Backdraft (5 page)

“You have no fuckin’ idea,” he muttered, leaning his head against the broken wall. Sweat dripped into his eyes, stinging. His hand throbbed, but still the only thing he could feel was his heart breaking all over again. He felt the same as he had that night on the roadside, as though his whole life had come crashing down around him and he couldn’t do a damn thing to minimize the damage. “I hated you. I still do,” he said quietly, refusing to acknowledge that there were days when he loved her more than he hated her.

It pained him to think of all the hours he’d wasted wondering what had happened to her. Had she ever married? He glanced at her left hand. Obviously not, since she’d just fucked him as though her life depended on it. Not that he would expect her to be loyal to her husband when she wasn’t faithful to him.

“Come in to the bathroom,” she said, taking his other hand.

“No, I gotta get the hell out of here.” He could barely breathe. Feeling her delicate touch made him feel as though the room was closing in on him and nothing existed beyond these walls.

“You’re not going anywhere until I see to your injuries, Briar. I took the Hippocratic Oath, and I intend to uphold it whether you like it or not.” She led him into the bathroom, pointing to the closed commode. “Sit down.”

“So, you became a doctor after all, huh?” he asked, taking the seat as he watched her run water over a white washcloth in the small sink.

“Yeah, I’m an ER doctor at Caledon Memorial.”

Caledon was the main hospital that served all the neighboring counties. He was lucky not to have sustained any injuries that would land him in the hospital on her watch. “I heard your folks moved to Caledon a few years back,” he said, trying not to react when she threw a towel down and sank to her knees on the tile floor.

“Dad was ready to retire, and they thought they could keep an eye on me if they lived nearby.” She smiled when he winced as she swiped the cloth over his battered hand. “Sorry.”

He knew he was an idiot to take his rage out that way; he deserved to suffer the consequences. “It’s okay.” He watched her long blonde hair fall over her face like a veil as she concentrated on his wounds. Itching to tuck it gently behind her ear the way he’d done a hundred times before, he clenched his fist. Being so close to her, especially after the intimacy they’d shared earlier, was torture. “Do you see them often, your parents?”

Biting her lip, she frowned at the deepest wound, the one that wouldn’t stop bleeding, no matter how much pressure she put on it. “Not as much as they’d like. I try to make it over there for Sunday dinner with my brother’s family.”

“Jeez, how is Jack? I haven’t seen him since high school.” Maya’s older brother Jack was one of his best friends and football teammates growing up. “He got married?”

She squeezed his hand to apply pressure to the open wound. “Yeah, not long after he graduated. She’s a great girl. In fact, she was his veterinary assistant; that’s how they met. They’ve got twin girls; they’re almost three.”

He tried to imagine his old friend, Jack, all grown up with a family of his own. It wasn’t hard; he was always the mature, responsible one of their group. “I’m glad to hear things have worked out for him.”

She looked up and their eyes locked for a brief second before she resumed her task. “You should call him sometime. I know he’d love to hear from you.”

Jack was already away at college by the time he and Maya broke up, and when he moved to the neighboring town after graduation, they’d simply lost touch. “Yeah, I should look him up. Maybe he’d like to get together for a beer some time, catch up.”

After licking her lips, she said, hesitantly, “He mentions you sometimes, when we’re talking about the good old days.” When he didn’t respond right away, she said, “There were a lot of good times, Dave. You can’t deny that.”

He couldn’t argue that point. Maya was one year behind him and her brother in school, but they had many of the same friends and often hung out as a group when they weren’t sneaking away to spend time alone together. “I stopped by to see your old man a few times before he retired,” he said, trying to change the subject. He didn’t want to talk about their shared past. Talking about her family seemed easier, neutral topics that wouldn’t take him back to a time he wasn’t able to forget.

“He told me.”

He was surprised by that admission. He assumed he would be a sore subject in their household, given the way their relationship ended. “Really?”

“Dad thought the world of you, Dave. You must know that.”

Her father was the football coach at their local high school for more than thirty years. He was a favorite among parents and students alike. “He was the best,” Dave said quietly. “We were all sorry to see him go.” The last time Dave stopped by to see him, just a few months before they left town, was the first and only time he’d mentioned his daughter since their break-up. He told Dave that he was the son-in-law he’d always wanted, and he wished things had worked out differently.

“It’s kind of a running joke in my family,” she said, a wry smile on her lips. “All of my boyfriends are judged on the ‘Dave’ scale. If they earn a ten, they measure up to you. Anything less and they fall short.”

Thinking of all of the men who’d passed in and out of her life since he left stung. How many men had made love to her…

“You okay?” she asked, looking up at him. “I’m not hurting you, am I?”

“Yeah,” he said, his voice breaking. “It still hurts like hell.” He wasn’t talking about his hand, but she didn’t need to know that.

Sighing, she rose to her feet. “I’m afraid you’re going to need a few stitches, slugger.”

He looked at his hand. It was still bleeding profusely. “Nah, it’ll be fine,” he said, standing up. “I’ll just wrap it, and…”

She tugged on the front of his shirt, looking up at him. “You’re not going to bleed to death on my watch, Briar.”

She was so close he could inhale that familiar scent that assailed him when he walked into the room. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t associated it with her right away, but it had been ten years. Ten long years. “Fine, I’ll see the doc tomorrow, okay?”

“Not good enough,” she said, crossing her arms.

Her robe gaped in the front and he couldn’t resist the urge to sneak a peek.

Laughing, she gripped the neckline. “I see you haven’t changed a bit.”

“You’re wrong,” he said, resisting the urge to stroke her face. “I’m not the same guy I was back then. Getting screwed over by the two people closest to you tends to have that effect on a guy.”

The color drained from her face and she dropped her hands, looking at the floor.

“Did you think if you reminded me of a few good times, softened me up with talk of your family, that I’d be willing to forgive and forget?” Getting in her face, he said, “That’s not gonna happen, sweetheart.” He couldn’t afford to let his guard down where she was concerned. She may have burned him once, but she wouldn’t get the chance to do it again.

Chapter Four

Turning into the hospital parking lot, Maya took a deep, steadying breath as Dave’s pick-up claimed the spot beside her car. The stubborn man had refused to drive with her, insisting he could navigate the truck with his one good hand.

“Let’s get this over with,” he muttered, slamming his door with more force than necessary.

Without waiting for him to join her, she made her way to the glass doors of the emergency room. The hospital was small by modern standards, but they still saw their fair share of common medical emergencies. Walking up to the admittance desk, she smiled at the night duty nurse. “Hey, Janice, how’s that beautiful new grandbaby of yours?”

Her weathered face split into a smile, making her look years younger. “Hi, Dr. Monroe, it’s good to see you. Stephanie’s wonderful. Do you want to see a picture?” She reached beneath the desk, taking a cell phone out of her purse.

Maya took the phone, admiring the screensaver of the beautiful baby dressed in her Sunday best. “Wow, she’s getting prettier every day, isn’t she? You must be so proud.”

“I sure am,” she said, taking the phone back to admire the image once more before she slipped it into her purse. “I can hardly wait until August rolls around. When I retire, I’ll be able to see her every day. Stacy is returning to work, so I’ll be babysitting.”

Maya patted her gnarled hand, smiling. “I’m sure you girls will have a great time together, but it won’t be the same around here without you.”

“You know this damned arthritis has taken its toll on me, Doc. Running after that little angel will help keep me young.” She winked. “But don’t think you’re getting rid of me that easily. I’ll be stopping by to visit all the time. That’s the beauty of living just around the corner.”

Wagging her finger, Maya grinned, “I intend to hold you to that. Don’t forget, I know where you live, and if I have to hunt you down, I will.”

She laughed, perching her glasses atop her gray curls. “What are you doing here tonight? You’re not on the schedule.”

Maya was acutely aware of Dave’s presence behind her. He paced the small waiting area as though he was getting ready to bolt at the slightest provocation. “My friend had a little accident. He just needs a few stitches. Do we have a room available?”

“One should be opening up in just a few minutes.” She passed a clipboard across the desk. “But you know the drill; your friend has to fill out some paperwork first.”

Given the fact his right hand was injured, she knew she had to do the honors, which he would undoubtedly resent. If she knew one thing about her ex, it’s that he would rather die than reveal any sign of weakness, especially to her. “You got it, Janice. Let me take care of this and I’ll get it back to you.”

Janice peered over Maya’s shoulder. “Your friend is cute.” She pointed between the two of them. “You sure there’s nothing going on between the two of you?”

Only in her dreams. She laughed. “No, we’re just friends.” Even that was a stretch, but her co-workers didn’t need to know the whole sordid story. That was part of the reason she hadn’t moved back to Brant when she graduated. She knew the townsfolk would take sides, and Dave would wind up the poor victim while she was viewed as the heartless bitch who betrayed him.

“Hey, gorgeous. This is a pleasant surprise. Are you here to see me?”

She looked up to see Dr. Chris Thompson rounding the corner. He was a colleague she’d been dating for a few months. In his mind, things were getting serious, but she didn’t think she would ever be ready to commit to him.

“Hey, Chris.” She felt Dave move in behind her.

He braced his good hand on the counter beside her, obviously intent on listening to their conversation.

“I didn’t know you were working tonight.”

“Yeah, I traded shifts with Dr. Smyth. Didn’t you get my message?”

She pulled her cell phone out of her purse, noting that she’d missed half a dozen calls. “No, sorry, I must have missed it. I was in Brant tonight. They had a charity auction and I thought I’d go. You know, support the old hometown.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, they can use all the help they can get.”

“Is that so?” Dave asked, fisting his left hand on the counter. “Why’s that?”

He frowned, looking at Dave’s injured hand. “Are you a patient?”

“He’s here with me,” Maya said quickly, knowing that if she didn’t step in to diffuse the situation, Dave’s hair-trigger temper would land him in more trouble tonight. “He just needs a few stitches.”

Chris laughed. “How bad does the other guy look, buddy?”

Scowling, Dave said, “I’m not your buddy, and there was no other guy. Not that it’s any of your business.”

After raising his eyebrows in question, he turned his attention back to Maya. “Anyways, I changed shifts with Smyth because I have theater tickets for tomorrow night. Since we both have a couple of days off, I thought we could make a weekend of it. What do you say? Are you up for it?”

“She can’t make it,” Dave said quickly.

She tipped her head back to look at him. “Why’s that? And since when do you speak for me?”

He glanced at his watch. “Do I have to remind you of what you did with me not more than two hours ago, sweetheart? I’d say that gives me the right to decide whether you date other men.”

She felt the embarrassment spark before erupting into full-blown mortification. Her cheeks were flaming by the time she found the courage to steal a glance at her colleagues. “I, uh, excuse us,” she said, grabbing Dave’s shirtsleeve to lead him toward a vacant bank of chairs lining one wall. “Are you insane? I have to work with these people.”

“Too bad,” he said, glaring across the waiting room at Chris. “He has a hell of a lot of nerve asking you out right in front of me. Who the hell does he think he is?”

“He’s my friend and co-worker,” she said, gripping his forearm, trying to draw his attention away from the other man. “You made it clear that you don’t want anything to do with me, so what gives you the right to decide who I date?”

He sat back, folding his arms across his broad chest. “You’re telling me you’re actually dating that loser?”