by Sarah Curtis
Not Sadie.
“Hey, bro, what’s up?”
Cobi’s deep voice filled the line. “Hadley wanted me to call. Wants to know when she’s gonna get to meet your girl.”
“I’m a little tied up at the moment.”
“Yeah, I know, but she’s been hounding me, and you know I won’t lie to her, so now I can say I called you.”
Dean chuckled. “You know, I would’ve thought this conversation crazy before I met Sadie.”
“Bro, we wouldn’t be having this conversation if you hadn’t met Sadie.”
“Good point.”
“I know.”
Dean shook his head. “Listen, I better go. I’m expecting a call from her any minute and don’t want to be on the phone.”
“You’ve got it bad, my friend. Welcome to the club.”
Dean disconnected, but before sticking his phone back in his pocket, he pulled up the tracking app. Sadie was still at the hospital. He tried calling.
She picked up after the third ring, her voice sounding raspier than usual. “Hey. Sorry I haven’t called but now’s not the best time.”
“What’s wrong? You sound like you’ve been crying.”
A muffled sob filled his ear.
Fear tightened his gut. “Sadie, what happened?”
“I, um,” she sniffed, “lost a patient today.”
“Oh, baby, I’m sorry.”
“I’m trying to hold it together to finish my shift.”
“Stay put. I’m coming to get you.”
“It’s okay. I’ve got my car and I only have one more hour to go. I’ll call you when I get home.”
There were so many things wrong with what she’d said. The first being that she would think he would leave her to herself at a time like that. He voiced the second. “I don’t want you driving while upset. I’ll be there when you get off.”
He hung up before she could argue, shoving his phone in his pocket and snatching up his keys. He was out the door a few seconds after that.
Dean was waiting outside the hospital entrance when Sadie walked out. He took one look at her bloodshot, swollen eyes and red nose, and his heart broke at seeing her so upset.
He went to her, wrapping her in his arms. The floodgates opened. Her body shook against his with the force of her sobs, and her tears soaked the front of his tee.
He held her close, whispering soothing words into her ear until she calmed.
She couldn’t ride on the back of his bike in her condition. He took a small step back to look at her. “Where are you parked?”
Slightly dazed, she scanned the parking lot as though trying to remember. He helped her out, searching the lot, spying her car parked under the shade of a tree.
“Come on.” Dean steered her toward it. “Got your keys?”
Sadie dug through her purse and handed them over. He unlocked the passenger door and helped her in before getting in on the driver’s side. He’d ask Ray or one of the guys at work to help him pick up his bike later. Right now, his only concern was for his girl.
Sadie was quiet as he drove. He glanced over at her often, and she seemed lost in thought. He didn’t disturb her silence, not wanting to ask about her patient until he could give her his full attention.
He drove to his place, parking in his reserved spot and killing the engine before turning to her. “Let me get you inside, and you can tell me about it.”
Her eyes welled, but she nodded and reached for the door handle.
“Stay put. I’ll get it.”
He helped her out of the car, grabbing her purse. “Not sure what I have by way of food, but we can order something.”
“That’s okay. I’m not hungry.”
“You need to eat.”
She didn’t argue further. Smart girl.
He’d left the living room window open, and since it had grown dark, the apartment had cooled down nicely in his absence. The weather had changed drastically since the arrival of fall, but his apartment still got warm and stuffy.
He flipped the light switch by the front door and walked her to the couch, sitting her down. “Take off your shoes and get comfortable. I’m going to get you something to drink.”
He went into the kitchen, got down a glass, and pulled the bottle of wine, that only she drank, and a beer for him from the fridge.
“Here.” He handed her the glass and sat down beside her.
“Thanks.” She took a sip and then a larger one before setting it down on the coffee table. She sat back, leaning her head against the back of the couch.
“Feel like talking about it?”
Her head rolled his direction, but it was a moment before she said anything. “Mrs. Kramer—the sweetest woman you’ll ever meet. And, unfortunately, a frequent visitor to the ER. Her heart was a ticking time bomb. I’d gotten to know her pretty well over the past six months.” A tear fell down her cheek. “She’d just had her first great-grandbaby a month ago. A little boy. They named him Charlie.” Another tear fell. “I can’t stop thinking about him and the fact he’ll never get a chance to know what a wonderful woman his great-grandmother was.”
“He’ll know.”
Her brow puckered.
He answered her silent question. “His parents will tell him all about her. Just because a person is gone, it doesn’t mean they leave our hearts.”
After a moment of reflection, she nodded. “You’re right. Her family was always there for her. They won’t let her memory fade.”
He took her hand and squeezed it. “Tell me one of your memories of her. Something that makes you happy.”
“Let’s see…” She paused a moment before a small smile tugged at her lips. “She had a small crush on one of the ER doctors. I used to tease her that she came in so often just so she could chat him up. One such visit, Dr. Hamilton wasn’t working. Mrs. Kramer put on such an act. Telling all us nurses we needed to call him STAT to tell him she was there. That she knew he would drop everything and come running to her bedside. She was such a ham.”
He smiled at her. “Sounds like it.”
She turned to get more comfortable on the couch. “Can you believe, back when she was in her twenties, and before she got married, she performed as a singer in the USO during the Vietnam War?”
He shook his head, happy to see her tears had dried.
“Performed in over thirty-six shows all over South Vietnam. Said it had changed her life.”
Sadie went on for almost an hour, amusing him with stories of Mrs. Kramer. He wasn’t sure if it was the stories themselves or the way She told them that entertained him so much, but he’d bet it was Sadie. She could recite facts to him from The Farmer’s Almanac and he’d be enthralled.
“Feeling better?” he asked when she started to wind down.
“Surprisingly, yes. I’m still sad, but I feel better having shared her life with you. She’s gone, but not forgotten.”
“Good.” He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Now, tell me what you want for dinner.”
She gazed at him from under her lashes. “Ice cream.”
Dean internally shook his head. His girl was an ice cream junkie. “Only if you add a banana and throw some nuts on it for protein. But that means we have to go out. I don’t think anywhere delivers banana splits.”
The smile he received was well worth the price of her not eating a healthy meal.
She looked down at herself. “I don’t want to go anywhere in scrubs.”
“You should keep some clothes here. You’re at my place more often than yours lately.”
A spark lit her eyes. “You’re giving me a drawer?”
“A drawer, part of the closet.” He shrugged. “I don’t care.”
“Having a drawer…” she hesitated a second. “That sounds official.”
“Darlin’, don’t know how you missed it, but we were official the first time I laid eyes on you.”
And
when they snuggled on the couch later that night, hearing the chime of her cuckoo clock that now hung in his bedroom. With her choosing to wear his tee even though she now had a drawer that held her own clothes. Him holding her in his arms and having her soft body pressed to his. Not only did it feel official, it felt fucking perfect.
He just prayed he didn’t screw it up.
Chapter Nine
Sadie
“Don’t forget I’m working a double, taking Rebecca’s shift so I can have tomorrow off. I should be getting off around ten.” Sadie eyed Dean in the bathroom mirror as she applied her last coat of mascara. He was leaning against the door jamb, watching her as he always did when he was still home and she was getting ready for work as had become his habit whenever she stayed with him. She liked it when he paid attention as though there was nothing else he’d rather be looking at than her.
“I won’t.” His eyes tracked her movements as she twisted the length of her hair and secured it atop her head. “I made reservations at Seascapes.”
Stepping away from the bathroom counter, she went to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She smiled up at him. “I can’t believe we’re celebrating our two-month anniversary.”
He raised a brow. “What can’t you believe? That you’ve put up with me for two months?”
“No!” She squeezed him in reproach. “I can’t believe that two months ago I didn’t know you existed, and now…” She faltered. They’d yet to say the L-word, and she was too scared to be the first, but lately it was becoming harder and harder to keep her emotions in check. “Now, I can’t imagine life without you.” There, that was as close as she would get.
He kissed her forehead. “Life without you is inconceivable.”
Enjoying their shared moment, she regretfully sighed, knowing she was about to spoil it. “I need to get going, or I’ll be late.”
“You’ll come here after your shift?”
“Yes.” She got up on her tiptoes and pecked him on the lips.
He wasn’t satisfied with that, capturing the back of her head and giving her a real kiss. A Dean kiss, as she called them. Deep. Thorough. And very satisfying.
“I really need to go,” she said half-dazed when he finally ended the kiss.
He released her and stepped back. “Drive safe.”
He said that every time she got in the car to go anywhere. “I will. You do the same.”
She unplugged her phone from the nightstand by the bed, grabbed her purse from the side table by the front door, and let herself out. She wasn’t looking forward to her day—it would be long—but worth it to spend a whole one with Dean.
“It’s dead tonight. Go home. I’ve got the rest of your shift covered.”
Sadie’s gaze moved from the chart she was reading to Inga, a fellow ER nurse and good friend. “Are you sure? I don’t want to leave you hanging, but to be honest, my feet are killing me. I would love to go home.”
“Positive. Go. Put your feet up. Pamper yourself for your hot date tomorrow. Where are you guys going?”
“Seascapes.” Sadie reached under the desk to grab her purse.
“Ooh, fancy. You think tomorrow will finally be the night?”
Sadie raised her head in time to see Inga wiggle her eyebrows. She stood, throwing her purse over her shoulder. “I hope so. I think it’s my fault he’s holding back, and I’m not sure how to broach the subject.”
“What do you mean?”
Sadie let out a deep sigh. “When he first asked me out, I told him I wouldn’t sleep with him. Obviously, I didn’t mean ever, but now I’m worried he’s hesitating because he doesn’t want me to think that’s all he wants.”
“You need to talk to him. That’s the only way it will get straightened out.”
Sadie nodded. “I know. I’ll do it tonight. I need to find a way to let him know that two months is long enough. That I know he wouldn’t be using me for sex.”
“Good because I need all the deets. My sex life doesn’t even have a hope of existence. I need to live vicariously through you.”
Sadie laughed. “I bet I won’t even have to embellish the details.”
“You hope.” Inga winked.
“Well, if the previews live up to the movie, it will be an adrenaline-filled, action-packed, thrill ride from start to finish.”
Inga laughed. “Get your ass out of here.”
Sadie held up her hands and backed away from the desk. “I’m going. I’m going. No need to tell me twice.”
“I’ve already told you three times!”
Sadie hightailed it to her car and drove straight to Dean’s. She couldn’t wait to surprise him by coming home early.
She noticed Dean’s bike wasn’t in its spot when she drove by it on her way to guest parking. It had been raining on and off all day, and her first thought was he’d gotten a lift with one of the guys from work so he wouldn’t have to ride home in it.
She used her key to unlock the door and kicked off her shoes as soon as she stepped in. “Dean?” When she didn’t get an answer, she made her way down the hall. “Dean?”
The bedroom was empty, as was the bathroom. Throwing her purse on the bed, she dug out her phone. She’d added the same tracking app Dean had on his phone to hers and hit a few buttons to pull him up.
She waited while the app did its thing—Roxie’s Bar. A frown tugged at her brow when she read his location. He usually let her know when he was going out with Ray or one of his friends from work. She shook the oddity away. She was sure Dean assumed he’d be home before her. Well, she’d wanted to surprise him and showing up at the bar would definitely do that.
She smiled and went to the closet to change.
Fifteen minutes later, Sadie was turning into the parking lot for Roxie’s Bar. She spied Dean’s bike and found an empty spot a few spaces down. Pulling in, she cut the engine and got out.
The blast of music when she opened the door to the bar didn’t surprise her, but what did was the smell of cigarette smoke and the lingering curls of it floating in the glow of the overhead lights. It wasn’t legal to smoke in any establishments in Huntington Beach.
That should have been her first clue the place wasn’t on the up and up, but she was too excited to surprise Dean for that to register.
Standing close to the front door, she looked around the room—the booths, the tables, the bar—but didn’t see Dean, her brother, or any of their friends. She ventured farther in, skirting a few tables, and kept scanning. None of the faces were familiar.
She reached the other side of the bar and saw a hall with a sign leading to the bathrooms. The hall was gloomy, but she saw two shadowy figures near its end. And one of them was definitely Dean. She paused in the threshold, her heart racing in disbelief as she watched the scene unfold in slow motion before her.
Dean handing some guy a small plastic bag.
The guy opening it, sticking his pinkie inside, and bringing it to his mouth.
The guy handing Dean a wad of money.
The two shaking hands.
Her throat tightened, making it hard to swallow and tears threatened to blind her. She had to get out of there.
Sailing through the bar, she navigated its obstacles, thankfully only banging her hip once on an unoccupied chair in her haste to get to the front door. Stepping outside, she paused for a second and took a deep breath of clean air before picking up her pace again to get to her car.
She didn’t drive home but went straight to Dean’s. Not to confront him but to get all her stuff. Her emotions were all a jumble, and she wasn’t sure if she was more mad or upset.
Betrayal clutched her heart in an icy fist as the scene from the bar replayed itself on repeat in her head.
How could Dean do this to her? To them?
She didn’t know she was crying until she felt a tear fall down her chin.
And kept crying as she gathered her stuff.
Took their cuckoo c
lock off the wall.
As she wrote him a goodbye letter.
And when she shoved everything into the trunk of her car and slammed the lid.
Then she cried all the way home.
The crying didn’t stop until she fell into an exhausted sleep.
And even then, she cried in her dreams.
Dean
Dean pounded loud enough to wake the dead, yet still, it took a good two minutes for the door to Sadie’s apartment to open. He’d had a shit night, not sleeping a fucking wink, too worried about her and the meaning behind the Dear John letter she’d left. He was running on caffeine, anxiety, and fear. Not a good combination.
Sadie’s roommate, Maggie, stood before him, blurry-eyed, blond hair flattened on one side, the other sticking out from her head. She squinted at him, reaching to close her robe and tie it while saying, “She’s not here.”
“Bullshit.” Dean pushed through the door, stepping past Maggie and going straight for Sadie’s bedroom.
“Hey, you can’t storm in here like you own the place. I said, Sadie’s not here.”
“I can. And my phone says otherwise,” Dean shot over his shoulder.
The bedroom was empty, so he shouldered his way into the bathroom. Empty, too. But her phone was lying on the counter.
He turned in the doorway. “Where is she?”
Folding her arms across her chest, Maggie glared. “I told you she’s not here.”
“Maggie, I swear to God, if you don’t tell me where the fuck Sadie is…” He took a step forward.
She took a hasty step back, uncrossed her arms, and held them out in front of her. “Relax, Romeo. She’s at work.”
“She had the day off.”
Maggie shrugged. “She took a shift.”
Fucking hell. Getting Sadie alone at work would be harder than his dick any time he was in her vicinity. But nothing was stopping him from having a conversation with her. She might not want them to have an audience, but he sure as fuck didn’t care.
Pointing his bike toward Huntington Beach Hospital, he took what should’ve been a ten-minute trip down Beach Boulevard and turned it into five by speeding and only getting stuck at one red light.