Chapter Eleven
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“W hoops, hold up there a second.” Bristol stopped her patient to adjust the back of her hospital robe and do up the ties more securely to cover the back of her. Then for good measure, she slipped another over top of it, with the front facing the opposite way. “Can’t have you giving everyone in the hallway a thrill with a free peepshow. It’d be anarchy.”
The elderly woman cackled as Bristol helped her forward and handed her the quad cane she used for stability. “Never know, they might enjoy it.”
“Probably some would, yeah, which is exactly why I wanted to protect your modesty.”
“You’re a gem.”
“I try.”
“All right,” Ethel announced, shuffling for the door Bristol rushed to open. “I’m off. See you next time, dear.”
“You bet. I’ll be here,” Bristol said brightly.
As soon as she closed the door behind Ethel she stood there for a long moment, eyes shut. So far, today’s shift had sucked.
Ethel had been coming in for regular scans and ultrasounds since her first irregular mammogram three years ago. She loved to joke around, seemed to enjoy chatting with Bristol during their appointments, and her good humor had been a godsend for not only her, but all the staff who came into contact with her as well.
Yet despite everything modern medicine had done for Ethel—initial detection of the cancer, the mastectomies, chemo and radiation and all the hell that came with them—it had bought her time, but ultimately hadn’t been enough to save her.
The cancer was back with a vengeance. Previous ultrasounds showed it had already spread to her lungs and liver. Today, Bristol had found a large metastatic tumor on Ethel’s T7 and T8 vertebrae that confirmed the disease had spread to her bones.
It sucked. Sucked so bad.
Ethel had taken the news from the radiologist with a stoicism that had made tears prick the back of Bristol’s eyes. Even though she had to already be in terrible pain. And even though she must be terrified of what was coming.
Bristol opened her eyes, swallowed the burning lump in her throat and pulled herself together. This was part of the job. There were more patients waiting. She could cry later if need be. She needed to keep working on coping with the hard parts in a healthy way. It wasn’t something she’d mastered yet.
She texted Cassie quickly. Up for a beach walk later and some wine while we watch the sunset together?
The response came moments later . Sounds so romantic, but I’m not into you like that. Sorry.
Ha. Cute. You don’t do it for me either, btw. Well?
I’m tied up at work for a while yet. Text you when I’m free.
She sent back a thumbs-up, pushing back the stab of disappointment. She was a big girl. She could get a glass of wine at the pub by herself and watch the sunset after if Cassie couldn’t make it.
After tidying the ultrasound room and clearing her head, she put on her professional demeanor and went out into the hall to get her next patient.
The rest of her shift passed quickly. She finished only a few minutes late, said goodnight to the radiologist, and made her way to the staffroom to get her things. Outside, the summer air was balmy and warm, the sun slanting rays of deep gold through the tall evergreens on the bank above the west side of the parking lot.
She got into her car and drove straight into town instead of going home to change, and parked in the lot beside the Sea Hag. The gorgeous weather had lots of people out enjoying the beach.
The bar was busy inside as usual, but she managed to find a table in the corner by the wall of windows overlooking the beach. In the distance, the sun was a huge orange circle almost touching the water, casting its brilliant rays across the waves. Attempting to put Ethel from her mind, she ordered a large glass of white and the summer salad that came with local organic greens, fresh peach slices, heirloom tomatoes, chilled prawns, and a sprinkling of toasted, chopped pistachios.
She let her mind wander as she enjoyed her meal, all the crisp, cool ingredients, an explosion of flavor and textures in her mouth. The tide was out, exposing a wide expanse of damp sand for people to walk along. She stared out at the hypnotic, rolling waves hitting the edge of it, her mind going back to Ethel. Then Eric.
And TJ.
She thought about how incredible he’d looked all cleaned up. She almost hadn’t recognized him, but that full, neatly groomed goatee and short haircut really did it for him. Or really did it for her.
She wondered how he was. Whether he was settling in, and how the job was going. She wanted him to succeed. Wanted him to be happy here. Maybe one day when he felt more comfortable, they could even be friends and hang out on occasion.
Or maybe they would even have a glass of wine and watch the sunset together.
“Will there be anything else for you?”
She blinked up at the server standing next to the table. “No, I’m—Actually, you know what? I think I’ll have the dark chocolate tart.”
The menu said it came with a fresh puree made of local raspberries and Chantilly cream. How could she pass up that combo? She deserved a rich, comforting dessert after the day she’d had.
“Good choice. Coming right up.”
Bristol scanned the room idly as she sipped her wine, and her heart jumped when her gaze landed on a familiar figure sitting at the bar with his back to her.
She resisted the impulse to call out his name or go over to say hi, contenting herself with watching TJ instead. He seemed to enjoy being a loner. And based on their previous interactions, she was fairly certain her presence wouldn’t be all that welcome.
He was sitting all alone at the bar as he finished his meal, watching a ballgame on the TV. The back of him looked almost as good as the front did, with those broad shoulders tapering down to a strong back and a tight behind. His snug T-shirt clung to the muscles across his shoulders and down either side of his spine. Construction was definitely working for him too.
“Here you are.” The server set her dessert in front of her. “Enjoy.”
“I will, thanks. Hey, can you do me a favor? Add that gentleman’s tab to mine? The one in the black shirt at the bar.” She indicated TJ with a nod. “But don’t tell him it was me. Just say it’s been paid for.”
“Sure. I’ll be right back with the bill.”
Her dessert was presented beautifully and probably tasted as amazing as it looked, but she was too distracted by TJ to enjoy it properly. It was gone before she even realized it, and then the server was there with the bill and the card machine. Bristol paid the double tab and was just finishing the last sip of her wine when TJ stood and reached into his back pocket for his wallet as if he were going to pay his own bill.
The bartender leaned over and said something to him, probably that his bill had been paid.
TJ stopped, then looked around.
Oh, shit.
She quickly looked out the window. But too late. He’d already spotted her.
And when that dark gaze landed on her, she swore it got harder to breathe.
She smiled at him and raised a hand to give him a friendly wave, ordering herself to stop getting all fluttery over a guy she didn’t even know. Not really.
Except it felt like she did. And she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so attracted to anyone.
His expression was just short of frosty as he slowly turned and made his way toward her. Her heartrate sped up, every feminine cell in her body sitting up at attention. “Hi,” she said before he could, because she was nervous and couldn’t stop herself. “Just stopped in for some dinner?” She took the final sip of wine, her mouth suddenly dry.
He nodded, his gaze moving over her lilac-colored scrubs and lingering on her chest for an extra moment in a way that made her pulse trip. Although to be fair, maybe he was looking at her ID badge, and she was just a dirty bird. “Did you pay my bill?”
She swallowed twice to get the wine down. “I—”
“Look, I appreciate the thought, but I don’t need any more charity from you. You’ve done more than enough already.” He opened his wallet as if he was going to take out money to pay her back.
“Don’t. Please.” Blood rushed to her cheeks. He wasn’t being rude, but she was embarrassed for making him uncomfortable. And it was so incredibly annoying to be attracted to someone who was so cold to her. “It was nothing, really. And you weren’t supposed to find out it was me.”
Something close to amusement warmed the inky depths of his eyes. “But I did. And it wasn’t that hard to figure out.”
She grinned. “No, I guess not. I’m not exactly stealthy.” She waved his money away. “Seriously, please.”
“All right,” he relented, although she could tell he felt awkward accepting it. “Thanks.”
“My pleasure. Here, please sit.” She gestured to the empty chair across from her. “I promise I won’t make any more demands of you.”
He hesitated a moment, then pulled the chair out and lowered his long, lean frame into it. Up close, the size and power of him hit her all over again. She tried not to stare at the bulge of his biceps or the roped muscles in his forearms.
And those eyes. Dark and rich as black coffee, rimmed with thick black lashes. The full goatee looked amazing on him, framing his mouth and giving him an almost dangerous edge. It was hard not to stare at his lips, too, or wonder what they would feel like on hers. Hard and masterful, she bet.
Yep, you’re a dirty bird.
She mentally shook herself, a little amazed that he’d accepted her invitation. “So, how are things? Getting settled okay? Job’s going well?” She hadn’t meant to fire three back-to-back questions at him like a machine gun, but she was all nervous and jittery.
“Things are good.”
The answer was vague, but his voice was as gorgeous as the rest of him. Deep and dark enough to send a pleasurable shiver up her spine. “I’m glad.” She was thrilled that he’d taken the opportunity to turn his life around.
“You work at the hospital?”
“Yes. I’m an ultrasound tech.” And she could sure use some company after the day she’d had.
“Ah. So you...scan babies and all that.”
“It’s a common misconception that we do mostly OB scans. We actually do a ton of other things like check for tumors and gall or kidney stones, clots. Today I did a scrotal scan.”
He winced.
“Good thing, too, because this poor guy had a testicular torsion that required emergency surgery.”
Oh, God, the look on his face. “That sounds...eventful.”
“Yes. I assist with prostate and breast biopsies too.”
Humor glinted in the depths of his eyes. “What kind of hours do you work?”
She shrugged. “It varies. Mostly I work regular day shifts, but we all do the occasional weekend and take on-call shifts too. I got called in last night due to a perforated appendix.”
He nodded but didn’t say anything more.
Now that they’d exhausted the obvious small talk topics, he didn’t seem interested in keeping the conversation going, which wasn’t exactly a surprise. Time to change the subject, because she didn’t want him to go yet, and she was sure he was itching to.
“Isn’t the view amazing?” She glanced out the window, shook her head to try and clear away the vision of that hard body pressing hers flat against the wall. Or a bed. “I’ll never get tired of it. Not sure if you’ve had much of a chance to explore yet, but about a half mile down that way, there’s a trail that winds up into the woods, and there’s a fantastic lookout point at the top. Do you like hiking?”
Eric had loved it, but then Rangers were pretty much always outdoorsy-types.
“I don’t mind it.”
Jeez, he really sucked at making conversation. “Or the lighthouse. There are great trails leading up to it too. You should definitely check it out while the weather is good.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” His stare held hers, setting off a rush of heat deep in her belly.
She took a hurried sip of her water. Why was her throat so damned dry all of a sudden?
He eased back in his chair a little, finally seeming more relaxed. And good lord the man was nice to look at. “So how come you’re eating over here in the corner all by yourself?”
She shrugged. “Needed a change of scenery and a decent meal after work, and Cassie was busy. So I took myself on a date.”
He nodded once and kept studying her, and something about his gaze made it seem like he could see inside her head. “Tough day at the office?”
Okay, he was perceptive. “Yes, actually. But the view, the meal, and the last-minute company have done the trick.” She toasted him with her water glass.
“You sure it’s not the wine?”
Her lips twitched at his dry humor, glad that he was thawing out a little. “A glass or two of wine never hurts on days like this.”
He looked away from her to glance around the bar, and as though someone had flipped a switch, his expression shifted. The warmth she’d glimpsed in his face disappeared in an instant, replaced by an unreadable mask. “Well, I should get going.”
“Of course.” She tried not to feel dismissed.
He stood. Paused to look down at her for a second, and a tingle rippled through her. “Thanks for dinner.”
“You’re welcome. Bye.” Her gaze lingered on him until he disappeared out the door.
Bristol let out a sigh and finished her ice water in a single gulp. It did nothing to cool the sudden heat suffusing her body.