Page 75 of All I Need (Hearts of the South)
Her version of doing today involved a flood of minor health complaints in the ER, coupled with the fallout of discovering HR had not only hired them a set of new nurses, but that Landra Washburn was one of them. She was skilled and apparently excellent at her job, but her effect on Mackey could only be described as detrimental.
Savannah cornered them in exam one after a public sniping exchange in the hallway. The door closed behind her with a quiet thud, and she leaned on it, arms crossed over her chest. “Okay, here’s the deal. You’re both too good to let this shit go on here. I don’t care what you say to each other after hours, but here you have to act like the professionals we all know you are. And we’re not leaving this room until we’re all in agreement.”
Landra folded her arms and deliberately turned her face away from Mackey, who rested his hands at his hips and blew out a long breath. He met Savannah’s gaze, his own irritated and resigned. “You’re right.”
Posture tightening, Landra cut her eyes at him, but remained silent.
Mackey glanced at her, his own expression unhappy. “Landra.”
“I shouldn’t have put in for this position.” She drew her arms impossibly close over her midriff. Her scrub sleeve shifted, revealing healing bruises in shades of purple and yellow. “I knew it wouldn’t work, but I need a job and there aren’t tons out there.”
“We can make it work.” Mackey shrugged when she glared at him. “We can. I shouldn’t have snapped at you earlier.”
“You shouldn’t have gotten involved with me in the first place, when you didn’t wantme.” With her face turned away from him again, Landra blinked hard, and Savannah figured Mackey didn’t see the sheen of tears in her blue eyes. “We wouldn’t even be in this mess if you’d taken that damn high road you’re so proud of.”
“I did want you.” Mackey’s words emerged low and rough.
“No, you used me to make yourself feel better about what you couldn’t have.”
“That’s not true.” He glanced sideways at Savannah. “And this is not the time or place to hash this out.”
Somehow, Savannah figured they’d had this same argument over and over. The words sounded tired and worn, similar to Landra’s dejected expression.
“There’s nothing to hash out.” Landra straightened and focused her attention on Savannah. “I’m sorry about earlier. It won’t happen again. I can play nice.”
The oddly familiar hurt and defeat in her voice tickled at Savannah’s memory. Where had she experienced that before?
Emmett, sitting on the steps after talking to his father and cloaked in that same hurt and defeat. Emmett, sitting in her bed, admitting he loved her and was committed despite her own lack of love for him.
She didn’t want that for him, didn’t want to be the cause of that. She swallowed hard. The situations were hardly the same. Everything was out in the open between her and Emmett, and no one was making any promises that could be broken.
“It won’t happen again.” Mackey repeated Landra’s avowal. His gaze lingered on the curve of her averted face. “I promise.”
Landra nodded, but didn’t look at him. Savannah pushed away from the door and opened it. For now, she was satisfied they would keep their personal animosity out of the ER. She was less satisfied that she knew how to keep from hurting Emmett.
* * * * *
“What is so important that it couldn’t wait until you got off work?” Intrigue rather than irritation colored Amy’s words. She angled Hamilton’s stroller next to the hospital coffee shop table so the sun streaming in the tall windows didn’t strike the sleeping baby’s face, then settled into the chair across from Savannah.
Savannah set a cup of Amy’s favorite—regular brew with raw sugar and a dusting of cinnamon—in front of her sister. “I just…needed to talk.”
“What is going on with you?” Amy smiled over the top of the brown cup. She closed her eyes on a deep sip. “Oh, that’s good. Thanks for this.”
“Anytime.” Savannah waved the appreciation away and tapped the tabletop in a nervous rhythm. “Emmett’s in love with me.”
“Yes, he is.”
“That’s what you couldn’t tell me last night, what you said wouldn’t help me.” Savannah brushed a loose hank of hair away from her face and pressed her fingers to her forehead. “You saw it, right?”
“I did.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“You have no idea how much I love hearing you say that.” An impish light glinted in Amy’s brown eyes, before a gentle smile brightened her face. “Let him love you.”
“Oh, myGod, you sound just like him. ‘Let it ride; let me love you.’ That’s insane.”
“Why is it insane?” Amy spread her hands, then leaned forward. “He’s an adult, and he knows what he wants. Let him love you.”
