he’d hoped, Terri laughed along with him. “You love it,” she accused.
“I love my mom,” he agreed. “I’ll admit the holiday chaos is more fun now that there’s a few nieces and nephews underfoot.”
“I bet.” Her gaze drifted away and her smile faded.
“Hey.” He waved his hand in front of her face. “Did I bum you out?”
“Not at all. I was just imagining how it must be for you.”
She tried to cover it, but her stiff, stubborn smile was proof the conversation was a downer. The expression was too similar to the one she wore in the photo on her employee badge. The picture had been taken just ten days after her parents died. Though he wanted to know about her traditions and holiday plans, he didn’t want to ruin the entire evening just because he had a job to do. Information collecting was, unfortunately, necessary.
“When will Trey be home for the holidays?”
“Well.” She tilted her head side to side and took too much interest in the placement of her fork. “I’m not exactly sure.”
“He is coming home?”
She cleared her throat and reached for her water, her gaze roaming over the eclectic decor. “He tells me he really likes Arizona and he’s making friends. I think the distance is good for him this year. Maybe for me, too.”
She still didn’t trust him enough to share her concerns about her missing brother. “You should be together,” David said.
“We’ve been almost inseparable thanks to our circumstances. It’s possible he’s trying to help by staying out there.”
“How so?”
“By not expecting me to come up with airfare.”
“That makes sense, I guess.” Except money wasn’t the real issue. David wanted to find Trey and jerk him up by his ears and tell him to treat his sister with more respect. Too bad he couldn’t reveal his protective streak as her newest friend. Even without the background and intel, he’d heard plenty about Terri’s rough time with Trey. The stories of her devotion to his recovery and her never-quit work ethic were common knowledge around the hospital.
David made a decision on the spot. Assuming his assignment didn’t change, he promised himself that whether or not Trey posed a threat to Dr. Palmer’s research project, he wouldn’t let him take advantage of Terri or continue to run roughshod over her feelings. After everything she’d been through, everything she’d overcome, she deserved better.
Like a spy pretending to be her pal? The annoying little voice in his head had been nagging him almost since the beginning. The trouble was, he liked Terri more with every passing conversation. She was a kind person and a damn fine nurse. If anyone needed a break from trouble, it was her. Too bad her brother wasn’t on the same page.
David told himself he and Trey were nothing alike. Neither of them was being completely honest with her, but David wasn’t running around with a bunch of extremists who spouted peace and delivered violence.
“It sounds like you have a great family,” Terri said as their salads were delivered.
“Believe me, there were plenty of days I wished I was an only child,” he said with a wink. He’d told her about his older sisters and the blind date fiasco they’d arranged during his Thanksgiving visit.
She’d laughed long and hard at that one. “You know your sisters mean well.”
He rolled his eyes and groaned. “The matchmaking meddlers need to find a different hobby. Maybe you could give them a course in minding their own business. You never talk about setting up blind dates for your brother.”
Oops. He noticed immediately he’d taken the wrong tack. He gave himself a mental kick as her eyes clouded with worry. She poked at her salad for a few minutes and changed the subject. He didn’t know if he should apologize or just let it go.
She pushed her half-eaten salad aside with a sigh. “The truth is I may never have that chance.”
“What do you mean?”
“My brother dropped out of college.” She bit her lip before continuing. “He hasn’t contacted me at all in months. I don’t have any idea where he is or if he ever plans to come home.”
David didn’t have to fake the surprise. He couldn’t believe she was telling him this. Despite what it meant for the case, he hated that she suffered over it. “Terri, I’m sorry.”
She swallowed. “Me, too. I won’t bore you with all the gory details and I don’t want to dwell on it tonight. I just thought you should know in case... I don’t know.” She sucked in a breath. “In case I seem sad over the next couple of weeks.”
He nodded, wishing he felt as though she’d welcome his touch. She looked like a woman who could use a hug. They’d shared coffee breaks, lunches and various activities around town, but they’d kept it completely platonic. “Come spend Christmas with us.”
“Pardon?”
Good Lord, had he really just said that? Casey wanted him to get close to her, not adopt her. “I’m serious.” He had to be. It was too late to back down. “We’re crazy, sure, but we’re fun. You’ll have a blast.”
“Your sisters will really ramp up the matchmaking attempts if you bring a woman home.”
“Let’s burn that bridge when we get there.” He wasn’t about to let this go, but he waited while the waitress delivered Terri’s choice of steak and bleu cheese and his bowl of lobster mac and cheese in front of him.
“Oh, wow.” She picked up her fork and assembled a bite of cheesy pasta and sliced beef. “This smells delicious.”
“I second that.” He scooped up lobster mac and cheese from his wide bowl. “This is amazing. How’s yours?”
“Fabulous,” she said. “Try a bite.” She nudged her bowl his way.
He indulged her before returning to the previous topic. “What would you tell a patient facing the holidays alone?”
She shook her head. “I’ve never worked the psych ward.”
“No, but you’ve worked every other ward.”
“Almost.”
“Just answer the question.”
“Eat your dinner,” she countered, leading by example and closing her lips around a bite of her cheesy pasta. She pointed to his plate when he hesitated. “Eat.”
He did as she said, and all thought of conversation halted while they enjoyed the excellent food. “This has ruined me for normal mac and cheese,” he said after a few minutes.
“Definitely.” She ate a few more bites of her food, then leaned back and blotted her lips with the napkin. “I’d tell a patient to go be with friends,” she said abruptly. “That doesn’t mean I’ll go to Georgia with you. It’s not the same thing. But I do appreciate the
