Chapter 24
A warm hand caught Maya by the forearm and yanked her upright. The next second, she stumbled into a
solid chest.
The man’s muscles were all hard lines, and the impact stung the bridge of her nose until her eyes watered.
“Are you okay?”
The voice was familiar.
Maya’s head snapped up to look into a pair of smiling eyes. “Jasper? You’re back too!”
Relief loosened her shoulders, and a bright smile broke through.
They had crossed paths often in Aygate over the past year, and the hospital halls had made them easy
friends.
“Yeah,” Jasper said with amusement in his voice. “The peacekeeping rotation was a year. It’s over, and I’m posted in Jormoose City now. What about you?”
As he spoke, he was already crouching, gathering her spilled groceries.
“I’ll go back to working at the hospital.”
She bent to help, but he lifted the bags before she could reach them.
“I’ve got these. You just lead the way,” he said.
Maya didn’t argue. She walked him to her car.
After they loaded everything into the trunk, she looked at him and said, “Let me buy you dinner.”
He didn’t pretend to refuse, so they settled on barbecue.
This was their first meal together in a year of near-misses, and the conversation flowed easily from Aygate to Jormoose City without running dry.
The longer they talked, the lighter the air felt between them.
When they parted, Jasper was still grinning on his walk back, and Maya realized the ache of being on her
own had thinned a little.
The next day, Maya stopped by her old high school to see her homeroom teacher, Stella Parker.
When Maya mentioned the fieldwork, Stella raised a brow. “Funny enough! I’ve got another former student who also just returned from Aygate.”
She checked her watch. “He said he’d swing by today. He should be here any minute.”
Right on cue, a familiar voice came from the hall. “Ms. Parker, long time no see.”
Maya turned and found Jasper standing a few yards away, wearing the same surprised look she felt.
They caught each other’s eyes and laughed.
They ended up walking lap after lap around the track.
She learned that Jasper had been two grades ahead of her, which explained the missed connection back
then.
After that day, their messages came more often. There was a quiet, unspoken closeness neither of them
tried to name.
Three days later, Maya checked back in at the hospital, and Jasper returned from leave.
On her first morning, the nurse at the front desk came barreling over with an armful of roses. “Dr. Reed,
someone sent flowers!”
Maya’s first thought was Jasper, but the card wiped the warmth from her face. It was Cole.
Before she could respond, another nurse arrived with a second bouquet. This one was from Carter.
“Throw them out,” Maya said coldly, annoyed.
From then on, a bouquet came each day, sent by both of them. They never showed in person, but they made sure she couldn’t forget them for a single shift.
On her 27th birthday, Maya stepped out of the hospital and walked straight into Cole and Carter, both
holding flowers and gift bags.
“Maya, happy birthday.”
Her expression darkened in an instant. She frowned and said, “Cole, Carter, stop sending flowers! And stop following me!”
Their smiles faded, leaving them looking hurt.
Carter spoke first. “Maya, could you give me a chance to earn it and actually pursue you?”
Cole said next, “Maya, I want to start over with you.”
Maya drew a sharp breath, anger edging her voice. “I have been clear. If either of you shows up again, I’ll…”
Just then, a snarl cut through the crowd. “Bitch, go to hell!”
A knife flashed from the left, heading straight for Maya.
Cole and Carter’s faces went white as they lunged. “Maya!”
At the same time, Jasper pushed through the crowd on the sidewalk and sprinted toward her.
