Page 17 of Broken Dreams

“Sure.” She set the bowl of chicken salad in the center of the dining room table, and then went back into the kitchen for the pitcher of lemonade. Alec stood.

“When do I get to meet him?” Her goofball brother cracked his knuckles, pretending to be tough. “Does he know I carry a gun?”

“Ha ha. Very funny.” Ignoring her brother's attempt at humor, she carried the pitcher of lemonade out to the porch where Nick and her father were sitting.

Her dad beamed. “Thanks, sweetheart. I'll tell you, Nick, I don't know what we're going to do once Amber is gone.” Her father shook his head ruefully. “We've really come to depend on her.”

“Gone?” Nick's gaze swiveled toward her, a frown puckered between his brows. “You mean, like taking a well deserved vacation?”

“No, I mean when she moves away.” Her father didn't seem to notice Nick's startled expression. “Didn't she tell you? She's moving to Florida in a few weeks. Even has a job lined up down there.” Her dad smiled and winked at her. “Do you know how many miles there are between Milwaukee and Fort Meyers? One thousand, three hundred and eighty-six. That’s a really long way.”

“Dad,” she warned. Nick's dumbfounded expression twisted her stomach into a knot.

“No.” Nick's tone was clipped. “She didn't tell me.”

She stood there, unsure of what to say. She hadn't intentionally kept her plans a secret. But the faint accusation in his gaze told her he thought otherwise.

Chapter Six

Nick’s intense gaze throughout dinner robbed Amber of her appetite. There was no reason to feel lousy about not sharing her plans with him. They barely knew each other, and certainly didn't have a real close relationship.

This time together was just a brief interlude in their lives. In a few days, maybe a week at the most, they'd go their separate ways. Even if Nick took the temporary hospitalist position, he wasn't planning to stay in Milwaukee, forever. He would eventually return to whatever temporary base he called home and she'd finish her stint at the VA hospital then move on to her new job in Florida.

A sense of desolation crept over her. Her plan to move had seemed like such a great idea. Her brothers had lived in different states, Austin was still in California, Aaron in Boston, Massachusetts. Nick had lived all over the world. He hadn't been tied down by an overprotective family.

So why wasn't she happier at the idea of leaving?

“You were stationed in Germany for a year, then?” Abe addressed Nick. “How did you manage, without speaking the language?”

Nick shrugged as if embarrassed by all the attention to his life. “I picked up some of the language along the way. Most of our soldiers obviously are American, so it wasn't that big of a deal. But the German language wasn't as hard to learn as you might think.” Then he grimaced and added, “Now Chinese? That’s a much different ball game. Talk about a difficult language to figure out. The whole time I was in Beijing, I didn't learn much more than the words for hello, goodbye and bathroom.”

She picked at her food, wishing the meal would end soon. Her parents listened to Nick with rapt attention. Strange, Shane had been so much a part of the family that her parents hadn't acted as if him being around was anything special. She found the way they fawned over Nick extremely irritating.

Finally, she stood and began clearing the table.

“Anyone want dessert?” Her mother asked.

“Thank you, but I'm full.” Nick smiled. “The meal was wonderful, thank you.”

“Yeah,” Alec agreed. “I'm stuffed, too.”

“Mom, Dad, why don't you sit on the porch for a while? It's a beautiful evening,” she said encouragingly. “We’ll save your peach cobbler for later.”

“I’d like that,” her mother murmured. As her dad escorted her mother outside, Andrea went in search of her children. Beth and Ben had been excused early, since the adults had been busy talking. Or rather, hanging on Nick’s every word, she thought with a grimace.

Alec sat for a minute, but when Nick stood and pitched in to help with the dishes, her brother made a quick escape. Apparently, his desire to keep an eye on their guest wasn’t as keen as escaping the chore of taking care of the dishes.

Nick's movements were slow and stiff, making her wonder if he had taken the medication they'd stopped to pick up from his motel room.

Eyeing him subtly, she noticed his lopsided gait was definitely more pronounced as she followed him into the kitchen. She gave a mild snort. Yeah. Take medication? Not likely.

“Where are your pain meds?” She set her load of dishes in the sink with the clatter. “You need to take them.”

He scowled. “I'm fine.” As if to prove it, he spun awkwardly around and went back to the dining room for more dishes.

Gnashing her teeth at his stubbornness, she began to rinse the glassware, then packed each item in the dishwasher. When he returned, she took the stack of plates from his hands.

“You're not fine. I don't get it. What is the big deal with taking the pain medication you so obviously need?”

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