Page 22 of The Doctor

Of course, the women in the house became friends, too. From having no friends, I was now blessed with an abundance of them. I loved my brothers and I knew they had my back. But my girls? Yeah, they were everything to me. They made it possible to be me.

I could be the weirdo I was around them. Too much of a tomboy to be girly and far too sensitive to truly fit in with the guys.

Sue, one of the women living in the house, walked into the kitchen holding two large mint green cake boxes. “I went to the bakery and took two of everything. I figured since we have two pregnant ladies, we needed extra sustenance.”

She’d moved into the house when she started working at Salinger Security as the administrative assistant just over a year ago. It was obvious she had secrets and that something had happened to her. I hoped that eventually she would trust us enough to talk about things. Then again, who was I to talk to? She would tell us when, and if, she was ready. It was also obvious she and Jared had some history. And everyone who was in their presence could feel the chemistry between them. I wanted to know what that was about more than I wanted to know about her secrets.

I eyed the mint green boxes and as soon as she placed them on the table, I opened one and pulled out a glazed donut. Lots of dessert and processed sugar had been eaten at our large kitchen table, starting with the wedding cake samples we were tasting when I was engaged to Curtis.

I repeated my question. “Who all is coming?”

“Everyone.” Cassie picked out a donut as well and slid onto the chair opposite me.

I counted in my head. That was nine of us, if Jess managed to get off shift on time. “I think we’re going to need more chairs in here.”

Cassie pulled her cupcake from one of the cake boxes. “Oh, and Everly said she was bringing Maria Wilder with her.”

The more the merrier. I had no idea who that was, other than she was one of the dance moms along with Everly. If my friend felt the need to bring her along, we would all welcome her. Our group did that. We collected good women in need of a tribe.

The women piled in one by one. Each bringing something with them. There were a few of us who weren’t pregnant and we took the opportunity to have a glass of wine. As usual, we gossiped. Mostly about our jobs but a little about the men in our lives. I even learned about some of what was happening with the teenagers in town.

I wasn’t sure how long Dominic would need to stay in protective custody, but the police were still actively investigating. They claimed to have no idea who had broken in or why. Which was, of course, utter bullshit. Jared was working on getting permission to get the information legally. If that didn’t happen in the next day or two, he’d have no problem hacking their system. It was the same system San Diego PD used and he’d gotten in there a time or two. Still, it would be better to work with the guys in San Francisco.

It was Sue who slid on the stool next to me as I shook off my worries. She took my hand, showing off the contrast between her dark skin and my pale complexion. “What’s got you so worried?”

That was a loaded question, if there ever was one. I knew I could trust her. Nothing I said would leave the room. Not even with the women who had husbands.

“I could lose them.” I blinked back tears. Not wanting to think about the fact the universe may have already cast its verdict on my ability to be a parent. “The only reason why there’s been no push back from social services is because we really are those kids’ safest option. Especially since the SFPD failed to protect them. Once the state is done with the investigation, those kids will be gone.”

Sue shook her head. “Don’t think like that. You’re not only the safest option, Bex. Anyone who’s been watching you can see how much they mean to you. Not once have you held back because you could lose them. Your heart has been invested from the moment they came into your life.”

She was right of course. But that was part of the problem.

“Exactly. It was hard giving up Dom. Breaking up with Logan was a breeze by comparison.” That might have been overstating things a little, but it made my point. “I won’t be able to go through that again.”

She smiled, gripping my hand a little harder. “There is a difference, though.” When I tilted my head, she continued. “You will have Logan by your side. Last time you pushed him away. This time, you hold onto that man and lean on him.”

I thought about her words. Leaning on Logan seemed so natural, unless of course I was the reason we lost Dom again, along with his siblings. Then he might push me away.

14

BEX

I couldn’t understand how Logan could work the hours he did and still look so damn good. Despite what happened that first night, we had managed to keep our hands to ourselves. Mostly. There’d been one time where we used our hands to get each other off, but other than that, we’d been good. And it was driving me nuts.

Watching Logan around the apartment was a lot to take. He rarely came home still wearing his scrubs, but he had a few times in the last week, and the sight was something to behold.

Still, it was nothing compared to watching him move around in normal jeans and a T-shirt. The black fabric pulled across his chest, leaving no doubt of the muscles beneath. The short sleeves showed off his biceps, leaving just a peak of the tattoo of the caduceus on his inner upper arm. More subtle on his dark skin than my brother’s tattoos but infinitely sexier. Then there were those jeans. There really should have been more of an ode to the way denim hugged a man’s behind. Or at least a poem on how faded denim hugged Logan’s ass.

He turned and caught me checking him out instead of folding laundry like I was supposed to be doing. His smile was cocky but his words were gentle. “I love your eyes on me like that.”

“I wasn’t looking at you in any way, Mr. Evans.”

At the mention of his last name, his eyes darkened. “Let’s get done before I drag to the bedroom and…”

“La-la-la.” Dom walked into the room holding his fingers in his ears. “Can you two at least wait until you get rid of me before you get it on?”

I pushed away from the small table and turned to Dom. “No one is getting rid of you. All the kids are doing the LazerGames course because Nick is making them, and it would be good for you. It’s character building and who knows? You might even make a friend or two.”

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