Chapter 48
998 Words
Dean was sure that he had heard her wrong. “He what?”
“He shot himself in the head.”
Dean stared at her. “Oh, baby… I’m so sorry.”
“He called me right before he did it. He begged me to come over to talk, and even though he’d done that for weeks and I kept saying no, I finally agreed. I had no intention of going back to him, but I thought one final conversation might help him.” She set down her cup of tea as her hands trembled. “He was dead by the time I got there. He must have hung up the phone with me and pulled the trigger almost right away. He was still warm when I arrived at his place.”
“He wanted you to be the one to find him,” Dean said slowly. “He made sure of it.”
“Yes. He wanted to punish me.”
Dean closed his eyes, not wanting to imagine what she had walked in on. He had seen dozens of head shots in his life, and they were always unspeakably traumatic. The thought that Emma had found Michael like that both hurt and infuriated him.
“So as you can imagine, I was a mess afterwards,” Emma said. “I just – I couldn’t get into a relationship again, and I didn’t trust myself as a girlfriend, you know? I felt like I should have done so many things differently with Micheal and for Michael, but I didn’t have a clue what they were. The guilt was so overwhelming at one point, and I couldn’t get past it. Then I got really busy with work and I took on more and more patients, and… well… I kind of forgot about my personal life.”
“Until now.” Dean touched her face.
“Until now. And my timing kind of sucks, huh? I wait for a cancer diagnosis to get my crap together with a good man.”
“It happens, baby. Good things at bad times, what we need comes to us when we’re fighting the fact that we need it.”
“Yeah. That’s all true. Such is life, right?”
“Right.” He smiled at her. “You doing OK now? About Michael, I mean. You know that what happened had nothing to do with you?”
“I do. I mean, I always did, but it was one of those situations where you know something in your head but you feel something else inside. Sometimes it takes a while for your head and heart to get in sync.” She smiled back. “Otherwise known as the human condition.”
“Uh-huh. And one of the reasons that you get to live in this amazing apartment… that dilemma keeps your client list full, I bet.”
“Not lately, it doesn’t.”
“You miss it?” he asked. “Your work?”
“I do. I really do. It was valuable, making a difference to people’s lives in that way.”
“You’ll get back to it, Emma. When this is all over.”
She looked up at him, and tried to stay as positive as he was. “Yeah, you’re right. When this is all over.”
They were both silent.
“Hey,” she said, eager to change the subject. “Speaking of work: what’s happening with extending the lease on the tattoo parlour?”
Dean sighed in frustration. “The landlord just won’t agree to a meeting with me. I’ve been trying for two weeks now.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“The fucker’s playing with me. He’s holding it over my head that the contract is up in less than a month now, and if we don’t sort this all out in time, I’ll have to move.”
“And you don’t want to?”
“No. I love where we are, and moving is always risky after you’ve only been in a place for a couple of years, like I have. I’m finally getting established, so moving now is a bad idea.”
“Yeah. I can see that.”
“Anyway, I’m hoping that it’ll all be OK. Jim and I are scouting some new locations if it comes to that, but I’m hoping that it doesn’t. The landlord finally proposed a meeting time on Friday afternoon.”
“This Friday?”
“Yeah. I’m going to turn it down, though.”
“Why? He finally agrees to meet and you say no?”
He gave her a kiss. “Because, angel, that’s the day of your next round of blood tests at the hospital clinic, and I want to be there to bring you home.”
“Oh. Oh, no need. Blood tests are easy and if I feel dizzy or weak after, I can always jump in a taxi.”
“No way. You’re not going to worry about getting yourself home after. OK?”
“Well, I’ll ask one of the girls, then.”
“You can’t. Liv is away later this week, remember? Kat has that charity fashion show on Friday, so she’ll be there getting the models ready, and Jenny’s catering that wedding party, so she needs to be at her restaurant all day. None of them are free.”
Emma stared at him, her mouth open. “God, Dean. You’ve got their schedules memorized?”
He grinned. “Yep. We all know where each other are going to be all the damn time. Just making sure we’ve got things covered for you.” He thought for a second. “I’ll see if Dallas can come and get you, OK? I think he’s available that day.”
“Thanks, Dean.” She reached for him. “It means a lot, you know.”
“I know, baby. You mean a lot, too. To all of us.”
- Writer
