by J. S. Scott
She smoothed her tresses, touching her candy cane hair band, which helped keep in place the wisps that had fallen out of her ponytail.
“Your mom is well?” Nash asked, walking with her to the nurses’ station.
Katie crossed her arms. “Are you taking a course on how to be human? Why all the small talk?”
To her surprise, he laughed. “I’m glad you noticed.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Maybe AA? You have to make amends to all those you’ve wronged in the past?”
The space between them seemed to have disappeared. She could reach out, grab the stethoscope slung around his neck and pull him close. Really close. And then keep him there.
“Did I wrong you?” he asked quietly.
“No. Um, yes?” She was getting lost in his eyes. “Don’t you have pencils to line up in a row on someone’s desk or something?”
It was definitely too warm in here. The thermostat must be stuck. Either that or one of the continuing care patients had pilfered her keys to crank up the temperature in their nursing home as well as the rest of the ward again.
Liz sidled up to them and Katie, still unable to break eye contact with Nash, said, “Second thoughts on that Tylenol, Liz?”
“What are you two staring at?” the reporter asked.
Katie blinked, the spell broken. She leaped away from Nash, shooting him a dirty look.
“And here I thought you took all these holiday shifts to get away from your mother and her overexuberance with the festivities, Katie.” Liz laughed. “Mary Alice will be delighted to hear she was right.”
“About what?” Katie moved behind her station for protection.
Liz faced Nash. “Where are you staying?”
“What is Mary Alice right about?” Katie pressed. The woman, Liz’s sister, held the title of the town’s biggest gossip, which was not an easy feat, seeing as Liz worked for the newspaper. But if she thought she was onto something in regards to her, Katie wanted to hear it first.
“Oh, I’m just making conversation.” Liz gave her a sweet smile that made her instantly suspicious. “Now where are you staying, Nash, dear?”
“The B and B.”
“How do you like the their decorating style?” Katie asked. The place had kitsch and dried flowers, and 1990s floral patterns on everything.
“It is one of a kind,” he replied with a small smile.
“My ride is here,” Liz said. “Nash, good luck. If you have time, stop by for a rum and eggnog or a meal. Hear me?”
“Thanks, Liz.”
“You bet, sugar plum.” With a wink, she was off.
“Are you alone for the holidays?” Katie asked.
Nash’s chin tipped up slightly as he studied her. “I already have an offer from Mary Alice, thank you.”
“Wait. You think I’m inviting you to spend it with me?”
“You mean to say that you would send me to Mary Alice’s, where you know I would be submitting myself to the gossip firing squad?”
“Um, yeah.”
“Katie, why do you hurt me so? I thought we agreed to be friends.”
There was a teasing twinkle in his eyes and Katie couldn’t quite seem to glance away. He had eased closer to lean against the wall beside her, causing her heart rate to increase as his soft cologne wafted her way. He smelled good. He was perfect in so many ways that Will wasn’t. And yeah, Nash wouldn’t ever write her sappy love notes like Will had, but…
No, this was bad. She couldn’t think about Nash. He was her best friend’s ex. He was in the no-no, don’t-touch zone.
He had likely smelled like this when he’d been here thirty-two months ago and it hadn’t affected her then. Not one iota. There was absolutely no reason it should impact her now. Besides, it wasn’t as though he was what she was looking for. He’d been divorced before he’d met Beth. In other words, two major relationships had failed. Men were commitmentphobes and Nash was angling to become their spokesperson, by the looks of things.
Although…you couldn’t help who you fell in love with, and Beth hadn’t really been his fault. Her heart had still belonged to Oz when they’d met.
Wait. Back up a second. Thirty-two months? How did Katie know that? And why was she trying to defend his ability to maintain a serious relationship? The man liked projects, and women on the rebound. That’s why he’d fallen for Beth, and now he was here to…well, this was probably a good time to stop thinking.
Nash was watching her again. “I noticed your family has a few new holiday decorations on the lawn.”
Katie sighed and sagged against the wall next to him. “You can’t even see the lawn for all the kitsch. Scott—you remember him? Our only police officer? Well, he came by to ask Mom to not plug everything in at once or the town would lose power. It’s out of control and has been since Dad’s heart attack. I’m literally hiding out so she doesn’t make my head explode.”
Her mother, Angelica Reiter, put on a bigger and bigger shindig each Christmas, thinking this holiday season would be her husband’s last—even though he had been doing fine since his health crisis. While Katie had been freaked out when her dad had his heart attack, her mom’s frenzied celebrations got to her in a place she wished she could compartmentalize far, far away.
Nash tapped her hand. “You okay?”
Katie pushed herself off the wall and scoffed. “Yeah, sure. Of course. I mean, yeah.” She straightened a few stacks of papers at the station and cleared her throat. “I know you have Mary Alice’s offer, but if that doesn’t work out, my mom would be happy to have you.”
“What about you?”
“It’s her house.”
“We don’t have to be friends. If it makes you uncomfortable.”
“No, I mean...” Katie sighed. It was so hard being strong sometimes. All she wanted was for someone to listen, fold his arms around her and allow her steal some of his strength for a few moments. Was that too much to ask? “Nash, just come. Okay? I’ll be the miserable woman in the corner and you getting picked on by Oz will make my night.”
“Beth will be there?”
“Of course. They live a few doors down and Oz is still family, even though I tried to convince my parents to put him up for adoption.”
“Is she doing okay?”
“Yeah, of course. Happy. Um, beautiful.”
“Always was.” He seemed wistful.
“I mean she’s pregnant. Again.”
He nodded.
“You probably heard that from Mary Alice already?”
“I heard it from Beth first.”
“Well, if you are up for it, Mom is serving dinner at seven-thirty. No need to RSVP.”
Katie found herself holding her breath until he replied.
“That would be nice. Thanks.”
There was something different about Nash. He was softer. Still buff, but softer around the edges personality-wise. More gentle and not so uptight. The lines around his eyes suggested a kindness he hadn’t shown Katie before. Beth, yes. Patients, of course. But never her. Somewhere along the line, he’d become a good guy who was on her side, and she kind of wanted to roll around in that feeling as though it were her own personal catnip.
Well, except for the fact that he was probably coming over tonight to moon over Beth rather than to help Katie suffer through her overzealous mother’s version of Christmas Eve.
“The buffer against my crazy mother will be the best gift anyone can give me at this point.”
“You know how to make a man feel special.”
“Got another stitch-up in ER room one,” Amy said, passing them as she gave Nash’s elbow a warm squeeze. “Seems to be a day for that. You two got it?”
“Yes,” Katie said, making the turn to head back to the ER, Nash hot on her heels.
“Didn’t Amy quit to go work at Brew Babies?” Nash asked.
“She did. She dated one of the bartenders, Moe, then decided when they broke up to become a nurse anesthetist. So she’s back. She still tak
es regular nursing shifts, too, of course.”
Katie entered the ER room to see the eldest sibling of the rash and reckless Mattson pack. “Devon Mattson, why am I not surprised?”
“Run-in with a Christmas tree.” He didn’t seem the least bit chagrined as he sat in his hospital gown, a handful of bloody gauze held against one of his marathon-strong thighs. The man was sexy in a lean sort of way, but he was too much of a daredevil. He was in need of a good woman to tame him. Or at least help him prevent stitch-ups every few months.
“You need to channel your inner calm and collected, Devon. As sweet as you are, who on earth would give you life insurance?”
He sent her a wicked grin. “You know you want to date me, Katie. That unexpected, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants side wants out to play.”
Did someone growl? She wasn’t sure if it was she or Nash. The doctor, however, seemed to be distractedly digging through supplies. Which was her job.
“I’m looking for a man who doesn’t regularly require stitches. Thanks just the same.” Katie began prepping a fresh suture kit for Nash, after elbowing him out of the way. “How did a tree do this, anyway?”
“Frankie and I were trying to surprise your mom with an aluminum one. We made it in his shop while I was trying to convince him to give my sister a ring for Christmas. Lights up and everything. I told Frankie I had it. I didn’t have it.”
Katie raised her eyebrows and handed Nash swabs as he began inspecting Devon’s torn skin.
“Ow!” Their patient pulled his leg away. “Not so hard, buddy.”
Nash muttered an apology. “Bit risky, placing a tree on top of a house in this weather, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, sure.” Devon was watching him warily. Suddenly, understanding lit up his blue eyes and he glanced at Katie. “You’re looking for someone steady and not into crazy risks. Right, Katie?”
“Of course. Why would I want a man who comes to the ER for stitches and not to drop off flowers for me?”
Devon laughed. “I sometimes can’t believe you and my sister are friends. Maybe you can rub off on her.” He laughed again. “Mandy’s been consistently whooping my ass out on the race track lately and I need something to take her out of the game. Running her own restaurant hasn’t helped so marriage and kids seems like the next logical plan. And she’s already got Frankie. Just add a wedding.”
Devon leaned back on the stretcher, propping himself up with his arms as he addressed Nash. “Katie needs someone reliable. Someone with a good job. Nicely dressed.” He winked at her as if to say I’ve got this one. “Her last boyfriend wasn’t much of a risk taker. But he was probably a bit too calm and collected—you know what I’m saying, Dr. Leham? Ow! Stop with the freezing already. It hurts worse than the stitches.”
Another muttered apology came from Nash.
Katie exchanged the empty freezing needle for a prepped suture one.
“Anyway, her ex was too content to sit around and play video games. She needs a man who isn’t going to throw curve balls of death, danger, and destruction, but at least gets out of the house. You like to get out of the house, right, doc? You know what I’m saying?”
Behind Nash, Katie narrowed her eyes and shook her head in warning. Devon carried on. “You travel. Try new things. Help others. Didn’t you do Doctors Without Borders? That’s really cool, by the way. Adventure in a not-too-risky way. Can you take nurses with you for that?”
“Devon, do I need to call in Amy to put you under for this procedure?” Katie asked.
Nash let out an amused chortle, his hands shaking with held-in mirth.
“Don’t you go stitching until you’re done laughing, okay, doc?” Devon gave Katie an exasperated look.
Yes, someone like Nash would be perfect for her, but Katie would prefer the version that came without the jerk sauce she so despised.
“Wow, that was pretty fast,” Devon said as Nash finished patching up his leg.
“We’re a good team,” he said. Katie met his eyes, which were full of admiration as well as satisfaction. She gave him a small smile and nod.
“How many stitches?”
“Twenty-five,” Nash replied.
“Too bad Mandy says you hate each other, huh?” Devon said, testing his leg. “Otherwise you’d be a perfect match.”
Chapter Two
Katie ditched her scrubs and went downstairs to join Nash, who had come over with her after work. As she clacked down the steps in her heels, Nash reached out to help her with the last few.
“Is it warm in here?” she asked, briskly moving to the thermostat at the bottom of the stairs. Nope. Right on target.
“I think half the town is here,” he whispered.
“Told you it was nuts. If I hadn’t been working today I would have been here cooking at 5:00 a.m.”
“The kitchen smells amazing. Rosemary and oregano with a bit of brown sugar.”
“Be careful, my mom will think you’re trying to scope out her secret recipe.”
“The one for her stuffing? I already got it.” He grinned as he flashed a recipe card covered in her mother’s tight handwriting.
“She hasn’t even shared it with me!” Katie made a grab for the card, just about knocking over an inflatable Santa propped near the staircase, but Nash, with a quick smile, flicked it out of reach.
“I have spent years winning over this town with my discretion and—”
“And inability to let it slip who took a pregnancy test or is knocking on death’s door.”
“Katie!” called her mother from the kitchen. The carol “Little Drummer Boy” began on the stereo and Oz’s voice drifted out of the living room.
Katie slipped behind Nash, hoping to remain invisible for a few more moments. She’d already spent her weekend baking enough cookies to feed the entire town, or at least the massive crowd bursting out of her parents’ living room. In fact, clusters of guests were drifting to the small corner where she and Nash were hiding, signaling that it was almost time to play mini hostess for her mother.
“That used to bother me quite a bit,” Nash was saying, in regards to the fact that most of Blueberry Springs’s medical staff didn’t keep patient health matters particularly confidential. “In fact, while I know you and I never saw eye to eye on some things, I always appreciated your professionalism and quiet candor.”
“Thank you.” Katie placed a hand on his chest, aiming to redirect him so they could avoid Mary Alice. Electricity shot up her arm and Nash rested his hand over hers, his eyes bright. Everything in her body told her it had been too long since a man had gazed at her like that.
Wow.
“Now I know why you came back, you sly dog.” Mary Alice’s eyes crinkled with delight as she elbowed her way between the two of them.
“Because I missed you, of course,” Nash answered, placing a chaste kiss on the older woman’s cheek. “Lovely to see you, even though you haven’t listened to your doctor’s orders and quit smoking.”
Mary Alice gave him a bashful smile that caused Katie’s jaw to drop in shock. “I only smoke when I am stressed and missing my little Nashikins.” She patted his cheek affectionately.
“All the time, then?” he replied.
“Not coming to my house for dinner? How about tomorrow?”
What in the name of all things holy had transpired between these two? Katie wondered. Mary Alice had practically run him out of town years ago and now the two of them were kind of gross, even if it was merely a platonic weirdness going on between them. “Mary Alice?”
The gossip blinked as though coming to, and took a giant step back, landing against Angelica Reiter and her tray of bacon-wrapped delicacies. They scattered across the floor, leaving snail-like grease trails.
Katie’s mother gazed at Mary Alice in disbelief, then the two women dived for the appetizers, muttering about a thirty-second rule.
Nash and Katie shared a glance.
“Want a rum and eggnog?” she asked.
“
I’ve heard about your mom’s potent eggnog, so yes,” he said quietly. “I think that would be in order.”
Katie pushed him to the left, skirting the room that contained Beth and Oz. Ignoring her mother’s hints about someone getting a cloth to wipe the floor, she ducked into the kitchen. If she started helping now, she wouldn’t finish for days.
“There’s my girl! The best nurse in town!” her father said, bursting in through the back door. “And hanging out with Dr. Leham.”
Harvey gave her a wink, and she rolled her eyes. “He was spending the evening alone, Dad.”
“Not what I heard, but lovely to have you choose our home tonight, Dr. Leham.”
“Nash, please,” the doctor insisted, shaking the man’s hand.
Harvey leaned in to give Katie a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t you look lovely. And I noticed your festive scrubs earlier. Good call, Angelica, dear!” he said loudly. He held a palm against his gut and winced. “Stay away from the cabbage rolls.”
“They’re fine. You’re just eating too much,” Angelica said from the doorway. Her curled bangs had stuck to her forehead and her necklace was off-kilter, but she was smiling.
“I need an extension cord,” her husband said.
“What for?”
“Frankie, Devon, and I are placing Benny’s star up on the roof.”
“There’s one in the car.”
Her father stomped back out into the cold and Nash muttered, “The night shift might be looking at more sutures for the boys.”
Katie smiled and adjusted her mom’s pendant, then stepped back, bumping into the open fridge door. Beth Reiter, her sister-in-law and best friend, appeared as the door closed. She was also the ex-fiancée of the man who had gently rested a hand on Katie’s waist so she wouldn’t back into him. A warm hand that fell from her waist, leaving her feeling cold.
“Beth, you look lovely.” Nash was around Katie in a flash, his lips on Beth’s cheek, which was turned up in offering.