Nurse to Heal the High Seas Doc - Chapter 5

Shane had kissed her. And Nicole had panicked and run away.

And brought up Caleb.

Her ex-husband. Though technically she hadn’t had time to file for divorce. The man had died in a car accident the night after she’d finally gained the courage to tell him she was leaving. A messed-up karmic justice that hadn't fixed the scars he’d inflicted.

She’d always been impulsive…at least according to her mother. One of the many complaints the woman layered against her…when she'd bothered to pay Nicole any attention at all. But eloping with a man she’d known two weeks was the pinnacle of not thinking it through.

And she’d paid a high price for it.

“Morning, Nicole?” Shane pushed his hands into his pockets.

She doubted he meant to make the greeting sound like a question. This was why she hated people knowing she was widow. You got treated differently. Sympathy leaked from people.

For others it probably felt like a kindness. But Nicole hadn’t mourned the man people offered her condolences for.

“Morning, Shane. You are a little early.”

“I figured…” He rocked back on his heels. “I figured maybe we should talk.”

“About the kiss?”

Of course it’s about the kiss, Nicole.

“I didn’t mean to kiss you," Shane said. "No. Not true. I did mean it. I’ve thought about it a lot. Dreamed about it. But that was not the time, the place or anything. I'm sorry about your husband. I bet he was a lovely man.”

“He was not.” Nicole was shocked as the words slid from her lips. And she hated the stunned look on Shane’s face. This was why she never discussed Caleb. Never let others know the monster.

She’d stood silent at his funeral. Put their house up for rent and signed a year-long contract to work on a research vessel. People had thought she was running from grief. Instead she was running so nobody realized she wasn’t grieving.

Shane just stared at her. They’d never discussed their past. And she’d gone and ruined that.

“It sounds terrible.” Nicole swallowed. What else was there to say?

“No.” Shane shrugged. “I cut my parents off just before I stepped onto this ship. I have no intention of ever speaking to them again.”

She nodded. “I am sure they earned it.” Cutting off family was not something most people did without very solid reasons.

Very personal reasons.

Shane let out a breath and looked at the door. The odds of a patient walking through the door were basically zero. He raised a brow. “Do you want talk about it?”

“Do you want to tell me about your parents?”

“Not really.” Shane coughed. “But I do miss my mother’s cookies. The woman is a…” Whatever word he planned to say died away. “But her cookies are award-winning. Literally.”

“I don’t miss anything about Caleb.” Nicole turned back to the computer.

“Fair.”

Was it?

There were books on grief. Studies done on widowhood. But all those assumed you missed the spouse you’d buried.

“So, I did mention that I’d wanted to kiss you," Shane said. "Dreamed of it. I won’t bring it up again but—”

“What if I want you to bring it up?” She hadn’t meant to blurt that out. Impulsive. But she didn’t want to take it back either. Shane grinned, but before he could say anything the door of the clinic opened.

“I need stitches! And Doug decided to touch the jellyfish that got tangled in our research line!”

At least today wasn’t going to be dull.