He
smiled as he watched her go, but then felt it fade. He couldn’t
believe she still thought they would be friends with
benefits . He knew he loved her, knew that there was a chance
she was the only woman for him. But now he had to play things cool
and figure out his next step.
If there was one thing a Johnson
understood, it was how to strategize. His older brother might be
best known for it, but Bran knew how to use it to his advantage.
Tess was just going to have to learn he was there to
stay.
* * * *
Tess sighed as she finished the double
shift. Work was hard enough. The last week had been horrible, but
now add in the layer of stress of Bran…that was almost too much to
handle.
They had left things open that
morning. She had been happy at the time. Happy to avoid any
argument, because that was the way she was raised. Tess could
debate anything that wasn’t personal, but she didn’t like getting
into personal spats.
Her parents never argued. In her
entire life, she couldn’t seem to remember a fight between them.
Her mother always seemed to allow her father to have his way. Tess
knew her mother hated living in Florida, but her father had wanted
to go, so she went along without a fight.
Tess knew that on some level that was
why she never got serious with a guy. She had always told people
she wanted to focus on her career, but the truth was she was
afraid. It hurt to admit it, but she didn’t want to be her
mother.
“ Deep thoughts, Keller?”
Westin said. She smiled at the older nurse.
“ Lots of things going on
in my head, and none of them good.”
“ I can imagine, especially
since I saw that tall drink of water who brought you breakfast the
other day.”
She felt her face heat up.
“ It’s about
time.”
She stopped working and turned her
chair to face Westin. The older woman was giving her a knowing
smile.
“ What?” she
asked.
“ Honey, I have seen you
love them and leave them, but it’s nice to see one of them tangle
you up.”
She frowned. “What do you mean by
that?”
“ You make sure you keep
them at arm’s length. I don’t blame you. I’ve been married to a
Marine for the last ten years, and you have to make sure you put
them in their place. Otherwise, they just roll right over you. You
already have this one dancing to your tune.”
Tess shook her head. “You don’t know
what you’re talking about.”
She had to remind herself that over
and over. If she didn’t, Tess knew she would start to believe it.
That would be disastrous.
“ I do but I will let you
live in your fantasy land. Some day you’ll wake up and be
married.”
With that statement, her friend
sauntered off. Tess knew marriage wasn’t part of the plan for Bran.
He’d always said he didn’t want to marry early in his career. The
type of job he had would make it hard on the spouse. Tess
understood that. It still made her sad to realize that no matter
what she said to him or anyone else, she wasn’t going to keep it
simple.
And that just plain sucked.
* * * *
Bran was just settling down in his
room when his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller id and
wanted to groan. He wasn’t in the mood for his father, but Bran
knew better than to ignore the General.
“ Hey, Dad.”
“ Good morning, Brandon.
I’ve had a time trying to track you down.”
“ What do you
mean?”
“ I called Tess Keller’s
house and you weren’t there.”
“ Why would you call there
and not call my cell?”
“ I tried. It kept going to
voice mail.”
“ Oh. There isn’t anything
going on with MJ, is there?”
“ No, you’re sister is
fine. In fact, I am on my way there.”
He pulled the phone out from his ear
and looked at it then put it back to his ear. “Is there something
wrong? You’re taking time off…and you’re going to drive
somewhere?”
That wasn’t like his father at all.
His father was someone who rarely took time off and when he did, he
usually stayed home.
“ Yeah. You act
smiled as he watched her go, but then felt it fade. He couldn’t
believe she still thought they would be friends with
benefits . He knew he loved her, knew that there was a chance
she was the only woman for him. But now he had to play things cool
and figure out his next step.
If there was one thing a Johnson
understood, it was how to strategize. His older brother might be
best known for it, but Bran knew how to use it to his advantage.
Tess was just going to have to learn he was there to
stay.
* * * *
Tess sighed as she finished the double
shift. Work was hard enough. The last week had been horrible, but
now add in the layer of stress of Bran…that was almost too much to
handle.
They had left things open that
morning. She had been happy at the time. Happy to avoid any
argument, because that was the way she was raised. Tess could
debate anything that wasn’t personal, but she didn’t like getting
into personal spats.
Her parents never argued. In her
entire life, she couldn’t seem to remember a fight between them.
Her mother always seemed to allow her father to have his way. Tess
knew her mother hated living in Florida, but her father had wanted
to go, so she went along without a fight.
Tess knew that on some level that was
why she never got serious with a guy. She had always told people
she wanted to focus on her career, but the truth was she was
afraid. It hurt to admit it, but she didn’t want to be her
mother.
“ Deep thoughts, Keller?”
Westin said. She smiled at the older nurse.
“ Lots of things going on
in my head, and none of them good.”
“ I can imagine, especially
since I saw that tall drink of water who brought you breakfast the
other day.”
She felt her face heat up.
“ It’s about
time.”
She stopped working and turned her
chair to face Westin. The older woman was giving her a knowing
smile.
“ What?” she
asked.
“ Honey, I have seen you
love them and leave them, but it’s nice to see one of them tangle
you up.”
She frowned. “What do you mean by
that?”
“ You make sure you keep
them at arm’s length. I don’t blame you. I’ve been married to a
Marine for the last ten years, and you have to make sure you put
them in their place. Otherwise, they just roll right over you. You
already have this one dancing to your tune.”
Tess shook her head. “You don’t know
what you’re talking about.”
She had to remind herself that over
and over. If she didn’t, Tess knew she would start to believe it.
That would be disastrous.
“ I do but I will let you
live in your fantasy land. Some day you’ll wake up and be
married.”
With that statement, her friend
sauntered off. Tess knew marriage wasn’t part of the plan for Bran.
He’d always said he didn’t want to marry early in his career. The
type of job he had would make it hard on the spouse. Tess
understood that. It still made her sad to realize that no matter
what she said to him or anyone else, she wasn’t going to keep it
simple.
And that just plain sucked.
* * * *
Bran was just settling down in his
room when his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller id and
wanted to groan. He wasn’t in the mood for his father, but Bran
knew better than to ignore the General.
“ Hey, Dad.”
“ Good morning, Brandon.
I’ve had a time trying to track you down.”
“ What do you
mean?”
“ I called Tess Keller’s
house and you weren’t there.”
“ Why would you call there
and not call my cell?”
“ I tried. It kept going to
voice mail.”
“ Oh. There isn’t anything
going on with MJ, is there?”
“ No, you’re sister is
fine. In fact, I am on my way there.”
He pulled the phone out from his ear
and looked at it then put it back to his ear. “Is there something
wrong? You’re taking time off…and you’re going to drive
somewhere?”
That wasn’t like his father at all.
His father was someone who rarely took time off and when he did, he
usually stayed home.
“ Yeah. You act
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