by M. Malone
He took a step forward, but then glanced back at Julia. “I’d better let Mama Bear do the honors.”
Julia rubbed her hands together and stepped forward. “I’d love to. I wasn’t blessed with any baby girls, but a granddaughter would be just as good.”
Mark rolled his eyes fondly behind her back.
“Okay, here’s the knife. Let’s do this. Drumroll, please!” Ridley motioned to Elliott, who banged a loud staccato rhythm on the table.
Looking back, Matt couldn’t be sure what had triggered him. Perhaps it was because the room was so quiet before the loud sound or because his shoulder was still aching from earlier. He was always on edge when he was in pain. Either way, the sudden loud sound hit his eardrums like a bomb going off. Matt dropped to the floor and rolled. He hit the leg of the table. A second later, something shattered. Instinctively, he covered his head with his arms.
Everyone went silent. Then there was a sudden cacophony of voices.
“What the hell?”
“Did he fall?”
Mara kneeled next to the table. He looked up from the cradle of his arms and their eyes met. Her face fell.
“Oh, my god. Matt.” She stopped, obviously overcome. “It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.”
Adrenaline was still flowing through his bloodstream so strongly that Matt started shaking. As much as he wished he could just sink into the floor, the best he could do was wrap his arms around himself and hold on.
Once his heartbeat slowed a little, he turned and looked at the shards of glass on the floor next to him. He could hear his friends whispering back and forth. Probably trying to figure out how long he was going to be under their table. The first wash of shame settled in the pit of his stomach.
“I’m going to ask everybody to take a step back and give Matt some space.”
Elliott’s deep voice cut through the chaos until everyone fell silent. All Matt could hear was the steady whoosh of his own breath sawing in and out of his chest. There was a soft crunch and he flinched. Eli knelt next to him but didn’t touch him.
“You want to take a minute outside, buddy?”
Matt nodded quickly, hating the desperate relief that flowed through him when he realized that Eli wasn’t asking any questions. He climbed from beneath the table and stood slowly. There were pieces of broken crockery near his foot.
Eli nudged it aside. “Don’t worry about that. You just go on out and get some fresh air. No one will bother you.” His words held both comfort and a promise. Matt looked up, stunned to see no pity reflected in Eli’s gaze.
He walked to the back door, not meeting anyone’s eyes. As soon as the cold, fresh air hit his face, he gasped, taking in a lungful of freezing air.
Breathe. Just breathe.
* * * * *
“YOUR LAST APPOINTMENT is here. Also, you might want to check your messages.” It was Friday evening, and Georgia handed her the file for her next patient.
Penny groaned when she saw the name. She was not in the mood to deal with Mr. Grabby-hands Eisenberg today.
“You might need this.” Georgia held out her hand. Penny’s cell phone sat on her palm.
“You found it! I’ve been looking for that all day.” Penny snatched up her phone and let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t sure how people had survived before technology. Her entire life was in her phone. She hadn’t been looking forward to having to buy another one.
“It was in the garbage can next to your desk. You must have knocked it off when you were eating lunch.”
Penny pulled up the call log on her phone, shocked to see two missed calls. Scott wouldn’t call her during the work day unless it was important. He was an assistant district attorney, so he understood her crazy schedule. Plus, he’d already told her he’d be too busy catching up with work to see her tonight.
“Okay, I need to listen to my voicemail. Can you go check in with Mr. Eisenberg? I’ll be right there.”
Georgia grimaced. “Do I have to?” At Penny’s pleading look, she crossed her arms. “If he tries to cop a feel again, I’m holding you personally responsible.”
“I’ll owe you one. Thank you, Georgia.” She laughed as her assistant shot her a withering look before turning the corner toward the waiting room.
Penny walked into her office and dropped down wearily into her desk chair as she pressed the button to listen to her first message.
--Hey Penny. I guess you’re with a patient. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and I hope you are, too. I’ll pick you up at eight o’clock sharp. I bet you’re wondering where we’re going, but I’m not going to tell you. I have the perfect surprise planned for you. It’s going to be a night to remember. See you tomorrow, babe.
She looked out the window aimlessly as Scott’s voice rumbled over her phone’s speaker. He sounded as harried as she felt. She rewound the message and listened again, noting the time he’d said he was picking her up.
Georgia stuck her head in. “Mr. Eisenberg’s all set. Anna is getting him started.”
Penny stowed her phone in her desk drawer and grabbed the patient file on her desk. Georgia followed her into the hall.
“Scott was calling to remind me about dinner. He keeps saying it’s going to be a night to remember.” They walked down the hallway toward the treatment rooms. “You remember the last time he tried to plan a romantic evening? We spent three hours listening to opera in some language that I couldn’t even identify. And then—”
“You got stuck talking to that anti-women’s-rights senator.” Georgia erupted into giggles. “I remember. God, you were pissed. I’m sure he was just as pained trying to talk to you. Imagine his horror at being forced into conversation with a professional woman. One who’s happily single at that. I’m surprised he didn’t keel over dead from the shock. I’m more surprised you didn’t say something outrageous just to get a rise out of that old fart.”
“Well, I was surprised he didn’t ask me to make him a sandwich. I was tempted to say something outrageous, believe me. The problem is that Scott’s idea of a good time is cocktails with the Washingtonian in-crowd, whereas I just want a dinner that isn’t so fancy I can’t pronounce it. Who knows what he’ll plan this time? Especially since it’s our anniversary.”
“It’s your anniversary? That’s so nice. How long have you guys been dating?”
“Three years. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long.”
They reached the door to treatment room 5. Penny peeked in through the glass square on the door. Mr. Eisenberg saw her and wiggled his thick, bushy eyebrows and leered back. Penny sighed. It was going to be a long hour of trying to avoid him pinching her on the bottom. She knew he wasn’t really aware of what he was doing half the time, but it made for an extremely uncomfortable session.
“Three years. Wait, he said it was going to be a special night? Whoa.” Georgia slapped a hand in front of her to prevent Penny from entering the treatment room. Her brown eyes widened and her eyebrows shot up so high they almost disappeared into her hairline.
“What? Is there something special about three years? You know I’m oblivious about this kind of thing, so you’ll have to enlighten me.”
“Are you serious?” She held out her left hand and waved her wedding ring in front of Penny’s face.
Penny couldn’t help but snort. “Oh no. There is no way.”
“Helloooo. Did you think you’d just be dating forever? Three years is generally considered shit or get off the pot time.”
Her first instinct was to laugh again but then she thought back to how strange Scott had been acting lately. He’d been talking about how nice it would be to have a bigger place since her house only had two bedrooms and he lived in a condo. He’d also asked if she wanted to take a vacation that summer. They’d never made plans that far in advance before. Ever.
Penny’s stomach dropped until it felt like it was dragging on the linoleum floor.
Georgia nodded, knowingly.
“He’s g
oing to ask you to marry him.”
* * * * *
“WE SHOULD GO after him.” Nick paced back and forth while his mother silently swept the pieces of broken pottery into a pile. They’d eventually cut the cake, revealing the bright pink center. The mood was still somber, however. The cake sat forgotten on the table next to Eli.
Julia shook her head, sadly. “Someone needs to talk to him. It’s obvious he’s hurting, poor thing.”
Nick didn’t disagree, but he was pretty sure his friend’s wounds went a lot deeper than a hand-holding session and a heart-to-heart chat. Matt likely needed help that none of them were qualified to give.
“We’ve been talking to him. We just haven’t been listening.” He’d been completely wrapped up in his own problems between convincing Raina to marry him and worrying about her pregnancy. He hadn’t given his friend’s strange behavior a second thought. Nick clenched his fists at his sides. When Matt had needed him, he’d been too busy.
“He’s right,” Jackson added. “After Divine’s first album came out, that’s all I’ve been thinking about. We’ve all been so wrapped up in our own worlds that we couldn’t see he’s self-destructing right in front of us.”
“He joined the Reserves in college, but last year was his first year being on active duty. He’s up for reenrollment this year. I’ve tried talking to him about it but I just don’t know what to say.” Mara’s voice broke and she turned and rested her head against Trent’s chest. “He knows I want him to get out, but I don’t know if that’s what he really wants. Plus, if he does get out, what would he do? I’m sure just the thought of it is overwhelming.”
Elliott had been quiet up until now. “I have a lot of ex-military guys on my team. If Matt’s interested, he could always come work for me. With all the extra work Raina has thrown my way to protect her when her normal guy is off duty combined with guarding Ridley and the Divine girls, my team is about stretched to capacity. I’ll need to hire more local guys soon, anyway.”
“Wait, guarding me?” Ridley sat up and glared at Eli. “Since when have you been guarding me?”
“Um.” Eli looked over at Jackson and shrugged. His brother shook his head slightly, then smiled sheepishly when Ridley turned and caught him.
Ridley crossed her arms. “I knew it couldn’t be coincidence seeing you at the grocery store that many times!”
Elliott looked like he was trying to smother a laugh. “Right. Anyway, I’m sure between my team and Raina’s we can find a job for Matt if he wants it. Right, Raina?” He looked around the room and then looked behind him.
“Where’s Raina?”
Nick glanced behind him where he’d last seen his wife. It was as natural as breathing for him to be around the people who loved him; however, Raina still wasn’t completely comfortable at family gatherings. She had a habit of sneaking off in the middle and then suddenly reappearing when it was time to leave. For someone who’d grown up mainly on her own, it was overwhelming to be in the midst of so much chaos. He understood and respected that.
“I’m sure she’s around. Probably looking for something else to eat since we ran out of oranges.”
Eli looked confused. “We ran out of oranges? I thought there was a whole bowl in the kitchen.”
“Well, there was a whole bowl when we arrived. Not anymore.” Nick walked down the hall and peeked in his old bedroom to see if she was hiding out in there. Nothing.
As he turned to leave, he heard muffled voices outside the window. He crossed the room and pulled back the curtain slightly. The second story had been added years after the house was built, so it sat at a slight angle to the back porch. He could see Matt standing at the railing. Raina stood next to him. Raina wasn’t usually the social sort, but apparently she’d found a way to get through to his friend.
Matt looked tense, but he was listening.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE SUN HUNG low in the sky, bathing the barren landscape with a golden haze. There was no furniture on the porch since it was too cold to sit out, so Matt leaned his hip against the railing. He could see the barn in the distance, the faded red like a beacon amongst the icy gray landscape. It was so calm out here. The perfect stillness curled through him until the ball of tension in the middle of his chest began to loosen up.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been standing there before he realized he wasn’t alone. Raina stood at the railing next to him, looking out to the distance. She wore a long tunic sweater and leggings, a little bump at her waist the only evidence of her pregnancy.
She’d lost her summer tan, so her skin was a very light brown and her long curly hair swirled around her face in the cold wind. He looked down at his own skin, which was also considerably lighter than it had been in the summer. Mara always joked that he’d sucked up all of their mother’s Columbian heritage in the womb since he tanned so well and she didn’t. At the thought of his sister, he glanced behind him at the house. He’d have to go back inside eventually. The thought of it, of all the pitying looks, was exhausting.
“I don’t mean to bother you,” Raina stated. She exhaled, her breath forming an icy cloud in front of her face. “We don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.”
He marveled, as he did every time he saw her, at not only how beautiful she was but also at how different she seemed from when he’d first met her. Gone were the designer clothes and the heavy makeup. She looked like a person now instead of a fashion icon. She looked real.
“You know, you and I have never actually been introduced.”
If she was perplexed by that sudden strange statement, she didn’t show it. She stuck out her arm and he saw she held his leather jacket. He accepted it gratefully and pulled it on. She still carried a long black cape that she now swung over her shoulders.
“No, I suppose we haven’t. But then again, we didn’t need to be. Some things don’t need to be stated to be understood. You’re one of my husband’s best friends. I don’t need an introduction to know you, Matt.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he just tucked his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry about—”
“Don’t apologize. You don’t have to apologize to me for anything.” Tears sprang to her eyes and she shook her head hard.
“Christ, I made you cry.”
“It’s not you. It’s these damn pregnancy hormones. I’m either starving, throwing up, or sniffling at some sappy commercial on TV.” She swiped her hand under her eye quickly, almost as if pissed off at the inconvenience.
“So, did you draw the short straw to see who’d come check on me?”
“Hell, no. Do I look like the intervention type?”
It was such a blunt, politically incorrect thing to say that it immediately made Matt feel better.
“But that is why you’re here, isn’t it? To tell me it’ll all be okay, so I should come back inside with everyone.”
She shook her head. “When I’m dealing with crap, I don’t want an audience. I brought your coat and car keys so you can get out of here. I understand not wanting company. Especially mine, since I’m hardly the warm and fuzzy type.”
He closed his eyes. “It’s not that I don’t want your company. I’m just dealing with some stuff.”
“Matt, you have no idea how much your friends admire you. How much they care about you and worry about you.” She looked back at the screen door. “None of us can even pretend to understand what you’re going through, but we just want to help. You picked me up when I was too sick to walk and got me to the hospital. I owe you for that. Mara told us about your shoulder. I’m sure carrying around pregnant women is not helpful when you’re dealing with an injury.”
“Raina, my shoulder was messed up before that happened. This is not your fault.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe it wouldn’t be this bad if you hadn’t had to do that. Either way, I want to do whatever I can to help you.”
A slow creep of guilt grabbed Matt by the throat. Raina had been dealing with some
pretty serious health issues during her pregnancy. The last thing she needed was to feel stressed and guilty about his injury.
“Seriously, my shoulder isn’t that bad. It just needs physical therapy. Mara already got me an appointment with a new therapist who’s supposed to be really great,” he assured her.
His thoughts drifted to the suspicious expression in Penny’s eyes when he’d left the center Thursday. She wasn’t a typical bombshell by any means, but there was something about the way she looked when she got all worked up. She looked like she could take a bite out of him and for some reason, he wanted her to.
There was no denying he was attracted to her. Not that she’d done anything to encourage his attention. He almost laughed out loud. She definitely wasn’t trying to throw his libido into overdrive. The woman couldn’t have been any pricklier if she’d had a porcupine stuck on her head.
Matt would have his work cut out for him since he was pretty sure Penny wasn’t going to give him any slack. Any goodwill he might have had with her had been destroyed when he’d lost his temper. He was going to have to work twice as hard to get back in her good graces. He couldn’t have her mad at him. Penny represented everything he needed.
Everything he needed for his health, he amended. He couldn’t afford to think of his physical therapist with her severe demeanor and devil’s-playground body as anything other than the woman who could help him get back his life.
Raina brightened. “So you’re going back to physical therapy?”
“Yes. As a matter of fact, I’m going back next week. You don’t have to worry. I’ll be fine.”
“Great! Well, I’ll distract everyone so you can sneak around front and leave. Oh and by the way, the cake was pink. It’s a girl.” She turned and walked back to the house, incredibly buoyant for someone who had just been in tears.
“Hey! Did you—” Matt crossed his arms, stuck between outrage and amusement. “You just played me, didn’t you? Did Mara send you out here to find out about my therapy since I wouldn’t tell her?”