She sat back, surprised at the words that came out of her mouth. Her, the super planner, who had everything mapped out and on schedule. She was living in the here and now. Wouldn’t Dave have something to say about that?
She wished she hadn’t thought of Dave at this moment … Dave, who already had a child of his own. She wanted him to have a relationship with Nora, but she wondered how much room there was for her in that scenario. It had been nice spending time with him over the weekend. Wonderful, in fact. She wasn’t a fast mover but she’d definitely let her mind wander to certain places, wondering if they were headed in that direction.
But the reality was that the weekend was a little like a vacation. They’d shopped and ate pizza and kissed and flirted, but it was an anomaly. A nice memory. This, right here, was who she was. Anything else was just …
Vacation.
Josh tapped his chin, and she could tell he was considering his next words. Her stomach twisted with nerves. He was her boss, after all. And she knew she’d been juggling trying to care for Daniel and still see all her patients. She didn’t want to let him down. And this morning she was just so tired …
“I was thinking,” he said, his voice soft but firm, letting her know what was coming next wasn’t exactly a suggestion. “Maybe you could find someone to help with Daniel while you’re working, if you’re so determined to not take time off.”
Leave him home? With a sitter? At his age?
“He’s bottle fed, which makes things much more convenient. You could use your office, set up a playpen, bring in a comfy chair. I even have the perfect candidate.”
“You do?”
He nodded. “My mom. She’s going crazy, waiting for more grandkids.”
“Josh, I don’t know what to say. You’ve asked her already, haven’t you?”
He smiled. “I might have put a bug in her ear. You’re not superwoman, Charlie. Just think about it and let me know. And after your last appointment this morning, go home. I’ll cover walk-ins today.”
“But it’s my shift…”
“Consider it a Christmas present. Or an order from your boss, if that doesn’t work.”
She was touched. Josh wasn’t always touchy-feely but his gesture was so thoughtful. After he left her office, Charlie grabbed the chart for her next patient.
She found herself wondering about Daniel’s mother. In her job, she tried to keep an open mind, because she was generally shown time and again that unless you walked in someone else’s shoes, you just didn’t know what they had been through. But still, even if leaving him in the manger had been planned as they suspected, it was dangerous. Desperate.
Clearly, she wasn’t entirely objective about this situation. But that was what she loved about this job too. When she’d first moved here, she’d been so professional, able to distance herself from her patients. But slowly she’d started caring about them in more than just an empathetic way. They weren’t family, but they were community.
The thought was comforting somehow. Maybe Josh was so good at it because he’d been here all his life. Maybe, just maybe, this was starting to be her home too.
Shortly after eleven Dave texted to ask if she wanted to meet for lunch. She waited until her current appointment was finished, and then considered. Did she want to see him again? Hell yes. She was dying to know what had happened between him and Janice.
When she caught her next break, she called him instead of texting, and asked if he was busy for dinner. When he said he wasn’t, she offered to bring dinner to his place after work. She’d grab some takeout Chinese and meet him at the cottage.
She was afraid she might be falling for him, and how stupid was that? He wasn’t even sure if he was staying in Jewell Cove, and she called herself ten times the fool for letting her imagination get the best of her.
Chapter Ten
Charlie sat back in her chair and put her hand on her stomach. “Oh my God. I’m so stuffed I think I’m going to blow up.” Dave was still polishing off his mountain of cashew chicken and fried rice, but Charlie was so full of lo mein that she couldn’t think of eating another bite. “That was good.”
It was extra nice to have a night out without the baby … in some ways, this felt like more of a date than their official date had. Tonight Meggie Collins was at Charlie’s house, getting to know Daniel and crocheting something pretty out of pink yarn. Josh’s idea had been a good one. Charlie loved looking after Daniel, but the break was lovely too.
Dave nodded. “I haven’t had takeout like that in ages. When I was stationed at Little Creek, there was this place we used to go to that had the best hot-and-spicy beef thing. It was perfect with a cold beer.” He grinned at her. “Or two.”
“Do you miss that life?” she asked. “Being in the Navy?”
“I wasn’t just in the Navy, Charlie. I was a SEAL.”