Page 5 of Saving Texas

“Let’s get you out of these pants,” Clara said, unzipping my pants before I’d even processed the words.

“Whoa there, don’t you want to have dinner first, darlin’?” I’d teased. “Or at least close the door.”

I’d just gotten to her room, and while I didn’t mind her enthusiasm, we hadn’t even kissed yet. She ignored me, stroking my cock with a focused look.

“Room service said they’d be here in forty-five minutes. That’s just enough time for us to have an appetizer.”

***

Clara shook her head slightly, refocusing on my partner. As always, she moved with an easy efficiency as she examined the wound, ignoring Harrison’s hiss of pain as she pressed around the opening.

I studied her as she worked. There was something different about her now. Not just the changes in her body or the little creases at the corners of her eyes. It was her energy. It seemed heavier, more serious. The Clara I remembered always had a lightness about her, even in the midst of trauma.

Of course, it had been seventeen years since I’d last seen her. A lot could happen in seventeen years.

“Looks like you’re right,” she told Harrison. “The bullet went clean through. I’ll get an x-ray just to be sure, but you should be okay with a few stitches and a couple of days of bed rest.”

“Thanks Doctor.”

Clara stood up, pulling off her latex gloves and tossing them into a trash can in the far corner of the room. The corner of her mouth quirked as she hit the trash can dead on. She’d always been a good shot. She’d played basketball in high school and college.

“I’ll send someone in to do your stitches after the x-ray, then if everything goes well they’ll discharge you in a couple of hours.”

Clara stopped to give a series of orders to the nurse, then strode out of the room, studiously avoiding my gaze. I had to admit, it stung that she just walked out without a single word to me. I was on my feet before I even thought about it, catching up with her as she power walked down the hallway.

“Clara! Hold up.”

Her spine stiffened as she came to a stop. I moved in front of her, waiting for her to look up at me. She was average height for a woman, but still a good six inches shorter than me.

“Yes?” Her voice was cool. Indifferent. Like I was some stranger on the street instead of a man who’d spent hours with my head between her thighs.

I met her gaze.

“It’s good to see you, darlin’. I had no idea you were in Houston now,” I told her. “We should get dinner or something and catch up. When are you off duty?”

Her expression didn’t change. I found myself searching her cold eyes, wondering where the easy-going young woman I remembered from my youth had gone. That woman had always had a smile or a joke for everyone, no matter how terrible things got.

“Thank you for the invitation, but I’m very busy and don’t have time for dinner. Have a nice day.”

She started walking away and I followed again, smarting from her casual dismissal.

“Are you mad at me or something? I don’t understand. We both agreed it was one night, and we parted on good terms.”

She gave me a look that could have frozen the fires of hell. It was a welcome change from the look of indifference.

“I’m not mad at you Jeffers, but I haven’t seen you in almost twenty years. It’s not like we have anything to talk about.”

“Don’t we? We seemed to talk a lot the last time we were together – at least when we weren’t doin’ other things.”

“There’s no reason to rekindle the past.”

“Why not? Are you married?”

She wasn’t wearing a ring, but I knew most medical professionals didn’t, lest they catch on the latex gloves they wore.

She frowned again. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no, I am not currently married.”

“I’m not either.”