by Tess Oliver
“Andi? Did you hear me?”
“Yes, I heard you. Is there a way you could bring the box to work and leave it here in the locker room?”
“What if somebody sees me bringing it in?”
“Uh, I guess then they’ll figure out that the rumors about us dating were true and that the new rumors about our breakup are true as well. But you know what? Never mind. Just leave the box on your front stoop. I’ll pick it up.” There was nothing.
“Hope you’re not too upset about this. I seem to have called at a bad time.”
“That’s the funny thing, Gary. You’re timing couldn’t have been worse, and my reaction couldn’t have been better unless I’d pulled on a party hat and tooted a horn. But I don’t have anything like that handy. Good bye, Dr. Hughes, and I hope you find someone more willing to fall into a sack with you. Oh wait, the sack. Sorry. My mistake.”
I hung up and leaned back against the locker. Relief. It was relief, pure and simple. Nothing about the relationship had been strong. Letting go was even easier than I’d imagined. I hoped it wouldn’t hit me later, like a delayed ton of bricks. I was feeling pretty sure that it wouldn’t.
The second I shut my locker, I was paged to head to the ambulance vestibule to meet the paramedics bringing in a heart attack victim. The earlier death of the little girl would darken the rest of my day, but I had to suck it up and keep going. There were more people who needed me.
I grabbed the crash cart and wheeled it to room three, then hurried out to meet the gurney. One of the residents was helping an elderly woman out of the ambulance. I recognized her immediately. It was Mrs. Norton, the sweet lady who had taken a bad fall. This time she wasn’t the one on the ambulance gurney. It was Mr. Norton. She spotted me almost immediately and nearly fell against me as I reached her side.
“Mrs. Norton, I’m here. Let’s get you to a chair. Room three,” I told the paramedics. “Nurse Berkin—” My coworker came around the corner to help. “I’m just going to see to Mrs. Norton. Her husband was just wheeled into room three. Cardiac arrest. Dr. Young is on her way.”
Nurse Berkin scurried off to help in room three. I got Mrs. Norton safely to a chair in the waiting room. “Let me get you a drink of water. I’m worried about your pallor.” I ran to the triage room and filled a paper cup with cold water, then raced back to Mrs. Norton.
I crouched down in front of her and helped her keep the cup steady as she sipped the water.
She sighed as she lowered the cup. “Thank you. You’re such a dear.” Her frail hand flew to her mouth. “I found him on the floor. He was blue,” she sobbed.
I placed my hand on her arm. “The doctors will help him. You need to stay strong for him.”
“Fifty-five years,” she muttered through her fingers. “That’s how long we’ve been married. Next week will be fifty-five years.”
“That is the pure definition of a successful marriage.”
Footsteps sounded on the tile floor behind me. Mrs. Norton’s son appeared in the doorway, looking not much better than his mom. I straightened. “Mr. Norton, I’ll leave you to take care of your mom, so I can go help with your dad.”
“Is there any word yet?”
“Not yet, but I’m sure the doctor will talk to you just as soon as she can.” I placed my hand against Mrs. Norton’s cheek. It was cold and clammy, but the color was returning some. “I’ll come back to see you just as soon as I can.”
Her brown eyes, now clouded with age, but expressive nonetheless, peered up at me. “You take care of my Charles, please.”
“Of course.” I walked out of the room and headed along the corridor to room three. The paramedics had already wheeled out the gurney. One of them shook his head grimly at me as I passed by. It felt like a sock to the stomach. The horrible morning was returning in big, ugly waves. I heard the popping sound of the defibrillator long before I reached the room. I stood in the doorway. Everyone in the room stared at the perfectly straight glowing line on the heart monitor.
This day needed to end . . . and soon.
Chapter17
Tommy
I scrubbed the towel over my wet hair as I headed to the kitchen. I pulled out the half of a sub sandwich I’d shoved inside the fridge the day before. It wasn’t much of a dinner, but I wasn’t in a mood to go out. Dawson’s phone inched across the kitchen counter as it vibrated. He’d gone out running and had forgotten to take it.
I dropped the sandwich on the table and yanked out the chair to sit. An owl, the same barn owl that had shown up every night for the past two weeks, hooted from the pine tree behind the cabin. It was a cool, eerie sound as it rolled through the open kitchen window. I took a bite of the sandwich and pulled out my phone. It had been a long day at work with the only highlight being a brief, sexy text exchange with Andi.
At the first break bell, I’d sat down to a cold egg sandwich that I’d bought off the food truck. As I picked up my phone to see what was happening in the world, my thumb had accidently swept over my contact list. It scrolled up and landed on Andi. It had occurred to me that it had been a long time since I’d texted or talked to her over the phone. The image of her in that red dress had been stuck in my head since the night of the fight when she’d once again come to my aid. I had decided to send her a text.
I wasn’t completely sure how she’d react to my text about the red dress. I was sure she’d just ignore it or send back one of those smiley faces. But she was Andi, and she never shied away from anything. Her mention of the hot panties beneath the dress had invaded my daydreams for the rest of the work day.
Dawson’s phone rang again. I took another bite of sandwich and walked over to the counter to see who was trying to call him. It seemed urgent, whoever it was. Andi’s name was on the screen. I had no right to pick up Dawson’s phone, but when Andi rang a third time, I couldn’t ignore it. Something was wrong.
I picked it up. “Hey, Andi, it’s Tommy. Dawson is out running.”
Her sad sounding sob rolled through the phone, followed by a stuttering sniffle.
“Andi? Where are you?”
“I’m at the bus depot off Hatfield road.” She sniffled again. “It’s been an awful day. A little girl died and—and Mr. Norton, and—” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “They’d been married forever, and she looked so lost. And then there was this really creepy guy on the bus with this toothless grin, and he touched my thigh.”
The final comment was the one that made me stand straight. “Andi, shit, you’re not making sense. What guy? Are you in danger?”
She sobbed again and took a deep breath. “No, I’m all right. I got off at the bus depot because he scared me. I was hoping Dawson could come pick me up.”
“I’ll be right there. Wait inside the depot. Fifteen minutes tops.”
“Thank you, Tommy. Drive safely though. I’m fine. Just a little kooky from the shitty day. Now that I’ve heard your voice, I’m feeling better.”
“See you in a few minutes, Andi.”
Chapter 18
Tommy
My tires chirped as they hit the entrance to the bus depot. Even though Andi had assured me she was fine, I’d raced to the depot as if someone had added nitro to my gas tank. The shaky sound of her voice had just about torn me up inside. I wasn’t used to hearing Andi upset or scared. She was always strong. She hated to appear even the slightest bit vulnerable. Years of living under her dad’s roof had made her that way. The man didn’t tolerate weakness, even from his three daughters.
There were no other cars in the lot. The seats inside the depot were empty, not unusual at this time in the evening. Most of the bus riders had already left their city jobs to head back to neighboring towns. The Hatfield depot was more often used as a stop for people traveling long distance, not just commuting home from work.
I climbed out of the truck and walked to the door. The depot was a small steel building with frosted windows, of which most of the frost had been scratched away. I opened the door and l
ooked around.
“Andi.” My voice echoed back at me as the man behind the ticket counter looked up from his magazine.
“Around the corner at the vending machines,” he said.
I walked in that direction. Andi stepped around the coffee machine. Her nose was pink from crying, and she looked sadder than I’d seen her in a long time. “It took my money and gave me a cup of hot water.” She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. “Some mornings you just shouldn’t get out of bed.” She plodded toward me and threw herself into my arms.
I held her tight against me. “You’re O.K., Sulli. I’ll get you home, and tomorrow, this day will just be yesterday.”
Her shoulders shook with a hybrid laugh-cry. She lifted her face and stared up at me with puffy eyes and a pink nose. “I must seem like such a blubbering fool. I’m sorry.”
I moved my hands to take hold of her face. My forehead pressed against hers. “It’s all right to be upset, Andi. Don’t apologize for it. You had a bad day.” We gazed at each other for a long stretch of time. As I was silently scolding myself for wanting badly to kiss her at a time when it was the last thing she needed, without warning, she pushed up onto her toes, curled her arms around my neck and pressed her lips hard against my mouth.
My arms wrapped around her and my mouth devoured hers. It was a kiss I’d thought about a million times. Our mouths and bodies still locked tight, we stumbled to the back of the vending machine area. I pushed her up against the cement wall and pulled her body closer to mine as my kiss deepened. I couldn’t get enough of her lips, her mouth. My cock nearly strangled in my jeans as she rubbed herself against me. My hands dipped beneath her sweater, and my palms smoothed along her back.
“God, Sulli, I always knew you’d feel like this, like silk,” I muttered against her mouth. In response, her tongue flicked against mine and our mouths pressed together. We both knew damn well that we were standing in a public bus depot and just around the corner from the ticket man. That didn’t stop us. But the phone ringing in my pocket stopped us cold.
I lifted my mouth from hers. She lowered her arms. An ice cold shower had nothing on Dawson.
“I left Dawz a note saying that I’d gone to pick you up.”
Andi sighed and stepped back. Her lips were swollen pink to match her nose. “Answer it or he’ll freak out.”
I had to make a concerted effort to slow my breathing back to normal as I pulled out my phone. “Hey, Dawz.”
“Where are you? Is Andi all right?”
“She’s fine. Just a little trouble on her way home. I’m bringing her back now.”
Andi rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around me. Instantly, my heart raced again. I placed my hand against her cheek, and she closed her eyes.
“Thanks, buddy,” Dawson said, making me feel like an asshole. Dawson was on the other end, thanking me for taking care of his sister, but I was standing in a dark corner with her, nearly crazed with the idea of having her. I wanted nothing more than to drive her to some sketchy motel room, strip her naked and do all the things I’d been thinking about for a long time.
I lowered my hand. She peered up at me. Her bottom lip pushed out in a disappointed pout.
“We’ll be home soon, Dawz.”
I hung up and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Andi. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you like that. You were upset and—”
Her eyes glittered with anger as she put her finger against my mouth to stop me. “Get over it, Tommy. I kissed you. Remember? God, one call from your bro friend and you get all fucking saintly on me.”
“That’s not it. I just didn’t want you to think—”
“What? That I was worth wanting?”
“Are you fucking kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me with that?”
“Just take me home. I need to dive into my bed and forget this day ever happened.”
“Andi.” I reached for her arm, but she pulled it away.
“Please, Tommy. Take me home.”
Chapter 19
Andi
Toothless, creepy, thigh groping guy or not, I wished that I’d stayed on the bus. I wasn’t completely sure what had prompted me to kiss Tommy, but I was chalking it up to him being the first friendly, familiar face after a long, torturous day. Yep, I was writing that one in some permanent chalk. Only I was more than sure that there was no such thing as permanent chalk. Just like I was more than sure that there had been more behind my motive than just smacking my lips and pushing my tongue into the mouth of the first friendly face after an awful day.
The more I saw Tommy again, the more I thought about him. His sexy text had basically gotten me through the rest of the day. I was sure it had even made Gary’s breakup call easier to absorb.
Tommy had cranked the music, but it had done nothing to ease the awkward silence between us. I’d only finally gotten him talking to me again, and I’d had no real right to bite off his head.
I reached forward and turned down the music. “Sorry I was so bitchy. I was embarrassed. Not sure what happened back there. I just thought—Shit. Gary broke up with me today.”
“So that was a rebound kiss?”
“Shit, Tommy.” I leaned forward to crank the music back up, but he took hold of my wrist.
“I’m kidding with ya, Sulli. Don’t apologize for that kiss. I’m just kicking myself for not starting it.” His mouth tilted. “It was worth the wait, by the way.”
I fought back a smile. “Glad that part of my day didn’t suck then.” I slumped back against the seat. “I had a little girl die as I was holding her hand today. She’d been hit by a car and never really had a chance. But when they’re little and young like that, you just keep telling yourself there’s just no way a perfectly innocent little kid should die. Doesn’t even make sense.”
“That’s rough. You’ve got such a hard job, Andi. You’re really good at it. Just don’t let it twist you up too much.”
“It’s definitely not one of those jobs where you can turn off the office light and forget about work once you get home. Think I need a vacation.”
“You and me both.”
It was traffic hour on the highway. Tommy slowed the truck. Up ahead we could see the lights of Bluefield, but with the thick line of cars in front of us, it would be an extra twenty minutes.
“I was wondering”—he paused with that same cocky grin—“just how hot and racy are those panties?”
I covered my face to hide the blush. “Oh crap, I knew that was a mistake. You’re not going to let me forget that one, are you?”
“Nope. At least not until I actually get a glimpse of those notorious panties.”
I twisted in my seatbelt and raised a brow at him. “Maybe later I’ll come back to your house wearing the panties and flash you while you’re playing video games with my brother. You know, Tommy, I’m a big girl now. As much as Dawson likes to think he has complete, protective control over me, he doesn’t. I lived with my dad’s rigid rules for years. I don’t need my brother taking over for him.”
“I know that. It wasn’t really the call from Dawson—” He stopped. “Well, it was partly that. But you looked so damn sad tonight. It felt like I was taking advantage of you. I never want you to feel that way about me. I know your opinion of me when it comes to women isn’t great.”
“And with good reason, don’t you think?”
He nodded. “Yeah, with good reason. But you’re not other girls, Sulli. You’ve never been like other girls.”
I reached for the pack of gum on his dashboard and pulled out a stick. “Not completely sure if that’s good or bad.”
“Trust me, it’s good.” He glanced over. “I thought you were going to bring me your car to work on.”
I worked at softening the gum. “Dad said it’s the transmission, and I need to send the car to the junkyard. This gum has been here for awhile, hasn’t it?” I mumbled. “It’s starting to fossilize.”
He laughed. I was relieved that the earlier tension
was gone. In truth, the second Tommy had walked around the corner, I’d nearly melted into a puddle of relief. I had just wanted to curl into his arms and cry away the blues from the day.
“I’ll keep an eye out for a good deal on a car. In the meantime, you can use my truck to get to work. I’ve got Dawson to cart me to the parking lot and The Hole and any other place I don’t feel like walking to.”
“No, Tommy. I don’t want to leave you without wheels. I’m fine on the bus. Today was an exception.” A shiver raced through me when I thought about the man who’d reached over and squeezed my thigh on the bus.
Tommy must have figured out what I was thinking about. “See. I wish I’d been there to wipe the guy’s face off on the side of the bus. It’s settled, Sulli. You’ll use my truck until we find you a car.”
“Thanks. And thanks for being worried. My ex—the doctor, no less—was never once concerned about me riding the bus alone.”
“Told you he wasn’t good enough for you.”
I stared out the window watching the opposing side of traffic race by at normal speed. I thought briefly about the rumors and snickers and pitiful looks I’d be getting from my fellow nurses when my breakup with the hunky doctor became evident. That part bothered me more than actually losing Gary. That conclusion made me laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s just that I realized now that as much as the highlight of my day was your text about the dress, the really good thing that happened in the midst of a lot of sorrow was that Gary called it quits. He wasn’t right for me at all.” I looked over at Tommy. “Just like you said, he wasn’t good enough for me.”
Chapter 20
Tommy