Page 11 of Stolen Kisses
She rode the elevator up to the second floor and hurried toward the nurse’s station, stopping short when she ran into Mandy.
Mandy lifted her red, teary eyes to meet Krista’s, and Krista’s heart nearly stopped beating. “What happened?” she asked.
The mother waved a hand. “Nothing really. Adam just doesn’t sleep well here.”
“Which means you don’t sleep well, either.” Krista frowned sympathetically. “Go home. I’ll make sure he gets extra special care.”
A tear slipped down Mandy’s cheek. “Thank you,” she said, wrapping Krista in a hug. “I trust everyone here, but I know they all have other kids to see. You do, too, but you seem to be able to do it all. You’re like a superwoman.”
Krista laughed and pulled away. “No, that would be you. Go. I’ve got this.”
Mandy nodded. “Okay.”
Krista continued down the hall and grabbed her stethoscope. She’d distance herself from all the patients except Adam, she decided, hoping that Karen wouldn’t notice. She wasn’t a superwoman, but she was a super nurse, no matter what her boss thought.
—
“Heads-up!” Noah said, tossing a Coke across the boat at Joey.
Beauty barked at the exchange.
“Yeah, yeah. You have a bone coming to you, too.” It’d been a good day of fishing. Joey knew a hell of a lot more than the kids that Noah had worked with over the summer. This arrangement was going to work out just fine. If Krista could get over it, that is.
“Krista still giving you grief?” Noah asked as he popped the tab on his Coke and took a long drink.
Joey laughed and sat down on the seat molded into the boat’s starboard side. “Always. Nothing new about that.”
“We still love her, though,” Noah said, reaching into the pocket of his shorts and pulling out a bone. He tossed it into the air for Beauty to catch. She snapped it up in a split second, then took it to a corner of the front deck to gnaw on. She’d been a great fisher-dog this week. She hadn’t gone near the catch, even though Noah had seen the look in her eyes telling him she wanted to play. The fish deserved respect, though. That was his lifelong philosophy. Respect the fish and if you’re not going to eat them, toss them back. Same for women. Respect ’em and if you weren’t going to keep them, don’t get them hooked. Noah liked to have fun, but if there was even a hint that the woman he was momentarily with wanted more than that, he always let them go. No exceptions.
He’d thought maybe he’d seen that look in Krista’s eyes before, but maybe he’d been imagining things. Maybe he was projecting because there’d been times he’d wanted more with her. He wasn’t a commitment kind of guy, though. He knew it. He couldn’t even commit on a plot of land, which was why he lived in a houseboat that he could dock anywhere. He was free. Exploring any kind of romantic relationship with Krista would only spell trouble, and he never wanted to risk their friendship. She meant too much to him to screw it all up. Because inevitably he would screw it all up.
Noah glanced over his shoulder at Joey. “You miss the cab at all?” he asked, hoping Joey’s answer would be no.
“A little.”
Noah’s smile faded. “Well, I’m glad you’re here with me. Hoping to make this a record fishing year. And maybe even catch Mitsy.”
Joey rubbed his hand along Beauty’s back. She wagged, eating up the attention. “Who’s Mitsy?”
“My tuna. I’ve had her on the line twice, the same one, and twice she’s gotten away.”
“How do you know it’s the same one?” Joey asked, dodging the puppy’s attempts to lick his face.
“She’s got a heart-shaped mark on her dorsal fin. It’s a perfect heart.”
“You’re kidding?”
Noah shook his head. “I couldn’t make that shit up. If I did, I’d make the marking more manly than a heart.”
Joey chuckled. “A tuna with a heart on her fin. Okay, I’ll buy that. Thought you were a good fisherman, though. How’d you lose her twice?”
Noah shrugged. “She’s feisty. If I catch her again, though, no way I’m letting go. And I’ve got you this time. Between the two of us, we can’t lose.”
Beauty looked up from her bone and barked as if she understood every word of what they were saying.
Noah stepped over and petted her head. “Sorry, girl. Between the three of us, we can’t lose.”
After docking the boat and leaving the day’s catch at the fish house, Noah headed home to shower. He was meeting his brother Jack at Castaways tonight before Wednesday Wings with Krista. He’d made sure to tell Jack he was ditching him when the clock ticked six-thirty. He’d made the mistake of letting someone else impose on Wednesday Wings last week and he wasn’t making it again.
