Page 51 of Crossfire

Wow. “It sounds like a noble profession. Do you like it?”

“Gives me a purpose in life,” he replied.

“But?”

He studied me. “Who says there’s abut?”

“I can hear it in your tone.”

Grayson’s lips curled up on one side. “Let’s just say, my current assignment is not one that I particularly want to do.”

“Can’t you tell them no?”

“It’s…complicated. I can’t say anything more than that.” Grayson sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “But enough about me.” His voice was husky with intrigue. “I want to hear about you. So far, I know your father passed away, your grandma is in a medical facility, and you have an ex-boyfriend that’s a complete douchebag.” His gaze flickered over my body, igniting a spark of attraction. “And you’re a nurse. Tell me more.”

Wow. It was flattering that he’d cataloged all that information. “Like what?”

“Where did you grow up?”

“Chicago,” I answered.

“Siblings?”

“None.”

His head tilted back in surprise. “Really? I have three brothers.”

“Are you guys close?”

He took a sip of coffee, appearing to consider his response. “We all drifted apart after the death of my mother, but we’re working on it.”

“I always wanted a brother,” I admitted. “But after my mom had me, she had some kind of complication and had to have a hysterectomy. So, it was just me, growing up.”

“Happy childhood?”

“It…was…” Until…

Grayson picked up on my tone, watching me intently, clearly wondering if I’d continue. But this wasn’t something I wanted to talk about.

That day, when I was thirteen, changed my life forever.

“Anyway,” I said, “I was always really close with my dad. Daddy’s girl and all that. Whenever I was with him, I felt whole.” And safe.

And when he died, I’ve felt broken ever since.

It was like Dad was the earth’s surface. Without him, I was in a free fall, grasping to try to catch myself, but each time my hand would grab something, my anchor would snap off, and I’d fall further into the center of the earth.

I didn’t want to fall anymore. I needed to find my anchor.

“Tell me if I’m prying,” Grayson said. “But it sounds like his death was a surprise?”

A lump formed in my throat.

“He was acting depressed, and we all sensed something was off. Maybe I was in denial, not seeing it as severe depression that would lead to suicide. Police said he had several reasons to want to end things.” My voice cracked slightly. “Two years prior, my mom and dad got divorced.”

Dad had worshipped the ground my mother walked on. I couldn’t imagine the pain he must’ve gone through when she left him.

“Shortly after that, his mom had a stroke. It was one of those all-consuming medical emergency situations, where he was at the hospital day and night, and then his job started to suffer because of it. My grandma was in ICU for four weeks and in the hospital for nine weeks total. Not including the rehab she went to after. My dad was struggling to pay his bills and had no line of sight to how to fund my grandmother’s medical care. She was on Medicare, but she had never taken out supplemental coverage.”

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