Possessed by Passion (Doms of Destiny, Colorado 9)

More staff arrived and he motioned to two of them. “You’re with me on this case. Shirley, handle our shooter. Call Dr. Carpenter. We need to get him to surgery.”

Dustin had always been the kind of person who took charge. Seeing him remain so calm and in control in the craziness of the ER filled Paris with love and pride for the man.

Mick led her away from the ER to the cafeteria.

They had just gotten their coffee when two detectives came in to take their statements.

Nearly two hours later, they were still waiting on Dustin to arrive.

“So much for us surprising my brother, sweetheart.” Mick pushed his empty plate to the side. “This was a complete bust.”

“Not completely. The little girl survived. I wouldn’t call it a bust, honey.”

He smiled. “You did something amazing in the ER.”

“We all did.” She looked down at her half-eaten dinner of baked chicken and salad, still struggling with how to tell him and Dustin about the acceptance letter from the University of Nevada. Why should I tell them? I’m not going to be a doctor and I’m not going to go to medical school. “Dustin is long overdue for time off from his doubles at

the hospital.”

“Yes, he is. He’s worked his ass off. Once he breaks free of the ER, we can make sure he has a good time. He might want to crash tonight, but tomorrow, I think we should go dancing. How does that sound to you?”

It sounded wonderful. “That sounds good, but there’s something I want to talk to you and Dustin about first.”

Mick was the fun loving of the two brothers. “Sounds serious.”

“It is.”

Dustin was quite the opposite. Determined. Sober. Intense. Committed.

Committed to everything except to me.

“Don’t leave me in the dark, sweetheart. You have my undivided attention.”

“Okay. The reason I agreed to come with you to see Dustin is I had an agenda.”

Mick’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re sounding quite a bit like him. What agenda?”

“I’ve been dating you two for a very long time. You and I both know the reason we haven’t moved our relationship to the next level is because of Dustin.”

He reached across the table. “He can be an ass sometimes, baby, but he does love you.”

“Does he?”

“Of course he does, and so do I.”

“I love you, Mick. But Dustin, being Dustin, has always had a reason for not committing. All his reasons make perfect sense. When you graduated from Destiny High, he said we needed to wait until he and I graduated. I was willing to wait, but when I got my diploma, he then wanted to wait until I finished college.”

“I know, but you know how he is.”

“Yes, I do. Stubborn and bullheaded. His next excuse was waiting until he finished medical school. Now, it’s when he finishes his residency. And he never stops pushing either of us. I’m tired of hearing him talk about me going to medical school.”

“He might go about it in the wrong way, Paris, but you know it comes from his heart. He’s never stopped pushing me, and I doubt he ever will.”

“I know. It’s one of the things that make him the man that I love. But I fully expect him to have another excuse for us keeping our relationship in a holding pattern. I’m betting he’ll tell us he wants to wait until he gets back to Destiny and gets set up in my dad’s practice. Another year. I’m tired of waiting. I love him, and I love you. I do. Seeing him in the ER take charge made me love him all the more. But we’ve waited long enough, Mick. You have your law degree. I’ve gotten my bachelor’s and master’s in nursing. It’s time to veer from Dustin’s plan.”

“Baby, he’s got another six months of his residency left.”

“Don’t make excuses for him. It’s time to get serious. I keep asking myself why he’s put this off for so long. Am I the reason?”