Page 26 of All I Need (Hearts of the South)
She pasted on the smile that had gotten her all the way to third-runner-up in the Miss Georgia pageant and had helped her win countless smaller pageants with scholarship money attached. “Good morning.”
“Girls.” Her mother’s face lit up, as did her grandmother’s. That welcome lightened the tightness in her chest somewhat. “You’re early.”
“Speeding again, Savannah?” Her father laid aside a medical journal and peered at her over the top of his wire-rims.
“No.” She gripped the handle of her bag, then relaxed her fingers. “Only light traffic.”
“That means we don’t have to rush on the way down to Jasper, then.” Her mother rose, an affectionate hand lingering a moment on their father’s shoulder. Savannah glanced away, the simple act of commitment hitting her the same way Rob’s casual arm around Amy’s shoulders sometimes did, out of nowhere. The emptiness had to go away sooner or later, right? “Mother, I’ll get our bags.”
“How is the hospital takeover going?” Her father’s voice pulled her attention back, and she turned to find her grandmother’s insightful gaze on her. The love and concern in that expression made her want to weep, to climb in Grandmother’s lap like she was a little girl again.
“Very well.” She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “The place is horribly short in terms of nursing staff, but the ones there are excellent.”
“You know you always have a place with me.”
She almost smiled. He never missed an opportunity to remind her of that, and truly, she knew it indicated his pride in her. But work with him every day?
There wasn’t enough alcohol in the world.
“James, leave the girl alone.” Grandmother shook her head at him. “You’d both be miserable, and she’s doing good work in that ER.”
“Amy, how about Robert’s new position? You could have brought him along today, you know. We could have played a round or two.”
Lord bless him, he did try.
Her phone buzzed in her purse, and she let Amy’s bright voice wash over her. She tugged it free and glanced at the screen.
Need to talk.
Oh, hell no. They did not. She dropped the rectangle back in its slot. Emmett Beck had said quite enough to her for one day. ERs were hotbeds of gossip and intrigue. Her name had been linked, erroneously, more than once to this doctor, that nurse, those cops. Not once had Gates entertained not trusting her.
“Here we go.” Her mother bustled in, carrying both purses as well as a couple of large, fancy gift bags. “Ready?”
“Sure.” Savannah stepped forward. “Let me help you with those.”
Soon, the gift bags were safely tucked in the trunk with her and Amy’s gifts. With everyone buckled in, Savannah navigated the curvy subdivision and headed west on Lakes Boulevard Highway toward I-75. The red light before the exit caught her, and her phone buzzed again. Tempted not to look, she checked it anyway.
Be reasonable.
Unbelievable heat flushed her neck. Reasonable? Was he kidding with that?
The light flared green. She crossed the bridge and took the left onto the ramp to merge into traffic. The Mercedes easily caught up to road speed, and she signaled to shift into the fast lane. She could theoretically do ten over the limit without getting stopped.
“Is there a reason we’re setting a new ground speed record?” Her mother’s gentle voice drifted from the back seat. God, Savannah hated that knowing note in it, too.
She checked the speedometer and backed off a couple of miles per hour. Anger pulsed in her throat, and she wanted to cry. “Because men are stupid.”
“No, one man was stupid,” Amy said quietly.
“They can’t help it sometimes.” A wry tone colored Grandmother’s words. “It’s in their jeans.”
A bark of bitter laughter burst from Savannah’s lips. “Their jeans or genes?”
“Both.”
Her mother laid a loving hand on her shoulder. “What happened, darling?”
Blinking back tears, she let the whole story tumble out, from the shooting to Rob’s coming to check on her to Emmett’s crazy suspicions.
