CHAPTER FOUR

“Hey, Jonas, where are you headed?” asked Garr, walking toward him with a few other couples.

“Nowhere,” he frowned.

“Aren’t you doing New Year’s Eve with Khloe?” asked Clark. Nell stared at the man, wondering why he had distanced himself from their beautiful new doctor.

“No. I don’t think so,” he said, shaking his head.

“Well, that’s a shame,” said Nell. “We’re headed to The Well, which is where she went with a bunch of others. The Well is always jumping on New Year’s Eve. I’m sure there will be plenty of single men there to ask her to dance. Pretty woman like her won’t last long in a place like that.”

The group moved to one of the boats, boarding as slowly as possible, hoping that the stubborn Jonas would get the hint. Just as they were about to pull away from the dock, he leaped onto the boat and took a seat. No one said a word, just grinning behind their hands.

The Well was always busy, but on New Year’s Eve, it was insane. Over the years, it had grown from a small, raised Acadian cabin turned bar into a full-blown bar and restaurant with dancing, live bands, and three decks that held hundreds of people.

They easily spotted their group on the top deck and moved through the crowds to join them. Sure enough, Khloe was sitting with Ajei, Luke, Kennedy, JT, Lucinda, and Irish.

He immediately noticed the beautiful silver satin of her blouse and the silver sequined jeans. She looked like a gorgeous ornament. Her hair was piled loosely on her head, and the bright red of her lipstick made his dick hurt.

At first, he didn’t know how she was keeping warm, but then he felt the blast of the heaters on the deck and knew.

Turning toward the new group, Khloe smiled at Jonas, hoping to get one in return. If he didn’t, she would move on. She thought there was a half-smile, but it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. Her heart nearly cracked. She was heeding the advice of Kate and Ajei, allowing him to come to her. She was trying to be patient and understanding. What he’d gone through was terrible, but she’d hoped that they could talk about it and maybe both heal. But him ignoring her was hurtful. She’d never had to beg a man for attention, and this was a man she desperately wanted to pay attention to her.

But she also understood his reluctance. She just wanted to speak to him.

“Excuse me, would you like to dance?” asked the man.

Khloe looked up at him in the darkness. She could see that he was older but was reasonably handsome. He was wearing dark jeans and a sweater with dirty running shoes. She looked back at Jonas and then at the man again.

“Sure. I’d like that,” she said. She took his hand, and he squeezed it a little too hard, pulling her toward the dance floor. This was going to be a quick dance, for sure.

Jonas stared at the couple, then felt the others staring at him.

“What? She can dance with whoever she likes.”

“Brother, whatever is eating at you, figure it the fuck out. She’s a keeper all the way. You need to make sure of it,” said JT.

“It’s complicated.”

“It always is,” laughed Moose. Jonas felt someone tap his shoulder and turned to see U-Jin pointing at the dance floor.

“It looks as if she does not want to dance with him any longer. You might want to let him know that is not correct.”

Jonas turned to see the man tugging on Khloe’s hand, pulling her toward the steps to the docks. He immediately pushed his way through the crowd and instinctively knew that the others were moving to block the man as well.

“Let me go!” yelled Khloe above the music, panicked at the thought of someone taking her once again.

“You’re a sinner! A whore and a sinner!” said the man.

“God, let me go,” she cried again.

“God won’t help you now.”

“No, but I will,” said Jonas.

He grabbed the man’s elbow, wrenching it upwards, forcing him to release his grip on Khloe. She fell backwards, and U-Jin and Moose immediately helped her up and gently pushed her toward the other medical team members.

“Are you alright, honey?” asked Ajei.

“My hand,” she sniffed. “I think he broke my hand.”

“Fucker, you better have a good reason for trying to take that girl,” said Jonas, staring at the man. He was hiding his face, downturned so no one could see him in the light. He continued to back up toward the steps when JT gripped the ball cap the man was wearing and tossed it.

“Reverand Sizemore, or should we say Morley Standard,” growled Luke.

Sizemore pulled his weapon, pointing it at the crowd. In his other hand, he had a grenade with the pin pulled, dangling from his finger. The crowd panicked, screaming and running toward the other side of the decks, giving Sizemore the advantage.

“Get everyone to safety,” said Luke. “Follow him!”

“Luke, we need a boat to get Khloe back to the hospital. I think her hand is broken,” said Ajei.

Luke stared at the man racing his small bateau out of the bayou and then back at their new doctor. Instead of risking lives in the dark, he called his father to notify him of what had happened.

Sizemore was in their neck of the woods and didn’t even know it. It wouldn’t matter. He’d be removed permanently, one way or another.

“It’s broken, isn’t it?” said Khloe.

“I’m afraid so, honey,” winced Gabi. “He did quite a number for just having squeezed it. You won’t need surgery, but we will have to set it and put a temporary cast on it.”

“That means I can’t work,” she said in a shaky voice.

“You’re internal medicine, Khloe. You can still work, but you won’t need to. We’ll cover for you for the next few weeks. Just take it easy and heal. We’re not worried about you working, honey.”

“Are you sure? I mean, I just got here, and I’m already taking leave.”

“You’re taking leave because a psycho tried to kidnap you,” said Ajei. “Believe me, we all understand. You just get well.”

“Thank you,” she said with some relief.

“By the way, did Jonas say anything when he got you to the boat?” asked Ajei without making eye contact.

“What? Oh, no. Well, yes. He said I shouldn’t have done something so stupid as dancing with a man I didn’t know.”

“What the hell did he mean by that?” growled Gabi. “You were available to dance, and someone asked you. You had no clue who that man was. That little shit needs to learn some manners.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” said Khloe, trying to brush it off and hide her hurt. “I think I misunderstood everything. I thought we were getting to know one another, but I’m obviously not very good with men.”

“It’s not you, honey. It’s them,” said Gabi. “I swear to God that Zulu has his head up his ass sometimes. I hint at things, even say things or write them down, and he still doesn’t get it. Some days, I think I could walk by him stark naked, and he wouldn’t know what I was saying.”

“Oh, I damn sure would know what you were saying,” frowned Zulu at the door.

Khloe laughed at the big man with the mean face. She knew how incredibly sweet and kind he was, but that face made her laugh.

“Hi, babe,” grinned Gabi. “What’s up?”

“I’m just checking on the little one there. Heard what happened, and we all were ready to burn down The Well.”

“She’s going to be fine,” said Ajei. “Broken hand, but she’ll be good.”

Zulu moved inside the doorway, and a dozen men were standing outside staring at Khloe. She just looked at them, confused by their expression. Then, they jostled around and pushed someone to the doorway.

“Jonas,” she whispered.

“Hi.”

“I’ll leave you two alone,” said Gabi. “Ajei, let’s go, honey.”

“But I want to stay,” she pouted.

“Now,” grinned Gabi.

The silence in the room was deafening. Jonas didn’t move from the doorway as he stared at her, then noticed the hand.

“Are you in pain?” he asked.

“Some. I’ll live.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”

“You didn’t know. I didn’t know.”

“Yeah, about what I said. I’m sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean to imply that you were at fault for this. No one knew he was there, including me, and it wasn’t fair of me to say what I said.”

“Thank you for saying that. Do you want to sit with me for a while?” she asked, filled with hope.

“I-I don’t think I can, Khloe.”

“Jonas, what did I do wrong? I thought we were friends. I thought we were getting to know one another, and then you deserted me on the dance floor. Since then, you’ve avoided me like the plague. Please tell me if I’ve done something.”

He moved two steps forward and stopped again, shaking his head.

“It’s not you. You’ve done nothing wrong, Khloe. I just need to figure out some things on my own, and, well, then we can talk.”

Khloe stared at him a moment, then looked down at her hand again. Maybe this wasn’t the right place for her after all. Maybe she needed to find another clinic, another hospital to make her life. The thought of leaving caused a gaping wound in her abdomen, and she wasn’t sure she would ever be able to stop the bleeding.

“I may or may not be here when you get ready, Jonas. This might not be the job for me after all. I love these people and all they’ve done for me, but that doesn’t mean I have to stay where I’m not wanted.”

“Khloe,” he started.

“I’m tired, Jonas. I’m tired and hurting. Can you close the door when you leave?” She turned her head toward the wall, hoping to hide the tears from him.

It didn’t work. He saw them, he heard her sniffles, and it gutted him. He was causing her pain. More pain than he should.

Turning, he headed toward the door and began to close it. Seeing the glares of a dozen angry men, he stepped back, shut the door, and turned to her.

“I don’t think so.”

“Jonas,” she sniffed, “I know just seeing me is painful to you.”

“You know?”

“I know about your wife and what Archie did. I had no clue it was your wife, Jonas. I’m so, so sorry. I wish I could have changed it.”

“You didn’t do anything, Khloe. You tried to get him to stop drinking. You reported him to the police, and from what I hear, you’ve been running from him.” She stilled, staring up at his handsome face.

“I-I wouldn’t say running. Just artfully avoiding him,” she frowned.

“Khloe,” he said, shaking his head, “that’s the same thing. He’s coming after you because you turned him in, isn’t he?” She let out a slow breath, shrugging her shoulders.

“Honestly, Jonas. I have no idea. That’s as good a guess as any. He claimed that I ruined his life. Me. He was the alcoholic, the person who did this. I did what any person would have done.”

“Not any person,” he said, touching her unbroken hand. At first, he just laid his huge paw over her tiny one. Then he laced his fingers with hers. “I should have told you when you told me what happened on the dance floor at the wedding. I should have had the courage to stay and tell you it was my wife and unborn children.”

“Jonas, it was a horrible thing to relive. I can’t imagine what a shock that was for you. I understand if it’s difficult to look at me.”

“No. No, it’s not difficult to look at you. That’s all I want to do is look at you. It was everything at once, Khloe. Realizing how we were connected, feeling things for you that I hadn’t felt for a woman in ages, seeing how beautiful you looked that night. It was all of it.”

She stared at him, then heard someone in the distance beginning a countdown.

“It’s almost midnight,” she whispered. She was almost afraid of what might happen next. She was afraid to close her eyes, afraid to wish for anything, just plain afraid. The way she’d lived her life lately.

“… four, three, …”

“Yes, it is,” he smiled, leaning toward her. As someone yelled ‘one,’ he placed a sweet, soft kiss on her lips, smiling at her. “Happy New Year, Khloe. I like the way this one is starting out.”

“Me too, Jonas. Me too.”