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“Absolutely nothing. Nothingis going on between us.” His hand sailed through his waterlogged hair, affording him all of two seconds to strategize a response. “We were on that 5K for self-harm awareness; I put the event in her contract. The doctor said I’d be dead if she hadn’t been there.”
“A convenient explanation. Too convenient. When I asked you about this at the start of the semester, you told me you had it under control and now she’s bringing youtowels?”
He exited the narrow shower stall, stepping onto the bacteria-laden hospital floor with his bare feet. “Why are you giving me such a hard time?”
Nathan threw his hands up.
“Look, I know you like to womanize, that’s all. This isn’t the time or place. You’re mentoring this girl. Do yourself a favor and don’t give her any ideas.”
He wouldn’t necessarily call himself a womanizer, but he’d embellished his romantic life to skew Nathan’s suspicions. Dayton had slept with 10 students from their university under his colleague’s nose, and those encounters had gone off without a hitch. But this was different.
Nathan knew Kenna. He’d taught her. Though, unbeknownst to Nathan, the indulgence of his fiery enchantress was not up for debate.
Dayton slipped on the crinkled hospital gown, letting the towel fall to the ground. He stepped a little too close to Nathan. “And what advice would you give me if I thought something might happen?”
“I would suggest you wait until the semester is over.”
18
ERIN
The Pink Cadillac was a ‘60s style diner off of I-5, halfway between Branch Spring and Portland. The joint screamed Americana to the nines: a refurbished jukebox, checkerboard floor, red vinyl booths.
Though, the owners had missed a tap on the nail of nostalgia in letting the staff frolic around in jeans and t-shirts.
Brandi had been kind enough to give Kenna a ride; an opportunity to see her sister was all the incentive she needed. She left her journal in the car, planning to take notes after the discussion. This is what she’d done with Charlee and she felt it was the polite thing to do.
The last thing she wanted was to make these women feel like test subjects.
Their waitress delivered three mugs of coffee to the table. Brandi shook out two pink packets, ripped away the edges and poured the contents into her coffee. It vanished within the obsidian lake of caffeine. Kenna glanced outside, scanning for Erin’s possible arrival.
Dark clouds framed the gray sky. Steady rainfall pelted the gravel in the parking lot, droplets clinging to the diner’s windows. Had they been anywhere other than Oregon, the overcast weather would’ve been perceived as a bad omen.
“Does your sister know you’re here?”
“No. If she knew I was, she’d probably turn around and go home.”
“Why’s that?” Kenna’s fingers wrapped around her mug, taking comfort in the heat it provided.
“There’s some stuff that went on between her and your kooky doctor that even I don’t know about. She’s made it a point to keep it from me.” Softly, she added, “You’re not the only one who’s here to uncover the truth.”
The scene was ripped straight from a movie: three women meeting at a rest stop diner by the woods to exchange valuable information. But these weren’t Hollywood level stakes. This was real life.
Kenna bounced a foot as Erin’s ETA drew nearer. Would she be able to face Dr. Merino once she’d unearthed another woman’s truths about him?
A woman in her mid to late 20s with copper box braids and a stylish violet raincoat strode through the front door. Coming up to their table, she slipped Brandi a grim smile. “I should’ve known you’d be tagging along.”
“She needed a ride.”
They were sisters. Kenna knew what that was like. There was no hope of pulling the wool over each other’s eyes.
Erin slid into the unoccupied side of the booth and shimmied out of her coat. Her attention fell to the stranger. “You must be Kenna.”
“Thanks for agreeing to meet.”
While Charlee had been a mess with emotion, Erin had a calmness about her which carried a hint of severity. She was poised, collected, and ready to get down to business, but some of that calm was diminished as she regarded her younger sister.
“You don’t have to sit through this, Brandi.”
