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Rosalie laughed. “What makes you think he’ll listen to me?”
“Because he likes you.”
A blush rose to Rosalie’s cheeks. “Did he tell you that?”
Julia smiled. “My brother didn’t have to tell me anything. I saw the way he looked at you in the ER. You like him too, don’t you?”
“Is it that obvious?” If Julia could see the chemistry between her and Cannon, could Malgor? Events hadn’t started unfurling until they’d met. She rubbed her arms to shake off the unease crawling over her skin. How closely had he been watching her?
Julia fanned herself with her hand. “You know, I’ve never slept on that sofa bed in his office. Is it comfortable?”
Rosalie’s jaw dropped. “He told you about our…”
“Hookup? No, Cannon never kisses and tells, not that he dates much.”
“Why? Based on the way people love him in this place, you’d think he’d be Red Snow’s most eligible bachelor.”
“He doesn’t date because of me.” Julia pulled her bandanna from her head and ran her hand over the stubbly growth of hair. “He feels guilty because I inherited an abnormal gene from our father that causes recurring cancer, and he didn’t.”
The news punched her in the gut like a ball of ice. No wonder Cannon felt the weight of being a reluctant hero. Rosalie wanted to tell Julia she was sorry, but she didn’t seem the type to tolerate sympathy. “That’s a lot to bear. For both of you.”
Julia slapped her hand on the sheets. “Yes. That’s what I’ve been saying for years, but he doesn’t listen. He’s put his life on hold until I’m cured or until I die, which is why I was so happy to see his panties in a twist over you this morning.”
“Over me?” The thought melted the ice in her belly like the sun peeking through the clouds.
Julia bobbed her head. “When I asked him about the kick-ass woman who’d faced a sniper with me last night, he let it slip that you’d bolted this morning before he could talk to you.”
“I, uh…” She’d come to see Julia to learn more about Cannon and to determine if a correlation existed between their meeting and Malgor’s initial attack, not to talk about where she’d spent the night. She looked at Julia’s thigh. “How’s the leg?”
Julia held up both hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, subject change. I get it. It’s weird to talk about the guy you’re into with his sister, but there aren’t many women around here I have anything in common with. I’m the only female on the Red Snow police force, so it’s nice to have a fellow gun-toting gal around.” She patted her thigh. “And the leg will be fine.”
“Nice shot into the trees, by the way. I told Cannon as much, but he took the credit for teaching you to shoot.”
Julia shrugged. “Sounds like my brother. He’s a great doctor, but practicing medicine and administrating isn’t what he dreamed of doing.”
“What dream did he give up?” Before she answered, Rosalie knew. “He wanted to be a cop, didn’t he?” Now, so much more about Dr. Cannon Ford made sense.
“What gave it away? His need to protect everyone around him?”
Rosalie chuckled. “Among other things. What stopped him from wearing a badge?”
Julia’s bright-blue eyes dimmed. “My father died of cancer, I got sick again, and my mother had a breakdown.”
“Sick again?”
“Yeah.” She toyed with the IV stuck in the top of her hand. “This is the third time in sixteen years. Before my father died, Cannon promised him he’d look after me. Now he’s dedicated his life to keeping me alive and healthy.”
Rosalie’s heart hurt. Or maybe it was a coronary failure. The pain in her chest wasn’t imagined. She physically ached for this family. But most of all, her heart ached for the man who’d sacrificed his dream to save his sister.
If that didn’t sound like a hero, she didn’t know what did.
Julia’s lips curved into a wry smile. “Maybe it’s good that Cannon didn’t become a cop. Between my dad’s buddies and our friends, I’m always being asked if I’ve had enough rest. HaveI eaten? Do I need time off? Even when I’m in remission and outperforming all the men, they still treat me like I’ll break.” She jerked her head to the door. “Did you notice the officer stationed out there? Overkill, if you ask me, but what Cannon wants in this town, Cannon gets. Can you imagine if we worked together?”
Yeah, she could. Sure, his need to protect was maddening, but she enjoyed every other aspect of Cannon being around.
Julia toyed with a thread on her sheet. “My cancer is never going away. Even if this trial works, the gene will be suppressed to some degree, but it will always be a threat.”
“I’m sorry you both have to live with that.” Rosalie eyed Julia’s laptop. Time for another subject change before the heavy conversation suffocated them both. “What are you working on?”
