Page 103 of Whiskey Run Heroes

Rachel is a sixty-year-old woman that has been in and out of the hospital a lot recently. This time she’s scheduled to have a stent put in her heart. It seems since her husband passed a few months ago, her own health is now declining.

She throws her hands in the air. “Who? Your boyfriend, of course.”

“My boyfriend?” I look at her closed door, trying to figure out how she even knows anything about Aiden. “How do you—“ I start, but before I can even finish asking how she knows I have a boyfriend, she leans forward. “Betsy told Anna, and Anna told Carlita, who was leaving this morning when you came in, and she told Katie. And well, Katie brought me in some magazines and told me that your boyfriend came in this morning, and all the nurses, young, old, and even married are going crazy about how nice looking he is.”

I can feel my face heat. There’s no sense denying it. Aiden is definitely handsome. I start to laugh. “It sounds like you already know a lot about him.”

She sits up a little straighter. “Come on, be nice to an old lady. Since my Jeb died, I need to hear a love story. How’d you meet?”

I sit down on the edge of the bed. There’s no way I can just tell Rachel I’m busy and walk out of here. I know she’s lonely since her husband died. If she wants a love story, I’ll tell her one.

“Well, he’s actually one of my brother’s best friends, and they work together.”

Her eyes get big. “Ooooh, what did your brother think about that?”

I shrug. “I don’t think he likes it very well, but he’ll come around. He knows that Aiden is a good man.”

Rachel lifts and lowers her eyebrows quickly. “How good is he?”

I playfully nudge her on the leg. “Oh, you, I’m not giving you all those details. But I will tell you that he’s handsome—which you’ve already heard—but he’s also very protective and fun.” I lean in and whisper, “And he wants to marry me. But don’t you tell anyone because he hasn’t officially asked yet or anything.”

Rachel’s hand goes to her heart. “Oh, May, I’m so happy for you. Will you say yes? When he does ask?”

I stand up then and start fixing the covers over her legs. “Absolutely. I mean, come on, how could I not?”

She laughs with me, and it’s so nice to see her smiling again. After she makes me promise to invite her to the wedding, I continue on with my rounds of checking in on patients. It’s so nice to be carefree at work again. It seems like lately I’ve been so stressed out avoiding Dr. Lassiter and being worried that he’s going to show up around every corner. It’s nice to know that he’s out of town for a few days.

My name is called over the loudspeaker to report to an operating room, and I drop off my clipboard at the nurse’s station before heading that way. It hardly ever happens, butsometimes I’m called in unexpectantly to help out on a surgery if something needs cleaned up or they just need another hand.

I hurry to the surgery wing, and I am not prepared at all for what happens next. As soon as I walk into the room, the first thing I notice is the empty operating table, and then when I turn to leave, Dr. Lassiter is at the door, shutting and locking it.

I walk backwards farther into the room to put some distance between us. He’s looking at me in a way that brings bile up my throat. “I thought you were in Florida.”

He shakes his head. “No, but that was a good way to throw Dr. Johnson off my track, don’t you think?”

I keep my face guarded, not wanting to give anything away. “What do you mean?”

“I mean... I know you went to him the other day to tell him I’d been harassing you.”

“You were. You are right now.”

“No. I’m not,” he says, shaking his head. “I’ve watched you for months, May. You’re always smiling and happy. I know you’re just playing hard to get. I want you to know how serious I am about you. I know your type, and you’re not just a fun-time girl. You want to settle down, and you probably thought I was just playing with you... but I’m not. I’m committed to you.”

He starts walking toward me, and I put my hands up. “But... I’m sorry, Dr. Lassiter...”

“Call me Mike,” he demands.

“Mike, I’m sorry if you got the wrong idea, but I wasn’t playing hard to get. I don’t think of you like that. Look, if you let me get back to work, we can forget this ever happened. I won’t tell anyone.” I’m not a good liar, but right now, I’ll promise him anything if he’ll let me walk out of here.

I see another nurse looking through the window, and her eyes widen when she sees my face and Dr. Lassiter coming toward me. I hear the jiggle of the door, but Dr. Lassiter doesn’teven acknowledge her as she pounds on it. When she can’t get it open, she disappears, and I’m hoping and praying it’s so she can go get help.

"You're cheating on me," he says.

He’s crazy. That’s all there is to it. I’ve never led him on; I’ve refused all of his advances. This is not good because obviously in his head we have a relationship, and we don’t. I clench my eyes shut tightly. He has to be deranged. I take a deep breath. I’ve been trained to deal with things like this, but I’m drawing a blank of what I should be doing.

There's definitely something wrong with him, and when I don't answer, he continues, "You never went home last night. Who were you with?"

I cross my arms over my chest, refusing to engage in conversation with him. He just shrugs like it's not a big deal. "I know who you were with. It's that same man that's been sniffing around you forever now. I thought that you were a smart woman. You have to know what kind of guy he is. He's just using you. I'm the real deal. I'm the one that can give you the future that you want, that you deserve. We could be so good together."

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