Alpha Male Romance(85)

I hit the bag harder than before and pain jolted up my knuckles and into my forearm.

“Glad to see the reason you're not answering your door is because you're up and about.”

Father O'Toole's voice came from the doorway, and I dropped my hands as I turned toward him. I could feel my shirt sticking to my chest and back. I could feel the drops of sweat starting to trickle down my skin, and I scrubbed my right forearm across my forehead.

“Hey.” I walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of water. Staying hydrated was different now than it used to be, but no less important.

“Is Nori upstairs?” he asked.

I shook my head, grateful for the mouthful of water that kept me from answering.

At least for a few seconds anyway, since the father had to ask for details.

“Did she go out shopping?”

“Her boyfriend showed up,” I said shortly. “They're out on a date.”

“Boyfriend?” Father O'Toole looked surprised as he walked farther into the room. “I hadn't realized she had one.”

I shrugged and used the need to take the tape off my hands to avoid looking him in the eye.

“They've been dating for four years,” I said.

When I glanced up, he looked confused. “Then why did she take the job? Unless he was planning on moving out here.”

I leaned back against the counter. “They broke up before she moved, but he showed up this morning and said he wanted them to get back together.”

“Then he's not her boyfriend.”

I caught a hint of a smile on his face. “She's with him right now, so I think it's pretty safe to say they're getting back together. She'll move back to Texas. I won’t need a nurse at all in a couple weeks. There's no reason for her to stay.”

There was a moment of silence before he said, “You didn't tell her.”

I glared at him. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“It means, you wouldn't be so certain that she was planned to leave if you'd told her how you felt.”

He rubbed his elbow and I wondered if his arthritis was acting up. He wasn't ancient, but he wasn't exactly young either. He needed to take it easy.

But that didn't mean I needed him in my business.

“I don't think it really would've made much of a difference,” I said. “She doesn't feel the same way.” I held up a hand before Father O'Toole could argue. “If she did, she wouldn't have gone out with Tanner.”

He gave me a skeptical look. “And you know this how?”

I rolled my eyes, knowing it was a juvenile gesture, but unable to stop myself. “Trust me. If you'd seen this guy, you wouldn't have to ask.”

Father rolled his eyes right back, and overly exaggerated movement of his face. “So we're back to the looks?”

I scowled and pushed myself off the counter. I walked over to the window and looked out over the driveway. She wasn't home yet, but she hadn't been gone that long. And I had to remind myself that this wasn't home for her. It was a place she was staying for a couple weeks for work. She'd be heading to her real home soon enough.

“That's not what I mean, and you know it,” I said. “This guy held onto her for four years, and then they had an amicable break-up. There aren't any deep, dark secrets in his past. He's the kind of guy Nori deserves.”

I waited a minute for him to respond, sure he would tell me that I had no way of knowing what was in Tanner's past. When he didn't, I kept going. I'd forgotten how easy it could be to talk to the father, especially when he wasn't arguing with me.

“Though why he let her go in the first place, I'll never know. If I was lucky enough to date Nori, I'd never be fine with breaking up with her. If she wanted to take a job across the country, I'd find a way to make it work. Then again, I don't know if that was why they broke up in the first place. It could've been anything, I suppose.” I ran my hand through my hair, pushing it back from my face. “Not that it matters. He's back and they're together again.”

I turned around, ready to ask the father what I should do, but the words never left my mouth. Instead, I found myself frozen, my heart stuttering in my chest. My brain refused to comprehend what I was seeing.

It only took a couple seconds for me to get moving, but it didn't change the fact that Father O'Toole was falling to the floor, his hand clutching his chest.





Chapter Five





Nori





Okay, so things were going a bit better since I'd given myself my little pep talk. I'd managed to keep my attention on Tanner, and that let me settle back into the comfort and banter that had always been us.

At some point, he'd taken my hand and I hadn't pulled it back. It wasn’t a lingering touch, more just his fingers lightly curling around mine, but I'd known that it meant something. It hadn't been the gesture of “just a friend.”