Wishing for the Girl Next Door (Piney Brook Wishes Book 3)

17. Karlee

“Aww,” Morgan says, batting her eyelashes. “You have a cute nickname for her.”

I am certain my face matches the spaghetti sauce as I sit down in the seat next to Evan. He reaches over and gives my knee a little squeeze.

“Don’t embarrass her, babe,” Brant says, handing her an extra piece of garlic bread.

“Sorry!” she says quickly. “I was teasing Evan. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Besides, I think it’s sweet.”

Evan grins and leans over to kiss my red cheek. “I love it when you blush,” he says quietly so only I can hear him.

“So, Uncle Evan,” Elli says, pushing her spaghetti around on her plate. “Is Ms. Karlee going to be your new wife?”

I freeze mid bite. This is awkward. “We just started dating, Elli girl, give us some time. It might happen.” He reaches for my hand and rubs his thumb across my fingers before going back to eating.

“But Daddy and Reese are...” she starts.

“Also dating,” Daniel says quickly, giving her a pointed look.

Her eyes go wide, and she nods her head before looking down at her plate again. “Yeah,” she mumbles at the plate.

“Well,” Brant says, looking at Morgan. “We have something to share.”

Everyone stops eating. It’s as if the whole room is holding its breath. I don’t even know them well, and I’m on pins and needles.

“Well!” Reese exclaims after a long pause.

“We’re expecting,” Morgan says, touching Brant’s shoulder.

Daniel and Evan both get up and slap Brant on the back, offering him their congratulations.

Reese jumps up from her seat and gives Morgan a huge hug. “I knew it!”

Morgan laughs. “There’s no way you knew. We just found out yesterday.”

“I did too. You can just tell, right, Karlee?”

I’m like a deer in headlights.

“No one just knows,” Evan says, coming to my rescue. “That’s why they sell those little tests.”

“When are you due?” Reese asks, opening up the calendar app on her phone.

Morgan laughs. “Sometime in late April or early May, I think.”

Reese sighs. “An anniversary baby,” she says, looking between the two of them. “How sweet.”

Brant is beaming. “I can’t wait to add to our family.”

Liam runs over to Morgan and whispers something in her ear. She nods her head and he claps his hands before running back to the little table. He doesn’t even make it into his seat before he starts talking. “I’m going to be a big brother!” he yells.

Elli grins. “I hope you have a sister.”

Liam’s face falls. “No,” he says, shaking his head. “I’m having a baby brother.”

Brant laughs and calls Liam over. “It doesn’t work like that,” he says, trying to find a way to explain it to Liam. “You don’t get to choose.”

Liam nods his head. “Yes you do. I’ve been wishing for a baby brother since you got married, and we all know my wishes come true.”

He looks around the table and squints his eyes at Evan. “Well, most of them.”

Evan laughs. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Elli shouts, giving Liam a cross look.

We all laugh. These two are something else.

After dinner, the men clean up, insisting that we rest. It’s strange. Growing up in a single-parent household, we always did the cooking and the cleaning. My grandpa never pitched in. Those were “women’s chores” he’d say.

“Do they always cook and clean?” I ask Morgan and Reese.

“Not always. We rotate houses when we get together, and we try to rotate who’s responsible for the meals. That way, it’s not too much for anyone.” Morgan leans back in the reclining chair in the living room.

“You’ll see,” Reese says confidently.

“Oh, I don’t know.” I glance to the kitchen where Evan and Daniel are engaged in a dish-bubble brawl. “I don’t think we’re there yet. We just started dating. Besides, our apartments are not that big.”

Morgan frowns. “You mean you’re not there yet. Because from where I sit, he seems all in.”

I look at her for a minute. “He can’t be all in yet, we haven’t been together very long.” Can he? I have to admit, he’s made his way past my defenses. Maybe . . .

Laughter rings out from the kitchen area, and I glance over to see Evan with bubbles in his hair. He’s laughing and relaxed, enjoying the back-and-forth with his friends. He glances at me and winks. My stomach flip-flops and I realize I’m in deep. I think I’m falling for my next-door neighbor.

Reese shakes her head and points to the kitchen. “That man is all in.” She pauses. “Do you know he’s never brought a girl around Brant and Daniel?”

I shake my head. “I’m sure that’s not true.” Evan said he didn’t date much, but surely he’s brought some women around.

Morgan nods. “It is. He said he’d never bring anyone around that he wasn’t sure would be here for the long haul. If that’s not all in, I don’t know what is.”

I look at Evan again. Could he really be so sure this soon?

“Karlee,” Reese says, pulling my attention back to the conversation. “Don’t hurt him. He’s one of the good ones. These guys, once they love you... they love hard.”

I nod. I hadn’t considered it might be me who hurts someone.

A few hours later—after playing a loud game of rummy while the kids played outside—we are in the car heading back home. “What did you think?” Evan asks. “Too much?”

Elli and Liam had continued to make awkward comments throughout the night. They kept giving each other sly looks every few minutes. But they’re cute kids. Apparently since Morgan and Brant got married, they’ve made it their mission to make sure all the guys find their “happily ever after.” It’s sweet, even if it is a bit misguided.

“It was great. Morgan and Reese are wonderful. We exchanged numbers. I hope that’s okay.” I don’t want Evan to feel like I’m encroaching on his friend group. If things go south, I don’t want to cause ripples. I know how hard it was to lose a significant other and a best friend at the same time. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

“That’s great. I’m glad you got along.” Evan’s grin is the biggest I’ve ever seen on him. “I want you to have friends, Karlee. Morgan and Reese, well, they’re some of the best friends you could have. They’re like family to me.”

I nod, unsure what it would be like to have a group of friends who regularly got together and enjoyed each other’s company. It was nice to be a part of.

Evan walks me to my door when we get back to the apartments and says, “Thanks for coming with me tonight. It means a lot that you enjoyed hanging out with my friends.”

I nod. “It was fun. Thanks for inviting me.”

“When can I see you again?” he asks, placing his hands on the door frame boxing me in.

“I work the next few nights,” I say, trying not to breathe him in. His scent is intoxicating.

“Then I should give you a few goodnight kisses to hold us both over. What do you think?”

“It’s worth a shot,” I say, leaning forward, then pressing my lips to his.

Monday evening, I find myself pulling into the parking lot of the Coffee Loft for a pre-shift pick-me-up. The little shop is located in the old brick strip mall that makes up the part of Main Street near the hospital, making it the perfect spot to grab a coffee before work. Its old red bricks, faded in the sun, give the little shop character.

Stepping inside, I inhale the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans and sigh.

“Hey there, girlfriend,” the barista with the blue hair calls. “It’s been a while.”

I shake my head. “Hi. Lacey, right?”

“Yep, what can I get you?”

I look at the menu, trying to decide if I want hot or cold. “How about the largest pumpkin cream cold brew you can make?”

Lacey smiles. “Rough day?”

“I’m just tired,” I say, covering my mouth as I yawn again.

“Is that handsome boyfriend keeping you out too late?” She grins. “If you ever decide to ditch him, I’ll take him off your hands.”

I laugh. “I think I’ll hold on to him for a bit, but I’ll keep that in mind.”

Lacey nods and gets started making my drink. A few minutes later, she holds up a large cup. “Your pumpkin cream iced brew.”

“Thanks,” I say, taking the large iced coffee. “I am surprised you have pumpkin flavors this early.”

“Pumpkin seems to be a favorite starting at the beginning of August. It doesn’t matter how hot it is—people are just ready for fall.”

I grin. “Makes sense.” I hold up the cup. “As you can see, I like pumpkin almost year round. Have a good night, Lacey.”

“Thanks. You too.”

Fifteen minutes later, I’m walking off the elevator onto the fourth floor. There’s yelling coming from down the hall, so I sprint off the elevator and drop my stuff in the nurse’s station without stopping. Running down the hall, I stop at the room with all the commotion.

“What’s happening?” I ask as I step into the room.

Mona looks at me over the head of the phlebotomist and raises an eyebrow. “We have a patient who doesn’t like to have blood drawn.”

Taking deep breaths, I will my heart rate to calm. “I see,” I pant. Still out of breath from running. “Have you tried numbing cream?”

Mona looks at the phlebotomist.

“No, it’s just a quick draw. We don’t generally use numbing cream on adult patients.”

I roll my eyes and walk closer to the bed. “Hi, I’m Karlee. I’m one of the nurses who will be working tonight. I take it you don’t like having your blood drawn?”

The young woman in the bed looks like she can’t be older than nineteen. “No.” She whimpers as the needle comes into sight again.

“Okay, I understand. It can be scary.” I try to soothe her with my voice. “How about we apply some numbing cream so you won’t feel that pinch when it goes in? Can we give that a try?”

The young woman looks at me, her eyes wide and frantic. “Does that actually help?”

“Yes,” I say.

“No,” the phlebotomist says at the same time.

I shoot her an evil look. I’ve never worked with this one before, but patient care requires a softer touch than this. She should know better.

“It does, it just takes a few minutes to work,” I assure her.

“Can I speak to you in the hall?” the phlebotomist says, and stomps out ahead of me.

“Yes?”

“I don’t have time to coddle the adult patients. I’ve got other people on my list that I still need to get to.”

“Listen—“ I lean down to see her name on her name tag. “Listen, Julie. This ‘adult’ is no more than nineteen years old and scared out of her mind. Rub the cream on and come back in thirty minutes. That should be plenty of time for you to do another patient or two.”

She sighs. “Fine.”

“Thank you,” I say sweetly, turning on my heel and re-entering the room. “Julie here is going to apply the numbing cream. It takes some time to work fully, so she will come back in thirty minutes. In the meantime, can I get you some water or juice?”

Nights like last night are hard. Sadly, the run-in with Cranky Julie, as I’m now calling her, was the easiest part of my night.

Around four a.m., we had a code blue, but were unable to save the patient. I hate when we lose someone. It’s part of why I don’t work in the emergency room. It takes a huge emotional toll on me. The linen closet in the hall and I became good friends last night.

When I finally got to my car after my shift, I climbed in and just sat there for a minute letting the feelings of the night wash over me. I cried. Again. The gentleman had been young. In his early forties. He had a family—a wife and two kids—who don’t get to hug him anymore, feel his love.

Evan’s smile flashes before my eyes, and I can’t help but feel like I’m already half in love with this man. I couldn’t imagine losing him from my life.

Wiping my eyes, I start the car and make my way home. A hot shower and some sleep should help me regroup.

Pulling into the parking space in front of my building, I question whether or not I could just sleep in my car. Exhaustion weighs on me, making my limbs feel heavy. Sighing, I open my door and step out. I need my bed.

I finally make it to the top of the stairs and unlock the door, but then I hear Evan’s door open behind me. I could really use the comfort of his hug right about now. Turning around, I step forward and find myself staring at a woman’s back coming out of Evan’s apartment. Insecurities slam into me as I recall feeling sideswiped when Patrick told me he’d moved on with someone else.

“My lips are still tingling from your kisses this morning,” she says into her phone. She giggles and says something else I don’t quite catch over the blood rushing through my ears.

She hangs up the phone and starts to turn around, but I quickly slip inside my apartment and lock the door. Tears come hot and heavy, making my crying session from earlier seem nonexistent.

No. This cannot be happening to me again.