Page 22 of All I Need (Hearts of the South)
The simple statement sent her irritation into anger. She narrowed her eyes at her little sister. “Like you would know. You’ve only been with Rob.”
“That doesn’t make me stupid.” Amy didn’t give at all, her expression intent. “I love Rob, the way you loved Gates. If I lost him, going to bed with some other guy would not fill the void. That is stupid. What were you thinking—never mind. You obviously weren’t.”
“Are you finished?”
“Temporarily, yes.” Amy lifted the ivory top along with a skinny, spangled tank in turquoise. “I need to pay for these.”
The transaction provided only a temporary reprieve. On the sidewalk, Amy fixed her with a stern expression. “Why were you seeing him in the first place?”
“I don’t know anyone here—”
“The real reason.” Amy paused, waiting. “What were you looking for?”
Savannah dropped her half-empty cup in the nearest waste receptacle. “Stop doing that.”
“What?”
“Interrogating me.” She glared at her sister. “I’m not one of your suspects.”
“I don’t have to interrogate you.” Amy sketched an airy gesture between them. “I already know why. You’re lonely, the way I’d be without Rob.”
“That is—”
“Right and you know it. You can bullshit him and you can bullshit yourself, but you can’t snow me. Losing Gates changed you, and not necessarily for the better.” Sudden sympathy softened Amy’s eyes. “You sawsomethingin him that would give you back part of what you lost—not Gates, but yourself. You’re simply too stubborn to admit it.”
Savannah sucked in a shaky breath. “I hate you.”
“I hate you more.” A gentle smile curved Amy’s mouth.
“I cannot be in another relationship, Amy.” The panic tried to take control of her breathing, to constrict her throat, and she shoved it down, breathing through it. “I can’t.”
If anything, the sympathy in Amy’s gaze glowed brighter. “I think you already are.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Savannah spun on one heel and walked into the nearest shop, blind to the merchandise and people around her. This conversation was definitely over. Amy didn’t have a clue what she was talking about, and Savannah could prove it. She wouldn’t make the same mistake with Emmett twice, but she could definitely keep him in his designated spot in her life. Phone in hand, she tapped out a dinner invite for the following evening.
“What are you doing?” Amy frowned, her sympathy morphing into concern.
“Proving you wrong.” Savannah held the phone aloft as a terseyescame back as a response. “I can spend time with him, and it doesn’t mean anything.”
Mouth slightly open, Amy stared at her, then laughed quietly and lifted an Egyptian-style golden collar from a display of costume jewelry. “Here, you need this.”
“What?” Savannah scowled at her. “Why?”
“Because, sister dear, you are definitely the queen of denial.” Amy’s mirth died a quick death. “I only hope you get over that before you do some serious damage to him or yourself.”
Chapter Five
Savannah erased the just-discharged patient’s name from the board. Two slow days in a row, filled with more primary than urgent care. The hours had dragged, and she was ready to put this one to bed. Thirty more minutes, and she’d be on her way to dinner with Emmett. Down the hall, the emergency radio crackled and Mackey’s voice murmured in a tense exchange. The skin along her neck prickled in response to the stress in his low tone.
“Mills.” He strode down the hall to grab a paper gown from the shelf. “Multiple trauma victims en route. ETA two minutes.”
She snagged her own gown and pulled it on while following him to the ambulance bay. The two nurses on duty were already gowning up and pulling supplies. “Auto accident?”
“No, two with multiple GSWs.” Sirens whupped closer and closer, competing with his voice. A police siren wailed long and low in the background.
The first ambulance barreled into the bay. The EMT driving jumped down and ran to aid his partner in unloading the patient. The second ambulance jockeyed into position. A marked sheriff’s unit flew into the lot.
The pair of medics jogged up the ramp with the gurney. The shorter of the pair—the young paramedic Savannah had treated for a sprained ankle last week—called out patient stats. “Twenty-nine-year-old male, multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, intubated on scene, saline IV in place, pulse is 82, pressure is 90 over 40, decreased breath sounds on the right side, patient is not responsive, hypovolemic class two—”
