The room was starting to spin again.
“Where is Lady now? She was a big hit with the kids this afternoon.”
“She’s with…Nick.”
Gemma’s lips made an O.
“I guess I should call him too.” A flash of guilt flared in my stomach.
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Gemma agreed. “He’s a good guy, Carly.”
Before I could respond, Gemma held up a finger and checked the notification coming from her phone.. “Sorry. I have to go.” She stood off the arm of the chair. “I’ll check back in later. Call Nick.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied, smiling as she hurried out of the room.
After giving Alesha a long glance, I tiptoed from the room, shut the door, and fished my phone from my pocket. The corridor was quiet. Too quiet. I continued down the hall until I retraced my steps through the front lobby and went outside to make the call under the arched covering over the entrance. I sat on a stone bench beside a small garden space and dialed Nick. It was nearly ten o’clock, but I had a feeling he’d still be awake.
“Hello?” His voice was thick, as though he’d been sleeping and my stomach swooped at the undeniably sexy sound, but it was quickly followed by a ping of guilt for waking him.
“Hi, Nick. It’s Carly.”
“Carly?”
I smiled at his obvious disorientation. “Yeah, little pink-haired thing that gives you trouble down at the coffee shop.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, sorry, I was knocked out cold over here. The dog musta slipped something in my drink.”
“Aww, Lady would never.”
“Where are you? What’s going on?” Nick asked, changing the topic.
The smile sagged as the banter evaporated. “I’m at the hospital.”
“Are you all right?” The sudden alertness in his voice made me smile again.
“Yeah, I’m all right. I’m here with Alesha.”
“You found her?”
“She called me from some dingy hotel and she was sick. It sounded bad so I called 911 and they took her to the ER. Gemma’s ER. She’s here and she’s checking in on her.”
“So, she’s going to be okay? What happened?”
I gnawed on my lower lip for a moment, debating how much to say. In a few more weeks, Alesha’s condition would hardly be a secret anymore, but it also wasn’t my place to share with people we knew. “She was dehydrated and had low blood sugar. She hadn’t been eating or taking care of herself. They have her on the mend. We will be able to check out in a few more hours I think. When the IV bag is finished.”
“Shit, that’s crazy. I’m glad you found her though.”
“Me too.” I glanced over my shoulder at a trio of people entering the hospital, their chatter carrying on the wind to where I was seated.
“How are you holding up?”
“I’m all right. I guess. Exhausted, mostly.”
“I’ll bet. You need me to bring you anything?”
I shook my head. “No, no thanks. I’ll be all right. Like I said, we should be getting out of here in a few hours. Tomorrow’s gonna be a bitch though…”
Nick chuckled. “The curse of owning a coffee shop, huh? No sleeping in.”
“Ever,” I added, smiling at the humor in his voice. Things were starting to click back into place and feel right again.
There was only one thing missing.
I drew in a steeling breath and turned away from the scene in front of the hospital, ducking my chin to not be overheard. “Listen, Nick, I’m sorry. About earlier.”
“You don’t have to—”
“—Yes, I do. So, just listen, please.”
“All right,” he drawled, a hint of a smile in his tone.
“I’m not good at this stuff,” I sucked in a quick sigh. “Terrible, really.”
“This stuff, being?”
He was gonna make me spell it out. “Relationships. Whatever this thing is between us. It’s new, and I like it but, it scares me.”
“Carly, listen, you have nothing to be afraid of. I’m not going to hurt you.”
I sucked in my bottom lip, so desperately wishing I could believe him.
“Remember that day, right after we met, and you told me you don’t know who I am and I rattled off a bunch of obnoxious trivia?”
I smiled at the memory. “Yes.”
“All right, good. Here’s a little more. The personal shit edition. I’ve never been in love before. I don’t have a dramatic heartbreak hotel kind of backstory. My life was simple up until about a year ago. I was a Marine. I went where I was supposed to, when I was supposed to, to do what I was called to do to serve my country and protect my brothers and sisters in arms. That was it. I didn’t let myself get attached to anything. Places didn’t matter as long as I had a bed to sleep in and a decent cup of coffee.
“But now, all that’s gone. My whole life is different. I’m staring down the road at the next five, ten, twenty years and wondering what the hell it is I’m supposed to be doing. That’s what I was trying to get away from, back when I was stuck tending bar in Fallon. All I’d do was ask these big questions, not find the answers, and then I’d drink away the questions until the next day.”