Page 63 of Mountain Freedom
“I’m good,” I said. “How about you? Who’s your friend?”
The words almost came out with the casual tone I was going for.
This time, her eyes revealed irritation. “Jackson, meet Mike. Mike, this is my old friend Jackson.”
Old friend.It was true. In fact, it’s what I had insisted I wanted. But after that kiss last night, being referred to as an old friend felt like salt poured in a fresh cut.
“Nice to meet you,” I said, sticking out my hand. I felt a sense of satisfaction when he shook mine with a noticeably less firm grip than my own.
“Nice to meet you, too,” he said, though his eyes told a different story. I could read it all over his face. He was irritated as hell that I had interrupted whatever speech he was giving Allison.
But it was even more clear that she was grateful for it, and I was on her side, no matter what.
“Allison,” I said, turning toward her, “my parents are driving in tonight. We’re going to arrange a private burial for Russell, followed by a meal. Mom’s pushing for Tuesday, and if anyone can get the arrangements together that quickly, it’s her. It’d mean a lot if you came.”
She reached over and squeezed my hand. “Of course I’ll be there.”
Mike frowned. “On a Tuesday? This short of notice? Won’t you have patients?”
She gave him an annoyed look. “They can be rescheduled.”
His eyebrows shot to the roof. “That seems unprofessional. What kind of clinic is this, anyway?”
Her jaw tightened as she took a deep breath, clearly trying to keep her temper under control. “Why do you care about my professional life, anyway? It’s mine, not yours. And this is none of your business.”
Score.
He frowned and put his hand over hers. “Youare my business.”
She delicately pulled her hand away.Score number two.“I can’t wait to meet your parents,” Allison said, turning back to meand ignoring Mike completely. “Please tell them thanks for the invitation. Shoot me a text with the details.”
“I will,” I promised.
Allison stood up to give me a quick hug before I left, scoring me yet another point. Mike’s ears were practically steaming as he watched. I wasn’t sure if Allison was even aware of the competition happening right under her nose, but if she was, she was making it clear that I was ahead.
But when I said goodbye and headed out the door, high from my win, a stab of guilt hit me. This was not how a friend acted. Mike was clearly a loser who didn’t deserve her, and I felt zero guilt for knocking him down a peg or two. But I had no business competing with her potential boyfriends if I didn’t plan on being one myself.
I was a man who lived by lines. Boundaries. Clear rules about right and wrong.
But with Allison, all my lines seemed to get swept away, and I found myself constantly losing perspective. Just another reason I needed to get some space. She brought out a side in me that reminded me entirely too much of Russell. He had been a man who lived in a world that was shaded with gray, only concerned with what he could get away with. Right and wrong didn’t matter to him. Winning did.
Allison brought that out in me, just like Russell always said she would. No matter how much I loved her, I needed to stay away.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Allison
When my alarmclock went off Monday morning, I was even more exhausted than I hadbeforethe weekend. Mike had insisted on hanging around all day Sunday, and I’d hated every moment of it. When we had talked Saturday night, I had told him—again—it was really over and tried to give him the “closure” he’d said he needed by rehashing all my reasons as to why. After that, I couldn’t imagine either of us had anything left to say. But even after I kicked him out and made him stay at a hotel, he showed back up Sunday morning, wanting to hang out “as friends.”
His friendship was honestly the last thing I wanted at that point.
But having been raised by a Southern mama, I felt unable to say no. The rules of Southern hospitality were unbreakable. So I attempted to show him around town—and keep him out of my house as much as possible. Having him there, where Jackson and I had shared that kiss and so many other amazing moments,felt wrong. Like he tainted the memories somehow with his presence. But even when we wrapped up dinner Sunday evening and I tried to say goodbye, he followed me back to my house and hung around until late, despite my less-than-subtle attempts to get him to leave.
The man was infuriating. He seemed to think that if he just talked long enough, I would eventually agree I had overreacted and come back to Memphis—and him. It didn’t matter that I didn’t have a job there, he argued. He had scored a good position, even if it wasn’t the one he wanted, and would be making enough to support me while I “figured things out.”
He didn’t seem to understand that I had already figured things out on my own. Despite everything that had gone down since I’d arrived, I actually liked it here. It was home. And now that I had reconnected with Jackson, I couldn’t imagine what I had ever seen in Mike. Jackson was my new standard for what a man should be, and Mike would never measure up.
Although, my resolution to stay in Rosemary Mountain wavered when I got to the clinic and had to face Beverly again. She waltzed uninvited into my office as I was looking over my charts for the day.
