“ I’m going to find Amber and ask her one last time if there’s something she needs to tell me. I’m tired of this shit.”
“Please calm down before you drive.” Andi reached out and grabbed his arm but he flinched away. “Come back inside. It’s starting to rain. Amber will be there in the morning.”
“Will she, Andi?” Steve took a deep breath. His eyes were red.
Kevin cleared his throat and they both jumped. “Everything ok?”
“It’s fine.” They said in unison.
Kevin pointed to the carport. “I’m on the bike so I’m going to wait out the rain.”
Steve stepped into the downpour and held his arms out to his sides. “ I’ve got to go track down the woman that’s going to wreck me.”
“I’m going in.” Andi stomped into the house.
“Wait.” Kevin grabbed her hand.
She sighed in defeat. “What do you want, Kevin?”
“You.”
“What?” Andi shook her head.
“I don’t think I stuttered. I think you want the same thing.” Kevin pushed his body against hers. “Tell me you don’t.”
Andi stepped back but he followed her. “Look. I’m tired of the bullshit. I have no doubt it would be fun but I don’t want to fuck around. Especially with someone who has been with more people this week than I have in my lifetime.”
“Why are you always so hateful?” Kevin took a step back. “You may think you know my past, but don’t try to pretend to know who I really am. You’re judge and jury, Andi. I was guilty before the trial even started.”
She put her hands on her hips. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means that it’s been months. Months! You’re too wrapped up in your hatred of men to see what’s right in front of your face.”
“I don’t hate men.”
“Then it must just be me you hate.” Kevin shoved his helmet on his head and stepped off the porch.
“Where are you going? It’s pouring. You can’t ride in this.”
“I can go out there and get cold on my way home. Or I can sit here and let you torture me some more. I choose the cold.” Kevin jogged to his bike. In one fluid movement, he straddled the seat and the engine roared to life.
A tear fell down Andi’s face. She was falling in love with him and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Chapter 8
Andi closed the door to the room that would forever change her life. She heard the crying from behind the door and held onto the wall to keep her balance. Tears filled her eyes and her heart broke in her chest. It had been a month since she was taken off the neurosurgery rotation and thrust into obstetrics. But her eight year old patient had stayed close to her heart. When she received the call that there were only moments left, she ran to say her last goodbye. She held his hand as he took his last breath and pronounced his death seconds later. Watching his mother break apart had been her undoing.
She wiped the tears from he r face and took a deep breath before she slid to the floor. She tucked her legs under her and buried her face in her knees. In all her years in the medical field, she had not felt anything more powerful or devastating than losing a child to a brain tumor. Her body trembled.
“Andi?” Kevin’s voice was little more than a whisper. “What happened?”
She met his eyes and shivered. “Hi.”
He sat next to her and took her hand. “Are you ok?”
She nodded. “I lost a pretty important patient today. I know they say we can’t get attached but sometimes you just can’t help it.”
His face seemed pale. She reached out and touched his cheek. “Are you sick?”
He gave her a fake smile. “I’ve got the toothache from hell. I have a date with an oral surgeon in a few days and I’m just really run down. Jena’s got a B12 shot with my name on it.” He shifted uncomfortably in her stare. “I’ve been traveling a good bit for