Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
Trevor
Iturn my head to the sound of a low whistle.
Carter walks into the garage, admiring my work. “You’re making progress, I see.” He peers over my shoulder. “Chassis reinforcement. Nice. Those subframe connectors fit like a charm.” His head shakes in amusement. “It still blows my mind how you remember how to do all this shit.”
“There’s a lot I don’t know. How much did you help me?”
“A bit. We’d spend a day on it here and there when you were on leave.
You’d pick my brain about every little thing.
And once I showed you how to do something, you’d never have to ask again.
Your brain is like a damn sponge, man. I guess that’s what made you a good doctor.
” He runs his hand along the brace I just installed, checking its integrity.
“Speaking of that, how’s the paramedic training coming along? ”
I straighten and lean against the front quarter panel.
“Great. I’m just about done. I go in later this week for my final neuropsych testing.
” I knock on my head. “They want to make sure I’m cognitively intact.
I’ve completed all my credits, passed the test, and finished the hands-on training.
Fingers crossed, by this time next week, I’ll be riding in a rig saving lives. ”
“You say that, but I’m sure you won’t see the carnage you were used to treating overseas.” He shifts uncomfortably. “I mean, not that you remember it. Either way, I’m sure most EMS calls in this tiny town probably have more to do with hangnails and gastroenteritis.”
“You’re not wrong about small towns lacking the car accidents and traumatic injury calls that exist with larger populations.
Still, you’d be surprised at how many of them are for things like falls, burns, or blunt force traumas.
But generally, yeah, we’ll get called for things like respiratory distress, abdominal pain, chest pain… ”
“Again… how do you know that?”
I laugh. “I don’t know. I just do.”
He pulls over the greasy rolling stool and sits. “I’m sure you’re tired of hearing this question, but I gotta ask. Do you think your memory will ever return?”
I cross my legs at the ankles and stare at the ground, slowly shaking my head.
“Honestly, I’m not expecting it to. If it does, great.
But I won’t hold my breath. And I’m moving forward as if it’s not going to happen.
I can’t try to live in a past I don’t remember, so I’ve made it a point to only look to the future. ”
“You’ve changed, my friend.”
I raise a brow. “Care to enlighten me, Cruz?”
“I get that you aren’t the old you—and you might never be, even if your memory returns—but in the past month, you’ve kind of renewed my faith in mankind.
I was questioning it for a while there when almost every conversation with you was an argument.
And then you went off the grid…” He tilts his head, studying me.
“I told you once that I envied your relationship with Ava. Well, that envy has turned into pure unadulterated jealousy now.”
“Come again?”
“Admit it. After the accident, you didn’t know her from the girl next door. Yet here you are, living together in a new place, looking all smitten around each other like you’re sixteen again. It’s made me a true believer in soulmates, bro. And damn if I don’t want to find what you have.”
“You really believe in that soulmate shit?”
“I didn’t. I do now. How could I not, seeing the same two people fall in love twice?”
He looks at the time, gets up and goes to the cabinet containing the whiskey, and pours us each a shot.
I lift my glass. “May this shot be like your favorite ride… smooth and powerful.”
He looks a bit astonished that I remembered the toast.
I point to myself. “Not just a pretty face.”
He laughs and we down the shots. I set my empty glass on the roof of the Charger. “If we’re soulmates, how come we haven’t said those three little words yet?”
His eyebrows shoot up. “No? Really?”
“I may have alluded to it a few weeks ago. I think I could be in love with her. But I’m not sure. It could just be the excitement of a new relationship.” I shrug. “And all the sex.”
“Dude.” He elbows me. “For Christ’s sake, say it.”
I huff in frustration. “Wouldn’t saying it this soon only make her think I was forcing it?”
He shrugs. “What the hell do I know about relationships? My dance card dried up and blew away a long time ago.”
I narrow my eyes, confused by his statement. “I’ve seen you out and about with women.”
“Yeah, well, a guy’s gotta scratch the itch every once in a while. But I have Christian to think about. And then there’s this bar you and Ava have set. It’s sky high, man. It’s a lot to live up to.”
I grab our two glasses and take them to the garage sink, rinsing them out. Then I wash the grease off my hands and grab my jacket. “Go get cleaned up,” I say. “We’re supposed to meet the guys at Donovan’s in thirty minutes.”
The guys.
It’s strange to think that in a matter of weeks, I have this whole new life. A wife. A house. A baby on the way, and now… guys.
And apparently the guys are an even wider circle of friends than I had before.
Before—or so I’ve been told—it was mostly Carter I’d hang out with, and mainly because of the car.
And occasionally Jaxon Calloway. Now, my circle has expanded to include Carter’s two brothers, Lincoln and Dax, Regan’s husband, Lucas Montana, Ava’s assistant manager, and sometimes Jaxon’s brothers.
I’ve even spent time with Hudson McQuaid, if only to pump him for information about the medical community in Calloway Creek.
Like most other people in this town, I don’t take sides. And whether or not I did before, I really don’t care if their name is Calloway, Montana, Cruz, or McQuaid.
Lincoln and Dax are at the usual table on the patio of Donovan’s Pub. The heaters are out as it can still get chilly at night in late April.
Dax lifts his chin as I approach, then waves his hand at the server to bring another shot.
“We’re celebrating Linc’s second anniversary with Tiffany.”
I give Lincoln a funny look. “Uh, shouldn’t you be celebrating it with Tiffany?”
A shot of tequila gets placed on the table in front of me.
“She’s away on business,” Lincoln says, holding up his glass.
“Believe me, we’ll be celebrating later via FaceTime, and then again when she’s back in town on Friday.
” He cocks his head in my direction. “I guess you’re all too familiar with cybersex.
Bet you and Ava did that shit all the time.
” He catches himself and looks guilty. “Ah, hell, maybe not. Sorry, man. I forgot.”
I shrug and take my shot. “Story of my fucking life.”
“Look at the bright side,” Dax says. “You’ll get to experience internet sex again for the first time.”
I shrug, thinking he’s onto something. “Once I start working twenty-four-hour shifts, do you think I can talk her into it?”
Then again, maybe I don’t have to. Considering I spent a significant part of the last decade overseas, maybe we have done it before.
“Talk who into what?” Jason says, coming up behind me.
“Trevor here was just wondering if he and Ava will have cybersex when he works overnights.”
Jason cringes. “Hey, that’s my boss you’re talking about.”
I hold up a defensive hand. “Hey, that’s my wife we’re talking about. And I’m not sure I like any of you twatwads thinking of her in that way.”
“Twatwads?” Dax says. “What are you, thirteen?”
“Apparently.” I tap on my skull. “Got a lot of catching up to do, you know.”
Jason laughs. “At least you’re joking about it now.”
Waves of guilt wash through me as I remember biting his head off the first time we met. “Yeah, well, if you can’t beat ‘em…”
“Nobody has been joking about it, man,” Lincoln says. “Sure, we’re all talking about it. But only because you’re sort of a legend around here now.”
“I heard Leo Stoker joking about me when he didn’t know I was in the next aisle shopping at Truman’s market the other day.”
“Yeah, well, Leo Stoker is a twatwad,” Jaxon says. “I should know. He was one of my students, and some people never change.”
Carter, now freshly showered, is the last to join us. “What did I miss?”
“Well, let’s see,” Dax says. “It’s Linc and Tiff’s second anniversary. They’ll probably get each other off via FaceTime later.” He nods to me. “Trevor is considering cybersex as well, but doesn’t want to talk about it lest anyone here think of his wife naked. And Leo Stoker is a twatbag.”
Carter looks between all of us, eyes rolling, then motions for a round of drinks.
Yeah, I think I’m starting to like guys’ night.
It’s late by the time I’m walking home. I sneak in quietly, expecting Ava to be in bed already. But when I enter the living room, she’s on the couch, both hands on her belly. And she’s crying.
Oh, shit.
I race over and fall to my knees, phone in hand. “What’s wrong? Should I call Dr. Russo? An ambulance?” For a moment, I forget that I’m a trained paramedic, not to mention a doctor. When your wife is cradling her pregnant belly and sobbing big ugly tears, all logic tends to go out the window.
She grabs my hand, sniffling and smiling, and puts it on the side of her belly. “She’s moving. Can you feel it?”
Relief drains through me from head to toe as I comprehend that what’s happening is the very opposite of an OB emergency. “Holy shit, Ava, you felt it?”
She nods, more happy tears streaming down her face. I can’t wipe them away because both of my hands are glued to either side of her stomach.
“I’ve been sitting here for at least twenty minutes feeling little flutters. At first I thought it was gas. I was reading and felt something like tiny bubbles. Wait… oh my god, there it is. Can you feel it?”
I don’t move. I don’t talk. I close my eyes and concentrate all my energy on feeling through my hands.
“There it is again.” She moves one of my hands. “There.”
I try hard to feel something, but there’s just nothing. “I can’t feel it.”
She must see the disappointment on my face, and puts one of her hands on top of one of mine. “It’s okay, I’m sure you will soon. She’s still so tiny.”
I look up. “Give me a fruit or vegetable reference.”
She laughs. “Maybe an artichoke?”
I cock my head. “Babe, I’ve never eaten or seen an artichoke in my fucking life.”
She sighs heavily.
“Wait… have I?”
“You used to love my spinach and artichoke dip.”
I pull my hand out from under hers then bring her fingers to my mouth to kiss them. “I’d love to taste it. Will you make it for me?”
She nods, happy once again that I’m open to some things from the past. Which reminds me… “Ava? Did we ever have cybersex?”
Her eyebrows shoot up. Then she bites that sexy goddamn lower lip. “No… but…”
I can’t believe all it takes is a look from her to get my dick dancing. I trap her against the couch with my arms. “Oh, we’re going to. I don’t know when, how, why, or where, but it’s happening.”
I swear her pupils dilate. Then she swallows and says, “Sweet potato.”
“Sweet potato?”
“Surely you remember those.”
I chuckle, realizing we’re talking about the baby again. “Of course, but they come in all kinds of sizes.”
“You’re the one who wanted the food reference.” She runs a hand across her belly. “She’s about five and a half inches now.”
I hold out my hand, palm up, fingers outstretched. “She could fit in the palm of my hand. I know I’m a doctor and all, but it’s still amazing that you have this perfectly formed little human inside you, and all she needs to do is grow larger.”
“I know. I can’t wait to see her again in two more weeks.”
Still on a high from knowing the baby is kicking and seeing Ava so happy about it, I say, “You know what I can’t wait for?”
She cocks her head in question then squeals when I scoop her into my arms and carry her back to our bedroom, laughing and kissing me the entire way, telling me how much she loves my caveman side.
Yeah—I definitely think I could love her.