Page 72 of Rescuing Dr. Marian
Her hand came up to fake a yawn. A ring with giant diamonds caught and scattered the light. “Spare me the denial, Man Candy. I don’t have much time left.”
The news was surprising. “Are you sick?” That would devastate Tommy. Family was everything to him.
Her face crinkled in confusion. “What? Hell, no. I’m tired and need my beauty rest. So let’s skip the conversational gymnastics. Why don’t you want my Tommy?”
I ground my teeth together before capitulating. “I do. I dowant him. And if you can figure out how to make it work when we live noncompatible lives, I’ll buy you a bottle of whatever whiskey you prefer.”
Tilly’s eyes lit up. “You’ll regret that offer because Iwilltake you up on it.”
Now it was my turn to shrug. “You talk a big game, lady.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t get smart with me, boy. I’ve been managing Marian men since before you were born.”
I let out a laugh, unsure why I was engaging with this firebrand. “Tommy doesn’t need managing.”
He needs loving. And if I could figure out how to be the one to do it, I would.
Before I could respond, Alex’s shout rang through the bar. “Another random fire safety inspection? We just had one!”
I glanced over to see an attractive older man I recognized as the fire chief who’d been at the scene of Hazel’s accident yesterday. At the time, he’d struck me as being coolheaded and efficient as he’d helped manage the rescue effort.
Now, he was flushed and intent as he leaned over the bar, eyes focused on Alex.
“That’s what ‘random’ means, firebug,” he growled. “If you knew when they were coming, you’d get your house in order and pass with flying colors.”
Alex threw up his hands. “You’re insane, Kincaid! This is harassment! What the fuck is wrong with you? Why me?”
“Do you really want a list, Marian? Because I could give you one.”
Tilly giggled softly. She nodded at Alex and shot me a look of extreme satisfaction. “Case in point.”
I blinked at her. “What do you mean?”
“Never you mind. Here’s what you need to do. You need to find a way to remind Tommy what it is he really wants.”
“Pretty sure he knows exactly what he wants. The man is currently in California, interviewing for his dream job. Face it, we’re different people with different lives. He belongs in the city, and I belong in Wyoming.”
“Says who?” The shrewd intelligence in her eyes was unsettling.
“Says… reality?” I shook my head. “I’m a small-town sheriff who pulls tourists out of trees. He’s a brilliant trauma doc who saves lives in ways I can’t even comprehend. You should have seen him during Hazel’s accident?—”
“Oh yeah? What’d you see out there?”
The question seemed simple enough, but something in her tone suggested it wasn’t. I thought back to those hours at the accident scene, the controlled chaos of the rescue, the way Tommy had moved through it all with absolute certainty.
“I saw someone who was exactly where he belonged,” I said, making my point easily. “Someone who was made for that kind of work. Tommy was in his element. He threw his whole self into getting Hazel out of that car and making sure she didn’t…” I stopped before sayingbleed out.
Tilly studied me for a moment and then shook her head, reaching into her shirt for my keys. “Maybe you’re right, Muscles. But if you are, then I must have gotten the story mixed up. Because the way I heard it…” She met my eyes with laser directness as she dropped the keys into my palm. “There wasn’t a damned emergency room within a hundred miles of him when he was supposedly ‘in his element.’”
I stared at her, both frustrated at not getting my point across and also feeling like she’d somehow judged and found me lacking.
She banged her fist on the bar to get Alex’s attention. “Barkeep, put it on my tab. Tilly out.”
She stopped to give Chickie a quick pat on the head, and then I watched her saunter away, arms swinging past her designer puffer vest with ashh-shhsound.
The woman was a force of nature. Her interference and meddling were enough to make my mother’s matchmaking look like child’s play by comparison.
I dropped enough cash on the bar to make up for all of our drinks before waving my thanks to Alex and heading out. Once in the truck, I couldn’t get Tilly’s words out of my head.
