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"Damn, your mom must've had her hands full, huh?"
He nods. "There was never a dull moment in our house, that's for sure."
"I can't imagine. It's only my older sister and me. That's plenty."
Knox rubs his hand along his jaw as his eyes hold mine. My gaze falls to his lips. Those lips that touched mine mere days ago.
"But, about the another night..." He begins just as our coworker, Melinda, walks up.
"Hey, Em and Knox!" Melinda says, as she hovers next to the picnic table. "Business going okay, Knox?"
"I'm getting there. Slowly but surely." Knox says, his gaze never leaving my face.
My gut screams at me to run. He's going to talk about the kiss. I need to get out of here and fast.
I stand and swing my legs out of the picnic table. "Melinda, nice to see you. I've got to get back before my next appointment. See you both around."
Melinda smiles as she takes my seat across from Knox. A ping of jealousy runs through me, hot and fast. I wave and jet to the door. I feel Knox's eyes boring a hole in my back but I don't turn. I hear Melinda's loud laughter.
I rush back to my office and close the door behind me. What in the hell happened back there? Feeling jealous over a guy I can't have? I doubt Melinda would do anything; she knows work boundaries.
I take a few deep breaths as I pace in front of my desk. My emotions are all over the place. I help my patients with this, why can't I help myself?
Knox stirs something inside of me; it's unlike anything else. The rules state he's wrong for me. There's no other way around it. I need to forget the kiss. Forget the attraction. Forget it all. Focus on finding someone who fits inside the rules.
The phone on my desk rings. "Yes?" I answer.
"Emma?" Faye's voice calls down the line. "It's your patient, Connie. She says it's an emergency."
"Okay, put her through please. Please ring me when my one o'clock appointment shows."
"Sure thing." Faye says before clicking off. The call comes through and I pick up before it can ring again.
"Hi, Connie. It's Emma."
Sobs break free over the line and my heart clenches. "He came back."
My stomach twists. "Who came back?"
"Dan." Connie whispers.
"When?" I ask. Dan is Connie's ex-husband. Abusive ex-husband in fact. Not only did her dad abuse her, her ex-husband was worse.
"Last night. He demanded to come in, barged the door down. I had to call the police."
"Smart choice. He's out of jail already?"
"Apparently, he got out yesterday and came straight to my house. Even with the restraining order still in place." Connie cries. "I'm so scared, Emma. What if he comes back again? The police said he violated his parole and will serve time for it, but he's roaming the streets as we speak. He's going to show up here, I know it. He's pissed off that I wouldn't let him in and he has nowhere to stay. What do I do?" She's rambling, a clear sign of distress.
"First, take a deep breath. I want you to pack a bag and go to your mom's until this settles down."
"I can't go there! The house is already too full with my brother and his entire family living there."
"Then get a hotel room. Just get out of that house."
Silence takes over the line and I wonder if she's still there. "Connie?"
"Yeah. I guess I'll go stay at a motel a few towns over."
