“Yep, that’s the right word. Barely. Barely anything covering it from what I saw. Barely anything covering it now, too.”
“Okay, stop. I need to get cleaned up.”
“Not on my account,” he teased, but he let go and headed toward the kitchen. “Want some coffee?”
“No.”
“Want me to help you clean up? You know, wash your back or something?”
“No!”
“Okay, grumpmeister, go take a shower. And hurry, I told Josh we’d be there by ten.”
“Josh? I’m going to see Josh?”
“Sure, why not? He’s pre-med. Almost as good as the real thing. Besides, when I talked to him yesterday, he said to bring you by. He thought you were acting a little weird too. When I told him about the car wreck and you not going to your follow-up, he offered. If you need to see a real doc after, he’d be able to get you right in.”
“I distinctly remember that you warned me off him a while back.”
“I figure he’s seen me kiss you enough he wouldn’t dare let you near him now, even if you tried.”
“You’re convinced I won’t still try?”
“Nope, but I’d like to think you’ve moved on to more mature subjects. In some respects, it’s none of my business anyway.” He pulled a steaming cup from the coffee machine and held it up. “You really don’t want any?”
“Okay, okay. If you’re going to put it in my face like that, I guess I’ll take it.” She grabbed the cup and started toward the bathroom. “Give me thirty minutes. Oh, and if you ever come to my door without calling again in the morning, I’m not answering. Not even if you cave in the damn door.” She heard him grumble a response just before the door clicked closed.
“That was a long thirty minutes,” Grant said when they pulled in the driveway at Lauren’s house.
This is awkward.
She was going into a customer’s home to get a checkup by her son. Weird.
“Yeah, well maybe if you called first, I’d be ready when you show up. I happened to get into bed around 3:30 this morning so I’m entitled to sleep past 8. I work nights, remember? Did that ever cross your mind? I’m beginning to think you have some sick desire to scare me out of bed in the morning.”
He snickered. “Sorry about getting you up so early, but you’re right about the sick desire thing. I like your pajamas … and I like pissing you off.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
He shook his head and stepped aside for her to pass.
• • •
The minute Jenny walked into Josh and Lauren’s home, the tone changed. What is it about people in the medical profession that causes them to lose their sense of humor? Is that a prerequisite to med school? Oh, you’re going to be a doctor —
bam
, you can’t make jokes anymore and definitely no sexual or physically inspired banter.
Josh greeted her and gave her an almost sickly pasted-on smile. He took her vitals, asked her a bunch of questions, studied her every move, and wrote a bunch of crap on a white pad of paper. When he pursed his lips and frowned, Jenny couldn’t contain it anymore — she cracked up laughing. Josh was so startled he jumped. “What?” he asked.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Jenny muffled her amusement before answering. “No, not at all. In fact, just the opposite — you’ve done everything exactly
RIGHT.
I just can’t get used to you with such perfect manners. It’s so
awkward.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew you before.” Jenny shook her head, pressing her lips together to stop the pending chuckle. “It’s weird. Sorry.”
“So, why are you here then? Grant said you’re seeing things. Is that true?”
She analyzed the best way to answer the question. The truth would likely put her in the psychiatric unit of the nearest hospital. Josh was writing something on the pad in front of him. The sleeve of his shirt caught briefly on the rigid edge of the clipboard showing the skin of his wrist.
“Not to change the subject, but how did you hurt yourself?” Jenny asked. She pointed to the red mark barely displayed under the cloth.
Josh dropped his arm. “Excuse me?”
“How did you get the red mark on your arm?” She stepped off the counter that served as a pseudo examining chair and grabbed his wrist. Lifting it in the air, she slid the fabric down with one swift movement. “Oh my God.” She tried to say it without gasping. He had at least six red scars, two of which were scabbed over. The others looked older. He yanked his arm from her grasp.
“This isn’t about me. I’m here to help
you.
Answer my question.”
“Josh. We need to talk about that. Don’t pull away,” Jenny pleaded. “I think that constitutes more of an emergency than my headaches.”
Josh slammed the pen onto the clipboard and slapped it on the counter. He sighed and turned his back to her for a brief moment.
“I don’t need to talk. It’s old news. I hurt myself some time ago. It’s nothing. It’s almost healed.” Josh’s back gave little view of his emotions as he pulled his sleeves down and buttoned the cuffs tighter.
“Look, I’ll make a deal with you — I’ll answer a question for you if you answer a question for me.” She laid a hand on his shoulder urging him to turn around.
“There’s nothing to say, Ms. Madison. I’ve been poked and prodded by every mental health professional within 40 miles. I’m not interested in talking to anyone else. Just leave me alone.”
“She said you’d been hurting yourself but it didn’t make sense at the time.”
“She? Who’s she?” He turned and focused on her face. Jenny realized her mistake.
“I’m sorry, I was thinking out loud.”
He hesitated. Josh’s eyebrows tilted down into a frown. “Okay. I’ll answer one question and you’ll answer one. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“I get to start though,” Josh said. He leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms.
Jenny shrugged. She looked out the front window to see Grant pacing the lawn with his phone pasted to his ear. He had a hand up and was gesturing as if to convince the listener. She smiled.
“Do you see Shilo too, or does she just talk to you?”
Jenny snapped her eyes back to Josh. “Huh? What?”
“You heard me. I watched you and I think I know the answer but I want to see if you intend to be straight with me — or take the normal ‘mental health professional’ route.”
She shook her head, reaching up to twist a section of hair between her fingers. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
His eyes bore into hers. “Yes you are — I know you hear her. I’ve heard her for years. I used to tell people about it — over and over. Everyone thought I was hallucinating. Mom and Dad sent me to one professional after another. They put me on all sorts of medications to end my ‘mental health issues.’ It didn’t work. None of it did. At one point, I was so drugged that all I could do was sleep. Still, she talked to me — in my damn dreams.”
“Josh, maybe you’re hearing her because you were there. You saw it happen and have it imprinted on your mind. That’s a pretty traumatic event for a child to go through.” She broke his gaze and looked back out the window at Grant, wishing he’d return.
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. Look, I’m not in pre-med for nothing. I need to understand why I still see this — and what the doctors could have done to save her. I owe that to her. If it weren’t for me — ”
“Don’t tell me you’re blaming yourself for what happened? You were just a kid yourself.”
“It was supposed to be me, not her.”
Jenny’s mouth dropped open.
Josh’s face clouded over and water puddled in his bottom lids. He pursed his lips. “Well, that was way more than one question for both of us. Guess this health check is over. But you still didn’t answer mine. Do you see her too?”
The door opened with trepidation and Grant paced into the room. “Well, how’s the patient? Do we need to head over to the ER and get a CAT scan or something?”
“No.” Josh shrugged. “She’s fine. Just needs to take it semi-easy for a while.”
• • •
Grant wasn’t convinced. Josh’s expression told him there was more to know. He’d been around the kid all his life; pretty much grew up with him. Albeit Grant was several years older and in college when Josh was in junior high, still he’d been there through most of the family’s big events. He knew when Josh was lying and he was definitely over that line now. Jenny wasn’t much better. She wouldn’t look him in the eye — damn nervous as hell.
“You’re shitting me, right?” he asked, raising his brows.
Josh shook his head. “No, of course not. Why would I tell you otherwise if she needed to be checked out? That would risk her health. As a person with a respect for the medical practice and one that hopes to take a ‘first do no harm’ oath, I don’t believe in doing that.”
Jenny looked over his shoulder out the window at something for a couple of seconds then grabbed her bag. “Okay then. I guess I’d better get back and work on some paperwork before my shift. Thanks for taking the time for me Josh.” She reached out to shake Josh’s hand.
Something’s not right, Grant thought.
Jenny turned and headed to the door with a quick goodbye. She didn’t look back, just went straight out to his car. There was little Grant could do but follow.
He slammed the door and buckled up. A high-pitched voice like a ventriloquist stated,
“Your phone is ringing, moron.”
He suppressed a desire to laugh and shot a scowl across the car. The voice repeated itself as Jenny scrambled in her bag. “Nice ring tone.”
“Sorry. Katy put that on my phone and I keep forgetting to change it. Do you mind if I take this? I think it’s about my loan.”
He nodded his approval and she answered the call as he pulled the car away from Lauren’s house. Her voice took on the same tone it had when she first met Hodge. He clenched the steering wheel as he realized the flirtation behind the conversation. When she ended the call, her face was flushed and smiling. He turned the music up in the car to block his thoughts.
“Well, I have good news and bad news. Which should I tell first?”
Grant shrugged. “Your choice.”
“Okay, start with the bad and end with the good. My loan was denied.” Strange that she would be somewhat cheery when saying it.
“You don’t sound too disappointed. I thought you needed the funding.”
“I do. I do. And I have no idea what I’ll do now. I guess go to another bank. I could ask my mother but there’s no way in hell I’m going to do that and suffer through any more lectures on how ridiculous it is for me to have such a business.”
“Your mom doesn’t like what you do?”
“She lectures me about everything. You name it. Since my dad died, she’s increased the pressure tenfold.”
He frowned. That made a lot of sense. “Okay, so tell me the good news.”
“I have a date.” It startled him. He cast a narrowed glance sideways, not sure whether to react or not. A slight tick of his jaw was all he showed as he gritted his teeth together.
“With the loan officer. He wants to meet me for lunch and give some advice on what to do so that another bank would be interested in approving the application. It’s not really a date — just a business thing.” She turned her arm and looked at her watch, then frowned.
Yeah, right.
“I’m supposed to meet him in thirty minutes. It’s twenty minutes to my apartment and another fifteen back to where he asked to meet me. Do you think you could just drop me at the restaurant?”
Is she really asking me to escort her to a lunch date with some asshole? No fricking way. Do I look like the big brother type?
“Why don’t I just go with you? I haven’t eaten either, and you may need some help. I’m pretty good with Hodge’s bank.” He didn’t look at her when he spoke, simply kept his focus on the road and swiftly maneuvered the traffic.
Jenny ran her hands over the legs of her pants, clearing her throat as if to consider whether it would be appropriate for him to be there.
Awkward.
“I can handle myself fine. I don’t think — I mean, I’m not sure.” She glanced at her watch again. “Okay, fine.”
He smiled. “Don’t worry, Jen. I’ll behave.”
Maybe.
“Where are we going?”
She gave directions and his frown returned when he realized the guy was taking her to Amici’s, a nice, romantic Italian restaurant with low lighting, very plush and private booths, and fantastic food. For lunch? Really?
“You’re interested in this guy?” he asked when they pulled into the parking lot and waited for the valet to appear.
“He’s my banker. It’s simply lunch and for a business purpose. Besides, don’t think just because you kissed me a couple of times, you get to decide who I eat with and where I go.”
“I never said I did. If it bothers you that much, I’ll sit at another table and you can pretend you don’t know me. Would that make you happy?”
“Oh, God. Don’t get testy now. That’s stupid. I’m not going to make you sit by yourself.” She put a finger up to his face when he held the door for her to enter. “But don’t you dare screw this up for me.”
He gave her his best devious grin.
Now why would I want to do that?
• • •
Grant forced himself to maintain a pleasant smile. She had introduced him as a business acquaintance, slipped into the booth across from him with Banker Boy next to her, and started the most saccharine-sweet conversation on earth. He’d lost his appetite. This is how she conducts business?
“Excuse me a minute, I need to make a phone call.” He recognized a momentary twinge of guilt as he slipped from the booth and stepped to the lobby. Yes, a quick phone call to his friend, Jeff.
After all, it is in her best interest.
She wouldn’t like that he interfered, which was why he told the bank’s president to keep the whole thing confidential. No need for her to get worked up about this. Her success was important to their business. Or at least that’s what he told Jeff.
Now, he felt like eating again. He smiled cheerfully when he returned and finished his lunch in silence. He said goodbye to the schmuck when it was over and even told him to “treat Jenny well” in a teasing manner. He hummed all the way back to her apartment and waved as she exited the car. Her face in the rearview mirror looked confused.