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Chapter 12
Gen sat on the bench in front of the VA hospital and wiped her sweaty palms against her jeans for about the fiftieth time in ten minutes. She couldn’t believe Gavin was here, at the hospital. The fucking hospital!
She’d known something big was up when he’d acted squirrelly about where he was off to. Gavin was not a squirrelly man. Sure, he played his cards close to the vest. Everything about him was on a need to know basis, and in his mind, very few people needed to know very much.
But if someone asked him a direct question, he replied with a direct answer. That was just how he was. Evasion was not a tool in his arsenal. As evidenced, she reflected with a grimace, by how artlessly he’d wielded it when he tried.
She’d made the split-second decision to follow him, Nancy Drew-style, and hadn’t second-guessed it for one minute. And now, sitting in front of the sprawling medical complex, she was glad as hell that she hadn’t.
If Gavin is sick…
Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought and she quickly pushed them down.
Nah. No. Uh-uh. Hell, naw. Big ol’ cup of nope. Opposite of yes, a thousand times. NO.
She wasn’t letting herself go down that road. Not yet, at least. Not until she first found out what was going on. And then gave Gavin hell for leaving her out of the loop.
When both of those tasks had been accomplished, then there would be plenty of time for emotions. Before that, she couldn’t afford to let herself soften up too much to deliver a Genevieve-worthy ass-kicking.
She straightened her shoulders and tilted her chin up defiantly as she spotted Gavin coming toward her down the walkway. She didn’t call out to him. She didn’t stand up straight, but continued to lean jauntily against the retaining wall that lined the entry path. The effect was intentional– she was going for casual insouciance, even though what she felt was anything but.
His eyes landed on her and he stopped in his tracks. Gavin being Gavin, that was the only indication she got that he was surprised, but it did give her a tiny glimmer of satisfaction to know she’d affected him even that much.
They stared at each other like that for a moment, neither of them moving a muscle or saying a word. His phone lit up in his pocket, but he made no move to retrieve it.
Gen allowed herself a small, sassy smirk. “Is that a phone in your pocket, or does your dick vibrate?”
“I guess I’m just happy to see you.”
“I’m good either way.”
“What are you doing here, Genevieve?”
“I followed you.”
“I figured. Why?”
“You were acting jumpy at coffee when you said you had to go. You have nerves of steel. Jumpy’s not in your wheelhouse. I had to make sure you weren’t planning something sinister.”
His lip twitched, but he didn’t give in to the smile. “Like what?”
She shrugged. “Like renting a plane and flying over the town blasting Nickelback, or, you know. Something equally as insidious.”
His face shuttered, and his eyes darkened. Gen knew right away she’d said exactly the wrong thing, but she had no idea how to backpedal. One thing Gavin wasn’t, and that was easy to read. Or forthcoming with his thoughts. It made having conversations a little challenging sometimes.
“God, sorry,” she continued in a rush, trying to joke her way out of it. “Big Nickelback fan, are you?”
He shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand.”
He walked past her, not looking back. She considered letting him go. Maybe it would be easier to never get embroiled in whatever this drama was.
Again…nah. No. Uh-uh. Hell, naw. Big ol’ cup of nope. Opposite of yes, a thousand times. NO.
If Gavin was in trouble, she was going to be there for him. Hell, that would’ve been true even if these confusing feelings hadn’t been popping up. He was, if nothing else, a long-time friend. And when it came to her friends, she was ride or die.
Preferably ride. But if it came down to it, she’d go to the mat.
She strode purposefully after him and grabbed his arm. “Nuh-uh, buddy. No way. You don’t get to just shut down and expect me to go away.”
“Gen, just stay out of it. Seriously.”
“So, that’s the plan? Just tell me to back off, and I’ll do it? Because I’m super meek and mild, and I always do exactly what I’m told. Right?”
He shook her arm off. His face was completely shuttered. It’s not like he was the most over-the-top expressive person in the world under normal circumstances, but she didn’t think she’d ever seen him look quite this cold and detached.
She geared up for the next thing he’d say. She had an argument prepared for whatever it might be.
But he didn’t say anything. That was the one eventuality she didn’t have a comeback for. He just stared at her blankly for a long moment, then turned and walked purposefully down the walkway.
She didn’t follow him. It would’ve been pointless. All she could do was stand there and watch him go.
