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“We’re at least forty minutes from Blackwater.”

Brett brought his hands together as if he were praying and made a dramatic show of begging. “Please tell me what you want. I’ll do anything.”

“Okay, okay. I’d like some pancakes, please.”

“And coffee?” Brett asked.

“Yes. Just black.”

Brett pulled out his phone and started texting. “Got it.”

“You act like you have a crew of people ready to do your bidding,” Thea joked.

He tucked his phone back into the chest pocket on his shirt. “No. I just have friends.”

That was believable. Brett had always been the guy everyone loved. He hadn’t belonged to any certain circle in high school. He’d floated effortlessly between groups, and he’d been accepted wherever he went. Brett had a way about him that incited loyalty and trust. Probably because he’d come whenever a friend called.

The nurse popped back into the room, and she had a friend in tow this time. “Miss Howard, we need to get some more x-rays.” She started unlocking the bed wheels and bundling tubes.

Thea gave Brett one last look, and he met her gaze with a wink. That simple wink had her stomach flipping like an acrobat. He’d always been handsome, but he’d filled out since she’d last seen him. The butterflies in her stomach were having a pep rally, but the cautious voice in the back of her head warned of the heartache in her future.

Things with Brett couldn’t work out. It had been the same story when she left whether he killed her dad or not.

A nurse walked on either side of her bed as they made their way down the hall. The pretty nurse, Shayna, gave a little hum in her throat.

“You sure the two of you aren’t together?” she asked sweetly.

Thea nodded, unsure of her voice when she wished the opposite were true. Brett was one of the best men she’d ever met, and he was completely off-limits. Sure, they were adults and could make their own decisions, but their choices always left someone they loved hanging.

Would Brett leave Jess and come with Thea to Alabama? Would he want to leave Wolf Creek? Would she even have a job waiting for her back home?

Home. She wasn’t even sure the place existed.

“He seems like a catch. What’s wrong with him?” Shayna asked.

Thea chuckled. “Absolutely nothing.”

“Okay. I’ll stop pestering you.” There was about a three second pause before she continued. “But he’s just so sweet, and the way he looks at you just makes my heart melt.”

“I saw it too,” the other nurse said.

Thea flopped her head back onto the pillow, sending a jolt of pain down her spine. “It’s not him, it’s—”

“Don’t say it’s you. You’re a catch too,” Shayna said.

“Well, it’s not really either of us. It just wouldn’t work.”

The other nurse hummed. “Sounds like an excuse.”

Thea swallowed and closed her eyes. “It is. He might think he wants to be with me, but I doubt he’s thought about all the things he’d have to give up to be with me.”

Shayna sucked in a breath through her teeth. “Yikes. Okay, maybe it’s more complicated than I thought. I’ll leave you alone about it.” She patted Thea’s shoulder. “I’m just glad you have someone here for you. It’s sad when we have patients who never get a visitor.”

“I’m really glad he’s here,” Thea whispered.

Shayna brought the bed to a stop outside a room. “Let me see if they’re ready for you.”

Thea waited patiently until it was her turn for x-rays. The movements reminded her of all kinds of aches and pains she’d hoped were subsiding. They x-rayed about half of her body before wheeling her back to the hospital room where Brett waited.