Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Matthew
Phil.
Evie texted Nick and I, filling us in on everything about Phil. Now, it was the middle of my shift at the hospital, my feet ached, my back ached, and I was ready to circle Whynot until I found Phil.
Nick was pissed too. He’d already sent me a dozen texts since Evie let us know what happened, and aside from being mad at Phil, he also was feeling the slight sting of not knowing Evie was in trouble immediately after it happened.
It was something I’d talk to her about once I was off, and I’d leave Nick to his own conversation.
I was glad Mateo was there, of course. It’d been lucky timing. But even so, the very thought of some strange man lurking around her set my teeth on edge.
My phone rattled in my pocket. I glanced around as I pulled it out.
Austin
Hey! What are you doing after work? Do you want to come over? I’ll cook you dinner.
Yes, I wanted to come over.
“Dr. Jacobs?”
I spun around as one of my favorite nurses came down the hall.
I made a mental note to text Austin back once she wasn’t hawk-eyeing me.
Angel kept everything on a tight ship. I may have been a doctor, but I wouldn’t make it through a single day without nurses.
And Angel was one of the best, but she would absolutely give me shit for texting right now, so I put my phone away.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Her expression tightened, her voice dropping low. “There’s a patient in room twelve. Kid with a broken arm. A neighbor brought him in, a teenage girl. The thing is, his arm has been broken for a few days. Sounds like the dad refused to bring him in.”
“How do you know it’s broken?”
Angel’s eyes narrowed. “Go take a look and let me know what you think.”
Fuck, that was not a good sign. “Okay. I’ll head right over there.”
“I’ll come with you. Maybe emotionally prepare for the worst situation. We’re gonna need CPS involved possibly.”
I exhaled slowly, letting my walls come up.
It was easy to say this was just my job and that I’d seen a thousand terrible situations come through these doors and it didn’t affect me.
But that wasn’t true. There were still patients whose situations haunted me, even years later.
Being in a cute small town didn’t exclude us from tragedy or from the worst of humanity.
I followed Angel to the room and drew in a deep, calming breath before stepping inside. A young boy was sitting on the bed, and the moment I saw his arm, my chest squeezed. A teenager sat in the chair next to the bed, wringing her hands together, her eyes wide. She must have been the babysitter.
“Hi there,” I said, keeping my tone friendly. “Riley and Sawyer, right? I’m Dr. Jacobs. Miss Angel here was just filling me in on the situation here today. Let’s get a look at that arm.”
It was swollen. Too swollen. Sawyer sniffled as I rolled a chair up to him. I offered him a soft smile. “Can I take a look, Sawyer?”
“Yes,” he whispered. He glanced over at Riley and she nodded. “Am I going to get in trouble?”
“No,” I said immediately. “You didn’t do anything wrong. We’re gonna get this taken care of, okay?”
Sawyer wiped away a few tears, then nodded bravely. “Okay.”
* * *
A few hours later, I washed my hands, changed into my regular clothes, and headed out to my car. The moment the door shut, I leaned my seat all the way back, my ears ringing.
“Fuck,” I sighed.
Today had gotten ugly. The little boy was going to be okay, hopefully. His mother lived in another state and he was just visiting his dad here. Apparently, this happened on his summer visit. We were able to connect with her, and everything had spiraled out from there.
Three fractures. At first he told me he fell, but eventually he told me the truth about his dad. We’d found more bruises too.
I let the emotions shake through me now and wiped away my own tears, exhaling slowly. It took a few minutes before I felt myself finally become regulated, and when my eyes opened, I noticed my phone on my car dashboard.
“Oh fuck,” I groaned.
I sat my seat up and grabbed it, reading Austin’s text again. I had others too from Evie and Nick, all unanswered. It sounded like Nick and Evie were going to watch a movie tonight, and I was invited, but . . .
Austin.
I massaged my neck muscles, trying to get myself to relax even a little. I still wanted to go over to his place for dinner. Hell, I wanted to finally talk just one on one about how everything was moving so fast and how quickly my life was changing.
He’d texted this a few hours ago, though.
I pressed the call button and leaned back in my seat again. It rang a couple times, but then Austin answered.
“Hi,” he said warmly. “How was your day?”
“Bad,” I sighed. “Really fucking bad. Sorry I didn’t text back earlier.”
“It’s okay,” he said immediately. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Well, no, but I will be. Can I still come over?”
“Of course. I didn’t end up cooking, but I have leftover birria ramen. Mateo and I had some at the fire station earlier.”
“Mmm. Okay. That’s perfect,” I said. “I’ll be over in a few.”
“See you in a few.”
The back of my neck prickled as I sat there. I frowned and scanned the parking lot around me. I didn’t see anyone, but I couldn’t shake the feeling like I was being watched.
Maybe I was just tired.
Shrugging it off, I started my car, all the tension melting the closer I got to his place. I pulled into Austin’s driveway next to his truck and hopped out. The moment my shoes hit the top step, his door opened.
“Hey.” His expression immediately softened when he saw mine. “Come here.”
Straight to his arms. He wrapped them around me as he pulled me inside and shut the door behind us, his body warm and comforting.
“I’m sorry today was hard,” he murmured. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” I exhaled. “It was a bad situation, and whenever it’s with a kid, it always makes it so much worse. He’ll be okay,” I added. “We got things sorted. But between that, an elderly man having a heart attack, and a few other things—it was a rough one.”
He leaned back, massaging my shoulders as he looked into my eyes. “I got food ready and I’m prepared to do whatever you want.”
“Oh?” My brows shot up as my mind immediately jumped to what he meant by that. It’d been a bad day, and thinking about being together gave me some relief.
His cheeks turned red. “Yeah. I mean. We could also just hang out and cuddle, but . . .”
“Hmm.” I curled my fingers in his shirt and tugged him down, his lips meeting mine.
This was exactly what I needed right now, especially after such a long day. I knew that I would have a good evening with Evie and Nick, but Austin was the rock I needed.
He melted into me as my arms wound around his neck, our kiss deepening. It wasn't until we were both breathless that we broke apart. I cleared my throat, giving him my first genuine smile in hours.
Finally, I caught the scent of food. My stomach grumbled, and he winked.
“Let's get dinner in you,” he said.
With my shoes off and keys hung on the wall hook, I followed him to his kitchen, looking around his house.
I’d been here a couple times, and I liked his space.
He certainly didn't have the same amount of games or books as me, but he still had a few random knickknacks here and there.
Pictures of him with his family, random sports gear, random tools. God, there were so many tools.
Austin put his hands on his hips when he caught my gaze wandering around.
“For the record, I like your place a lot better than mine. I think mine lacks character. I’m just not here too often and have no fucking idea how to decorate.
Every time I go to Avery’s house, I feel like I’m walking into a magazine. ”
I grinned. “Well, I wasn't going to say it, but it is a little bit boring. Which is surprising because you're not boring at all.”
“Are you certain about that? I find myself boring.”
“You’re not, I promise.”
We grinned at each other and went to the kitchen.
My steps slowed when I spotted the dinner table.
He'd really set everything out for me. Chips and salsa, along with a steaming bowl of ramen with birria on top.
There was a glass of fresh water with lemon in it, and he'd even put out a couple beers for us.
“Wow,” I said. “Princess treatment.”
“Obviously,” he said. “Do you want anything else? I can always run out and get something else if you'd rather.”
“Nope, this is amazing. I didn't expect you to have it all on the table ready to go.” I pulled out the chair and sat down, letting out the softest groan. I’d been on my feet all day. I tipped my head back with a happy sigh. “This is perfect, Austin. I promise.”
“Good. I’m happy you’re here.”
I lifted my head at his nervous chuckle. He settled into the chair across from me, and dammit, he was cute. That was the thing about Austin. He was handsome, yes. Hot? Yes. But more than that, he was cute, especially when he had puppy dog eyes.
“I'm still getting used to this,” he whispered. “Even having someone over in a way that isn’t just . . . a friend. I mean, we’re friends, but—”
“Now we’re more than friends,” I finished. Austin nodded. “I’m still getting used to it too. It’s all been amazing. It’s been a big life change for all four of us, though. Especially going from dating no one to dating three people.”
Not to mention, I’d had more sex in the last month than I’d had in my entire life. Everyone had a high libido and we were riding the energy of excitement.
My stomach grumbled again. I grabbed my fork and picked up noodles and meat, groaning once I took the bite.
Fuck, it was exactly what I needed. “This is so fucking good,” I sighed.
“I think all I had was a granola bar today.” I couldn’t even remember at this point.
Maybe some candy too? It’d just been one of those days.
“Do I need to start bringing you lunch? Because I will.”