“Sorry if I seemed short earlier. Welcome to the hospital,” she said. “I didn’t know you were back.”
He nodded, knowing she was talking about his deployment. “I could say the same of you.” He stopped short of admitting to visiting her mom years ago. Besides, Shirley had probably already told her daughter about it.
“I’ve been back for a while.” She hesitated and then touched her left brow. “What happened?”
He wasn’t sure what she was talking about for a second then realized with a jolt. She’d noticed his scar. “Wrong place. Wrong time.” He didn’t actually want to tell her, and he wasn’t sure why. If she wanted to think he’d gotten into a bar fight or something, that was fine with him.
He changed the subject, nodding at the page in her hand. “Are you thinking of going to help?”
“I am, why?”
“Just curious.” Her voice was reawakening synapses in his brain in a way that he didn’t like. Synapses that suddenly couldn’t grasp the concept of “in the past.”
“With the devastation in that area, I’m sure there are some pregnancies that have been affected. I want to help, if I can.”
“Pregnancies?”
“I’m a labor and delivery nurse.”
That surprised him. “Do you regret trading being a vet tech for being a nurse?”
“There are always things to regret. But it seemed like the right thing to do.”
Her answer could have been taken right out of his own playbook. Hadn’t he done what he’d thought was right, only to discover later that he’d set Hollee up for a world of heartache? Luckily, he’d never had to deliver on the ultimatum he’d given Jacob in the months that preceded his friend’s death. “Will my going on the trip make things awkward?”
“It’ll be no different than working at the hospital together, right?”
Except if Clancy had known she was here, he would have given more thought to accepting the position. Would it have stopped him? He couldn’t honestly say for sure. And she didn’t know what he’d done back then. Just that he’d turned a cold shoulder to her a few days after that kiss. “True. Only I’ll be working on a different floor.”
He was still surprised that she was a labor and delivery nurse, although he wasn’t sure why. Having children wasn’t a prerequisite for working there or anywhere else. But it was a relief to know her face—as beautiful as it was—wouldn’t greet him every single day. Because the question that had beaten in his skull for years was: Had he done the right thing?
Jacob’s confession that he’d asked someone to the prom hadn’t been what had shocked him into silence back then. Neither had the fact that his friend had thought he was in love with that person. It had been the who behind the speech. Because it had been Hollee. Their Hollee. His Hollee. Only she hadn’t been his. One shared kiss did not a relationship make.
Returning to the present, he stood firm, meeting her eyes. “It doesn’t matter where either of us works, so don’t worry about it. If you’re worried about what...happened, don’t. It was a long time ago. Before you and Jacob ever got together, and it was obviously a mistake.”
At the swift look of pain that flashed through her eyes he went back and tried to soften his words. “Let’s just let bygones be bygones.” And like his retirement from the military, it was best if he just kept moving forward.
“Thanks for that, Clance.”
The shortened version of his name made him clench his jaw. Mainly because hearing it on her lips brought back memories that were better off forgotten.
And if he couldn’t forget?
No, he’d grown harder and wiser during his time in the military. And part of that included discipline. The discipline to compartmentalize areas of his life so that they never touched. If he had been able to do it then, he could do it now.
So he forced a smile that was less than sincere and said, “Nothing to thank me for. I’ve moved on. And obviously you have too.”
Up went her chin in that familiar stubborn tilt. Only he wasn’t sure why she’d feel the need in this case. He was giving her an out. And himself as well. There was nothing to discuss. Now. Or ever.
“Yes, I have.” She moved a hand as if to brush a strand of hair behind her shoulder. Except her hair was pinned up with a clip, exposing the long line of her neck. Nervous gesture? It didn’t matter if it was. “Well, anyway, the hospital is very fortunate to have you here. I’m sure I’ll see you later.”
He was sure she would. Only Clancy was pretty sure he’d rather just avoid her whenever possible. But if they were both going to help in the flood-damaged area, there would be no avoiding anyone. They would be working closer than they’d ever imagined possible.
And he’d imagined all kinds of “closeness”... Once upon a time. His jaw tightened. Why was all this coming up again? Was it the shock of seeing her after all these years?
That had to be it.
As she walked away he was pretty sure it was more than that. And that he was doomed. Doomed to dig up things best left in the past. Doomed to sleepless nights of hearing her whisper his name. But there was one thing he wasn’t doomed to do, and that was to dwell on the mistakes of the past.
No matter how difficult that might prove to be.
* * *
Hollee punched her pillow for what seemed like the thousandth time and tried to get her racing mind to take a break. God. Why did he have to land at Arlington Regional of all hospitals?
And why did they both have to volunteer for this trip?
She could stay in Arlington, except the thought of pregnant moms not having access to health care wouldn’t let her take the coward’s way out. If she’d stayed the course with being a vet tech, she wouldn’t be in this predicament. She’d loved her old job with a passion, except for one thing. Putting animals to sleep. She’d thought she could get past it with time, but while she had been relieved when an animal’s suffering was finally over, it had been the decisions made for financial reasons that had killed her.
She’d gone home in tears one too many times, although she’d known it wasn’t the pet owner’s fault in many cases. So she’d chosen to retrain, focusing on the human side of health care instead. There were still problems and things she didn’t like doing, but at least people could understand what was happening to them and, for the most part, they could have a say in the decision-making.
Adopting one-eyed Tommie was the last act she’d performed as a vet tech. Glaucoma had stolen the dog’s right eye, but it hadn’t stolen her life. Her elderly owners had turned her over to Hollee, knowing she was the dog’s best chance for survival, since glaucoma in one eye could attack the other at a later date, and they weren’t equipped to care for a blind dog.
Tommie was getting older herself now, but Hollee loved her fiercely. Two weeks away from her was a long time, but Hollee’s mom was going to stay at her house and keep her company while she was gone. And it wasn’t like she’d be in another country. Just a different part of Virginia.
Maybe sensing her turmoil, Tommie chose that moment to hop on the bed and nudge her hand before curling up beside her. She smiled. “You know you’re not going to get away with that when Mom is here.”
She draped her arm over the dog’s side and sighed. “But I won’t tell her if you don’t.”
With that, Hollee finally felt a blessed heaviness invade her limbs, and her mind began to shut down. When Clancy’s rugged face strayed a little too close, she nestled into her pillow, suddenly too tired to fight it off.
How could one person go from hot to so very cold and indifferent? She’d seen it not only in Clancy, but in Jacob too. A couple years after their marriage, he’d seemed to cool, and all the insecurities she’d felt after Clancy’s rejection had returned with a vengeance.
She’d have to work on that problem after she’d gotten some rest.
Maybe the
n she’d have the strength to throw all the demons of her past away once and for all.
Copyright © 2019 by Tina Beckett
ISBN-13: 9781488048333
Festive Fling with the Single Dad
First North American Publication 2019
Copyright © 2019 by Annie Claydon
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