26. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

"W ell, I think that might have been the best massage of my life," Brooke said, sipping her mimosa as she and Justine sat in the serene Japanese garden inspired patio of the spa.

They'd gone to sunrise yoga that morning, followed by facials, pedicures, the thermal spa, seaweed scrub, and finally, the most relaxing full-body, deep tissue massage Justine had ever had. She had to agree with Brooke, it was probably the best of her life too.

Nodding, she lifted up her own flute of champagne and orange juice and clinked it against Brooke's. "Thank you. I really needed this."

Brooke glanced at her phone. "It's three twenty. Dr. and Mrs. Awful are probably officially married now. How do you feel?"

Justine exhaled as she uncrossed and recrossed her legs beneath her fluffy white robe. "Numb, really. Tad was so many red flags from the get-go and I just ignored a lot of them. On paper, he was perfect. Educated, accomplished, from a good family. My parents liked him. But he was—I mean, is, so freaking arrogant. I know that as surgeons, we all have a bit of arrogance. But his was out of this world. His head is so big it needs its own zip code. Saying he has a god-complex would be an understatement."

Brooke nodded. "So, bullet dodged. They can make each other miserable for the rest of their lives and you can find peace, joy, and fulfilment."

Sighing, Justine glanced out into the garden with its perfectly manicured trees, the babbling waterfall and pond complete with koi and turtles, and she fought back the tears that threatened to spill over. "I want to move here."

Brooke nodded.

"But I don't think Bennett wants this to be anything more than a fling for the length of my reservation. He does nothing but bring up how temporary this is."

"Clint was similar. I mean, so was I for a little while. But the island is so easy to fall in love with."

"And I'm already in love with it. And I'm in love with the girls."

"Are you in love with Bennett?" Brooke's brows lifted on her smooth forehead.

"It's too soon for that, but I know I could be. He's helped me overcome so much in the short time we've known each other. But I worry that he sees me as just a chaotic mess. Fun for a while, but not something he wants to permanently add to his plate."

Brooke scrunched her face in confusion. "You? A chaotic mess? I don't see that at all."

"I came here looking for direction. I don't know if I want to practice medicine anymore and I'm looking for … I don't know, a sign on what to do next. And I thought I'd found it. I want to buy a place or build a place here."

Frowning, Brooke sipped her mimosa. "I don't think there's anything for sale right now."

"That's what Bennett said. But then I suggested that I could also put in a proposal for Bonn Remmen's land and if I got it, then I could give it to the guys with the caveat they leave me a small plot for a tiny house."

"That's a long way's away from happening—if they even get the land. What would you do in the meantime?"

"Bennett said the same thing." She scoffed. "I'm not normally this idealistic. I'm usually the one who examines every angle twice before making a decision. Measure five times, cut once. That's me. But since moving here, my whole outlook has changed."

"It's island time." Brooke smiled. "Everything slows down, including your brain."

"It really feels that way. I just feel it in my heart—which I know is not actually where we feel emotions, it's all in the amygdala—but I feel that this is where I'm meant to be. I just don't know what I'm meant to be."

Brooke nodded in understanding. Justine didn't have to see her eyes—which were hidden behind big sunglasses—to know the woman was looking at her with sympathy. "Well, if there is anything I can do to help, please let me know. I've enjoyed getting to know you." She reached across the small stone table for Justine's hand and gave it a small squeeze. "I do hope things between you and Bennett work out though. He's far less serious and smiles more since you arrived."

Justine was about to open her mouth when a cry for help from one of the other tables pulled her and Brooke's attention. "Help! Somebody help!"

Brooke and Justine both surged to their feet and raced over to find a woman, probably around forty-five on the ground. Her face, neck, and chest were covered in red hives. "She's allergic to cucumbers and took a sip of the water without realizing it's cucumber water," her friend said, as she kneeled beside the woman. "She's severely allergic."

Already the allergic woman's face was turning red, then purple.

They didn't have a lot of time. Her tongue and throat were swelling up and she was soon going to be unable to breathe.

Justine kneeled down beside her. "What's her name?" she asked the friend.

"Jenn. We're … we're here celebrating her promotion. Came over to the island for a day trip at the spa."

"Does she have an EpiPen?"

"I … I don't know."

"Go find her purse and check."

Her friend nodded and took off.

Justine checked the woman's pulse on her neck. Crap! "I've lost her pulse. Starting compressions."

"I'll call the paramedics," said someone.

Spa staff were now crowded around. "Without an airway, she'll be dead before the paramedics get here," Justine said, still doing chest compressions. She glanced up and searched for someone who looked like they had authority, zeroing in on a woman in sage-green scrubs with a nametag that said " Ellie ."

"Ellie, I need the sharpest kitchen knife you have—but not one used to chop the cucumbers—a straw and hand sanitizer."

Ellie nodded and rushed away.

"What are you going to do?" Brooke asked.

"I need to perform an emergency cricothyrotomy."

"A what?" Brooke exclaimed.

"I need to make a small incision in her throat to open up a new breathing pathway, otherwise this woman is going to die."

Ellie ran back with a paring knife, a bottle of hand sanitizer, and a straw. "Here."

Justine accepted the items from her and doused Jenn's neck in hand sanitizer as well as the knife, and her own hands. "Wait, is this a paper straw?"

"We're a green facility."

Growling, Justine scanned the wall of staff. "Someone give me a freaking pen. Remove the ink from it. Now."

While she waited for the pen, she tipped up Jenn's head to expose her throat, then she felt around for her larynx. "Brooke, do you know how to do compressions?"

Brooke nodded. "I'm up to date on my first aid."

"Good. As soon as I slide the pen in, I need you to resume compressions. Okay?"

"O-okay."

Justine took hold of Jenn's larynx with one hand, then brought the knife up to incise the skin, subcutaneous tissue and cricothyroid membrane precisely in the midline to access the trachea.

Blood flowed down Jenn's neck and over Justine's fingers, but that didn't phase her. "Where's that pen?" she demanded, holding out her hand.

She wasn't even looking, she was too focused on her patient. But in less than a second, a pen was placed in her open palm. She covered it in hand sanitizer before carefully inserting it into the small incision, then placed her cheek next to the top of the pen to feel airflow.

Thank god.

"We have breathing," she announced. Brooke immediately started compressions.

The spa staff cheered and Justine searched for a pulse. She found one.

Sitting back on her heels, she was unable to keep the smile from her face. She wiped away a stray strand of hair from her face, only to realize too late that she'd probably smeared blood all over her cheek. There was blood on her white robe too.

"Paramedics are on their way," someone said.

Justine nodded. "Good. She'll need a tracheotomy in a proper facility as well as epinephrine." Brooke was still doing compressions. "I can take over."

Brooke sat back on her heels while Justine took over with compressions until the paramedics arrived.

"This woman is a hero," another spa employee said, as the paramedics wheeled Jenn away. Her friend—who couldn't find an EpiPen in Jenn's purse—at her side.

Heat burned Justine's cheeks, but she tried not to smile.

"We'd like to offer you any service you want free of charge," Ellie said, coming up and shaking Justine's hand. Crap. She still had blood all over her.

"I just want to change into a new robe and wash my hands and face first. If that's okay? My friend too." Brooke's robe was also covered in blood.

"Yes. Yes, of course. Right this way."

"What the hell happened?"

That voice.

Again.

Justine froze. Again.

Why was he here? Wasn't he supposed to be married right now to the home-wrecking, baby-mama nurse?

Turning around, she took in the sight of Tad, standing there in his off-white tux with the tails and cummerbund.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"What happened? Why are you covered in blood?"

Brooke was behind her and reached for Justine's arm. "Is this …?"

"Yes," Justine said bitterly, glaring at Tad. "And I'll ask him again. What are you doing here?"

"I realized after seeing you yesterday that I made a huge mistake. I never should have cheated on you. We are meant to be together. We're a power couple. In a few years, we will rule that hospital. I'll become chief and you can be right by my side. A neuro-god and his cardio-goddess. We'll be unstoppable."

Did she fall into the koi pond and hit her head? This had to be a dream … well, more like a nightmare. "You're … you're kidding, right? Where's Ashli? And isn't she having your baby?"

Tad's face went stoney. "Ashli isn't who I want."

"But your child?"

"We'll figure it out."

"Tad … you were about to get married today—you're literally still in that hideous freaking tux. Now you're here doing … what?"

"Telling you that I made a mistake." He smirked. "And we both know how hard that is for me to admit."

He wasn't wrong about that.

"We are meant to be together. We were born to cut together . Come home with me. Back to Seattle. Back to the hospital. I don't need kids. We'll build a medical legacy instead. Have our names on procedures and buildings that will outlive generations."

"I'm happy here, Tad."

He glanced around, sneering at the spa like it was some dumpster fire and not a beautiful Japanese garden with bonsai trees and pagoda statues. "You're telling me you want to stay on this rinky-dink little hippy island and waste your talents? Doing what?"

"I'm. Happy. Here. Tad."

His light-blue eyes glowed almost white in the sunlight, before narrowing to thin slits. "You're seeing someone here, aren't you?"

"That's none of your business."

Huffing, he rolled his shoulders. "Well, I can forgive that. We all need to slum it sometimes. It was like me with Ashli. And if that's something that you need, then we can discuss the possibility of an open relationship."

Now she had to have hit her head in the koi pond. "Have you lost your mind?"

Taking a step toward her, he reached for her. Her instinct was to step back. And she knew Brooke was behind her. Brooke had her back. The gentle pressure of Brooke's hand on her shoulder gave her that boost of confidence she desperately needed.

"You can't possibly be happy here. Not in the long-term. And not with whoever it is … though I'm assuming it's Bennett since I overheard him and the bartender talking about you. The pub is financially struggling. Why else would they have the ability to accommodate a last-minute wedding and bend over backward to make it happen? They just wanted the money. He won't make you happy. You'll be back in Seattle cutting by the end of the summer. I guarantee it."

She shook her head, clamping her molars together tight. "No, Tad. I won't be."

Rolling his eyes as if to say he was bored with their conversation, he pressed his lips together into a thin line. "This is my one-time offer to forgive you for leaving, and for you to come home with me. We can pretend like nothing has happened. Go back to how we were. You can even have your ring back."

For him to forgive her ? For what exactly?

She was about to open her mouth and ask for clarification, but then realized she didn't need it. She didn't care. So instead, she simply smiled. "Thanks for the offer, Tad, but I've never been happier since arriving on the island. It's exactly where I'm meant to be and Bennett is exactly who I'm meant to be with." Even if it wasn't for the long-term. "He makes me happy." Her smile turned wistful, and she sighed. "I've been stuck on what to do next. Whether medicine is even my path anymore. But after today, I realize that I am a good doctor. I'm actually a better doctor than you are."

He made a face like he'd just caught a whiff of three-day-old fish on a radiator.

"And I like interacting with people. Not just cutting. I want to help."

"Uh … it's impossible not to eavesdrop since I'm standing right here," Ellie interjected. "But the hospital here just had a doctor leave to go fix cleft palates in Africa. I bet if you spoke with Dr. Malone, he'd offer you a job on the spot."

Justine beamed at the woman, then turned her giant smile to Tad.

Puffing up his chest like a bird with brightly colored feathers but very little brains, Tad shook his head. "I can make it so nobody in Seattle will hire you."

"Go for it," she replied.

Then he took his bad attitude and cummerbund and turned around to leave, but he'd only taken four steps before somebody , Justine didn't see who, accidentally knocked into him and he lost his footing, falling right into the koi pond.

Brooke snorted. Justine covered her mouth.

Not a lot of people knew this, but Tad was a massive germaphobe.

She left a thrashing and floundering Tad to be rescued by a spa employee, and headed back into the building to go and finally clean the blood off her face and hands, but as she turned the corner, she ran smack into a big, broad chest that smelled wonderfully familiar.

"Hello," he said, grabbing her gently by the elbows.

Brooke winked at her as she passed by to the change room.

"H-hi," she stammered.

He took in her bloody and disheveled appearance. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Nodding, Justine exhaled. "Yeah, a woman went into anaphylactic shock and I had to perform an emergency cricothyrotomy."

His eyes flew open wide. "You did an emergency cric? Here? Just now?"

She nodded.

He raked his fingers through his hair, staring at her with what could only be described as awe. "I've seen emergency crics in the field when I was a marine, but … wow! How do you feel?"

She smiled. "Really good, actually. I didn't choke. I didn't panic. I saved that woman. I'm not meant to leave medicine, Bennett."

"I overheard most of what Tad said, and what you said."

She stared at the ground. "I'm okay if this is temporary, but know that somehow, I want to make it back here. I do want to live here. I wish that we weren't temporary though. I've fallen in love with the island and with your girls."

"Just the island and the girls?"

"Don't you think it's a little early to be making such strong statements to each other?"

His lips twisted in thought, but then, ultimately, he nodded. "You came here to the island seeking clarity. Seeking peace. And in doing that, you made me fall for you. It doesn't make sense how fast it happened. We come from very different worlds. But I want you. I can't breathe or think clearly without you anymore—and I don't want to. You took my heart—and my girls' hearts—and repaired them in ways I didn't even know it was broken." He laughed softly. "Which makes sense considering your profession."

She smiled and hot tear pricked the back of her eyes.

He blew out a long, slow breath. "I came here to tell you that I'm wrong. I don't want you to be temporary either. I want you to stay. I want this to work between us. And if I need to build another cabin for you, or ask guests to move into cabin five so you can have a different one, then I will. Or we'll rent or buy you a trailer. But if this island … if this life, with the girls and me makes you happy, then I don't want to take that away or crush your dreams. I had a dream too, one time. To move to the island and build a life for my family. I have no right to deprive you of the same dream."

A throat cleared and Brooke reappeared in a new robe and clean hands. "Does everyone seem to forget that I'm, like, stupidly rich?"

Bennett and Justine exchanged looks. What an odd thing to just come out and say.

"Let me buy you a tiny house, or a trailer, or something, Justine. If you're not ready to move into Bennett's house, let me help you. I have the money. Let me help you guys. Let me also help you with your dream."

Her throat grew tight and those tears that stung the backs of her eyes now fell with abandon down her cheeks. Never in a million years did she ever think she could be this happy or feel this cared for.

Smiling, she hiccupped a sob and nodded. "Yes. Let's figure it out. I want to stay. I want to work, live, and love here."

Bennett wrapped his arms around her, but she pushed him away. "I'm covered in blood."

He glanced down. "Right. Go change. We have a party to attend."

"A party?" Brooke asked.

He grinned at her. "Yep. Courtesy of Dr. Douchebag and his not wife."

Brooke and Justine exchanged confused, but excited looks. Then Brooke clapped her hands together. "Oh, I can't wait for this story."