When it was time for her lunch break, she grabbed the supply list and went down to the loading dock. She’d never been down here before, so she had to ask one of the janitors for help finding the right room. She opened the door, stopped, and stared, her heart sinking.
How was she supposed to inventory this?
The supplies weren’t organized or sitting in neat piles. Everything was stacked chest-high on three large pallets and wrapped tightly in plastic. It would take Ellie hours to break the stacks down, separate everything, do an inventory, and load up the pallets again. There was no way she could do this on her lunch break.
Pauline had said to delegate, but who had time for this? Every single person who’d signed up to volunteer had jobs. Most had families. She couldn’t just dump this mess in someone else’s lap.
Her cell phone buzzed.
A text from Jesse. He’d sent a photo.
She clicked, her pulse skipping at the sight of his face. It was a selfie of him riding the chair lift, a big smile on his face. A text message followed.
SITREP: IT’S AFTERNOON, AND I’M STILL ALIVE. HOW’S YOUR DAY?
Her heart melted.
She typed back.
I’M GLAD YOU’RE IN ONE PIECE.
She told him about the inventory issue and how it was all stacked high and wrapped in plastic and how she was going to have to come in on a day off this week to get it done in time.
I HAVE AN IDEA. HANG ON…
She waited for another message, but nothing came. Figuring he’d gotten caught up in something on the job, she headed back up to the ER. She’d just reached the nurse’s station with her lunch when her phone rang, the number unknown.
“Hey, Ellie. It’s Megs. Jesse tells me you’ve got a shitload of medical supplies that need to be inventoried before SnowFest this weekend.”
“That’s true.”
“If you tell me what time we should be there, I’ll ask for volunteers to come and help. I have an army of them, and they’re always trying to suck up and get on my good side. And, honey, we do inventory like nobody’s business.”
Chapter 14
Jesse had just startedhis end-of-day sweeps when he got a page from Megs. He slid to a stop and scrolled through it.
MORETTI’S GF NEEDS HELP WITH INVENTORY OF SUPPLIES FOR SNOWFEST. MEET AT 1800 HRS AT HOSPITAL LOADING DOCK.
Moretti’s girlfriend?
That should have bugged Jesse, but it didn’t. What else could he call Ellie? She wasn’t just his neighbor. They’d fucked each other’s brains out. They’d slept together—actually slept—in her bed. He’d watched her sing her little girl to sleep, and it had melted his heart¸ the image of Daisy snuggling against Ellie’s breast burned into his memory. It was the purest expression of femininity he’d ever seen.
You’re falling for her—falling hard.
Nah, man, that was crazy. No way. He’d only known her for two weeks.
In that time, you’ve gone from never having spoken with her to having the key to her house. What does that tell you?
So he liked her. He liked her a lot. But falling in love? No.
He shoved the pager into his pocket and pointed the tips of his skis downhill, determined to put her out of his mind for a while.
But what if hewasfalling for her? Shouldn’t he do something to stop himself?
Yeah? Like what?
He could end it. He could return Ellie’s key. He could tell her it was just sex.