dead had made him an instant hit among the women.
So she’d heard of him long before he introduced himself during his second week of work. He’d been in line behind her during a coffee break and they’d hit it off when he’d asked about the best beaches for sea kayaking. In the weeks since, they’d had lunch occasionally and frequently chatted over coffee. They’d even gone on a sea kayak excursion, as well as a couple of evening art showcases at the Market. She’d been careful to keep the social speculation to a minimum and she’d been relieved to hear he was making friends quickly in several departments.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want a social life—she did. She’d just been too consumed with Trey’s disappearance to be good company. Something about sharing coffee or lunch with David was less intimidating than going out on a date or out for drinks with friends. With David, she didn’t feel the pressure to be on. She could just relax and be herself. Of his many positive traits, that one was her favorite, though she couldn’t tell anyone. Not even Suzette. Her friends would read way too much into any positive comments she made about David or any other guy.
Her friends had been setting her up since Trey moved to college in August. The few guys she’d met had been nice, but she’d needed time and space to recharge her personal batteries after spending years dealing with Trey’s physical injuries and challenging fits of temper. Not that she blamed him for acting out as he came to terms with the fact that his dreams and goals were out of reach. As he’d told her repeatedly, he’d suffered the most. They’d both lost their parents, but Terri had her dream job and Trey never would.
Now he was missing and she felt caught in another emotional quagmire, keeping to herself simply so she wouldn’t dump her drama on others. She thought of young Brittney, afraid of practically every element of life since she’d broken her leg. Like a lightning strike, Terri suddenly realized, wallowing in worry wasn’t doing her any more good than it was Brittney. Being available 24/7, afraid to miss a call or text from her brother was a waste of her time. She had to break out of this holding pattern.
“Hey,” David said. “You okay in there?”
“Sorry.” She felt the heat climbing into her cheeks. The elevator chimed at her floor. “Just distracted...” The doors parted, and she stepped out, pausing in the doorway for a second. She needed to voice her new resolve. “I won’t be distracted tonight. I’m looking forward to it.”
David’s mouth tipped up at one corner. “Me, too.”
She held his gaze until the doors closed between them, feeling her mouth curve in an answering grin. She turned toward the staff area, her salad suddenly looking more appetizing. Tonight was as good a time as any to move forward with her life, and who better to take that step with than a nice new guy-friend like David?
No matter what her friends would say, he hadn’t invited her out on an actual real date. They were just friends. Right now it was enough to think of herself first for a change. David was attractive, thoughtful and fun. Tonight would be great, no specific definition required.
7:10 p.m.
David set the laminated menu down and waited for Terri’s reaction. He’d chosen a small, quirky restaurant on King Street for dinner. He wasn’t quite sure how to play it—as a date or another outing with a friend. Typically they saw each other at work when her hair was pulled back and she wore shapeless scrubs and he was in the requisite logo-crested apparel. Tonight, she looked beautiful in dark jeans that hugged her fit body and a sage sweater that made her green eyes pop. She’d left her caramel-brown hair down, and the lights pulled out all those golden tones in the glossy, shoulder-length waves.
However she might be defining tonight, this place kept the mood light and easy for both of them. With nearly two dozen variations on classic mac and cheese, he’d wanted to give it a try for some time. Based on her smile and eager expression, he’d made the right call. “What do you think?”
“It’s like comfort food with a gourmet twist.” When she met his gaze, her eyes were dancing with mischief. “Anything I order will render my workout absolutely useless and I can’t wait. It all sounds delicious.”
“Good.” The dining area was small and casual, but David had felt weird about eating here alone. It was a quirky by-product of being the youngest of four kids. He’d been raised with loud, boisterous conversation around a dinner table loaded with food every night. Although he enjoyed quiet meals alone at home, eating out was somehow different. “Have you heard the Battery Lane band before?”
“Yes!” she said as her soft green eyes lit up. “Suzette and I caught them when they played one of the beach bars on Isle of Palms this summer.”
“They’re down at Benny’s tonight. I thought we could swing by for a bit after we eat.”
“Sounds great,” she agreed. “Be warned I turn into a pumpkin around midnight this week.”
“No problem. Shift work can be a bear. I did plenty of that in the Coast Guard.”
The waitress came by, and they placed their orders, each of them choosing a different gourmet combination.
“I took every shift I could get my hands on just out of nursing school,” she said when the waitress walked away. “Usually I adapt quickly. Or maybe my body’s resigned to getting fewer hours of sleep.”
He liked that she could laugh at herself. “Must have been hard times starting your career in the midst of losing your parents.”
“It wasn’t easy,” she admitted. “Trey’s injuries and the survivor guilt issues complicated things.” Her smile was a little sad. “But he’s fine,” she said, putting air quotes around the word. “Somehow we made it.”
David didn’t want to prod a sore spot, but with the holidays coming up, everyone concerned was hoping Trey would make contact with his sister. Human intel in Arizona had dried up and they really needed to figure out if Rediscover intended to make good on veiled threats against Dr. Palmer’s work. “That’s what counts. These past years couldn’t have been easy. I’m not sure how I’ll cope when we lose our parents.”
“I hope it’s a long ways off for you,” she said, her eyes going misty. “I miss them every day.” She traced the rim of her water glass with her fingertip. “Can we talk about something else? This close to the holidays...” Her voice trailed off and she wrinkled her nose.
“Sure.” His task of keeping an eye on Terri was progressing smoothly. He enjoyed her company, but Casey had alerted him this morning that Dr. Palmer would be moving a trial patient into MUSC for the final adjustments and testing. It would be a prime opportunity for Rediscover to strike. “Do you have your Christmas tree up yet?”
“No. You?”
He shook his head. “I’m trying to decide if I’ll go artificial or real or skip it altogether this year.” He shrugged. “I’ll be going to Georgia, so the tree would be just for me, y’know?”
“Don’t skip it,” she said. “Which were you raised with?”
“Artificial. My mom squeezes out every minute of the holiday season. She puts the tree up bright and early the Friday after Thanksgiving. The high could be eighty and she’ll have Christmas carols
