Chapter 1
The emergency department never really slept.
It simply changed personalities.
At eight o’clock on a Tuesday morning, the controlled chaos had already begun.
Phones rang.
Monitors beeped.
Stretchers rolled down hallways.
Someone somewhere yelled for a doctor.
Joslynn Hayes barely looked up.
“Room four needs another ECG.”
“Already ordered.”
“Bed seven?”
“Waiting on labs.”
“Coffee?”
“God, yes.”
A paper cup landed beside her computer.
She looked up just enough to see her coworker, Sarah.
“I love you.”
“I know.”
Joslynn took one sip.
Still too hot.
Still worth it.
She was halfway through updating a chart when the emergency bay doors slid open.
A familiar voice echoed through the department.
“I swear this thing hates me.”
Another voice answered.
“No, you’re just an idiot.”
Easton Carter.
Joslynn closed her eyes for exactly one second.
Of course.
She looked toward the ambulance bay.
Easton stood beside one of Heartline EMS’s ambulances, grease staining both forearms as he spoke to one of the paramedics.
The ambulance hood was open.
A toolbox sat at his feet.
He looked up.
Their eyes met.
A grin immediately spread across his face.
“Oh, good.”
Joslynn sighed.
Here we go.
“Hayes.”
“Carter.”
“You look thrilled to see me.”
“I’d rather do paperwork.”
“Ouch.”
He placed a hand over his heart.
“I’m wounded.”
“I’ll alert the trauma team.”
One of the paramedics snorted.
Easton ignored him.
“You buying me coffee today?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I enjoy watching you suffer.”
“There she is.”
He pointed at her.
“My favorite nurse.”
“I am absolutely not your favorite nurse.”
“You are.”
“I’m also your least favorite nurse.”
“Still my favorite.”
She rolled her eyes.
“You’re exhausting.”
“I’ve heard that.”
“You should listen.”
“I don’t.”
She turned back toward her chart.
Conversation over.
Or so she thought.
Something moved in her peripheral vision.
Her smile disappeared instantly.
Standing near the vending machines...
Was Aaron.
Her ex.
He wasn’t supposed to be here.
He wasn’t looking at the vending machine.
He was looking at her.
Joslynn’s stomach dropped.
Her fingers froze over the keyboard.
Not here.
Please...
Not here.
She looked away immediately.
Maybe if she ignored him—
Her phone buzzed in her scrub pocket.
She didn’t need to check.
She already knew.
Her breathing became shallower.
The noise of the emergency department suddenly felt far away.
A stretcher rolled past.
Someone laughed.
None of it sounded real.
She forced herself to keep typing.
One word.
Another.
Anything.
Just don’t look.
“Hayes?”
Easton’s voice.
Closer this time.
She startled so violently she almost dropped her coffee.
He frowned.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
The answer came too quickly.
Too sharp.
He noticed.
She could tell.
His eyes studied her for half a second.
Not judging.
Just... noticing.
Then he followed her line of sight toward the waiting area.
Aaron had already looked away.
Just another man standing in a hospital.
Nothing obvious.
Nothing anyone else would question.
Easton looked back at Joslynn.
“You sure?”
She forced a smile.
“I’m fine.”
There was a beat of silence.
Most people would’ve pushed.
Asked more questions.
Demanded answers.
Easton didn’t.
He simply nodded once.
“Alright.”
He leaned against the ambulance for a second before grabbing a wrench from his toolbox.
“If you need the world’s most average mechanic...”
She looked at him.
“...I’ll be outside.”
A reluctant laugh escaped her.
“The world’s most average?”
“I’m humble.”
“That’s new.”
“I’ve been working on it.”
She shook her head.
“Go fix your ambulance.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He flashed one last crooked grin before disappearing back through the ambulance bay doors.
Joslynn watched him leave.
Then looked toward the waiting room again.
Aaron was gone.
She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
Across the parking lot...
Easton glanced back through the emergency room windows.
He could still see her.
Still standing exactly where he’d left her.
Coffee untouched.
Shoulders tense.
Eyes scanning every doorway.
Something wasn’t right.
He didn’t know what.
And it wasn’t his business.
So he picked up his wrench...
And went back to fixing the ambulance.
For now.
Aaron or Easton? I'd go for Easton. 💕