“Ethan, I think it’s best if we take a break for a while until our lives settle down. I’m exhausted and I think you need to make sure you don’t have feelings for your ex left.”
“Brooke, that’s not what I want. You’re taking it all wrong...”
“I just need space, Ethan,” she cut in. She took a deep breath, her heart shattering with each word. “I just can’t do this right now. I have too much to worry about here and I just can’t do that and worry about us, too.” She closed her eyes as tears began to fall, and said, “I’m sorry, Ethan. Maybe this isn’t our time. Maybe our time is later down the road when our lives are better aligned.”
“You don’t actually believe that, do you?”
She pulled the phone away from her ear at his raised voice and whispered, “I’m sorry,” and then hung up and let the tears flow freely as the last line of poetry he’d sent her popped into her head.
‘When love is true, time and distance have no meaning. Your love is forever, not fleeting. You’ve had my heart from the start, because our string never lets us part.’
Was their love strong enough to wait until their time was right?
Chapter 31
BROOKE
After making sure Casey had everything she needed, Brooke ran downstairs to grab the mail. She slid the key into their mailbox and as she opened the door, she saw a large envelope. As she pulled it out, her breath caught. The name scribbled on the front was, Ethan Harris.
Their conversation last night ran through her mind. After telling him they needed to hold off on seeing each other, he had tried calling her back, but she had ignored his call. Now, she was staring down at an envelope that he’d sent days ago. Shoving all the mail under her arm, she closed the mailbox and headed back upstairs.
She tossed the mail onto the counter, the envelope with Ethan’s name staring back up at her. She huffed, not believing she just got this right after they, or she, had ended things last night. She stared down at the envelope, contemplating whether or not she wanted to open it and see what was inside.
Curiosity got the better of her and she found herself ripping it open. She looked down at the item in her hand and wanted to burst out crying and laughing at the same time.
“Dammit, Ethan,” she whispered as tears threatened to spill. Why did he have to be so... him?
She ran her hand over the pink and gray knitted hat and shook her head. Memories of their last date surfaced in her mind, trying to make her regret her decision. But, it was the best decision for her at the moment. He had an ex show up and she had to leave. Waiting just made sense to her. But if that were the case, why did her heart hurt so damned much. Why was every beat screaming that this was all wrong?
She sighed and leaned on the counter, resting her chin in her hands as she ran her fingers over the knitted hat. Ethan had spent time with this old lady. Had kept her company as she got dialysis. He had done this on his lunch break. It warmed her heart how caring he was, and she wished she was back in Sweet Haven right now, holding him in her arms and listening to him recite poetry to her as they lay in his bed.
Tears began to fall down her cheeks and she let them fall. She missed her hometown. She missed her friends. And she missed Ethan. And despite the crappy few months at Anderson Hospital, she missed being a nurse, too.
She heard a noise behind her and quickly wiped her tears away and turned around to find Casey in the hall.
“Hey,” she said, trying her best to smile and hope Casey didn’t see her despair.
Casey cocked her head to the side and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Brooke shook her head. “Nothing, don’t worry about it. How are you feeling? Can I get you anything?”
“No, I’m fine. I just couldn’t sleep,” Casey said, as she headed towards Brooke. She reached for the knitted hat and asked, “What’s this?”
“You can have it. A little old lady from Anderson Hospital knitted it. Here, it will look good on you,” Brooke said, as she leaned forward and placed the hat on Casey’s bald head.
Casey ran her hand over the hat and said, “It’s soft.”
Seeing her frail sister standing in front of her with a knitted hat from an old lady who was also fighting for her life, made her even sadder. Why did life have to be so hard? Her sister didn’t deserve this. The old lady dealing with kidney failure didn’t deserve that.
“You look upset, did something happen between you and Ethan?
Brooke looked away, not wanting to discuss it. “It’s fine, Casey, you don’t need to worry about it. Do you want to hang out and watch a movie, if you’re feeling up to it?”
She nodded and softly said, “Sure, we could share a container of ice cream.”
Brooke smiled. “Are you feeling up for ice cream?”
Casey nodded. “Yeah, my stomach is feeling pretty good right now and it will be like the old days when one of us was upset. Remember?”
“Yeah, I remember. Those are some of my favorite memories,” Brooke said, her voice cracking. This was why she was here. To reconnect with her estranged sister and to help her fight this terrible disease. It was worth everything she had given up. Because, despite what Casey had done to her, Brooke would forgive her.
She turned and headed towards the freezer, grabbing a container of strawberry Haagen-Daz and two spoons. They settled on the couch and Casey began flipping through the movies, looking for one that was half-way decent.
“Let’s watch something funny to lift our moods,” Brooke suggested.
“Ooh, how about Step Brothers?” Casey asked.
Brooke snorted. “Yeah, that one always makes me laugh for some reason.”
They laughed throughout the movie as the ice cream slowly disappeared. Brooke couldn’t remember the last time she and Casey had laughed together. Three years? Or, maybe four? Whatever it was, it was long overdue. After all the hours of being at the hospital for treatment and the late nights of Casey throwing up, they both needed this to recharge their souls and their bond.
Her mind occasionally drifted from the movie to their childhood. All the sisterly talks and fights. The make-up advice and talks about boys. All their late nights watching scary movies and lying on their beds listening to the latest boy band. They had been so close up until three years ago. But Brooke wanted, more than anything, to have that strong bond with Casey again.
The movie finally came to an end and Brooke wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes. Her stomach hurt from laughing so much and her stomach was full from the second container of ice cream they had decided to eat.
“I’m beat and full,” Casey said, as she stood and stretched.
Brooke yawned. “Yeah, me, too. It was fun though, wasn’t it?”
Casey smiled wide. “It was. I’ve missed spending time like this with you,” she said.
“I’ve missed it, too. No more fights, okay?” Brooke asked.
“Brooke, I’ll never do anything like that to you again. I just want you to know that,” Casey said, her eyes shimmering with tears.
Brooke leaned over and squeezed her hand. “I know, Casey. You’ve already apologized countless times. And I’ve forgiven you. Now, I just want us to mend what was broken.”
“Me, too,” Casey said, giving her hand a tight squeeze.
“Okay, let’s go to bed before I crash right here on the couch,” Brooke said, pulling Casey up to her feet.
As they headed down the hall, Casey called out, “Good night, Big Sis.”
Brooke looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Sleep tight, Lil Sis.”
Chapter 32
ETHAN
Emptiness welcomed him in the long corridor of the hospital hall, each turn a stark reminder of what he was missing in his life. Laughter that echoed down the halls didn’t match the musical note from the woman he longed for, and each nurse was an impostor of the one h
e needed. He felt out of place here now, and it was just another layer to the pain that seemed never ending. But, he would eventually pull himself out of the sinkhole of despair, because that was what he always did. He had a good track record of overcoming those odds.
He shuffled down the hall, heading to the floor where Brooke used to work many long months ago, and steeled himself for the barrage of memories that seemed to suffocate him each time. As he rounded the corner, there was one person sitting at the nurses’ desk who gave him a sense of normalcy to the stabbing pain of change that had occurred over the past year.
He leaned over the desk and peered down at a very focused Kyleigh. “What’s up, sunshine?”
She jerked her head up and clutched at her chest. “Good lord, Ethan, you almost gave me a heart attack.”
He laughed, enjoying their easy banter. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
She leaned back against her chair and looked him up and down. “No, I haven’t talked to Brooke.”
“And why do you think I would ask you that?”
“Because it’s always the first thing you ask when you come over here to see a patient on this floor. I mean, it’s becoming our normal routine, Ethan. You come over, ask how Brooke is doing, I say fine, you ask if she’s mentioned you, I say no, and then we change the subject to the patients or weather, and then go on with our day.”
The pained smile she gave him was evidence of how badly she felt for him after Brooke had called it quits eight months ago. He looked down at his black dress shoes, slightly embarrassed for holding onto hope for this long. He raised his eyes to her and said, “Yeah, I should probably find better things to talk about, shouldn’t I?”
She leaned forward and squeezed his hand for a brief second. “No, I think it shows how much you truly love her. You’ve never stopped thinking about her. One day, she’ll have the time to see that. She just has so much going on right now.”
He couldn’t help the small smile that appeared. Kyleigh always had a way of making him look on the bright side, and over the months he’d grown to enjoy their talks. She had confessed to him months ago about how she was the one who told Brooke about his meeting with his ex, but she had also been the one to tell Brooke how she had Ethan’s meeting all wrong. After meeting with Jamie, he had realized how the memories he had missed were exactly that... fond memories and nothing more. He loved Jamie, but he wasn’t in love with her. He was then, and still was, in love with Brooke. But Brooke had still ignored his countless texts and calls. So, he’d finally given up altogether.
“Thanks, Kyleigh,” he said, before turning and heading to his next patient.
The day went by in a blur of hectic visits and paperwork, and as he finally sat down in his office chair, his thoughts went to the conversation he’d had with Kyleigh this morning. Was he holding onto hope that would never resurface, like the last time he had been in love?
A knock at his door brought him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Nick poking his head in, dark brows raised in question.
“What?” Ethan asked.
“Did you not hear me?” Nick said, as he plopped in the chair in front of Ethan’s desk.
“No, that’s why I said what,” Ethan retorted sarcastically.
“I asked you if you wanted to stop by the pub on Eighth Street for a while after work. You know, it is Friday night and you keep standing me up. I’m feeling a little bit neglected.” He faked a pained expression and batted his eyes at Ethan for emphasis.
“I haven’t been ignoring you, Nick,” Ethan said, as he leaned back in his chair and rested his feet on top of his desk. Something he knew irritated Nick. He loved pushing his buttons.
Nick gave his feet an annoyed look and said, “So? Pub tonight with a few drinks and maybe a game of pool?”
Ethan sighed as he gave it some thought. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone out with Nick. Maybe he had been neglecting him.
“Okay, but we’re flying Dutch on this date.”
Nick smiled brightly. “Deal. See ya at eight.”
He opened the door to Irish Pub and took in the smell of food and beer, the live band that was playing, and the harmonious chatter of people having a good time. Maybe this was what he needed.
“The band sounds decent,” Nick said, as he sidled up next to him.
Ethan shrugged. “Yeah, not too bad. Let’s grab a drink.”
With beers in hand, they shuffled through the crowd and found a table towards the back with a nice view of the band. Ethan took a drink of his beer as he absently watched the band. His eyes scanned the room and stopped on a woman wearing a white shirt covered in blue roses. His thoughts immediately went to Brooke and the shirt she had been wearing on their first date. The memory pained him and he took another long swallow of beer.
“So, what’s been up lately?” Nick asked, keeping his eyes on the band while his foot tapped the floor in rhythm to the beat.
The blue rose shirt was taunting him in his peripheral vision and he did his best to keep his eyes away from it, but every few seconds he was drawn back to it. “Not much. Working, and that’s basically it,” Ethan said.
Nick’s eyebrows pulled in tight as he took in Ethan’s words, but he kept his attention focused on the band. “No dates?” he finally asked, after a minute of silence. He dragged his eyes away from the band to Ethan, his dark eyes implying the hidden meaning behind that question.
The music was loud, but not too loud to have a conversation, and Ethan was beginning to wish they’d crank up the volume a little. The last thing he wanted was to come out with Nick and talk about dating or worse, Brooke.
“Nope, too busy working. What about you? Have you gone on another date with that brunette?” Ethan was mastering the art of subject changing, lately, and at times wanted to give himself a pat on the back.
Nick’s eyes dropped to his beer and he began to casually peel off the label. He gave a little shrug, pushed up his glasses, and said, “Eh, didn’t work out. No big deal. Now, I’m free to check out the ladies again.”
He waggled his eyebrows in an attempt to blow it off, but Ethan could tell whatever had happened between him and the brunette bothered him.
“Well, maybe tonight is your lucky night.” Ethan leaned in and bumped his shoulder, trying to detour the conversation back to happy territory, because right now they were nothing but two men pining for lost loves, and it was depressing.
Nick’s eyes lit up and he smiled, lifting one shoulder. “Maybe.”
Tilting the bottle back, Ethan finished off his beer in one long gulp. “Hey, how about a game of pool?”
Nick nodded and stood. “Sure, but winner buys lunch for the next week and it can’t be the awful hospital food.”
Sighing, Ethan turned for the open pool table. “The little Tai place on Tenth Street is my favorite, just so you know what I like,” he called over his shoulder.
“Yeah, I won’t be going there because I’m a pool master, just so ya know,” Nick said as he passed by Ethan to break first.
Ethan watched him lean over the table and get a nice, clean break in one smooth motion. He had to say, he was impressed. Nick might just give him a run for his money.
As they continued to play, the blue rose woman kept hovering just outside of the pool area. He could feel her eyes on him and he began to fidget. It was Nick’s turn and as Ethan stood back and watched Nick contemplate his next move, he saw the woman heading in his direction. He took another drink of his beer, trying to look preoccupied, like he didn’t know she was coming, but he’d been watching her this whole time. Partly because he knew she was watching him, and because the shirt brought back so many memories. It was like a beacon that shone light down on the most painful part of his past.
The gentle brush of her shoulder against his arm signified her presence beside him and he looked over and gave her a courteous
nod.
Green eyes that were similar in shade to his regarded him seductively and she turned and held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Natalie.”
He quickly switched his beer to his other hand and shook her outreached hand. “Ethan. It’s nice to meet you, Natalie.”
She smiled and took a sip of her margarita, her eyes darting around the pub nervously.
“So, do you like to play pool?” He figured he might as well have fun tonight, considering the last woman he’d been with had been Brooke. So, why not enjoy a night?
“Well, I don’t really know how,” she said. Her eyes shifted to her right and she turned back to Ethan and said, “Would it be all right if my friend came and played, too?”
Ethan looked beyond the pool area to another woman sitting alone at a table, sipping her drink and watching the band. He shrugged and said, “Of course, we wouldn’t want her sitting out there by herself.”
Minutes later, they had decided to team up, Nick taking Natalie’s friend, Monica, and Ethan with Natalie. It turned out neither girl knew how to play, so Ethan and Nick spent the entire game teaching them instead of actually playing for a score. But, the drinks were going down smoothly and the conversation was easy and flirty, and before long Ethan found himself actually having a good time, despite the shirt staring back at him. He didn’t know why something so simple and unimportant as a blue rose on a shirt had pulled him under the blanket of loss, but it had. And the easiest way to cure that kind of loss was to find a replacement, at least for a night.
He came up flush against Natalie’s backside and wrapped his arms around her, guiding her hands in the right direction. She giggled and pushed back against him as he squeezed her waist with one hand. The warmth of her body felt good and he nuzzled against her face as he instructed her next play. He guided her hand back, and in one smooth movement, they swung the cue stick forward, hitting the target ball and getting three balls in. Natalie screamed in excitement and turned and gave Ethan a high five.
When Love Ignites Page 25
