Page 4 of Ever After All

I’d found my peace in making sure Jake understood he couldn’t fucking hurt people I loved. I understood that he’d been traumatized, like all of us, by our grandfather. After our dad died, his parents had helped. Our grandmother was great. I still loved her even though I would never know just how many secrets she’d kept. But our grandfather had been verbally abusive to all of us and physically abusive mostly to Rhys and Jake. We would find out years after the fact that he’d also sexually abused Jake. All of that fed into Jake drinking himself to death.

I understood how trauma worked and how it could poison someone inside. Hurt people hurt people, so some people said. But that didn’t really sit well for me. Lots of hurt people didn’t hurt other people. Some of us learned what and who we didn’t want to be from enduring pain meted out by others.

Jake had taken out most of his pain on McKenna. I’d called him out on it more than once. When I got big enough, I told him if he laid a fucking hand on her again, I’d make him pay. I’d never laid a hand on him. I just told him I would tell everyone the truth.

A piece of my heart ached for Jake because he’d carried the pain for all of us. That didn’t make it okay that he took that pain and threw it like hot oil on others.

After a quiet moment, Kenan stepped to me and pulled me into a backslapping hug. “I’m just glad you’re home. I’m here if you ever want or need to talk about anything.”

“I know it.”

My chest loosened a little, knowing I wasn’t hiding anymore.

Chapter Three

Rosie

“Which room?” I asked.

“Exam room two,” Harry, one of the nurses on duty, replied as he hurried past me.

The emergency room department at Fireweed Harbor’s small hospital was busy in the summer. During the quieter months of the year, we could count on some slow nights with bursts of excitement. Come summer, when the town’s population quadrupled, the pace was relentless. With fishing hooks flying through the air and accidental wildlife encounters, not only were we busy but every day was also interesting. I never wondered when my shift would end because I didn’t have time to look at the clock.

As the supervisory nurse on duty, I was technically in charge, but we all knew what the hell we were doing here. When it was busy, it was like watching an engine at work with one lever pulling the next. In this case, I was the lever available for the newest emergency. I had just finished helping stabilize a grandfather, who was still shocked he’d had a minor heart attack. He insisted he did everything perfectly as far as diet and exercise. Meanwhile, his wife, who clearly loved him, had explained to me that his idea of taking good care of himself was more aspirational than actual.

I almost ran past the exam room, catching myself at the last minute before knocking lightly on the door. “Come in!” the medical assistant called out.

When I walked in, I glanced over to see Wyatt. My husband. I reflexively fingered the ring on a necklace under my scrubs. I couldn’t bring myself to wear it on my hand, but for some inexplicable reason, I couldn’t not wear it. I still couldn’t figure out why I hadn’t filed for divorce.

Wyatt’s blue eyes met mine as he gave me a sheepish smile. He sat before me with a big fish hook sticking out of his shoulder.

“Is that a halibut hook?” I asked.

I glanced over at the medical assistant who was biting his lip and trying really hard not to laugh. Meanwhile, Wyatt let out a resigned sigh. “Go ahead and laugh. I won’t take offense.”

The med assistant Danny finally let loose a chuckle, his eyes twinkling as he met my gaze. “It is a halibut hook. Wyatt tells me he’s a fishing expert and isn’t sure how this happened.”

I had to bite the insides of my cheeks to keep from laughing myself. When I looked back at Wyatt, he shrugged. He circled his hand in the air. “Just laugh. You know you want to. Better get it out so you don’t have to hold it in the whole time.”

I finally laughed as I approached him. “I’m sure you’ve already told Danny, and I can read the notes, but how about you let me know what happened? I’m dying to hear.”

When I stopped maybe a foot away where he sat on the exam table, it felt like the equivalent of walking into a force field. It locked around us, a vibrating force so powerful I could feel it in my bones. I ignored the way my pulse galloped along like a happy pony let out to pasture.

“I was fishing, and… just poor focus on my part. Blake and I are teaching Lia how to catch halibut, and I should’ve been paying better attention.”

Lia was Wyatt’s niece and newer to Alaska. She and her mother had only moved here a few years prior. I bit the insides of my cheeks again as I nodded, keeping my gaze solemn.

“Can I take a look?” I asked.

“That’s exactly what he told me,” Danny chimed in as he stood from the small wheeled desk where the computer monitor was mounted with an adjustable keyboard. “I have all his stats in there. Blood pressure is normal, nothing out of the ordinary. It looks like he’ll need a few stitches. Do you want me to stay?” He glanced toward Wyatt for this.

“Are you asking because you’re worried that I don’t feel safe with Rosie?” Wyatt looked genuinely befuddled.

“Technically, yes,” Danny replied.

Wyatt rolled his eyes. “Safe and sound. Trust her completely.”

“If you need anything, just page me,” Danny added before he left.

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