ROMANCE: Life Shocks Romances: Contemporary Romance Box Set (Life Shocks Romances Collection Book 2) by Jade Kerrion

Author:Jade Kerrion [Kerrion, Jade]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-12-22T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ONE

Ten dead in as many days.

It had reached the scale of an epidemic.

Thirty-year-old Dr. Connor Bradley braced himself for accusations of brutish ignorance and downright incompetence as he pushed on the door to enter the store.

The elderly gentleman behind the counter looked up with a smile. “Connor!” Moments later, his smile slipped, and the kindly blue eyes lost their friendly twinkle. “Another one?”

Connor nodded.

“Are you eating them for breakfast?”

“I don’t know what’s going on.” Connor held up a plastic container. “I brought a water sample, just in case.”

Huffing, old Mr. Langford tested the chemicals in the aquarium water. He frowned. “It’s perfectly balanced. Your filter and air pump working fine?”

“The tank looks great, but every morning, there’s a goldfish floating belly up in the tank.”

“And that’s the only goldfish, right?”

“We have only that one fish in that tank. I have a smaller tank in my bedroom closet with the backup goldfish, and that one does fine until he’s transferred to the big tank. The next morning, he’s gone too.”

Mr. Langford snorted, the sound edged with humor. “I’d say your tank is cursed, but that would be impossible. How hard is it to keep a goldfish alive for more than twenty-four hours?”

Connor dragged his fingers through his dark hair and scowled. “I’ve been asking myself the same question. Medical school was easier than this.”

“Good thing you’re a better doctor than you are a goldfish owner.”

“One would hope. Anyway, I need another backup goldfish. Better make it two to save me a trip out here tomorrow.”

Mr. Langford shuffled to the goldfish tank. Squinting at the flurry of bright orange fins and tails, he selected two that looked relatively alike and scooped them up with a net, before depositing them into Connor’s plastic container. “Has Grace caught on yet that you’re swapping out the dead goldfish with a live one every morning before she wakes up?”

Connor shook his head. “No. Thank God, the goldfish all look alike.”

Mr. Langford’s lips tugged into a half-smile. “You might want to think about telling her. She’s six; she ought to learn how to handle things like this.”

Like death. Tension stiffened Connor’s shoulders, and a muscle twitched in his smooth cheek. “Not yet. It’s too soon.”

The line furrowing Mr. Langford’s brow gave him a concerned look. “What are you doing this year for Christmas?”

“We’ll be in Orlando, visiting my parents and staying through the New Year. I’ll take the kids to Disney World for a few days. It seemed…smarter to get away from home this year.”

“You can’t outrun memories of Millie forever,” Langford said gently.

“No, but I can put it off for a year, maybe two, until Grace and Hope are older and I can explain to them how their mother died.” His voice cracked slightly. “Christmas will always be rough.”

“And how is Hope doing?”

“On track for a one-year-old. She alternates walking and crawling, but hasn’t started speaking yet.”

“I expect she will soon.”

Connor nodded. “What about you? Any Christmas plans?”

Mr. Langford rubbed at his lower jaw and neck.

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