Chapter Nine
“A re you ready to quit?” Connor asked Sierra sometime later.
“No, I’m about to have a breakthrough.”
“You’re about to fall on your ass. Again.”
“No, I’m no—” Her skates went out from under her and next thing she knew she was on her ass. Her very sore ass.
Connor offered his hand. He didn’t say anything else, but his expression said it all.
“Fine. But I’m not giving up.”
“Like that surprises me. I promise, we’ll go again soon, okay?”
Sitting gingerly on the bench beside the pond—which was a pond, no matter what the natives thought—she unlaced her skates.
“I’m hungry,” Connor said. “Want to go to the Main Street Diner?”
“I’ve been there for lunch but not dinner. It was good.”
“Dinner’s just as good. Next time we can go to the Graff or Rocco’s. Or maybe the steakhouse. But since we just finished skating, I thought the diner would be better.”
“Works for me.”
A short time later they were seated in one of the diner’s red vinyl booths and looking over the menu. The decor was old-fashioned with heavy red-brick walls and a solid wood floor. Red leather-covered stools waited at the counter, one of the locals’ favorite places to dash in for lunch, dinner, or the pie it was famous for.
“Obviously, you like ice-skating since you made me promise to take you again.”
“I do but I think my butt’s going to be very sore because it hurts now. Actually, all of me will be sore. I already am.”
Connor laughed. “You did really well. You took me out, but luckily everyone else escaped harm. You did well, especially considering it was your first time to try it.”
“I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
“Probably not.”
She laughed. “It was fun. But I want to get better. Should I see if I can take lessons?”
“Why? You have me.”
“You don’t mind teaching a beginner?”
He took her hand and smiled at her. “Not if the beginner is you.” Still holding her hand, he glanced at the menu. “The hamburgers are really good here.”
“Good. I want a hamburger, fries, and a chocolate milkshake. I’m starving.”
“I’ll have the same thing. That sounds good.”
He gave their order to the young, gum-smacking waitress. Brenda, her name tag read. “Be right out,” she said and disappeared.
“Do you think she’ll remember?” Sierra asked doubtfully. “She didn’t write it down.”
“Probably. It wasn’t a complicated order. Flo is the regular waitress but Brenda fills in for her sometimes. They wouldn’t keep her on if she couldn’t remember an order.”
A short while later she brought them their order. The correct one, Sierra noticed. They were both quiet while they ate, until Sierra slowed down. “About our deal—” She broke off, unsure what to say.
“Deal?”
“Pact. Bargain. Whatever you want to call it.”
“Oh, that. What about it?”
“Just because we went out doesn’t mean I’m ready for anything more than a casual relationship.”
“Okay.”
She waited but he said nothing else. “That’s it? Okay?”
“Our relationship or lack thereof is up to you.” He returned to eating his food. When he finished he asked, “Are you planning to eat the rest of your fries?”
She was talking about their relationship and he wanted to talk about french fries. “No, you can have them.”
“Thanks.” He scooped some off her plate onto his.
“If I want to take this slow, you’re good with that?”
He glanced up and smiled at her. “I’m good with whatever you want, Sierra. As long as you give me a chance.”
Give him a chance. That’s what she was doing, wasn’t it? His response was exactly what she’d wanted. So why was a tiny part of her disappointed that he didn’t at least argue about it?
But that disappointment was nothing compared to the one she got when he took her home. He drove to the apartments, parking in the garage, and walked her to her apartment. “Do you want to come in?” she asked.
“Rain check. Thanks for today.”
She smiled, waiting for him to kiss her good night. He smiled back, leaned down, and kissed her.
On the cheek.
*
Sierra and Connor worked together the next few days and Connor acted as if they’d never gone out together. He hadn’t even kissed her. Unless you counted that kiss on her cheek. Which she didn’t. All that did was make her remember kissing him that night in Las Vegas. Hot, endless kisses. What was he doing? Trying to drive her crazy? If so, it was working.
She’d been prepared to explain why she wanted to take it slow, not expecting him to push her about it, but she’d thought he’d at least make an argument that since they’d already been together there was no reason to wait any longer. She should be happy he was respecting her wishes. And she would have been if she hadn’t thought he had other reasons for not pushing. What they were, she didn’t know, but it sure as hell made her suspicious. Maybe he just wanted to tease her. He was sure as heck doing a good job of that.
She glanced at Connor, who, as usual, had his nose buried in a paperback, with the part he’d read doubled back over the part he hadn’t. No e-reader for him. “What are you reading?” she asked him through the helmet headphones.
“Huh? Oh.” He opened it up to show her the cover. Foundation by Isaac Asimov, she read.
“Science fiction? Really old science fiction?”
“I like science fiction. Old and new. The Foundation trilogy is a classic. Ever read it?”
“No. I’ve heard of it, of course, but science fiction is not my jam.”
“You should try it,” he said, and went back to reading.
She chuckled. Well, that put her in her place.
The patient they picked up in a very rural area of Montana, near the Absaroka mountains, was in bad shape when they reached him. It took both of them working frantically to get him back to the hospital alive. Along with an open fracture of his left femur, he arrested twice on the way, but they were able to resuscitate him both times.
“Think he’ll make it?” Sierra asked Connor after the hospital trauma staff took over.
He squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Maybe. I hope so.”
By unspoken agreement, they hung around for a while hoping for an update on their patient before they had another flight. Forty-five minutes later, Sean Gallagher, the ER doc they knew best, found them. Fortunately since they’d just gotten paged and were preparing to leave for the helicopter.
“Wyatt Gallagher is doing the surgery and Sam scrubbed in. She asked me to tell you two that they think he’ll make it. They can’t guarantee it, of course.”
“I’m so glad,” Sierra said. “Can you keep us updated? We have to go on another call.”
“Will do. I’ll text you when I have news.”
“You look happy,” she said to Connor as they walked out of the hospital to where the helicopter waited.
“I am. It’s nice when something goes right. Especially when it could’ve just as easily gone the other way. Let’s hope the next one goes well too.”
*
Connor was trying to decide whether to go cross-country skiing or snowshoeing on his and Sierra’s next date when his phone rang. Caller ID flashed the name Ryan. Ryan Hunter. They’d met and become friends in Afghanistan where Ryan had been a field surgeon and Connor a combat medic. They’d kept in touch sporadically since then. As always, Ryan reminded him of Casey and thinking of Casey came with mixed emotions. She’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could just as easily have been him. He’d been lucky. She hadn’t. She’d been all but gone when Connor brought her in. Ryan couldn’t save her. No one could have.
Of course he regretted her death. But he couldn’t forget the death blow she’d dealt to their relationship the day before she died.
After they both left the military, Ryan had gone into private practice as a trauma surgeon while Connor became a flight paramedic. Afghanistan had taken it out of both of them. He hadn’t talked to his friend in a while and wondered if he had a reason to call or just wanted to shoot the shit.
He shook off his depressing thoughts. “Hey, Ryan. How’s it going?”
“Not so great. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Work getting you down?” Ryan was a trauma surgeon at a large hospital in Denver and Connor knew he hadn’t been too happy with how things were going there recently.
“Not for long. I gave them my two-week notice.”
“Can’t say I’m surprised. Last I heard you weren’t too happy. Where are you going? I’m assuming you have a job lined up.” Ryan never stayed in one place long. Afghanistan, and what had happened there, had messed with his head. Ryan never stuck with a place; Connor never stuck with a woman. At least, not until he met Sierra.
“No. I’m looking around. Do you think Marietta needs another trauma surgeon?”
“I haven’t heard that we do but I can check. Even if we don’t there are several hospitals around here who might need one.”
Talking to Ryan made him think even more about Casey. Casey and Connor had been involved. Connor had been in love with her and while he knew she’d cared about him he was pretty sure she wasn’t in love with him. He didn’t find out why until the day before she died. She’d told him she was in love with Ryan, although he wasn’t in love with her. Connor had been poleaxed. And pissed. He didn’t like being a guy she was with only because she couldn’t have the one she wanted.
Either Ryan hadn’t loved her, or he’d backed off because he knew how Connor felt about her. But Casey, who was also a combat medic, had died. And neither Ryan nor Connor had been the same since.
He and Ryan had never really talked about it. About their service and what they’d seen. About Casey’s death and what it had meant to them. They sure as hell never talked about the fact that Casey had wanted Ryan. Either Ryan never knew how she felt, or he knew and refused to do anything about it. Connor thought it was the former. She hadn’t had much time to tell him before she died. When Casey died, and neither Connor nor Ryan had been able to save her, her death had messed up Ryan as badly as it had Connor. While Ryan might not have loved Casey, the three of them had been friends.
“Just FYI, Marietta’s a small town. Everyone wants to know or thinks they know everyone else’s business.”
“You grew up there, right?”
“I did. When I left, I figured I was gone for good. But after Afghanistan it started looking awfully good.”
“I grew up in a small town in Texas, remember? Don’t worry, I know what they’re like.”
“Okay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’ll call you when I find out if there’s anything available at our hospital. Meanwhile you might try some of the other hospitals in the area.”
“Sounds good.”
They talked a few more minutes and hung up after promising to get together if and when Ryan moved. He tried to put Casey out of his mind but sometimes he wondered if he was making a major mistake falling for a woman who might not be over her ex-husband. His experience with Casey didn’t make him anxious for a repeat performance.