about? This was his new neighbor, not someone he was going to start something with. He needed to get his head on straight.
“Murphy?” Tessa asked as she came to Liz’s side. “You live here? Small world.”
Murphy shook his head. “No, Owen lives next door. We were just here to drop him off.”
Tessa winced. “I’m glad to see you on your feet, Owen. I heard about what happened. I hope you’re doing better.”
Owen nodded, his eyes on Liz, who still hadn’t said anything. Come to think of it, he hadn’t said anything either. “Thanks. I’m doing much better. In fact, I get to actually stay home today and let everyone else get back to their lives. I was staying with Graham and Blake so they could hover over me.”
Blake snorted. “You need some hovering every once in a while. This is Rowan, my daughter, and the little guy in Maya’s arms is her son, Noah. So, who moved next door? Can we help?”
Liz blinked, finally seeming to come out of whatever trance she’d been in when they’d walked over. “Hi. Actually, Tessa and I both moved in. We bought the house together.”
Tessa grinned and put her arm around Liz’s shoulders. “We’ve been friends and roommates since college, and since finding a decent house these days is killer, we decided to go in on this one together. It’s not quite a fixer-upper, but it’s not perfect yet either.”
Liz sighed. “We actually have movers to help. But, thank you. The guys are on their lunch break, so Tessa and I were just making sure that what they had left was labeled correctly so it could be put into the right rooms.”
Owen grinned then. Nothing made him happier than knowing someone else labeled things like he did. And honestly, who would move without making sure their boxes were perfectly labeled?
“Did you color-code, too?” Murphy asked. “When we moved Owen into his place a few years back, he’d labeled each box with a different color so we knew where to put things. Of course, he hired us to move him in and not someone else since he didn’t trust anyone except a Gallagher to do things.”
Owen rolled his eyes at Murphy’s words and Liz’s questioning look. “We own a restoration and construction company. We had the manpower and the truck. Of course, I made my family help. And, really, if you need anything, just let us know. I’m right next door.”
Liz raised a brow and looked down at his
sling. “Shouldn’t you be resting instead of offering to help lift boxes?”
Owen just grinned. His dick was hard, and his ribs hurt because his dick was hard. He couldn’t help it if Liz did this to him. Of course, now he had images of Nurse Liz in his mind, playing doctor and patient with him despite knowing it was all kinds of wrong.
“I wouldn’t lift boxes, I’d just help you keep organized.”
Liz shook her head. “I’m plenty organized for the both of us, thank you.” She looked down at her phone and frowned. “And the movers should be back in a moment, so I’ll let you guys go about your business. It’s a small, small world that you’re our neighbor, Owen. But I’m glad you’re up and walking around.”
And with that, he and his family were dismissed. Owen gave Liz a nod and lifted his chin toward Tessa before he turned back. Murphy gave him a strange look, but he shook his head. He didn’t know why Liz didn’t seem to like him much, and he couldn’t really deal with it right then. He needed to heal, needed to make sure this new job went smoothly, and he needed to get his head on straight after knowing someone had hit him with a freaking truck.
All indications pointed to it being intentional, and he still didn’t know why someone would do that. Nor did he have any answers. While he would have liked to think it was an accident, the police weren’t so optimistic. The forensics and the fact that Owen had been alone in the parking lot, standing under a street lamp, led the authorities to believe that someone had actually hit him on purpose.
And Owen had no idea why.
“We’re heading out,” Blake said as she pressed Rowan to her side. “You will call us if you need anything. And we will be back to check on you.” She leaned over to kiss his cheek, and Owen sighed. He felt like an ass because he needed his space, but he truly couldn’t stand being hemmed in anymore.
“I’m grateful that you guys helped me, that you were there for me,” Owen said after a moment. “Hell, I know I couldn’t have done anything on my own those first few days. So, thank you, okay? But I need to be me for a bit.”
Blake kissed his cheek once more and backed up, giving Rowan room to give him a gentle hug. “Be safe, Owen. You’re one of my favorite Gallaghers.”
“Hey!” Murphy called out. “I thought I was your favorite.”
Blake shook her head and pulled Rowan toward her car. “You’re a favorite to someone, I’m sure.”
Murphy pressed his hand over his heart and took a step back. “Ouch.” He nodded at Owen before saying, “Be good. I’ll be back to check on you soon.”
“Don’t work too hard!” Maya called out as she walked away with Murphy, a waving Noah in her arms.
Owen lifted his good arm and waved back before heading into the house, purposely not looking over at Liz and Tessa’s new home. He still couldn’t quite believe that they’d moved next door. He’d been sure he wouldn’t ever see the two of them again after leaving the bar, and having Liz as his nurse that night had been weird as hell. Now they lived in the next house over?
Maybe the universe was trying to tell him something.
Or maybe he just needed a nap.
His side aching, he made his way through the house and onto the couch. He hadn’t overdone it yet from just walking outside, but he knew if he weren’t careful, he’d end up hurting himself more and have to take more time off from the jobsite. That was the last thing he wanted to do, so he would just take the rest of the day to sit on the couch and work from his laptop. Using his brain wasn’t going to hurt anything else.
He hoped.
As soon as he settled into the couch with his laptop, tablet, and cell phone ready to go, someone knocked on the door. He closed his eyes and let out a curse, figuring it had to be one of his well-meaning family members. They couldn’t let him have ten minutes to himself, apparently. If he didn’t love them as much as he did, he might start to hate them.
“It’s open!” he called out, not in the mood to deal with getting up again.
There was a slight hesitation before the door slowly opened, and a blonde head peeked around the door.
“Do you just let anyone into your house?” Liz asked, a furrow between her brows.
Owen swallowed hard and tried to move things around to stand up. “Uh, sorry. I thought you were a Gallagher checking in on me.”
Liz shook her head and held out a hand as she moved fully into his living room. “Didn’t they just leave? Don’t get up. Please. I promise I won’t be long.” She strolled inside in that no-nonsense way of hers with a container of cookies in one hand.
He studied the way she moved, the way she stared at him as if she couldn’t quite make out exactly who or even what he was, and he found himself liking it. He was either really hard up for someone, or this woman truly intrigued him. He would go with the latter.
Owen shook himself out of his thoughts and set his laptop down on the coffee table, doing his best to avoid twisting too much. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to hold back the wince if he moved more than necessary.
“Hi,” he said after a moment, an awkward feeling setting in.
“Hi,” she said with a sigh and set down the container of cookies. “We had an extra box from when Tessa and I went a little crazy on junk food, and I—we—figured that you could use the sugar since you’ve been down for the count for a bit. I know cookies aren’t the best fuel for healing, but sometimes a little sugar goes a long way. And I know that they aren’t homemade or anything, but Tessa and I work long hours, and we’re lucky to even have these in the pantry.”
He looked down at the box and then back up at her. “I thought I was the one who was supposed to bring over cookies to the new neighbors.”
She shrugged. “Well, they’re feel-better cookies. As well as I’m-sorry-I-was-acting-like-a-bitch-to-you cookies.” She held up her chin at that point, and he snorted before wincing. Okay, so snorting wasn’t on his approved list of things to do when in pain.
“You’re not a bitch.”
“Didn’t say I was. I said I was sorry for acting like one.” She smiled as she said it, and he shook his head, annoyed with himself for liking her so much.
“You shouldn’t be sorry, then,” Owen put in. “Every time I’ve seen you, which seems to be a lot considering we don’t know each other, you’ve been in the middle of something when I barge in—this last time with most of my family members. So I can’t really blame you for not wanting me around. I’m encroaching.” And he wanted to encroach more.
She shuffled from foot to foot, and he had a feeling she’d planned out her speech and didn’t know what to do after that. He still didn’t quite understand why she was here, but he found he liked it.
They’d had three very different encounters until now, and for some reason, he had a feeling that meant something. Of course, from the way she kept looking around, he also felt that she wanted to walk right out the door and never look back.
“Well, I hope you feel better. I left Tessa alone with the movers, so I need to make sure they’re in one piece. Bye, Owen. Heal well.”
“Thanks for the cookies, Liz.”
She gave him a quick nod before turning and walking out of his house, flipping the lock as she did. He had a feeling she didn’t truly want to look back and see him again. After all, he was just some guy from a bar, just some guy who’d gotten hit by a car, and now, just some guy who lived next door.
He wasn’t anything to her.
And yet, for some reason, she intrigued him enough that he wanted her to be something to him.
The pain in his ribs pulsed, and he cursed. Before he did anything, however, he needed to heal. Needed to be the Owen he used to be, where he could handle anything without passing out from just walking to the bathroom.
He’d get there, damn it, because if he didn’t, he might just go crazy.
4
Liz’s back ached and her feet were going numb, but she figured that was just all in a day’s work. Thankfully, she was only working an eight-hour shift t
oday since she was about to hit heavy overtime, and her boss would start yelling after that. And there was another nurse on call so they wouldn’t be shorthanded, but if the ER got too busy, Liz had a feeling she’d be called right back in, labor laws or no.
How the hell the place would run with one less nurse due to budget cutbacks, she didn’t know. They barely handled things as it was.
The sound of heels clicking on tile brought Liz out of her increasingly depressing thoughts, and she turned to watch Tessa make her way to the desk area. She held a stack of folders against her chest and had two to-go cups of coffee in her hands.
“You’re not usually down here this time of day,” Liz said as Tessa set down a cup in front of Liz. She greedily took the cup and sipped the sweet brew. The admin offices always had better coffee than the nurses’ station. Hell, they had better everything.
Even Tessa’s outfit was better than Liz’s scrubs could ever hope to be. Her friend wore a dark coal pencil skirt and a matching, tailored jacket with a maroon top. Even her shoes were cute and pointy and had a heel that Liz was pretty sure she’d break an ankle in. Liz’s orthopedics weren’t fancy, but they kept her feet from throbbing an hour in. Since she was on hour seven, she couldn’t really blame her arches for screaming right about then. It had been a long day, and she still had a bunch of paperwork to finish before she called it a night.
“I had a few things to talk over, so I figured I’d bring some coffee when I came,” Tessa explained. Her friend worked in the insurance department of the administrative offices. The dichotomy of her party-girl friend turning into the shark businesswoman who fought for the rights of her patients always made Liz smile. “Did you see Dr. Wilder today?” Tessa asked with a grin. “He’s looking all manly and on the good side of haggard.”
Liz almost snorted her drink and shook her head as she looked around to make sure no one was listening in. Thankfully, it was just the two of them since everyone was in their rooms actually doing work. Liz had a few moments to breathe before she had to move, but she was still making sure everything was logged into the computer correctly.
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