Page 5 of Trick of Light

Bethany raised her shoulders. She’d texted him hours ago to tell him her estimated arrival time.

Nick shuffled toward the kitchen to drop the mugs in the kitchen sink. Bethany’s shoulders were suddenly heavy and tired. Despite many years of marriage, she’d still been unable to convince Nick to put things in the dishwasher. Even now, there was grime at the bottom of the sink, proof that a big pile had been there recently. Who had done them? Bethany was eighty percent sure it had been her eldest daughter, Maddie.

The tradition of women only in the kitchen would continue. She rubbed her temples.

“So? How did it go?” Nick asked. He didn’t smile but poured himself a glass of wine from the fridge.

“It was great,” Bethany said. “My father seems apologetic. And he helped out so much.”

Bethany explained briefly about the veterans’ dinner, the old books Victor had sold to save Doug and Ben’s house, her mother’s devastation after Larry’s death, and the fact that Esme and Victor had finally sat down together to discuss their young son’s death from so very long ago.

Nick listened quietly and palmed the back of his neck. Bethany couldn’t figure out whether he was tired, distracted, or uninterested. When was the last time her husband had looked at her and genuinely listened to her? When had that filtered out of their marriage?

“Where are the kids?” Bethany asked.

“All at friends’ places,” Nick said. “I needed them out so I could focus.”

“Oh? What’s up?”

Nick gestured vaguely toward his office. “Big surgery this week. I haven’t fully nailed down a plan.”

Bethany’s fingers tingled. She liked nothing more than diving into a medical problem. Every patient offered a unique set of difficulties. Early in their careers and relationships, Nick and Bethany helped one another with their strategies and supported one another on their quest to “save the world.”

But things had changed. After a few minor legal problems within the medical community—nothing Bethany could speak about publicly or even in private, Nick had been looked over for an enormous promotion he’d always assumed would be coming to him. (After all, his father was Dr. Bob Waterstone. Bob had supposedly cleared the way for him and told him he was the chosen one.)

Horribly for Nick, the promotion had been given to Bethany. She now oversaw the entire surgical department at their Savannah hospital. She took only the unique and special cases and was considered a “force of feminine power” in an otherwise male-dominated industry. Many female medical students had approached her to thank her for all she’d done. They said they wouldn’t have found the strength to embark on this career without her trailblazing attitude.

Bethany knew it had been a struggle for Nick and her father-in-law when she’d taken Bob’s old position. She’d sat through many strained family dinners. She’d felt a horrific distance open up between herself and Nick.

But she couldn't say no when she’d been offered the position. It was all she’d been working for since her little brother’s death.

Plain and simple, Nick wasn’t good enough. And she, Nick, and Bob Waterstone knew that to be true.

“I’d be happy to talk through your procedure if you want,” Bethany said now, refilling her glass of wine. “Like old times.”

Nick’s face stiffened.

“Two heads are better than one,” Bethany offered. “And besides, I’ve missed you the past few weeks. I don’t want you to be cooped up alone in your office.”

It was true that she had missed him. In Nantucket, she’d confessed that her marriage was flailing, and she and Nick often fought in the garage so their children couldn’t hear. But she’d also made up her mind to fix everything. She was Bethany Sutton Waterstone, for crying out loud. She could do anything.

Eventually, Nick acquiesced and led her to his office upstairs, where he outlined the patient’s details and specific difficulties. Bethany listened intently, loving how heated he got when he encountered a complex problem. He waved his hands and tugged his thick head of hair. Over the years, he’d gotten even more handsome than when they’d been twenty-six. His arms were lined with muscles, and the wrinkles around his eyes and forehead gave him a rugged look. She had to keep herself from swooning when he wore suits and tuxedos.

When they argued, Bethany sometimes accused herself of having fallen for him due to his looks and looks alone. But then, she forced herself to remember how kind he’d been to her initially—when she hadn’t had two pennies to rub together or a single friend to call her own.

That was why she’d fallen in love. His looks had been the cherry on top.

It didn’t take long for Bethany to suggest a strategy for Nick’s difficult patient. She pointed out that the patient was iron deficient and prone to infection, which meant he had to operate on a “get-in, get-out” basis. More than that, she reminded him of a special surgery they’d watched on a medical streaming platform last summer, which outlined a different entry plan than what they’d previously learned in medical school. One that involved AI technology. “I think it’s finally time you try it out!” she said excitedly. “This is the perfect patient. And then, you can tell me how it went.”

Bethany hadn’t yet encountered patients with whom she could try out the new AI strategy. She beamed, eager to learn if this new path into the body was better and more beneficial for the patient’s health and recovery.

As Bethany outlined the plan, all the blood drained from Nick’s face. She recognized this expression. Annoyance sparkled in his eyes.

“Are you okay?” Bethany asked, her excitement dwindling.

Nick raised his shoulders and rolled his eyes.

“Well,” Nick said flippantly, “aren’t you just a genius?”

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