“So you’ll graduate in May. Then what?” she asked. “How long is the residency program for infectious disease?”
“I’ll do a three-year pediatrics residency, followed by a three-year fellowship in infectious disease.”
“Six years. Wow.”
“I’ll be practicing medicine during that time, so it’s not so bad.”
“Will you stay here in Little Rock for those six years?”
“I doubt it. I’ll start applying to residency programs in December. I’m submitting applications to programs in several different states. I’ll probably return to Arkansas at the end of my residency, though. The children’s hospital here is a great place to work.”
“I see.” So he’d be leaving the state in a few months, for at least six years. This made him even less of a candidate for a long-term relationship. Not that she was looking for anything like that, anyway, she reminded herself hastily. “What are your top choices?”
“I’ll spend the month of October doing an away rotation in Seattle, which will give me a chance to look at the program there. In November, I’ll be doing an Acting Internship in Boston. I’m also submitting applications to Stanford and Cincinnati and New York and several other programs. I’ll probably do my residency at one hospital and my ID fellowship at another, just so I’ll have a range of experiences before starting my career practice.”
In his own way, James seemed as restless as she, Shannon thought with a flash of insight. She wasn’t the traveler he was, but she had sampled several jobs while he tested himself with educational goals.
She’d recently figured out what she was looking for from her career pursuits. A sense of satisfaction. Of accomplishment. Of independence.
What drove James? Why was it so important to him to keep proving himself?
He fascinated her and that meant that maybe he wasn’t the only one intrigued by a puzzle.
“So you’ll be gone for two whole months?”
He nodded. “I’ll leave at the end of this month and be back the first of December.”
She nodded and spoke lightly. “Then I’m glad we got to spend this evening together. I’ve had a very nice time, James.”
He glanced down at her. “Does that mean it’s over?”
“It’s getting late. And I have a party tomorrow evening. I have to start setting up early.”
Without protest, he accompanied her to her vehicle. She wondered during that brief, silent walk if he would ask her out again before they parted. Not that he’d asked this time, she reminded herself. This outing had been her idea. But if he did suggest another meeting?
She’d probably agree, she decided on impulse. She enjoyed being with him, and it wasn’t as if this was going to lead anywhere, so she didn’t have to worry about repercussions. Had she known that from the beginning, it would have made it much easier for her to say yes to his dinner invitations, she mused. Her bruised ego’s qualms would not preclude her from having a few good times with a handsome, interesting man as long as they both knew from the beginning it was only temporary. Neither had to worry about being hurt or losing their hard-won independence or…well, or anything like that, she added, knowing exactly which of them suffered from those particular fears.
She pressed her key fob as they approached her car, hearing the loud click as her driver’s door unlocked by remote. “So…”
“I had a nice time tonight. I’m glad you suggested the gallery walk, Shannon.”
“It was fun.”
Other people milled around them in the parking lot and down the more distant city sidewalks. Laughter and conversation, car engines and entangled strains of music, booming bass and trolley bells—all those sounds faded into a muted background as Shannon looked up into James’s dark eyes, finding herself suddenly unable to move away. His expression hadn’t changed; his features were still schooled into a pleasant smile that could have been direct
ed at anyone. Had he moved nearer to her, or was she the one who’d stopped so close to him? It would take very little effort to place a hand on his chest, just over his heart.
Maybe he saw something in her expression to cue him in to her wayward thoughts. His eyes darkened, and his faint smile faded. Her breath caught in her throat when he leaned his head toward her, closing that short distance…
The cell phone she carried in an outer pocket of her small purse suddenly blasted a raucous chorus of Weird Al’s “White and Nerdy,” effectively destroying the mood.
Grimacing, Shannon stepped back and fumbled in her purse for the phone, her cheeks warming as she quickly silenced it. “My brother,” she mumbled to James, then lifted the phone to her ear. “Hey, Stu, can I call you—”
Her brother interrupted grimly. “Shannon, Kyle’s been taken to the children’s hospital. He was hit by a car.”
Her throat clenched into painful knots. It was all she could do to choke out a few words. “I’m on my way.”
Chapter Six