5. Hazel
five
Hazel
I t's been six weeks since I started helping out at the bar two nights a week. Tonight is my last shift since Travis hired permanent help. I'm going to miss his grumpy moods along with Tanner's playful side. Not to mention how fun it is to make Tucker blush. I'm going to miss Turner most of all.
But he's put me in the friend zone. We laugh and joke—we've even gone skiing and to the movies. He even picks me up before work and drops me off after, but that's as far as it goes. As far as he's concerned we're just friends. Which should make my decision easy.
I stare at the emailed contract for my next travel nurse assignment on my phone, my finger hoovering over the signature box. It would be so easy to sign it and forward it on to my recruiter and leave Wintervale behind me like I've done with so many other towns, but I'm not ready to give up on Turner yet.
I flip to the second offer, an extension at Wintervale Hospital's labor and delivery department, but instead of it being with the nursing agency, it's a permanent job offer directly from the hospital. If Turner was actually my boyfriend, it would be the perfect job—but he's not. And I can't go on with the way things are. Someday he's going to find the one he wants to spend the rest of his life with, and I'll be a forgotten friend.
With a sigh I throw my phone on my bed and take one last look at myself in the mirror. If tonight is my last night working with Turner at the bar, I have to make my move. The one size too small uniform t-shirt with the extra added slit at the neckline, shows off my breasts more than ever—pair that with the short denim skirt and cowgirl boots and I'm ready to set my plan in motion.
A horn honks outside alerting me to Turner's arrival. I slip on my long winter coat covering up my new look. Normally I wear a baggy bar t-shirt and jeans, but tonight I'm shooting my shot with Turner, I need to look good enough to eat.
I grab my phone off the bed and stuff it into my purse, ignoring the two job offers. I have until Monday to make my final decision—for the next two days my focus will be on if I have a reason to stay or if I need to move on to another new town.
A sharp stabbing sensation lodges in my chest, something I've never felt before—a longing for something real—the fear of not having a future with Turner hits me harder than I ever expected.
Life on the road with my parents never seemed to bother me until this moment. What would it be like to have a permanent home, with a husband and more than one child to raise and love—not throw away once they reached eighteen years old?
With a deep sigh, I gather my purse and head outside to confront my future—praying it's one with Turner.