Page 82 of Tangled with the Tight End

“Good. Are you on staff now?” he asks.

“What?”

“I saw you coming out of the empty office. Came to tell you you’re way too young for retirement.” He laughs.

“No. I was just getting Winona set up in there.”

“The nurse?”

“Nurse’s aide. Yeah.”

He smiles. “She’s cute.”

“No. She’s not. Not to you, she’s not.”

He laughs hard. “It’s like that, is it?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know. She’s … different.”

“Oh, man. O’Connell. You caught feelings. Finally, man.”

“Finally? What are you talking about? You’re still single.”

“Yeah. But I’ve been in love before.”

“I’m not in love.”

“But you’re in something.” He wags his brows.

“She’s my home health aide.”

“So?”

“So … I don’t think that’s ethical. Is it?”

“She’s not going to be your aide for long. And besides, isn’t she friends with your brother’s wife?”

“Yeah. One more reason I can’t entertain feelings for her.”

“You don’t entertain feelings.” He laughs again. “They take you on a ride. Unfortunately for you, they don’t ask your permission.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Well, personally, I think it’s awesome.”

“Could this stay between us?”

“Your secret is my secret,” he says. “I gotta run. I’ll catch you on Wednesday.”

“Yeah. I’ve got to get to treatment,” I say.

Jaxon turns to walk away and I propel myself down the hallway, but my mind hangs back, lingering on our conversation.

You caught feelings.

More like the feelings caught me.

And now, what am I going to do about that?