Chapter Twenty-Three
Ella arrived in the ER the next morning to silence. There were no patients, no voices. Nothing but the faint sound of the television in the waiting area. It was as if the universe was acknowledging that Ella Walters had phenomenal sex and it wanted to ease her back into reality. Thanking the universe, she put her things down and prepared to relieve the evening doctor. Who was… she checked the board. Dr. Campbell. All was right with the world because he was organized, albeit sometimes late getting back from vacation, but he was an outstanding doctor and succinct with his rounds. Ella sat at the nurses’ station, opened the latte she’d picked up from Vienna, and breathed in the fresh smell of yummy caffeine.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Bri said, coming around the corner with a box of four-by-fours and two scissors dangling from her fingers.
“Morning. Hot pink nails today.”
She set her stuff down on the counter and splayed her hands so they could be admired. “It’s summer.”
“That it is. Ghost town in here.”
“According to Wilma, last patient left over an hour ago. Sinus infection.”
Ella stretched and checked that her phone ringer was silenced. Bri restocked Exam 3 and returned, arms folded as she leaned on the front admit counter.
“What?” Ella said, looking up to find her assessing.
“You seem happy,” Bri said. Work or no work, she was waiting for the details.
“Aren’t I always happy?”
Bri raised a brow.
“When I’m not working a double and I’ve gotten some sleep.”
“I guess, but you look peppier this morning. New… face cream?”
“Actually, yes, I am using a new face cream. Thank you for noticing.” She sipped her latte and licked the foam off her lips.
The door zipped open and Boyd stood in the entrance. Jeans and a T-shirt, simply jeans and a T-shirt she told herself, but damn he looked good.
“Boyd,” Bri said, stepping back from the counter. “What brings you in here bright and early? Did you know Ella is using a new face cream?”
“I… no. Should I know that?”
He moved closer, and all Ella could do was sit there and smile.
“I need to speak with El… Dr. Walters,” Boyd said in a jumbled mess that Bri was obviously enjoying.
She glanced between them. “Okay, well, you’re in luck because she’s right here.” Bri circled behind the nurses’ station on her way out, but not before leaning past Ella to grab her magazine. “Face cream, my ass. Looks like I will not have to disown you after all.” She chuckled and then jolted in surprise. Ella knew Marc was standing behind her even before Bri started humming the Darth Vader entrance theme. She could see it on Boyd’s face, so she turned to confirm.
Yes, yes, there he was. Freshly shaven, sporting a dress shirt and lab coat today like he was playing small-town physician. She’d had about enough of this.
“Dr. Pierce, can I help you?” she said.
Bri ducked out and Ella wished she could join her, but Boyd was now walking closer.
Marc put his hand on her shoulder. “Can I see you for a minute?” he asked softly enough to sound intimate.
Ella shrugged from his touch. “What do you need?”
“Oh, are you busy with a patient?” He homed in on Boyd, who was now at the counter, a curious expression on his face.
How many times would she have to introduce her biggest mistake?
“No. Boyd is not my patient. Boyd McNaughton, this is Dr. Marc Pierce.”
“Pleasure.” Marc extended his hand.
“Sure. Good to meet you.” Boyd shook his hand.
The greetings were followed by what felt like an endless pause as each man tried to figure out where the other fit. Ella stood, hoping the awkwardness would fall away.
“Marc… Dr. Pierce. I will need to talk with you later. I’ll bet you have something to do in the meantime.”
She grabbed Boyd by the arm and brought him to the on-call room.
When they were alone, she kissed him and instantly felt like she’d been plugged back in. Familiar heat coursed right under the surface with a promise that it could erase a past she no longer wanted to own.
“Who’s the doctor, Ella?” he asked, moving her hair aside and gently kissing her neck.
“A doctor. This is a hospital. There are lots of us.”
He met her eyes. “You sticking with that story? He sure seemed like he wanted to take you into the break room and, well, do this.”
She laughed, which was absurd.
“Yeah, well, that’s not going to happen. I can’t control the desires of other people.”
“True.” He took her mouth again and everything melted this time. Her past, her present—all Ella felt was the moment.
“You need to go. I can’t breathe when you touch me.”
His lips met the curve of her ear. “Is breathing important in your line of work?”
All she could do was nod.
“I’ll go, but we should talk about the movie-star guy in the lab coat out there.”
“Do we have to do that now? I’m working and things are—”
“Busy?” He lifted a brow, and suddenly his impromptu visit went from fun to complicated.
Once again, thank you, Marc Pierce.
Ella cleared her throat.
“Fine.” She locked the door and crossed her arms, as if Boyd had already judged her. “I dated Marc for two years.”
“I figured.”
“He told me he worked for Doctors Without Borders. You know, they go all over the world helping people.”
Boyd leaned against the wall. “Noble.”
“I saw him once every few weeks. We had an apartment near the hospital. We went on a couple of vacations together.”
“Okay. I really don’t need the details, Ella. Let’s get to the part where you tell me you’ve never stopped loving him and now he’s back and you’re confused.”
“What?”
His expression indicated he knew the ending to a story Ella hadn’t even read yet.
“Let’s get on with it.”
“Okay. Marc doesn’t work for Doctors Without Borders.”
Boyd met her eyes, not even bothering to hide the surprise. She had a hunch he somehow expected rejection or an admission that sleeping with him had been a lapse in judgment and she was now going to run back into the arms of the chiseled doctor. Stupid ER reruns.
“He was married,” she continued. “He is married. Seven years, two children married.”
Full shock now registered on Boyd’s face as he stepped away from the wall. Ella couldn’t tell if there was judgment in his eyes.
“How did I not know, is that what you’re thinking?”
He shook his head.
“How did I spend two years with him, sleeping with him right next to me?”
“Details, Ella. No need for details.”
“I’m serious. What kind of a woman doesn’t know?”
“Okay.” Boyd let out a deep breath. “You get back to work and I’m relieved as hell to not be living in an episode of ER, so I’ll be quick. The guy must have been a good liar.”
“Or I’m a fool.”
“Were a fool, if that’s how you need to look at it. I’m guessing he’s the reason you moved?”
Ella nodded. “I should have noticed things. I should have known.”
“Yeah, and I should have made sure Claire and I were using protection every time so I wasn’t trying to raise a teenager on my own when what he needs are two sane parents. We could sit here in this… what is this place?”
“On-call room.”
“Right, this on-call room and ‘should have’ ourselves to death. That serves no purpose. Claire and I created a surprise that changed my life for the better. You made a mistake.”
Ella knew he was offering her part of his past, a piece of understanding to help steady her own history.
“It doesn’t feel that simple.”
“But it is. Well, maybe not for the asshat who’s circling for one more shot at you, but for you, it’s simple… unless you still love him.”
“I don’t. What we had was never…” Ella should have said after thirty-six years that she finally knew what love felt like, finally found a connection not wrapped in lies or ugliness, but she was at work and now wasn’t the best time to spill what remained of her heart right there at Boyd’s feet.
“Okay then, that wasn’t so bad. I told you every woman had a secret. Yours obviously is more complex than monkey bread.”
Ella smiled. “I like you, beer man.” She kissed him.
“Go save some lives, Doc.” He turned to leave. “You could stop by the brewery after work, watch Mason try to win back his high score from one of the waiters.”
“I’d like that.” She was in so much trouble. Ugly secret out of the bag and the man was still looking at her like she was the best thing in clogs and glasses.
Boyd tried not to draw comparisons as he drove to the brewery. Ella wasn’t Claire and even though Mason’s Social Studies teacher espoused that history often repeats itself, that’s not what was happening.
Less than twenty-four hours ago he’d been in bed with Ella, drifting into her eyes while she told him about her family and he told her about growing up. He’d shared his home, his bed. The fact that Claire started living with a guy who looked almost as sleek and shiny as the doctor back there less than a year after leaving him and Mason to fend for themselves was irrelevant. That she married said guy another year later was unimportant too. Boyd had spent years learning how to manage thoughts that did no one any good. That’s why he listened when she shared another piece of her past.
He and Ella had a great night. No matter what happened, nothing changed that. He could sense himself backing up, not quite changing his mind, but needing the tempo of his normal in case Ella decided to return to the big city, discovered she’d made a mistake. Somewhere along the way, Boyd had become fine with any and all scenarios. Knowing what was up ahead, expecting it, proved a hell of a lot less painful than the kick of surprise.
So, even if the shiny doctor returned newly divorced and begged her to come back. Even if she somehow morphed into stupid and believed him. Even if she returned to her bigger hospital and started buying shoes made by Italian elves too, Boyd would be fine. It was part of his makeup now, his “metal” as his dad phrased it. No matter what happened, Boyd and his son would always be fine.