Brenna liked Noah even more after their picnic. Her desire to help him had only grown stronger. She learned his father had passed and Noah was struggling. He was an intelligent caregiver, so he should seek help for his grief.

She felt the burning behind her eyes, the precursor to tears. Mia was the Reilly who cried not her. She had a strong urge to wrap her arms around him. He would probably be the one running if she had.

They met for dinner the following weekend before his shift. It was a casual Indian restaurant. Once they ordered at the counter, they found a booth.

"Next weekend is Memorial Day." It excited her summer was starting.

"Already?" Laughing she bumped his shoulder. "I was serious. I don't pay attention to holidays."

"Don't you ever take a weekend off, so you can get away?"

"Why? I like working."

"To get away with friends. Change of scenery. All that."

"I like the city."

"You're no fun. You should come to Onset some time. It would be good for you. It's always crazy at the Reilly's."

"I don't want to know." He had a slight smile.

"There's often too many people in the small house. I love the hammock, but we also play games. We love games! Cards are serious in my family. Probably because we all count the cards."

"Isn't that cheating?"

"Not if you're just naturally attuned to numbers. Even Aunt Rachel is a math professor at NYU. My mother is the sharpest, she's the one who gave us the math genes. She does the craziest sudoku, as if they're easy."

"Well, too bad, I'm always working."

It sounded like another excuse. "My little sister would love it if you came, I think she has a crush on you."

"How would she?"

"She saw your mugshot."

"I'm pretty sure I've never been arrested."

Brenna laughed and explained through giggles. "That's what we called the picture on my father's badge."

"I've seen some that look like mugshots." His face brightened when he laughed.

Her goal was to get Noah to Onset if only for a day. The man needed to relax. As a doctor, he should know all that stress would kill him.

She reached up and started picking at his hair.

"What are you doing?" He sounded annoyed.

"Looking for gray hair. The man who refuses to take a day for fun must be sprouting them right and left. Soon you'll look like a tired old man."

"I'm not old and I don't have gray hair!"

"Are you sure?" She pretended to look more, but she just caressed his scalp.

He groaned. "Will you stop?"

Brenna saw a faint hint of pink on his neck. She'd bet her year-end bonus, he had enjoyed her touch more than he admitted.

She put her hands back in front of her and changed the subject. "So how do you really feel about your mother and Bill?"

"Seriously? First you tell me I'm no fun and then you ask how I feel about my mother's new boyfriend! Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"No, I'm trying to get to know you. Ask me anything and I'll answer."

"What's your favorite thing about your job?"

"Really!" He shot a look at her telling her not to provoke him. "Okay, okay. It challenges my mind. I like when I solve a problem and the paycheck isn't bad either."

"Are you always honest?"

"Not always." If she was honest, she would have told Molly that Noah was off limits, because she had already had sex with him. She really wished she remembered it better. If she was honest, she would tell Noah she desperately wanted to kiss him again.

"Tell me one lie you've told?"

"Where I was going on a July night twelve years ago."

"Okay. Something not about that night."

"I pretended I didn't remember your name after my trip to the ER. That's why Mia looked up the emergency department online and found your mugshot."

"Why?"

"Why? Because you're a doctor and she's young and silly."

"Does she look like you?"

"No, she looks like my mother. I look like my father." She had her father's eyes. "Aidan is a hybrid, but we have the same eye color. Enough about me. I should get to ask you something."

"Fine, but I have the right to refuse to answer."

"Why did you become a doctor?"

"To help people." He fidgeted by folding his straw wrapper over and over.

"What do you hate about your job?"

He looked up at her and his brown eyes looked troubled. "Losing a patient."

She nodded. "What do you love about it?"

"Dehydrated women." His response was deadpan.

"Now, you're teasing me."

"Alright then." He paused as if thinking about what he would say. "Why do you want to be friends with me? I mean after how we met and you've noticed I'm not exciting."

"Seriously, you're bringing it up again. Brown, you're fun to hang around with. I just think you've had a hard life and sure, you're a private person."

"I hope you don't have some secret agenda, because I'm not changing. I am who I am and my past is a part of me. I won't just let 'em go."

Brenna wondered what he meant by 'em, but she wouldn't cross the fragile line to ask. Before she could respond, he looked at his watch.

"You should probably go. You strike me as the type to arrive early and before you say anything, I am too. In fact, my family teases me, because I'm early for everything."

He smiled at her. When they left the restaurant, he turned one way and she the other. He called out to her, so she turned around. "Hey! Thanks, it was fun."

She smiled and waved. She had the strong urge to google to find out about his father's death. Would knowing break the fragile trust she was building? Pepper was waiting for her when she entered her apartment. She opened a can of food and dished it out. At least she wasn't alone, her kitty was her companion. Was she going to become an old maid with her cat?

Ten minutes into a movie on the television, she stood up and walked in a circle. Brenna was restless and before she could talk herself out of it, but picked up her laptop. She typed in 'Barbara Gentry Massachusetts'. The first article was a link to a school. She didn't know she was a teacher. It was one more thing for Noah to share with her. She found the obituary for Patrick Gentry. Noah was sixteen when his father died. As she read, she learned about a man who was a loving husband, father and coach. Did Noah play sports? One line caught her eye — predeceased by his son, Declan Gentry. Suddenly she understood who 'them' was. She googled Patrick first and gasped at the headlines. 'Three Dead in Rampage on Crowded Street'. He had died in a senseless random shooting by a crazy guy on the sidewalk in a crowded entertainment area. His obituary mentioned he was in sales, so he must have been on a business trip and was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

The news that people heard in their living rooms of random shootings was Noah's reality. In the years since they had only increased in frequency. Unsure if she could handle more, but unable to stop herself, she typed 'Declan Gentry Hanover MA' since she had learned his hometown from his father's obituary. Her hands went to her face, as she gasped. The tears broke loose and there was no stopping them. She had trouble reading through the blur.

Intoxicated driver hit and run... Twelve-year-old on bicycle... Just missed older brother behind him.

No wonder, Noah refused to ride a bike. He must have seen his little brother being hit. He lived through one trauma only to have his father killed senselessly. Of course, he and his mother clung to each other. She couldn't imagine how he had attended an Ivy League school and finished medical school and became a doctor. It made sense he was afraid to care about anyone. Her heart was breaking for him and she was pretty sure she was doomed, because she was in love with a man who refused to love.

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