she valued her private space. “Although I love my mom, I can’t stay with her for long. Do you know of anyone with a room for rent? It doesn’t have to be much.”
“As a matter of fact there’s a small apartment upstairs you can use for free. It’s not fancy, but it would give you some privacy, and it’s a short commute down the stairs to work.”
He winked and some of the tension in her eased.
“I was going to rent it out eventually. For now, consider it one of the perks of working for me.”
“Oh, Beau. That would be fantastic.” Could this day get any better? “I would love that. And as my finances improve, I can pay some rent.”
This was the first time in ages she’d felt so excited about anything. Allowing hope to find a place in her heart had been an exercise in disappointment over the last months. Maybe now, maybe here, the time had come to take it out for a stroll.
“You’ll get turned around in no time. For now, I’m not going to worry about it. It doesn’t cost me anything for you to live there.” He waved away her protest. “What are friends for, anyway?”
“I can’t thank you enough. Just know that as soon as I can I’ll pay you back. I don’t want to owe you any more than I have to.”
“You’re a qualified pediatrics nurse, if I remember correctly—right?”
“Yes, but currently a semi-disabled one.”
That fact irritated her. Depending on others for jobs and apartments wasn’t the way she wanted to live her life. She’d made her own way in life since she’d graduated college.
“Semi-disabled temporarily.” He held up her file, then set it aside. “What’s contained in that file isn’t all of who you are. Remember, it’s a bump in the road and we’ll get you over it—or around it—one way or another. For now consider the apartment as part of your pay.” He picked up the file again and read a few lines. “According to your doctors you’ve made excellent progress.”
A snort of derision escaped her throat. “According to them, but it’s not enough for me. It won’t be until I get my life back.”
A grin split his face, lighting up his eyes and adding a sparkle to them she’d hadn’t yet seen today.
“Knowing you, you won’t be satisfied until you’re swinging from the rafters in your dad’s barn.”
That made her laugh—a genuine feeling that surfaced from deep within her, eliciting memories that hadn’t seen the light of day for years. The pleasure bubbled up from her chest and burst out of her. This expression of joy was unfamiliar. The last few months had been brutal. A good laugh was definitely called for today.
She wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands and took in a tremulous breath. “I guess you’re right. Those were good times, weren’t they?”
“They sure were.”
A haunted look flashed through his eyes. She’d seen fatigue in the lines of his face, how he rubbed his eyes when he thought no one was looking, and the look of pain when he’d handed the newborn baby to Cathy. Although she knew that his wife had died, she didn’t know all of the circumstances.
“You said the office is new, but I guess I didn’t realize how new your practice really is.”
Changing the topic away from things that were too personal for both of them seemed like a good idea. Now that she’d be working with him there would be plenty of time to get reacquainted. Right now she needed pain relief.
“After working for someone else in a large city clinic I figured out pretty quickly that it wasn’t for me. So I broke out on my own, bought the building and got it ready for business.” He winked and gave that charming grin of his. “I like to run the ship, not swab the decks. At this point in my life building my own business the way I want it seems like the way to go.”
The tension in the air that had been rising between them evaporated. They were back to an easy back and forth banter which eased her mind as well as some of the knots in her back.
“That doesn’t surprise me.” She looked around. “This seems more like you than working at a large clinic. I think you’re better suited to a rural setting, where you know your patients, than having huge numbers of patients run through your office every day.” She shrugged. “Not you. At least in my opinion.”
“Yes, you’re exactly right. I’m just getting going here, but I have high expectations. People have told me for years that Brush Valley needs a health clinic, so now we have one.”
Though he was saying the right words, there didn’t seem to be much passion in him—for them or for his new business venture.
“It’s a good thing. Maybe it will inspire more people to start businesses, too.”
“Then why do you look like hell?”
“That’s one thing I love about you, Aurora—you shoot straight and tell it like it is.” He gave a chuckle, but the laughter didn’t extend all the way to his eyes. “I appreciate it that you didn’t tell me I look worse than that.”
“You look like you haven’t slept in a year.” There was something going on with him—more than just running a new business.
“You’re almost right.”
He shoved a hand through his hair and his eyes darkened for a moment. The fun-loving Beau she’d known had had some hard times recently.
“Seriously?” She blinked, startled by the answer. “That’s a long time to go without a good night’s sleep.”
He nodded, his face grim. “It’s been a rough year.” He rubbed a hand over his face.
“Is it something you want to talk about?” She leaned forward, then cringed when her back tightened at the movement.
“You know that I have a child? A daughter... Chloe.”
“Oh, I see. If she doesn’t sleep, you don’t either?” She smiled. That explained a lot. In her pediatrics experience she’d heard that story many times from parents.
“Yes, well... Julie...my wife...died right after Chloe was born, so it’s always been just the two of us.” He dropped his gaze and cleared his throat, then picked up Aurora’s file from the desk again.
“Beau, I’m so sorry. Do you have someone to help you?”
Surely he wasn’t trying to cope with everything all by himself. Everyone needed help—especially in a situation like this. Grief for him cramped her heart. He had to be in such pain. No wonder he wasn’t sleeping.
Instead of answering her question, he looked away and cleared his throat. “How about for now we focus on you? We can talk about the disaster of my personal life another time.”
“Okay. Sure.” Now she reached out and placed her hand over his. As she did so the simple movement stirred a hot, burning sensation from her wrist to her hip. “Oh! Ow.” She cringed, unable to hide the grimace on her face.
“You
