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“He's just a friend,” Lindsey was saying. “You know his reputation around here as well as I do.”
“Yeah, but people can change,” Mary pointed out. “Maybe if you gave him a chance, he could be more than a friend.”
“Austin? More than a friend? Never.” Lindsey 's firm tone stopped him in his tracks just outside the doorway. “I could never be interested in a guy like him.”
Chapter Six
Austin wished he could duck back out of the breakroom without being seen, but at that moment Mary, the nurse Lindsey had been talking to made eye contact.
Wasn't there some saying about people who eavesdropped never hearing good things about themselves? Yeah, so true.
Forcing himself to brazen it out he stepped further into the room. “Lindsey?” At the sound of his voice, she jumped around, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment. “I forgot to mention, Josh has an extra Tai Kwon Do lesson tonight. You'll need to pick him up at four-thirty.”
“Oh. Um... Okay. Thanks for letting me know.” Her obvious distress tugged at his heart.
He flashed a reassuring smile, although her comment still stung. “No problem. Have a good day. See you tomorrow.”
“You, too. Take care.”
Leaving the staff lounge, he headed back out to where Jack was waiting in the ambulance. As his partner drove back to the firehouse, he replayed her comment in his mind. She could never be interested in a guy like him. Although he had vowed to stay away from her, the comment rankled. He shouldn't take it personally, he knew he had a bit of a reputation because he'd dated so many different women. The truth of the matter was that he'd never found the woman he was looking for. Maybe because he hadn’t wanted to settle for anything less than what his parents had.
It wasn't until late into his shift that he realized Lindsey hadn't mentioned anything about avoiding relationships because she was still in love with Sam.
He knew she had to be grieving over losing her husband. He was nuts to even think about waiting around for the time she might get over Sam enough to start dating again.
But if that day ever came, would she consider giving him a chance?
He wasn't sure but decided it might be time to find out.
After that mortifying experience in the staff lounge, Lindsey was relieved she didn't have to face Austin until the next day. She couldn't believe he'd overheard her thoughtless comment. He did have a reputation with women, especially as he dated half the staff in the Sun Valley emergency department. But she shouldn't have been so harsh.
It had been the only way she could think of to get Mary's thoughts out of her head. Because she was attracted to him and had been surprised Mary had picked up on it.
Austin arrived home moments after Josh left for school the next morning, yawning widely, his bloodshot eyes betraying his exhaustion.
“Bad night?” She glanced at him with sympathy.
“Busy night.” He lifted a shoulder. “Nothing too horrible, just a lot of routine calls. Enough to keep us hopping all night, though. I don't think I slept even one hour.”
“There’s plenty of time now for you to get some sleep.”
“I will.” He glanced at her, as if just noticing her scrubs. “Are you working again today?”
She'd picked up an extra shift, desperate for some additional money. Especially as the bank had yet promised her a loan. “Yes. I'll be home by four o’clock. Call me if you need me to pick Josh up.”
“I can do it.” He hesitated, as if wanting to say something more. An awkward silence fell and it was on the tip of her tongue to apologize for being so blunt but then the moment passed as he bade her good night and headed down to his room.
She watched him disappear through the doorway, thinking that even after a long night he still looked as handsome as ever. What was wrong with her anyway? He wasn't the type of guy she should be attracted to. And not just because he dated a different woman every night.
Austin was a smoke jumper. A risk taker. An adrenaline junkie.
Even as she mentally compared him to Sam, she knew she wasn't being fair. Austin might like the thrill and excitement of being a smoke jumper, but he was very different from Sam.
Her husband had used smoke jumping as an excuse to avoid her. To avoid the family responsibilities he'd become to resent. Oh sure, he’d claimed it was only to make extra money, but then she’d discovered the full extent of his debt.
But what had bothered her the most was that Sam hadn't cared that his long absences only drove a deeper wedge between them.
As she headed to work, Lindsey thought back over those months before Sam had tested out to be a smoke jumper. If she were honest, she'd admit her marriage had been in trouble even then. Before Sam had begun to stay away from home for long periods of time. Maybe he had been partially right when he'd accused her of driving him away.
