Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 131916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
“Exactly what I want to hear,” she said with a grin, back to typing away. “Just know you can come to me for anything. We’re a family here, and we want to make sure every one of our employees knows it.”
“I do. Thank you.”
“Any time. Now get out of here before you get sucked into some task that can wait until tomorrow.”
“All right, I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Have a nice evening.”
I ducked out of the office and into the breakroom behind it, and I went to the little cubicle that was mine, grabbed my purse, and slung it over my shoulder.
Dr. Reynolds was shuffling down the hall when I stepped out.
“Oh, there she is. How was the day today, Charleigh?”
“It was really good.”
He gave me a genuine smile. “That’s great to hear. You keep up the good work. My patients have never been so comfortable when I come through the door, and that has everything to do with you.”
He patted my shoulder in the fatherly way he always did. The man was always kind and sincere, and I gave him a smile of gratitude as I said, “Thank you. I really love working with them.”
“I know you do. You have a good night.”
He dipped his head, and I continued down the long hallway, passing by the examination rooms before I was pushing out the front. The lobby was empty, and the blinds had already been drawn. I pushed out one side of the swinging-glass doors and into the late afternoon light.
The sun remained high though it was sinking toward the west, the temperature still warm, and I followed the pathway down to the sidewalk that ran along 9th street. I’d rented a little apartment about three blocks away so I’d be able to walk to and from work.
I tilted my face toward the warm rays, inhaling a deep, cleansing breath, before I blew out the little bit of tension that always followed me through work.
The thing was, though, the second I did, it always ushered in the loneliness. It was the deep, dark kind. The kind that was always waiting for you in the silence. The kind that festered in the vacant well that was hollowed out within me.
Swallowing around the lump it lifted in my throat, I did my best to shove it back down as I headed in the direction of my apartment.
I wore my favorite light pink scrubs and a white, long-sleeved tee underneath it to keep my healing tattoo from chafing.
In an instant, the violent, beautiful edges of his face flashed behind my eyes.
Unstoppable.
Unavoidable.
God, I didn’t even know the man. And still, these reckless, perilous thoughts of him had plagued me for the last six days.
A dark stranger named River who was haunting me at the edges of my mind.
I couldn’t scrape the memory of the way that buzzy energy had swarmed between us.
It had made me feel as if I were being drugged.
Hypnotized.
Affected.
Wanting something I’d been terrified of for most of my adult life.
To be touched.
Leave it to me that the first time I experienced that sensation it would be at the hands of a man who whispered of danger and malevolence.
But God, there’d been something tender about him, too. Something that was muddled by the ferocity that oozed from his being.
And here I was, being an idiot for even contemplating it.
Shoving those thoughts down, too, I tightened my hold on the strap of my bag and increased my pace, leaving the small medical plaza where I worked behind.
This area basically housed all the medical professionals in Moonlit Ridge and was the busiest section in town.
Two square blocks of roads that intersected, each boasting a light.
I crossed the street at the next intersection, and the more professional buildings gave way to restaurants and shops like Culberry Street flaunted, though here, they were more charming than trendy.
My apartment was in the middle of that block and on the second floor of a two-story building.
It was quaint and cute with white brick walls and blue shutters, and the two apartments had balconies wrapped in ornate black wrought-iron and overlooked the street.
The first floor was inhabited by a small café and a floral shop called Moonflower.
I went to pass by so I could round to the exterior steps that were on the side of the building that led to the landing of my apartment above, only I stalled out when I smelled the delicious scent of flowers wafting out through the white, wooden door that had been left propped open.
An A-frame chalkboard sitting out front read:
Sniffs are free – the rest are buy one, get three!
A bunch of flowers and swirls were drawn around it, and I couldn’t help but smile as I shifted course and stepped through the door.
Inside, it carried the same quaintness of the exterior, a full country chic vibe with a splash of whimsy.