Page 109 of Healing the Heart

Chapter 28

Set on Your Lonely Path

THEY LEFT FOR WORKtogether on Monday. Her to the hospital, for her first day back in weeks, and Noah to his office where he had a full day of patients scheduled. It meant taking two cars.

Standing beside her old Toyota, she couldn’t believe her eyes. It had fresh paint, new tires, and, thankfully, was free of blood and nasty graffiti. She had nothing to do with its transformation. In fact, it hadn’t occurred to her she had no way to work until she was getting ready for bed the night before. But, when she mentioned it, Noah had already taken care of it without her having to ask.

Unable to contain her excitement, she turned her back on her as-good-as-new car and threw herself at him. He caught her with a grunt.

“Do you know how much I love you, Noah Richmond?” she gushed as she hugged him. “Having used up all my PTO and with a rapidly dwindling bank account, I didn’t know how I was going to get it fixed. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so very much!”

When he didn’t answer, she leaned back and squinted up at him. The morning sun behind him glinted gold off his hair and put his face in shadow.

“You don’t have to thank me, Fiona,” he said a little tersely.

Had she embarrassed him with her giddy praise?

“Getting the car fixed required only a few phone calls. You’ve had a lot to deal with lately, and I was happy to take care of it for you.”

It couldn’t be the money, could it? Still, she offered, “I’ll pay you back when I can.”

“You most certainly will not!” he growled, clearly offended.

She squeezed him once more then walked to her car, punched in the code on the keypad, and opened the door. If she didn’t get going now, she was going to be late. It felt weird being back in uniform, the burgundy polo all the therapists wore, the logo bearing Noah’s last name stitched on the sleeve, and her photo ID badge hanging from a lanyard around her neck.

“I won’t know how to act, arriving at work alone without my Rossi Security shadow.”

He stepped off the curb and moved toward her, stopping a foot away. In line with his aloof behavior of the past few days, it seemed like a mile. He now stood in the building’s shade, and she could see the ever-present concern on his handsome face.

Yet, it was she who had reason to worry.

All weekend, he’d been more like his old self—before everything came to a head with Jordan. Engaged, attentive, and affectionate, a stark contrast to his quiet, distant demeanor. Fiona questioned whether she had created it all in her head.

Nighttime was a different story, however. He didn’t talk about it, but his dreams persisted, and he got even less sleep than usual.

He never woke her shouting again, but she’d feel the bed shift and roll over in time to see him slip into the bathroom. He emerged minutes later, his damp hair clinging to his forehead, and tiny droplets dotting his bare shoulders from having splashed water on his face.

When she asked him if he was all right, he’d smile and say he was good, but it never reached his eyes like it had even in the midst of their drama.Sometimes he’d returned to bed and hold her tight, but most often he’d stay up, closing the bedroom door behind him when he went elsewhere so he wouldn’t disturb her sleep.

He ran his hand down her cheek and brushed back a strand of hair that had already come loose from her ponytail. “Are you sure you’re ready to get back to work? It has only been a few days since—”

She didn’t make him say it. “I’m rested, and I’ve missed so much work already.”

“That doesn’t matter. What does is that you feel ready.”

“It will be good to stay busy and get back to regular life, don’t you think?”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “It’s just what the doctor ordered.”

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