I tense and release my muscles, hoping it’ll help me relax. I know it’s pointless a few minutes later. Too used to being shocked awake by pagers and nurses shaking me from my few minutes of dozing before I’m needed again, I run my palms down my face, rubbing the scruff I so badly need to shave. I practically face-planted into my bed after coming off of a forty-eight hour stint in the ER. Someone called in sick an hour before my shift was over, so I got roped into stepping in. It’s goodmoney, and knowing that I’ll enter repayment over the next few months, I’m trying to save up every bit I can.
I can’t quite believe it. I finally finished residency. The hospital has given me a choice of a position in either their Family Medicine or Emergency departments here or at their partnering hospital in Kittery. Since they’ve had so many doctors retire over the past year, I get my pick. To sweeten the deal, if I choose Family Medicine, I can still pick up shifts in the ER whenever I feel like it. I have a week to come up with my answer. In the meantime, I managed to snag an easy week since my residency just finished. I only have one shift in the ER.
I’m really thinking hard about the hospital in Kittery. Everyone was great there while I filled in those couple of weeks, and it would give me a shot at finding her again. Soft, milk-chocolate hued hair with sun-kissed highlights and deep golden brown eyes pop into my mind. I rake my fingers through my locks and slip my hand behind my head on the pillow. I hate that I didn’t find her right away after that case from hell ended. And I hate even more that I failed to grab her or Colin’s number. By the time the next doctor arrived to take over, all I had wanted to do was run. I wasn’t in the headspace to handle anything else. Not to mention, they’d all left. I guess I could’ve knocked on Jane’s door, but it was after midnight, and she’d just had that baby.
I knew without a doubt after that shift that OB wasn’t a permanent specialty for me. I’m even hesitant to step back in if they ask me to fill in again. I know what happened couldn’t be helped, and it’s not even the first time I’ve witnessed it, but damn did it fuck up the rosy glow of cherub cheeked littles for me for the near future.
Colin’s vet clinic. I sit straight up in bed.Bingo. Why hadn’t I thought of that earlier?Uh, idiot, you’ve been finishing up your residency, that’s why.Typing up Colin’s name and vet clinic along with Kittery brings his info and picture right up. Iscreenshot the number and address. I’ll call it in a couple of hours and see if I can snag a conversation with him.
Yeah, Kittery sounds better the more and more I think about it. A sense of peace washes over me as I look around my room and imagine giving this place up. A change of scenery would be welcome. My lease is due to be renewed or give notice within the next week, so it lines up perfectly with having to make the decision for where I want my future to start.
Stumbling into the kitchen, I slap a pod of coffee into the machine and let it do its thing while I get in a quick shower. Between that and a quick shave, I feel semi-human again. As I sip from my mug, I scroll through property listings in Kittery on my phone. I think renting a tiny place for now is still my best bet, so I can get some of this debt out of the way while it’s still just me.
The number for Colin’s clinic pops into my brain again, and why the hell not? I push the call send button and listen to it ring.
“Amy’s Care Clinic, this is Brynleigh. How may I help you today?”
Brynleigh…Holly’s Brynleigh? I clear my throat.
“Hi, this is Jaxon Reyes. I was just trying to get in touch with Colin. We ran into each other a couple months ago, and I got pulled away before I could get contact info from him.”
“We wondered what happened to you. Not just Colin either,” Brynleigh notes, sounding slightly annoyed on her friend’s behalf. Dangit. I upset her.
“So, you’re Holly’s Brynleigh. I don’t know why I didn’t think to look up the clinic earlier. My residen-”
“Yes, I’m that Brynleigh, and you don’t owemean explanation. I can definitely leave your details with Colin. Hopefully, we can count on seeing your face for drinks somenight soon. I think you need to get reacquainted with a particular friend of mine.”
“How is she?”
“She’s good. The online dating thing around here isn’t really cutting it though.”
I choke on my gulp of coffee. Oh hell, why does the idea of another guy’s hands near her have me feeling a smidge crazy? She’s not even mine.But she could’ve been.
“So, she’s not spoken for yet? That’s good to know, thanks.”
“I wouldn’t wait long though. She’s a catch. Somebody is going to scoop her up, and you’ll lose your chanceagain, assuming she even looks your way after you just disappeared.”
“Brynleigh, who are you grilling?”
Oh thank fuck. Colin. I hear shuffling around the phone.
“Is this who I think it is based on the face my secretary is giving me and the bit I overheard?”
“That depends. Is there a decent number of people calling to find their long lost college buddy with the smoking hot friend?”
That earns me a chuckle.
“You’d be surprised.”
“Calling your office?”
“No, they’re not particularly that smart it seems, but there’s a decent number of competitors you might be going up against.”
“Hmmm… I’ll keep that in mind. Any worthy opponents?”
“Maybe one. It’s Tuesday. We should all do drinks at Phil’s. Typically the gals all meet at one of the houses, but perhaps–”
“On it,” Brynleigh chimes in from the background, clearly eavesdropping.
