Page 45 of Coast

It was too early to say the words to each other, and I liked that we didn’t feel the need to blurt something out that had just begun to blossom.

I’d never been in love and wondered if I’d actually know when it happened.

Iunlocked my doorand hurried into my place. When I’d seen the last patient of the day, I’d closed the office an hour early. I stopped by the grocery store and picked up the ingredients for dinner. Nothing special—fried chicken, mash potatoes, and vegetables.

After changing clothes, I headed to the kitchen to get everything started. During the week, our evenings were filled with cooking, eating, and if I was lucky, I’d last through the news. Then we’d go to bed and repeat it the next day. Emery not once had complained in over a month together about his drive to town at night and then back to Black Hawk in the morning to work at the shop.

I’d noticed that morning as I got dressed after he’d left that there were signs of him throughout my home. A t-shirt in my bedroom. A pair of jeans hanging in the closet. Even an extra pair of boots sat on the closet floor. The bathroom counter held some of his personal items, and his shampoo bottle sat next to mine in the shower. The next time I went to his house, I planned to see if it showed signs of my presence. We’d become a part of each other’s lives easily.

With a check on the time, I set the table. Emery would be on his way. Then, I walked back to the stove, flipped the chicken, and turned off the burner under the pot of cooked potatoes. All normal things.

My cell phone rang so I reached for it and swiped the screen and held it to my ear, then said hello. One phone call. Fifteen minutes in time. And the realization at just how unfair life could be struck.

After I disconnected the call with my brother, Dirk, I turned the burn off to the half-cooked chicken, then sat in one of the chairs at my table and placed my face in my hands and cried. When Emery walked in, that’s how he found me. He lifted me from the chair, then sat down with me cradled in his arms.

“What’s wrong,cariño?” he asked.

“Life is unpredictable and unfair. As a doctor, I know because I’ve witnessed it. But somehow, I’ve always been unable to separate myself when it pertains to me.”

“Mac, I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”

“Dirk called.”

“Your brother that’s in the Army?”

“Yes. He called to tell me he was injured in Afghanistan,” I said, then lifted my head and looked at Emery. “He lost part of his leg. He was airlifted out to the U.S. Combat Hospital on the Forward Operational Base. They stabilized him there, then sent him to Landstuhl, Germany. He’s currently in Maryland at Walter Reed. I told him I would refer my patients to another doctor and fly to be with him. He told me no. That he didn’t want me uprooting my life to babysit him.”

“I’m sorry, Mac. I’m surprised someone didn’t call you when he was first injured.”

“Dirk told them not to. Damn it, Emery, why would he do that? Why doesn’t he want me there? He’s going to have an adjustment period. He’ll need help. I’m his sister for Christ’s sake. I yelled at him, and we argued. My brother is in the hospital and I fight with him over the phone.” I rubbed my eyes. They stung from crying.

“He needs time, Mac. And you can’t take him not wanting you there personally. Dirk’s going to have to work through a lot of things. You told me he was in for the long haul with the Army. His injury ended that. You may not have thought of it, but I guarantee he has. As far as not wanting you there. He’s your big brother, Mac. He doesn’t want you to see him at his weakness moment. He also knows you are building a practice and knows you’d give it up for him and he doesn’t want to be the cause of that. He called you,cariño, so he isn’t trying to shut you out.”

I knew there was truth in what Emery said, but it stung Dirk hadn’t wanted me there.

After a few minutes of quiet and absorbing Emery’s warmth, I said, “Dinner’s probably ruined.”

“Bet we can salvage it together. What do you say?”

“Okay. We can always order pizza if it turns out nasty,” I said as I slid off Emery’s lap. He stood, then kissed my forehead.

“You going to be okay?”

“Yeah, I just had to have my freak out time.”

“You can freak out anytime you have the need. I’ll always be there to help you through it.”

I stared at Emery long enough that he said my name as a question, “Mac?”

“Have you ever heard the saying that a tragedy can bring people together?”

“Yes.”

“I wondered if I’d know when it happened.” Emery frowned at my words, I knew he didn’t understand what was going through my head.

“Know what?”

“When I fell in love. I love you, Emery Cortez.”

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