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“Aiden.”
“That’s a funny name.”
“It’s Irish. So, what day would work for you?”
They discussed Tommy’s busy schedule for the week ahead and eventually decided on Monday afternoon.
Beaming, Tommy rushed away, his worries forgotten.
Aiden stared after the little boy. Maybe, just maybe, he’d have a story for Steward before the blasted Valentine’s ball so that he could get away from this place before he did something else he’d regret later.
Chapter Six
Vivian went tobed early. She was still so upset and angry with Aiden. The blasted man. Who gave him the right to dig into her past, bring up unhappy memories? It was his job, he’d probably say.
Closing her eyes, she tried to breathe evenly. Sleep had never been a problem before. Even during dark times, she’d always had the ability to switch off and take a nap whenever she could. But ever since she’d opened the curtain in the ER on Friday and found Aiden-freaking-O’Sullivan sitting on the bed, her thoughts and even subconscious found ways to keep her awake, taunting her with images of a certain Irishman.
If she wasn’t dreaming about his muscled upper body, his piercing, blue eyes seemed to be watching her even in her sleep. Her heart did this silly dance whenever he was near. She’d never before been so aware of a man. It was, quite frankly, freaking her out.
What had he discovered on the internet? The story in the Sunday newspaper with a photo of her splashed across the front page where she was undressing between shifts in the hospital, or the story about their parents’ death?
Groaning, she sat up and switched on the light. She wasn’t going to sleep. She might as well look into the application process for the pediatric residency at the university in San Francisco she’d seen. The idea of opening an office as a family doctor also appealed to her, although she couldn’t decide whether she was cut out for small-town living. Lists. She liked lists. They brought order to chaos and usually helped her to see things clearly. There would be pros and cons to consider before she made a final decision.
Feeling slightly less freaked out, she opened the laptop, but instead of going to the university’s website, she entered her own name in the search engine. Seconds later, her eyes skimmed over the links. It was all there. Every sordid detail of the story Brett Carson had leaked to the newspaper. There were also several links to articles about their parents’ death.
She stared at the screen. There was no need to read what had been written—the words were forever engraved on her soul.
Before she could close her laptop, there was a knock on her door, and Annie opened it. “Good, you’re still up. May I come in?”
“Of course.”
Annie joined her on the bed. “Are you working or…” She pointed toward the laptop.
Vivian shook her head. “I wanted to see what Aiden could’ve discovered about me.”
“And?”
Vivian handed the laptop to Annie. Her sister’s eyes skimmed the list of links before she closed it. “Well, now Aiden knows. You should go to dinner with him and talk about it, tell your side of the story, especially now the freaking reporter from Sacramento is out to find something more on you. As you’ve said at the time, you probably weren’t the first young doctor to suffer in one way or another at the hands of Doctor Brett Carson. What he did was criminal, and he’s probably still doing it.”
“It happened two years ago; I really don’t want to dredge up the past. And it’s not just stuff written about me that’s online. What happened to Mom and Dad…” Her throat tightened; she couldn’t get another word out.
Annie’s eyes were also bright with tears. “The problem is, we’ve been so busy since we’ve moved here, we haven’t really dealt with Mom and Dad’s death. We avoid talking about them. And on top of our loss, you also had to put up with Brett Carson. I’ve been thinking we should probably all make appointments to see a psychologist…”
“Who is seeing a psychologist?” Mitch asked as he entered Vivian’s room. “I thought you’d gone to bed?” he said to Vivian.
“Couldn’t sleep.”
Mitch’s lips thinned. “That Irishman should stay out of my way.”
Annie touched his hand. “Calm down. I actually think Viv should talk to him, give him her version of the story, and maybe ask him to find out why the reporter back in Sacramento has contacted Viv again.”
Vivian shook her head. “It’s been two years. He’s simply looking for more dirt…”
“Carson may still be abusing other young doctors,” Annie said.
Mitch was frowning. “I don’t like it. Viv has been through enough.”
“I don’t want to think about it right now,” Vivian said, anxious to get her siblings out of her room. She needed time to think about what to do, but mostly, she needed time to analyze her own feelings.
