“Oh my God. That’s right.” Leah grinned at Maverick, and Kennedy had to peek at him to see if he was grinning back.
He was smiling that killer smile of his. Kennedy quickly returned to her last suture, not liking the sting of jealousy that stabbed her in the chest this time.
Leah looked back at Kennedy. “He refused to help me up, the big jerk.”
At that, Kennedy grinned, grateful to be back in Maverick territory she understood. “Sounds like him.”
“You two know each other?” Leah asked, confused.
Oops. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “We went to college together.”
Maverick stood. “Looks like you’re almost done.”
“She is,” Kennedy said.
“I’ll grab you an iced coffee, Lee, and meet you out front. She can go after this, right?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks, Kennedy.” He put his hand on her shoulder, then left the room.
Left her body humming from the brief touch and the sincerity in his gratitude.
Leah sighed. Kennedy knew exactly what kind of sigh it was, too. Her sister made the same one when she crushed on a classmate. (And off the record, Kennedy almost sighed, too.) “That man is so frustrating.”
Tell me about it.
“I wish… Never mind.”
“I’m in town for only a few more days,” Kennedy said. “You could tell me your wish and no one would be the wiser.”
“I wish he saw me as more than a friend, but he never will.”
“It sounded like you guys dated in high school.”
“No. He was a year ahead of me, and my senior year when my boyfriend dumped me the day before prom, Mav happened to be home that weekend, and he stepped in and took me.”
Kennedy removed the draping from around Leah’s head, a funny tickle in the back of her throat over hearing about Maverick’s good deed. “Let’s have you sit up slowly.” She brought the table back to a chair position. “How do you feel?”
“Good.”
“Sit still a minute and then I’ll have you stand. Right now the area is numb, but as soon as the anesthetic wears off, it’s going to be sore and tender to the touch. You can take some over-the-counter pain relief if you need to. No shower until the morning, unfortunately, and no shampoo. Just rinse your scalp with warm water until Doc removes your sutures. Take it easy for the rest of today, too, and if anything starts to concern you, give me—I mean give Doc a call.”
“Thanks, Dr. Martin.”
“You’re welcome. Any questions?”
“Knock, knock.” Dr. Choi poked his head inside the room before entering fully. “How we doing?”
“Hi, Doc,” Leah said. “We’re done.”
“Fantastic. Thank you for taking care of my patient, Dr. Martin.”
“It was my pleasure. Leah, you ready to stand up?”
Leah stood without trouble, gave Doc and Kennedy each a hug, and left with instructions to return on Monday.
“You want to stick around a little longer?” Doc asked her. “I have a patient in Room Two who decided to lodge a fishing sinker up her nose.”
“Oh no.” Kennedy said.
“It’s been one of those days. There must be a full moon coming tonight.”
“I’m happy to stay as long as you need me to.” She walked down the hallway with an extra bounce in her step. Every day that she got to practice medicine and help someone was a great day.
“Appreciate it.”
They stopped at Doc’s office. The room held a sleek glass desk with two armed leather guest chairs for sitting, and a bookshelf lined with medical books, cards, and knickknacks. Doc opened the top drawer of a filing cabinet and pulled out a stethoscope.
“Here you go, Doctor.” He handed her the stethoscope and retrieved a lab coat hanging on the back of the office door. “Now you’re part of the team. Let’s do this.”
Kennedy slipped her arms through the coat and placed the medical instrument around her neck with a huge smile on her face. She worked beside Doc and she worked on her own, meeting townspeople of all ages, hearing gossip, and being asked a million questions about herself. She now had several people crossing their fingers for her to get the job in Boston.
At around two o’clock, another wave of patients stopped by the office. Doc saw walk-ins on Tuesday afternoons, another reason he needed Kennedy in his nurse’s absence. Typically, he saw a handful of people, but looking out at the crowded waiting room today, he said, “You’re good for business, Dr. Martin.”
“Do you think they’re all sick?”
“No, I think they’re all nosy, with the exception of Mrs. Freed. She’s been fighting a sinus infection. Why don’t you start with her?”
“I can take the heat,” she countered, not afraid of more prying. Being interrogated took her mind off cowboys, grooms, and a dream job across the country.
Chapter Twelve
Four days until the wedding
A few hours later, Kennedy rubbed the tiny glass ladybug Mary Rose had given her between her fingers. The gift meant more to her than she could say, and right now she needed some good news—she needed the ER job on the other side of the country so she’d have distance from her family.
She stared down at her phone. At the text her mom had sent a few minutes ago, wiping out Kennedy’s happy mood from an afternoon spent in Doc’s office.
Andrew sat back down in the cushioned chair next to hers on their patio and handed her a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie from the inn’s kitchen.
“Thanks,” she said without lifting her head from her cell.
“Staring at it isn’t going to change it.”
“You want to try?” She held the phone up to his face.
“You know I’d make those words disappear if I could.”
“I know.” She dropped her arm, took a big bite of the soft cookie. It tasted delicious, and it helped make her feel a little better. “I can’t believe them. I can’t believe this is happening.”
“I’m sorry.”
“There are three hundred and sixty five days in a year and they have to pick my birthday to get married?”
“It sucks.”
“I’ll be reminded of their wedding day every freaking year when it should be a day for me. Not to be selfish, but come on. This is completely insensitive given the circumstances. Not that I care about them getting married anymore—I’m over it. They deserve each other. But it isn’t fair for them to ruin my birthday, too.”