The truth was, their date had gone more than fine. It had been damned near perfect. She seemed damned near perfect. That sharp mind, that body, that big, compassionate heart. She was the total package, and every cell in his body had urged him to call and ask her out again about five minutes after he’d left her at her door.
He hadn’t given in.
“We have chemistry,” Ethan acknowledged.
“Duh. And?”
“There is no and.”
“When are you going out again?”
“We’re not.” Maybe saying it out loud would help him stick to his decision.
“You’re not? Why?”
“Because of Becca.”
Clay hit him with some serious side eye. “Brother, please tell me you are not still hung up on your ex-wife.”
“No. Not hardly. But I am not about to make the same mistakes with Miranda as I made with her.”
“You’re gonna have to explain the logic of that because I’m just not seeing it.”
“Everything with Becca was hard and fast. She batted those baby blues at me and took me out at the knees. I was crazy about her from the word go. Wanted to spend every waking minute with her—and did on up until I started working for the Marshals. We got too serious too fast. If I’d kept my head, slowed things down, maybe we wouldn’t have gotten married in the first place.”
“So let me get this straight—because I’m not at all sure I’m understanding you. You’re putting the brakes on with Miranda because you actually really like her and you’re worried you’ll fall ass over teakettle in love with her and do something stupid like marry her too fast?”
Put like that it sounded stupid. But it didn’t feel stupid. “I like her. A lot. The kind of a lot that has historically made me do stupid things. I’m still on probation with this job until October. I can’t afford to do anything stupid. I need to keep my eye on the ball.”
“And you think spending time with a sexy, intelligent woman is going to impact your ability to do your job? Dude, that’s just sad.”
“That’s not—” Leave it to Clay to make him feel like a jackass. “That isn’t what I meant.”
“Fine. We’ll table the discussion. You’re not going back out with Miranda. End of story.” He lifted his hands in surrender. “Since you won’t be taking up that free time with dating, it means you can finally get back up on stage with me. And I have the perfect venue for you to start.”
“Oh?”
“Tomorrow night there’s a big bonfire out at Hope Springs. It’ll be a small gathering. A nice, low-key, informal sort of performance. Nobody’s expecting perfection. Just some good music and fun. Think you can handle that?”
Grateful the topic of Miranda had been dropped, Ethan nodded. “Bring it on, Turner.”
“That’s healing up really well. Your range of motion is much improved since I saw you last.” Satisfied, Miranda made a note in Brianna Daly’s chart.
Brianna laid a hand over the little bump of her belly. “What about the baby?”
“You’re coming along just fine. Vitals are good. I want to see you in the office in a month for a more thorough workup and the ultrasound, but for now everything is as it should be.” And that was a damned miracle, considering the dislocated shoulder and other injuries Brianna had sustained at the hands of her now ex-boyfriend. The boyfriend who was currently in county lockup in Lawley. Thank God.
The young woman exhaled a relieved sigh. “Good. That’s good.”
As Brianna was her last patient of the day out at the women’s shelter, Miranda began putting instruments back into her bag. “We’ll be able to check the sex of the baby then, if you’re inclined to find out.”
A soft smile curled Brianna’s lips as she rubbed her baby bump. “I’ll be happy with whatever I get, so long as it’s a healthy baby. But I’m hoping for a girl.”
“Fifty-fifty shot. Are you good on your supply of prenatal vitamins?”
“All set. I can’t thank you enough, Dr. Campbell.”
“Think nothing of it. I’m happy to help and glad to see you doing better.”
“I really am. It’s so hard to think that after where I was just a few weeks ago, but everyone here’s been so wonderful. We’re really blessed, me and the baby.”
A knock sounded at the door.
“Come on in,” Miranda called. “We’re finished.”
Lily Mae Pollard, the founder and head of Monarch House, stuck her head in the door. “Brie, if you’re done here, Whitney could use a hand in the kitchen.”
“Yes ma’am.” She rose from the sofa. “Thanks again, Dr. Campbell.”
“I’ll see you next month.” Miranda waited until she’d made it down the hall. “That girl is a marvel. Such a positive attitude after everything she’s been through.”
Lily Mae came into the room. “She’s a success story for sure. Some you don’t know how they’re gonna make it outside these walls. Some choose not to stay. But Brianna—she’s focused on making a good life for that baby. It helps her to have something else to focus on. Sometimes it’s easier to do stuff for somebody else than it is for yourself.”
Miranda thought about Rene and Johnny Forbes and wondered if the boy had been younger, if she’d have gotten up the gumption to leave Harley. “Any advice on how to nudge somebody who’s reluctant to make a move?”
“People don’t move until they’re ready. Or until circumstances force them to. You have somebody particular in mind?”
“Rene Forbes. Harley’s escalating. She’s stopped denying he’s behind it, but she’s very stuck on the idea that she brought this on herself. I don’t know what it will take to motivate her to leave him.”
“It’s a hard thing, seeing somebody go through that, knowing you can’t do anything about it.”
Truth. And Miranda didn’t know how to channel that sense of impotence. “I keep thinking if we could get Harley locked up for a few days at least, I could convince her. Ethan’s going to see what he can find.”
Lily Mae arched her steel gray brows. “Oh, Ethan is it? I heard you were seen stepping out with the new police chief.”
“We had one date.” A date she still couldn’t stop replaying in her head, wondering what went wrong. Because he hadn’t called her.
“Are you gonna see him again?”
Miranda shrugged with a nonchalance she didn’t feel. “I don’t know. We’ve both been pretty busy the past week.” That was her excuse anyway. What was his?
Lily Mae hummed a noncommittal note. “You want a tour of the new expansion?”
“I’d love one.” Anything to change the subject from the first date that had apparently been their last.
Two stories, the new wing extended off the east end of the house, facing the woods on one side and the gorgeous expanse of Hope Springs on the other. It was a peaceful spot, a healing spot. Lily Mae had chosen well when she’d picked this site.
“You’ve got good timing. They just did the punch out work a couple weeks ago.” She opened the door to one of the empty bedrooms. Everything had that clean, fresh scent of new construction—wood and paint and a lingering odor of varnish from the hardwood floors.