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“Here you go, bud,” the bartender interrupts with a sneaky grin on his face as he sets the beer down. The intense moment fades, and he gently releases my hand.
“Thanks.” He tips his head to the guy and brings the glass to his lips. I find myself watching his every move before blinking and tearing away my gaze.
He sucks down half his drink before setting it down. Turning toward me, his eyes lock on mine and pin me to him. “So I actually never thanked you for today. I was scared shitless and you doing CPR ultimately saved his life. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”
A blush surfaces at his compliment, which is insane since I do this type of stuff every day at work. I tell myself it’s what I do, it’s in my nature, but to hear those words from him has my heart racing.
“So thank you, River. Sincerely. Those words hardly do justice to how thankful we both are that you were there today.”
His words are so soft and tender, his accent making the words even sweeter.
I release a small smile and lower my eyes before blinking and meeting his again. “You’re welcome. I didn’t think twice about it and would do it over again if I had to.”
“That’s what makes you so amazing.” He winks.
“I’m actually a nurse,” I admit. “I’ve had lots of training.” I shrug as if it’s not significant.
“That makes a lot of sense actually,” he says, nodding. “You were so calm, and when you spoke to the paramedics, you used all the technical terms.”
“Yeah, they kind of beat those into you during nursing school.”
He laughs, reaching for his beer again. I grab my own drink and take another sip.
“Where you from?” he asks as we easily fall into conversation.
“Wisconsin,” I answer. “Milwaukee, actually.”
“Oh, wow.” His eyes widen. “Aren’t you known for being the beer state?”
“Dairy, actually, but beer is basically its own food group up there.” I shrug and smile.
Laughing, he nods as if he agrees.
“Or I guess you could say the frozen state considering we have some of the coldest winters.”
“Is that why you’re here? To escape the cold weather?”
“Oh, it’s not even that cold yet. Still had highs in the forties when we left.”
“Fuck.” He shakes his head. “That’s too damn cold for this born-and-raised Texan.”
“I guessed Texas.”
“That obvious, huh?” He smirks, and I playfully shrug.
“Actually, the coldest times are between January and March. It’s usually in the negatives with the wind chill, but that’s when the ice freezes on the water and becomes thick enough for people to go ice fishing. They build these ice shanties and carve a hole in the ice, so they can sit around and fish for hours.”
“And y’all do that for fun?” He raises a brow, skeptical.
“Yup.” I laugh, nodding. “Snowmobiling, snowboarding, skiing. All that stuff. But that’s not until January usually, sometimes even February. Right now, it’s just cold and gloomy, not yet ready to give up fall even though winter is right around the corner.”
“I bet that brings lots of dumbasses into the hospitals up there.”
“Well, yes it does, but I actually work at the children’s hospital in the PICU.”
His eyes narrow as if he’s not sure what that entails.
“I work with sick kids who need around-the-clock care and treatment.”
“Wow…” His voice is soft. “That has to be a tough job.”
I nod, agreeing. “It is. But I love it. As bad as it can be, it’s also very rewarding. Many of the kids have been there a while as they await transplants or getting treatments for life-threatening illnesses. I get to know them and their families quite well. It’s always disheartening when a child isn’t getting better, but it’s part of the job.” I shrug, taking a gulp of my drink to get ahold of my emotions.
“I can tell how passionate you are just by the way you talk about it. And especially how you ran to Dylan’s rescue without a second thought.”
“I am. I’ve wanted to be a nurse since I was a teen.” I basically already was to my baby sister by the time I was twelve.
My drink is completely gone, but I keep sucking on the straw, and Alex has already ordered his third beer when Adam and Natalie come strolling back by.
“We just wanted to let you know we’re heading to our room,” Adam tells me, holding Natalie’s hand tightly as if to keep her from roaming away.
“Are you two getting along?” Natalie speaks up, making things awkward again. “He’s single, River. Don’t worry, I checked for ya,” she says nice and loud, flashing a very obvious wink my way.
“Thanks,” I mutter, sliding off my stool and tossing my purse over my shoulder. “Let me help Adam get you back to your room before you tell everyone here I have daddy issues and a broken heart, m’kay?”
