Page 34 of Hate To Want You
She comes to stand beside me, a friendly and welcoming expression on her face. “Don’t apologize. It could be me you recognize or one of my brothers.” She sticks out the hand that isn’t balancing a stack of dishes. “Kat Donnelly. I work part-time at Camille’s when I’m not doing my practicum.” She gestures over to the café that is right beside the bakery. It's new since I was last living on the island, and looks to be busy.
I shake her hand, the pieces falling into place. “You must be Max’s sister. Studying to be a nurse practitioner, right?”
Her smile remains in place, only it’s slightly guarded and curious now. “Yeah, that’s me.”
“Sorry,” I hurry to fill in the blanks. “I’m Heidi Morgan. I used to be a nurse at WGH with your brother. Now I’m his resident.”
“Oh.” Kat’s eyes widen dramatically. “Oooh…” she draws it out the second time, and my brow furrows. “So much is making sense now.”
“Hey, Kitty Kat.” A handsome man in a police uniform walks up, snaking his arm around Kat’s waist and kissing the side of her neck.
“Hunter,” she says almost dreamily before pivoting in his arms and kissing him deeply. Another man, this one older, with lighter hair but a faint resemblance to Kat, walks up.
“Seriously, Callaghan? What did I say about making out with my cousin in front of me,” he gripes good-naturedly before turning to me. “Hi, sorry, did we interrupt?”
“No,” Kat waves him off, disentangling herself from Hunter, who I think it’s safe to assume is her boyfriend. “This is Heidi Morgan. She’s Max’sresident.”
There’s a heavy emphasis on the word resident, some underlying meaning I’m clearly not aware of, which is only magnified by the look the two men exchange with Kat.
“Yep, that’s me,” I say, standing up. This is feeling weird, and I don’t know why. Not a bad weird, just, weird. “And I’m going now. Nice to meet you all.” I start to walk away.
“Wait!” Kat calls out, and I stop, not wanting to be rude. Turning back, I see Hunter and the other guy heading inside the café, leaving just Kat out here with me. She seems nice, like someone I could be friends with. If only she wasn’t the sister of the one man who’s got me tied up in knots. “What are you doing tonight?”
I shrug because the truth is, I don’t have any plans.
“Want to meet up for a drink later, get to know each other? The bar in town, Hastings, is super chill. I can give you all the dirt on Max you could possibly want.”
There’s a hopeful expression on her face, and I find myself wanting to say yes. Besides, there isn’t really a good reason why I couldn’t be friends with Max’s sister.
“Sure. What time?”
Kat grins. “I’ve got family dinner at my parents’ house, so how about eight?”
“Sounds good.”
“Great. Let me give you my number.” We exchange info, and then I finally walk away. The peaceful day I had hoped for, exploring the town, still lies in front of me. Only now, at the end of it, instead of my only company being a glass of wine and my favourite true crime podcast, I have plans. Plans that could turn out to be very interesting.
After all, it isn’t much of a stretch to assume Kat will tell her brother about meeting me, and possibly about going out tonight. Which leaves one question. Will Max join us? Or will he keep his distance? I pushed the line last night. I know it, he knows it. What we don’t know is, who’s going to push it — or cross it — next?
I leave Dogwood Cove after an afternoon exploring and wandering along the beach. Back in my rental apartment in Westport, I quickly heat up a deeply unsatisfying frozen dinner, then get in the shower.
Opting not to drive so that I can enjoy a couple of drinks, I grab an Uber back to Dogwood Cove.
Kat Donnelly turns out to be a force of nature, just like her brother, only in a very different way. As soon as I arrive at Hastings, the brew pub where she suggested we meet, she pulls me in for a strong hug and introduces me to her best friend Lily. The three of us order a round of drinks and spend the next half hour getting to know each other.
They’re a riot to hang out with, and when they drag me out on the dance floor, I don’t protest. It’s been forever since I let myself just have fun, med school and residency doesn't exactly lead to a lot of down time. But country night at a local bar is the perfect opportunity to do just that. Have fun.
A few songs later, we collapse at our table, all of us laughing and breathing heavily.
“Whoever made tonight’s playlist deserves an award,” Lily huffs out. She twists in her chair and gives a wave to the guy behind the bar. At his nod, she turns back. “We’ll have to tell Dean that country night is a success.”
“Consider me told, ladies. And I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying it. You’ve got my wife to thank for the idea,” a deep voice says in amusement. The bartender sets down three glasses of water with a smile before looking down at me in particular. “You’re new. I’m Dean, welcome to my bar.”
I swallow the sip of water I was drinking and grin up at him. “Thanks. I can’t believe I haven’t been here before.”
“Heidi just moved back to Westport; she’s working at the hospital with Max,” Kat supplies, leaning forward. “Dean and his wife Riley have the cutest little baby,” she says to me before smacking her hand on the table. “But right now, we need another drink, Hastings!” Dean chuckles and heads back to the bar.
“I take it he named his bar after himself?” I ask, then we all giggle at how stupidly obvious my question is. Clearly, my lightweight tendencies with alcohol haven’t changed. I make a mental note to pace myself. I don’t want to make a complete fool of myself in front of my new friends.
