Page 16 of Devoted

Chapter 5

Jess

“Speed dating? You can’t be serious?” Rachel widens her eyes at me while I stare her down. We’re all seated on a bench, Piper on the other side of her watching Grayson playing on the playground equipment while Rachel and I talk.

“I am. I need to get back out there. My hymen is growing back,” I whisper as Piper and Rachel both laugh at my theatrics.

“You and I both know that is not humanly possible,” Piper counters. “And second, I thought you were hot for Doctor McSteamy at work?”

I slump back on the bench, reliving our run-in at Tony’s a few days ago during our girl’s night. Seeing him in the bar made the reality of my crush that much more apparent, and after our conversation, I officially have declared myself screwed. For a man to bare his honest feelings to a woman he hardly knows—well, it speaks volumes about who he is. Listening to him talk about how his job affects him—well, it struck a chord with me. And after watching him work over the past few weeks, I’ve come to the following conclusion—Brooks in a hospital setting is dangerous, but him outside of the hospital is even more alluring.

Even after I sang karaoke and we all conversed for a little while before heading home, I told Piper I still feel nervous about how strongly I’m attracted to him. “Come on Piper, we’ve had this discussion. We work together. It wouldn’t be smart to start something with him. So what if he’s just the hottest man I’ve ever seen in my life? It’s not like he’d actually make a move. Plus, what if he’s another victim of my curse?” I admit in defeat as Grayson comes running up to us.

“That curse is all in your head,” Piper retorts.

“Easy for you to say since you met the love of your life,” I fire back. Ever since the ripe ol’ age of twenty-two I’ve been unlucky in love, a cataclysmic reaction to the worse moment of my life—when my mom died.

“I need a drink, Rachel,” Grayson says, out of breath, his cheeks red from sprinting around like a maniac. Rachel swears the best way to tire this kid out is to let him run it out at the park for a bit. She flashes him a look, freezing in place with his water bottle in her hand.

“Please,” he huffs dramatically. At least I know there’s one less kid in the world that will end up being an asshole without manners.

“Thank you for using your manners, Grayson,” Rachel replies.

“Uh, huh.” He nearly throws the bottle back at her before sprinting away, climbing up the stairs and darting for the highest slide behind another little boy he’s quickly become friends with.

“He is so cute,” I croon as Piper nods in agreement.

“Yes, he is. And the kid knows it, I swear. He tries to manipulate me with those dimples, the same ones his father has…” Rachel starts, but I cut her off.

“Speaking of Professor Hottie, how is that situation going?” She wasn’t so eager to go speed dating, I’m assuming it’s because she’s harboring a crush on her new boss, which means I need to prod her a bit.

“Professor Hottie? Real original, Jess.” Piper rolls her eyes.

Rachel searches the playground for Grayson, locating him before answering me. “Things are great. I really can’t complain. We’ve established a routine and schedule that works for us. Luke is awesome about making sure I don’t feel like a housekeeper on top of a nanny, but I honestly don’t mind taking care of stuff for them. Grayson has slowly showed me his true colors as a four, almost five-year-old, but that was to be expected. Honestly, everything is going so smoothly, it’s kind of scary—kind of like we’re a family, but not.”

“Yeah, it is kind of like you became a mom and housewife overnight,” I add trying to mask this sudden surge of jealousy I feel. What the hell? Now I want to play house with a man and be a nanny to his kid? If there’s any more clarification necessary as to why I need to date, I think it’s that farfetched thought. I mean, the dream is to have a family and kids one day, but not right this second. However, that will never come to fruition if I don’t get my butt back out there in the dating world.

“Sort of. But honestly, Luke and I don’t talk much, except about Grayson. He’s actually a very closed off person, and I don’t feel like I know him much more than I did when we met. Except maybe for the fact that I know he likes his coffee black and eggs scrambled, and he actually enjoys doing laundry.”

“Maybe he can rub off on Cash then,” Piper teases, referencing her almost husband. Their wedding is in a little over a month and she’s been busy making sure everything they want for their small ceremony is perfect. I remember when she told me about their first date and the lock fence in the park they discovered together. Now they’re getting married there on the third Saturday in April, and I get to be a bridesmaid. Our sky blue dresses she picked out aren’t hideous either, so I’m thinking I might actually enjoy this wedding.

“No, I think that’s a unique thing to him. But seriously… I know he has a story, one that obviously included losing his wife. I see her face all over their house and I know she died. But he never really talks about her. Do you guys know what happened?”

Piper shoots me a hesitant look as we hold a silent conversation between us. I didn’t live in Emerson Falls when his wife died, but I’ve heard from people around town and coworkers in the hospital that it was a gruesome car accident and he arrived on the scene. However, you can’t really trust gossip and someone else’s interpretation of the events, so I don’t really feel comfortable relaying the information. I let out a sigh as Piper nods before Rachel turns back to me.

“I know you’re curious, Rach. But I honestly think he should be the one to tell you…”

“O-kay,” she draws out. “Is it that bad?”

Piper continues. “From what Cash has told me, Luke quit his job as a sheriff because of how his wife died. He continued to work there even though it’s been almost five years, but he was always anxious about being on duty. That’s all I know, but I can't imagine what that must mean.”

“I’ve heard things from people at the hospital, but I don’t know enough to feel right telling you what I know unless I was sure. Just know, it was traumatic and he’s never been the same since… at least that’s what people that were here when it happened have told me,” I claim, feeling comfortable in my response just as Rachel’s head darts towards the playground as squeals fill the air.

“I just feel for the guy… he seems so lonely…”

Piper eyes her friend sitting between us. “Has he told you that?”

“He doesn’t have to. I can see it on his face. I swear, the only time I don’t see it is when we talk to each other on the couch after Grayson’s gone to sleep.”

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