Page 29 of Paging Dr. Summers

“I’m glad.” I looked around at the basic break room with a few tables and a couple of couches with some blankets folded up on each end. Perhaps the staff caught a few z’s when they could. What was of most interest were several well-loved pirate books with tawdry covers. The titles all included references to a rogue pirate. I wasn’t sure what a rogue pirate was, but I wanted to find out.

“What’s up with all the pirate books?”

“All the nurses here are obsessed with them. Apparently the author, Josie Cavanaugh, is a local celebrity. She and her husband recently bought a house in Aspen Lake. It’s all the nurses can talk about.”

“That’s fun. So, tell me what your pirate name would be. For me, I’d have to go with Siren Seraphina Scoundrel or maybe Captain Scarlet Storm,” I said dramatically, with a pirate accent. “What do you think?”

“I think you’re crazy, but I like it.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet.” I batted my eyelashes at him. “So, what’s your pirate name?”

He thought for a moment before his beautiful eyes lit up. “How about the Dreaded Blade Blackwell?”

“Wow. That’s impressive. You’re good at these games. I like this side of you.”

“I like it too,” he admitted. “It’s more me.”

“You mean you’re not naturally broody?”

“No.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“Is that so?” he said, pleased.

“Yeah. I don’t know why, but I get this feeling whenever I’m around you that you’re holding back. I think when we lose the people we love, it’s easy to lose ourselves too.”

“Do you feel like you lost yourself after your mom died?”

“I think I slowly lost parts of myself as I watched her deteriorate, even though she was a rock star until her final breath. Her last words to me were, ‘Life is like a tube of toothpaste; be sure to squeeze every drop out of it. By the way, I think we’re out of ice cream.’”I laughed as tears welled in my eyes. That moment was still raw in my memory and agonizingly beautiful in a way that left me needing to catch my breath.

“She sounds amazing,” Logan said sincerely.

“She really was.” I dabbed my eyes.

“I wish Erica and I would have had a moment like that before she died. But she was thousands of miles away from me. And our last words ...” He cleared his throat and looked anywhere but at me. “They could have been better,” he trailed off.

His admission threw me for a loop. Hadn’t he told me they never argued? Maybe it wasn’t an argument. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound good.

“Oh. I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. We weren’t perfect,” he reluctantly admitted.

“No one is. Perfect is boring.”

“Maybe.” He didn’t sound too sure.

“Well, if you ever want to talk about it, I’d be happy to listen or recommend a song that might help.”

Logan’s eyes captured mine unexpectedly, and I suspected it caught him off guard too. “Your podcast is good.”

Why did that make my heart pitter-patter so much? It wasn’t in my best interest to feel that way.

“You listen to it?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “While I’m running,” he admitted.

“I’m honored. Thank you.” I wanted to jump up and hug him, but I refrained. I’d touched him way too much the day before, to my detriment. It had stirred up too many thoughts. Dangerous ones.

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