She cleaned her face and then undid her hair from the high ponytail, brushing it out so it wouldn’t get snarled.
Still, she couldn’t get George out of her mind, which was going to make it hard to be his mentor.
When Cameron’s parents brought Adam home they spoke to her and she made pleasantries, but she was sure she sounded like she was a zombie.
Yes. No. Uh-huh. And that was thanks to George.
They asked if she was okay several times and she finally told them she was just tired, that a large car crash on the highway had left her exhausted. They understood and left.
Adam, however, didn’t understand his mother’s distraction.
And she couldn’t blame him.
This was not how she usually acted. Being like this drove her crazy.
“What’s with you tonight, Mom?” Adam asked, giving her a wary look.
“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong with me. Why would you ask?”
Adam shrugged. “You looked weird and zoned out.”
“I’m fine.”
Adam nodded, no longer interested. Why would he suspect that being in close proximity to a handsome man she had just met had apparently melted her brain into the consistency of fondue. Gooey, stringy fondue.
These feelings were old, but foreign and unwelcome.
It was bad timing.
“Hey, Mom, can I go over to Ameer’s house?”
“No,” she said to Adam. “You have to go to school tomorrow. Let’s get you to bed.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes.”
The subject of bed distracted Adam, so much so that he didn’t question her trance-like state and she even forgot for a few moments as she wrestled her son into bed.
It was when the lights were out and she was lying in bed that the fantasy of a kiss come flooding back to her. Night-time was always hard on her anyway. The bed felt so empty even after all this time.
Tonight it felt like she was even more alone. She tossed and turned all night long, making it a large cup of coffee type of morning when she got up at five and got Adam up and out to the school’s daycare.
When she got to work, she wasn’t even sure how she’d got across the city. She couldn’t remember anything about her drive there, and that was bad. She didn’t like losing control over herself. This was getting ridiculous.
Get a grip on yourself.
“Afternoon, Sam. How was the first day?”
What? She stared down at the paper coffee cup in her hand, thinking it had spoken to her and she was cracking up.
“Yo! Earth to Sam!”
Samantha turned and Lizzie was giving her a strange look.
“What?”
Lizzie raised one of her eyebrows and crossed her arms. “I asked how the first day went.”
“Why do you ask it like that?”
“Like what?”
“Evilly.”
Lizzie smirked. “I know how it went. The hospital’s report on a certain paramedic’s burn came in to process through the company’s insurance.”
Samantha groaned. “George’s?”
Then Lizzie reached over and held up the newspaper.
Samantha had to do a double-take at the large picture on the front of the newspaper. It was George, running through the line of firemen that was headed to the wall of flames behind him, and in his arms was that sweet little girl cradled against his chest.
The headline was “Hero Paramedic”.
Samantha took the paper from Lizzie’s hand and scanned the article quickly.
“I guess he had a successful first day.” Lizzie leaned against her desk. “Not every day a newbie to the program can hit such heights of heroics.”
“Yeah, he did a good job.” Samantha handed the paper back to Lizzie. “Hopefully he won’t get a swollen head and prance around here like he owns the place.”
“I don’t think Atavik is that type of person, do you?”
No. He wasn’t and Samantha knew that.
Still, coverage like this would go to anyone’s head. Even though he denied the fact, he was a hero.
Like the word “hero” was a burden to him.
Lizzie chuckled. “What have you got on your mind?”
“Nothing,” Samantha responded, but Lizzie didn’t look convinced. “Has he arrived?”
Lizzie nodded. “Yeah, he’s in the other room.”
Samantha headed into the common room. She caught sight of George sitting across the room, his head bent over a manual, studying.
“Good afternoon!” She grinned and tried not to look at George, because she knew if she looked his way then she’d start blushing again.
And she didn’t want to. It was bad enough he rendered her into a space cadet.
She didn’t want him know how much he affected her.
The room was painfully silent, but she could sense that George was looking at her and her cheeks heated.
Dammit. Come on. Focus.
She was better than this. She was level-headed and in control.
“Did you get home okay?” she asked after she cleared her throat to keep her voice steady, because she was sure if she didn’t it would crack like that of some pubescent boy.
George nodded. “I did. Thanks.” The cheeky grin from the night before was gone. He was professional and though it was a relief that it was all business, like nothing had passed between them, it still stung her.
There was an awkward silence.
Say something. Say anything.
“Well, we have a patient transfer this afternoon.” She cleared her throat. “It should be pretty straightforward.”
“Where are we headed?” he asked.
“We have to up to Goderich to get her.” Samantha poured herself another cup of coffee.
“How far is that?”
Samantha cocked an eyebrow. “Do you have other plans?”
George shook his head. “No, just curious.”
Samantha wasn’t convinced that it was just curiosity. He looked agitated at the prospect of being alone with her.
“Goderich is almost two hours there, give or take, and then it depends on traffic and the hospital, but expect this trip to take most of the day.”
George nodded and slung his knapsack over his shoulder, and as he did that Samantha saw his bandaged arm.
“How’s your arm this morning?”
“It’s a bit sore.”
Samantha set down her coffee cup and walked over to him, taking his arm gently. “Can I look?”
“Sure.”
Sure?
Why had he agreed to let her touch him?
He should’ve said no, because he hadn’t