“I still think you hit your head,” I grumbled.
Delaney was talking foolishness. Who on Earth would send me stuffed sea animals?
We made it to the first floor and over to registration where there was a crowd formed.
“There she is.”
“I wonder who would send these to her?”
“I bet she sent them to herself.”
“You think Dr. Clark knows about this?”
I stopped by the person who said this and leaned toward them. They hadn’t expected me to hear them but I had. “I wish a thousand fire breathing ants onto Dr. Clark’s crotch, Annaline. Which means if you keep messing with him, you’ll get the same thing.”
Annaline used to be my friend. That was, until I found out she had been fucking Dale while I covered his rounds for him. The friendship didn’t last, and she was still very much under the asshole’s charm.
She gasped and furrowed her brow.
I had never said anything bad about Dale in mixed company. ‘Til now.
“Run along and tell him what I said, Annaline.”
I was done being a doormat to these assholes. I didn’t have to be in the ER with them anymore so I wasn’t going to turn a cheek to their sharp tongues anymore. She stormed away, and everyone fell silent.
I couldn’t stop people from gossiping about me, but I could change the way they thought about me. I wasn’t some weak female who wouldn’t stand up for herself.
“Damn,” Delaney whispered next to me.
I stuck my arm through hers and pushed through the crowd. “Too much?” I whispered back.
“Just enough,” Delaney laughed.
Sitting in front of the registration desk was a huge whale with a smaller dolphin next to it and a sea otter sitting on top of the whale.
“Mave!” Pat jumped up from behind registration with an envelope in her hand. “Your secret admirer struck again!”
She handed me the envelope, and I ripped it open.
“What is it?” Delaney asked.
“We never made it to the aquarium so I thought I would bring the aquarium to you. Roc,” I read out loud.
“Oh, my God,” Delaney gushed. “That is the most romantic thing.”
I folded up the letter and tucked it back inside the envelope. “It’s something, all right.”
I crouched down in front of the whale and felt it’s soft fur.
Delaney picked up the sea otter and hugged it to her chest. “Sea otters are my absolute favorite.”
“That one looked like you could replace Jay with it.” It was well over three feet tall, and while it was the smallest of the three, it was still damn big.
“Where are you going to put these?” she laughed.
I stood up and looked at the pile of soft stuffed animals. “The better question is how the hell am I going to get them home?”
*
Roc
“Delaney just called,” Jay yelled.
“Good for you,” Remy replied.
Jay flipped him off. “You’re a dick. I wasn’t telling you,” Jay pointed at me. “I was telling Roc.”
Remy folded his arms over his chest. “Uh, why would Roc care about that? Are you oversharing today, Jay? We all have girlfriends here. No need to brag when yours calls. We’re all important here.”
Jay put his hand in Remy’s face and looked at me. “Delaney called. She just had to help Mave shove a whale, dolphin, and a sea otter in her car.”
A grin spread across my lips. I got confirmation they were delivered, but I had been waiting all day to hear anything about them. “They fit?”
“Sea otter is in Delaney’s car right now, but I think that’s only because she wants the damn thing to come home with her. She just sent me a link to buy one of her own.” Jay held his phone up in my face.
I looked at the screen. “I got a better deal on mine. Go with my guy. I’ll get you his number.”
Remy blinked rapidly and shook his head. “What in the hell is going on right now? I feel like I’m the only one with both feet planted in reality.”
“Strange feeling for you, huh?” Jay asked him.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket. It was time for the next step in my plan. “Explain to ol’ Remington what’s going on. I got a phone call to make.”
Jay put his arm around Remy’s shoulders and walked with him out the overhead door.
“You look mighty happy.” Frankie was standing next to the car with a clipboard in her hand. “I got a little bit of that conversation, and I’m assuming it has to do with Mave.”
I smiled and pointed to the car. “Get back to work, Frankie.”
She shook her head and laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
I walked into the front office and right out the front door.
“Where are you going?” Harlyn shouted.
I hopped into the driver’s seat and cranked up my car. I rolled down the window. “I’m leaving for the day. Make sure everyone does their shit.”
“Really?” Harlyn stood in the doorway holding the door open.
“Yeah. I got something important I need to do.”
A huge smile spread across her lips. “You fixed the mess?”
I shifted the car into drive. “Working on it.”
Harlyn gave a me a thumbs up. “Go get her, Dad.”
That was exactly what I was going to do.
*
Chapter Twenty-Five
Mave
“I understand you were just driving them home, ma’am, but you have to understand how distracting it is to other drivers to have a whale hanging out of your car window.”
“Would the dolphin have been less distracting?”
The officer rolled his eyes. He didn’t appreciate my mammal humor. “I’ll follow you home, ma’am, but please don’t do this again.”
Twenty minutes later, with a police escort, I pulled into my apartment complex. The officer flashed his lights at me and then headed down the street. As if it wasn’t embarrassing enough to have a whale hanging out of my car, I had to get pulled over, too.
I parked in a spot closest to my apartment, hoping I wouldn’t have to explain to anyone why I had a huge whale and dolphin in my car.
“Didn’t know you were so important that you needed a police escort home.”
I clutched my hand to my chest and spun around at Roc’s voice.
“You must be like one of those doctor’s off of TV.”
He was here. At my apartment. “I…You…” I snapped my mouth shut and tried to figure out just what I wanted to say.
“You and I. That’s a good place to start.” He was parked right next to where I parked and sitting in the driver’s seat.
I looked around him to see if anyone else was with him.
“Just me here, Doc.” He pushed open his door, slipped out from the truck, and stood in front of me.
“Oh, my God,” I gasped. I had never seen Roc stand. “Your legs.”
I looked down at his jean-clad legs. He had been right all along. He looked best in a pair of faded jeans.
“Yeah. They still work. A little worse for the wear, but every day, they get better.”