“Aww—come on, Max.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and scuffed one shoe in front of the other like he’d suddenly forgotten how to be cocky. “Not in front of the staff.”
A blonde nurse giggled behind the desk, peeking at him through her lashes. “Nice to see you out of uniform, Officer Locke,” she said. “Missed you at Moon’s the past couple of months.”
“Nice to see you too, Veronica. Captain’ll probably rope me into the Christmas Jamboree at Five Corners—he does every year. Maybe you’ll win the bachelor auction this time.” He winked. “I know you came in second last year.”
“Oh, Georgetta and I will be there, for sure. You can count on it.” She leaned closer, voice dipping low. “I plan on bringing extra singles just for you.”
I blinked at her. I didn’t want to feel jealous—or possessive—or whatever the hell brewed under the surface. But watching her flirt with him hit somewhere I didn’t expect.
I forced a shrug and turned back to Bishop. “So how do you two know each other?” I asked.
“I’m in here practically every other day,” Graham said. “Kinda comes with the job, ya know? Besides, Bishop’s got the most tender touch when he fixes my owies.”
They both chuckled.
I raised a brow. “Of course he does.” I muttered under my breath.
“Hey, I’m glad you’re back, man. It’s been pretty quiet around here without you. Everything good?”
“Yeah, I just got back from a little time off.”
“Nice.” Bishop glanced at the monitor behind the nurses’ desk. “Looks like a room’s open. Let’s get you back, Maggie—see what’s going on with that ankle.”
Graham pushed the wheelchair, following Bishop through the double doors and into an examination room. I couldn’t shake the image of hiseyes—or the feeling that something otherworldly clung to him. Whether he knew it or not was another story.
He helped me onto the exam table and ran a thorough inspection that had me flexing my foot in ways I didn’t know were possible—and crying through most of it. Finally, Bishop stepped out to find an X-ray tech.
The door clicked shut, and we were alone.
“What the hell is up with his eyes?” I asked, gripping his sleeve, turning him to face me. He didn’t tug his arm away, even though I could see the irritation in his gaze.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Max.”
“They are fucking yellow—what do you mean?”
Graham pinched the bridge of his nose. “Can we just not do the freaky shit right now?”
“What? How can I not? My nurse—the one that’s supposed to be taking care of me—could be fucking possessed.”
“I don’t think he’s possessed.”
“How would you know?”
“Wouldn’t he be spewing ectoplasm? Acting weird or something?”
“I don’t know.” I threw my hands up. “I’ve never met the guy before—how am I supposed to know his personality?”
Graham exhaled. “Maybe it’s part of your… psychic thing. Maybe you can see what others can’t.”
“Well, duh?—”
“But maybe he’s just an empath or clairvoyant or something.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You know what a clairvoyant is?”
“Not really. I heard the aunts say it one time.”
“It… is… possible,” I said, my mind sifting through every scenario. “But they’re more common than you think. If that were the case, I should’ve seen more around town these past two months.”
