by Tess Oliver
A fresh morning sun was just stretching its rays out over the city as we stepped out into the chill. Tommy’s truck stood in the back corner of the lot, most likely the only place the tow truck was able to drop it.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and lifted my shoulders to bring the collar of my coat up around my ears and cheeks. “I’m so ready for the last frays of winter to be gone. I’ve actually been having dreams about wearing shorts and sundresses and sandals. Glorious, wonderful sandals.”
“Huh, I’ve been having the same dream,” Tommy said. He was only wearing the thin cotton scrub I’d found him, but he seemed to have no problem with the cold.
I laughed. It sounded slightly crazed, like the laugh of a little kid who had stayed up way too late. “So, you’ve been envisioning yourself strutting around Bluefield in a frilly white sundress and sandals?”
“Not frilly. Thomas Sawyer never does frilly. Actually, I meant daydreams.” He looked pointedly at me. “And I wasn’t the one wearing the sundress. To be completely honest, I wasn’t thinking about the sundress as much as I was thinking about your long legs stretching out beneath a very short hem. Sandals optional. You’ve always had the finest pair of legs in Bluefield, Sulli.”
It was forty degrees out, but my cheeks felt warm. “I think someone’s had just a touch too many painkillers.”
We reached the truck. He looked beyond weary, but he was still the same intense, tough boy I’d grown up with. He handed me the keys. I slid into the driver’s seat. It was even colder inside the truck. Tommy climbed in to the passenger’s side and began flicking buttons and levers to get the heat going.
As I backed out, I turned around and saw his coat on the backseat. I reached for the coat and handed it to him.
He looked at it, slightly confused. “I thought this was gone for sure. I remember yanking it off before I pulled the girls from the car. I figured it had burned up too.”
A shiver raced through me at the thought of him reaching into a burning car. Tonight, Kellan, Dawson and I had come close to losing Tommy. It would have been completely devastating for all of us. My two older sisters, Megan and Aubrey, had always been each other’s best friends. They’d rarely had room for their little sister in the midst of their tight bond. But I hadn’t minded. I had my twin, the friend that I’d shared a womb, a crib and, much to my chagrin, a bunk bed with for ten years. Dawson and I were just as close Megan and Aubrey, even if our genders kept us marginally separate. But, even so, growing up we’d spent a great deal of time together. As a result, I’d spent a great deal of time with Kellan and Tommy. I’d always considered them my close friends too. As teens, Tommy had had a crush on me. It was something that Kellan and Dawson had teased him about mercilessly until I’d scolded them both for it. And that was mostly because I’d returned the admiration for Tommy. Only I’d kept my crush a secret. Eventually, Tommy’s family troubles had changed him, hardened him to the world. It was as if someone had put a frozen shell around his emotions. At the same time, I had been focused on getting out from under my dad’s control and out of the bleak, sooty town of Bluefield. The teenage crush had been melted by the harsh, stark realities of life.
Realizing it would take too much effort and, more than likely, revive some of the pain on his back, Tommy decided not to pull on the coat. “Those very nice police officers must have picked up the coat and put it in my truck.”
“That has to be the first time I’ve ever heard you use the phrase ‘very nice police officers’.”
“Yeah? I probably don’t say it much. Depends on the situation. Guess I’ve used other less polite terms occasionally.”
“I’m sure they were just happy to help out a fellow hero.”
“Hero. Right.” He shook his head. “You’re the hero, Sulli. That’s one helluva job you’ve got there. Holy shit, you are something.”
It was hard to suppress a smile. Even after long, stressful nights in the ER like tonight, it was rare to hear any praise. “Jeez, Tommy, you just won’t ever let yourself be that guy, that good guy on the white horse, will you? You’ve set your mind at being the bad guy, the outlaw, the guy in black. Well, I’ve got news for you, buddy, tonight you broke that stereotype. You saved two complete strangers from a certain and painful death. And then you saved me—” My voice wavered as my mind shot back to those terrifying moments with a gun pressed against my head. “You can’t compare what you did to my job. Adrenaline bursts when a flurry of trauma patients roll in, heartbreak when someone dies right in front of your eyes and overwhelming relief when a patient who looked beyond repair, rallies and opens their eyes, are all taken in stride. It’s intense, but it’s what I was trained for.”
“And you won’t let yourself be that girl, the good girl who is always taking care of others. You are the hero tonight and every night, Sulli. Since I’ve known you, you’ve been that for me.”
I swallowed hard to relieve the tightness in my throat. A thick silence fell over us as he reached for the radio. He groaned in pain as he leaned back and shifted his massive shoulders to the side.
I thought about what he’d told the despondent man with the gun tonight, and I wondered how it might all have ended if Tommy hadn’t saved me.
“Tommy.” I glanced over at him.
His dark lashes dropped as his eyes drifted shut. “Yeah, Sulli?” he asked drowsily.
“I’m sorry you got hurt tonight, but I’m really glad you were there.”
“Me too.”
Chapter 8
Tommy
Dawson’s booming laugh woke me from a sound sleep. I could hear pieces of a conversation. Kellan and Rylan were over. They’d rented a small house several blocks away and had moved in together. It was inevitable. They’d been a couple even when they were living separate lives and in separate states. Even when they were both seeing other people, even engaged to someone else, like Rylan had been, they were still meant to be together. Once they’d reunited, there was no one who could get between them, not even Rylan’s powerful, influential and highly disapproving dad could break them up. It had taken the old man a good, long time to come to that conclusion, but he had learned to accept it. Rylan, who had grown up on the posh, sparkling mansion side of town, was now living below the tracks. Rylan and Kellan were the perfect example of how true love trumped everything else when it came to being happy.
More laughter prompted me to sit up. It was five o’clock on a Sunday evening. I’d slept the day away. What a damn long night it had been. Everything hurt. Andi had dropped me off and then drove my truck home. It had been early morning when I trudged into the house, half-asleep and half-dazed from drugs. Dawson hadn’t heard me come in, and I’d gone straight in to bed. I had no idea if he’d talked to Andi, but I was definitely not in a mood to tell the story.
I gritted my teeth and yanked on jeans. I slowly pulled a flannel shirt on over my shoulders. There was no way I was going to be able to reach up and pull a shirt down over my head. The skin on my back was sore and stiff as if someone had pulled it tight around my shoulders. The bandages were a fairly worthless barrier. Even the weight of my shirt felt heavy.
I headed into the bathroom.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” Dawson called down the hallway, “where the fuck did you end up last night? Heard you drag your sorry ass in at six in the morning. Whose bed were you sneaking out of?” Laughter rolled down the hallway.
I ignored him and shut the door to the bathroom. Showering seemed impossible. I settled for brushing my teeth and washing my face. The water helped revive me some, but my gut was turning in on itself from hunger.
Kellan, Dawson and Rylan were sitting in the front room when I walked out. Rylan was her usual pretty self in a blue dress, and Kellan was dressed in a white shirt and black pants.
“Shit, Kellan, are you going to a funeral?” A laugh shot from my mouth before I could stop it. Searing pain followed, and I sucked in a long breath until it passed. The three of them stared at me as if I was on fir
e, which was pretty close to how I felt.
“Maybe,” Kellan said with concern, “and it looks like the corpse just arrived. What the hell happened to you? You look like shit covered in puke.”
Rylan fisted his shoulder at his comment. She got up from the couch. “You should sit, Tommy. You look pale.”
I shook my head. “Nah, just need some coffee.”
I could feel all of their eyes on my sore back as I walked into the kitchen. “Stop boring holes into me. I’m fine.”
Dawson’s heavy footsteps landed behind me. “Yeah, well you don’t look fine. What the hell happened last night? Last thing I heard from you was that you were coming home. And your truck isn’t here.”
My movements were sloth-like, but I managed to drag down a mug and fill it with the leftover, cold coffee.
“Christ, Huck, what’s going on? You’re moving like a ninety-year-old man.”
I turned around and took a drink. It was cold and bitter and not as beneficial as I’d expected.
Dawson was hovering and waiting for an answer. I just wasn’t in the mood to give one. The whole damn tale was too long and torturous to repeat, and I knew for sure that if he heard about what had happened to his sister at the hospital, he’d have a fucking fit. Knowing Dawson, he’d go out on a rampage looking for the jerk and end up getting in deep shit.
Kellan and Rylan walked to the counter that separated the kitchen from the front room. I decided to switch topics. Curiosity brought me back to Kellan’s wardrobe. “Nice slacks, dude. Trying out a new look?”
Rylan laughed and wrapped her hand around Kellan’s arm. “Doesn’t he look handsome?”
“Not quite the word I was going to use.” I took another drink of the stale coffee. “But if you say so, Ry.”
Kellan tugged at the shirt collar as if it was two strong hands holding his neck. “We’re going to dinner with Rylan’s parents. Her sister and brother-in-law are in town.”
I shot Dawson a look. He nodded with a grin. “Yep, wish I could be a fly on the wall of that restaurant too.” He turned back to Kellan, who looked bored of our teasing and equally bored of the buttoned collar. “Just remember that civilized people use forks and knives. And napkins. Don’t want any stains on that nice, dandy dress shirt.”
The loud stuttering motor of my truck pulled our attention to the front window.
“Ah ha, guess the mystery of who you spent the night with is about to be solved.” Dawson glanced back at me. “And from the way you’re moving, she must have been one good fu—” He cut his comment short as he remembered Rylan was standing two feet away.
Dawson got up on his toes to see over Kellan’s head through the window. “Now let’s see what she looks like.” He fell silent. His face blanched, and he spun around and came at me.
My reflexes were slow, but I managed to block his hands as he grabbed at my shirt. The coffee cup smashed on the floor. Brown liquid sprayed over the cabinets. “Fucking hell, Dawz.”
Kellan had walked into the kitchen, ready to step in and stop a fight.
I looked down at the shards of cup on my feet. “You’re fucking certifiable.”
Dawson stepped closer. Kellan put a hand on his shoulder, but Dawson shirked it off. He looked pissed as hell, a perfect reflection of how I was feeling.
“Just tell me,” Dawson sneered.
“Tell you what?” Outside, I could hear the truck door open and shut. “That I slept with Andi? You’re out of your fucking mind, you know that? Now move out of my way. I’m going back to bed.”
Angry heat was still rolling off Dawson as I moved to slide past him. Andi knocked before opening the front door. She immediately sensed the tense silence in the room. She looked at each of us, me last. Her gaze lingered there longer. I pulled mine away first.
“Jeez, did someone’s cat die? What happened in here?”
“Not a damn thing.” Dawson stormed out of the kitchen, grabbed the game control and landed hard on the couch.
“All right, if you say so.” Andi walked over with the keys. “I would have washed and detailed it for you, but my talents only go so far. How are you feeling?”
“See. Knew it,” Kellan said quickly. “Something did happen. Why does Tommy look like he’s been run down by a tractor?”
Andi’s green eyes rounded as she looked at me. “You didn’t tell them?”
“Tell them what?” As she placed the keys on my palm, her hand stayed there longer than necessary. I fought the urge to fold my fingers around hers. Of course, seeing her brother’s reaction to an assumption he’d made assured me that taking his sister’s hand wasn’t going to sit well either. It was fucking great to know that my best friend would rather fight me than see me with his sister.
“You’ve got to be kidding.” She swept her gaze away from mine. “Tommy pulled two women from a burning car last night. Saved their lives and got a little singed in the process.”
“That explains a lot,” Kellan said.
Rylan scooted around Kellan to get closer to me. “Oh my gosh, Tommy, you’re a hero. Why didn’t you say something?”
“Didn’t feel like it.”
Dawson was listening from the couch, but his face was still tight in anger. He wasn’t great at letting stuff go. Obviously, even a flicker of the idea that I had been with Andi was too much for him to deal with. That only added to the misery I was feeling both physically and emotionally, especially with Andi standing right there in front of me. For the past year, I’d put up an effective wall between Andi and me, rarely talking to her or even acknowledging her. It had hurt like hell and chewed me up good inside, but it was far less painful than being near her, all the while knowing I could never have her. But last night had cracked open that wall. Pulling away again would be too obvious and too strange.
“After he saved the two women, our knight on the white horse”—she winked secretly at me—“saved me from a bullet to the noggin.” She punctuated her shocking sentence by turning her hand into a gun and pointing it at her temple.
She had everyone’s full attention, including Dawson’s, who nearly knocked the coffee table over in his attempt to move closer to the conversation.
“You’ve done it now, Sulli,” I muttered under my breath.
For the first time, Andi noticed the look on Dawson’s face.
“What do you mean you had a gun at your head?” Dawson barked.
“Damn, Dawson, relax.” She waved her fake gun around and lowered her hand. “I’m fine. All brain matter intact. Thanks to Tommy.”
Dawson’s chest moved up and down as if he’d just run up a steep hill to get to us from the couch. His eyes shot toward me, searching for a less flip explanation. I hadn’t wanted to get into any of this at all, but now, Kellan and Rylan were staring expectantly at me too. “It was nothing. Some guy was pissed because his girlfriend slept with another guy. He was drunk and angry. He had a gun, but I don’t think he was going to use it on anyone except the guy who screwed his girl.”
Andi cast a hard glance back at me. “Well then, I feel foolish for being so scared. I was clearly never even in danger.” She turned back to Dawson. “Sorry for alarming you. Turns out it was no big deal.”
“Andi,” I started.
“No, really. Don’t say any more. It will only make me feel sillier.”
“Andi, shit, I’m trying to keep your hotheaded brother from having a fucking heart attack right here in the living room. You were in danger. I was scared shitless when I saw that gun against your head.” I turned and headed toward the hall. “Fucking hell, why did I get out of bed?”
I heard Andi’s soft footsteps traipsing down the hallway behind me. “Forget it, Sulli. Thanks for bringing back the truck.” I pushed into my room and headed straight for the bed. I stood over it, deciding that flopping down on the mattress would hurt like hell.
She stepped into the room behind me. I didn’t want to look at her. It was better when I was ignoring her. As much as I knew it hurt her, it was
a lot easier on me.
Coward that I was, I spoke to the wall behind my bed, rather than turn to face her. “I just want to sleep, Andi. Go. Please.”
I sensed her move closer. I always felt her heat when she was near, no matter where we were standing, a crowded bar or the middle of an empty room, I could always feel that she was near. “Stop being such an asshole. I just want to take a look under those bandages.”
My entire body froze solid as ice as her fingers plucked at the hem of my shirt. Just thinking about those same fingers grazing my skin was too much. I yanked away from her and climbed onto the bed.
“My back is fine.”
I held my breath and lowered myself slowly against the pillows, exposing, of course, that I was lying about my back. I finally worked up the courage to look at her.
A mixture of anger and hurt crossed her pretty face. “So, one night of civility is all I get, and now, you’re back to being a complete jerk again.”
“Jerk is my middle name.”
“It sure as fuck is.” She spun around hard on her heels to leave.
“Andi—” I started to call her back but had no real idea what I was going to say.
“Just fuck off, Tommy.” Her slim form was tight with anger as she slipped out of my room.
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, hoping that I could stay asleep for a good month.
Chapter 9
Andi
“Mrs. Norton, your husband and son are on their way.” I reached her bedside. She lifted her thin, white hand to me. I took hold of it and patted her arm.
“You’re such a dear, Nurse—” She sighed. “Oh my, I’ve forgotten it again. My mind is like Swiss cheese, and the holes get bigger with age.”
“Nonsense, you’ve had a stressful afternoon. A fall, even one where you were lucky enough not to break bones, is a big shock to the system. And an ambulance ride is no day in the park either. It’s scary at any age.”
