I took one small step forward, and then another. Braving Murphy’s wrath, I brought my hand to her cheek and smoothed a wet ringlet of hair behind her ear before dropping my hand.
“Murph, I’m standing here because you’re you. Every now and then back at school, I’d see something real, get a quick peek at the true you. Inside this debutante who’d been groomed to act like a robot was a real person. A sweet soul. And as long as we’re being honest, I thought of myself as expendable back then too. I should’ve stayed home and graduated from the local high school. Pressman didn’t make me feel good about myself, but you did. I liked helping you.”
“But I used you,” she said, emotion choking her words as I stared into her eyes. She let out a long breath but didn’t move.
“And I used you,” I said softly. “I had no one at Pressman. At least you let me hang around sometimes.”
Blinking hard, she said, “I’m not that way anymore. I’m not a mean girl. At least, I try not to be.”
Although the rain had stopped, mist hung in the air, causing Murphy’s hair to curl and her eyelashes to hold tiny droplets. I wanted to pull her close, but resisted.
“I can tell you’re not, although you never really were a mean girl. I always thought that was more of an act. But really, Murph, what happened to you?”
The last question was a whisper. This Murphy was like an injured animal, cowering in a corner, but if I got too close, her claws would come out.
Not meeting my eyes, she huffed out a breath. “Let’s just move on. We solved the problem, and I need to get inside and change out of these wet clothes, and so do you. We don’t need to catch a cold. By the way, don’t you have patients who need you?”
I took another step closer until we were almost nose to nose. She smelled like huckleberry, maybe her lotion or shampoo, I wasn’t sure which. “I’m going to let you off the hook so you can change, but then we’re going to get some dinner.”
Leaning closer, I pressed a chaste kiss on her mouth. It wasn’t long or sensual, but full of promise on my part, and her eyes widened.
“I’ve wanted to do that since prom night,” I said low, “but I’m pretty certain I didn’t have a chance before I started barfing, let alone after.”
“Ben, please. Not now.” She stole the hanger from me and stepped back. Rubbing the moisture off her hand on her shorts, she tried to walk away, but I reached out for her arm to keep her close.
Despite her best efforts to twist out of my grasp, I held tight. “Dinner?”
She nodded, and I let her go. I wasn’t really holding her against her will. The keys fell from her hand and she bent to get them, her ass in the air. I swallowed as I took a quick peek, and then bent down to snag the keys for her.
Handing them over, I said, “One sec.”
She could tell me over dinner how she went from riches to rags, but right now I wanted to get Murphy inside and dry. And that wasn’t the doctor in me wanting to take care of her.
When it came to Murphy Landon, I turned into a raging caveman.
6
Murphy
“What in the actual freakity-freak is happening?” I asked myself, risking a quick peek in front of me.
Yep, Ben was walking toward his late-model Jeep, clearly decked out with all the state-of-the-art bells and whistles, while I stood next to my very used Toyota. My car was on its last breath, and without a second job, I couldn’t afford anything else. Not to mention this was the second time I’d locked my keys inside it.
If I hadn’t been so desperate for help on my journey here to Vermont, I would have been worried about Ralph-the-trucker raping or kidnapping me. Luckily, he turned out to be a good guy with a wife and kids at home, and had driven for the last ten years for King Arthur Flour. He’d seen me pacing next to my car like Ben had and asked if he could help. Showing me a picture of his kids, he swore he was a good guy. After demonstrating how to open the door with a hanger, he gave me his number in case I needed somewhere to go for Christmas.
“Shit,” I muttered to myself as Ben approached me again, shaking his head, presumably at my self-chatter.
He’d kissed me. On a wet Vermont road. Something I never thought I’d do, but strangely wanted to do a lot more of.
Watching Ben really take in the run-down house in front of him, I could have lied to myself and said he was checking for storms, but he wasn’t. My place left a lot to be desired. A long time ago, it must have been nicer, but now it was home to some nursing students who didn’t earn much, a sanitation worker and his girlfriend who lived above me, a truck driver for a local meat company, and me. It was just an old duplex chopped up into small rental units, but it was comfortable and cozy . . . and cheap.
Ben had snagged a backpack from the back of his Jeep and joined me. “I’ll change at your place, if that’s okay?”
I nodded. “Prepared for overnights, I see?” My comment came out a bit snarky, but he just shrugged.
“Always. My cases tend to run long, or I get stuck with an emergency. This way, I can be ready to do anything at a moment’s notice.”
I nodded again as we walked toward my entrance in the back. Unlocking the dead bolt, I couldn’t help but see
