Northern Rebel Daring in the Dark - By Jennifer Labrecque Page 0,34
but it was also awkward as hell. She got up and left.”
That didn’t surprise Delphi at all. Anyone who would “faint” to garner attention would certainly go for a dramatic exit. However, she merely said, “I’m sure it was a little awkward.”
“So, there you have it. The food was good and then it got weird. So I don’t really know how the evening was.”
“You okay? We don’t have to go.” She didn’t want him to feel as if she was an obligation. “You’re here all week. We can go some other time.”
“No. I want to go now. It’s no big deal. I just couldn’t tell you if it was good or bad.”
That made sense. “Okay.”
“You’re easy to talk to,” he said.
She laughed. “Make up your mind. You told me earlier it was difficult to have a conversation with me.”
He grinned at her and her heart rate instantly doubled. That smile was like a shot of epinephrine. “There’s a difference in talking to someone and actually having a conversation.”
“Ah, okay. I see. Well, you certainly can talk.”
He laughed. “I’m not sure that was a compliment.”
“It wasn’t an insult. It was more of an observation.” And she’d been teasing him a little.
“If you say so.”
“So, now that the wedding’s over, what are you up to the rest of the week?”
He turned left off of the main road.
“Monday I’m flying out to Liam’s camp to check it out. I’m going out with Dirk in the morning and Dalton’s going to swing back by and pick me up in the afternoon. Then I’m going to get in some fishing, hiking and reading. What about you? Do you jump right into work?”
“Pretty much. Nelson will still be here next week so I’ll shadow him, meet the patients and get a feel for how Skye works. We’re friends but we’ve never worked together before.” They topped a rise and over to the left lay a spectacular lake. “This is really beautiful!” Delphi nearly squealed like a kid with excitement. “Lars, look. Eagles. Oh, my goodness, they’re incredible.”
Two of the birds perched atop trees while another one soared against the backdrop of a flawless blue sky. “I’ve never seen anything quite so beautiful in my life,” she said.
“I’m inclined to agree.” However, he was looking at her rather than the landscape and it felt like a visual caress.
He stopped the truck, putting it in Park. He killed the engine and they sat, letting the tranquillity of the place wash over them. An eagle called out but rather than shatter the peace, the cry became part of the ambience.
Lars broke the silence. “How did all of this work out? You just quit your job to come here for a couple of months?”
She looked out the window at the trees etched against the sky. Should she trust him? He was nothing to her, really. Except he had let her in on his family’s problems, ones she suspected he didn’t share often, if ever. And he was temporary, which, in a way, made the nightmare she’d been through easier to talk about. She looked at him. “It’s not a secret, but I don’t particularly want it broadcasted.”
“I’m not a broadcasting kind of guy.”
“For all that you like to talk, no, you don’t strike me that way.”
They were silent for a few minutes. He waited patiently. “I’ve been unemployed for six months because I got fired from my last job.”
“Okay.”
One word. Nothing more, nothing less. He was still waiting. She continued, keeping it as simple as possible. “My employer made a pass at me. I turned him down. He blackballed me. Because it was my word against his, I haven’t been able to find a job.”
He sat silently. She wondered not just how, but if, he was going to respond. Finally, he said, “That’s bullshit.”
She felt sick to her stomach. He was just like all the rest. She didn’t know why she’d been stupid enough to think—
He interrupted her mental rant. “He shouldn’t be allowed to get away with something like that. Was he some old fart?”
Relief washed over her. His “bullshit” hadn’t been aimed at questioning her story. “No. He was young, not even close to old-fart designation—thirty-six, married, handsome and charming.”
“So, of course, why would you turn him down? Bastard. What’d he do, beat you to the punch by firing you?”
She was so relieved she almost wanted to cry. With the exception of a few, most of her friends had felt compelled to quiz her as to whether she’d