Chapter 21
Emma kept lookingat her watch. It was nearly two in the afternoon, and she had another patient to see. Her dad was in the office today. Brenda, his nurse, was there too. Three of them in the office at once and it was broad daylight.
But she couldn’t get over the thought of Simon shoving that note under her door. Seth had called to tell them there was a person who’d entered the building and went to the second floor, who bent over and pushed a piece of paper beneath her door, but he’d worn a hoodie and sunglasses.
He knew about the cameras, and he’d been taunting them.
Emma had looked at the still shots and knew it was him. She didn’t have to see his face.
He hadn’t come back over the weekend. They knew for certain because the only notifications were for her, Blaze, and Chance entering and exiting the building. Blaze had installed the app on her phone so she could get the notifications too.
Blaze had taken her to One Shot Tactical on Saturday and started her self-defense training. He said they weren’t waiting for an official class to start, and she’d been fine with that. She wasn’t ready for pistols yet, but he’d taught her how to get out of a hold, what to do if someone tried to choke her—from the front and from behind—and how to take down a full-grown man with a few well-placed blows.
She knew the pain points in a human body. She knew how to find the ulnar nerve and how to drop a man to his knees with it, but she’d never had to. Nobody had to explain to her the result of ramming her palm straight up into a man’s nose, or what her thumbs could do jammed into eyes. It was brutal and gruesome, and she rebelled as a doctor whose mission was to help people, not hurt them.
But Blaze kept putting her through the paces, kept hammering the idea into her that when it was her life or someone else’s, she had to choose hers.
Of course she did. She knew it. When Simon had held the gun to her head that day, she’d frozen. She never wanted to freeze again. She wanted instinct to take over. That’s why she drilled again and again. That’s why there were bruises forming on her arms and legs and why her butt was sore from falling onto the mat so many times.
If Simon came for her, she wanted to be ready. She would be ready.
After Emma finished with her last patient, she was making notes in the file when her dad knocked on the wall beside the open door.
“Hey, Daddy. Everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine, honey. Your mother wants me to ask you to come to dinner tonight. I told her it’s very last minute, but she said to ask anyway.”
Emma couldn’t help but smile. “She knows how to text, right? I know she does because I’ve seen her do it.”
“She thinks you can ignore a text easier than you can ignore me.”
Emma gave a snort of mock outrage. “I would never ignore a text from her. I might not be able to answer right away, but I’d get there eventually.”
“Same difference to her. What do you say?”
“I can’t tonight. I have plans.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Do you now?”
She swallowed. Uh-oh. “I do. With a man, so you tell Mama that. She’ll forget all about dinner.”
“Or she’ll tell you to bring him,” he said with a wink.
“No, no. It’s too soon. Meeting the parents is serious stuff. I can’t ask a man I just met to have dinner with my parents.”
“Understood, pumpkin. I’ll smooth it over with your mama. Keep her off the scent for a while longer.” He hesitated, and she knew something else was coming. “Though somebody told her they thought you were kissing a man in the Dawg Friday night.”
Emma’s heart dropped. “Really? Who was it?”
“Who told her? Or who you were kissing?”
“Uh, both?”
“Not sure where she got the info if I’m honest. But the man was allegedly Blaze Connolly.”
Busted.
“Isn’t that interesting?” she said, her face heating.
Her daddy smirked. “It is. Especially to your mama.”
“Oh brother,” Emma muttered.
Her dad laughed. When he didn’t say anything else, or move to leave, she met his gaze again. It was clear from his expression that he had something else on his mind.
“I’ve been meaning to ask, honey… Is everything all right?”
Her stomach turned over for a different reason. “Everything’s fine. Why? Did I do something wrong?”
He held up both hands. “No, honey, nothing like that. You’re a fine doctor. I have no problem with your treatment plans or anything you’ve done here. Brenda brags about you so much I’m beginning to feel like the third wheel.” He chuckled as he said that part. “You’re quieter and more serious than I’m used to, that’s all. I know life can give us sorrows as we grow older. I also know that being an ER doctor in a trauma center had to have given you experiences you can’t quite forget. The fact you’re here at all, that you wanted to make this move, has me worried that something is going on and you aren’t telling me.”
Emma’s throat tightened. She didn’t want to worry him, and she definitely didn’t want to worry her mother. Blaze and the One Shot guys had Simon handled. If she thought he was a danger to anyone but her, she’d tell her dad everything. Instead, she chose her words carefully.
“I loved working in the ER, but I was also tired of never having time to live my own life.”
Very true, which she’d only realized lately. It was nice not to work doubles, to get enough sleep, to have a regular social life. To not lose patients because their bodies were too damaged by their injuries.
She went on. “When you said you were thinking of retiring, it seemed like a chance to make a change. It’s a big change, though. I guess maybe I’m still struggling a bit with that.”
He nodded. “I understand. But I always thought working in a trauma center was your dream.”
His hair was grayer these days, and the lines on his face were more pronounced. He still had that youthful sparkle in his brown eyes, though. John Sutton was the kind of man who walked into a party and had everyone gathering around him because he drew them like flies and always had.
That was the thing she didn’t have, the thing that was going to make taking over the practice more challenging. If it was only a matter of skill, she’d nail that.
It was more, though. It was that empathy and kindness that radiated from him. The gentle manner that had people willing to talk about their troubles and what pained them. She could learn a lot from her father.
“I thought so too. But four years sometimes felt like forty. And I can still make a difference here, like you have.”
He sighed then. “You’ve always wanted to save people, pumpkin. I just wanted to say that if you’re doing this for me, to make it easier for me to retire, then maybe it’s not the right thing to do.”
The lump in her throat grew. They never spoke about what was behind her drive to help people, but did they need to? From the moment her mama had found her baby brother not breathing in his crib, Emma had wanted desperately to fix him. She’d thought, with the wisdom of a nine-year old, that maybe if she became a good enough doctor, she could fix other people, protect other families from the soul shattering grief that’d gripped her family for so long.
Emma stood and hugged her daddy tight, pressing her cheek to his chest. Hearing his steady heartbeat was the kind of comfort she needed right now. His arms went around her and tightened.
“I’m fine, Daddy. What we want changes as we learn new things about ourselves and others. I’ve realized that emergency medicine is only one way to serve.”
And that was the God’s honest truth.
He hugged her a little bit harder. “Okay, Emma Grace. But maybe you could find a part-time position at one of the bigger hospitals nearby, keep your skills up while working with me. You might even want to specialize. I’d understand if you did.”
“You’re supposed to be retiring.”
“Maybe I could go part-time, too.”
She leaned back to give him a look. He chuckled.
“You look just like your mother when you do that. I meant part-time with time off for travel. When we’re home, I could help out.”
“We’ll talk about it. But you’d better talk about it with Mama first.”
“I will.” He kissed her forehead. “You about done for the day?”
“Yep. Just finishing up these notes, then I’m going upstairs to get ready for my, uh, date.”
It felt funny to call Blaze a date, but she certainly couldn’t say she was temporarily living with him.
“Do I get to know the name of this lucky guy? Assuming it’s not Blaze, of course.”
Her heart thumped. “Never you mind. I need to see how it goes first.”
“Fine, fine. But if this mystery man gives you any trouble, he’ll have to answer to me.”
“Don’t worry, I’m signed up for one of those self-defense classes at One Shot Tactical. If he gives me any trouble, I’ll drop him to the ground and make him wish he’d never met me.”
Her dad arched an eyebrow. “One Shot Tactical, huh? What brought that on?”
Emma’s face flamed. She’d said too much.
“Mama mentioned they taught classes. I thought it was a good idea.”
Her dad studied her a little too closely. “Who’s the instructor?”
Dammit.
Emma shrugged. “It was Blaze the first time. Could be any of the guys though. I think they take turns teaching the class.”
“That right? You should have called your mother. She’s been talking about going since they opened.”
“Honestly, I didn’t think she was serious. Plus it just kind of happened.”
“Before or after you kissed Blaze in the Dawg?”
“Oh my God,” Emma groaned. “You’re as bad as Mama.”
Her dad laughed. “For the record, your mother is dead serious about a lot of things. You most of all.”
He winked before he turned and walked away.
Emma dropped into her chair, put her head on the desk, and groaned one more time for good measure.
* * *
Emma: Don’t show your face in the office. Wait for me on the stairs.
Blaze: What happened?
Emma: My mom had my dad ask me to dinner. I said I couldn’t because I had a date. I didn’t know what else to say! He said to bring the date over. I said no way, it’s too soon to meet the parents. So he can’t see you waiting for me. Plus someone told them I kissed you in the Dawg on Friday. Small towns!
Blaze: You’re ashamed of me.
Emma: This is serious! Don’t tease me. You don’t know my mother. She’ll be planning a wedding and wanting to know how many kids we’re going to have. It’s bad enough she knows about the kiss.
Blaze: Is ten too many?
Emma: *facepalm* You’re not helping.
Blaze: Just winding you up, Sunshine. I won’t show my face. I’ll text you from the stairs so you can skulk out like a teenager hiding from her parents.
Emma: I’m not hiding and I don’t skulk.
Blaze: Sure thing, kiddo. See you soon.