Desperate Times (Silver Ridge Series Book 2) by Emily Goodwin

Author:Emily Goodwin [Goodwin, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-11-16T18:30:00+00:00

14

Sam

“Ohhh, that feels nice.” Chloe holds her hands out and closes her eyes, soaking in the warmth of the fire pit. We’re outside on the patio of my parents’ house, sitting around the fire with Jacob, Mason, and Lennon.

“Let’s play a drinking game,” Mason suggests.

“Haven’t you had enough to drink already?” Jacob replies.

“To enjoy hanging out with you? Clearly not.” Mason reaches down and picks up a bottle of whiskey none of us saw him bring outside. “Who’s in?”

“I’ll play,” Lennon says, finishing her can of sparkling water. “But I’m getting wine. Chloe, you want some too?”

“Yeah, that would be great, thanks,” Chloe tells her. We’re snuggled up together on an outdoor lounge chair, with a blanket over our laps. Chloe started coughing more during dinner but insisted she’s fine, and I’m doing my best to put my years of medical training aside and not pester her about it.

Obviously, I like taking care of people and making patients feel better. I get a deep sense of satisfaction from helping ease pain or cure any sort of ailment. It’s what separates the good doctors from the just okay ones…the ones who look at patients as people with lives and families and value from the ones who look at them as puzzles to be solved.

But seeing Chloe sick hits me on a whole other level. I don’t want her to feel one ounce of discomfort, and knowing that I’m going to drop a bomb on her later makes my stomach twist up in knots. Everything feels wrong.

Sitting around the fire with my family.

Chloe cuddled up in my lap.

The friendly chatter. The not-so-subtle talk about the future.

Wrong. All of it.

Because I’m keeping a truth from everyone, and once I finally fess up and come clean, the hopeful feeling in the air will be zapped away.

“What about you guys?” Lennon gets up, zipping her jacket in preparation to move away from the fire. “Want anything or are you going to be gross and share a bottle with Mason?”

“Sure,” I say, feeling the urge to drink much stronger than usual.

“What do you want?”

“A Coke,” I tell her. “Jack and Coke sounds good.”

Jacob nods. “I’ll have the same.”

“Need help?” Chloe asks, already getting up. She goes in the house with Lennon, and my heart aches the second she leaves.

“I gotta say, bro,” Mason starts, unscrewing the lid to the bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand. “You and Chloe are good together. I never thought I’d sink so low to admit it, but I’m fine with her officially joining the family.”

“It’s kind of soon for that,” I shoot back, throat tightening. I want nothing more than to ask Chloe to marry me. “We’ve only been dating for a few weeks.”

“Yeah, but you’ve been in love with her for years,” Jacob quips. “And I’m sure she’s more than tolerated you for a while.”

“True,” I agree and feel tempted to take the bottle of whiskey from Mason. The truth bubbles up on my tongue. Confessing everything to my brothers would bring me a level of peace, I know.

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