Page 77 of Finding Jack
“Should I pop some corn? Grab a hanky?”
“Yes, and definitely. Or maybe I’ll just give you the antiseptic version.”
“Was that a doctor joke?”
“Of course.” His hair had fallen from behind one of his ears, and he brushed it from his face in irritation, then reached for something off-camera as he started his story. “So I was a pediatric oncologist.”
“Was? I thought you were still a doctor.”
“I am. General practice right now.” He’d grabbed an elastic and was pulling his hair back as he talked. I swallowed hard as he settled it into a sloppy bun. It looked so much better back than down. I was a dead woman if he ever cut it. He paused, staring out at me from the screen, a tiny twitch playing at the corner of his mouth. Did he realize the effect he’d had on me?
He picked up his story. “So I was a pediatric oncologist. In Portland. It was a hard job, but I thought I was good at it. Then I got it wrong one too many times, and I left the children’s hospital. A friend of Sean’s runs this rural clinic, but his wife got an assignment with her microchip firm in Germany, and when Sean told me about it, I said I’d take over for him while they were gone.”
“How long are they going to be gone?”
“It was supposed to be an eighteen-month assignment, but they like it there, and I like it here, so it’s worked out so far for me to stay longer.”
There was more that he hadn’t said. I could feel all the spaces in between his words. He’d handed me the bare bones, but I wanted the connective tissue. Still, it was far more than he’d offered before, so I accepted it. “How long has it been?”
“Two years.”
I wanted to ask what had driven him out of the hospital and whether he was happy being a general practitioner after being a specialist. But I kept the questions to myself. Maybe it would come out over time. Maybe it wouldn’t. I didn’t have to decide right this second how I felt about that either way.
“How’s work for you?” he asked.
It was such an ordinary request, and yet it felt new in our dynamic. This small talk stuff had been off-limits before, and as I told him about the shape of my day, it felt like I’d been let out of a box to stretch, finally, and breathe fresh air.
That was it. That was the whole conversation. Basically, “I missed talking to you. Let’s at least be friends even though it won’t go further than that. How was your day? This is how mine went.”
So simple. But it felt so good.
A text alert went off on my phone. “Hang on,” I said. “I might have a status update on the plot for revenge.” I checked it and winced.
“Was it him?”
“No. It’s Ranée.”
“What did she say?”
“It says, ‘I’m coming home. And I’m going to kill you.’”
Chapter 28
Jack had only laughed when I told him I had to go stock up on ammunition and get ready for Ranée, but I hadn’t been kidding. I ran down to the corner liquor store to load up on candy. When Ranée charged through our front door a half hour later, I was waiting for her with three king-sized Snickers bars in front of me on the coffee table.
“What is wrong with you?” She slammed the door behind her.
I studied her closely and smiled. “You’re welcome.”
“What am I thanking you for? Humiliating me?”
“Honey, you have scruff burn and your lipstick is all gone. You have been kissed.”
She glared at me for another second then sighed and plopped into an armchair. “Give me sugar.”
“Didn’t Paul already do that?”
“Emily, so help me…”
