Read Online My Sweetest Sasha: Cole's Story (Meadows Shore Book 2) by Eva Charles - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Eva Charles
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microscope, and the media had a field day.”
After a respectful silence, she prodded ever so gently, “What did you learn from the experience?”
“To always keep my pager near me when I’m getting busy in the hospital.”
He looked over at Alexa, and her deep blue eyes pierced his conscience.
“Cut the crap,” she said, still staring into his soul.
“Patients aren’t animated caricatures who come into the hospital to make our lives miserable. Their care isn’t our burden, it’s our privilege,” he said in a low, gravelly voice, rolling a pen between his palms.
“That’s a tough lesson for a medical student to learn.”
“Yeah, well, believe it or not, the toughest part was telling my mother. The whole situation became even more sordid because my dad was a senator.”
“A United States Senator?”
He nodded. “I went to him as soon as it happened. He was mad as hell.”
“The scandal?”
He shook his head. “Nah. My parents never expected us to behave because of his job. They would have had the same expectations of us if he’d been a ditchdigger.”
“What happened?”
“He made me tell my mother. I asked him to talk to her first, lay the groundwork, but he refused to help me out. I was furious. Telling my mom I’d been some woman’s plaything, one of many, was the hardest thing I’d ever done up to that point.”
“How did she take it?”
His chest tightened, and he closed his eyes, not wanting Alexa to see the hurt. “She said, ‘you can satisfy your basic needs anywhere. But you’ll only find true fulfillment, the kind that satisfies your body and your soul, with a woman who loves you, with a woman you love. What you did with that woman … it makes my heart ache that you’d settle for so little. I want so much more for you and your brothers.’” He never forgot the words or the sadness on her face when she spoke.
Alexa’s eyes glistened.
“I’ve never felt smaller or more ashamed.”
And though he’d yet to experience the kind of satisfaction his mother spoke about, he’d approached his sexual encounters with women differently after that. They were less one-sided, he gave for everything he took, and he never became involved in any situation remotely like that again.
“Your father believed he’d raised a good man.”
“How’s that?”
“The punishment he chose for you—so simple, yet so profound. It cut to your character and tore at your heart.”
He looked over at her sitting across the room and wondered when he’d decided it was safe to share his darkest secrets with her. Maybe it was because she seemed to always choose to see the best in people, even in him, or maybe it was because …
“Don’t let your guard down, I’m not a nice guy, remember?”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
His gut told him he was the one who needed to be afraid, or maybe it was telling him not to be afraid. He wasn’t sure. The feelings were tangled, and unfamiliar, leaving him confused.
“Alexa Petersen, you may be the end of me yet. I’ve got to get downstairs. You coming?”
“I need to stop by my office. I’ll meet you down there.”
Chapter Six
The first person Alexa saw when she walked into Risk Management was Marcia. A familiar face who’d welcomed her every day since she’d been there, and taken her under her wing like a mother hen.
“Well, hello, stranger!” bellowed Marcia.
“Hi. How’s everything?
“Things are good. How’s it going with you, coach?”
“Ugh!” Alexa threw her head back and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Don’t look so unhappy. A lot of women around here would kill to be coaching him. If I were a few decades younger, I’d coach him myself.”
She grinned at Marcia, who wore too much makeup and way-too-tight clothing over her heart of gold.
“Don’t let all the rumors about him get in the way of the truth. He’s a good guy.”
“That’s what I can’t figure out. He’s a piece of work, but he doesn’t seem to be quite
After a respectful silence, she prodded ever so gently, “What did you learn from the experience?”
“To always keep my pager near me when I’m getting busy in the hospital.”
He looked over at Alexa, and her deep blue eyes pierced his conscience.
“Cut the crap,” she said, still staring into his soul.
“Patients aren’t animated caricatures who come into the hospital to make our lives miserable. Their care isn’t our burden, it’s our privilege,” he said in a low, gravelly voice, rolling a pen between his palms.
“That’s a tough lesson for a medical student to learn.”
“Yeah, well, believe it or not, the toughest part was telling my mother. The whole situation became even more sordid because my dad was a senator.”
“A United States Senator?”
He nodded. “I went to him as soon as it happened. He was mad as hell.”
“The scandal?”
He shook his head. “Nah. My parents never expected us to behave because of his job. They would have had the same expectations of us if he’d been a ditchdigger.”
“What happened?”
“He made me tell my mother. I asked him to talk to her first, lay the groundwork, but he refused to help me out. I was furious. Telling my mom I’d been some woman’s plaything, one of many, was the hardest thing I’d ever done up to that point.”
“How did she take it?”
His chest tightened, and he closed his eyes, not wanting Alexa to see the hurt. “She said, ‘you can satisfy your basic needs anywhere. But you’ll only find true fulfillment, the kind that satisfies your body and your soul, with a woman who loves you, with a woman you love. What you did with that woman … it makes my heart ache that you’d settle for so little. I want so much more for you and your brothers.’” He never forgot the words or the sadness on her face when she spoke.
Alexa’s eyes glistened.
“I’ve never felt smaller or more ashamed.”
And though he’d yet to experience the kind of satisfaction his mother spoke about, he’d approached his sexual encounters with women differently after that. They were less one-sided, he gave for everything he took, and he never became involved in any situation remotely like that again.
“Your father believed he’d raised a good man.”
“How’s that?”
“The punishment he chose for you—so simple, yet so profound. It cut to your character and tore at your heart.”
He looked over at her sitting across the room and wondered when he’d decided it was safe to share his darkest secrets with her. Maybe it was because she seemed to always choose to see the best in people, even in him, or maybe it was because …
“Don’t let your guard down, I’m not a nice guy, remember?”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
His gut told him he was the one who needed to be afraid, or maybe it was telling him not to be afraid. He wasn’t sure. The feelings were tangled, and unfamiliar, leaving him confused.
“Alexa Petersen, you may be the end of me yet. I’ve got to get downstairs. You coming?”
“I need to stop by my office. I’ll meet you down there.”
Chapter Six
The first person Alexa saw when she walked into Risk Management was Marcia. A familiar face who’d welcomed her every day since she’d been there, and taken her under her wing like a mother hen.
“Well, hello, stranger!” bellowed Marcia.
“Hi. How’s everything?
“Things are good. How’s it going with you, coach?”
“Ugh!” Alexa threw her head back and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Don’t look so unhappy. A lot of women around here would kill to be coaching him. If I were a few decades younger, I’d coach him myself.”
She grinned at Marcia, who wore too much makeup and way-too-tight clothing over her heart of gold.
“Don’t let all the rumors about him get in the way of the truth. He’s a good guy.”
“That’s what I can’t figure out. He’s a piece of work, but he doesn’t seem to be quite
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