That seemed to do the trick, and Kory came back to me. “I’d love that. Is there a place I can get a phone?”
“For now, I have an extra phone at the office. We’ll have to take a trip to Juneau to get you one. I figured we could add a line to my plan. It’ll be cheaper and won’t leave a paper trail.”
She cocked her head. “And I’ll pay you for my portion.”
This was important to Kory. “That works. It’s not necessary, but I know it’s something you need to do.”
Leaning toward me, she kissed my cheek. “Thank you, Hayden. For everything.”
“I’m looking forward to falling in love with you all over again, Kory.”
“Me, too.”
Chapter Ten
Hayden
A couple of hours later, we pulled up to the clinic. Being in my hometown with Kory was better than I’d imagined. At the airport, I’d shown her around the hangar. One thing I loved about Kory was that she was truly interested in what I said. Most girls I’d dated had only been interested on the surface. They’d said they wanted to know, but they actually didn’t.
I looked over at her as she took in the clinic. “What an amazing achievement. It’s inspiring to see what Alexa has accomplished.”
“It is.”
Until Alexa had brought Hollis here and opened the clinic, Skagway had been without a doctor. Airlifting to another town for a medical emergency was expensive. Traveling by vehicle or ferry took too long. I loved it here, but we were isolated.
She stared at the front of the clinic. “It must be amazing to feel this sort of accomplishment.” She paused for a second before speaking again. “I want to start something from the ground up.”
“What is that?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’ll figure it out. But I want that feeling.”
I reached over to touch her hand. “Then you’ll find a way to get it.”
She looked to where our hands touched before turning to me. “I will. And I can’t wait for that day.”
We got out of my truck, and I noticed Devney’s car was there, too. I’d forgotten that Alexa had mentioned she was going to be the afternoon receptionist. In the morning she was the music teacher at the high school. Due to our town’s size, Skagway didn’t need a full-time music teacher. To make ends meet, Devney taught piano privately. She was reserved, very quiet. Always had been. From what Alexa had told me, Devney’s mom had fallen ill with cancer, and she needed as much money as possible to help pay for treatments.
I hated that for Devney. It had to be hard with her mom living in Washington.
Hollis stepped onto the front porch and ran his fingers through his hair. Something was under his skin. Or I imagined it was someone. A music teacher named Devney, perhaps?
I called out, “How’s it going?”
“Fantastic. Great. Amazing.” The sarcasm dripped from his voice as he ran his hand through his blond hair again and scrubbed his face. He stopped when he noticed Kory and put a smile on his face. “You must be Kory. I’m Hollis Fritz.”
“Hey, it’s nice to meet you, too. You have a lovely clinic.”
“Thanks.” Hollis extended his hand. “Welcome to Skagway, where everyone knows what’s going on in your life.” He chuckled. “I’m originally from New York, so the change has been a little drastic.”
Kory smiled. “I get it. I’m from Seattle. When I came to Ketchikan, it was definitely an adjustment. But I think there’s something to be said for the change.”
I froze at her words. I’d thought we weren’t mentioning where Kory was from.
“I would agree.”
Then Kory’s eyes widened. “Oh! I’m not sure if Alexa told you, but I’d like to focus on the fact that I lived in Ketchikan and not mention anything about Seattle or Washington.”
“She filled me in. No worries.”
That sent a surge of relief through me, and I saw Kory’s shoulders relax. “Thanks.”
Hollis looked at me, and the agitation underneath the surface was clear in the grim set of his mouth. For the first time since I’d known Hollis, he seemed stressed. Normally, he was an easygoing person.
Sometimes it helped just to step away. “Hollis, why don’t you and I go get the girls some lunch?”
He sighed. “I have a patient in about forty-five minutes. I don’t think I have time.”
Yeah, things moved a little slower here. It would take us at least an hour to get lunch. Everyone knew everyone here, which caused the Red Onion to be a social stop.
Hell, I couldn’t believe I was going to suggest this. “Why don’t we go to, umm… Starbucks. That’s fast. Coffees for the ladies.”
The people of Skagway rarely went into the Starbucks. Skagway was a regular stop for cruise ships. Tourists frequently visited the local diamond store when they docked, which was where the Starbucks was located.
Kory looked delighted. “There’s a Starbucks here? My day just got better.”
“Finally! Someone who gets me. I just need to let Alexa know.”
We walked into the clinic. The place looked brand new. After Alexa had arrived back into town, Drake had called us to ask if we could help. It had been in bad shape, but we got it fixed up in no time.
Devney sat at the receptionist’s desk. Her face lit up when Hollis walked into the room.
Alexa said, “Oh, Kory! You’re here. You have to meet Devney. She’s the school’s music teacher and has agreed to help us at the clinic in the afternoons.”
Devney walked over and extended her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too.”
“I thought it would be fun to do a girls’ night out,” Alexa said.
Devney adjusted her glasses with a smile. “That would be wonderful.”
“Ow! Dammit.”
We turned. It looked like Hollis had managed to walk into the side table against the wall. I fought back a chuckle, and Alexa gave me a wink. So, this was the drama she’d been dealing with earlier; Hollis obviously had a thing for Devney. And by the looks of it, the feeling was mutual.
“Hollis, are you okay?” Devney asked.
“Uh… yeah. Let me get my phone.”
Devney said, “I’m going to check on the lasagna, if that’s okay.”
Alexa nodded. “Of course.”
They left the room, and Alexa bumped Kory’s shoulder. “Something is going on between those two. Hollis is denying it, but they are H-O-T for each other.” She giggled. “Poor Hollis. He’s going to end up black and blue if he can’t get it together. He nearly choked himself to death with his stethoscope the other day.”
I shook my head, not touching that with a ten-foot pole.
Kory smiled. “I think it’s cute.”
Time to change the subject. “We were going to take Hollis to get Starbucks. The man looks like he could use it.”
“He does. Do you want to stay with us, Kory? We’re about to eat lunch. I made a lasagna last night, and Devney brought a salad.”
“I’d love that. Let me get my purse from the truck before Hayden leaves.”
With a smile, Kory walked out to the truck. She was a natural fit in this town. When the door shut, I lowered my voice. “I wanted to thank you for earlier. Are you sure you want to let us have the place rent-free?”
Alexa gave me a kind smile and put her hand on my shoulder. “If you’re with her, that means she’s a decent person. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have thrown in your forever bachelor card. And it honestly does help me.”
I brought her in for a quick hug. “Thanks. If there’s ever anything you need, I’m here for you, little sis. Have you guys set a date?”
She sighed. “Not yet. Hopefully soon. I’m not sure if I want a spring wedding or not. Of course, Drake wants a winter wedding. And then, do we keep it small or invite the entire town? Or do we wait longer? I just don’t know.”
There seemed to be something else brewing in that mind of hers. If it were up to my brother, he’d have married Alexa
the day he proposed. With winter upon us, he wanted to be married sooner rather than later. Before I could say anything further, Hollis walked back into the room without Devney.
“Are we ready?” Hollis looked beyond frazzled.
“Yes, what do you girls want?”
Kory came back into the clinic. “I’d love a grande caramel Frappuccino with a shot of espresso and regular whipped cream.”
“A what?”
Hollis patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry. I got this. Let me teach you the ways, young Starbucker.”
Starbucker?
Alexa snapped her fingers as if something had just occurred to her and pointed to several boxes against the wall. “Your mom dropped those by. The quilting circle brought all sort of non-perishable food for you and Kory. I think they wanted to swing by, but I suggested they drop it off here.”
This town was damn amazing.
Kory looked at the box, gratitude clear on her face. “Wow, that was so thoughtful and generous. Is there someone I can send a thank-you to?”
“Just the quilting circle. You can give it to Hayden’s mom.”
“Perfect.”
Devney walked back into the room. “It’s almost ready.”
“Kory is joining us for lunch,” Alexa said while she straightened a few files.
“Wonderful. It’ll give us a chance to talk. Alexa has spoken so highly of you,” Devney said.
It was time for us to go. If Hollis had to be in the room with Devney for long, he might hurt himself again. I walked toward the door. “Let’s head out to get the coffee.”
Chapter Eleven
Hayden
The girls gave us other frou-frou drink orders that sounded like Greek to me. Thankfully, Hollis had it down. We got in the truck, and Hollis leaned back, heaving out a breath that fogged up his window. A chill was setting in the air. November was approaching, and we would have our first frost soon.
Hollis remained silent.
“That rough, huh?” I prompted, putting the truck in gear.
Hollis kept looking out the window. “You have no idea. How are you holding up?”
He must have needed a change of subject or wasn’t ready to talk to me. “I guess Alexa filled you in on everything?”
“Yeah, and don’t worry, I know the cover story as well. Everyone who’s come into the clinic has been talking about it. But Alexa is acting like it’s not news to anyone that you were seeing someone. Hopefully, interest is waning. It can’t be news when the new doctor in town knows, right?” He chuckled. “This town is something else. It’s addicting. I find myself checking my email first thing in the morning for a Twiners Tellings newsletter.”
“I know the feeling.” On a serious note, I added, “Thanks, man, for having my back. I won’t ever forget it. And the furniture. If I can buy it from you, let me know.”
He put his hand up. “Absolutely not. It’s a gift. I want you and Kory to have it.”
A gift? That was one hell of a gift. Worth thousands of dollars. “We can’t, man.”
“Yes, you can. I have no idea what I’m going to do with it. It won’t go in the cabin I’m building. Let me do this for you guys. I get what it’s like to need a fresh start. And this town saved me in more ways than I think I’d realized. I’d like to return the favor.”
Hollis hadn’t shared much about his life; I knew his father was dead. He came from a lot of money and had bankrolled the entire clinic against his mother’s wishes. “Well, it’s appreciated. Thank you. So… is something going on with you and Devney?”
“Why would you ask that?” His shoulders tensed.
Yeah, something is going on.
Pulling up to the stoplight, I held up my hands. “I was just asking.”
He let out a deep sigh. The light turned green. I knew what it was like to keep things bottled up. Drake had been there for me. Maybe I could do the same for Hollis. Just be there as someone to listen, too.
“I did something stupid. So fucking stupid.”
I waited to see if he was going to say anything else.
Hollis continued as he looked out the window. “Were you at the welcome party at the Red Onion?”
The town loved get-togethers. The quilting circle generally made moose chili when we got together in the fall. There had been a debacle with the Fall Festival this year, so to keep the town from killing the city council, Alexa and Drake had organized a welcome party for Hollis. “Yeah, I stayed in Drake’s office with Kane most of the time.”
“Right. Well on my way home, I saw Devney walking and I offered to give her a lift. When I pulled up to her house, I opened her door and walked her to the front door. Then… shit, fuck, damn.”
I’d never heard Hollis curse this much. It was almost comical to see him so out of sorts.
Maybe he just needed a little prompting. “So, things progressed?”
“Yeah, they progressed. My head is such a mess. And don’t you dare tell Alexa. She’s been going on and on about the damn lovebug.”
Lovebug? This probably isn’t the time to ask about that. “I won’t say a word.”
Hollis threw up his arms; apparently there was more to the story. “Ol’ Man Rooster is up my ass to go on a date with his granddaughter, Marlena. The Twiner sisters signed me up for some bachelor auction.”
“Okay, so why not just say you’re dating Devney?”
He threw his hands up again. “Exactly. But, that’s the catch… she doesn’t want that. At all. Hell, it’s not like I’m proposing to her or asking her to have my child. It’s… baffling.” He cocked his eyebrow and stared at me.
Sweet, innocent Devney wanted a fuck buddy? I had no words, so I responded with the only thing I could think of while I processed. “What?”
“Exactly.”
“Why?”
This was damn confusing. I was lost.
“She said she’s not in the right place for a relationship. But she wants to continue to be fuck buddies. What the hell do I do?”
I nearly choked at hearing my suspicions confirmed. Our sweet little music teacher. Who would have known? I had to think about this for a second. “Do you like her?”
“I’m attracted to her, yes. I have no idea if we have anything in common or if it’s just physical. It’s been a while since I’ve dated. College and residency didn’t leave me much time. But I had no idea how complicated keeping a relationship uncomplicated would complicate things. Why can’t it be simple?”
That was a lot of complicateds.
What a mess.
I was new to this relationship stuff, too. “I don’t think it’s ever simple when you care about someone. This summer, while Kory and I were denying how we felt, it was complicated. Now that we’re trying a conventional relationship, it’s complicated. I think the only time it can be simple is when you don’t care.”
“Not caring isn’t possible for me.”
Yeah, I got that, too. “Well, you’ve got two choices; be her fuck buddy or end it. If you end it, then it’s over. If you’re her fuck buddy, then you can see if things change.”
As I turned left, I saw the coffee shop up ahead. A couple of people I didn’t recognize crossed the street toward Starbucks. They must have been tourists. Hollis still hadn’t responded. “If you’re okay with not finding out what could happen, then walk away. I’ve had my share of fuck buddies, and it’s not a bad thing. Just remember, don’t get too involved if she’s not all in. Make some ground rules you’re both comfortable with. And use it to blow off steam. If more happens, it does. If it doesn’t, then you had a good time.”
“That easy?” He sounded doubtful.
“Probably not. Be honest with her and don’t make it into a game. And if you feel like you’re falling too hard and she’s not budging, you might have to walk away.”
We parked on the side of the street across from the Starbucks. Hell almighty, I was actually going to go in there. I hoped no one was around to see me. I’d get grief for weeks if it got back
to Drake or Kane.
“I must really look frazzled for you to subject yourself to Starbucks,” Hollis said. He opened his door. “Come on. This city slicker will show you the way to order Frappuccinos. I know I’m going to need two extra shots of espresso.”
Chapter Twelve
Kory
I put the final touches on the chicken parmigiana. The tomato sauce and herbs combined with the chicken smelled delicious. I added a little more parsley as a garnish. One requirement of my mother had been to learn how to cook. A good wife can entertain without hiring it out. Until this summer, I’d never enjoyed it. Loathed it, actually.
One night over the summer when Hayden had offered to bring dinner, I’d decided I wanted to cook for him instead. The appreciation he showed made me want to cook more. It was my way of showing Hayden how much I cared for him without actually having to show it.
I sprinkled some fresh parmesan on the chicken. “Dinner is almost ready,” I called from the kitchen.
“Coming,” Hayden answered from the upstairs.
I grinned to myself as I thought about him being upstairs in the shower. It had taken restraint not to join him. My body hummed anytime he was near, and it drove me wild. Hayden had always been a generous lover who put my needs before his own. It wasn’t going to take long before we were in the same bed. The sexual tension between us was too high.
If I spent any real time thinking about what it had been like to be with Hayden, my resolve was going to weaken instantly.
Think of something else.
This afternoon spent at Hayden’s cabin after the Starbucks run had been charming. I looked forward to a time when we could stay there and wake up snuggled together. We’d packed up a few things for Hayden to bring back. At some point, we’d have to add some personal touches to make this place ours.
The temporary cell phone I was using vibrated on the counter with a reminder.
Noon Flight with Douglas
Until we could get to a bigger city, I was using Hayden’s extra phone he had for his business, which was synced with the flight schedule. The alert reminded me that there was still so much to do, like figuring out what to do about a car and a job. It would all come in due time. For now, I was going to enjoy the moment, being able to live in this beautiful home.
Wrecked for You Page 5