now she had to reconsider this assignment, this idea of hers to return to her home and make a new life, to make a place for herself again. Her family was here. Her friends were here. And her memories were here. Maybe Liz was right. Maybe she needed to be assigned to a different unit so she didn’t have to work with Chase every day. Was the answer just to avoid him and enjoy the rest of her assignment? She could still catch up with friends, with family, visit old haunts like the James River, the Chesapeake Bay and enjoy socializing again. That sounded like a fine plan.
For someone else.
Although she’d left the area after her assault, she didn’t consider herself a coward to run away from things or run away from people. This return to her home was the last part of her healing, of coming full circle to where things had begun, and to come face-to-face with her fears, her anxiety, and spit in the eyes of the demons that had haunted her for three years.
It was time. She was ready. It was the last step to recovery. Today, she’d stepped into the pond, and she’d see if she could swim again.
A month ago, when she’d been talking to her nurse recruiter, the idea had sounded like the right idea at the time. Go home to the Tidewater area of eastern Virginia, reconnect with her roots, be near her family for the fall and spend the holidays together. Her parents had been thrilled, and it had all seemed a good idea. Her brother, Danny, a firefighter, seemed to think it was a good idea, too. Time to come home and reclaim her life. Full circle.
That was the trouble with brilliant ideas. They always seem good at the time you cooked them up, but then, when the bacon hit the pan, you needed to expect some sizzle and smoke.
There was definitely sizzle when it came to Chase Montgomery. Lots of sizzle. That hadn’t changed, but now she wasn’t certain she was prepared to face it, to face him knowing she had been responsible for their breakup.
“You ready?” Liz asked, interrupting her train of thought.
“Sure. What are we doing now?”
“Computer training. That’s probably new since you were here. Half the staff still don’t know how to use it. Training has been a real pain.”
“I’ve used a couple of different kinds of software, so maybe this one will be something I already know.”
“Wouldn’t that be great? Save us both some headaches.”
Emily reacquainted herself with the computer system, and how the charting requirements had changed since she’d previously worked there. Then the moment she’d dreaded happened.
She came face-to-face with Chase in the hallway by the staff lounge. Alone.
“Oh. Hi there.” Flustered, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Or she tried to. It was an old habit she hadn’t dropped when she’d cut her hair short. The last time she’d seen Chase her hair had been halfway down her back. Now it didn’t even cover her ears.
“Hi.” Chase looked as if he was surprised to see her as well. He cleared his throat, and his gaze skittered away from hers. “Uh … you cut your hair.”
“Yes. Yes, I did.” How awkward was this? Very!
“It looked better long.” He looked at her as if remembering or trying to remember how it had looked on her before.
“Yes, well. Suits my lifestyle now.” She tried to walk around him at the same time he tried to walk around her, and they ended up bouncing off each other.
“Sorry.”
“Sorry.” She stomped a foot. “This is so annoying.”
“What is? Running into your old lover or being told you look better with long hair?” Chase took a step back and paused, interested in hearing the answer. He crossed his arms and waited for her, knowing he wasn’t going to like any reason she had. Why should he? She was the one interrupting the status quo of his life. That didn’t come without risk or consequences. Did she think he was just going to accept her unexpected presence with open arms and forget how she’d destroyed his life? She was the one who’d walked away, not him. If he admitted his part, that he’d let her go, that he hadn’t chased her down and made her stay, he’d have to look too closely at things best left in the past. At least, that was what he felt right now.
“Well, both, but mostly running into you when I hadn’t expected it.” Okay. There it was, out in the air between them. The honesty he could appreciate.
“Imagine my surprise when I saw you in the trauma room.” He raised his brows and looked down at her. In the past he’d considered her height cute. She was short, but she’d hit him at just the right place when they’d been wrapped up in each other. He blew out a breath at the unexpected memory.
“There was no way to avoid it.”
“Seriously? I had no advanced warning. You could have called me.” Dammit. Someone should have called him and let him know she was coming.
“And what? Warned you I was going to be working in the ER and might run into you? For all I knew, you weren’t even here, or were married with six kids.” Big. Fat. Lie. She still had friends in the hospital, and they’d let her know he was still there. Still single. Still hot. Very hot.
“I see.” He stiffened, and his eyes went icy. “Danny could have told me.”
“Why? We’re old news, right? Now we’re just two professionals working together, and the rest doesn’t matter, does it?” What mattered was that her heart was palpitating, her breath was tight in her throat, and her legs didn’t want to move. Old news. Right. Denial was her BFF.
“Yes. Well. I can be professional, and I’m certain you will be, too.” The ice hadn’t left his veins, but at least he was being civil. That was more than she should expect from him. And there was nothing he could do about her presence. She was a good nurse, so he’d have to keep his personal reasons to himself. They had no bearing here.
“Of course. I expected nothing less. I’m sorry. I should have gotten word to you.”
“Yes, you should have. It would have been simple courtesy.”
At least she’d apologized and some of his irritation dissolved. Maybe he could overlook it, maybe not, but it was a situation he was going to have to deal with.
“Again. Sorry.” She glanced away. “I was going to grab some coffee then head back out there.”
“Pot’s on the right. Creamer and sugar in cupboard above.” Dammit. Why had he said that? He didn’t care how she took her coffee any longer. Why had he told her that when he hadn’t meant to?
“You remember how I take my coffee?” Surprise showed in her eyes. Blinking those big blue eyes of hers, she held his gaze for the first time since he’d seen her again. What was she looking for? Hell, what was he looking for? The past revealed in each other’s eyes? Hardly.
“I never forgot.” He paused for another second and took a long slow look over her. “Anything.” With that declaration he pushed away before he said something truly stupid and headed into the main part of the ER. How in the world was he going to get through three months with her underfoot, under his skin? Had he just lied to her and himself by
