Chapter 11
Fuck.
That one word hammered in my head as I left the hospital, every step toward my car weighted and tense.
I knew Haley was a nurse, but I didn’t know where.
I assumed she’d followed in her mom’s area of expertise, maybe working with babies and kids in a pediatrician’s office, or even L they had moved north for a job transfer, which worked in my favor because they wanted it done as quickly as possible, so they’d priced it to sell.
Thanks to my preapproval and Morgan’s mom’s experience with quick closings, I was almost in after three weeks.
The final inspection was that day, which is why I stopped by after leaving the hospital.
If everything went well, my closing was next Friday.
I’d also been given pre-possession, so I’d already started bringing in boxes and stacking them in the living area.
When I walked inside, I saw the inspector standing in the kitchen, and he glanced at me. I nodded in acknowledgment. “How’s it going?” I asked, extending my hand to shake his.
“Good,” he answered with a nod. “Everything looks good, and is good to go.”
“So, that’s it then?”
The man nodded. “I’ll send the report over to the insurance company, and a copy to the attorney, as you requested, so they’ll have it for your closing.”
“Great. Thank you. I appreciate it.”
I spent the next few days packing up what little I had in my parents’ house.
Most of my stuff from when I moved back home was in storage.
That weekend, I went through it with Gabe, Lucas, Wes, Morgan, and Callie.
Morgan nearly had an interior designer’s heart attack when she saw what she called my “dumpy” furniture.
She all but begged me to let her “help.” For some reason, I agreed.
I gave her a small budget to work with—I wasn’t in the market to max out credit cards on new stuff—and she said she’d take care of it.
I started work that Monday, but not in the ER.
The first week was just orientation and onboarding bullshit.
I wasn’t complaining, though. I was out by five, which gave me time to sort and pack, and I had more time to prepare to work alongside Haley.
But I’d be glad when the week was over and I could actually get back to patient care.
I was given permission to leave a couple of hours early on Friday to make it to my closing, and by four o’clock, I was officially a homeowner.
Saturday morning, I was at my house along with Gabe, Lucas, Callie, Wes, and Morgan, who all came to help me get settled.
I felt a mix of gratitude and anxiety, still running through everything in my mind.
My parents were out grabbing the last of my stuff from the storage unit to bring over for me, along with lunch for everyone, since I still needed to stock up on groceries.
Morgan was a damn machine. She had the new furniture set to be delivered that day, and when they arrived, she was barking orders, telling them exactly where to put things and how to angle them just right.
“See what I have to put up with?” Wes quipped as we walked through the front door carrying some boxes.
When I looked at him, he was staring at her like a lovestruck idiot, a soft grin plastered on his face. Amused, I shook my head. “Yeah, you look like you’re really suffering there, buddy.”
Lucas barked out a laugh at my words from the kitchen, where he and Callie were unloading utensils and small appliances.
“I heard that Wesley.”
“Ugh, not the government name bullshit. You know I was only messing, Princess.” She gave him a playful smile over her shoulder, and Wes chuckled before turning to follow me down the hall to my room.
I dropped a box onto the floor in front of my closet while Wes opened the one he’d carried up.
“These are all what appear to be scrubs.”
“Just leave them there. I’m going to wash all of them tomorrow since they’ve been boxed up. They’re the same color, though, so I can use them at BG.”
Wes nodded, shoving the box off to the side. “You glad to be getting back into it?”
“Yeah,” I answered as I took the sneakers from the box I carried and put them into my closet. “I didn’t realize until I was introduced to some of the staff one day by the medical director, but I’ll, uh…I’ll be working with your sister.”
I wasn’t sure why I said it. As soon as the words left my mouth, there was an awkward tension that only I could feel. It was like an elephant in the room that I needed to address—even if it left me uneasy.
“That’s right! You know, I didn’t–” He cut himself off with a laugh. “When you told me you got the job there, my head was so fucked with everything happening with Morgan, it didn’t even register.”
“Yeah, I saw her sitting at the nurses’ station. I knew she was a nurse, but I didn’t realize that’s where she was working.”
Wes chuckled. “She fucking loves it there. She thrives on that kind of chaos. She’ll be staying there as an NP once she graduates.”
My brow furrowed. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Wes said with a smile. “They love her so much there, they made a position just for her.”
“Damn.”
That was an interesting tidbit of information. They didn’t typically make positions like that out of thin air for just anyone. She must have had a hell of a rapport with the other physicians and the medical director.
“Well, good. Since you’ll be working with her, when you two work together, you can keep an eye on her.”
I lifted my gaze to his. “I’m—I’m sure she doesn’t need anyone keeping an eye on her.”
“I just mean an extra set of protective eyes. I’ve heard stories from her about some of the patients that come through there, especially on the weekends, like drunk guys trying to get handsy with the nurses and shit like that.”
A sense of irritation crept in at the thought of some drunk guy pawing at her—or any of the other women, for that matter. I knew the kinds of things female nurses and doctors dealt with in the ER. I’d seen it firsthand before.
“Well, yeah. I mean, obviously, I won’t let anything happen if I can help it.”
Wes smiled, clapping me on the shoulder. “I’m glad she’ll have you there looking out for her.”
And there was my guilt bubbling to the surface again, a heavy, uncomfortable knot forming in my stomach that wouldn’t let me forget.
Because I was pretty sure he’d be singing a different tune if he knew what happened between us.