I had to bite my lip to keep from giggling when Holly caught my eyes from across the table, hers dancing with mirth. “Laugh away. We used to have prayer races when we were growing up.”
I laughed. “I don’t even know what that means.”
“We were always starving, so we would see whoever could say grace the fastest,” Alex explained from my side.
Dinner was delicious. His mother had made salmon seasoned with lemon and other spices and a rice pilaf with asparagus on the side. I’d just finished when Holly asked, “Did Alex tell you about the option to do your internship at the hospital here in Willow Brook? You should do it. It would be awesome to have you here.”
When I looked across the table, she looked so friendly and helpful, I wanted to tell her I’d plan on it. But that was crazy. I didn’t live here, and I felt like Alex and I weren’t even real. I’d wake up one day, alone in my apartment and remember it was all just a dream.
“He mentioned it,” I hedged, pausing to sip my water and carefully put my silverware on my plate.
“Most of those online programs let people do internships all over the place. The hospital here is accredited with all the major nursing associations that approve the programs. If you’re worried I would be your boss, I wouldn’t. While I am one of the ER supervisors, one of our admin nurses handles the intern supervision. You’d be able to work with me, and it’s a fun group. I hope you’ll seriously think about it.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Alex
Delilah was nervous. Dinner with my family had gone as well as it could, or so I thought. Except for the fact Delilah had been tense the whole time.
Now, it was a few days later, and we were on the way to have dinner with Remy and Rachel. She seemed nervous again. We were meeting at Wildlands because Delilah said she wanted to see the place since I mentioned it was where I most often went out to meet friends.
I cut the engine on my truck. As quiet surrounded us in my truck cab, the call of an eagle screeched outside.
“What’s that?” She glanced toward me.
“An eagle. They often perch in the trees along the lake.”
We got out, and I beckoned for her to follow me to the edge of the parking lot behind Wildlands. The lake spread out before us, glimmering with streaks of tangerine, red, and gold reflected from the sky as the sun began to set.
“It’s so beautiful here,” Delilah breathed at my side.
“It is.” Reaching over, I caught her hand, my heart giving a little kick when she easily laced her fingers into mine.
I wanted her to stop worrying, but then I didn’t know how to make sense of any of this either. Because no matter how I sliced it, one of us would have to make a big change for us to be together. I shied away from thinking about that because I wasn’t ready to decide. I wanted it to be easier, and that made me feel like a coward.
When another eagle called, I scanned the shoreline, my eyes finally landing on an eagle perched in a spruce tree. “Hang on.” I released her hand and jogged the short distance back to my truck. Returning a moment later, I handed her a small pair of binoculars I kept in my glove compartment. The eagle called again, and I pointed in its direction to one side.
Delilah lifted the binoculars, scanning until she stilled. “Oh, wow. I’ve never actually seen one in the wild.”
“If you want to see a lot of eagles, I’ll take you to the town’s transfer station,” I commented.
Delilah watched as the eagle took flight, its silhouette dark against the backdrop of the dusky sky. After it disappeared from sight, she lowered the binoculars and looked toward me. “The transfer station? Not exactly romantic, Alex,” she teased.
I chuckled as she handed the binoculars back to me. “I didn’t say it was romantic, but you’re guaranteed to see a lot of eagles there. Come on.” I reached for her hand again. “Remy and Rachel are probably already here. Have you met Rachel before?”
We paused by the truck, and I returned the binoculars to the glove compartment. When we were walking again, Delilah replied, “Just once. Remy brought her to the bar one time when they were visiting.”
More and more, I was getting a sense of just how thoroughly Delilah guarded herself. She didn’t spend much time with someone she even considered a friend. I supposed I should feel lucky she was letting me in at all.
A few minutes later, Remy was asking, “How long are you here?”
“Just in town through the end of this week. I have to be back in Stolen Hearts Valley for work and school,” Delilah replied.
“You could do school anywhere,” I commented, surprising myself.
I felt Delilah’s sharp gaze on mine for a moment, but I didn’t look away. For some reason, I wanted to push her a little bit. More and more, I was beginning to understand that I was going to have to pull off a freaking magic trick to win her trust. I couldn’t go too fast, but if I never pushed, she’d never let me in.
When she finally looked away, Rachel commented, “So true. I hear from Holly she’s trying to persuade you to do your internship at the hospital here. It’s a good place. You could also do it where I work.”
Delilah looked puzzled, but a waitress paused by our table. While Remy started ordering, Rachel clarified, “I’m a medical assistant. I work at a family practice office here in Willow Brook. We have two doctors, one full-time and one part-time, but we also have nurses on staff. If you did it there, my boss, Charlie, would be your supervisor. She’s awesome.”
Remy interjected, “I ordered us a pitcher of beer and a couple of appetizers. I hope that’s okay.” He rested his arm over Rachel’s shoulders, the comfort between them evident. “What’s this about Charlie?” he asked.
“I was telling Delilah she could consider doing her internship at my office. Charlie’s a great boss,” Rachel explained.
“She’s not my boss,” Remy said with a slow smile. “But she’s great.”
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do,” Delilah said. “I mean, I live in North Carolina right now.”
Remy grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “You should move here. I did, and I fucking love it. I miss Shay and my friends there, but Willow Brook is a great place to live.”
I made a mental note to thank Remy the next time I saw him. Delilah was noncommittal, and simply said, “I’ll just have to see where things are at next fall. That’s when I finish my last semester before it’s time for me to do my internship in the spring.”
Our beer and food arrived. Remy asked Delilah about Stolen Hearts Valley. Rachel was my personal cheerleader for Willow Brook throughout dinner.
At one point, Remy asked, “How are your parents?”
Delilah’s lips pressed into a line. “They’re okay,” she replied, offering no additional information.
I didn’t know why, but sadness sliced through me at that. Not with Delilah specifically but with how much her default was to keep everything shut down and protected. Her father was dying, and she wasn’t even talking about it.
We left a little while later, and on the drive home, I couldn’t help asking, “Tell me something, do you have any close friends?”