“Cane . . .”
He propped one ankle on the other knee and scratched at his chin. He eyed me curiously. “There are seven different personality types of women. Every woman will fall into one of those seven if you pay enough attention to figure it out. Apparently with Sam, you can’t do that, so I’m gonna break it down for you. She, my friend, falls into the category of Crazy As Hell.”
“She’s not crazy.”
“Oh, she certainly is. I know you don’t see it because of all that shit that happened, but she’s nuts. Do you know how many times I could’ve tapped that over the years? Hundreds, Max. But I didn’t and you know me—there were times in my life where I fucked anything and everything.” He leaned forward. “But I never fucked her.”
“No one is asking you to do anything to her. We had a job opening and she needed a job. It’s the nice thing to do.”
Cane dipped his chin and looked sternly at me. “You do realize that you don’t owe her jack shit, right?”
I rolled my eyes. “This has nothing to do with that.”
“The fuck it doesn’t. You still think you need to help her put her life back together. She’s a fuckin’ head case, Quinn, and that has nothing to do with you. It never has had anything to do with you.”
“Cane—”
“Nope. Not done,” he cut me off. “Most of what that girl says is garbage. I know she has you wrapped around her little finger and I get that. I do. You’re a nice guy and you always try to do the right thing. But it makes you a sitting duck to people who want to manipulate you. And she wrote the book on that.”
“I know you don’t like her. I get it. But it’s just a job. What can it hurt?”
“It better not hurt anything. I don’t have the time or the energy to deal with anything that crazy bitch comes up with. Between Jada and Dan, I have a full plate.”
I rested my elbows on my desk, exhausted before eight in the morning. “I heard he was in this morning. How’d that go?”
“I didn’t kill him.”
“That’s a point in your favor.”
“Yeah, well, he had a little fit about not getting paid but Hilah was right. She deducted the balance he owed us back for the advance he took when he got married that you approved. Danny Boy forgot about that, conveniently. He tossed a few threats and more than a few profanities, but I think he got the picture.”
Cane stood quickly and walked past my desk to the window, looking across the parking lot. We watched Dan get into his green Chevy and speed out of the parking lot.
“There’s one crazy down.” He looked at me and shook his head. “One to go.”
KARI
Maybe it’s a full moon.
I gathered my things after a longer-than-expected shift at the hospital. The ER had been full and wild with everything from the flu to gunshots to a finger dangling by an inch of skin. Everyone’s craziness, plus the call-offs by a couple of nurses, equaled a very long shift for me.
Regardless, the ER was what I loved. It was fast-paced, ever-changing, and you had to stay on your toes. I had been thinking about Dr. Manning’s job offer. It would give me predictability in my schedule and an easier patient base. But when I imagined myself working in an office from nine-to-five, dealing with routine flu shots and diabetes checks, I was bored out of my mind. I knew I couldn’t take the offer. I just had to tell him.
I picked up my bag and walked out of the nurse’s locker room and into the lounge we shared with the doctors. Connor walked in right after me. His face looked heavy, bags under his eyes.
“Hi, Dr. Manning,” I said, stepping out of his way.
“Hi, Kari. Your shift ending?”
“A couple of hours later than it was supposed to, but yeah, I’m heading out.” I swallowed. “When can we talk about . . . what we talked about the other day?” There was no one else in the room, but it still felt wrong to discuss it openly.
He closed his eyes briefly. “Whenever you would like. Did you decide?”
“I did. I’m honored that you would trust me enough to ask me to work with you, but I really can’t. The ER is where I belong. My heart and soul is here.”
“I understand. I want you to know that if you ever change your mind, the offer stands.”
“I appreciate that.”
“I don’t mean to pry, but are you okay, Dr. Manning? You seem exhausted.”
He forced a smile. “I am exhausted, actually. My mother was just diagnosed with lupus. I’m heading back to Salt Lake City for a couple of days to make sure her care is in order. I leave tomorrow.”
“I’m so sorry.”