Chapter Nine
“Molly! Molly!” A distinctly male voice called out my name. “What’s going on?”
I blinked and wide-eyed looked up at several faces staring down at me. Jeremy. Sage. Elliot. The cop and, front and center, Derek.
“Molly?” Derek asked. “Can you hear me?”
I nodded.
I curled into a sitting position, feeling foolish but overwhelmingly exhausted suddenly. “What happened?” I wasn’t looking at the floor anymore; my question was directed at the people around me.
“Let’s get her onto that chair.” Derek pointed to one of the wingbacks.
Sage hopped up and cleared a path. With Jeremy’s help, who carefully lifted me from behind putting most of his strength under my right armpit, he got me onto my feet. After I sat in the chair, Derek squatted in front of me with his metaphorical doctor’s hat on as Jeremy tucked in beside me.
“How are you feeling?” Derek’s gaze volleyed between my eyes as he held my good arm in his and with a firm yet gentle pressure, pressed two fingers into my wrist.
I wanted to say fine—was I fine? No, I wasn’t fine. But I didn’t want them to think I was fragile. “Dizzy.”
“You fainted,” Derek said, shifting to place one knee on the floor. “Does that happen a lot?”
“A lot? How about this is the first time?” The words came out sharp, but I was too tired to care. I wanted to roll my eyes, but the motion only made the pounding in my skull worse.
Derek didn’t look offended, just … concerned. He still had that irritating way of looking at me, like he could read me but refused to acknowledge I wasn’t the same person he’d known.
“Pulse is weak and rapid. You probably had a drop in blood pressure. Could be for any number of reasons.”
The second Jeremy touched my arm, a quiet warmth spread through me. I shifted instinctively closer to him, just enough to feel his steady presence beside me. His touch was solid, reassuring. Unlike Derek’s cool professionalism, Jeremy made me feel safe like nothing else mattered but this moment. It was so simple. So darned easy.
Keeping my mental focus on Derek, I asked, “But the most likely reason?”
“Without a full proper assessment, I’d say it was your body’s reaction to stress or the medication.” His voice softened just a fraction. “It hasn’t even been ten hours since your emergency room visit. Your body needs time to heal. You should be at home, resting.”
Jeremy snorted softly.
I swallowed. I didn’t want to admit how much I wanted to rest. “If I don’t work, I don’t get paid.”
“I’ll talk to Nina and we’ll figure something out, but yes, you need to rest.”
I barely heard Elliot, too wrapped up in the conversation with Derek. His words were just noise. The reality was, I didn’t have time to rest. Not if I wanted to keep my independence. Not if I wanted to keep running away from the mess I had made of my life.
It felt like a sucker punch every time I said it. I had no choice, and yet, there it was. A little piece wanted Derek to fight for me—to tell me to stay home and let him take care of me. But I knew better.
“Did you take the pain meds Sherry gave you?”
I closed my eyes for a moment, wishing it could just all go away. I hated feeling weak in front of these people. I hated that Derek still thought he had a say in my life. I’d taken two last night which knocked me out, and another one this morning before I left.
“That explains part of your problem; they cause drowsiness. You shouldn’t take them if you’ll be working. Or driving. Didn’t she mention that?” He cocked an eyebrow and pushed himself up onto his feet.
I wanted to snap back at him—say something snarky. But the truth was, I knew better.
“She’s in your good hands, Derek?” The RCMP officer now asked him, sounding bored.
“Yes, of course.”
He stepped closer. “Alright. Consider this a warning.” What? No shaking finger? “No driving until you’re healed. Next time, you may get a ticket for careless driving.”
My swallow felt audible, did it sound that way too?
“Take it easy, Miss.” He gave me a quick wave before heading over to the counter to order from Annie.
One down, at least four more to go.
I inhaled sharply but released my breath slowly. Taking a long blink, I checked out Jeremy, who hadn’t said a word but remained hunched beside me, hand on mine. I was glad for his strong, silent presence.
Sage and Elliot both stepped away into Elliot’s office.
Two more down.
Annie appeared in my view and handed me a drink. “It’s a caffeine-free Never Bean Kissed Frappuccino. Would do you some good to have something in your system.”
“Thanks.” Although I made them daily, I had yet to have one. I put the straw to my lips and sucked. It tasted amazing. The spice in the chocolate was hitting all the right spots. “Never had a Never Bean Kissed.”
“Oh, you’ve been kissed.” A smug grin filled the doctor’s face.
Thanks, Derek. As true as that was, because Derek was a good kisser, it was inappropriate for him to have said that. Heat flooded from my core, splashed across my chest and face, and lapped right into my hairline.
Tipping my chin down, I then angled my head to see Jeremy. He was still perched on his feet, squatting beside me. Slowly, he linked his fingers through mine, all the while observing and studying me. Beyond that, his expression was unreadable, and it was frustrating as all get out. What was he thinking? Was he as uncomfortable as I was? Or was he trying to upset my ex-boyfriend again?
Jeremy lifted the Frappuccino straw to my lips. I swallowed another sip, and he set the disposable cup down.
“Thank you.” I inhaled slowly and did a quick personal assessment. Aside from the elbow pain, nothing hurt. I didn’t even have a headache. I was slightly dizzy still and felt a little weak, but other than that, I was okay.
Okay in the sense I wished I didn’t have two men surrounding me, waiting for something to happen. Derek needed to go so I could talk to Jeremy.
“Why are you here, by the way?” I asked Dr. Derek.
“I just finished my shift and wanted a maple latte to clear my head.” His tone changed from doctor to the nice guy role in a flash. He was good at playing his part.
“Oh?”
He tipped his chin down and his shoulders slumped. “Yeah. South Campus called early this morning and dropped some news on my lap.”
I held my breath, waiting for him to explain further. I assumed that was the place he was moving to at the end of the month.
After a few heartbeats, he spoke again and his gaze circled my face. “They refused my conditions and offered the position to someone else.”
Or maybe not. “They can’t do that, can they?”
He shrugged. “Apparently so.”
“Well, that sucks.” For him. For me too, because now my ex-boyfriend was still going to be around town. How long was I going to have to keep up the charade of dating Jeremy? Could we fashion some sort of public break-up? That always worked in the movies. Or did it?
Derek looked deep into my eyes. “But maybe it’s not the worst thing.”
My heart fluttered. Hard. My breathing also ratcheted up a notch.
Jeremy cleared his throat and tightened his finger-laced grip on my good hand.
Derek rose, a mask of seriousness once again shadowing his true feelings. “Well, I think you’re good to go home. Rest. If you take any more pills, don’t drive within twenty-four hours. Follow up with your health care provider in a few days.”
After a long lingering look, he sauntered over to Annie and placed an order.
“How you doing?” Jeremy’s voice broke the silence; he’d been so quiet until now. His words were low but steady, like a grounding force that kept me from floating away.
His presence was a constant. But it wasn’t enough. Not yet.
Twisting in my seat, I faced Jeremy. “Thank you.”
The words felt inadequate, but I had nothing else to give. I glanced at his eyes—his warm blue and brown mix. But there was something in them I didn’t understand. Was it concern? Or something else?
He inhaled deeply and released his breath. “For what?”
“Being here. Helping.” I whispered the words like they didn’t quite belong to me. I felt too exposed, too raw. I hated how this scene had happened, that he’d witnessed the cracks in my armour.
Jeremy didn’t say anything. He just nodded, as if he understood more than he let on.
I stood, my legs wobbly. His hand was right there to catch me if I stumbled. And I wanted to lean on him more than I should.
“I’m okay. Now to figure out how to get home.”
“Seriously?”
“What?”
His chest expanded, pushing out the tabs on the end of his hoodie ties. “I’ll take you home.” His voice was low, measured. He didn’t need to say more, because the weight of his presence said everything.
I slowly faced him. His eyes weren’t unreadable anymore. They were... searching.
My pulse quickened.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
For a moment, the world seemed to freeze. The air in the room was thick with unspoken words, unresolved feelings, and choices I wasn’t ready to make.
Then, from across the room, Derek’s voice broke through the stillness again. With a drink in his hand, Derek walked by slowly and stopped, as if pensively selecting his words. “Take it easy, Molly.”
I didn’t know how to answer, wasn’t even sure if I could, so I just stared at his back as he opened the door of the Coffee Loft and exited out onto the street.
“Wow.”
I whipped my head in Jeremy’s direction. “What’s that?”
“You still like him, don’t you?” His Adam’s apple bobbed.
My gaze returned to the tall, strong man before me. “Remember? I had been dating him prior to Wednesday until he admitted to using me to pass the time while he’s here.” I couldn’t help the sass on the tip of my tongue.
“Yes, you’ve mentioned that.” His focus flew out the window before landing back on me. “It’s clear he’s jealous.”
“What? He is not.”
“Big time.” A soft snort fell out of Jeremy. “He’s not fooling anyone, least of all me.”
“Wow, really?” I whispered.
I fought the urge to see if Derek was outside, patiently waiting for me, but instead, my attention stayed fixed on Jeremy.
What had he meant by that? And why did the idea make my heart race?