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Chapter 13
Three days later
"Your dinner is on the house tonight, Hope," Bridgette said as I came into The Black Skillet that afternoon after work.
"For what?" I asked.
"Candice was beside herself with baby Aaron last night. He was miserable with those little ears."
"I know," I said. "Doctor Warner said his ears were pretty bad."
"Candice said they were some of the worst the doctor had ever seen. He gave him a shot and some medicine to take at home. I think Candice already went and picked it up from the pharmacy. She said Aaron's feeling a lot better already from that shot. She was so thankful y'all got him in early this morning. That's why your dinner is on the house tonight."
"Oh, Dr. Warner was happy to fit him in, Ms. Bridgette."
"Yeah, but he wouldn't have gotten them in so early if it wasn't for you working there. I really appreciate how sweet and kind y'all are to little Aaron. Candice loves your office. You go ahead and order whatever you want tonight, and I'm not going to put it on your tab."
"Thank you, Ms. Bridgette. I'll just take a burger if you don't mind."
"Stacy's in the back," she said when she saw me look around.
"Some of those Morgan boys are back there, eating in the bar area."
"Which ones?" I asked, doing my best to seem casual.
She shrugged and made a guilty face. "I can't tell them apart," she said. "There's a few back there, though. Max is here, the man from Florida, and a couple of the ones who are your age."
"Two guys?" I asked, craning my neck and trying to look back there.
She nodded. "Three including Max."
I took a measured breath, trying to calm the nerves that hit me instantly. I had been thinking about Charlie Morgan for three days. My thoughts were sporadic and changing, but I thought of him a lot. I had not heard from him at all. I had told AJ I couldn't make it over there to visit with him, and that was the last I heard from either of them.
"You should go back there," Bridgette said.
I wasn't sure what I should do, but her offer made me start heading that way. I saw Stacy when I rounded the corner and she made eye contact with me before smiling and waving me over.
She was at a booth with Max, Casey, and AJ. There was no Charlie, and I felt instantly deflated.
"Hey guys," I said, smiling as I headed their way. It was early for dinner, and the restaurant wasn't busy, but I could tell by the empty plates that they were wrapping up.
"Did you come for dinner?" Max asked.
"I'm just picking it up to take home," I said.
"Come sit for a minute until we get up," he said, motioning to the seat next to him.
I moved around Stacy, hugging her briefly in the process. Casey and AJ were sitting opposite me, and I smiled at them as I got settled into the booth.
"Charlie would have been here with us, but he's injured," Max said.
"He would have been miserable with how choppy that water was on the way here," Casey added before I could say anything.
"What happened to him?" I asked, feeling like I couldn’t breathe until I knew more.
"Old football injury," AJ said.
"New football injury," Max corrected smiling. "His quad—his leg. They were playing catch with a football in the yard, and he slipped and pulled it."
