Chapter 5 #2
She moved his hand. “And here.” Forcing herself to break contact, she instantly mourned the loss.
His hands were surprisingly soft for a guy who worked outside for a living.
“You can also keep one hand on him for peace of mind. But it’s a good idea to check his position and that his head is still supported.
Krista swears up and down that this method is good for newborns, but she wanted me to tell you that there’s still a lot of disagreement in the baby-wearing community. ”
“In other words, do my own research and don’t sue her.”
Priya giggled again. “You already did the research, didn’t you?”
“He fell asleep on me this afternoon but woke up every time I set him in the crib.”
“Gotcha. So now when he naps, you can…” She glanced around at the house, and before he could notice her inspection, said, “You can rest.”
The mantel and end table needed a good dusting.
The kitchen garbage was tied and sitting by the front door.
He claimed he couldn’t get it into the trash bin, and if he set it on the porch, critters would be attracted to it.
Or his dog would get into it. Then there was the clutter.
Magazines spilled from the lower shelf of the end table onto the floor.
Baby blankets and burp rags were draped over the back of the couch and loveseat.
Diapers were piled by each piece of furniture like he changed Isaiah wherever he discovered the boy was wet.
The state of his house wasn’t what she was used to. Her parents had built their house after they’d each landed jobs in Moore. It wasn’t much older than her, but it was newer than this place. And it’d been updated with the times and remodeled as desired.
Mom had even hired a housekeeper—after Priya left for school. Until then, she’d done the bulk of the cleaning. Devya was the artist. Not expected to hold up her end of the chores, she’d been allowed to be flighty and unreliable.
A beat of jealousy hit her. She busied herself with checking the wrap that went around Justin’s back. He bent and gently bounced on the balls of his feet as she did.
She wasn’t envious of Devya.
She hadn’t been. Until she’d started fearing for her job this morning. If she were let go before her probation was done, would she be able to get another job? Would her parents give her financial support like they did her sister?
Before she knew it, she was stroking her hands along the back of Justin’s shoulders, smoothing over the fabric, including some places where there was no baby wrap.
She snatched her hands back. “Sorry. I got lost in my head.”
He peered over his shoulder. The move had the unfortunate effect of showing off his strong jaw and long, straight nose. Was it getting hot in here as well? “For a minute there, I wondered if you were going to charge me for the exam,” he drawled.
Another laugh burst out of her. “Only the deductible. I’ll waive the rest.”
“Now, Doc. I keep getting indebted to you.”
She folded her arms across herself, afraid she’d touch him again. “You don’t owe me. I’m happy to help.”
Justin turned to face her. Isaiah’s long-distance stare was the one he got as he drifted off, but the wailing would start soon. “I seriously…” He shook his head and looked away. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come every night and Brigit hadn’t taken over the ranch.”
“That was nice of her.”
He snorted, and his grin revealed even, white teeth, his incisors a bit longer than the rest. With his developing beard, he gave off the impression of a dangerous mountain man—in plaid pajama pants and a baby strapped to his chest.
Her heart rate kicked up a few notches.
“It’s getting the ranch back from her that’ll be the problem.” He wandered the living room, testing the wrap as he squatted and bent. This side of Justin was…endearing. A worse threat to her resolve not to crush on him again than his mountain-man appeal.
“She loves it?” Priya didn’t know Justin’s twin as well as she should for having gone to school with her.
Hanging around Maisy had taken care of that.
Priya should’ve realized the extent of the mean-girl tactics, but Maisy hadn’t appreciated her chiding and would limit her behavior when Priya was present.
And when she wasn’t, Priya had tried to help by letting Brigit know what Maisy might target, like clothing out of place or messy hair, but it had only come off as catty and insulting.
If she had a time machine… At least she’d apologized for it. If she had to move away from Moore for work, she wasn’t leaving without mending fences.
She nearly giggled at the ranching reference. Perhaps she’d been around Justin too long.
She’d take her chances.
“Bridge loves ranching more than Travis and I.” Justin strolled back to her. “He’s fallen asleep. Do I dare disrupt his equilibrium and lay him down?”
“Might as well get the night started.”
He flashed her another smile before he disappeared upstairs. Collapsing in a chair, she needed a moment to recover from his quick grin.
Her type was not Justin. Sure, she would’ve been president of his fan club had he not dated Maisy when they were teens.
But she still saw other people. Her prom date had been the captain of the speech and debate team.
And he’d played chess like a gangster. Then there was Dalton in college.
He hadn’t tolerated her dedication to studying very well, but he’d gone off to get his PhD in chemistry. Then there was Emmett.
Her whirlwind romance. She’d thought he was the one.
But he’d gotten a prestigious fellowship and then outlined how she wasn’t enough for him, not professionally and not personally.
She’d moved home, refusing to give up her dream of practicing by Dad’s side just because some dude with an inflated ego thought it was giving up the game before she lost.
Emmett hadn’t felt like some dude at the time.
It wouldn’t have been hard for her to move somewhere and start new.
Her family wasn’t the close-knit unit she’d wanted.
Grandma and Grandpa Saunders were tied to their business and had missed all of her graduations after high school.
Dad’s parents had moved back to London after he was through school, but they were getting older and traveling was too hard. She saw them every few years.
Priya rubbed her temples. Her problem had always been wanting more from her family than they were willing to give.
When Mom and Dad weren’t working, they liked to travel, and Devya was half a world away.
Between grandparents who showed interest in her life but never saw her, and another set who seemed to be okay with not seeing her even though they lived a few miles away, why had she moved back?
“So far, so good.” Justin bounded down the stairs. “I can’t believe he stayed asleep after I put him down. I thought my heart was going to burst when the door clicked shut.”
“Maybe it’s a sign he’s getting over colic.”
He paused at the foot of the stairs and glanced around, a small frown on his face, like this was the first time he’d noticed the state of his surroundings.
With a shrug, he pushed a hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up in different directions.
Was he not used to longer hair and how it behaved? And wow, look at the flex of his bicep.
“Want some wine or something?” he asked.
Wine? Have a drink, alone, with Justin Walker? Hadn’t that been her dream for years?
Silly girl. She’d been alone with him for the last few weeks. The reason why cast a shadow over the thrill of his offer. “Wine sounds great.”
“I promise the glasses are clean. Unless you want a beer.”
“Wine to celebrate a successful tuck-in sounds better.”
There was that grin again. The man had charm a county wide.
He went into the kitchen. She adjusted the collar of her sweater and let out a frustrated huff.
It didn’t matter what she looked like. Her outfit wasn’t any different than it ever was.
Cable-knit sweaters, leggings, and big fluffy socks.
Some nights, she felt glammed up next to Justin, but she’d never complain.
Those pajama pants of his rode low on his hips.
He entered, two full wine glasses sloshing in his hands. “I feel like there’s a hint of my old self coming back. But I don’t think I’ve ever drunk wine in pj’s before.”
“Boots and blue jeans instead?”
“Not quite.” He took a long sip and closed his eyes. Long, dusty-blond lashes feathered across his cheeks. “Ah. Now that’s the stuff.”
She tasted it, putting the glass to her lips. Sweet liquid flowed over her tongue. Smooth. Rich. This was good stuff. Like what she’d find in Mom’s wine fridge. “It’s really quite good.”
He’d laid his head back and shut his eyes, holding his wine on the armrest. He cracked an eye open. “Surprised?”
“Um…”
He chuckled. “Once upon a time, Priya.” Blowing out a gusty breath, he closed his eyes again. “I wasn’t always this guy.”
“What did you used to do? Maisy only said you were some big shot.”
“Big shot?” His laugh was full of derision. “I could’ve been, but my partner used me up and spit me out.” He winced, like he hadn’t meant to say that much.
Was that his type? Manipulators? Justin seemed like a confident guy with no interest in games. What did she really know about him? She wanted to know a lot more than she did. “And then you came back to Moore?”
“Yep.” He sat up and took another drink, sucking his lips against his teeth.
“Then I called Maisy. Look at me now.” He hid the bitterness well.
Did his family know any of this? “You know how you can’t live without someone and you promise them the world—until they close a deal worth millions and all of a sudden, you need to move on?
That was Gabrielle Hayes. It was supposed to be our company, but she maneuvered me out.
She was a shark in the boardroom; I don’t know why I didn’t think she’d be the same way in her personal life. ”
Or he didn’t think she’d be that way with him ? “You trusted the person you loved. It shouldn’t be a defect.”
He set his wine down. “I don’t have to worry about any of that anymore.” Sprawling in the chair, he let his arms hang over the sides. “Never again. I’m done with relationships. And women altogether.”
She averted her gaze from the way his long form stretched out in front of her. Done with women, huh?
Yet she was a woman. Here, helping him. His sister was helping him. Were women only bad when he wasn’t the one in control?
She should run long and far from a guy like him.
Wasn’t that what Emmett had been like? It was okay for her to sacrifice for his career, but he couldn’t be bothered with her needs.
The night she’d lost her first baby, she’d worked all night with the doctor she was training under.
The mom had labored for hours, then they’d done a C-section—and lost the baby.
In her mentor’s words, “We saved the mother, concentrate on that.” She’d held it together until she got home and collapsed on Emmett’s shoulders.
And he’d held her. For a moment. Then he’d gently tucked her into the couch so he could go get a good night’s rest for the liver transplant he was a part of the next day.
Logical. No patient should have to suffer for her breakdown.
Then logical became routine, until Emmett acted like her career was inconsequential next to his.
Like babies practically birthed themselves and if women had gynecological troubles, Priya could just do a hysterectomy and voilá. Problem solved.
And Dr. Bezos wondered why so many patients had sought her out when she’d started. She suspected he shared Emmett’s thoughts on women’s health.
But transplant medicine? To Emmett, he was God’s personal assistant, resurrecting people and giving them new life. And it still bothered her how much of a hole he’d left in her life when he’d moved away and told her she shouldn’t come with.
Some nights she dreamed of the chance to show him how she’d moved on, and especially how she wasn’t hung up on a man and catering to his every need. She snuck a glance at the rugged rancher sipping his wine in pj’s. At this point, she might have to pretend.