Page 9 of Bad Decisions & Back Roads

And then—Gia.

I slammed my fist against the counter hard enough to rattle the faucet.Pain shot up my arm, sharp and grounding, but it wasn’t enough to stop the memories forcing their way forward.Her face.Her voice.Everything I’d spent years sealing behind concrete walls.She wouldn’t stay where I put her.

I squeezed the edge of the sink until my fingers ached.I shoved the regret and the want, all of it, back down with brute force.I wouldn’t allow the decades-old scar to be ripped open.I buried it deep enough to breathe again.

Right now, I had to sort out what to tell Sofia.How did I tell my little girl that the mother who already treated her like a once-a-month obligation—despite living only fifteen minutes away—had left town for good?She wasn’t late.She wasn’t distracted or resentful of the time she felt forced to spend with Sofia, like usual, but gone.Gone.

I exhaled sharply, scrubbing a hand over my face.I didn’t regret Sofia.Not for a second.She was the best thing I’d ever done

I tugged up the hem of the borrowed t-shirt to scrub some blood off my stomach.Two years ago, this size shirt would’ve clung.Now it didn’t.Eighty pounds gone, burned off somewhere between sleepless nights, never-ending work, and the kind of fear that never really lets go once it finds you.My therapist prescribed me an outlet forhealthy coping: running before sunrise.Miles of it.I let the anger over the loneliness and uncontrollable trajectory of my life bleed out while pounding down back roads.Most days it worked to quiet down the noise.

I let out a rough breath and lifted my head fully, meeting my own eyes in the mirror.

“Get it together,” I muttered.

“You in there?”Josh called out from the other side of the door.Two knocks.

“Sure…yes.”I straightened and pushed outside with my big brother mask of everything’s-great in place.Covertly, I glanced around for signs of Dr.Green, blowing out a relieved breath to find she was gone.

Josh looked like he’d lost a bet with three different professions and refused to commit to any of them.Gray baseball pants, green scrub top, sneakers, glasses pushed up into his hair—like a catcher, a veterinarian, and a CEO had all gotten dressed in the dark and accidentally merged into one person.

Knowing him, he’d started his day in Durham, practicing with their minor league team.Then, because Josh couldn’t go home like a normal human being after hours of practice, he’d probably swung by a farm to check on a few animals and now was at the clinic to go through whatever needed managing.Why have one identity crisis when you can have three?

He’d said no to being recruited by scouts while the clinic was being built—responsible, grounded, very noble.But one particular scout kept pushing, apparently impressed with how Josh handled himself as a catcher in his league, and eventually he agreed to give it a season with the guy’s feeder team in the minors.Just to see if he could make it with kids ten years younger than him.Okay, “agreed” was doing a lot of heavy lifting there.Erika kicked him out of the house and told him to go chase his dream or he’d never see his baby once he was born.Motivation comes in many forms.Fear of lifelong regret.Passion for the game.Erika’s kick in the ass.

Josh and I stared at each other, the space between us going tight, like something was about to snap and neither of us wanted to be the one holding it when it did.

Finally, I said, “Gia McClary…Stevens?”

His face tightened, but not with surprise.“Kind of figured that was going to be an issue.”

The way he said it—too calm, too prepared—scraped something raw inside me.“How long has a McClary been filling in?”

“She’s not a McClary anymore.”We held each other’s gaze, neither one giving an inch.“She’s been here over a month.Look?—”

“You didn’t think to mention it?”

Josh exhaled once through his nose.“I figured this would happen.”

“You figured wrong if you thought I’d be fine with it.”

His eyes hardened.“Careful.”

The word landed quiet, but solid.

“Gia Stevens hasn’t been a McClary for years,” Josh said.“She’s fresh off a divorce and back here for reasons that have nothing to do with the land or the lawsuit.”

“Convenient.”I folded my arms.“She shows up right when we get served, and nobody thinks it’s worth a conversation?”

“You really think she’s here to spy on us?”

“I think timing matters.”

Josh’s jaw shifted.“You’re reaching.”

“You let me walk in blind today.”

He didn’t even look at me.Just kept going, words pushing through like he refused to let me derail him.“She does primarily large animal work.She takes overnight calls without complaining.She can switch to small animals when we’re slammed in the ER.She’s flexible.And she’s good at her job.Like really good.Do you have any idea what that adds up to in my world?”His eyes finally connected with mine.“A sparkly unicorn veterinarian.She’s a godsend wrapped up as a Christmas present with Erika about to go out on maternity leave.”