I stared out at the darkness passing by me, seeing only my reflection in the side window. “I’m fine.” I said softly, embarrassed by my outburst.
When we got to my cabin, Todd was staring out the window, waiting for us. His tail was wagging.
Brett turned off the ignition and sat quietly in the cabin of the truck. “Elizabeth, you know I need to leave tomorrow.”
“I know.”
He turned in the seat. “I’m going to Jackson Hole to spend the holiday with Mia and John, and then back to Seattle. We have a game in a few days.”
I nodded.
He reached for my hands. “Come with me.” His face was like granite, chiseled by the porch light shining through the darkness. “Spend Christmas with me and my family.”
“I can’t. I already told the patrol I would cover the shifts for someone else.” I pulled my hand back.
“Then come after. Meet me in Seattle.” He smiled.
I was tempted.
I opened the door to get out. I laughed to diffuse the seriousness of the conversation. “We both know what this was, Brett. Don’t feel obligated to keep things going.” I stepped out, shut the door, and headed up the steps to my cabin.
He stepped out of the truck, slammed the door and followed me in the cabin. “Don’t you want to give us a chance to find out if there’s something more between us?” He asked, almost angrily.
“Brett, it’s just not realistic. I live here. And you have a very busy schedule coming up.” I kept my voice flat, trying not to get emotional.
He took off his goose down jacket, hung it on the hall tree, put his hands on his hips and glowered at me. “So, you want to just pretend this didn’t happen? Thanks, have a nice life?”
“I’m not going to pretend this didn’t happen. I just don’t want you to feel obligated to continue.”
His eyebrows jumped on his forehead. “Obligated? I like you.”
I put my fingers to my temple. “I like you too, but, logistically…” His phone rang again. I sighed. “You should answer that.”
It continued ringing. He stepped towards me.
I crossed my arms and nodded at his pocket.
“Oh, for Christ’s sake.” He jerkily pulled his phone out. “Barringer.” He opened the front door, stepping out into the cold to talk.
I tried not to cry. I sat on the couch and waited. I was pretty sure it was Ryan calling. In a few minutes, he would have a lot of questions.
I could hear his deep voice through the door, but not the words. I waited. There was a long silence and then the door handle turned.
He shut it quietly. When he turned to face me, he was silent. He simply stared at me.
“Everything okay?” It was a dumb question. I could tell by his face it wasn’t.
“Well, besides being a doctor,” he said bitterly, “it seems you left a few other things out the other night.”
My heart raced. I crossed my arms in front of me. “Such as?”
He crossed the room and stood in front of me. “Here I am, thinking you’re just a normal girl, working as a doctor in a small town, but you’re not, are you?” His tone was one of betrayal, hurt. He was frowning at me.
“I didn’t owe you any explanation.”
“When we first met, maybe not. But you knew I would find out.”
He had me with that. I knew that Ryan would bring it up as soon as they talked.