The Fine Line Book One Between Worlds Series (3 page)

“
Where are you from?” he
asked inquisitively.

“
I’m from the southern
part of Ohio, but when I moved here to go to school, I liked the
area so much that I couldn’t leave.”

She took a drink of water to wet her dry
throat and then continued.

“
I’ve never been married.
I have no children. I share an apartment with Wendy, the girl who
brought me into the E.R.”

“
She seemed to genuinely
care about you, Robin.”

“
We were roommates in
college. We are like sisters. She majored in health sciences.”
Robin quieted for a moment and then looked down at her water. Her
eyes met his again when she raised her head back up. “I think she
works in your hospital. I’m surprised you don’t know
her.”

The grimace on his face gave away his
surprise.

“
What’s her last
name?”

“
Newton. Dr. Ewley hired
her.”

“
That’s why I haven’t met
her.”

She tilted her head in curiosity.

“
She’s on the staff
payroll, yes,” he explained, “but Dr. Ewley is a private practice
doctor. His staff isn’t directly associated with the hospital.
That’s why I haven’t seen her before last night. She probably works
day shift. Our paths probably never crossed for that
reason.”

“
That makes sense,” Robin
nodded.

His dark eyes looked down into his coffee
cup and then back up at her. “I’m sorry, I keep interrupting you.
Please continue. I’m not done interviewing you yet.”

The smile on his face seemed to brighten the
entire room.

“
Well,” she continued, “I
have a younger sister and an older brother. My mom, stepdad, and
siblings still live in the southern part of the state. I love my
friends from work and I truly love what I do. And, just for the
record, I’m not like most 26 year olds. I know who I am and I have
a clear picture of what I want. And I knew that I wanted
you
to ask me out when we met.”

She couldn’t believe she just uttered those
thoughts aloud.

Surprised and pleased, Matt grinned from ear
to ear.

“
Really?”

Despite her uncertainty, she nodded
confidently and smiled right back at him. She realized how futile
her efforts were in battling against her inner self. She had always
been blunt and to the point.

“
I thought you were very
handsome and you were very sweet to me. I wasn’t really sure why
you were so attentive. I knew typically a nurse would do what you
did, taking me to the radiology department and all.” Hesitating,
she took a deep breath, but kept going anyway.

“
I’ll admit that it felt
weird at first, but then as I listened to you talk and watched you,
I knew you weren’t just being polite. The way you touched my
forehead and the way you helped me, it just seemed like it meant
more.”

“
I’m not usually taken off
guard myself,” he began, “I was so afraid that my asking you out
would scare you. I didn’t want you to think I was some sort of
creep. Like I said, I don’t date much.”

Robin leaned in toward Matt and rested her
arms and elbows on the table. Folding her hands, she continued
peering into his chocolate brown eyes. She studied him carefully;
his gestures, his chiseled features, his perfectly symmetrical
face.

“
From what I see, you have
a beautiful soul Dr. Gregory. You have a great sense of humor and I
personally believe if you cannot laugh at life, then it’s
hopeless.”

He leaned in also.

“
Interesting perspective,
Miss Hillard,” he said pleasantly. “Are you psychic? What if I
am
a freak who stalks women with sprained
ankles?”

Robin’s very deep understanding of
spirituality gave her incredible discernment. This assisted her
greatly in her job duties, but also in her personal life. However,
her discernment had come at a high price. As she continued staring
at Matt, she knew it wasn’t the right time to have a discussion
about her beliefs, so she just smiled warmly.

“
I am a pretty good judge
of character.”

The conviction in her tone reassured
him.

Matt took another sip of his coffee and
receptively leaned in closer to Robin who still hadn’t sat back in
the booth.

“
I may be going out on a
limb here,” he started, his voice even and seductive, “but there’s
a concert next Saturday night and I happen to have that night off.
I have two tickets and I wondered if you might want to go with
me.”

“
Who’s playing?” she asked
still leaning on her elbows.

“
It’s just a local band;
nothing big,” he shrugged. “It really doesn’t matter who is playing
because I like live music. My buddy and his girlfriend are going,
too.”

“
I would love to
go.”

“
Awesome, awesome” he said
smiling as he sat back in his seat. “I’ll pick you up at six?
Doesn’t start until 7:30, but we’re driving to Cincinnati, so it’ll
be an hour and fifteen minutes if traffic is good.”

“
Sounds like a lot of fun.
Would you like to come to my next softball game to make sure that I
don’t fall and break something?” she asked humorously. “At least if
I do fall again, you’ll be there and can maybe just fix me on the
spot.”

“
I’d love to come. When is
your next game?”

“
We always play on Tuesday
and Thursdays nights. I’ll give you directions. We’re playing the
local police department Tuesday and that is always entertaining.
They are power freaks.”

“
I will be there. I don’t
have to be at work until 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday.”

“
Our games usually start
at 6 and are over by 8, sometimes earlier.”

“
Can I take you out to a
quick dinner afterward?” he asked sweetly.

“
We usually go out as a
group for burgers afterward. Why don’t you come with
us?”

“
Sounds great,” he
replied. “Can I chat with you online this week? Maybe call you? You
can give me the directions to the field?”

“
Absolutely,” she
answered.

Two hours passed before they realized it.
The darkness under Matt’s eyes worsened as the exhaustion
manifested. Robin could see he needed to go home and sleep. So,
after exchanging email addresses and Facebook ID’s, they went their
separate ways.

That night, before Matt went to work, Robin
chatted online with him. They constantly exchanged text messages.
Monday evening before Matt went in for his shift, they talked on
the phone.

Robin felt excited. She loved getting to
know Matt. She enjoyed his funny jokes, his laughter, and the sheer
sound of his voice. She observed a very serious side to him though.
He won her over very quickly. Still, she remained cautious.

For Matt, Robin’s thoughtfulness was one of
the most attractive things about her. In the past, he had been
riddled with pain over failed relationships, but when he talked to
Robin, the pain seemed to disappear. Her qualities were undeniable
and her beauty, unsurpassed. Filled with honesty and integrity,
their conversations felt real to him.

****

Tuesday morning, Robin sat at the kitchen
table eating her cereal. The apartment was quiet. Wendy stayed with
Terri at his apartment most of the time anyway.

Wendy and Terri had been together for
several years and it was Terri who had helped Robin get the job
with the children services agency. He was stocky in stature with
brownish red curly hair. When Robin thought of him, the words “good
hearted,” “kind,” and “honest” came directly to mind. With lighter
skin and dark features, Wendy’s biracial ethnicity attracted Terri
from the very first moment he met her. Her eyes, a rare bluish
green color, held a mysterious quality. Tall, standing 5’8”, she
towered over Robin. Through good and bad, Wendy remained by Robin’s
side providing support and stability. When Wendy spoke, authority
radiated from her. Robin wished she possessed just half of Wendy’s
confidence.

When the front door slammed, Robin realized
she hadn’t told Wendy about the fantastic news. Things were so
hectic in their lives they hadn’t made time to sit down for a heart
to heart.Wendy walked into the kitchen and grabbed a pop tart from
the cabinet.

“
Morning, sister,” Wendy
said.

“
Morning,” Robin
replied.

“
What’s up?” she asked as
she walked to the refrigerator and grabbed the gallon of milk. “I
feel like I haven’t talked to you in ages.”

“
All sorts of things are
happening and I haven’t seen you to tell you about what’s going
on,” Robin started.

“
Well, girl, do tell! I’m
sorry I haven’t been around, but with Terri leaving on
vacation…”

“
I know, I know,” Robin
interrupted. “It’s okay. You’re a good girlfriend,” she said
smiling sincerely. “But all kidding aside, I want to throw a name
out to you; see if you’ve heard anything about him around the
hospital.”

“
A ‘him’ huh? It’s been a
long time since you’ve been interested in finding out more about a
‘him’.”

“
Matt Gregory.”

“
Matt Gregory,” Wendy
repeated quietly, thinking. “Isn’t he the hot doctor from the E.R.
the other night?”

“
Yes.”

“
Wow, I didn’t even put
two and two together. It didn’t even dawn on me,” she said as she
poured milk into a glass.

“
What do you
mean?”

“
Well, you didn’t tell me
he asked you out. When I wanted to talk about him the other night
during the car ride home, I couldn’t. You were passed
out.”

After grabbing the pop tart and the glass of
milk, she sat at the table across from Robin.

“
I don’t know him,” she
continued, “but I have heard of him. He used to be married to
Sheryl Winston. She’s some big shot in the neonatal unit. Their
divorce was big news.”

“
I see.”

“
Sheryl is a lot older
than Matt. I’ll tell you this much, she is not very popular at the
hospital either. Frankly, she’s a bitch; calculating and
conniving,” she said as she ravaged the pop tart. “So, he asked you
out, did he?”

“
Well, we’ve kind of been
talking.”

“
I knew it! I knew he was
going to ask you out!” she shouted. “He is one beautiful man, girl!
That dark messy hair and he is built! Mmm… Damn girl, you need to
get on that. He is fine!”

A few quiet moments passed and then Wendy
continued,

“
From what I heard around
the office, he really got shafted when Miss Thang divorced him. She
cleaned him out. She was messin’ around with some other dude; ended
up marrying the guy only a few days after the divorce was final.
Sheryl and Matt have a beautiful daughter together though. I’ve
never heard a bad word said about him around the hospital. It’s
always been bad stuff about her. Everybody says he is a good dad
and a super-nice guy.”

“
Good.”

“
You were afraid he was a
jerk, weren’t you?”

Robin nodded.

“
You know I don’t pay
attention to gossip, but because you’re feelings are involved, I’m
going to tell you this, too. But you have to promise not to freak
out.”

Robin nodded again.

“
People around the office
say they think Sheryl and Matt still have a thing. Matt doesn’t
date much. Everyone thinks that’s strange because he’s so good
looking. And from what I also hear, he’s not gay. The women are
practically throwing themselves at him. He doesn’t pay attention
though.”

Discouragement covered Robin’s face.

“
Now don’t do that,” Wendy
demanded. “It’s just rumors. You give this man a fair chance. You
deserve a little happiness.”

“
I just…”

“
Stop it and finish the
cereal girl. Don’t let what people say get in your head. You use
your own judgment. You’re smart.”

“
Thanks Wendy. And I am
glad you told me everything.”

****

Anticipation filled Robin as Tuesday
evening’s softball game approached. She and Wendy drove to the ball
field together. They pulled onto the gravel lot and when they
arrived, disappointment rushed over Robin as she realized Matt’s
truck wasn’t there. She wondered if he decided not to come. She
wondered if he decided to stand her up. Insecurity turned to anger
as she thought about how she didn’t need the headache or worry of
such trivial things.

A calm inner voice spoke to her mind clearly
reassuring her be positive. But, the conversation with Wendy echoed
in her brain planting seeds of doubt. She just knew she couldn’t
deal with more heartbreak. Drama was not her style either.

The dugout filled with co-workers little by
little. Robin made her way to the group of people as Wendy stayed
behind and spread out a blanket on the warm grass. Others sat with
Wendy. Some brought lawn chairs.

The police department’s team congregated in
the outfield. Colin Baker walked to the children services dugout.
He had an insatiable crush on Robin. He had a genuinely sweet
disposition. Robin owed him a lot, too. She had always been aware
of the crush, but she wasn’t interested in him romantically.

He approached with a grin.

“
Ankle doing ok?” he asked
kindly.