Page 62 of Someday You Learn

This is my chance. This is what I’ve been wanting since I moved back home to work at this hospital.

I just hope I can hold it all together long enough to make my dream a reality.

Because chasing dreams is fucking exhausting.

***

Hours later, with the weight of the day pressing on me, I finally walk through the front door. I plop down onto the couch, kicking my feet up on the coffee table and stretching my toes out, trying to relieve the ache in my feet.

“I didn’t hear you come home,” Cashlynn says from behind me. She’s fresh from the shower, dragging a towel over her wet hair.

Fuck, I want to dirty her up just looking at her.

I haven’t allowed myself to think about that kiss for days because I’ve been buried in my work. Thank God it’s Friday.

“I just got in,” I say gruffly, leaning back and closing my eyes.

She steps closer and pushes my hair back from my face. “You look exhausted.”

“Well, I’m trying to show your father that he can trust me—with you and his practice—so yeah…I’m beat.”

She nods and heads toward the kitchen, pressing a few buttons on the microwave to heat up my dinner. The smell of enchiladas wafts through the air, and my stomach growls. She did the same thing last night, had a home-cooked meal waiting for me when I got home after a long shift. Gotta admit—that’s a detail of this arrangement I don’t hate.

“When he told me he was going to announce his retirement, I was afraid this might happen.”

“What might happen?”

“You running yourself ragged,” she says as the microwave beeps. A moment later, she sets the plate of food in front of me and hands me a fork.

“Thank you.” I take a bite of the chicken enchiladas as she sits down next to me. “I have to show him how bad I want this, Cashlynn. If I don’t give it my all, I’ll regret it.”

She props her elbow on the back of the couch, resting her head on her hand. “I get it, but I also know my father. He’s the kind of man that will find a fault in anything.”

“Believe me, I know.”

“But he also isn’t impressed by flashy showmanship. You’re an amazing doctor, Parker,” she says, reaching out and placing her free hand on my forearm.

“How do you know that?”

Her lips curve into a small smile. “My father has talked about you a lot, remember?”

I nod, taking another bite of my dinner. “But this is different.”

“No, it’s not. He doesn’t need you to show off. He just needs to see that you care.”

I think back to the many conversations I’ve had with Dr. O’Neil over the years. “Maybe you’re right.”

“I know I am. But if it helps, I can keep talking you up to him any chance I get.”

“That might do more harm than good. Remember, he thinks I’m the man fucking his daughter.” As soon as the words leave my lips, I regret them. But when I turn to look at Cashlynn, she’s licking her lips and glancing down at mine.

“True,” she says softly.

Needing to steer clear of the tension I just created, I take another bite of my dinner. “This is really good, by the way. Thanks.”

She pushes herself up off the couch, bending over right in front of me to run the towel over her hair again before twisting it up and on top of her head.

Jesus Christ. Why was that so sexy?

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