Instant Gratification

Her lips quirked as he leaned into her. “I’m going back to the clinic now, Stone.” Belying the words, she put her hand to his jaw and he turned into her touch. “You have to admit,” she said quietly. “This is unexpected, this thing with us. Unexpected, and surprisingly persistent.”

“Surprisingly.” He looked a little amused. “So what do you do in New York with surprises?”

“Work them into my schedule.”

He laughed and shook his head, cupping his hand over hers, bringing her palm to his mouth.

“We’re awfully different, Stone.”

“Yes, and you happen to like those differences, remember? You wanted me to help you bridge those differences.” He put his mouth to her ear. “Run back to the clinic. But go out with me tonight. We’ll finish what we started here. I’ll show you how to relax.”

“I’m taking Spencer to the airport.”

“Afterwards then.” He flicked his tongue over her earlobe. “It’ll be worth your time.”

She shivered and tilted her head, giving him better access. “I don’t think a date is the right way to handle this situation.”

Keeping his mouth on her, he ran his hands up her sides. “What would be?”

She thunked her head back against the wall. “A bucket of cold water over my head.”

He grinned and lifted his head. “You need a bucket of cold water around me?”

“With ice.” Seeming to gather her thoughts, she straightened and shook her head. “I think it’s best to forget it. I’m leaving, and whatever we’d do will just make it that much harder to go.” She jabbed him lightly in the chest. “Don’t follow me.”

He took her finger from his ribcage and entwined his fingers with hers. “Does that work for you in your ER, that point and demand thing?”

“Yes, actually. In my world, I’m quite intimidating. It’s how I get what I want.”

With a smile, he shook his head. “It’s okay, Emma. You don’t have to throw your weight around with me. You keep thinking. I’m sure the longer you think about loosening up and relaxing and connecting, the easier it’ll get. Maybe by the time you get back to New York, you’ll have it down.”

She just stared at him. “Maybe you could just write down the instructions.”

“Come out with me tonight and I’ll make you a list.”

She walked to her father’s truck, then turned back. “A list?”

“Sure.”

“On how to be more easygoing and relaxed? On how to fit in? How to connect?”

He was quite certain that she had no idea how vulnerable she looked, and how utterly irresistible. “Yes, I will. Think of it as an Olympic event. I’ll be your coach.”

“A training session then.”

“If that makes you feel better.”

She stared at him, then let out a breath. “I’m insane. Hell, you’re insane. But yes.”

When Emma got back to the Urgent Care, Missy Thorton was there waiting for her, claiming to need her dish. The older woman sat in the kitchen while Emma transferred the Thai food to another container and washed out the casserole dish.

“I didn’t really come back for the dish.”

Emma looked up. “No?”

“No. Well, yes. But mostly, I wanted to tell you something before you leave.”

“Okay.”

“Your momma came back here once. Did you know that?”

Emma looked up from the sink. “What?”

“About ten years ago now. The rumors were she came back to reunite with your daddy, but that’s not what she wanted. She wanted one hundred thousand dollars. It wiped him out, but he took out a second mortgage on this place and gave it to her.”

Emma set the bowl down and stared at her.

Missy nodded and her blue hair bounced. “It’s why he doesn’t have any large retirement funds. He never built them back up. We all figured your mom wanted a trip around the world or something like that, but she had a fancy husband to pay for such a thing, so that didn’t make sense.”

Ten years ago, Emma had been turned down for financial aid for medical school because her stepfather had been making a fortune. But he hadn’t offered to help her. Emma had looked into student loans. Four years of pre-med at twenty-five grand each would have put her at her BS degree with a hundred grand in debt and four more years of medical school still to get through.

At the time, Emma had panicked. She’d thought maybe she should do something other than become a doctor. Taco Bell was always hiring, and she did love their food. Or Target. She could get good clothing discounts, plus she looked good in red and khaki.

Her mother hadn’t been amused. She’d bossed, yelled, cajoled, and demanded Emma not give up, so Emma had tried for grants, but she’d been denied.

Then her mother had shown up with a check, written from Sandy’s own personal account. She said it was a gift, one Emma wasn’t to question or ponder or give another thought to.

Emma had never been so grateful or felt more love in her life.

Her mother had never brought it up again, though Emma had. Plenty of times, including the day she’d gotten her first job in the ER, when she’d begun paying her mother back from each paycheck.

Her mother had always taken the checks with a sweet, grateful smile, and never once, not one single time in all these past ten years, had Sandy let on that the money hadn’t been hers to begin with.