Page 20 of Against the Wind

Gabi wasn’t helpless, but I was definitely glad I was here.

“Honestly, I haven’t gotten that far. I just wanted to be here. I hoped my presence alone would be a deterrent. Beyond all that, I wanted to be here so I can help with any emergencies on-island in the wake of the storm. Trees will go down, and it’s gonna be hard to move around. I’d rather be where the medical equipment is, if I’m needed. There’s the triage station we set up at the community center, but anything more serious will need the facilities here. Right now, I’m the only doctor around.”

That was a hell of a weight.

“I can respect and understand that, but once the power goes, since we’re all the way in here, it’s not likely anybody would recognize anyone’s here. Cars could’ve been left behind.”

“True. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that.” She ate a cracker with cheese and salami. “Thank you for the food and the extra supplies you brought.”

In other words, time for a subject change. I could roll with that.

“Anytime.”

For a few more minutes, we ate in silence. Then the power went out.

“Knew it was comin’.” Switching on the flashlight on my phone, I fumbled my way to the candles.

Gabi turned on a battery-powered camp lantern. By the time I’d gotten the half dozen candles lit and set around the room, it was starting to remind me of another hurricane party, when we’d been trapped alone together in the windowless stairwell of our building as another hurricane battered the Gulf of Mexico.That had been how we’d met just a few short weeks into her second year of residency. We’d sat together in the humid dark after the power died and talked for hours. Then we’d found far better things to do with our mouths in the dark.

Shaking off the memory of the best damned make-out session of my life, I settled back in my chair. “So what’s it like being home, Dr. Carrera?”

Her narrow-eyed glare told me I’d said something wrong.

I scrambled to recover. “You look good. You look happy. Or, at least, you did before I showed up.” Might as well acknowledge I knew I was up shit creek with her.

When she only continued to stare at me, I gave up on finding the right approach and simply said the thing that had been circling my brain for months. “For whatever it’s worth, Gabs, I’m so fucking sorry.”

THIRTEEN

GABI

I stared at him. This man I’d met in a hurricane. The very night I’d been trying desperately not to remember as he’d sucked up all the air in the clinic with his very unwelcome presence. This man I’d let myself fall for, let myself build a future with in my mind, though we’d never overtly defined things between us. We’d started out a situationship and evolved into more. And it had been as natural as breathing. Maybe that should have been my first warning sign—nothing in my life had ever come that easily before. Not my career, not my relationships, not even finding my place back home in Hatterwick after being away for so long.

I’d thought we were on the same page. Then he’d proved I couldn’t have been more wrong, shattering my poor, trusting heart.

And now, here he was, dropping an apology that was so beyond overdue, I didn’t even know what to do with it.

“You’re sorry? You’re sorry.” I let out a harsh laugh. “Do you even know what you’re apologizing for?” Because an apology wasn’t an apology without that.

“For hurting you. I made the wrong fucking choice. That’s for damned sure.”

It meant something for him to say that. To mean it. Regret was written all over the face I knew so well—those dark eyes that crinkled at the corners when he smiled at me, that strong jawline I’d traced with my fingertips countless times. The face I’d once thought I could read like a book. But it wasn’t enough. Not when I still felt raw from how thoroughly he’d blindsided me.

“You were offered that promotion, and you took it without even discussing it with me. You made the decision without taking me into account at all Either assuming I’d change the plans that I’d been talking to you about for months, or implying that my plans—that I—didn’t matter. Do you have any idea what that felt like, Daniel? To go from feeling like the center of your world to nothing at all?”

The ache that had faded these past several weeks to a manageable pain flared bright again as I fought back tears at all the wasted time and effort and dreams.

He set his plate aside so fast, half the food slid onto the floor. “Gabi, no. That’s not what I meant. Not at all what I intended.” He started to reach for me, then caught himself, tunneling both hands through his thick, dark hair. “I know my intention doesn’t mean fuck-all now. The reality is that I hurt you, and I never wanted to do that. I was pressured to make a decision real fast, and I went with impulse. I knew it was the wrong impulse pretty much the moment I had time to breathe. But by then, I was already on the damned plane and the damage to us was done.”

As if exhausted now, he braced his forearms on his knees and leaned toward me. “I was wrong in how I handled it. I was wrong in taking the promotion at all. So much so that I knew within a week of getting there. I missed you like crazy, and I hated Seattle. This southern boy does not need to live that far above the Mason-Dixon line. And it’s just—it took some doing to orchestrate a transfer to Nag’s Head so I could get over here to try to apologize and fix it.”

It was my turn to bobble my plate. “You’re stationed at Nag’s Head?” I’d wondered when I’d seen him yesterday, but I hadn’t let myself dwell on the possibility of what it could mean.

“Yeah. Kinda had to take a demotion to do it. But yeah.”

My heart started to pound. This was a big freaking deal. He’d made major changes that I hadn’t expected. Took a hit on the career I knew meant so much to him. And I didn’t know what any of it meant. I mean, he’d already declared he was here for me. He’d changed his life to put me first. To repair what he’d so carelessly broken, even though he didn’t know what my current position was or whether I’d forgive him at all.

This was huge.

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