Page 19 of Dr. Scandal Claus

We laughed and bantered about the time Ethan snuck into the living room and watched Nick and I cuddling on the couch watching shows when we thought he was sleeping. I was nevermore thankful that I had a closed-door policy for actual sex. I'd never take that risk and this was exactly why.

When we got into the car and I started driving, Ethan nodded off. I'd really worn him out and I prayed the monitor picked up something this time so Ethan could take it off and never have to wear it again. Now in late February I knew he'd miss out on all of his spring and summer sports if we didn't get to the bottom of things.

On the way home I decided to stop by the bakery to see how Nellie was doing. I couldn't stay long, but I could apologize again in person for the way I dumped it on her last night. I hadn't even gotten a return text from her, but I counted on her and she knew that. It was nearing three in the afternoon, the time my morning shift workers left and the evening shift came on, so when I parked in front and noticed the lights inside the bakery were off, I felt a sinking feeling of dread.

Marisol stood at the door looking around, phone in hand, and before she noticed I was parked here watching her, my phone started to ring. Instead of answering it I got out, leaving Ethan sleeping in the back seat, and walked over toward her.

"Oh, hey, Scarlett. Why's the door locked?" Marisol looked confused and I was definitely confused, and a bit upset.

"I'm not sure…" I cupped my hands on the glass and pressed my eyes in, seeing nothing but darkness. "Hold on," I told her.

I pulled my phone out and shot Nellie a text message asking what was going on. When I got an immediate response that was two paragraphs long, I knew she'd been waiting all day to send it. She was angry again.

Nellie 2:52 PM:I told you last week I had things to do today. I know you can't control the weather and that school got canceled, but we need more help at the bakery now. I can't keep pulling all the weight.

And it's not fair for you to expect me to just show up and do things for you. I had important stuff—a doctor's appointment. I couldn't miss it. There was no way to reschedule. So I didn't open the bakery. I know it will affect our bottom dollar and if you're mad and fire me that's okay. I just think you should respect me more.

I stared at the phone feeling shocked and upset, but I couldn't be angry with her. I had been the one to dump this on her and it wasn't her fault.

"Uh, you can go home Marisol…" My eyes slowly rose from the phone screen and met my high-school-aged cashier. "We're not open today." I forced a smile and she bobbed a shoulder.

"So, I don't get paid?" she asked, and I sighed.

"No work means no pay…I'll get you some extra hours next week though. Okay?" My slight grimace must've passed right over her head. She scowled and walked up the street, her boots crunching on the snow.

I felt so angry with the whole situation, but I knew it was my fault. I had no one to blame but myself. If only I'd just planned for Ethan to come to work with me, none of this would've happened. Though, he'd have been bored all day, and we would never have gotten his chest to act up for the monitor to catch it.

Jamming my phone back into my pocket, I started back toward the car where Ethan slept peacefully. I was a few strides away when I saw movement between my car and a van parked next to it. I hadn't noticed the large white panel van pull up, but I recognized the pointy nose and narrow face of the woman who dropped out of the passenger side door.

"Ms. Moore! Can I have a second of your time?" she asked, hustling around the front of her van and my car. I got to the driver's side door and grabbed the handle, but she was already firing off questions.

"Ms. Moore, you've been seen around town with Dr. Nicholas Edwards. You know they call him Dr. Scandal Claus after his medical malpractice that killed a patient around the holidays?" Marjorie Whitman held some sort of digital recording device in her hand, and a man near her van was struggling with a large camera. The nosy reporter was just as sleazy as I pictured her in real life. I hated her show on television.

"No comment," I told her abruptly and she moved closer, making it impossible for me to open my door. She leaned on it and shoved the device closer to my face.

"Is it true, you were seen kissing him under mistletoe? Are you dating him? Do you not care about how he murdered a patient?"

Every question she asked made me cringe inside. I was now associated with all of that, all the things I'd been hoping to avoid. All the reasons I never told Nick about Ethan to begin with. I glanced at Ethan in the back seat and knew in my heart, being in the news for this was the last thing he needed. He wanted a normal life, like a normal kid. If his friends' parents got wind of this, he'd be mocked and bullied at school.

"Please move," I told her and I yanked on the door, but not before the cameraman had his camera rolling, red light on top flashing.

I got into the car and backed up without even buckling my seatbelt. This is the sort of thing Nick had been living with for years now, and I felt guilty that the very first instance of encountering it had me second-guessing myself. I couldn't deal with this. If dating Nick meant that horrible gossip reporter nosing around, I might not want Ethan to feel so comfortable with Nick after all. I couldn't emotionally deal with that and Ethan's sickness at the same time. Call me weak, but I just couldn't.

14

NICK

Ikept my hands on the wheel after the confession. Scarlett had kept this from me for the past two weeks knowing my reaction would be harsh, but she had no idea the warning bells going off in my head. I was livid, and my mind was racing with questions and assumptions, but I took a deep breath. Today was Scarlett's birthday, and just because Marjorie Whitman was on the prowl again didn't mean I had to let her get under my skin.

"She what?" I asked again, blinking the red from my vision.

"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. I knew you'd be upset about it. I know you've been through so much." Scarlett touched my arm and tried to comfort my heart, but knowing Whitman was nosing around Scarlett angered me. The fact that she hid it from me until the first week of March also annoyed me, but she thought she was doing the right thing.

"Well, don't worry about her at all. I'll make her go away. I already have a restraining order on her. I'll just see if we can extend that to you too." I pressed my lips into a line and focused on the road. We'd had a nice dinner, chatting about our future and where we saw ourselves. We'd officially been dating for twoand a half months and I wanted this night to be special for her. Not every day could be as special as a birthday, and this was Scarlett's first birthday with me.

I had to push away the thought of packing up and moving. Marjorie's reappearance in my life had opened old wounds and made me want to move away. But I had more reasons to stay here now. Scarlett and Ethan were two bright, shining stars on my horizon, and I couldn't just give them up because I got nervous about what people would say about me.

"Let's just go to your place and I'll make you some coffee," she told me and I nodded.