*****
Olivia slid into a chair beside Josh, using her coat sleeve to wipe her forehead. “That was crazy, tonight. This is the first time I’ve sat down in ten hours.”
Josh raised bloodshot eyes toward her. “It’s not usually like this. I haven’t been this tired since I was a first-year resident.” He gave her a crooked smile. “Do you still think this is what you want to do? You could always just stop after nursing school—we can always use more good RNs.”
“No, I’m going to be a doctor.”
“Well, you’ve got a long time to decide what branch you want to pursue. You might change your mind about Emergency Medicine before you’re done.”
“That’s true, but I really love the adrenaline rush. I’m afraid I’m already hopelessly addicted.”
They sat in companionable silence for a moment. Josh had seemed so downhearted as of late, and Olivia knew the reason. He was totally besotted with Emily’s sister, Charlie, who wouldn’t give him the time of day. She cut him a sideways glance. “I... uhmm... I heard from Charlie.”
“Really? What did she say?” His expression was so eager and earnest, her heart broke for him.
“We didn’t actually talk or anything. I just saw a Facebook post about starting her classes at University of Colorado. She says it will only take her two years to finish her prerequisites for law school.”
His entire body slumped with defeat. “She unfriended me on Facebook. I can’t even see her posts anymore.”
“If you want, you can use my Facebook account to stalk her. Just don’t tell anyone.”
“No. If she doesn’t want me to see the stuff she posts, I won’t invade her privacy.”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, Emily still thinks she likes you. She says Charlie is just really careful about admitting her feelings. And she’s coming to Emily and Spencer’s wedding in December, right?”
“I know. Emily told me. And I haven’t given up. I’m not a lightweight like Brad.” He made a sour face like he was swallowing medicine.
“Speaking of Brad... Is he coming to dinner tomorrow?” Olivia glanced at her watch. “Oops, I mean, tonight?”
“I don’t know,” said Josh. “He’s not scheduled to work,
but do you think he should go to dinner? Will it make Grace uncomfortable?”
“I think it’s really important for him to come to dinner. Grace wants him there. I’m hoping they can work everything out if they get a chance to talk face-to-face.”
“I’ll see what I can do, but he’s been a real bear lately. We’ve had a few shouting matches, and we’ve never done that before.”
Olivia smiled. She was glad Brad was out of sorts. It would be a bad thing if he were functioning well without Grace in his life.
Josh said, “You know, I’ll enlist Ben’s help. He can get Brad to do anything by pushing his buttons. I’m sure we can get Brad to Sunday night dinner.”
“Awesome,” said Olivia. “I’ll be so glad to get the old Grace back. Although, she doesn’t much resemble the Grace from a week ago. But eventually, everything will be back to normal.”
*****
Josh came in from a five-mile run, shedding his shirt on the way to the shower. “Hey Ben. Did you talk your brother into coming to dinner at the Marshall’s tonight? Spencer said there would be plenty of food.”
“Well about that... He’s coming to the dinner. In fact, he’s already left to pick up his date.”
“His date?”
Josh could see the muscles working in Ben’s jaw. “Yes. He claims he tried to call Grace all day yesterday, and she didn’t return his phone calls. And since she’s bringing Horatio, he wants to have a date as well. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”
Josh’s mouth went dry. “But Grace isn’t bringing Horatio. Olivia told me this morning Horatio is no more. Is he bringing Kara Dickson?”
“He’s bringing that woman he took to the baseball game. But did you know Grace recognized her? She insisted her name was Leanne.”
“Leanne? That’s the name of the girl Grace left her flowers and card with last week. Grace told me it was a nurse named Leanne. If this means what I think it does, Kara lied to Grace and purposefully hid the card and flowers from Brad. And now Brad is bringing her to dinner at Grace’s house—this is a disaster.”