“You were close by?” Samantha asked.
Ethan nodded. “Fortunately I happened to be just up the street at the clinic and got there even before the paramedics. I stayed with the boy at the emergency room until his family could get there. They thought he was at a friend’s house. I imagine once nerves settle down, he’ll be grounded for a good long time.”
“He’s not the first kid who went surfing when he was supposed to be safely on dry land,” Boone commented pointedly.
Ethan laughed. “And we always got grounded, too.”
“When we got caught,” Boone replied, then glanced at B.J., who was taking in the exchange with interest. Boone frowned at his son. “Just so you know, young man, my spies are everywhere. You will always get caught.”
“I don’t even know how to surf,” B.J. said in obvious frustration. Then with a naive innocence he asked, “Can you teach me?”
Ethan chuckled. “Kid, you need to learn about timing. This could be the wrong moment to suggest that.”
“Got that right,” Boone said.
Samantha stood up and walked to Ethan’s side. “Have you eaten? There’s plenty of food inside. I can make you a plate.”
“Thanks. I’ll come with you.”
Inside, she busied herself spooning fruit and salad onto a plate while Ethan stood back and watched her nervous movements.
“Everything okay?” he asked eventually.
“I’m trying to decide if I need to apologize to you.”
“For?”
“Misjudging you,” she admitted, lifting her gaze to meet his. “I thought you’d bailed today just to avoid me.”
“I thought maybe that was on your mind,” he admitted. “First, I’m not the kind of man who skips out just to avoid someone. Second, if I’m being honest, I should have called you, rather than Boone. So, maybe the truth is, I’m more of a coward than I’d like to think.”
“You didn’t owe me an explanation. It’s not my party.”
“Technically true, but I do think common courtesy is in order. I wonder if I wanted to see if you’d miss me.”
She stared at him, then shook her head. “Boy, we’re a real pair, aren’t we? Even when we swear we’re not going to get involved, we keep playing crazy games. Is it just the nature of the male-female dynamic?”
“I certainly hope not, though I wouldn’t doubt it. Men and women have been messing up for eons.”
“And here I thought we were special,” she teased, setting the plate on the table, then gesturing for him to sit. “Want an omelet? Or a waffle?”
He shook his head. “Just some company.”
“How about a mimosa? Word is they’re lethal.”
“I’m on call at the clinic, so no,” he said. “You haven’t tried the mimosas?”
“Nope. I’m starting to realize I need to keep a clear head these days, especially after that little performance I put on the other night, collapsing at your feet on the front lawn.”
“All that told me is that you’re not a heavy drinker under normal circumstances. Otherwise a few glasses of champagne wouldn’t have knocked you on your butt.”
“I’m not much of a drinker,” she confirmed. “I never really saw the point. And after the other day when I woke up feeling as if there was a full-blown orchestra of kettledrummers in my head, I don’t think that’s going to change.”
“Yeah, there’s not much to love about a hangover,” he agreed.
“Did you ever turn to alcohol when things were tough during your therapy?” she asked.
“Nope. It wouldn’t have mixed well with the drugs I needed for the pain. I didn’t even like taking those, but they did allow me to work harder at rehab, so I put up with the side effects for a few weeks, then tossed those, too. I like being in control.”
Her eyes lit up. “Aha!”
“What?”
“That’s the piece of the puzzle I was missing. You’re a control freak,” she said triumphantly. “And people who like control have lots of trouble with emotions, which are usually messy and unmanageable.”
Ethan could hardly deny the truth of that. “Okay, sure. I do like things to be orderly.”
“How’d you reconcile that with emergency medicine? From what I gather, there’s nothing nice and neat about working in a trauma unit.”
“Ah, but you’re wrong,” he insisted. “The cases may be unique and the scene totally chaotic, but the doctor’s job is to bring order to it, to focus on the details that will lead to a positive outcome for the patient. We cut through the chaos, because we know how to tackle anything that’s likely to happen.”
“Even the unexpected?” she inquired doubtfully.
“Even that,” he said. “We train to expect the unexpected, just so we can control the situation. Lives depend on us being calm and in control.”
It was ironic, really, because in that most stressful of environments, he’d never felt the kind of uncertainty he felt when dealing with the woman seated across from him right now. She was trying so hard to figure him out, to pin a label on him that could make sense of his reluctance to get involved.
The truth was actually quite simple. She represented something he’d once wanted with all his heart. Now, though, life had taught him that a man couldn’t always have what he most desired. As soon as he dared to reach for it, there was every likelihood it would be snatched away.
And though he’d coped with an injury that could have destroyed a weaker man and a loss that had torn him up inside, something told
