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“I wasn’t aware caretaking involved people other than your patient.”
“I’m a mother and grandmother. It’s in my nature.”
“I can see I won’t be winning this little discussion and will immediately concede,” Shane said with a faint chuckle as Sheila entered the kitchen.
Shane wasn’t far behind her, and his walk stuttered slightly when he caught sight of me at the table. “Oh. I wasn’t aware you were here.”
“I always arrive early, Mr. Perkins,” I said with what I thought was perfect politeness. “Sheila here was kind enough to let me have coffee before I started my shift.”
His brow creased ever so slightly at the overly formal name. “How kind of her. I suppose we should be lucky to have her take over the morning shift for…Rachel, was it?”
“Rochelle,” I corrected coolly. “And yes, I am lucky.”
“I was thinking we both lucked out in that regard,” he said, the slightest edge to his voice.
I forced myself to meet his gaze, my stomach twisting as I saw almost nothing of the man I thought I’d known in his eyes. “And I wouldn’t dream of contradicting anything you might have to say, Mr. Perkins. Forgive me if it came across that way.”
There was an ugly satisfaction in seeing the glimpse of annoyance on his face at my utter lack of any attitude and unfailing politeness. When I’d done it a week before, it had been out of sheer awkwardness and discomfort at being around him. I hadn’t intended to annoy him, but once I realized it was bothering him, I had to admit to spiteful pleasure from the whole thing.
And if I stuck with it just to be a shit, who would blame me? Shane?
“Of course,” he said stiffly.
I smiled sweetly, preparing to add another additional jab. “Since you seem to have extra time today, will you be visiting your mother? I’m sure when she’s not resting, I can find you.”
There was a tic forming in Shane’s jaw, and I could tell I was pushing him. Whether or not he was lying to me about what he did or didn’t feel for me was something I could ignore for the time being. Yes, it stung like hell, and part of me still felt he was a dirty liar who was just avoiding another difficult set of emotions he wasn’t prepared to deal with, but that was secondary to Sophia.
I knew damn well he was purposefully avoiding his mother and anything to do with her if he could help it. Shane had never said anything to me about the situation, but I didn’t need him to. I had become relatively skilled at learning to read him. In the weeks leading up to her growing sicker, Shane had spent at least an hour of his day with his mother. Generally, it was just to pop up and irritate her, but even then, it had happened quite frequently. In the past month, he had gone to see her precisely zero times, and even Sophia had stopped asking after him.
“Thank you,” he told Sheila as she handed him a steaming mug of fresh coffee. “I think I’ll take this with me to my home. Even if I got away from the whiners, I still have their paperwork and reports to pour over.”
“Of course,” Sheila said, and I blinked when she reached out and patted his arm. “Feel free to come get more anytime I’m here.”
“Thank you,” he said with what I saw was a tired smile. “I may just take you up on that offer in the morning.”
I turned my attention to my computer screen as he left the kitchen through the back door. I refused to sit there and watch him leave like some love-sick puppy dog, and while I succeeded, I didn’t process anything of the paragraph I was reading on the screen.
It certainly didn’t help when I felt Sheila’s eyes on me as I sat, mindlessly scrolling. Although I knew it was a futile hope, I was still wishing that if I sat there looking busy for long enough, she would give up on whatever was on her mind.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, I sighed in defeat. “What?”
“Want to tell me what all that was about?” she asked, raising a brow as she took a sip from her coffee.
“All what?” I asked, deciding playing dumb was the best course of action. Of course, it wouldn’t be effective against her, but it would certainly give me time to think about what I wanted to say.
Her eyes shifted toward the doorway. “I’ve never seen you be so formal with someone in my life. And this with the man you told me you’ve argued with.”
“Wow, I can’t imagine sticking with being polite and formal with someone I’ve argued with,” I said dryly.
“And I’ve been told you and him were getting along pretty well there for a while,” she said, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the counter. “Very well, in fact.”
I couldn’t help the warmth that rushed to my face as I scowled. “I didn’t know you gave in to gossip.”
“Me? I love gossip. I’m just not one to spread it,” she said with a sudden smile. “And from that lovely rosy color in your cheeks, I’m guessing it’s a lot more than just simple gossip. Lover’s spat?”
My face practically burned, and I had to assume I was probably nearing tomato levels of red. “Didn’t you have a different reason for sitting me down and harassing me?”
“I did,” she admitted, completely unfazed by the accusation. “But it turns out I might have found the answer to most of my questions.”
