Page 70 of Forever and Other Lies

“What? Are they alright?”

“Oh, I think so. Just scraped up. It was a parked car they hit.”

“A parked car?”

“Earl said the motor gunned on them, and they hit the back of the neighbor’s Mini Cooper. Luckily, the only scratches are on them. I am confiscating every tool from both of their garages.”

“So, what can I do?”

“Can you take them to the ER to get checked out? They both need a few stitches. And they definitely need a psych exam.”

He chuckled. “Be right there, Grandma. Try not to inflict any more harm on them.”

“I won’t make any promises.”

Guiding his grandfather and Nick’s grandfather into exam rooms 3 and 4, he helped them onto the cots leaving the privacy curtain open. Both men were fortunate to escape the accident with only minor injuries.

“Tell me again why you installed a motor on a tandem bike?” Derek asked.

“Seemed like a good idea at the time,” Norm shrugged, smiling, then winced. He had a long cut down his cheek where he hit the back windshield of the Mini Cooper.

“Okay, which one of you ordered the sponge bath, and who ordered the catheter?” Jayna stepped into the exam room, and Derek’s head spun around. Just his luck.

“We both ordered the sponge bath,” Earl said.

“Derek ordered the catheter,” Norm chuckled. “And an enema as well. The boy has a stick stuck up his butt. Maybe that would help.”

He shook his head at his grandfather, then met Jayna’s intense stare. Almost a week had passed since the fake break-up, and damn, she looked good. How was it possible for scrubs to look sexy? But on Jayna, the scrubs looked incredibly sexy.

Jayna let out a derisive snort. She was probably imagining all kinds of uncomfortable medical procedures she’d like to perform on him. For a fake break-up, she was acting like it had been real. She looked pissed.

“Let’s clean up these cuts.” Jayna stepped closer to the cot where Norm sat, swinging his legs. “What were you two thinking?”

“That they’re still eighteen and invincible,” Derek chimed in, earning glares from both men and Jayna.

“Look who’s talking,” Earl pointed at Derek. “Dare Brennan. No dare too dangerous or too stupid.”

He let out a sigh. Would he ever live down his reputation? “We are not talking about me.”

“No, God forbid Derek Brennan opened up.” Jayna narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. “I need to get some suture tape for that laceration on your cheek, Norm. I’ll be right back.” She was pissed!

“How did you ever let that girl go?” Norm asked, far too loudly. Jayna and the entire emergency department would have overheard.

He let out a long sigh. Of course, news of the ‘break-up scene’ had made it to the gossip tree of Blythe Landing.

“Dumbest thing ever,” Earl added.

It hadn’t been real. Someone just needed to tell that to his heart because seeing Jayna again had set it to beating erratically. Maybe while they were here in the ER, he should get checked for arrhythmia.

“It was never real between us,” Derek admitted to the two men.

Chapter 35

Jayna knew it had never been real. But hearing Derek say it out loud stung. When she’d been assigned to the two men, the last person she expected to find with them was Derek. With their knack for finding trouble, Norm and Earl were frequent flyers to the ER. Usually, it was Rose or Norm’s son who brought them in.

Coming face to face with Derek in the exam room had hit her hard. After making such a fool of herself, she wanted to be prepared for their first encounter. Had he realized that her tears were genuine, that her heartbreak was real? Or did he think that, like the fake relationship she had suggested a month earlier, their breakup was just another act?

However, she had achieved her initial goal. Lance had asked her out yesterday, and tonight was their first official date. Sitting at a cozy table for two at Patty’s Pub should have had her feeling elated. This was exactly what she’d wanted.

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