Page 33 of Broken Dreams

“Why? Because you have a family who cares about you?” Nick limped over to pick up his cane.

“No. because they're certifiably crazy.” With a deep sigh, she lifted her head. “Especially my brothers. Alec is much worse since he became a cop. You can see why I'm so desperate to get away from them.”

“Yeah, well, I'm afraid I don't really get that. It’s nice to have someone who cares about you. And I still think you should have told your brother about Roland without my prompting. He deserves to be punished for what he did to you.” He stepped around the bed, and almost fell, catching himself in time.

She frowned. Had Nick reinjured his leg? He'd continued to work out in the physical therapy gym each day on top of his hospitalist work. She suspected he'd cut way back on his pain medication, too. The incident with Roland probably hadn't helped.

She tensed and shivered. There was no denying she seriously feared for her safety when Roland had pressed her against the car. She’d half expected him to grab her breasts, or worse. Maybe Nick was right. But if she did decide to press charges, her brother would be the last person she'd go to.

She drew in a calming breath. “I meant to thank you for coming to my rescue.”

“It was dumb luck that I happened to be there.”

She didn't agree. She felt certain God had sent him to her as a way to protect her from Roland, and to prevent him from leaving without saying goodbye. But she wasn't sure if Nick wanted to hear that. “Do you think Roland has a drinking problem? Maybe his drinking is the reason he hasn't been making rounds?”

“I don't know.” Nick pursed his lips.” I assumed Johnson had given him an ultimatum about getting his act together, and that caused Roland to head out for a few drinks.” He raised a brow. “Unless you think he's been under the influence before?”

“Hmm. I don't know.” She wrinkled her brow, thinking back to their extremely brief conversations. “Not that I can say for sure. There was one time I thought he slurred his words, but then he seemed fine.”

“It's a big leap from one or two episodes of drinking too much to a full-fledged alcohol problem that could interfere with his work.”

She didn't necessarily agree. “Come on, Nick, how could we know? He's hardly ever around to smell the alcohol on him. What do we really know about his mental condition while he's given orders to us from the other end of a phone?”

“You have a point,” he agreed. He crossed the room, but didn't come close enough to touch her.

She wished, more than anything, she could have woken up in his arms. To have kissed him, the way she’d longed to.

Nick stared at her, a frowned furrowing his brow. “I don't know where to go from here.”

She swallowed hard and tried to sound casual, although her heart was thumping in her chest. “Why? Because you missed your flight?”

“Partially.” He shrugged then turned away. “I guess this means I'm not leaving after all.”

“You’re not?” Hope swelled at his words. Even after her brother's rudeness, Nick was staying.

Nick was staying!

“No, I'm not leaving until I know exactly what is going on with Roland.”

She wanted to tell him how glad she was that he wasn't leaving yet but didn't want him to take her comment the wrong way. He didn't say he was staying for her, so there was no reason to plan an entire future with him. But he seemed to care about her.

“You really think he could have a drinking problem?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Now that you've put the idea in my head, I can't leave until I know for sure that Roland isn't practicing under the influence. Because if he is, he either needs to sign himself into a treatment program or have his license suspended until he agrees to go.”

“Okay, then. Sounds like a plan.” She smoothed her hand over her wrinkled scrubs. “I’d better head home.”

“I’ll walk you home.”

She moved toward the door, hoping Roland would get the help he needed. And Nick staying in Milwaukee would give her time to make a few phone calls. There was no reason she had to go all the way to Florida to get away from her family.

Virginia would work just as well.

Chapter Eleven

As Nick walked her home, the idea of moving to Virginia grew, expanding in her chest. Amber knew the nursing shortage was prevalent everywhere, there must be traveling nurse assignments in Virginia, too. There were still a couple of weeks before she was scheduled to leave. Easy enough to call the travel nurse agency and request a switch in her assignment. Hopefully, they wouldn’t mind.

Thrilled with the idea, she felt as if she were walking on air. The distance between Nick’s motel and home was almost too short. They reached her parents’ house in record time.

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