Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Now this?
I’m gripping the wheel so hard my knuckles have gone white. I’ll be fine. The runaway bride sitting beside me is probably going to get bored with Frosty Harbor after a day or two. She’ll go back to her pretty little life and I’ll be left to brood alone, just the way I’d planned.
My teammates haven’t said it, but I know they’re aware I’m not in the best place right now. It’s why they are making sure to spend as much time in town as they can while I’m here rehabbing. Contractually, I’m not obligated to go to games injured, even though I know I should be dragging my ass to them to support the guys. None of them have said a word about it, so far, and I wonder if they ever will.
Either way, I’ll spend Christmas with my teammates here in Frosty harbor. Then they’ll go back to finish out the season and leave me to wallow. What more could I want?
But instead of the silence I’ve come to expect when I ask that question, I find my eyes sliding to the girl in the passenger seat of my truck. I jerk them back to the road, grip the wheel harder, and wonder if I’m really that stupid.
3
ANDI
“So they said you took a bump to the head?” The woman asking is in her thirties, with mousy blonde hair and a doctor’s coat on. I’m in a room that looks about a hundred years old and sitting on a chair covered in crinkly, disposable paper. Her name tag reads “Dr. Knight.”
“I think so,” I say. “I might have crashed my car a little bit.”
She clicks her tongue. “Take a deep breath for me.”
I breathe in while she listens. “I noticed Jesse Prince brought you in. Are you two a couple? The word around town was that he had taken himself off the market after things with Sarah went south.”
Well, then. Apparently small town doctors also deal in gossip. “Um, no,” I say. “He’s my brother’s teammate. They came to rescue me because I’m too poor for ambulances.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t want a ride in our ambulance anyway,” the doctor laughs. “Those two meatheads refuse to use GPS and they’re always getting lost. And if they’re not getting lost, they’re trying to seduce female patients.”
“And they still have jobs?” I ask.
She leans in my face, shining a light in my pupils and breathing her coffee breath in my nose. “Well, Frosty Harbor isn’t exactly a booming labor market. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get.”
“I see,” I say, hoping that isn’t the mentality that landed Dr. Knight her position. “Does it seem like I have a concussion?”
“Oh, no. You’re fine. So, what’s the story with the wedding dress? At first I thought maybe it was some sort of costume. But that thing is legit, isn’t it? Or it was, at least.” She gives me a sad look as she lifts the torn hem.
“Well,” I say, suddenly certain this doctor will wind up telling the whole town anything I share with her. “It’s kind of a long story. But I pulled the old betrothal backout.”
“You’re a runaway bride?” she asks, eyebrows shooting up. “How exciting. Did you run away for Jesse Prince? Can’t say I blame you. I think every girl in Frosty Harbor has a special place in their heart for Jesse. Of course, he’s about as available as a statue. Well,” she pauses, tapping her chin. “I guess nobody would stop you from romancing a statue. He’s as available as a statue in a high security prison.”
“Why would they keep a statue in prison?” I ask slowly.
She narrows her eyes.
I realize I’m not sure I actually want the answer to that, so I cut her off. “But no. I just met him like half an hour ago. He’s my big brother’s teammate.”
“Mhm, mhm,” she says, looking in my ears. “Well, I’d say you’re all healthy, Miss Summers. That’s a pretty name. Miss Summers in Frosty Harbor. Makes you wonder what will win, your sunshine or our cold winter, doesn’t it? Your warm lady parts or Jesse’s cold manhood.”
I smile awkwardly. “Right. Makes you wonder!” I put a little false cheer into my voice, suddenly eager to be out of the room with this “doctor”.
“I’m sure you’re practically chomping at the bit to get out there and rejoin those rugged boys, huh?”
“Yep,” I say. “That’s me.”
She smiles and gestures to the door. “You’re good to go. No charge. Consider it a welcome to Frosty Harbor treat, on me.”
“Thank you.”
I don’t bother telling her if it wasn’t free, I’d have to ask if doctor’s offices have dishes I could wash to pay off my debt. I’ve never been really good at holding steady jobs, accumulating savings, or planning for my future. I like to think of myself as a “happy in the moment” kind of girl. If that means living in a crummy apartment or bunking with a friend for a little, so what? It’s all just part of life’s adventures. But life’s adventures don't really do a great job of paying for healthcare.