Page 13 of Dual Destruction

“So are you.”

“I’m on the back end of a twelve-hour shift at the hospital,” he said. “What’s your excuse?”

“Just thinking.”

“About the man you went home with last week?”

I set my coffee on the arm of my chair and counted the planks that made up the fence at the back of my property line. There was no way he could have seen me go out with Sage because I didn’t even go outwithhim. Sage was halfway to the alley before I’d even made it to the door.

“I didn’t go home with anyone,” I said.

Not a lie.

“No?” Ronan laughed. “You took off so early, I thought you for sure had.”

Relief flooded my chest and I sagged into the low V of the chair with a sigh.

“No. I went home alone.”

“You haven’t really been yourself since New Year’s.”

“Just… out of the routine,” I promised. It was partially true. When I didn’t have a job, I had too much time on my hands. I’d taken three weeks at the start of the month so I’d have time to recover, but wounds of the heart didn’t heal anywhere as fast as those of the body.

I’d need a lifetime to get over the way Sage made me feel. Instead, I had seven hours.

“Well, if there’s anything we can do to help, let me know,” Ronan offered.

“Actually, that’s why I called, but if you’re at the end of a shift, you probably want to go to bed.”

“What were you thinking?”

“I was going to go shooting this afternoon, around twelve. I thought I’d see if you wanted to come along.”

“You know I don’t know how to shoot,” Ronan said.

“I know.” I sipped my coffee, already cooling to an undrinkable temperature. With effort, I pushed up and out of the chair, taking the mug back into the house and topping it off with fresh, hot coffee. “I’ve only been offering to teach you for as long as I’ve known you.”

“I know.”

“But like I said, you’re probably tired,” I interrupted before Ronan could protest again.

“Twelve?”

“Yeah, but it’s fine. I can teach you another time.”

“No.” Ronan yawned. “It’s barely eight; I can catch a nap and meet you there. Just send me the address.”

“Are you sure? Three hours isn’t a lot of time to sleep after a twelve hour shift.”

“I’m a doctor,” he reminded me. “Three hours of sleep is a luxury.”

“If you’re sure,” I said.

“You want to teach me?”

Teaching Ronan would be a distraction. Handling firearms would be a distraction, a reminder, that I had some kind of control over my life, even if I didn’t feel like it at that moment.

“Of course.”