Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
C HARLIE
It’s been one hell of a day to be working the ambulance. It’s only four-thirty p.m. and Finn and I have done back-to-back emergency calls since we got on shift this morning. We’ve just dropped off our most recent patient in the ER and are getting ready to leave when we run into Annie as she’s walking out of her office. She’s Assistant Nurse Manager at First City ER and soon to be marrying Jack.
“Hey Fitz, Finn. You guys have been keeping us busy today,” Annie says.
“Don’t we know it.” I smile at her. “Glad to see you’re getting out of here at a decent hour tonight, though.”
Annie works her tail off for this place and she’s often still here when we bring patients well after she should be off for the day.
“Yeah, we have our girl’s night tonight, so I had to make sure I got out at a decent hour.” She looks at Finn. “You know Shayna will give me shit if I’m late.”
Finn chuckles. “Yeah, she will.” Shayna Donley is full of sass and spirit.
Though they had a rough start, Shayna and Finn have recently become an item and I’m happy to see it. I’ve known her a long time since she’s Emily’s best friend and she’s already had her share of heartache in the love department. The woman deserves to be happy.
“We’ll walk out with you. Maybe you can protect Finn here from all your flirty nurses. It embarrasses the poor guy.” The teasing is clear in my tone, yet Finn still blushes.
“I swear I don’t do anything to encourage them.” Finn directs his comment to Annie, and she just laughs.
“Don’t worry Finn, I know you don’t. Anyone with eyes can see how bad you have it for Shayna.” Finn’s face grows even more red, as do the tips of his ears now.
I grin. Poor guy has the kind of good looks that garner him attention no matter where he goes, and it makes him uncomfortable when it’s pointed out.
Clearly trying to change the subject, Finn asks, “Shay said you’re trying the new Mexican restaurant in Meadow Creek tonight, right?”
Damn, Emily and I have been saying we were going to go try that place, but we haven’t done it yet. Now she’s going with her friends.
“Yep. Emily’s choice. She’s been wanting to try it and she’s seemed a little off lately, so we let her pick.” Annie shrugs.
“Off? She okay?” I hate I don’t know, but Emily has been acting weird with me since the night Trina and Ben showed up at her house. She hasn’t answered my calls and when I text and ask her if she wants to get together, she has something else going on every time. I haven’t seen her in almost two weeks—which is not normal for us anymore—and it almost feels like she’s making excuses not to see me.
“Yeah. Just not herself for a few weeks now. She put the house up for sale last week, so Shay and I thought maybe it was that, but she keeps saying nothing’s wrong. Anyway, bottomless margaritas will hopefully cheer her up. You guys are going to Jack’s bachelor party tomorrow, right?”
I nod and Finn says, “Yep. We’ll be there.”
By now we’re almost back to the ambulance, so we say goodbye to Annie, load our stretcher in the back of the squad, and climb into the front to return to the Fire Station.
I can’t believe Emily didn’t tell me she officially listed the house. What the hell?
Lost in my thoughts for a few minutes, I wrack my brain, trying to figure out what I might have done that night to upset her. I can think of nothing. And I miss her. A lot.
The only good thing about having so much alone time is that I’ve made a ton of progress in my master bathroom. It’s almost done except for the tub, which was a special order and should be in next week.
I pull my phone from my pocket and type out a text to Emily.
Me: Hey, Finn and I just saw Annie at the hospital, and she said you’re all going to the new Mexican restaurant. Sorry we never got there. I know we talked about it.
It’s a few minutes before she responds.
Emily: It’s fine. I know you’re busy.
Me: Me? Not really.
After several minutes, she still hasn’t responded to that, and we’ve arrived back at the station. As Finn backs the ambulance in, I send her one last text.
Me: Have fun tonight. Be safe.
Emily: Thanks.
I shake my head as Finn and I walk in and head to the kitchen.
“What’s wrong?” Finn asks.
I just shrug. “Nothing. Just a little confused, is all. Can’t figure something out.”
Finn stops walking. “Confused? I’ve been working with you for eight months now and you always know what to do. Is there anything I can do to help?”
I eye him for a moment. He is dating Emily’s best friend and Shayna and Emily are about as similar as two peas in a pod. Maybe he can give some advice.
“Do you tell Shayna everything?” I ask.
“What do you mean? That sounds worrisome.” Finn chuckles nervously.
“I mean, if I talk to you about Emily, and it’s nothing that will hurt her, can I trust you not to share it with Shay? Because, believe me, those two keep very little from each other and I can’t risk Emily getting more upset with me.”
Finn smiles widely and any nervous tension that was on his face disappears. “Nah, that’s bro code stuff. I wouldn’t tell her those kinds of things if you ask me not to.”
“All right. Walk with me to the backyard so I know Garcia and Jones won’t overhear us. I don’t need their two cents.”
When Finn and I get out to the station’s outdoor area, we take a seat across from each other on the picnic table. I look around and realize it’s a gorgeous day out today. The sun is shining, the temperature is pleasant, and birds are chirping—a sure sign that summer is almost here. We’ve been so busy today I failed to appreciate how nice the day was until now.
“So, how do you figure out what you did wrong when you know Shayna is mad at you, but you aren’t sure what for?”
Finn cocks his head at me and narrows his eyes. “Well, sometimes I just ask her outright. But then if she says she’s fine or that nothing is wrong and I push, I risk making her angrier. So, there are times I just need to wait until she’s ready to tell me what’s bothering her. I’m guessing this is about Emily. Maybe she’s not even upset with you. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on, and maybe I can give better advice.”
I sigh. I hate this as I’m not used to having to depend on someone else for help or input, but I’m really at a loss about the Emily situation right now. So, I spend the next ten minutes telling Finn about everything I can think of from the time Emily was last acting normal around me until now.
“So, do you think maybe she’s just busy and isn’t really mad or upset with me?” I ask, hopefully.
“Oh, no, man. She’s definitely at least upset, and maybe mad. And you’re positive you didn’t have a fight? Even a small one.”
I shake my head. “No fight. Things were literally great one minute and changed the next.”
“Well, in my experience, when women are giving me signals that something is wrong, they’re usually either angry at something I did or said—sometimes even something I failed to do or say—or they’re hurt or freaking out about something. If you’re pretty sure nothing happened to make Emily angry and it’s unlikely she’s freaking out, my bet is that something hurt her. You just need to figure out what it is.”
I run my hand through my hair, frustration mounting. “Why can’t she just fucking tell me? We’re friends. We should be able to tell each other if something’s bothering us.”
“That, brother, is where dealing with women stumps most of us. We process things differently. It’s what keeps things interesting, but also makes them confusing as hell sometimes.”
“So, if I’ve already asked her if she’s upset with me and she’s said no, I just have to wait her out until she’s ready to tell me what’s wrong?” God, I feel like I need to be taking notes on this.
“Pretty much. Though you could do a preemptive apology by telling her you’re sorry if you did something to make her angry or hurt. But only if you mean it.”
“Of course I would mean it. I’d never want to hurt her. And I have no idea what I might have done to make her mad. I don’t want to lose her friendship.”
“That’s good to hear, man. Just tell her that and then try to be patient with her.”
Before we can say anything else, our radio goes off, alerting us we have yet another emergency medical call. Finn throws his head back and sighs. “Geez, it’s just not gonna stop today, is it?”
We both rise from the picnic table and head to the garage to get back in the ambulance. “Nope. Doesn’t look like it will.”
When we get into the ambulance, I start the engine and pull out of the garage. I turn to Finn. “Hey, man, thanks for the advice. I appreciate it.”
“Anytime.”
I reach across my seat and pat him on the shoulder. Then I flip the lights and sirens on and we’re off to the races again.