Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 105868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
May arched a brow. “Oh?”
“He talked about you a lot and asked tons of questions.”
A thin thread of tension pulled through her. She pushed away from the doorframe and slid her hands into the pockets of her lab coat. “What kind of questions?”
“Like he wanted to know all about you and Ace Osprey. How long you’ve been dating. If it’s serious. Who you dated before him.” Lance twisted his lip. “All personal stuff about you.”
May stared at the counter for a beat, at the faint scratch in the laminate she’d meant to fix months ago. The memory of the night before flickered through her again, Ace’s hands steady, his mouth warm against her skin, the way he’d looked at her afterward. Dangerous, yes. But not a jerk like the senator. “Did you tell him anything?” she asked quietly.
Lance snorted. “No. I told him it wasn’t any of his business.”
Good. Still, her stomach chilled. Kyle asking questions about her and Ace didn’t sit right, especially if Kyle was serious about causing problems for the town with Brock as the sheriff. She crossed the room and straightened a stack of gauze that didn’t need straightening.
She checked the clock on the wall. The second hand ticked forward, steady and indifferent. Ivy should’ve been at work by now. May reached for her phone on the counter, debating whether to try calling again.
It was after ten in the morning. The clinic had settled into that mid-morning lull when the early rush was over but lunchtime hadn’t hit yet. “What time did you guys get back from fishing?”
“Around six this morning,” Lance said. “We caught tons of good fish though.”
“Yeah?”
Lance yawned. “I took some home to my mom, but she ain’t feeling good, as I said.”
“Does she need me to come out and see her?”
“Nah. She says it’s just a cold so far, but if there’s a bad bug going around, I may bring her in tomorrow. We’ll see.”
May stepped farther into Exam Room Two, checking the supply drawer out of habit. “You didn’t have to come in this morning. You need sleep, Lance.”
“I’m good. I slept in the plane on the ride back, and I’m young. I’ll head home and take a nap after Ivy gets here,” Lance said.
Ah, to be young again. “I’m sorry you got stuck with Kyle.”
“I can’t believe you dated him, Bruh,” Lance said, shaking his head. “I mean, Ace, I get for sure.”
“Oh yeah?” May asked. “Why’s that?”
Lance’s gaze drifted toward the photograph of Dalika River she had framed and hung on the far wall. “He’s cool.”
May rested her hip against the counter, pretending she wasn’t interested in the answer. “Yeah?”
“I mean, yeah, he’s had trouble getting back up in a plane, but we all know he will at some point. For now, he helps out around town, and I don’t know.” Lance pursed his lips, obviously giving it some thought. “It seems like he gets in fights a lot, but not really.”
“What do you mean, not really?” she asked, curious.
Lance grinned. “People mess with him, and he usually takes them down pretty quick without hurting anybody. On purpose. If you ask me, I think he really could.”
May had noticed that the night before when he’d easily handled poor Brad. There’d been control there. Precision with just enough force to end it.
She’d already called the station earlier and found out that Brock had taken Brad up to a family member’s place in the mountains. Once again, she wished Brad would let her find a rehab place for him, but it appeared he just wasn’t ready.
“Though I bet Ace will end up in the sky flying soon,” Lance said.
The clinic felt too quiet again. “I think Ace will fly again, too.” May believed that. The thought of him grounded forever didn’t fit.
“There’s more to Ace than just flying and helping out the town with wood, anyway,” Lance said.
She looked at him. “Yeah?”
“All of the Ospreys are pretty cool, but Ace just has a way of making people feel comfortable and safe, you know?” Lance noted.
May didn’t answer right away. Comfortable and safe. Those weren’t small things. “That’s true.”
“I mean, that’s why all the widows ask for his help. How many cords of wood do you think he’s already chopped?” Lance asked.
“Just this year? I couldn’t count how many,” she chuckled. “I think they pay him in cookies.” She had found that endearing, if she was honest. The image of Ace hauling logs, sleeves shoved up, accepting a tin of oatmeal raisin in exchange fit him better than some of the other stories that followed his name. She looked down at her phone. No calls. No texts. Where the heck was Ivy? Enough was enough. She’d let thoughts of Ace distract her long enough already, and she couldn’t concentrate now. “I’m getting worried about Ivy.”