by C J Marie
August nodded. “I’m not going to lose a finger or anything right?”
Jo smiled, calmer than Zac could muster in the moment. His heart was stampeding in his chest like he’d sprinted a marathon. When his uncle still owned the shop there was an accident where a tire crushed the ribs of a mechanic. That was hard enough to witness, but knowing one of his closest friends had come inches from losing his hand under his watch, Zac wanted to toss his lunch.
“You’re going to have a nice scar most likely, depending on how epic my skills are, but no you won’t lose a finger,” Jo said with a laugh. The woman was in her element, and hadn’t batted a lash at the blood staining her hands.
Rafe returned with stacks of damp, steaming towels. Jo used one to wipe her own hands before wrapping one around August’s hand. “Zac, will you help wipe off the blood, then apply pressure? I’m going to wash my hands.”
Zac didn’t say a word, though his throat was gritty and dry as he dipped next to August, clinging to the towel around his hand.
“Stop squeezing so hard, she said pressure, not crush my bones,” August growled.
“Sorry, man.”
Jo nudged him away gently once she’d slapped on a pair of rubber gloves. Rafe stood stiff and stalwart behind Jo, his eyes locked on every move she made. Jo grinned at August while she cleaned the blood and the wound. It was impressive, because with every word she spoke, every smile, August seemed to relax a little more. They all seemed to relax a little more.
“A lot of blood, and the cut is deep, but I don’t think it’s going to take more than eight stitches,” Jo soothed once she started threading the broken skin.
August was leaning his head against the back of the couch, his breaths coming evenly again. “You should zig-zag them, make it look cool at least.”
Jo laughed, so did Rafe and August, but Zac stood still, watching her steady hands close the wound. Zac wasn’t a nail biter most days, but it wasn’t until the bitter taste of oil touched his tongue that he realized he’d been gnawing on his thumbnail the entire time.
“All done,” she said after a few more minutes. She took care wrapping and covering the sealed gash before taking the bloodied towels and supplies toward the sink on the back wall. “Your boss is going to need to have a heart and let you stay away from the cars for a while.”
August scoffed. “It’s hard to avoid when that’s basically the job.”
“Looks like you and Jo are going to get to know each other better,” Zac taunted, tapping August’s shoulder. “You’re pulling office duty for…” he looked to Jo for clarification.
“At least a week. I want you to keep as much dirt away from it as possible,” Jo said, running her hands under warm water.
“Perfect. I’ll take air conditioning for a week.”
Rafe rolled his eyes. “You did it on purpose.”
August nodded. “You figured me out. I risked crushing my hand just to sit in the office.”
Jo snickered, until her cautious gaze found Zac across the room. He cleared his throat, scanning her bloodied shirt. “Um, thanks for doing this.”
Jo shrugged. “You thought I’d sit back and watch him writhe in pain?”
Zac shook his head promptly. “No, but I didn’t know you packed an entire hospital in your bag. I’m glad you do.”
Jo smiled. “Always be prepared, Zachariah.”
Shoving his hands in the pockets of his jumpsuit, Zac nodded in the direction of his house. “You’re welcome to go over and…clean up if you want.”
She sighed, taking in the state of her shirt. “It might be time to take you up on your laundry offer.”
“Glad to see you smiling now, too.”
Jo’s cheeks flushed a soft pink. “Yeah.” She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Sorry, I was so short earlier. Stuff with work.”
“Everything okay?”
Jo nodded. “I didn’t want my co-workers to know all the details of what happened. It seems Emmitt might have had a big mouth. I woke up to dozens of hilarious text messages. It put me on edge.”
Zac crossed his arms. “Well, no need to be embarrassed, Jo. We’re going to send you home with some massive award for saving August’s life.”
She smiled, and Zac found he had a hard time swallowing when she smiled. “Yep, it was about as life threatening as that bear-raccoon.”
Zac leaned closer, and Jo’s eyes widened slightly. “No one has to know. We’ll make it one epic story.”
The real Jo beamed and glanced shyly at the ground. Zac called her the real Jo, because something about the way she’d eaten with his people, and calmed a bunch of men running around with their heads cut off—he knew that was the real Josephine. And she was the one he wouldn’t mind spending some time with.
***
Jo found a new delight in overcast days as she walked down the side of the road the next morning. The air was pungent with the scent of magnolias and salt from the sea breeze. She breathed in the sweet air, waiting through the dial tone on the other line.
“Hello?”
Jo grinned at Emmitt’s groggy voice. “Hi. Did I wake you?”
Rustling sounds indicated Emmitt was tucked beneath the sheets. Surprising, since the man rose with the sun no matter what time a shift ended. He moaned softly before responding in a husky whisper. “Yeah. What’s up?”
Jo’s forehead crinkled and although he couldn’t see her face, she frowned. “I missed talking with you last night, so I thought I’d call.”
“Oh,” said Emmitt, it sounded like he was running a hand over his face. “Good. How are things going?”
Her smile dared creep back to her lips. Emmitt only needed to wake up, that’s why he’d sounded uninterested at first. Jo kicked at the gravel along the edge of the grass and asphalt and shrugged—again, even if Emmitt couldn’t see. “Things are…fine. One of the mechanics split his hand open yesterday, and I sutured him right there at the shop.”
Emmitt scoffed. “Look at that, carrying around your abnormally stuffed first aid kits came in handy.”
She chuckled, but rolled her eyes. “Everyone teases me, but you never know when something is going to happen. I might even help in a clinic while I’m down here.”
“Why would you do that?”
Jo tried to keep the conversation moving. It was probably her imagination, but Emmitt almost seemed bored. Clearing her throat, she painted a grin over her face. “To pass the time, I guess. Doing something I enjoy might make the weeks go faster until I’m home…with you.”
He must’ve still been groggy because Emmitt didn’t respond to her playful tone, he grunted instead. “Whatever, I guess. I don’t see why you’d do anything more down there than the court ordered work. You don’t owe those people anything.”
“I know,” Jo huffed. “It’s not that I owe them—”
“Jo, sorry sweetie, but I’ve got to go. I’m getting a call from Earl.”
“Oh, okay.” Jo’s shoulders slumped. The leading cardiac surgeon would always take precedent over her in Emmitt’s life. It was something she’d accepted long ago when a fellowship offer seemed possible. Emmitt would do anything for the man—even cut off his girlfriend—Jo was certain he’d sell his soul if Dr. Earl Hess asked him.
“Bye,” Emmitt rasped.
“Love…” silence “…you.”
Jo tucked her phone back in her messenger bag and slunk toward the office once she got to the shop. She was almost relieved to have another face sitting up front. August waved, she suspected he used the bandage hand on purpose, like he was proud of the battle wound. August was dressed casually, his skin scrubbed and his hair seemed styled since he wasn’t going to be digging through engines that day.
“Good morning,” Jo twittered, hanging her bag on the hook behind the desk. “How’s the hand?”
August grinned. Jo found his smile soothing, and the gleam in his dark eyes seemed ready to cause mischief. “It throbs.”
Jo snickered. “Yet, you
say it with a smile.”
“If you get hurt in the shop, it’s like a glory walk. I’ll be revered at this place forever.”
Jo scoffed hearing the taunt in the back of his tone. “Remind me never to aspire to glory at the shop then.”
August chuckled, his tone slipping more somber. “Thank you, by the way. I’m not sure I properly thanked you yesterday for helping. You saved me a big bill and bleeding out at the hospital.”
Jo laughed, finding her grin more natural. She wasn’t positive why it was easy to relax and be herself around others, like August, but not with Zac Dawson. Sometimes the gloves came off and she could admit that Zac wasn’t a demon, but in most cases her defensive walls shot up. It wasn’t because the man was attractive—no, she was taken, for heaven’s sake—there had to be another reason she bristled at the thought of Zachariah Dawson seeing inside too deep.
“I’m not sure you would’ve bled out, but I’m glad to help.”
August shuffled around the desk taking the appointment book. “Well, all the same, I’m grateful. Lily was too, she made me take off the bandage so she could study your work all night.” August laughed when Jo lifted a brow. “I must not have mentioned Lily is a nurse, and frankly fascinated with blood, and needles, and wounds more than I think is healthy. She hardly gave me any sympathy. She’d rather see how close the stitches were or whatever.”
“What woman wouldn’t?” Jo teased. She drifted toward the broom and dustpan. Since August was handling appointment calls, Jo figured it wouldn’t hurt to get things cleaned up before the day began. “How long have you two been married?”
August tapped the end of the pen over the desk. “Uh let’s see, we’re going on six years in November.”
Jo glanced over her shoulder, her brows pulling together. “Six years? You don’t seem old enough.”
August laughed. “When you get married at nineteen, that’s what happens.”
“Nineteen!” He nodded. Jo blew out her lips. “Wow, that’s young.”
August smirked, taking the office phone off the hook. “I knew Lily was for me when I was seventeen. Basically from the first second I saw her. We didn’t see the point in waiting. Looking back now, I still wouldn’t change a thing. She’s that person who takes me and all the broken, annoying pieces without a blink. Always has been.”
“That’s romantic.”
August shook his head. “Nah, just the truth. I’m just glad she hasn’t figured out she got the short end of the deal. Doesn’t your doctor do that for you? I bet it’s hard to be apart while you’re here.”
Jo smiled, although her experiences with Emmitt weren’t quite as serene as August’s were for Lily. Emmitt was supportive, but if he didn’t agree with something, he’d make certain he told Jo until she decided it wasn’t a good idea too. She’d had a job offer at a twenty-four hour family clinic before joining the heart clinic. Emmitt encouraged her to specialize in the heart—more lucrative and prestigious—though, truth be told, it was a regret.
“You dozed off there.” August’s voice broke through her thoughts.
“Sorry,” Jo sputtered. “I got lost in thought for a second. Yeah, I have Emmitt.” She didn’t find the same romance in her flat statement as August had when boasting about Lily.
“Good,” August said. “Well, I’ll take the calls. Then you tell me what you don’t want to do most, and I’ll do that too.”
Jo laughed, relieved to have another person to talk to today. Shocking. She might even admit she found someone in Honeyville enjoyable. Truth be told, Jo found all the people she’d met pleasant and kind. Even quiet Mouse. Maybe, as crazy as it sounded, even Zac Dawson.
Jo heard laughter when she came back inside the office from taking out one of the trash cans. Rounding the corner, she tried not to grin too wide when she saw August leaning against the desk, his arms encircled around his wife who was dressed in blue scrubs. Six years of marriage and a baby hadn’t dulled the gleam of young love between the two.
“Jo,” Lily said after a giving August a quick peck. “There you are. We’ve come to kidnap you.”
Jo saw Olive and Dot sitting on the couch at the same moment the door to the garage opened and Rafe tromped inside, Zac not far behind. Zac wiped his hands on a towel, offered a soft smile toward Jo before taking August’s place in the office chair. All morning they’d hardly spoken. It almost seemed as though Zac were avoiding her, or maybe Jo was avoiding him. Inside, she was desperate to detest the man, this place, and everyone in it, but there was something about Zac that intrigued Jo. Opening a vulnerable spot wasn’t wise—in fact, it was too risky to consider.
“Jo,” Olive said after kissing Rafe like a newlywed bride would kiss her new husband. Olive was wearing cut off pants with a T-shirt with an elementary school logo, but she still had a unique elegance about her that Jo envied. Perhaps it came from the pearl earrings in her ears. “We’re here to take you out to lunch. It’s the end of the quarter at school, so, yay, half-day!” Olive cheered tossing her hands in the air. “Perfect timing.”
“Oh, no,” Jo muttered. “You don’t need to do that.”
“Come on,” Dot insisted. “We need to talk shop about the clinic.”
“And you stitched August’s hand—it’s the least I can do to say thank you,” Lily added.
Jo studied the three women. Their chipper kindness was borderline unnerving. She’d been so certain coming to Honeyville would leave her shunned and confronted about the damage to Zac’s shop. Yet, everyone seemed ready to become best friends, and true friendship was something Jo wasn’t accustomed to in the least. Emmitt was the person closest to her, but he wasn’t a friend, he was her boyfriend. Watching Olive and Lily laugh with their husbands though, Jo wondered for the first time if there could be something missing in her relationship.
“Go on, Jo,” Zac grumbled from the desk. She met his eye and felt the slight uptick in her pulse. “One thing you should know about southern women, when they want to say thank you, it’s really best not to argue.”
Olive snickered and took Jo’s hand. “He’s right. Now, come on let’s get out of here.” Olive kissed Rafe once more, before leading Jo to the silver BMW parked in the lot.
Jo slipped in the backseat with Dot as Olive roared the car to life. “I’ve been wanting to do this since you came,” Olive admitted.
Lily laughed and glimpsed over the passenger seat. “It’s true. Especially since its seems like Zac likes you. We all decided we need to get to know this woman better.”
Jo’s throat tightened and she shook her head frantically. “I wouldn’t say Zac likes me—more like tolerates me.”
A raging flushed heated her cheeks when Lily, Dot, and Olive just laughed, even though Jo didn’t know why.
Chapter 7
Jo was fascinated with the homes along the battery in Charleston. The beautiful colonial mansions were colorful, haunting even, but stunning in their historic beauty. She had the desire to walk through every side alley, to feel the moss coated cobblestone pathways beneath her feet, and sip tea in the vine-coated gardens.
The three women leading her toward a restaurant overlooking the shore seemed pleased with her reaction to downtown.
“I thought you might like it down here. It won’t do any good if you stay cooped up at Maggie’s motel the entire time you’re here. You’ll miss all the magical parts,” Olive crooned, holding the door open to the restaurant.
Jo smiled, her thoughts and opinions keeping to the surface as she adjusted to the company of the strangers. She wasn’t an outgoing person by nature, though she wouldn’t classify herself as introverted—she’d long ago determined she was an extroverted-introvert. She enjoyed her patients, enjoyed talking with others, even liked a few staff lunches with her co-workers at the clinic in Boston, but Jo would find cozy nights at home, reading or watching TV alone or with Emmitt were her favorite.
“It is beautiful down here,” she relented.
Jo listened to the easy conve
rsation between the three ladies once they were seated on the porch overlooking the beach. There was something refreshing about the ocean air mingled with the thick air as the morning shoppers packed along the walks and beaches along the battery. It was becoming easier to understand why Zac and everyone she met loved the air of the shore. Olive mentioned a magic to the place—in a way there was a bit of magic.
Her fingers tangled in her own hair when Olive nudged her shoulder. “Sorry, did you say something?” Jo asked.
Olive chuckled. “I asked you how you’re handling the men? Are they driving you raving mad with their screaming music and smell?”
Jo smiled, pushing dressing-soaked lettuce around her plate. Emmitt would lecture her about the side of cheeseburger with her salad if he were here. Jo smirked, realizing how out of character it was to eat the juicy slab of cardiac arrest.
Clearing her throat, she pushed thoughts of Emmitt back down and grinned at the waiting eyes. “It wouldn’t be my first choice of workplace, but they’ve all behaved like gentlemen, no worries. You married decent men.”
Lily beamed with gushing pride and nodded. “Oh, you don’t need to tell us, we know.”
“Ugh, you shouldn’t have gotten them started,” Dot complained. “Now all I’m going to hear is Rafe this, August that.”
“Sorry.”
“Never mind all that,” Dot beamed. “Let’s talk about clinic work.”
Jo’s shoulders relaxed, and she leaned forward on her elbows over the table. “Tell me about this place.”
“It’s a family clinic. Designed as a place where low-income families can come without paying co-pays, in fact, lower costs to no cost if possible. It’s part of my family’s non-profit foundation. My daddy started it last year, and it seemed like a spectacular idea. There’s enough of a need and we’ve already got appointments booked out two months in advance, but that’s because we don’t have a doctor that’s been willing to work for us full-time. I suppose the salary isn’t as profitable as the hospital or specialty clinics, but still—I’m surprised.”