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Hell, he’d spent only hours in her company and he felt like they would never be truly apart again. Like the incident in Atlanta had connected them forever.
Which was one of the reasons he’d never reached out to contact her again. It was a weird feeling and Joe had chalked it up to exhaustion and weariness.
Now, he had to admit the connection was still there. Stronger. Not something his imagination had built up. Did she feel it too?
Her face didn’t give much away. He was sure that was something doctors learned early on in their careers. She’d been calm and collected in the face of an emergency that was far outside what she’d been trained to do.
He wasn’t quite sure why he didn’t tell her the whole story. She was trustworthy, but he wasn’t quite ready to admit he’d pulled a lot of strings and got the brothers placed with the Riveras out in California. They’d had an open room and as long as the brothers didn’t mind sharing the space, they were welcome. Manny and Lisa were the best people he knew and those two boys had needed the best.
Joe had never asked them for a favor before. They’d already given him and Tansy a home after their parents had been killed by that idiot who’d been driving high. They’d given them love and support over the years. Hell, he rarely went more than a few days without checking in. They grounded him when the job was overwhelming.
And now they’d given two lost boys a home and a chance simply because he’d asked.
He knew he’d been so damn lucky in his life. Even with the tragedy of his parents’ deaths, he and Tansy had been surrounded by love on all sides. Not everyone was so lucky. At least Sneaks and Gogo would now have a chance. He doubted Stevie from Ann Arbor was going to be quite so lucky.
He needed to turn the subject to something less personal. “Have you been to Vermont before?”
“No. Other than the retreat where I met Tansy, I’ve never been outside of Atlanta.”
Joe’s head whipped to the side to steal a look at her. “I can’t even imagine that. My job takes me everywhere.” And it was draining him dry.
Lia shrugged. “I spend most of my time at the hospital. There’s always someone needing help.” Her soft intake of breath told him she was still getting used to her new world. “Well, I did spend most of my time there.”
“What are you planning on doing next?” As soon as he asked the question, he wanted to pull it back. Lia’s head turned to the side window and her shoulders slumped.
“I have no idea. Since I was seven, my entire focus has been on being the best surgeon I could be. I have no idea what to do next.”
Joe wasn’t sure how to respond. He saw her softly rubbing her hand and felt bad for bringing up the topic. For a while, they simply drove in silence with music playing softly in the background.
When Lia spoke, her voice was soft and she kept her face turned away. “Sorry. I haven’t been very good company. I’ve been stuck in a pity party loop for a while now. It’s really annoying and I’m not used to this kind of thing, but I’m struggling to get over it.”
“Nothing to be sorry about, Lia. You’ve experienced a trauma. More than one, actually. It takes time to find your footing again after something like that. There’s no pressure, no timeline you have to follow. Let yourself heal. Don’t be in any rush to make decisions.”
Somewhere during his speech, she’d turned to face him. Because of the roads, he could only spare her a quick glance, but he was relieved to see he hadn’t added to her stress level.
“Thanks. You sound like Dr. Beth.”
That made Joe grin. “I’ve been lucky enough to chat with a few good therapists over the years. Losing our parents was really difficult. Tansy and I both spoke with a therapist for years. And this job has had me working with another one. They always tell me to slow the hell down and take my time with major decisions.”
Huh. That’s what he needed to do with his own career decision. Take some time. Think about it from all angles. Like he’d told Lia, there was no rush. He’d told his boss he was taking some time. He’d accrued so many vacation weeks, it wasn’t a problem. Jackson had laughed and asked if he was falling for the magic that was luring his other buddies to Vermont.
Now he had time to figure out if he was doing that, or if he was simply burned out.
Knowing he had time helped ease the tension in his shoulders. He could settle in for a bit. Feel out the Lodge and the nearby town of Phail. The name always made him shake his head. As he thought it, a road sign came up showing they only had another half hour before arriving.
“Phail? Is that how that town’s name is pronounced?”
Joe laughed. “Yep. Phail. Apparently, a group splintered off the MacPhail clan back in Scotland a couple hundred years ago. They decided on Phail as their new moniker.”
“Why in the world would they do that? I’m sure fail meant the same than as it does now. Why would anyone do that?”
“I’ve asked the same questions. There are several Phails in town. Troy runs the general store and is the unofficial mayor of the place. His cousin Ginny runs the No Fail Diner.”
Lia laughed softly and he was suddenly glad for the ridiculous name of the town closest to Midnight Lake. Instead of taking the direct road to the Lodge’s property, Joe chose to drive through the town instead. Phail Phoods had her laughing again. “Another of Troy’s cousins runs that. Fiona.”
“Fiona Phail? That poor woman.”
And when she saw that Phail General had been vandalized with a neon pink F painted over the Ph, she laughed out loud.
