Backdraft

by Cher Carson

  “Jeez, how is Jack? I haven’t seen him since high school.” Maya’s older brother Jack was one of his best friends and football teammates growing up. “He got married?”

  She squeezed his hand to apply pressure to the open wound. “Yeah, not long after he graduated. She’s a great girl. In fact, she was his veterinary assistant; that’s how they met. They’ve got twin girls; they’re almost three.”

  He tried to imagine his old friend, Jack, all grown up with a family of his own. It wasn’t hard; he was always the mature, responsible one of their group. “I’m glad to hear things have worked out for him.”

  She looked up and their eyes locked for a brief second before she resumed her task. “You should call him sometime. I know he’d love to hear from you.”

  Jack was already away at college by the time he and Maya broke up, and when he moved to the neighboring town after graduation, they’d simply lost touch. “Yeah, I should look him up. Maybe he’d like to get together for a beer some time, catch up.”

  After licking her lips, she said, hesitantly, “He mentions you sometimes, when we’re talking about the good old days.” When he didn’t respond right away, she said, “There were a lot of good times, Dave. You can’t deny that.”

  He couldn’t argue that point. Maya was one year behind him and her brother in school, but they had many of the same friends and often hung out as a group when they weren’t sneaking away to spend time alone together. “I stopped by to see your old man a few times before he retired,” he said, trying to change the subject. He didn’t want to talk about their shared past. Talking about her family seemed easier, neutral topics that wouldn’t take him back to a time he wasn’t able to forget.

  “He told me.”

  He was surprised by that admission. He assumed he would be a sore subject in their household, given the way their relationship ended. “Really?”

  “Dad thought the world of you, Dave. You must know that.”

  Her father was the football coach at their local high school for more than thirty years. He was a favorite among parents and students alike. “He was the best,” Dave said quietly. “We were all sorry to see him go.” The last time Dave stopped by to see him, just a few months before they left town, was the first and only time he’d mentioned his daughter since their break-up. He told Dave that he was the son-in-law he’d always wanted, and he wished things had worked out differently.

  “It’s kind of a running joke in my family,” she said, a wry smile on her lips. “All of my boyfriends are judged on the ‘Dave’ scale. If they earn a ten, they measure up to you. Anything less and they fall short.”

  Thinking of all of the men who’d passed in and out of her life since he left stung. How many men had made love to her…

  “You okay?” she asked, looking up at him. “I’m not hurting you, am I?”

  “Yeah,” he said, his voice breaking. “It still hurts like hell.” He wasn’t talking about his hand, but she didn’t need to know that.

  Sighing, she rose to her feet. “I’m afraid you’re going to need a few stitches, slugger.”

  He looked at his hand. It was still bleeding profusely. “Nah, it’ll be fine,” he said, standing up. “I’ll just wrap it, and…”

  She tugged on the front of his shirt, looking up at him. “You’re not going to bleed to death on my watch, Briar.”

  She was so close he could inhale that familiar scent that assailed him when he walked into the room. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t associated it with her right away, but it had been ten years. Ten long years. “Fine, I’ll see the doc tomorrow, okay?”

  “Not good enough,” she said, crossing her arms.

  Her robe gaped in the front and he couldn’t resist the urge to sneak a peek.

  Laughing, she gripped the neckline. “I see you haven’t changed a bit.”

  “You’re wrong,” he said, resisting the urge to stroke her face. “I’m not the same guy I was back then. Getting screwed over by the two people closest to you tends to have that effect on a guy.”

  The color drained from her face and she dropped her hands, looking at the floor.

  “Did you think if you reminded me of a few good times, softened me up with talk of your family, that I’d be willing to forgive and forget?” Getting in her face, he said, “That’s not gonna happen, sweetheart.” He couldn’t afford to let his guard down where she was concerned. She may have burned him once, but she wouldn’t get the chance to do it again.

  Chapter Four

  Turning into the hospital parking lot, Maya took a deep, steadying breath as Dave’s pick-up claimed the spot beside her car. The stubborn man had refused to drive with her, insisting he could navigate the truck with his one good hand.

  “Let’s get this over with,” he muttered, slamming his door with more force than necessary.

  Without waiting for him to join her, she made her way to the glass doors of the emergency room. The hospital was small by modern standards, but they still saw their fair share of common medical emergencies. Walking up to the admittance desk, she smiled at the night duty nurse. “Hey, Janice, how’s that beautiful new grandbaby of yours?”

  Her weathered face split into a smile, making her look years younger. “Hi, Dr. Monroe, it’s good to see you. Stephanie’s wonderful. Do you want to see a picture?” She reached beneath the desk, taking a cell phone out of her purse.

  Maya took the phone, admiring the screensaver of the beautiful baby dressed in her Sunday best. “Wow, she’s getting prettier every day, isn’t she? You must be so proud.”

  “I sure am,” she said, taking the phone back to admire the image once more before she slipped it into her purse. “I can hardly wait until August rolls around. When I retire, I’ll be able to see her every day. Stacy is returning to work, so I’ll be babysitting.”

  Maya patted her gnarled hand, smiling. “I’m sure you girls will have a great time together, but it won’t be the same around here without you.”

  “You know this damned arthritis has taken its toll on me, Doc. Running after that little angel will help keep me young.” She winked. “But don’t think you’re getting rid of me that easily. I’ll be stopping by to visit all the time. That’s the beauty of living just around the corner.”

  Wagging her finger, Maya grinned, “I intend to hold you to that. Don’t forget, I know where you live, and if I have to hunt you down, I will.”

  She laughed, perching her glasses atop her gray curls. “What are you doing here tonight? You’re not on the schedule.”

  Maya was acutely aware of Dave’s presence behind her. He paced the small waiting area as though he was getting ready to bolt at the slightest provocation. “My friend had a little accident. He just needs a few stitches. Do we have a room available?”

  “One should be opening up in just a few minutes.” She passed a clipboard across the desk. “But you know the drill; your friend has to fill out some paperwork first.”

  Given the fact his right hand was injured, she knew she had to do the honors, which he would undoubtedly resent. If she knew one thing about her ex, it’s that he would rather die than reveal any sign of weakness, especially to her. “You got it, Janice. Let me take care of this and I’ll get it back to you.”

  Janice peered over Maya’s shoulder. “Your friend is cute.” She pointed between the two of them. “You sure there’s nothing going on between the two of you?”

  Only in her dreams. She laughed. “No, we’re just friends.” Even that was a stretch, but her co-workers didn’t need to know the whole sordid story. That was part of the reason she hadn’t moved back to Brant when she graduated. She knew the townsfolk would take sides, and Dave would wind up the poor victim while she was viewed as the heartless bitch who betrayed him.

  “Hey, gorgeous. This is a pleasant surprise. Are you here to see me?”

  She looked up to see Dr. Chris Thompson rounding the corner. He was a colleague she’d been dating for a few months. In his mind, things were get
ting serious, but she didn’t think she would ever be ready to commit to him.

  “Hey, Chris.” She felt Dave move in behind her.

  He braced his good hand on the counter beside her, obviously intent on listening to their conversation.

  “I didn’t know you were working tonight.”

  “Yeah, I traded shifts with Dr. Smyth. Didn’t you get my message?”

  She pulled her cell phone out of her purse, noting that she’d missed half a dozen calls. “No, sorry, I must have missed it. I was in Brant tonight. They had a charity auction and I thought I’d go. You know, support the old hometown.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, they can use all the help they can get.”

  “Is that so?” Dave asked, fisting his left hand on the counter. “Why’s that?”

  He frowned, looking at Dave’s injured hand. “Are you a patient?”

  “He’s here with me,” Maya said quickly, knowing that if she didn’t step in to diffuse the situation, Dave’s hair-trigger temper would land him in more trouble tonight. “He just needs a few stitches.”

  Chris laughed. “How bad does the other guy look, buddy?”

  Scowling, Dave said, “I’m not your buddy, and there was no other guy. Not that it’s any of your business.”

  After raising his eyebrows in question, he turned his attention back to Maya. “Anyways, I changed shifts with Smyth because I have theater tickets for tomorrow night. Since we both have a couple of days off, I thought we could make a weekend of it. What do you say? Are you up for it?”

  “She can’t make it,” Dave said quickly.

  She tipped her head back to look at him. “Why’s that? And since when do you speak for me?”

  He glanced at his watch. “Do I have to remind you of what you did with me not more than two hours ago, sweetheart? I’d say that gives me the right to decide whether you date other men.”

  She felt the embarrassment spark before erupting into full-blown mortification. Her cheeks were flaming by the time she found the courage to steal a glance at her colleagues. “I, uh, excuse us,” she said, grabbing Dave’s shirtsleeve to lead him toward a vacant bank of chairs lining one wall. “Are you insane? I have to work with these people.”

  “Too bad,” he said, glaring across the waiting room at Chris. “He has a hell of a lot of nerve asking you out right in front of me. Who the hell does he think he is?”

  “He’s my friend and co-worker,” she said, gripping his forearm, trying to draw his attention away from the other man. “You made it clear that you don’t want anything to do with me, so what gives you the right to decide who I date?”

  He sat back, folding his arms across his broad chest. “You’re telling me you’re actually dating that loser?”

  “Chris is not a loser, not that I should have to defend him to you. Why would you even care?”

  He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “If I find out that you’re sleeping with some other guy after you went to so much trouble to get me into bed tonight, I’m warning you...”

  She felt a wave of apprehension render her speechless. The guy she remembered was sweet and considerate, not hostile and domineering. Ten years was a long time. He had obviously changed a lot, and she wasn’t sure she was brave enough to uncover the man he had become. “Look,” she said, setting the clipboard down on the vacant chair beside her. “Maybe this was a bad idea. You said yourself you’d never be able to trust me again. I was hoping I could convince you to let go of the past, but it’s obvious that’s not going to happen. I think it’s time for us to accept that.”

  He stared at her a long time before responding. “It’s that easy for you, isn’t it? You’ll just move on with your life and pretend that tonight never happened?”

  She sighed. “I don’t know what you want from me. I’ve said I’m sorry about what happened with Craig that night, but you don’t seem willing or able to forgive me. Obviously, we can’t be friends, but I’m hoping we don’t have to live the rest of our lives as enemies.”

  He hooked a finger in the direction of the front desk and asked, “Are you sleeping with that asshole?”

  Dropping her head in her hands, she tried to find the patience to make him see reason. “Whether I am or not is irrelevant. You don’t want me, remember? You said the fact that we had sex tonight doesn’t change anything between us, so we just go back to life as it was before this happened. Isn’t that what you want?” She looked into his eyes, hoping to see some sign of hesitation. No matter how hurt or angry he was now, if there was even a hint of hope that they could work through their issues and find happiness on the other side, she was still willing to take the risk.

  Glaring at Chris, he said, “Yeah, that’s what I want.” He looked at his battered hand. “Let’s fix this up; I want to get the hell out of here.”

  Dave cursed himself for allowing petty jealousy to have this effect on him. Imagining her spending the weekend with some other guy was eating him up inside. “You heading home now?” he asked, knowing that even in a small town, predators lurked to take advantage of women who ventured out alone at this time of night.

  “Yeah, I guess so. I was planning to spend the night in Brant, but obviously that didn’t work out.”

  He stared at her, trying to memorize every feature of her gorgeous face. She looked back at him through the eyes of the girl he used to love, yet she wasn’t the same girl he remembered. She was older, more mature; hell, she was a doctor who dealt with human tragedy every day. That could break even the strongest person. He knew from personal experience; the things he’d seen had left him a shadow of his former self. Like the time they had to use the Jaws of Life to extract a newborn baby from a burning mini-van, but they’d been seconds too late to save her life and he’d had to face her grieving parents’ utter despair.

  “You okay?” she asked, setting aside the tools she’d used to mend his wounds.

  He knew this would probably be the last time their paths crossed, but he wasn’t ready to let her go just yet. “I was just wondering if you ever regret your decision to become a doctor.”

  Smiling, she rested her hip against the exam table and crossed her arms. “Well, I get calls at all hours of the day and night, rarely have a day off, have probably been called every name in the book by patients in the throes of pain…”

  He returned her smile, thinking that falling into the comfortable rapport they used to share was too easy. Some nights they wouldn’t sleep; instead they’d stay awake all night talking, either on the phone or spread out on a blanket in the cab of his truck watching the sunrise. She knew him better than anyone back then; maybe she still did. He’d never felt comfortable enough to confide in anyone like that before or since. “But?”

  “But I wouldn’t trade my job for anything. I get to save lives. It doesn’t get much better than that.” She pushed off the bed, setting the tray on a nearby table. “We’re done here. You can hit the road now.”

  Grabbing her wrist, he wished he could find the words to express what he felt. He had so much he needed to say, and time was slipping away. He wanted her to understand how much she’d hurt him back then. He wanted her to know that she still had his heart and probably always would. “Let me follow you home.”

  Frowning, she said, “You don’t have to do that. I don’t live far from here.”

  “Please,” he said. “I’d feel better knowing you were safe.”

  Reaching up to stroke his beard-roughened cheek, she smiled. “You always were over-protective, Briar. Nice to see some things never change.”

  If he’d done a better job of protecting what they’d had back then, maybe they’d still be together, living out the life they’d dreamed about as kids. He’d trusted her and Craig without reservation, and it still killed him to know they’d betrayed him. He couldn’t deny his feelings for her were as strong as ever, but he didn’t think he could ever learn to trust her again, and without that foundation, there could be no relationship.

  “A lot of
things have changed, Maya,” he said quietly. “Hell, who are we kidding? Everything has changed.”

  She broke free of his grasp, turning her back on him. “I guess you’re right. We’re not the same naïve kids who believed that love was enough to conquer any problem, are we?”

  He knew now that naivety came at a steep price, one he wasn’t willing to pay again. “No, I haven’t been that guy since I walked in on the woman I loved fucking my best friend.”

  Her eyes darted to the partially open door. She rushed to close it then leaned her back against the wood panel, glaring at him. “I don’t think this is the time or place to talk about this, do you?”

  He knew talking about it wouldn’t change anything, but the words had festered inside him for too long, like a tumor eroding his body. “You’re gonna listen to what I have to say, whether you like it or not.”

  She closed her eyes and she tipped her head back. “Fine, but can we discuss this at my place? I’d rather my co-workers not be privy to my private conversations.”

  “Isn’t it your boyfriend you’re really worried about?” Just spewing the world was painful; it tasted vile on his lips. That title was once reserved for him. He was hers, she was his, and the whole damn county knew it. Now to the casual observer, they were merely acquaintances. No one would ever guess they’d once meant everything to each other.

  “I’m not going to argue with you here, no matter how much you bait me. I’ll give you a few minutes to settle up your bill. I need to get something from my office.”

  He watched her walk out, wishing things weren’t so strained between them. He didn’t want to fight with her, but he couldn’t help himself. He finally had a target for the anger and frustration that had gnawed at him for the past ten years. He couldn’t suppress it even if he wanted.

  Wandering down the hall to the admissions desk, he overheard her boyfriend treating a patient in one of the exam rooms. The good doctor was, without question, her type, certainly more than he ever was, and that irritated him to no end. In the back of his mind, he’d always wondered why someone as beautiful and smart as Maya would ever settle for him. He was a small-town guy with modest dreams while she was the girl voted most likely to succeed. And she had succeeded. She was a doctor, saving lives every day, enjoying the company of a man who was her equal in every way.