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“Suffering is the human condition.” Mya scrunched up her face, pleased when that didn’t do anything other than make her head pound an extra beat. “Least my face survived the accident.”
“That’s nothing but luck and more luck. You had enough glass on your face to blind you if it had gotten into your eyes.” Kade’s lips flattened again, turning white. “Then walking yourself out of the car? I was right there, Mya. I could have helped you.”
“I recognized your voice.” She hadn’t meant to tell him that. It was a sideways admission that his teenage self still had a hold on her. “I heard you talking and just knew I’d be okay.”
Kade’s eyes closed, face shifting as if something pained him. “Remember what we told each other in sixth grade? Still true.” His lids flew open, and he stared at her fiercely. “I will always be there for you, Mya. Then. Now. Another ten years down the road. Still true.”
“I still have the scar.” She tried to change the direction of their conversation in an attempt to defuse the emotion that had broken through. Distractedly, she itched the skin of her palm. “Might not have been the best idea, rubbing dirt into the wounds.”
“It was what my dad always said. ‘Rub a little dirt on it. You’ll be fine.’ Made perfect sense to me at the time.” The intensity of his expression eased as he followed the shift she’d introduced. “I’m glad I was the one on the call last night. So glad.”
“How did I not wind up in the hospital? You never really said, and I honestly don’t remember much past getting out of the car and seeing you, then the ambulance. It’s like I blacked out, but I know I didn’t.” Mya let her fingers explore the boundaries of the bruising on her chest, flexing her fingers and forearms. “Everything’s sore.”
“You wouldn’t go to the hospital. Nothing I could say would change your mind. Then you pointed down the street and showed us your house. Said you’d be okay, could walk home, and you were fine.” His facial features tightened, jaw jutting as his Adam’s apple bobbed down and up. “I couldn’t make you ride the bus, but I damn sure wasn’t about to let you stay here alone. We were at the end of shift, so I told my partner I’d owe him one if he’d do the rig transfer without me. By that time, he knew we were old friends. Fortunately, he agreed with only a little ribbing.”
“And so you came home with me? To watch over me?” Heat prickled the backs of Mya’s eyes, and she blinked fast, trying to dissuade salty tears from welling up. “That’s so Kade. Just so you.” She gripped his hand, holding tightly. “Thank you.”
Kade’s mouth opened, but before he could respond, a buzzing rattled from the nightstand on his side of the bed. Mya watched as he closed his eyes, rolling to his back and away as he released her hand. He lifted the phone to his ear and grunted. A change came over his face, lines hardening more than before.
“What?” He barked the question, and she could faintly hear the sound of a man’s voice through the phone’s speaker. “You’re kidding me?” That wasn’t as harshly spoken, but still with a tone of displeasure. “Yeah, hold him there. I’ll be there in—Shit, I don’t have my ride or my colors, brother. I’ll let you know my ETA once I’m on the bike. Don’t let him leave.” More speaking from the other party on the call, and Kade grunted. “Whatever it takes,” he said in response, then disconnected the call.
“Mya, I’ve gotta go.” He rolled back to face her, pushing up on an elbow to look down, his face hovering over hers. “There’s a thing?—”
Her phone rang from the other nightstand, and Mya held up a finger as she slowly wriggled onto her side to reach the device. The screen showed it was from her answering service, which meant it was an emergency. She connected the call.
“Hello, Dr. Taylor here.” Mya was glad to find her most professional voice came out sounding normal. The mattress shifted, and she glanced back to see Kade on his feet beside the bed, already bent to grab something from the floor.
“Sorry to bother you, Dr. Taylor, but one of your patients has been hospitalized. They’re asking for a phone consult ASAP.” The woman from the service rattled off a number, and Mya’s phone buzzed with an incoming text. “I’ve sent it to your phone to make it easier, Doctor.”
“Thank you. I’ll give them a call right now.” Mya hesitated, then sighed. Kade was pulling on his jeans, giving her a frown that prompted her next words. She admitted, “I was in a car accident last night, so let’s route any additional calls to the other Dr. Taylor, okay?”
“Oh my gosh, are you okay? Do you need anything?” The woman’s voice was filled with worry. “I’m so sorry I had to call. Do you want Dr. Taylor to take this consult instead?”
“No, it’s okay. I can answer a few questions from the attending. Thank you again. You’re too sweet.”
The call disconnected, and Mya looked at the text, recognizing the patient’s name as well as the number. He’d gone to Central, which had a good psychiatric unit, so that was a plus for her patient.
“So you’ve got work?” Kade’s voice came from the foot of the bed, and Mya looked to see him already dressed in khaki pants and tugging on worn but comfortable-looking boots. “You aren’t going to try to drive anywhere, are you?”
“No, not until my head stops hurting so much. I’ll do this one consult and then take the rest of the weekend off. My Friday night will simply extend through the next couple of days.”
He studied her for a moment, mouth opening and closing twice. Finally, he asked, “The other Dr. Taylor?”
Mya smiled. “Coincidence. We both work at the clinic, so the service has to make sure they call the right one. It can be confusing sometimes. He’s a good guy.” She paused, then pointed at the dresser where her purse lay. “My keys are in there. You can use my car if you want. Just leave me your phone number so we can connect to transfer it back.”
Kade grinned, the smile so wide and bright it took her back a couple of decades to the boy who’d featured in all her dreams. “My digits are already in your phone, and I texted myself, so I’ve got yours too. I wasn’t about to let you get away again.”
“Let me get away?” Mya slowly sat up, reaching for the sheet kicked to the bottom of the bed. She lay back, relaxing her protesting muscles as the fabric drifted over her.
“You know.” Kade’s face had turned closed off again, the taut muscles along his jaw telling her he was done talking about whatever he’d meant. “I’ll have your car back today. Thanks for the offer. It’s seriously going to save me some time.”
“I’ll see you later?” Mya curled up on her side, finding a position that hurt the least. “Until then, I’ll take it easy. No need to coach me.”
“Hold on.” He turned and strode out the door. She heard sounds from the farthest reaches of her bungalow, a cabinet door opening, then a couple minutes later, a clatter of pottery. An additional few minutes later, he reappeared in the doorway with a glass, a small plate, and a bottle of generic painkillers. Arranging them on the nightstand, he pointed. “Water, a piece of toast with a little butter, and stuff for your head.” Kade appeared to hesitate, staring down at her, then he bent from the waist, and Mya felt the lightest brush of his lips against her temple. “See you soon, Mya.”
“See you.”
CHAPTER 2
