Page 57 of Falling for the Enemy

I sat forward defensively at first, but Brimley had a way of making you feel comfortable even if the topic was uncomfortable. I relaxed back. “I’m sorry things didn’t get better. If it’s any consolation, I can confirm that things didn’t get worse. There were even quite a few instances where it seemed that we’d become friends.”

“Really? What happened?”

It was a darn good question. I had no intention of bringing up the kiss. It would have only made matters worse, and I would probably get into trouble. “I’m not sure. For some reason Jack and I always end up getting uptight with each other. Lots of friction.”

“Or is it something else?” he asked. Here we went again with the insinuation that there was some sort of romantic tension between us rather than just good old annoyance.

“I don’t think so, sir.” Even as I said it, I wasn’t entirely convinced. But Jack had made it very clear that he was just as happy to pretend I didn’t exist. Not exactly the stuff of a passionate romance in the making.

“Well, we’ll see how it goes.” Brimley’s words sounded ominous. “As I’ve said before—it’s not ideal to have two staff members always at odds with each other. Teamwork is essential, and it creates the best learning environment for our students.”

I nodded. “I understand.” I moved to get up, and he didn’t stop me. In fact, he moved aside the report and opened another folder.

My phone beeped as I reached the door. I opened the text once I stepped into the hallway. It was from Jack. “Need your help. Could you take my six o’clock phytology lecture? Many of the students in that class have a big gap in their schedule, and they wait several hours on campus to attend this class. I’d hate to cancel.”

I blew out a frustrated breath. It seemed I didn’t exist until he needed me to cover a class, and a late class at that. I hadn’t eaten since lunch and was expecting to go to dinner with Layla. I was going to text back anobut decided to confront him directly.

I walked down the hallway and knocked before opening the door. Jack was hurriedly putting his stuff in his briefcase.

“Kind of late notice, don’t you think? I thought I was invisible. You know, just because you saved my life doesn’t mean?—”

Jack glanced up from his paperwork. He looked distraught, as if someone had punched him in the stomach. “Holly is in the hospital.” He could barely get the words out. My heart dropped straight to my stomach, and I badly wanted to erase my sharp words.

“Go, Jack. I’ll cover for you. Just let me know if you need me to take your morning classes, too.”

“Here are the notes for the lecture.” The papers slipped from his hand and fluttered to the floor. He stooped to pick them up but got too flustered.

“I’ll clean this up. Just go.”

“Thanks, Ava.” As he swept past me, I grabbed his hand. The look on his face split my heart in two.

“She’ll be fine, Jack.”

He swallowed hard and rushed out of the office.

Chapter Thirty-Six

JACK

Seeing my little girl in a hospital bed, looking smaller and frailer than I’d ever seen her, was something that would follow me for the rest of my life. Holly’s fever spiked, and Gwen rushed her to the pediatrician, who, in turn, advised her to take Holly to the hospital. He worried about sepsis or a bacterial infection. When I reached the hospital Gwen was sitting by Holly’s bedside, her face puffy red from crying and in total despair. They’d done tests, she told me between sobs, and they’d let us know. There were so many ways that could go. As badly as it seemed Gwen needed a hug, she never moved toward me (nor I toward her), and so we sat on opposite sides of our daughter’s bed, each of us holding a warm little hand while we got lost in our joint tornado of worry. And it really felt like a tornado, with a vortex so strong it kept pulling me deep into the middle where the “they’d let us know” ended in the worst possible scenario. Gwen and I hardly spoke a word. We’d grown that far apart, where we couldn’t provide comfort to each other even when our despair came from the same source.

Medicated and exhausted from fever, Holly slept soundly between us. Each of us startled every time she stirred or sniffled.When the doctor came into the room we were so wound up, we both nearly shot straight up to the ceiling.

Holly’s doctor was an elderly gentleman with a slight tremble in his right hand. He wore an expression that was as unreadable as the most skilled poker player’s. “Evening,” he said as if we were just strangers passing in the hallway. He walked over to the monitors, looked at them a few minutes, then turned. “Just a viral infection that came with a pretty scary fever. I suggest leaving her here for the night, so we can give her IV fluids and keep her fever down. Assuming all goes well, she can go home in the morning.”

Gwen covered her face and sobbed. I braced my hand on the edge of the bed to keep my knees from buckling. I’d never felt such relief in my life. The doctor glanced at Gwen, shoulders now shuddering from crying and then at me. I got the scowl. He couldn’t understand why I stood on the opposite side of the bed, recovering from my own sense of relief rather than standing on the same side as Gwen. It didn’t seem fair that the dad was supposed to take the overwhelming good news stoically and be there only to provide support for the mom.

Gwen finally collected herself. “Is there a possibility I can spend the night? If she wakes up in the middle of the night calling for me—well—I want to be here.”

“Of course. We’ll have a small bed rolled in, and one of you can stay.” The doctor shook my hand with a firm grip. Another scowl but that didn’t matter. Holly was going to be fine, and nothing else in the world mattered.

We both sat down in our opposite side chairs. Gwen pulled a compact out of her purse and blotted her eyes. She reapplied some lipstick, which I considered an odd thing to do given the circumstances. Then her sudden fussing over her appearance made sense. A man of medium height, with neatly combed hair and a gray sweater vest strolled in wearing a grave look.

“Nate,” Gwen said with more tears of joy. “She’s fine. Just a virus.” She walked right into his arms.

It felt odd that not even an ounce of jealousy went through me. I was more interested in being able to meet Nate, the man who Holly would now apparently spend family time with. The fact that Gwen never once looked to me for comfort, and I hadn’t felt the need to provide it, solidified in my mind that there wasn’t even the slightest thread of connection between us anymore. I watched the pair for a second, then walked out to give them a few minutes. I was glad she’d found someone. The divorce had left Gwen hardened, angry, but she’d softened lately, and something told me that had to do with Nate.

I was standing outside the door of the room when Nate walked out. He spotted me and headed right over for a handshake. “Jack, right? I’m Nate. Holly talks so much about you I feel like I already know you. I’m so relieved to hear that she’s all right.”

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