AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Talk to me,” Rebecca pleaded. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I can’t take the job,” Rose said dully. After hauling herself off the bathroom floor, she flushed the toilet and left the stall. Avoiding Rebecca’s gaze, she washed her hands at the sink and rinsed out her mouth.
“What do you mean you can’t take it?”
“I’m leaving.”
Rebecca touched her arm. “Where are you going?”
The contact almost pushed Rose over the edge, and she stepped back. She needed to keep control of her emotions, or she would never get through her shift.
“I don’t know yet. But I can’t stay here. Not now. Not with St—” Her voice caught in her throat, and she buried her face in her hands.
Rebecca sighed. “I shouldn’t have sprung this on you. I was excited to share the news and hoped it would lift your spirits.” She wrapped an arm around Rose’s shoulders. “Please don’t go. I know things with you and Steven are raw, but leaving isn’t the answer. You’re needed here. And you’re valued.”
When Rose didn’t respond, Rebecca continued, “At least talk to the board before you decide anything.”
Though she wanted to protest, Rose didn’t have the energy. “Fine. But I’m not making any promises.”
“Keeping an open mind is all I ask.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It had been a week since Steven entered the rehab facility. Though he hated being cooped up, he appreciated having some distance from his real life. He hoped it might eventually ease the pain of his broken heart.
“Knock, knock,” a voice called from his door. When he turned, Lanie stood in the doorway with two cups of coffee.
“I can’t have caffeine right now.”
She shrugged. “It’s decaf.”
“Thanks, I think.” By that point, he’d gotten used to not having coffee. The facility didn’t offer decaf, and tea didn’t do it for him.
“Any word from Rose?” Lanie asked.
Steven raised an eyebrow. She knew perfectly well he hadn’t heard from Rose since that fateful day at the hospital. He’d long since given up on hoping she would stop by.
“Have you seen her?” he countered.
“Here and there.” Lanie dropped her gaze. “She was offered the head nurse position at the hospital.”
That wasn’t surprising, though it pained him to hear it secondhand. “I’m proud of her.”
“Though she’s not sure she’s going to take it.”
Steven frowned as he sipped his coffee. “Why wouldn’t she?”
Instead of answering, Lanie stood and walked to the window. “You have a nice view from here.”
“Lanie,” Steven said. “What’s going on?”
With a sigh, Lanie turned to him. “She brought up moving back to Baltimore.”
Pain radiated in his throat as he struggled to swallow the news. If she was leaving, that meant things were well and truly over between them.
They needed to change the subject, or he was going to lose it. He’d kept it together pretty well thus far and didn’t want to fall apart in front of his sister.
“Are you going by the office today?”
