24
“You’re freaking out. You want to tell me why?”
Clara supposed getting grilled by Yoli was good practice for when her parents grilled her later. “I told you why.”
“I’m not buying it. Clara Wilder, worried about what the town will think of her? Not hardly.”
Clara sank into a chair at the kitchen table and buried her head in her arms. Then she took a deep breath and sat up to face the music. “I kind of have a thing for Jesse Flores,” she whispered.
“Believe it or not, I figured that out for myself.”
Clara nodded grimly. “I’ve always had a crush on him, but it’s gotten worse lately. And when he kissed me I just—I kind of let go and just kissed him back as much as I could.”
“Yesss,” Yoli whispered. “That’s my girl!”
Clara looked carefully over her shoulder before continuing. “And he jerked away from me, and he looked mortified , Yoli. Abject humiliation and regret.”
“You’re projecting,” Yoli whispered. “ You were mortified. He probably just looked surprised.”
“He pushed me so hard I almost fell. Then he and DeWitt started pounding on each other.”
“He pushed you out of the way, you dope,” Yoli whispered gleefully. “He didn’t want you to be railroaded by DeWitt. Did he kiss you back or not?”
“I don’t remember,” Clara admitted doubtfully. “It’s kind of a blur.”
“Well, I heard the story from about thirty people, and I’m telling you, not only did he kiss you back, you have that man to thank for keeping you out of the creek. And another thing, you need to give him time to process this change in dynamic. But he can’t do it right now. He’s out of his head.”
“Change in dynamic? What do you mean?”
“Well, have y’all ever been make-out buddies before?”
“No.”
“Change. In. Dynamic.”
“But he doesn’t want our dynamic to change! I just feel like I’ve ruined everything,” Clara whispered in despair. “What was I thinking?”
“You weren’t thinking, and neither was he,” Yoli whispered back. “That’s what’s so awesome about it. Now, stop being a little baby.”
Clara straightened and took a deep breath. “You’re right. This is nothing I can’t handle. Thanks, Yoli.”
“Glad to help.”
“I just need to think of something good to tell my parents.”
“My advice? Let him worry about your parents. Although, not knowing your secret family dysfunction, I may not be the best—”
“Oh, we worked that out over the weekend! I can tell you now,” she exclaimed, and Yoli made ramen noodles for them while Clara caught her up on the subject of Crazy Brittany, the problematic ex.
It was nearly midnight when she received a one-word text from the Colonel:
Status?
What was it Beck had always told her when they were in trouble? Answer fast; don’t make him wait. Stick to the truth and keep it simple.
Watching TV with Yoli.
She looked over at Jesse, who was sleeping hard in the recliner, and added,
Jesse’s a little concussed and he might lose a tooth.
Her father replied with a thumbs-up, and Clara breathed a sigh of relief.
Jesse disappeared from Yoli’s while she was asleep, but as she took her seat at her reception desk and prepared to start rescheduling all the day’s appointments, the front door of Romeo Family Health opened and he walked in, showered and shaved and probably smelling heavenly. His left arm was in a neat black sling, and his hair was damp from the rain.
“’Morning,” he said, catching sight of her.
She returned the phone to its cradle. “What are you doing here? Did you drive here in the rain with a concussion and one arm? Hopped up on pain meds?”
“No,” he said calmly. “I haven’t taken anything since last night. Went to the doctor this morning and she and I agreed that I don’t have a concussion.”
“That sounds legit,” she said sarcastically.
“She gave me a shot of lidocaine and cleared me to work. Offered me a ride in, which I declined because, you know, she’s crippled.”
“You could have asked the Colonel to drive you.”
“For some reason I didn’t feel like asking your dad for a favor,” he said dryly.
Clara felt her cheeks heating up.
“Anyway, I think I only had to make two turns the whole way here. I can do that with one arm. Bella went home last night, by the way. The little girl with the concussion? Peter texted me that they discharged her.”
She nodded mutely, knowing that she was staring at him, and trying to get her emotions in order. Her anger had mostly been a cover for her embarrassment, but both of those had faded in the night. She wasn’t exactly grateful, because she still felt he had acted unwisely, but she could not deny that he had gone to battle for her, and that seemed to be making him appear even more attractive than before. Which was not good.
“You should see the other guy,” he said, breaking the silence.
The last time she’d seen DeWitt, he’d been soaking wet, bloody-nosed and handcuffed, and Jordan had been loading him into a squad car.
“Jordan said that because of the fight at the bar last month, the judge will likely issue some kind of emergency protective order at DeWitt’s arraignment.”
“You talked to Jordan this morning?”
She nodded. “He stopped by Yoli’s. He seemed to think that DeWitt was attacking me last night, not you.”
“Yeah, I told him that,” Jesse admitted freely. “And no one could prove otherwise. We were standing together.”
“Yeah, we were,” she said thoughtfully, wishing she had any idea of how he felt about their kiss.
He didn’t look mortified, that was for sure, so Yoli had probably been right about her projecting that fear. Today he looked…curious. She wasn’t sure if that was any better than mortified.
“I don’t get you,” he said finally.
“I know,” she sighed.
“You didn’t happen to make coffee, did you?”
“Yoli’s making it now.”
“Great.”
“Your first appointment’s the rescheduled cancellation from last week. I’m glad you’re feeling well enough to come in,” she added politely.
“Thanks. Hey, I’m sorry things deteriorated like they did. Pretty sucky night, huh?”
“Yeah, totally.”
When he was gone, she blew out a big breath. Her cell phone rang, showing her mother’s number, and she braced herself and answered it. “Hey, Mom.”
“Clara, I just heard from the hospital. Can you let Jesse know that his patient came out of his coma last night? His doctor tells me he’s stable and the reattached leg is looking great.”
“Yes, I’ll tell him. That’s great news.”
“Thanks. How are you doing? I heard you had a rough evening.”
“Oh. I’m fine,” she said choppily. “I’m good.”
“Good. I’ll see you when you get home.”
“Okay. Do you need anything picked up?”
“Well, I have a grocery list for your father—”
“I can take care of it on my way home,” Clara said. “It’s raining pretty hard right now. I don’t want to make Dad go out.” And I’m not in any hurry to get home tonight, either.
“Well, I’m sure he’ll appreciate that. I’ll text you.”
“Okay. Bye, Mom.” she said, and hung up.
“What’s the great news?” Jesse asked from behind her.
She swiveled in her chair, and her heart squeezed at the sight of him leaning in the doorway with a cup of coffee. Pull yourself together! “Motorcycle patient woke up and he’s doing well.”
His eyebrows rose. “He woke up on his own?”
“I’m not sure. That’s what it sounded like.”
He looked happy. “Cool.”
“Yep.”
He squinted at her. “You’re doing that thing again.”
“What thing?”
“That thing you were doing last night. You’re acting all quiet and you have big, sad eyes.”
“This is just how I look.”
“No, you normally look like you’re plotting someone’s demise,” he explained.
She made a face. “I don’t know, maybe I’m tired.”
“If you have a headache, I can prescribe something.”
“I don’t have a headache.”
He came forward to set his coffee on the high counter above her desktop. She didn’t like how he looked like he was settling in for a long chat.
“I shouldn’t have kissed you,” he said seriously. “I didn’t realize it would upset you, and I’m sorry.”
His beautiful eyes, for once, were concerned for her, and…kind.
Fortune favors the bold , she reminded herself. “Did you like it?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Did you like it?” she repeated, feeling as if she might shrivel up and die if he didn’t answer the question. “Was it gross?”
He started to smile, and picked up his coffee. “Uh, no, it wasn’t gross.”
Relief flooded her. “Really?”
His smile grew. “Why, was it gross for you?”
The bell above the door tinkled delicately and a petite little woman in her seventies entered, accompanied by a tall black man who was built like a tank. He gave Clara a once-over and nodded approval, making her smile involuntarily.
She glanced up at Jesse and cleared her throat, saying quickly, “Good morning! How are you, Mrs. Nunez?”
“Good morning,” Mrs. Nunez returned brightly. “Dr. Flores, I brought you a covered dish. It’s my enchiladas. I can’t thank you enough for helping Felipe. He told me he remembers you talking to him while you were waiting for the ambulance to arrive. He said you told him everything would be all right, and it gave him so much peace.”
“Oh,” he said blankly, accepting the casserole from her escort. “Yes, I heard that he was awake. Wonderful news.”
“This is my neighbor, Charles,” she explained. “He drove me.”
“Would you like some coffee, Charles?” Clara offered him.
“Sure. Thanks,” he said.
“I’ll go get it,” she said, taking the casserole pan from Jesse. “Mrs. Nunez, you’re all checked in. Yoli will be right out to collect you and take you back.” And she was pretty sure that Yoli would notice, as she had, that Charles was not wearing a ring on his finger.