Take A Chance (Lake Placid Series Book 4)

by Natalie Ann

  ***

  “Rene,” Amber said. “Your patient from the weekend is in exam room two. The one you assisted Max on. He just went in there. Why don’t you go follow up with him?”

  “Are you sure?” Rene asked. “I thought you were on office rotation this morning and I was going with Dena to the hospital?”

  “You are. Dena can wait a few minutes for you. It was your first surgery, so I thought you’d want to see it through.”

  “Yeah, I would. Thanks, Amber,” Rene said walking forward into the room.

  She heard Max’s voice asking questions, and rushed so she didn’t miss anything. The last thing she expected was to see Cole again.

  “Hey, Rene,” Max said. “Come on over and check out his wound. You did a good job wrapping it.”

  A feeling of pride filled her as she looked at the hand that was healing well, then glanced at Cole, caught his slight smile, and then looked back to the wound.

  “Mr. Skyman is hoping to make bail today and can schedule an appointment next week to get these stitches out,” Max said.

  “I need more pain meds,” Mr. Skyman said.

  “Rene can take care of that for you,” Max said, then turned to her. “No more than two days’ worth, though.”

  She set her laptop down and started to update her files once Max walked out of the room. “What pharmacy do you want these sent to?” she asked Mr. Skyman.

  “Just write out the script and my guard can go fill it.”

  Cole snorted, but Rene said, “Your guard is Trooper McGuire and I’m sure he has better things to do than be your personal driver today. Besides, everything is electronic. No more paper scripts.”

  “That sucks,” Mr. Skyman said.

  “Yeah, well, next time maybe you should pay a bit more attention to where you’re driving. Pharmacy?” she asked again, not missing a beat.

  “Whatever one is off Main Street.”

  Rene scrolled down the list, found the one he was talking about, and sent it over. “Two days’ worth, just like Dr. Hamilton said. A note just popped up on your file that you need to fill out more paperwork when you check out. They need insurance information since you will most likely get your freedom back today.”

  “Why do I need to give that?”

  “That’s not my department. You’ll have to talk to Ava up front,” Rene said and closed down her laptop. “I’ll walk up with you, since I’m heading to my office anyway.”

  She didn’t really want to walk with him, but rather wanted to be closer to Cole. Just for a few minutes. It didn’t matter if she told herself the other day he’d have no interest in her; she still had one in him.

  The little devil on her shoulder was goading her to be aggressive for once. To at least make some conversation and try to do it without stumbling, bumbling, or tripping.

  When they got to the front, Ava handed over the clipboard while Mr. Skyman sat in a chair to fill it out. Cole took a step to the side and Rene decided it was her opportunity for a bit of small talk before Dena was ready to go. “Is today your last day on shift?” she asked.

  “Yep. I go back in Saturday night,” he said, looking around the room.

  Great, he didn’t even want to make eye contact. So much for the smile he sent her in the exam room. Guess she was making more out of it than it was.

  “Are you on call this week?” he asked suddenly when she was getting ready to walk away.

  “No, not this week. I’m doing rounds with Dena at the hospital today, but it’s her turn on call at the cottage and after hours.”

  “That’s nice,” he said.

  Yeah, small talk sucked, which was why she hardly ever indulged in it.

  “I think I just saw Dena turn down the hall, so I better go catch up with her. Good seeing you again, Cole.”

  “See you around,” he said, turning his attention back to Mr. Skyman.

  Rene walked away, trying not to growl. When she got to her office she saw both Dena and Amber in there, laughing. “You set me up,” she said to Amber.

  “What? I thought you’d want to see this patient through,” Amber said, smiling brightly.

  Rene wasn’t buying it. “You knew Cole was in there.”

  “I did. And I gave up the eye candy to you this morning. Don’t you think that was nice of me?”

  Yeah, it was, but it didn’t matter. It’s not like Cole had any interest in her. “Thanks for that. I guess it is a good way to start the day.”

  Easy Enough

  By the end of his shift, Cole was kicking himself for his conversation with Rene. He knew she was trying to be nice and just make conversation. There he was, coming off sounding like a cold fool.

  He’d told himself it was better that way. Only he didn’t miss the hurt in her eyes. He’d forgotten how sensitive she was and now he felt horrible.

  Short of seeking her out, or calling the office to apologize, there wasn’t much more he could do. Maybe he was overthinking it anyway.

  He had to stop thinking about her, period.

  Before he ran home, he stopped at the store. Food was running low in his house. Everything was running low, even the leftovers that his mother and Celeste kept him stocked with throughout the week, not to mention drinks.

  He was just turning the corner in the store when someone walked in front of him, and he couldn’t stop from ramming them.

  Of course, it was Rene. It had to be Rene, because that was just how his luck was going.

  She made a grunting sound and then dropped the little blue basket full of items she was carrying, sending them scattering everywhere on the floor.

  Both of them rushed forward to pick them up, their hands reaching for a jar of molasses at the same time. Thankfully nothing broke.

  “Sorry about that,” he said. He got his apology in after all today, even though it wasn’t what he originally thought he’d have to say it for.

  “No. It was my fault,” she said, blushing, and pushing the hat up on her head again. She looked like a little Eskimo right now, all wrapped up tight. He was surprised she could even move comfortably. “I should have been looking where I was going and not reading my phone.”

  He took the basket out of her hand and helped her rearrange everything in there better, then held onto it for a minute. “Have an emergency you need to get to?” he asked.

  “That would have been a nice excuse to have for my clumsiness, but sadly I was just reading the grocery list my grandmother sent me to make sure I got everything she needed.”

  Looking down at the basket, he took inventory of the molasses, sugar, flour, some fruit, and a few spices. “What’s she baking?”

  “I don’t know. Why?”

  “These look like baking ingredients,” he said, pointing to some spices. He’d seen enough of them around Celeste’s kitchen.

  “Oh. I don’t do a lot of baking, so I didn’t realize that. She did mention something about cookies though, so you’re probably right.”

  “I bet it’s ginger snaps or jumbos.”

  “Do you bake?” she asked, tilting her head.

  “No, I eat. Celeste bakes.”

  “She does. She bakes wonderfully, too. I’m afraid I’m going to get fat and need some of the treatments in the office soon if she keeps sending over treats each week.”

  He looked her over again. Even in her oversized clothing she was still just a tiny thing. “I doubt it will come to that,” he said, grinning.

  She was staring at him now, making him uncomfortable. He was ready to apologize for any rudeness this morning, but instead she said, “Can I ask you something?”

  ***

  All day long Rene had felt like a fool for her conversation with Cole in the office. She’d thought for sure she was reading more into him than what was there.

  But the more she thought of it, the more she realized maybe he was the perfect person to help her break out a bit more. He was a friend, an old friend. Someone who knew her when she was awkward. Well, more awkward than
now, at least. Maybe he’d be willing to show her around here and do things with her. A male friend. She’d never had one before. What better way to learn what was in a man’s head than from a man himself?

  The problem was, she had no clue how to even broach this with him. Or any man. She was going to talk to Mallory and Nick about it and get their thoughts. Only here she was with an opportunity and figured she’d take it. What could it hurt? Part of that change she wanted in her life was to take risks or be a little bold.

  Seriously, once again, here he was helping her out after she’d dropped everything on the floor. It’s like it never ended. What could be bolder than asking someone she was extremely attracted to—and showed what a putz she was to—if he wanted to spend some time with her?

  “Sure,” he said.

  Now or never. “You’re off shift now for a few days, right?”

  She remembered that from this morning. His super human mutant powers, or whatever Dena called them, must not have been in full force because she recalled that information.

  “Yes,” he said, smiling at her again.

  She glanced down at the items in his cart. Lots of sports drinks, a few bricks of cheese, a stick of pepperoni, frozen burgers, some bread, and a few packages of sandwich meats. Not a big variety, but probably typical for a single man.

  Once he was done helping her pick up her dropped items—and after she felt the spark in her hand when they both held the jar of molasses—his smile had barely left his face. It was giving her courage to ask him now.

  He said he liked to eat, so why not start there. “How about dinner sometime?”

  “You mean like a date?” he asked her, looking a bit confused…maybe. He was still smiling, but not as bright.

  “I guess you could call it that. I was thinking more like two friends going to dinner, but that is or can be a definition of a date.” He laughed at her and she was really bungling it now. This was why she needed help. Maybe he’d be the one to help her for the future on how to handle these situations with guys. “I just thought since you’ve been helping me so much it seems that I could treat you to a dinner out somewhere.”

  “Here I was hoping by the sly looks in my cart you were offering to cook for me.”

  Damn, she couldn’t even do something as simple as that without him guessing where her thoughts were going.

  “I could, but it’d have to be at your house. Otherwise I’m not sure my grandmother would allow me in her kitchen. Well, that’s not true. She would, but she’d sit in there with us and make me uncomfortable.”

  “Only you uncomfortable?” he asked, laughing, and his face transformed again.

  He was big and manly, probably could be mean too, though she hadn’t really seen that side of him. Of course, he hadn’t been smiling that much this morning, but maybe that was part of him being on duty. Now she remembered he had that same stone cold face when he pulled over to help her on the side of the road. It wasn’t until he realized who she was that his features softened.

  “I think I could do without a dinner with Trixie in the room. I hear she is still as feisty as ever,” he added.

  “She is,” Rene grumbled. “So, how about pizza or something simple? I mean, you don’t have to. Don’t feel obligated,” she rushed on, wondering now if she was sounding desperate. This was going from bad to worse. What could she have been thinking?

  “Pizza or something simple sounds good. Tomorrow night?” he asked her. “I can pick you up at your grandmother’s.”

  “That sounds good.” Wow, okay, that was easier than she thought it would be.

  “I’ll see you then,” he said, but didn’t make an attempt to move.

  She glanced down and went to grab the basket that he was still holding. “Oh, I should take that and get the rest of my things.”

  “You sure you’ve got it? Maybe you should have gotten a cart. This is kind of heavy.”

  “I just need to grab eggs and I’m done. Thanks, though.”

  She reached out to grab it from him, but he held on tight. “Do you want my number?”

  “Number?” she asked.

  He shook his head but continued to grin. “My cell number. You didn’t tell me what time to get you, and I know you could be held up at work. You can call or text when you’re ready.”

  How stupid of me, she thought. “Yeah, that would be good. Hang on, I just need to figure out how to put it in here. Maybe I should just write it down.”

  She started to reach into her oversized purse for paper and a pen. She hated anything electronic, which only made her more pathetic since even her grandmother could handle tablets and cell phones better than her.

  His other hand reached out. “Give me your phone. I’ll do it for you.”

  She swapped out her phone with the basket and stood there while he programmed his number into her phone, then pulled his out when she heard it go off. “There, I sent myself a text from your phone. Now I’ve got your information to save. Easy enough.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll talk to you tomorrow sometime.”

  “Have a good night, Rene,” he said, then sent her a wink.

  What did that mean? And why was everything so hard to figure out?

  Made Him Think

  It was stupid to agree to this dinner with Rene. He knew that, but for the life of him he couldn’t say no.

  There was no doubt it took a lot of courage for her to ask him, and he didn’t have it in him to turn her down. He wouldn’t be the person to make her doubt herself again. He’d seen it enough from her as a kid.

  Besides, it was just a thank you dinner. Nothing more, nothing less.

  He could keep it simple and neutral. He still felt she could be trouble with a capital T for him, though.

  They had nothing in common. She was the complete opposite of anything he looked for in a woman. Or even wanted. Especially needed, regardless of what Celeste thought.

  Well, that was wrong. She was attractive, and she was smart. As much as she stumbled, he didn’t mind talking with her—he never did. That didn’t mean he needed her in his life.

  She was so intelligent, and conversations with her used to be engaging when he was younger. When others thought she was geeky or nerdy—always talking about books she read, or projects in school, history, and traveling—he was fascinated. He didn’t always just want to talk about sports or girls…not like all his friends thought.

  And though she seemed like she’d changed from the girl he used to know, deep down he didn’t think her transformation was that significant. At least to her personality.

  So here he was, pulling into Trixie’s driveway a little before six to pick her up for dinner. He was just going to let the night take him where it would. There were no high hopes or expectations in his eyes. A dinner out with a friend, since he wasn’t positive it would be wise to have it go any further.

  He shut his truck off and was opening his door when Rene came down the front porch. She wasn’t even giving him an opportunity to get her. Probably a smart thing considering she wasn’t acting like this was a date. A “thank you dinner” she’d called it, he reminded himself.

  She hopped through the passenger door once she was able to pull herself up on the running board. He’d planned on going over to help, but she didn’t give him a chance.

  “I wanted to escape before my grandmother could see who I was going out with.”

  He was trying not to get insulted over that, but he couldn’t help it, he was. “Why’s that?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said in a rush. “That came out completely wrong. It’s nothing against you. Really, it’s more about me. I mean, she’s nosy and, well, I don’t want her to read more into this. Or read a lot into this. I don’t know. Wow, okay. Can we start over? Hi, Cole. Thanks for picking me up tonight.”

  She was really adorable, and he was right, not much of her personality had changed, other than she was chattier, which actually made her more awkward now.

  “First off. Hi, Rene.
No problem, I’d rather pick you up than get stuck helping you on the side of the road tonight since they’re calling for snow.”

  “Thanks a lot,” she said, snorting at him. “I’ve managed to stay on the road just fine in the last month.”

  “That’s good to know. Second of all, let’s just get some dinner and go from there.” He said that for his benefit as much as for hers.

  She nodded, so he started the truck up and pulled away.

  Thirty minutes later they were seated in an Italian restaurant, their pizza ordered with the promise of a salad to be delivered first. He had a beer in front of him, and her a soda.

  “So what have you been doing the last several years of your life?” she asked.

  He didn’t find the question odd, but rather comforting. Part of him was thrilled she was asking him personal questions, not just trying for small talk. Of course, from what he’d seen, small talk and Rene didn’t go hand in hand. Frankly, he’d never been one for it either.

  “How much do you know? There’s no use repeating things.”

  “You can repeat things, even if I know it. Anything I know isn’t firsthand. I’d always rather hear it from the source. A different perspective gives a different meaning.”

  Those were things he remembered about her as a kid. Saying things like that even back then. Other kids would laugh and ask why she couldn’t just answer a question, but he listened to what she said and it always made him think.

  “After high school, I joined the Air Force. While serving I got my pilot’s license, which is a nice thing to have.”

  “What made you go in the service? And why that branch?”

  No one had ever asked him that. No one! Not even his own parents. Celeste, she knew deep down why he left, but he was glad she’d never asked him point blank.