Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Luch
“Easy one today, Dr. Carmichael.” Lynn, a nurse practitioner who often shared the same twelve-hour shift as I did, pulled on her coat, and stretched her arms over her head.
She’d been around long enough to know everyone in the hospital’s names, including their immediate and extended family members’ names as well.
“Aye, lucky enough.” I quickly glanced at the clock to make sure we were indeed done with our shift lest she jinx us, and car crash victims came rolling in. “Gave me some time to follow up on a few patients, make some extra notes on a few charts.”
“You’re so great at that.” Lynn’s approving smile made her sixty-year-old eyes crinkle, and it was welcome. “Most people don’t expect a call from the A&E doctor himself.”
“It makes less work for the nurses.” Sometimes admin could pile up on a doctor if we had back-to-back emergency situations, but I really did try my best, often staying after hours, just to make sure all my observations were noted for each patient, as well as examining any that I’d had additional concerns about.
The charting protocol was such that notes should be entered in real time, in order to help with any follow-up care or next steps for the patient, but there were times where we just couldn’t get to it.
“And that’s why we all love you.”
I smiled, patting her shoulder lightly as I passed, holding the door open for her as we stepped into the chilly night air.
“When are you going to start wearing a coat, Dr. C?” Jacob, the security guard, who was old enough to be my grandfather, shook his head at me.
“I told you I run hot.”
“That’s the truth of it, isn’t it, handsome?
” Nan, the night cleaner, blew me a kiss from where she chatted with Jacob.
Nan was almost as old as Lynn, but colored her hair to hide any grays, and wore cakey black mascara to make her brown eyes pop.
She fluttered her eyelashes at me, and I just grinned.
Her flirting was harmless, as she was happily married, and she complimented everyone who came across her path.
“New haircut, Lynn?” Nan asked.
“Just a trim.” Lynn patted her hair that I was certain looked the exact same as it had the day before.
“It’s nice.”
Lynn paused to chat, and I raised a hand in goodbye to them, trotting out to my car.
I wasn’t very good at small talk, at least at work, but did my best to mask it by always being polite and working hard.
In the end, that had won most people over and once my colleagues had gotten used to the fact that I was a quiet sort, they’d more or less let me be.
I never opened up about my personal life at work, nor with anyone really, as I found it just made my life run more smoothly.
I kept my work life in one box, and my home life in another.
It was easier that way, less complicated, and it allowed me to fully check out once I got home.
I let myself unwind on the drive home, my headlights slashing through the velvety night, not meeting another car on the thirty-minute drive back toward Loren Brae. Oftentimes, I’d listen to a podcast or put on soothing music on the drive, but today I craved the silence.
It gave me some uninterrupted time to obsess over my newest fascination.
One Dr. Faelan Fletcher.
I just couldn’t get her out of my mind.
Never had I been so instantly intrigued with someone.
Sure, I was attracted to her. I was a red-blooded male, wasn’t I?
And Faelan was gorgeous in the way of people that didn’t seem to know that fact about themselves.
Not that I didn’t think she was confident or aware of herself as a woman, but I sensed that she might not care that her unconventional, striking beauty lingered in someone’s mind.
It’s like being able to see the light from the sun even when you’ve closed your eyes.
Her skin flushed when she was nervous—a soft petal pink that warmed her face—and if you were close enough you could see the smallest smattering of freckles across her cheeks.
She didn’t like when I drew too close.
I made her nervous.
Which meant, she wasn’t unaffected by me. That or she was nervous about the secret she kept from me.
Or maybe not just from me—I shouldn’t give myself that much credit—but from the world at large.
Oban had told me what she was.
A healer.
Scoffing, I ran a hand over my chin as I pulled into the gravel lane that led up the hill to my cottage in the forest. Healers were the stuff of childhood fairy tales, and even if she was real, she certainly couldn’t do what I could do—with science as my backing.
Call me stubborn, or call me egotistical, but I was convinced that with the right tools and the right medical education, a person could work miracles.
I just couldn’t bring myself to believe that healing with magick could do the same.
It bugged me that Oban liked her so much.
It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in magick, not with Oban in my life, it’s just that I didn’t trust it.
Science I could rely on. Medical training I could believe in.
But magick? To heal? It was unpredictable, volatile, and there were too many hacks that royally screwed it up.
No, I’d stick to relying on what thousands had before me, with procedures and methods that stood up to medical scrutiny.
The dog in question trotted around the side of the cottage when I pulled the car up, the gate to the drive sliding closed behind me.
I’d installed a doggy door so he could come and go as he pleased while I was at work, and he knew where his bin of food was when he was hungry.
The only thing I couldn’t provide for him on my long days away at work was companionship, but he’d repeatedly promised me that, like me, he enjoyed his alone time as well.
Seeing him, I forced my thoughts away from Faelan, as she was an enigma I wasn’t going to solve in this moment. Or over a date, either, since she hadn’t yet taken me up on my offer.
“There’s my wee pal. How’d you get on today?”
“Well enough.” Oban bumped his nose against my hand, and I reached down and scooped him up into my arms, having no qualms about giving my buddy a cuddle. “Kept the rabbits out of the garden.”
“Och, they’re tenacious, aren’t they?”
“They’ll stay back. I consider it my duty to protect your plantings.”
I smiled as I carried him inside, flipping on a few lamps, and putting him on his favorite cushion by the fire.
“It’s late. Are ye wanting your tea or did you see to it yourself?”
“I wouldn’t say no to a wee bite.”
I smiled. Oban never said “no” to a snack.
But he was an active dog, and in good health, so I never minded giving it to him.
After a quick shower, I changed into comfortable clothes, and I turned my Sonos on and ordered up a chill playlist to listen to while I cooked.
I’d picked up some salmon fillets the day before that would be perfect with a little lemon and olive oil in a pan.
Digging them out of the fridge, I also grabbed some fresh asparagus and a few potatoes.
A simple meal, easy enough to prepare, and nothing that took too much energy after a long day.
Filling a pot with a little water, I tossed the potatoes in to boil, and then pulled out two pans, one for the fish and the other for the asparagus.
I enjoyed cooking, when I had the time to do so, and preferred simple, rustic meals. I didn’t eat meat, fish only, so that limited some of my choices, but made life easy for me.
Would Faelan let me cook for her?
I’d enjoyed having her in the cottage that one night, looking delectable in my shirt, cozied at the table. She’d kept her distance from me, wary, and rightfully so. She wasn’t heedless, which was another reason she was avoiding my invite to dinner.
“Have you heard from Faelan?”
Oban joined me in the kitchen, his pointy ears jutting to the side as he tilted his head at me in question. I chuckled.
“Nope. It’s only been a few days, but I’m going to follow up. If it’s a firm ‘no’ then I’ll have to back off.”
“Och, that must sting. Women don’t usually turn you down.” Oban made a soft huffing sound, his grunty wee laugh, and I slid him an annoyed look.
“We have chemistry. I can feel it.”
“Maybe it’s one-sided.”
I shook my head. It was my job to pay attention to people, to see if they were in pain, or hiding something. I’d felt, hell, I’d seen the spark of energy between Faelan and me.
“I don’t think so.” I added more water into the pan before dropping the asparagus in to cook. “But you may be right. I’m not going to creep on her if she doesn’t want to go on a date. I can accept rejection, you ken?”
“Not well.” Oban did his grunty wee laugh again and then took off across the room when I lunged at him, pretending to chase. He skidded to a stop, butt in the air, paws down, ready for a chase.
“One time, mate. One time.”
“You cried.”
“Och, I’ll get you for bringing that up.” With that I chased him around the house, and he took off running, looking over his shoulder with a cheeky doggo grin. I skidded to a stop by the stove where the asparagus sizzled.
“You’re lucky I have to cook, you clarty bastard.”
“Like you could catch me anyway.” Oban lolled on his cushion, watching me with his tongue out.
Laughing, I shook my head and turned to the stove.
Oban wasn’t wrong, but he was a wee shite for bringing up the one time I’d been head over heels for a lass I worked with.
She had left me all pie-eyed and tongue-tied around her.
I’d felt like a schoolboy all over again, with a crush on the prettiest lass in class.
We’d gone on two dates before the head of surgery had taken her on a helicopter ride over Edinburgh, and then she had been finished with me.
And I hadn’t cried. There’d just been a speck of dust in my eyes is all.
It didn’t much matter.
It wasn’t like I could have brought her home to my family.
I couldn’t bring anyone of my choosing home to my family.
It was one of the reasons I’d left.
I just wanted the peace to live life on my terms, doing a job that I deeply cared for, with a few hobbies in what little downtime I had. It might be a simple life, but it was free of family demands, and though the cost to live this way was high, in the end, it had been worth it.
My phone pinged with a text.
My stomach dropped. I didn’t need to hear from my father today. Or from one of my brothers. It was the same request, just phrased differently depending on who it was coming from.
Luch, I know you have a job there, but it’s time to put your foolishness to bed. You have a responsibility here and having spoken to Dad today, he’s worried about your protection. You’re unprotected and at risk without us, putting us in jeopardy. It’s time to come home.
“Subtle as a brick through a window, bro.”
Sighing, I flicked the screen only to see a photo with a bundle of flowers that I’d left for Faelan.
Are these from you?
I smiled, my mood perking, and slid the salmon into the pan before answering.
My, my, popular lady. First a date with someone else, and now a secret admirer?
My date was with Sophie.
I think Sophie’s taken, but I’m not really up on the gossip in Loren Brae.
I laughed when Faelan sent a rude gesture emoji back at me.
“Who are you talking to?” Oban sidled closer, likely not used to me smiling at my phone. Typically I was swearing and tossing it across the table. If I wasn’t on call, I’d turn the damn thing off half the time.
“None of your business.”
“I can pee on your pillowcases when you’re gone, you know.”
“Bloody hell, you’re a wee shite at times, aren’t you, Oban?” I glared at him and he chuckled. “It’s Faelan, all right?”
“I like her.”
“I know you do.” I’d transferred the asparagus to cold water and now tossed them back in the pan with some butter and garlic. “Because she healed you. Or so you claim.”
“You know it as well as I do. I’m telling you, Luch. I was close. Too close.”
At that, I inhaled through my nostrils, steadying myself. I hated knowing I’d almost lost him. He was my best friend, confidant, and a damn good dog.
“I know it. It’s terrifying to think about.”
“She pulled me back. She’s more powerful than you think.”
“Maybe. Or maybe it was just luck. Not everyone can play with magick, Oban.”
“I don’t get the sense she’s playing.”
My phone pinged again.
You didn’t answer my question.
And you didn’t answer my question.
What question was that?
Can I take you to dinner this week?
I’m not sure.
Is that a yes or a no?
It’s an I don’t know.
Are you open to persuasion?
Like what kind?
I turned to Oban. “What kind of pose would you do to make Faelan feel bad for me and go out with me?”
Oban tilted his head and thought about it before rolling on his back and holding his paws in the air.
“That’s perfect, mate. You’re an excellent wingman.” I snapped the photo and sent it.
Oban misses you.
I’m happy to go on a date with Oban then.
Unfortunately, we’re a package deal.
Hmmm.
I gotta run, my dinner’s almost ready. Night, night, Faelan.
I clicked off and deliberately ignored the next text, knowing she was probably annoyed that I hadn’t answered her about the flowers. A little mystery was good in life, though, and I hoped it would keep her intrigued enough to consider a date with me. But I pondered Oban’s words for a moment.
“She pulled me back. She’s more powerful than you think.”
If Oban was right, I’d need to keep a careful eye on her.
“All right, lad. One perfectly seared salmon coming your way.”