More by Stephen Byrd

Silverwood Manor

True Stories of EMS



When Crazy Loves You

Stephen Byrd

Published by

Dreamscape Books

Columbia, Tennessee

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2022 by Dreamscape Books.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

ISBN: 978-1-387-17681-6

Printed in the United States of America

December, 2022

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Chapter One

Josh woke before his alarm clock. He rolled over to face his sleeping wife, who hadn’t stirred. Her back was facing him, and she was lying so close to the edge of the bed, it was a miracle she hadn’t fallen off. Sometime in the night, a pillow had found its way between their bodies. Before the alarm could go off and wake her, he carefully reached across her to shut it off.

Getting out of bed and trying not to make a sound, he went into the bathroom. He turned the shower on and began his morning ritual to get ready for work.

Even though he was forty years old, with high blood pressure and high cholesterol, he still had frequent sexual urges. His wife, on the other hand, did not. Or if she did, she never acted on them, or even let on that she might be in the mood. Josh guessed it had been two years now since they had sex.

After his shower, Josh dressed and packed his bag for work. As an EMT, he would be working a twenty-four-hour shift and would not be home until the next day. Usually, the call volume slowed down in the evenings, and he was able to sleep most nights at work.

By the time Josh was ready to leave the house, the sun was peeking through the blinds, casting a light on the sink full of dishes and the pile of mail scattered over the dining room table. He quickly ate a bowl of his favorite cereal, washed his dishes, and put them away. He checked his watch and noticed it was time to leave. Lisa still had not stirred, judging by the utter silence emanating from the direction of their bedroom. Josh left the house quietly, closing and locking the door behind him.

The traffic was light on his morning commute. Josh plugged his phone into the car and listened to his favorite internet radio station as he drove. It was a Wednesday morning, and the radio host was talking about some movie trivia. Josh wished he would shut up and play some music already.

He caught a glimpse of himself in the rearview mirror. He wasn’t a bad looking guy, not for his age at least. Sure, he had a few gray hairs and a couple of wrinkles, but for the most part, he still had his good looks. Rugged, some would say.

He pulled into the firehouse parking lot and parked his car. He disconnected his phone, gathered his bag, and walked into the station. The firemen were already there and had started cooking breakfast. Josh put his bag down outside his bedroom door. Jordan, the EMT from the previous shift, was just leaving.

“The truck is good. You’re just missing a bag of IV fluids and a dose of naloxone,” Jordan said as he walked out the door. He didn't look back.

“Okay, thanks,” Josh replied. He went to the supply closet and took out the replacement supplies. He walked to the bay, where the ambulance was parked. He put the supplies on the stretcher. The floor of the ambulance was still wet from where it had just been mopped. Josh didn’t want to put tire tracks on the freshly mopped floor, so he left the stretcher sitting outside the truck.

Beginning his morning inspection of the ambulance, he lifted the hood and checked the fluids, then made his way to the cab, the exterior compartments, and, finally, to the patient compartment. He was checking the contents of the trauma bag when his paramedic partner, Dillon, finally arrived. Dillon was always late to work, a chronic symptom of his refusal to go to sleep at a reasonable hour and one that he had no intention of ever addressing.

“What’s left to be checked?” Dillon asked as he climbed into the back of the ambulance.

“Just the drugs,” Josh replied.

Dillon pulled out the drug box and began counting the doses of each one. “We’re missing a naloxone,” he said.

Josh tossed him the new dose he had just pulled from the supply closet. Then, the two worked on the rest of the inspection in silence until they were interrupted.

Loud tones sounded overhead, followed by the voice of the dispatcher. “Medic 4 respond. 1284 Smith Drive, Christ Chapel parking lot. 28-year-old female, psychiatric evaluation.”

Josh packed everything back into the trauma bag and zipped it up. Meanwhile, Dillon packed the drugs back into the drug box and put it back into the cabinet. They both climbed in the cab with Josh in the driver’s seat and Dillon in the passenger’s seat.

“Medic 4 responding,” Josh said into the radio. He eased the ambulance out of the bay and pressed the button on the garage door opener to close the bay door behind him. As he reached the end of the station driveway, he turned on the lights and siren. Traffic stopped in both directions, and Josh pulled out onto the highway.

The drive to the church was a short one, and as he turned onto Smith Drive, Josh turned off the distracting lights and siren. He pulled into the parking lot where a police officer was parked and a woman was sitting under the awning in front of the door to the church. As Josh exited the ambulance, the officer approached Dillon to talk about the situation that was unfolding. The officer was a man in his early thirties, if Josh had to guess, had the last two buttons on his uniform shirt undone, and was fidgeting with his badge.

“We got called out here for an unwanted person. She’s homeless, and she says she’s itching all over. I wasn’t sure if it was drugs or an allergic reaction, or maybe a psych issue, so I called for you guys.” He shrugged his shoulders, as if this was a small, everyday issue that he couldn’t care less about.

“So, in other words, you don’t know what to do with her, so you called us to make it our problem?” Dillon, in all his straightforward charm, didn’t hold back—which was one of the biggest reasons why Josh admired him.

“Yeah, pretty much.” The officer admitted. At least he was honest.

Dillon walked away from the officer, toward the woman sitting on the asphalt. Josh noticed she was wearing a t-shirt and no pants, her skin looked leathery and was covered in sores. She looked older than twenty-eight. Dillon approached her and began conversing with her in a hard, yet still somehow calm, voice.

Dillon was asking her if she wanted to go to the hospital. Josh hated it when he asked people that question, they always said “yes.” Sure enough, she nodded her head.

“Let’s go,” Dillon said and began walking to the ambulance. She followed Dillon, and Josh followed her. He caught a whiff of body odor, mixed with something else.

She climbed into the ambulance, her bare feet on the diamond-plate bumper. She didn’t react with pain the way Josh expected she would have. Being on the street with no shoes must have made her feet tough.

She sat down on the stretcher, and Josh began buckling the straps while Dillon checked her vital signs. Dillon nodded to Josh, signaling that he was ready to go. Josh exited the ambulance through the back doors.

They walked the woman into the ER, where the charge nurse pointed toward the door to the waiting room. She did not speak, just pointed, looking like she had a thousand other things on her mind. Josh opened the door and directed the woman to take a seat in the lobby.

While Dillon remained in the ER to give over the report and get signatures, Josh went back outside to change the linen on the stretcher. The smell of body odor was stronger now, and he nearly gagged as he stripped the dirty sheets from the stretcher. He wiped it down with a disinfectant wipe and replaced the sheets. He also wiped down the blood pressure cuff and pulse oximeter probe that had been on the woman’s finger. He wiped down anything she could have touched, and finally, the smell inside the ambulance was replaced with that of the alcohol-based disinfectant.

Josh put everything away neatly and finished just as Dillon was walking back out of the ER.

“Breakfast?” Dillon asked.

“Breakfast,” Josh answered.

When they arrived back at their station, Josh parked the ambulance in the bay and plugged it in to keep the batteries charged. The firemen had saved them a couple of plates of food, which Dillon inhaled immediately. Josh ate slower, and when he was finished, he collected his and Dillon’s plates and washed them.

Dillon retired to his room, presumably to watch TV, while Josh sat on the couch in the living room. He scanned through the TV programming guide and didn’t see anything worthwhile. He decided to take a nap instead. The overhead lights were already off, so he turned off the lamp beside the couch, plunging the room into darkness. He put his feet up and laid his head back. Within minutes, he was asleep.

The tones sounded overhead, jarring Josh awake. “Medic 4 respond. 607 Bradley Court. 88-year-old female, cold to touch.”

Josh jumped up from the couch. Dillon was coming out of his bedroom, his hair mussed and his face creased from the pattern of his diagonally striped pillowcase. As they both hurried to the truck, Josh checked his watch. He had been asleep for six hours.

“What you wanna bet that this is going to be a D.O.A.?” Dillon asked, his fingers combing through his hair in a futile attempt to make himself look more presentable

“Yeah, most likely,” Josh agreed, then gave a slight smile when he rubbed his hand through his own hair and felt that he didn’t have a hair out of place himself.

They both climbed into the truck and buckled their seatbelts. Josh said into the radio, “Medic 4 responding,” as he pulled the ambulance outside and closed the bay door.

He turned the lights and siren on and made a left turn out of the driveway. Traffic was moving both to the left and the right to try and get out of his way. Josh dodged the stopped cars and made a right turn onto the highway. After about a quarter mile, he made another turn into a subdivision and turned off the siren. He left the flashing lights on as he pulled up to the address.

He grabbed the trauma bag and cardiac monitor and followed Dillon into the house. Inside, they found an elderly woman sitting on her couch. Her son and daughter-in-law were with her, clinging to one another for comfort, and the daughter-in-law said, “She’s cold. She was outside for a couple of hours today, and now, she just can’t get warm.”

Dillon ignored the daughter-in-law and knelt down in front of the patient. Josh started attaching the blood pressure cuff and cardiac monitor leads while Dillon questioned the older woman about how she was feeling. She repeated what the daughter-in-law had said, almost word for word, and Dillon asked about any recent fever, illness, or infection. Josh went back to the ambulance and retrieved a digital thermometer.

Dillon checked the woman’s temperature, which was normal. He asked, “Do you want to go to the hospital?”

“No, but my son thinks I should go, so I guess I’d better go.” She had enough snark left in her to roll her somewhat cloudy, blue eyes.

“Okay, let’s go this way out to the ambulance.” While Dillon helped the woman to her feet, Josh collected the trauma bag and monitor and carried them back outside. He brought the stretcher out of the ambulance and met them at the front porch with it. He lowered the stretcher for the woman to sit on. When she was comfortably lying on the stretcher, Josh and Dillon buckled the straps and covered her with a blanket. Dillon re-attached the cardiac monitor.

The transport to the hospital was uneventful. When they arrived, Josh and Dillon wheeled the stretcher into the ER, and the charge nurse directed them to a room. The patient moved herself from the stretcher to the bed, and Josh took the empty stretcher back outside to clean it up and prepare it for the next patient, while Dillon remained in the room to give his report to the nurse and collect signatures.

Josh waited patiently for Dillon to come back outside. While he waited, he scrolled through his social media on his phone. Just as he was reading the fourth asinine post, this one from some woman he vaguely remembered from high school, Dillon opened the passenger side door and climbed inside. Josh drove them back to the station and parked the ambulance in the bay.

After dinner, Josh helped the firemen clear the table and wash the dishes. Dillon went back to his bedroom and closed the door.

Josh made his bed and got ready to lay down for the night. He turned on the TV and watched for a while before he started to feel sleepy again. He switched the TV off and drifted off to sleep, silently praising himself for making it to his own bed this time.

He was awakened again by the tones, just after midnight. “Medic 4 respond. Golden Years Nursing and Rehab for a 75-year-old female, possible stroke.”

Josh climbed out of bed cursing the day he chose to become an EMT. These calls were typically bullshit, and the staff at the nursing home couldn’t tell the difference between a stroke and normal signs of aging.

He met Dillon at the truck and once again pulled out of the bay, lights and siren on. When he was about a block away from the nursing home, he turned off the lights and siren. He pulled into the parking lot and stopped in front of the door. Josh got out and removed the stretcher from the ambulance. He and Dillon rolled the stretcher through the lobby to the nurse’s station.

There was no nurse on duty on this floor after 7:00 PM. It was just a single nurse aide, who was standing at the desk. Josh was taken aback when he saw her, because he hadn’t expected to see someone this good-looking in such a dumpy nursing home. She was petite, about 5’5”, and Josh guessed around 110 pounds. She was about twenty, and Josh thought she was one of the most gorgeous women he had seen in a long time. Judging by the sparkle in her eyes and the coy smile on her lips, she was equally attracted to Josh.

She handed Dillon a stack of paperwork and directed them to the patient’s room. Josh wished Dillon wasn’t walking behind her because he was blocking Josh’s view of her ass.

When they reached the patient’s room, Dillon went inside and Josh paused at the door.

Dillon examined the patient, his bored voice conveying a doubt that mirrored Josh’s. She was awake, alert, and oriented. She had no visible facial drooping, no slurred speech, and no weakness to either side of her body. Dillon turned to the nurse aide and asked, “What made you think she was having a stroke?”

“She requested to go to the hospital. She said she thought she was having a stroke,” the aide replied. Josh stared at her breasts. She saw him and held out her name tag for him to read. It said “Cheyenne.” Josh’s face went pink at being caught, but he was thankful that she hadn’t caught on to his true intent.

Josh helped Dillon load the woman onto the stretcher, and they walked back out to the ambulance. He thanked Cheyenne for her help on the way out the door, which she returned with an airy smile and a tiny wave.

In the ambulance, Dillon was getting vital signs, and Josh asked, “Does she have a history of diabetes?”

“I don’t know,” said Dillon, “it’s not in her paperwork.”

“I’m going to go find out.” Josh replied.

Thankful for the excuse, he exited the ambulance and went back into the nursing home. He found Cheyenne at the nurse’s desk and asked, “Hey, does she have a history of diabetes?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll check her chart. It’s in the copy room. Right this way.” She led the way into the copy room, holding the door for Josh. She selected a chart from the rack and carried it to a table. She leafed through the pages, while Josh studied her from behind.

She had a perfectly round butt, with long, brownish-blonde hair that reached halfway down her back. Josh moved in closer to her, pretending to read over her shoulder. She took a half-step backward, making contact with the front of Josh’s body. He put his hands on her hips, and she ground her butt suggestively against his crotch.

Josh rested his chin on her shoulder, and she turned her head slightly, their lips only millimeters apart. He kissed her, and she kissed him back. It was a deep kiss, full of passion and lust.

Josh broke the kiss first, albeit begrudgingly, once he remembered that he was on the clock. “I’ve got to get back outside,” he said.

“I understand. I’m here the next three nights, if you want to come back,” she said.

He waited a couple of second to nod, trying not to look as eager as he felt, and hurried out the door to the truck. He opened the side door and said, “No history of diabetes that we could find in her chart.”

“Thanks. We’re ready to go.” Dillon sounded a little perturbed that Josh was gone so long, but for once, he didn’t voice his doubts, for which Josh couldn’t have been more grateful.

Josh got in the driver’s seat and put the ambulance in gear. He was still giddy from the encounter he’d just had. As he drove, feelings of guilt began to creep into his consciousness. He was, after all, a married man. And she was young enough to be his child. He worried that she might be feeling regret. What if she called HR? Or the police? But what if she didn’t regret it? What if she really meant it when she invited him to come back? Should he? Would he?

They arrived at the hospital, and Josh tried to push the incident from his mind. He had a job to do. He helped Dillon unload the stretcher and carry the patient inside, where they transferred her to a hospital bed. Josh took the empty stretcher back outside. His mind swirled with thoughts once again. It had been a very pleasant encounter, and he wouldn’t mind doing it again. He decided that if the opportunity presented itself again, he would take advantage of it, but he wasn’t going to seek her out.

It was a silent ride back to the station. Dillon was still working on his report, and Josh was thinking of Cheyenne. When they got back, Josh parked the ambulance in the bay and plugged it in. Then, he went to his bedroom and stripped off his uniform.

As he lay there in bed, he thought about her. The smell of her shampoo, the faint scent of her perfume, he could smell them as if she was in the room with him. He pictured her shapely thighs, her perky breasts. He was tired, and thinking of her was making him aroused, so he wrapped himself back up in the sleeping bag and faded off to sleep, hoping to dream of her.

Josh was awakened by the tones again. “Medic 4 respond. General ER, bed 3. Transfer patient back to Golden Years.”

He struggled out of his sleeping bag, pulled his pants and boots back on, and slipped his shirt over his head. At this time of night, to hell with tucking it in, he thought.

“Medic 4 responding,” he said into the radio as he pulled out of the bay. He was fairly certain it would be the same patient he had taken in earlier. And that meant the same nurse aide would be on duty when he went back into the nursing home. His pulse quickened at the thought of seeing her again.

When they arrived at the ER, the charge nurse told them that the patient had not had a stroke, and she was being discharged back to the nursing home. Josh and Dillon loaded the patient onto the stretcher, and this time, Josh rode in the back with the patient. Since it was just a discharge back to the nursing home, it didn’t require Dillon’s higher level of care. Josh had his report written by the time they arrived, and when they entered the facility, he was looking for Cheyenne, hoping to see her again. They dropped the patient off in her bed, and Dillon took the stretcher outside to clean it, while Josh searched for the nurse. He had to go to the second floor to find one. He gave the report to the nurse and obtained her signature, then rode the elevator back down to the first floor.

This time, he found Cheyenne sitting at the nurse’s desk. “Hey, you,” he said.

“Hi,” she responded.

“We brought Mrs. Goodman back.”

“I saw that. The nurse is upstairs.”

“I know. I already got her signature.”

“Cool. I was hoping you would come back.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Josh moved around the desk and looked both ways to make sure no one could see them. He leaned down to kiss her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They kissed deeply, and he caressed her back, sliding his hands underneath her scrub top. She moaned softly, and he broke the kiss.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go. Dillon’s going to get suspicious and come looking for me.”

“I understand. But if you’re back this way, you should come see me.”

“I will. What time do you get off work in the morning?”

“7:00. I work from 7:00 to 7:00.”

“That’s the same time I get off. We should get together after work.”

“What do you have in mind?” She lifted her chin and stared at him through her long eyelashes.

“Well, why don’t we start with breakfast and see where it goes from there.”

“That sounds fantastic. Pick me up here at 7:00?”

“Will do. See you then.”

“See you.” She kissed him on the cheek as he was turning to leave.

Dillon was waiting in the driver’s seat when Josh got back in the ambulance. “That took a while,” he noted.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I had to go to the second floor just to find a nurse.”

“That sounds about right. It’s stupid for them to only have one nurse on duty at night for three floors of patients.”

When they got back to the station and got the ambulance parked, Josh stumbled back into his bedroom, stripped off his uniform again and wrapped himself back up in the sleeping bag. He’d had an eventful night, and he was feeling tired. He was asleep within seconds of hitting the pillow.

The next morning, Josh slept late. He was awakened by Dillon knocking on his bedroom door. Dillon poked his head inside the room and said, “Hey, it’s time to go home.”

Josh leapt out of bed and threw his clothes on. He rolled up his sleeping bag and packed his belongings back into his duffel bag. He quickly clocked out and ran out the door. Usually, he would stay and socialize, at least for a few minutes, but he had a date for breakfast.

He pulled into the parking lot of the nursing home and stood beside his car, waiting for Cheyenne to come outside. When she did, she had a look of disappointment on her face.

“We have a mandatory staff meeting this morning,” she said.

Biting disappointed raced through him, but he was determined not to let her see it. It wasn’t her fault, and she seemed to feel bad about it enough without him adding to it. “No worries. We can reschedule.”

“When do you work again?”

“Day after tomorrow. You?”

“I work tonight and tomorrow night. I’ll be off the day after tomorrow.”

“Why don’t you give me your number, and I’ll text you. Maybe you can come by the station, and I’ll show you around.”

“That sounds like fun.” She took his phone and programmed her number into his contacts before handing it back to him.

“There. Now you have my number. And I have to get back inside before this meeting starts.”

“Okay. I’ll text you.”

She turned around and went back inside the nursing home.

Josh got back in his car and drove home. Lisa was already gone to work, so he went straight to the shower. He caught himself singing under the falling water, and he felt happier than he had in a long time.

Chapter Two

Cheyenne sat through the boring staff meeting. The nurse manager was talking about wound care, which primarily applied to the day shift nurses. She didn’t understand why the night shift aides had to stay for this.

Her thoughts drifted to the EMT who came in last night. He wasn’t especially tall, about average height, but he was proportionate, with brown hair and deep brown eyes. When they had first made eye contact, she felt lost and a fluttering in her stomach. He was older, probably old enough to be her dad, but that was okay with her. He was a good-looking man, especially with his sharp EMS uniform, and Cheyenne loved men in uniform.

She thought about their first kiss. When he stepped up behind her in the copy room, she wasn’t expecting anything, but she was happy that he had moved in close to her. He felt warm, strong, and inviting. She had deliberately bumped into him and felt positively giddy when he kissed her.

She warned herself to be careful. She could easily fall for this man. He had on a ring, so she assumed he was married. That would be a problem. She’d never been involved with a married man before, and she wasn’t too keen about being a home wrecker.

She also didn’t want anyone at work finding out. For starters, her co-workers were some of the most judgmental people she’d ever met. They would gossip about anybody, and they were never forgiving or understanding.

The meeting finally ended, and Cheyenne clocked out. She drove home, still thinking about her dreamy EMT. Married or not, he was hot and she wanted to be with him. She realized that she didn’t even know his name. He hadn’t said, and she hadn’t read his name tag.

It really didn’t matter. What mattered was that he was a hot, older man, who was as attracted to her as she was to him.

Cheyenne parked her car at her apartment complex and walked doggedly to her door. She was tired from working for twelve hours, then having to stay over for a staff meeting. She only had six hours to sleep and shower before she had to go back to work tonight.

She quickly ate a bowl of cereal. She looked around at her sparsely furnished apartment. She didn’t make much money as a nurse aide, and decorating her home just wasn’t in her budget. She was ashamed of the way her home looked, and she rarely invited anyone over. On the occasion that someone did drop by, it was a friend from work who could understand the struggles of a single woman who could barely afford rent.

She dumped the rest of the milk down the sink and washed her dishes. The feeling of exhaustion was getting stronger. She was barely able to stand long enough to take a shower, and when she climbed into the bed, she fell asleep almost immediately.

It was 6:00 pm when she woke up. “Shit!” she exclaimed as she jumped out of the bed. She only had an hour to get to work. She threw on a clean pair of scrubs and was in the middle of brushing her hair when she remembered the handsome EMT. She checked her phone. No messages. She was disappointed, but she had to rush to get ready for work. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and took her time applying her makeup. He wouldn’t be back tonight, but just in case, she wanted to look her best.

Finally prepared, she left the apartment at 6:52. She would be late, and the day shift aides would have to stay late until she got there. They were all going to be pissed off at her.

She drove as fast as she dared through the city streets. She rushed into the nursing home and clocked in at 7:05. She saw the glares of the day shift aides as they hurried out the door.

Cheyenne sat down behind the nurse’s station. She had a list of chores to be done that night, including picking up dinner trays and bathing some of her patients.

She checked the log. The last round was done fifteen minutes ago. Every two hours, Cheyenne would have to make rounds and check on every patient. Since many of them were incontinent, whether from loss of muscle control or from dementia, their beds would need to be changed. It usually took her the full two hours to do it by herself, and by the time she finished a round, it was time to start the next one.

During the day, rounds took about fifteen minutes, because there were multiple aides and they all helped each other. But at night, it was just Cheyenne and thirty patients. She guessed she had better get started.

Cheyenne started at the rooms closest to the nurse’s station. She collected the dinner trays and made a note of how much each patient had eaten. She hated this part of her job, much more than wiping butts or changing beds. She had to estimate the percentage of food and drink that each patient had consumed during their dinner. Those estimates would be written in the patient’s chart, so that the nurses, care planners, and physicians could tell if someone wasn’t eating or wasn’t eating enough.

She kept notes on a paper towel stuffed in her pocket. She placed the trays on a rolling rack in the hallway. Once she was finished, an aide from the dietary department would come collect the racks.

By the time Cheyenne had finished the dinner trays and transferred her notes from the paper towel to the patient charts, it was time to start her first rounds. She decided she would bathe one patient per round, until she had done the required five. Before she began, she checked her phone. Still no text.

She started again at the rooms closest to the nurse’s station. She checked on each patient, most of whom had dementia or severe mobility issues, and had to be changed and turned to prevent bedsores from lying in one place too long. Cheyenne checked her phone after every five rooms or so. No texts. After midnight, she decided that he must be asleep and would not be texting her tonight. She put her phone back at the nurse’s station and continued her rounds.

Chapter Three

Josh didn’t text Cheyenne during his two days off. He thought about her all the time, but he didn’t want to appear over-eager. He had been careful with his demeanor around Lisa since he didn’t want her getting suspicious. Not that she paid much attention to him, anyway, not unless she needed him for something.

When he arrived at work for his next shift, Josh sat his bag in the hallway outside his bedroom door. He performed his ritual inspection of the ambulance, and this time, he was completely finished by the time Dillon arrived for work.

They had breakfast with the firemen, and Josh helped clean up afterward like he usually did. He had just settled down on the couch in front of the television when the tones went off.

“Fuck!” he yelled.

“Medic 4 respond. 1991 Highway 72 North. 30-year-old male, homicidal ideations, stage for police.”

Josh walked out to the bay and climbed in the ambulance, Dillon trailing right behind him and looking just as excited to get started on another day’s work.

“Medic 4, en-route,” Josh said into the radio.

“Medic 4, stage for police. 30-year-old male, homicidal ideations.”

Since it was a hurry-up-and-wait situation, as in hurry up and get there so you can wait for the police to make sure there are no weapons involved, there was no need for the lights and siren. Josh navigated to the address and parked about a block and a half away. After about ten minutes, the dispatcher came over the radio again.

“Medic 4, you can cancel, per police on scene.”

What a waste of time. Josh hated that aspect of the job the most. His priority should be real emergencies, real situations that needed his attention, not ones about little, old ladies getting too old or men wanting to pretend they were tougher than they actually were. He put the ambulance in gear and drove back to the station. He parked the ambulance and plugged it in, then returned to the couch. He flipped through the TV channels and saw a movie he was interested in watching. He’d just started the movie when the tones went off again.

“Medic 4, respond. 12875 Hwy 72 South, at the interstate. The location is going to be at the truck stop. Welfare check.”

Josh was getting angrier and angrier. This was the police department’s job, not EMS. He stormed back out to the ambulance, unplugged it and said into the radio, “Medic 4 responding.”

Dillon was dragging his feet. When he was finally inside the ambulance and buckling his seatbelt, Josh put the ambulance in gear and pulled out of the bay.

Again, they did not use the lights or siren to respond to the truck stop. Welfare checks ended either in a cancellation or a dead body. Either way, there was no cause for them to hurry.

When they arrived at the truck stop, they located the missing truck and knocked on the door. A sleepy, grizzled driver opened the door and said, “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, call your dispatcher,” said Dillon. “They called us because they couldn’t get ahold of you.” His snappish tone made it clear just how much he didn’t want to be there, and the driver grimaced in response.

“Oh man. I’m sorry about that,” the driver said. “I’ll call them right now and check in.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Dillon turned around and walked back to the ambulance. Josh followed.

“Medic 4 dispatch,” Josh said into the radio.

“Go ahead, Medic 4,” came the reply.

“We’re back in service, everything is 10-4 here.”

“Copy that, Medic 4. Show you back in service.”

As he drove them back to the station, Josh’s thoughts were of Cheyenne. He wanted to text her, if only dispatch would leave them alone long enough. As they drove, the tones sounded again.

“Medic 4 respond, 501 Western Boulevard for a psychiatric evaluation.”

“Fuck!” Josh swore again. This time, Dillon answered the radio and said, “Medic 4, en-route.”

Josh did a U-turn and went back the way they had come. He turned onto Western Boulevard and pulled into the parking lot of a department store. It was easy to locate the patient, as she was standing with police officers in front of the store.

One of the officers walked up to the ambulance as Dillon and Josh got out. “We’ve got an elderly woman, obviously with Alzheimer’s or some type of dementia, wandering around the parking lot. She doesn’t know where she is or how she got here, doesn’t have any ID on her, doesn’t know where her family is or how to contact them.”

“So, what do you want us to do with her?” Dillon asked. Josh was thankful that Dillon was the more talkative one in cases like this. That way, Josh could have his views expressed without being the one coming off looking like a jerk.

“I don’t know. Take her to the hospital?”

“For what? Dementia is not an emergency. You guys are fine for missing persons, but you sure as hell suck when a person isn’t missing.”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do until someone reports her missing.”

Dillon gestured for Josh to go into the store while remaining there with the patient and the officers. Josh went in and asked a cashier to page the woman’s description overhead. A woman in the checkout line said, “That’s my mother!”

Josh went over to the woman and told her that her mother was found wandering in the parking lot. She said, “I’m so sorry. She was supposed to stay in the car while I was in the store. I’ll be right out there to get her.”

Josh walked back outside, to the officers and Dillon. He said, “I found her daughter in the store. She’s on her way.”

When the daughter came outside, she identified her mother and took her back to the car, all the while whisper-yelling about how she was supposed to have stayed put. Josh and Dillon rolled their eyes at the cops’ incompetence and climbed back inside the ambulance, Josh keying the radio microphone. “Medic 4 dispatch.”

“Go ahead, Medic 4.”

“We’re back in service. False call.”

“Copy that, Medic 4. Show you back in service.” Josh replaced the microphone on its hook and drove back to the station.

Dillon went back to his room, and Josh sat down on the couch again. His movie was almost over. Fuck it, he decided. He pulled out his phone and started a text message to Cheyenne. “Want to come to the station tonight?”

“Sure” was the reply. Josh’s heart was pounding in his chest. Having her over at the station would be risky. Dillon could catch them at any moment, not to mention any one of the firemen, though that option wasn’t as likely The station was divided into quarters for fire on one side and EMS on the other. They were joined by a shared kitchen and dining area, but the firemen rarely crossed over to the EMS side of the building. Dillon was a bigger risk, but he barely left his room while they weren’t on the job, so there was a good chance he wouldn’t notice—which was the only reason Josh was willing to risk it.

If Josh got caught with a visitor at the station after-hours, he could lose his job. Before he could text her again, the tones went off.

“Medic 4 respond. Western Boulevard at Toledo Street. Police are requesting EMS at a traffic stop.”

Fucking worthless cops. Josh felt his frustration and rage building. His face felt flushed, and he could feel the throbbing of the vein in his forehead.

He gave a deep sigh. It was his job, after all. But why did the police have to make his job so much harder? He walked back out to the ambulance, right behind Dillon.

“Medic 4, en-route,” Josh said. He pulled the ambulance out onto the street and turned on the lights and siren.

When they arrived, they saw a small pickup truck that had been pulled over by the police. The officer walked up to the ambulance and met Dillon at his door.

“This guy might just be drunk, but there’s no containers in his vehicle, and he swears he hasn’t been drinking. He doesn’t remember how he got here, or where he came from. I’d like for you guys to do a psych eval and check him out.”

Dillon walked up to the suspect. “Hey, buddy. Do you want to go to the hospital?”

“Yes.” The man nodded quickly. Josh would bet that the guy was relieved to get out of there, but it did little to calm Josh’s frayed nerves.

“Okay. Let’s go.” Dillon walked him to the ambulance and had the patient sit on the stretcher. Josh buckled him in, while Dillon got his vital signs. Dillon signaled that he was ready to go, and Josh got out of the ambulance and walked around to the driver’s door. He drove them to the hospital, then helped Dillon unload the stretcher and carry the man inside. They stayed there for their usual routine, which took longer than expected due to a room shortage, and by the time they made it out, it was already dark outside. They headed back to the station, where they went their separate ways once again.

That night, Cheyenne arrived at the station around 11:00 PM. Josh checked on Dillon and found him fast asleep in his room. The firemen were quiet, their side of the building was dark, and no one stirred when Josh peeked in to investigate.

Josh met her in the parking lot. He led her into the bay through a side door to prevent opening the entrance door closer to Dillon’s room.

“Want to see the inside of the ambulance?” he asked her.

“Sure,” she replied.

Josh opened the rear door, and they both climbed inside. He shut the door behind them. “This is it,” he said, gesturing his arms to the not-so grand or impressive space. She only took a small look around before she focused her attention back onto him.

“So, it occurred to me,” she said, “that you never told me your name.”

“I’m Josh.” He chuckled, feeling stupid. How had he forgotten something so simple as telling her his name, when he’d already kissed her twice?

She looked through the clear plastic cabinet doors at the supplies and equipment inside. “What are these?” she asked, pointing to a set of leather straps.

“Those are restraints, for the violent and combative patients.”

“How do they work?” she asked coyly. Josh didn’t need to be asked twice.

Josh removed them from the cabinet and fastened them around her wrists and ankles. He then secured the loose ends to the stretcher, effectively restraining all four limbs. She smiled at him suggestively, and he felt hot. He felt himself trembling inside, nervous, because he knew he shouldn’t be doing this.

He never got the chance to take it any farther. The tones sounded overhead, followed by “Medic 4 respond. 1802 West Wind Circle, apartment B-3. 68-year-old male, abdominal pain.”

Josh panicked, his skin immediately feeling tight and his pulse getting faster. He couldn’t afford to get caught with a visitor in the station after-hours.

“You have to leave, right now,” he said.

“Okay. Just untie me.” She didn’t seem to grasp the severity of the situation since she still gave him a small smile, but at least she wasn’t refusing to leave.

Josh hit the quick-release latch on the restraints, and Cheyenne jumped up from the stretcher. She scurried out the door to the bay, and as she was leaving, she called out to him, “Text me when you’re done.”

Josh gave her a thumbs-up. He frantically removed the restraints from the stretcher, rolled them up, and put them back in the cabinet.

Dillon walked into the bay just as Josh was putting away the last set of restraints. He jumped out of the ambulance quickly and closed the doors.

“Medic 4 responding,” he said into the radio as he climbed into the cab. He couldn’t hide his frustration that his visit with Cheyenne had been cut short.

He pulled the ambulance outside and closed the bay door behind him. Lights flashing and siren blaring, he drove to the caller’s address.

When they arrived, they found an elderly man sitting in his recliner. He didn’t appear to be in any discomfort. Dillon asked, “What’s wrong with you tonight?”

Josh chuckled to himself. Dillon could be a bit of dick sometimes, but it wasn’t his fault. He never learned proper social interactions, and as a result, his attempts were sometimes quite funny.

“Can’t poop,” the man replied.

“When was the last time you had a bowel movement?” Dillon asked.

“‘Bout an hour ago.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“Can’t poop.”

“But you already did.”

“Wasn’t enough.”

Dillon gave a resigned sigh. “Do you want to go to the hospital?” he asked.

“Yep.” The man wasn’t keen on words, and Josh suspected there might be some developmental issues.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

“I can’t walk.” Josh looked around the house. He saw no walkers, canes or other mobility devices, meaning that in order to get to and from his chair, the man would have to have walked.

“How else do you suppose you’re going to get to the ambulance?” Dillon was really irritated now.

The man stood from his chair and walked to the door just fine. Dillon and Josh stepped outside so he could lock the door. Dillon led the way to the ambulance, followed by the patient, and Josh brought up the rear.

They all entered the ambulance through the side door. The patient sat on the stretcher, and Josh buckled him in while Dillon checked his vital signs. Dillon signaled that he was ready to go.

“You want me to take this one?” Josh asked.

“Nah, I got it,” Dillon responded.

Josh went around the truck to get in the driver’s seat. As he drove to the hospital, his thoughts were of Cheyenne. He was frustrated that their visit had been cut short, especially since he was pretty sure she wanted what was about to happen just as much as he did. He also felt like he dodged a bullet. They came so close to getting caught.

Chapter Four

Cheyenne sat in her car in the fire station parking lot. Josh. His name was Josh. She said it out loud. She was disappointed that she had to leave so quickly, but she understood that he would get into trouble if she was caught there after-hours.

She assumed the reason he hadn’t invited her during the day was to keep his co-workers from asking questions, or maybe even telling his wife about Cheyenne.

Even though she knew it was wrong to be involved with a married man, Cheyenne was still excited about the secrecy, and doing something that was forbidden thrilled her. She’d always been a good girl, even skipped the rebellious teenager phase, and she stayed at home and studied while her friends partied. After high school, she had gone to a summer training program for nurse aides, with the intention of working while she paid her way through college. That had not worked out the way she planned, and now, she was working to support herself, with no time or money for college.

Another thing she didn’t have time for was dating. She felt lucky to have met Josh, because work was really the only place where she had a chance to interact with other people. On her days off, Cheyenne had to care for her ailing grandfather. Her family assumed that, since she had nursing training, she would be the best person to take care of him, twenty-four hours a day.

Sitting with her grandfather wasn’t really a chore. He was mostly independent, he just needed someone to be there in case he fell. It had been hard on him since her grandmother died. But it wasn’t fair to Cheyenne, either. She had twenty-two aunts, uncles, and cousins, but none of them stayed with her grandfather unless she had to work. And now, she needed to get back to him.

Cheyenne tried to suppress her disappointment about her visit with Josh being cut short. At least she got to see him, even if it was only for a few minutes. And she knew that he was interested in her as well. The sexual tension in the back of that ambulance had been palpable. Before the tones went off, Cheyenne had seen the look in Josh’s eyes, seeing her tied down to the stretcher, and she thought he was about to have sex with her.

The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became. They had been so close, and Cheyenne was willing to go all the way with Josh. She’d been overly flirtatious, partly because she was very attracted to him and partly because she didn’t know how to tone it down. Subtlety was not her strong suit.

After watching the ambulance leave the station, Cheyenne started her car and drove to her grandfather’s house. The house was dark, and he was most likely in bed. She walked up the darkened path and unlocked the front door.

As she opened the door, she heard the calls for help coming from the bathroom. She dropped her purse and ran to the bathroom door. Her grandfather was lying on the floor, calling out for someone to help him.

“I’m here, Grandpa. What happened?”

“I was trying to go pee and I fell.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No, I don’t think so. I just can’t get up.”

“Here, let me help you.”

Cheyenne wrapped her arms under his and lifted, while he pushed against the wall with his feet. Within seconds, he was standing again.

“Here, let’s get you back to bed,” Cheyenne said. “Where is Sean anyway? He’s supposed to be here with you.”

“Sean left about an hour ago. Said he had something to do.”

“An hour ago? And he didn’t call me? I would have come right back over if he had told me he was leaving. I’m so sorry, Grandpa.”

“It’s not your fault, baby girl. You can’t be expected to always be here with your old Grandpa. You need to go out and live your life. And Sean needs to do the same.”

Sean was Cheyenne’s first cousin. He had agreed to stay with Grandpa while Cheyenne ran some errands. She didn’t tell him that she was meeting a man, just like he didn’t tell anybody that he was leaving Grandpa alone, most likely to score some heroin. His addiction was fairly obvious to her, but the rest of the family didn’t, or maybe couldn’t, acknowledge it.

Cheyenne escorted Grandpa back to bed and put his urinal within reach in case he needed to get up again. She then took her place on the couch and lay down to sleep. She was so furious she was shaking. How dare Sean leave Grandpa alone without at least telling her? If he came back tonight, he was in for one hell of an ass chewing.

Chapter Five

Josh woke suddenly, from what, he wasn’t sure. He rolled over, expecting to feel Lisa in the bed beside him. She wasn’t there. Was he at work, just thinking he was home? He opened his eyes. No, this was his bedroom at home. He turned on the bedside lamp. Sure enough, Lisa was gone.

He checked the clock. It was 4:00 AM. Where could she have gone so early, and why didn’t she wake him? He got out of bed and went over to his dresser. He unplugged his phone from the charger. No new messages. He looked in the bathroom. All of her things were neatly put away. He checked the closet. Some of her clothes, and her suitcase were missing. Had she left him? Did she know about Cheyenne?

He sat down on the bed. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if Lisa had left him. At least he could put this dying marriage out of its misery. Thankfully, they had never had children. She would undoubtedly get everything in a divorce. Even if he were to get the house, there’s no way he could afford it on his government salary. No, Lisa was definitely the money-maker in their marriage.

The fact that she made more money than him was something she lorded over him. She never passed up an opportunity to remind him that it was “her money,” and that his money didn’t amount to anything in their household finances. The end result was that he had about $56,000 per year to spend however he wanted. He didn’t mind that part. He had a pickup truck that was paid for, a workshop full of tools that were paid for, a man-cave with all the latest tech and gadgets, and he was saving to buy an RV.

He knew Lisa didn’t love him. Not since she graduated college. Back in the early days, he had worked two jobs to support the both of them while she went to school. But once she got her degree and went to work, making $225,000 per year, her first and only love was the money. Josh was just someone she tolerated because she was already married to him.

She definitely felt like he was beneath her. He was never invited to their office parties, and when she had friends or guests over to their house, it was only when Josh was working.

An added insult was her rule regarding Josh’s friends. If any of them came over to the house, they were confined to the man-cave. They weren’t allowed to be anywhere else in the house. Josh had resisted the rule when she first announced it, but after her insistence, he had relented. Josh’s friends finally just stopped coming over altogether.

Josh’s mind returned to the question: where had Lisa gone? He looked in the kitchen and found a note on the dining room table. “Gone to LA for work conference. Back in 8 days.”

So, that’s where she was. She would be gone for eight whole days, and all Josh got was a note, likely left as an afterthought on her way out the door.

Josh took his time getting ready for work. As he was brushing his teeth, he noticed Lisa’s wedding ring sitting in a tray of jewelry on the bathroom sink.

When he arrived at work, Josh was still thinking about the wedding ring being left behind. He checked the truck, but his mind wasn't really on his work. He wondered if Lisa was cheating on him. Of course, there could be a very innocent explanation, but the most obvious one was that Lisa was cheating. Josh felt betrayed, even though he himself was interested in another woman.

Dillon arrived, late as usual, and helped Josh finish checking the truck. By the time they were finished, the firefighters had breakfast ready. Josh wasn't hungry, but he knew he needed to eat, if nothing else then to keep anyone from figuring out that something was wrong. Dillon ate hungrily while Josh picked at his food. He finally finished his breakfast and washed his and Dillon's dishes.

Josh was just settling down in front of the TV when the tones went off. “Medic 4 respond. 1800 Tiger Lane, apartment B-7. 79-year-old male, fall.”

Dillon had been walking back to his bedroom and turned on his heels to go toward the bay. Josh stood and followed him. He unplugged the truck and raised the bay door. “Medic 4 responding,” he said into the radio.

He steered the ambulance out onto the street and turned on the lights and siren. Normally, Josh would have been aggravated by the erratic and unpredictable actions of the other drivers on the road, but today, he just didn't care. He zig-zagged around them, keeping his speed slow but steady. When the road was clear, he accelerated. If Dillon noticed anything was off, he didn’t say it. Josh, once again, said a silent thanks to the universe that they paired him with the perfect partner.

When they arrived at the apartment building, Josh put on his gloves and stepped out of the ambulance. He located apartment B-7 on the second floor and knocked on the door. “It's unlocked,” came a response from inside. Josh opened the door and walked inside. The light was on in the bedroom, and that's where Josh found his patient. The man was laying on the floor, on his back, with a purple contusion forming on his forehead.

“What happened?” Josh asked.

“I was getting ready to take a bath. I must have spilled some water onto the floor, because I slipped and hit my head on the tub. I was able to crawl out here, but this is as far as I could go. My back hurts.”

“Any pain in your head or neck?”

“No, just my back.”

“Okay. Let's get you off the floor, and then we'll get you downstairs to the ambulance.”

Dillon retrieved a chair from the kitchen table. They stood the man up and helped him ease himself down into the chair. “How do you feel now?” Dillon asked.

“My back still hurts.”

“Okay. I want you to hold on to the edges of the chair. We're going to carry the chair, with you in it, down the stairs. Don't grab onto anything but the chair.”

Josh and Dillon lifted the chair and carried the man down the stairs to the ambulance. Josh pulled out the stretcher, and they lifted the man by his arms and legs onto it. While Dillon buckled the straps across the man, Josh carried the chair back to his kitchen and locked his apartment door.

By the time he got back to the ambulance, Dillon had loaded the stretcher and begun checking the man's vital signs. He signaled to Josh that he was ready to go, so Josh got in the driver's seat.

During the trip to the hospital, Josh couldn't help but think about Lisa. In a way, he hoped she was cheating on him, and that she would just finally file for divorce. That would let him see Cheyenne guilt free. But on the other hand, he had been married to Lisa for so long, he didn't want to see their marriage end. He was conflicted, and he did feel a little betrayed, but not as much as he expected he would.

They arrived at the hospital. Josh helped Dillon unload the stretcher and carry the elderly man inside, then he returned to clean up the empty stretcher. His thoughts were now with Cheyenne. His heart beat faster at the thought of her. She was truly a beautiful woman. Josh wondered what a magnificent looking woman like her saw in a guy like him.

Dillon returned, and Josh finished cleaning up the ambulance. He drove back to the station and parked, plugging in the truck to keep the batteries charged.

That night, Cheyenne texted Josh. She was at work and would not be able to come by. He felt let down because he was hoping to finish what was started on her last visit. He messaged her back and told her not to worry. He thought about Lisa being out of town. Perhaps he could bring Cheyenne by the house, make her a nice dinner, and invite her to stay the night. Lisa would be gone for seven more days and would never know that Cheyenne had been there. He messaged her again, offering to cook for her and to let her stay the night with him. She readily accepted and sent back a smiley emoji.

Josh lay down in his bed, getting ready to go to sleep. After about thirty minutes, the tones went off. “Medic 4 respond. Golden Years Nursing and Rehab. 80-year-old male, catheter problems.”

Josh felt giddy. He would get to see Cheyenne after all. He quickly dressed and ran to the truck. He unplugged it, got in the driver's seat, and said, “Medic 4 responding.” Dillon came into the bay, slowly walking to the truck. Josh already had the ambulance started and in gear before Dillon could close his door. Josh drove them to the nursing home, trying to hide his excitement but failing as he noticed Dillon looking at him like he grown a second head.

When they arrived, Cheyenne met them at the door. She had a smile and a wink for Josh, but she barely acknowledged Dillon. She led them to the patient's room and said, “This is Mr. Nguyen. He said his catheter is causing him some pain. We've tried adjusting it, but he says it still hurts. Can you take him to the hospital and see if they will replace it for us?” Cheyenne batted her eyelashes sweetly.

Josh and Dillon loaded the man onto the stretcher. He had obvious dementia, and Josh doubted very seriously that he would even know it if he was in pain. They stopped by the nurse's station to pick up the paperwork. “It's not ready yet. I'm still working on making copies.” Cheyenne gestured toward the slow copy machine in the copy room. She said, “If you want to go ahead and load him up, I'll bring it out to you, or you can come back in and get it.”

“I'll come back for it.” Josh said. He was hoping for another chance to kiss her. He and Dillon walked outside and loaded the stretcher in the ambulance. “Do you need anything?” Josh asked Dillon.

Dillon shook his head “no.” He started checking the patient's vital signs, and Josh closed the door of the ambulance and walked back into the nursing home.

Cheyenne was standing in the copy room when he walked up behind her. He put his hands on her hips and kissed her cheek. She turned around, closing the door and locking it. As the slow copier steadily churned out paperwork, their lips met in a passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his around her waist. He held her tightly, and with his right hand, he reached down and squeezed her butt. It was firm and round. She did the same to him. He reached down with his other hand, grabbing both of her butt cheeks and lifting her onto the table. She shed her scrub top, revealing her bare breasts.

They had sex right there in the copy room, and when he was finished Josh pulled up his pants and smoothed out his uniform. The copier was long finished, and the pages already cooled. “Dillon is going to be looking for me,” he said in a panicked voice, not realizing how much time had passed until they were already done.

“I know. Here. Take the papers and go. Text me later.” She kissed him again, and he took the papers and hurried out the door.

He rushed to the ambulance and opened the back doors. “Finally,” Dillon said. “It took you long enough.”

“Sorry. That copier is slow as hell.”

Dillon didn’t let it go just yet. “I was beginning to wonder if you got lost.”

Josh chuckled nervously. He closed the door and went around to the driver's seat.

Chapter Six

Cheyenne sat down at the nurse's desk. She watched as Josh left the building, staring at his cute butt. She was still aroused by their encounter in the copy room.

She sighed. As much as she would love to sit and rest, she had to get back to work also. She had been in the middle of a round when she came across Mr. Nguyen and his urinary catheter. Of course, Mr. Nguyen had not said a word about it, he couldn't because of his dementia, but Cheyenne noticed that the catheter was looking dingy, and it needed to be replaced anyway. She had called for EMS to take him to the hospital and get it changed out, and just as she had hoped, her EMT was the one to respond. Her EMT. She liked the sound of that.

Cheyenne finished her round quickly and returned to the nurse's station. She pulled out her phone and searched through social media for Josh Barnow. He'd told her his first name, and his last name was on his name tag “J. Barnow, EMT.” She'd made sure to look at it this time. She found his profile and read it intently. Married, interested in reading and music, hobby was woodworking. She scrolled through his posts, mostly pictures of him in his workshop. It was a nice workshop, and what few pictures she saw of his house were nice.

She ran a Google search using his name. She wanted to learn as much about him as she could. Very few results came up, as he didn't have much of an online presence. No criminal records came up, which she already figured given his career. She did find his telephone number and home address. She entered those into his contact information in her phone.

It was time to start another round. Cheyenne put her phone down and left the nurse's station. As she went around the patient rooms, she became resentful that she had to be apart from Josh. She thought it was unfair that they had to work when they should be spending time together. She remembered his offer to cook dinner and let her spend the night. That was all it took to make her ecstatic again, and she couldn't wait for the special night that the two of them would spend together.

She daydreamed while she worked, thinking that Josh would divorce his wife, and the two of them would get married, have kids, and live a perfect, dreamy life. It was a beautiful dream, and it made her work go faster. She imagined herself living in a beautiful home, his home, driving a new car, and caring for their two children. She would be a stay-at-home mom, keeping the house neat and her perfect husband, Mr. Josh Barnow, happy.

The next morning, Cheyenne was sitting at the nurse's station when the breakfast trays came out from the kitchen. They were early, and that meant she would have to start delivering trays, so that the patients could eat while the food was still hot. She was tired from her shift, and she would have to sleep at Grandpa's house today, since there was nobody else to sit with him. Cheyenne trudged toward the rack of trays when she saw the day shift aides coming in the door. Thankfully, they were on time and could hand out the breakfast trays for her and she could go home.

She clocked out, and as she started her car, her only thoughts were of Josh and the future Mrs. Josh Barnow.

Chapter Seven

Josh drove home the next morning, thinking about the quickie in the copy room the night before. It was his first time having sex in two years, and he was sure that was the reason he didn't last very long. He was self-conscious about that, and he regretted that the encounter had been so short-lived. He had wanted to take his time with her. Then again, it wasn’t like he could have taken hours to explore her body, not with Dillon waiting for him.

He tried to push the incident from his mind. He had projects to work on today since Lisa was gone and he would have some time to himself. He showered, changed clothes, and went to his workshop. Balanced on two sawhorses was the table he was making. It was a picnic-style table with two long benches instead of chairs. It was made of pine, and he was almost finished with it. He just had to finish attaching the legs, sand it down again, and apply the clear-coat to the top.

He took his phone out of his pocket and put it on the charger on the workbench. The sander would be so loud that he wouldn't hear it anyway. He finished attaching the legs to the table and screwed them in securely. Then, he fitted himself with a respirator mask and eye protection and fired up the sander. As he sanded, he cleared his mind. He concentrated on the task at hand, not worrying about Lisa or fantasizing about Cheyenne. It was just him and the table he was working on. He didn't hear the text tone going off on his phone. He wouldn't have acknowledged it even if he had.

When he stopped about midway through the bottom side, he checked his phone for messages. He had twenty-seven missed texts, all from Cheyenne. “Hey.” “Hey.” “Are you there?” “I had a really good time last night.” “Hello?” “Can I come over tonight?” “Hello?” “Are you ignoring me?” The last message said, “Well, I guess you are busy. Text me later.” Josh was very annoyed that she had texted him so many times. If he hadn't answered the first text, what made her think he would answer the next twenty-six?

It was getting hot outside, and Josh’s workshop was not air conditioned. He used the air hose to blow off the sweat and dust that had accumulated on his skin and clothes, then replaced his mask and goggles on the peg board. Josh walked into the house and fixed himself a sandwich for lunch, then settled down in front of the big screen TV in the man-cave. He sat his phone beside him, putting it on silent. He was deliberately ignoring Cheyenne now, partly because he was annoyed with her and partly because he didn’t know what to say to her.

Josh heard an ambulance go past his house. He wondered what they were doing in his neighborhood. He peeked out the window just to see the back end of the ambulance disappear behind his neighbor’s fence. He walked out on the front porch and looked down the street. It had already turned, but Josh could still hear the siren. He shrugged his shoulders and went back inside the house.

He looked at his phone sitting on the couch. He decided that he could get past the minor annoyance of the twenty-seven text messages, and he opened the messaging app, found Cheyenne’s name and wrote “Want to come over tonight?” He paused, with his finger hovering over the send button. He pressed it.

Chapter Eight

Cheyenne couldn’t sleep. She had texted Josh multiple times, but he had yet to respond. She wondered what he was doing that was more important than answering her messages. Did he not enjoy himself last night? Was she not good enough? She tried to push the negative thoughts from her mind. Maybe he was just nervous and didn’t know what to say to her. Yes, that had to be it.

She resented the fact that she had to stay with Grandpa today. She wanted to be able to spend the day with Josh. She loved her Grandpa, but in his old age, he had become a burden. He couldn’t walk anymore, not without falling down, and he had to be waited on twenty-four hours a day. Bring me my breakfast, bring me my heart pills, get me some water. Cheyenne couldn’t bear it anymore. She needed sleep, and she deserved to have a life outside of this house, a life of her own.

That would never happen while Grandpa was still alive. Since Cheyenne was the only one in the family with nursing training, she had been nominated to be Grandpa’s full-time caregiver. Her cousins Sean and Tim stayed with Grandpa while Cheyenne was at work, but they couldn’t be counted on to cover for her for anything else, like a date.

On occasion her Aunt Peggy would stay with Grandpa during the day, so Cheyenne could go home and sleep. Aunt Peggy had a drug problem, and Grandpa’s pain pills tended to come up short after she stayed with him.

Grandpa wasn’t himself anymore. Cheyenne had memories of him teaching her to ride a bicycle, playing with her, and always being a wise and trusted friend when things were tough during her teenage years. But over the last couple of years, he had declined sharply. He was forgetful, and now, he couldn’t even walk to the bathroom by himself. Before long, he wouldn’t be able to feed himself.

Cheyenne thought that his existence must have been miserable. He had heart disease and was taking nitroglycerin pills daily for chest pain. He had arthritis in his knees and hips, which was probably why he kept falling, and he had the early stages of dementia. She knew that he would not be around much longer. She tried to be grateful for the time she had with him and knew that when he was gone, the rest of the family would lament not having spent more time with him. But it was hard to be grateful, especially when she was forced to spend time caring for him instead of being free to see Josh.

Sure, Grandpa would be okay with it if Cheyenne left for a while. Grandpa was understanding of her need to have a life of her own. It was Aunt Peggy and Cheyenne’s mom who wouldn’t be so understanding. Aunt Peggy would get especially nasty if Cheyenne left Grandpa alone, even to go to the grocery store or the pharmacy for Grandpa.

She felt the unfairness of the situation building to the point that she started to cry. She had been waiting for someone to come along and rescue her from this situation, but she realized that she would have to rescue herself. She got up from the couch and went into Grandpa’s room. He was sleeping in his bed, the oxygen machine humming steadily. She left him there and went to the bathroom. In the medicine chest, she found the little, brown bottle labeled “Nitroglycerin” and opened the lid. She poured the pills into the toilet and flushed. Then, she replaced the empty bottle. She crept into his bedroom and pressed the silence button on his oxygen machine before she switched it off, to prevent any alarms from sounding. The machine stopped humming.

Cheyenne went back to the couch to wait. Within a few minutes, she could hear Grandpa calling for help. She went into his bedroom, where he was clutching his chest. In a raspy voice, he said, “Bring me my heart pills.” Cheyenne went into the bathroom and brought him the empty bottle.

She watched as he opened the cap, and she saw the dismay on his face as he realized the bottle was empty. He lay his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes, knowing that this was the end. Cheyenne watched his labored breathing until it stopped. Remembering her CPR training, she checked her watch and sat on the edge of Grandpa’s bed for ten minutes. She felt for a pulse. Nothing. She switched the oxygen machine back on and went back to the couch. As she fell asleep, Cheyenne smiled. Now, there was no reason for Grandpa or any of the rest of the family to come between her and Josh.

Cheyenne was wakened by the sound of screaming. She leapt up from the couch and found Aunt Peggy standing beside Grandpa’s bed. She feigned surprise and sadness as Aunt Peggy told her that Grandpa was dead. She grabbed the phone and dialed 911. While she waited for the paramedics, Cheyenne looked up Josh’s address on her GPS app. He lived only a couple of blocks from Grandpa, in a nice neighborhood.

She put the phone down and waited patiently until she heard the siren getting closer. Knowing that she needed to look sadder, the frown wouldn’t cut it in front of strangers or if Peggy happened to glance away from the body, she slammed her hand in a door to make herself cry. When the paramedics entered the house, Cheyenne pointed them to Grandpa’s bedroom, where Aunt Peggy was still sobbing beside the bed.

The paramedic confirmed that Grandpa was dead, and they zipped him up in a body bag. After they left, Cheyenne got in her car to drive home. There was a text message from Josh, asking her to come over tonight. All she needed a shower and a fresh change of clothes. She sang to herself as she drove. Grandpa was in a better place, and he would no longer be a burden to her or the rest of the family. He wouldn’t suffer anymore, no more chest pain, no more arthritis or dementia. And the best of all, she was going to have a date tonight. She just had one more text message to send, but she would need to do some research to find the number first.

Chapter Nine

Josh was waiting nervously when Cheyenne arrived at his home that night. He had prepared dinner, and he hoped she liked steak and grilled vegetables. He didn’t consider until too late that she might be vegan, and they had not discussed food preferences. Dinner was on the table, and the candles were lit with romantic saxophone music playing in the background. He was dressed in a nice suit, polished shoes, and he even wore a tie. He’d had to watch a YouTube video to learn how to tie the damn thing, but he finally got it right.

When she rang the doorbell, he answered promptly. She looked lovely, with her long, brownish-blonde hair falling around her soft face. Her blue eyes were so deep that he felt as though they were like the ocean, beautiful and mysterious. She was wearing a sun dress with a floral print and a pair of sandals. She looked at him and said, “Oh. I’m sorry. I feel so under-dressed. I didn’t realize it was a formal dinner.”

“It’s not. You’re perfect, just the way you are.”

“You look very handsome in that suit.”

“Thank you. I have dinner ready, if you’re hungry.”

“I’m famished. I haven’t eaten much at all in two days.”

“Well, come on in. Have a seat at the table and dig in. I made steak and grilled vegetables.”

“That sounds delicious.”

Josh showed her to the dining room and pulled out her chair for her before taking his own seat across the table.

“What a gentleman,” Cheyenne remarked. The grin on her face said she approved. So did the foot that she trailed up his thigh.

Josh smiled and served her a glass of wine. Tonight was a special occasion. Plus, she wouldn’t be driving.

“Oh, God.” Her face wrinkled as she tasted the wine.

“I guess you aren’t much of a wine-drinker?”

“This is my first time having any.”

“Seriously? This is your first time drinking?”

“Wine, yes.” Her smile turned into a slight pout, and she looked away in embarrassment.

Josh laughed out loud. “I’m sorry. I’m not making fun of you. I just never have been with someone who is so young.” Josh thought to himself that maybe he should have cut her steak into smaller pieces for her. He was acutely aware of the fact that he had clothes that were older than she was.

“So, what makes you attracted to older men?” he asked pointedly.

“I’m not attracted to older men. Just one older man.”

“Okay. What makes you attracted to this older man?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I guess it’s your rugged good looks and your pretty smile.”

“Aww. Thank you.” Josh felt uncomfortable with the compliment. He thought that he should compliment her back, but he didn’t know what to say.

“I think you’re beautiful,” he blurted out a few seconds later. It was the best he could come up with. She blushed. Apparently, it was the right thing to say.

They sat in silence after that, each of them eating their food. Josh could not think of anything relevant to say, or even anything that the two of them might have in common. He guessed she was having the same problem. Neither of them would want to talk about work. Josh finished his steak and watched Cheyenne eat. She must have been aware that he was watching because she suddenly put down her fork and announced that she was full.

She excused herself to go to the bathroom. Josh pointed out where it was and waited patiently at the dining room table for her to return. While he waited, he blew out the candles, leaving only the moonlight streaming through the windows to light the room. The soft music continued in the background. Josh heard the bathroom door open and close, and then footsteps down the hall. He stood, and when Cheyenne re-entered the dining room, he embraced her and pulled her close. He cupped her cheek with his hand and kissed her.

He wordlessly, because talking didn’t prove to be too easy, led her to the bedroom and slid the straps of her dress off of her shoulders.

The smart lamps in the bedroom turned on. Josh was confused. The timer wasn’t set to turn those on until tomorrow morning. The only other way to turn them on was with his or Lisa’s phone. It was at that moment that Josh’s phone rang. It was Lisa’s ringtone.

“I have to answer this. It’s my wife.”

“Okay. I’ll be quiet.”

He picked the phone and pressed the green button. “Hello?”

Josh could hear Lisa’s breathing on the other end. It was ragged and short. “Tell her it doesn’t matter if she keeps quiet, I can see and hear you both on the bedroom camera.” His heart sank.

“What bedroom camera?”

“There’s a security camera installed in the bedroom, just above my dresser. I can see the whole room, and it has night vision. Look for yourself.”

Josh looked, and sure enough, there was a small, red light coming from the almost unnoticeable camera mounted right above the mirror on Lisa’s dresser. How had he not seen it before? He quickly ran through scenarios in his mind. Should he lie? Should he tell the truth? He was obviously busted, but what was the best way to handle this situation?

Lisa said, “Put me on speakerphone. I want her to hear me.” Josh attempted to speak, but after Lisa shushed him, he pressed the speaker button.

“Why were you spying on me to begin with?” Josh asked.

“I set up the camera, and all the other ones around the house, for security purposes. I never would have thought to use them to spy until that trollop texted me earlier today and bragged to me that she was coming to the house to have sex with you tonight.”

Josh looked at Cheyenne. “You texted my wife? And told her you were coming over? I can’t believe this.”

Cheyenne looked crestfallen, like a child that had just been chastised for bad behavior. But what did she expect? A pat on the head? Josh said to Cheyenne, “Get out of my house. Now.”

Lisa interrupted what was bound to be an explosive argument between them when she announced, “I’m filing for divorce, and I want you both out of MY house. Right now.”

Chapter Ten

Cheyenne stared at the home pregnancy test. It was negative. Damn. Just like Dr. Garrison had told her, she was not pregnant. She had been so hoping that it would be positive. It had been three weeks since she and Josh had sex in the copy room at work and since she had caused the fiasco between Lisa and Josh. She felt no remorse for breaking up their marriage. Lisa was an obstacle to Cheyenne and Josh being together, and so, she had to be removed.

Josh had been angry with her for telling Lisa how to catch them, and he had not spoken to her since. He was ignoring her texts and calls, and he even went so far as to walk away from her when she tried to talk to him at the nursing home. She supposed it wasn’t his fault, as she had done a bad thing. He just didn’t see that it was to clear the path for the two of them to be together. All the bad things she did were just so that they could be together.

She dumped the useless pregnancy test in the trash. A baby would have brought her and Josh even closer. Maybe he wouldn’t be so angry with her if he thought he was going to be a dad. She had to make him see that what she had done was a good thing.

She had been moping around her apartment for days. With Grandpa gone, she suddenly had nothing to do anymore, and with Josh mad at her, she had nothing to look forward to. She needed to formulate a plan to win him back.

She flopped down on the couch. Maybe some TV would help her relax. The TV movies always had happy endings, so maybe something they did on TV would work for her, or at least give her an idea.

Cheyenne fell asleep on the couch. When she woke, the TV was still playing some sappy movie. What she needed to engineer a situation where he would need her, which gave her an idea. She would go to his new apartment and decorate. Give the place a woman’s touch. It was bound to look drab and dull, since he was a man living there alone. Maybe after he saw it, he would stop being angry with her, and maybe even invite her to come live with him.

She checked her bank balance. She had $285 to work with. She would need to see the apartment first, that way she would know what was needed. She quickly showered and put on clean clothes. The feeling of finally having a plan gave her an extra pep in her step and a reason to smile once more.

Josh was just going to love her new decorations for his apartment. She was envisioning the changes she would make before she ever even saw it. She drove to his apartment complex, which was across town from her own. She knew where it was because she had followed him home from work a couple of times. She knew his routine, and his schedule like the back of her hand. Work one day, off two. Today, he was at work.

His truck was not in the parking lot, so she went to his door and picked the lock, a skill she had picked up from when she was younger and watched her cousins pick the lock to the room where the liquor was kept. Just as she suspected, the apartment was sparsely furnished. She couldn’t help with him new furniture since she didn’t have the money for that. But she could buy pictures to hang on the walls, a set of matching dishes for the kitchen, a nice set of bath linens, and some new bed sheets. She made a mental list of things she needed and locked the door back behind her as she left.

She had gotten a sense of Josh’s style from the apartment, and she started shopping at thrift stores. It took her most of the day, but since Josh was working, it wouldn’t matter. He wouldn’t be home until tomorrow morning. She went to eight different stores, spent all of her money, and even wrote a couple of bad checks, but finally, she had everything she needed. Or rather, everything that he needed.

The sun was going down as she drove back to Josh’s apartment. She picked the lock again and carried in all of the shopping bags. She set to work, starting in the bedroom. She hung pictures, stripped the old sheets off the bed, and replaced them with new sheets and a new comforter, new pillows and shams, and a bedskirt. She replaced his mismatched lamps with a set she found at a dollar store. She took a moment to admire her work. Soon enough, this would be their bedroom.

In the bathroom, she threw away the old towels and replaced them with a matching set of new ones. She put down matching rugs around the toilet and in front of the sink, with a bath mat for the tub. She threw away the coffee cup he was using as a toothbrush holder and replaced it with an actual toothbrush holder, and then, she added a liquid soap dispenser.

In the kitchen, she set up a new coffee pot, a utensil holder, paper towel holder, and trash can, all matching his stainless-steel microwave and appliances. She stocked the pantry with groceries, throwing out all the junk food she found. If she wanted to make sure they lived a long, happy life together, she needed to make sure he started eating better. Eating all that junk would only clog his arteries and give him high cholesterol.

Since she didn’t have the money or the credit to buy living room furniture, obviously Josh didn’t either, she had purchased a couple of folding chairs, which she assembled in front of the small television. She had also purchased three small tables, one for the TV to sit on, and one to go beside each chair. They were smaller than the picture on the box, but they would work. She assembled the tables and set each of them up. She stood back and admired her handiwork. She cleaned up the mess she had made while unwrapping all of the packages and took out the trash. She locked the apartment and went back home, feeling proud of herself. There’s no way Josh wouldn’t want her back now.

Chapter Eleven

Josh lay in bed at work. He was scrolling through social media on his phone, watching funny videos, when he got a text message from Cheyenne. He ignored it at first, then his curiosity got the better of him. He had not spoken to her since that night three weeks ago. She had texted and called him multiple times, but he always ignored her calls and let them go to voicemail.

It wasn’t that he regretted that Lisa was divorcing him. He was glad, in a way, that it was finally happening. But the way Cheyenne had set him up, that was a very deep betrayal. Josh didn’t know if he could ever forgive her for that.

He knew she was stalking him. It seemed harmless, like a puppy following its master. She never confronted him, and she stayed out of his view. But he would catch glimpses of her, at the grocery store, the hospital parking lot, the post office. He avoided her at the nursing home the few times he had been there since the incident. He let Dillon do all the talking while he loaded the patients and then got the hell out of there. He never gave Cheyenne a chance to speak to him.

He shook his head, as though he were trying to shake the thoughts of her out of it, and decided to ignore her message after all. He put his phone on the charger and tried to sleep. It was a restless, fitful sleep, but he did manage to get a few hours. He was awakened the next morning by the alarm on his phone. It was 6:30. Time to get up and pack up his things, wash the truck, and get ready to go home.

Josh had a meeting with his lawyer at 9:00. He hurried through his end-of-shift chores and watched the clock until it rolled over to 7:00. He clocked out and left work. When he arrived home, he climbed the stairs to apartment A-15. It wasn’t much, just a little one-bedroom, one-bath apartment in a run-down apartment complex, but it was nice enough for Josh. He was slowly but surely furnishing the place, but it already had all the amenities he needed.

Josh opened the door and froze. Someone had been in his apartment. Someone had added things to his apartment. He looked around. The living room TV was on a table, and there were folding chairs with matching side tables. There were pictures on the wall. Someone had come in and decorated his home. No one else had a key, other than the apartment manager and maintenance. Josh felt violated that someone had entered his home without his knowledge and made so many changes.

He walked into the bedroom and looked around the room. There were new linens on the bed in floral print, and there was even a bed skirt. This looked like a woman’s bedroom. What had happened here?

Josh sat down on the edge of the bed, trying not to muss the carefully made comforter, despite him being uncomfortable about its presence. His phone beeped. He had a text message from Cheyenne. It said, “Do you like it?”

Of course. Cheyenne. It was obvious now that he thought about it. She had broken into his apartment and decorated it. Josh knew she was trying to be sweet, but it came across as creepy. He figured this was her way of apologizing for what happened with Lisa. Should he give her another chance? After all, in her mind, she was only trying to help him.

Josh showered and got changed to go to his appointment with the lawyer. One crazy bitch at a time, and right now, he had to deal with the one who had him by the balls.

After his appointment, Josh texted Cheyenne. “Hey. Let’s try this again. Let’s meet somewhere for dinner, and go on a real date.” She responded “yes” within seconds. Josh told her to meet him at a Mexican restaurant near his apartment at 5:00. She had to be at work at 7:00, so they would have just under two hours to eat and talk before she had to leave.

When Josh arrived at the restaurant, Cheyenne was already waiting for him. He joined her at a corner booth, and the server took his order. Cheyenne asked, “How was the appointment with your lawyer today?”

Josh wondered how she knew about that but didn’t confront her, deciding it wasn’t the issue at hand. “It was fine. Lisa’s demanding that she gets the house. I expected that. And she can have it. I don’t want anything from her, I just want out.”

Cheyenne said, “You should fight her. You are entitled to half of everything. Make her sell the house and give you half. You shouldn’t go down without a fight.”

Josh didn’t understand if she was trying to be supportive, or if she was conveniently forgetting one major fact, but either way, he couldn’t believe what she was saying. “I’m not going to fight her. She has video footage of you and me having sex, in her bed. I won’t win a fight. The best thing to do is just to get out of the marriage and let her have what she wants. Besides, I didn’t come here to talk about my wife.”

“I’m sorry. I was just asking about your day.” Cheyenne reached across the table and took his hand into both of hers, rubbing the skin of his knuckles with one of her thumbs. Thinking that letting her touch him would soften the blow of his next words, Josh let her.

“I know. But I don’t want to talk about her. I want to talk about you. Did you really break into my apartment?”

“I did. I was hoping that you would like the new stuff I got you. Sort of a housewarming, I guess.” Even after saying what she did out loud, it didn’t seem to faze her. She still shot him a wobbly smile, waiting for his approval, like she hadn’t committed a crime.

“It was really too much. You shouldn’t have done all of that. I appreciate that you did, and everything looks really nice, but you shouldn’t have spent that much money, or effort.”

“I just wanted to do as much for you as I could.”

“And I appreciate it. But don’t you see how that could be a little creepy? I mean, you broke into my home when I wasn’t there, and you threw away my stuff, and replaced it with new stuff that you bought. It would have been better if you had just told me what you were wanting to do and brought it over while I was home.”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to make you happy.” She pouted her lips and leaned forward, her shirt hanging down to expose her cleavage.

“That’s fine. What would make me happy is a little bit of space. Just a little bit.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, try to limit your text messages to one a day. If I answer, then you can text again. If I don’t answer, don’t just keep sending messages. And no more breaking into my apartment or sitting in the hospital parking lot waiting for me to show up. And no more sex in risky places. I will try to be a little more attentive and less of a jackass in return.”

“It’s a deal.” And with that, she grabbed hold of the back of his neck and leaned in for a kiss.

Chapter Twelve

Cheyenne was elated. Her plan had worked. She’d convinced him to give her another chance. She definitely couldn’t mess it up this time. They parted ways at the restaurant since he was going home and she was going to work. She crossed the parking lot with a spring in her step. She wanted so badly to call out of work and stay with Josh, but he’d said that he needed some space. She would be good and give it to him.

That night, she took a break between rounds to look through the pictures of Josh on her phone. She had taken hundreds of photos of him, all during the time he wasn’t speaking to her, when she had followed him around town. Her favorite, though, was the video. He didn’t know that she had her phone recording that first night in the copy room, the night they had sex. He could never know that she had that video or that it was attached to the text message she had sent Lisa.

She was determined that nothing would ever come between her and Josh. She had already removed Grandpa and Lisa, and she would remove anybody else that tried to get between them.

Cheyenne studied his face in the photo for a minute. He truly was the most beautiful man she had ever seen in her life. He was tall and slender with gorgeous brown hair and brown eyes. His arms were muscled, but not overly so. He felt strong and secure, and she felt safe when she was in his arms. She was his, totally and completely, and he was hers, too. He was her EMT.

She was in the midst of a romantic daydream when a nurse call bell sounded. It was Mr. Edwards in room 109. That man was such a pain in the ass. He would ring the call light for every little thing. She would go into his room and get his water pitcher, then by the time she got back to the desk, he would be on it again, wanting the urinal. Then, it would be his TV remote. Then, his crossword puzzle. The man must seriously think that Cheyenne was his personal servant and she didn’t have thirty other patients to care for. From the nurse’s station, she heard her text tone. That would be Josh, probably asking her to come over tomorrow. Cheyenne turned around and walked back to the nurse’s desk. She picked up her phone and read the message. It was from Josh, asking her to get breakfast with him when she got off work. She immediately replied “yes” and hit send.

She walked back to Mr. Edwards’ room. That call bell had to be turned off, and the only way to do it was to actually go into his room and press the reset button. When Cheyenne turned the corner into his room, she saw Mr. Edwards lying in the bed, choking on something. She quickly turned him onto his back and began abdominal thrusts. She needed to call for help, but the nearest nurse was on the second floor and she had left her phone at the nurse’s station.

Cheyenne left Mr. Edwards lying there and ran back to the nurse’s station to grab her phone. She dialed 911 as she ran back to his room. By that time, he was not breathing. Cheyenne started CPR. Her arms ached and were burning by the time EMS arrived to take over. They quickly examined him and determined that he was dead. He was wearing a “Do Not Resuscitate” bracelet, and they did not continue CPR. Cheyenne was embarrassed. She wasn’t supposed to do CPR on a Do Not Resuscitate patient. The nurse arrived from the second floor and told Cheyenne to write up an incident report.

Another aide came down from the third floor to help out while Cheyenne was writing her incident report. When she finished, she submitted it to the nurse and resumed rounds where the other aide had left off. Both the nurse and the other aide went back to their respective floors. After her round, Cheyenne cleaned up Mr. Edwards’ body for the funeral home to pick up. The nurse had already taken care of notifying the family.

Cheyenne was nervous. The incident was sure to be reviewed by management tomorrow. She had written in her incident report exactly what happened, minus the part about going back to the desk to answer a text message. She wondered if they would find her to be at fault. Surely not, she had performed the abdominal thrusts immediately when she found him and called for help, then started CPR as soon as she got back to him. But would she be in trouble for doing CPR on a DNR patient? That remained to be seen.

She sat at the desk and pulled herself together. The incident review would be tomorrow, and she would find out the results tomorrow night. For now, the only thing to do was finish her rounds. She started another round, and while she performed her skills as needed, her thoughts were of Mr. Edwards, and his cold, dead body lying in the bed, waiting for the funeral home to come pick him up. This was technically Cheyenne’s second time seeing someone die, and she was strangely intrigued by it. Watching the life fade away from them while she watched gave her a slight thrill, knowing that she was, at least partly, responsible for it.

She wanted to tell Josh about the incident, but she was afraid to text him again. She didn’t want to make him angry. She decided to wait until breakfast to fill him in on the events of the night. Perhaps he would even feel some sympathy for her. Maybe that would help to soften his anger some more. She hated that feeling, knowing that Josh was angry with her, and she felt much better now that they were together again. The thought of Josh lifted her spirits, and she continued the rest of the night with her head held high. She was his girl, and nothing could bring her down now.

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning, Josh woke with his alarm. He silenced it and rolled over, falling back asleep. He didn’t hear the text messages Cheyenne sent, asking him where he was or if he was coming to breakfast to meet her. He didn’t hear her knocking at the door, and he didn’t hear her enter the apartment or call his name as she walked back to the bedroom. He didn’t even hear her get undressed or get into bed beside him. When he finally woke up, she was naked, snuggled up next to him. His eyes met hers, and she smiled. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” she said.

“Good morning,” he mumbled. He was afraid to speak any louder because he did not want to breathe on her any more than he had to. He had not brushed his teeth yet, and he knew he probably had horrible morning breath.

He realized that he had overslept and missed their breakfast date. He was a little disconcerted that he had woken up with her in his bed, but he didn’t mind that she was there. She kissed him, and he resisted at first because of his breath, but it didn’t seem to bother her in the slightest, so he kissed her back. This time, Josh didn’t have to worry about being interrupted or caught. He took his time, enjoying her as she seemed to enjoy him. They were both passionate, and Cheyenne moaned loudly to voice her pleasure. Josh didn’t care; there was no one there to hear them. When it was over, he lay there looking at her. He was taken once again by her beauty.

As he stared at her firm, young body, he was reminded that she was twenty years younger than him. He also reminded himself to buy some condoms before he got her pregnant. Having a child at his age would not be the worst thing, and he had always wanted kids, but right now didn’t seem like a good time to be starting a family. And he wasn’t completely sure that Cheyenne was the person he wanted to start a family with.

She nestled her head on his chest, her hair tickling his neck. He felt pins and needles in his arm, but he just dealt with it and let her lay there, his arm around her, her head on his chest. She didn’t speak, and neither did he.

She was a gorgeous woman, there was no doubt about that. But Josh couldn’t help the uneasy feeling that was nagging at him. This girl was crazy. She had texted his wife and told her that she was sleeping with him. She had stalked him, broken into his apartment, twice now, and who knew what else. He had a strong feeling that she loved him, even though she hadn’t said it yet. He could tell by the way she looked at him.

Love. It was something Josh had not considered. He didn’t love her, at least not yet. He was very much attracted to her, but love was not what he felt for her.

She rolled over onto her side and backed up against Josh. Her feet and butt were cold, as were her hands. Josh pulled the blankets up and wrapped his arms around her. She spoke, finally, and said, “I had a rough night at work last night.”

“Oh yeah? What happened?”

“I had a patient die. Mr. Edwards. He choked on something. It was right after you texted me. I went to answer his call bell, and he was choking. I started the Heimlich maneuver, but nothing was coming up. I ran back to the desk to get my phone and call 911, but by the time I got back, he had stopped breathing. I did CPR on him until the paramedics got there. They didn’t do CPR because he had a DNR bracelet on. I didn’t even check him for a DNR bracelet. I didn’t think about it.”

Josh expected that such a story would be accompanied by some sort of emotion, like loss or sorrow. But Cheyenne told it in a flat voice, with no emotion, and she sounded almost… proud. Josh was unnerved by the tone of her voice.

“Have you ever been around someone dying before?” he asked.

“Only once. My Grandpa. But that was different.”

“How so?”

“Grandpa was a burden. He was getting between us, between you and me. I loved Grandpa, and he’s in a better place now where he won’t be suffering, and he won’t be in the way.”

Josh was shocked. The way she had phrased it made it sound like she had orchestrated his death. Had she killed her own grandfather? Is that what he was hearing? She didn’t expressly admit it, but that’s how it sounded to Josh. His mind was racing. What should he do? He couldn’t go to the police, not without some sort of evidence. And her statements would be pretty flimsy, even if they could accept them as evidence. If she had killed her grandfather, did she kill her patient, too? Was Josh sleeping with a serial killer? He realized he was getting worked up for no reason. She hadn’t said any such thing, and he was reading too much into it. This poor, misguided girl couldn’t be a serial killer. Both of those deaths had to be accidents or natural causes and nothing more.

But the thought was there, and that seed had been planted. Combined with her previous behavior, it was enough to scare Josh. He said, “Come on, you need to get home so you can get some rest. I need to get a shower and start my day.” Cheyenne got out of the bed and started putting her clothes back on. As he walked her to the door, Josh decided to take this opportunity to end things before they got any crazier. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”

Cheyenne looked at him, and her expression darkened. She said, “We’re meant to be together. Nothing will ever keep us apart. Not even you.”

Chapter Fourteen

“Medic 4 respond. 1802 West Wind Circle, Apartment C-17. 56-year-old female, unknown problem.”

Josh put down his lunch and walked to the truck. “Medic 4 responding,” he said into the radio. As soon as he pulled the ambulance out of the bay, he had that eerie feeling again, the feeling that he was being watched. He glanced around the parking lot. It seemed normal, as if nothing was out the ordinary. He finally located Cheyenne’s car at the self-storage place across the street. She was stalking him again. He didn’t see her, but it was definitely her car.

Josh pulled out onto the street and hit the air horn as he passed by the self-storage. He wanted to let her know that he had spotted her car. He felt frustrated because he had been as blunt about it as he could be, and yet, she was still following him.

When they arrived at the address, Josh and Dillon carried in their trauma bag and cardiac monitor. They found the patient, a 56-year-old woman, sitting on her couch. “What seems to be the problem today?” Dillon asked.

“I’m out of my medicine. I need to get some more.”

“What medicines are you out of?”

“That’s none of your business. Just drive me to the hospital so I can get some more.”

“Well, ma’am, we need to know what we’re carrying you there for. What’s the name of the medicine?”

“Hydrocodone.”

“Ma’am, our hospital doesn’t refill narcotics in the emergency room.”

“Yes, they do. They’re the ones who prescribed it to me in the first place. Now, you take me back there so I can get some more.”

She stood huffily and grabbed her purse. She walked out to the ambulance, followed by Dillon and Josh. Josh opened the side door for her, and she sat down on the stretcher. Dillon said, “I’ve got this, let’s just go.” Josh went around to the driver’s seat, and when he saw Dillon seated in the rearview mirror, Josh drove off.

When they got to the hospital, the patient said to them, “Now, don’t you boys go anywhere, I’m going to need a ride back home.” Josh chuckled at her audacity. They walked her in the ambulance entrance, through the emergency room and to the lobby, where they directed her to have a seat and sign in.

Josh went back outside to straighten the ambulance back up while Dillon talked with the nurse. When Dillon came back outside, they left the hospital and returned to their station. Josh hoped his lunch wasn’t too cold. Cheyenne’s car was no longer parked at the self-storage units. Josh parked the ambulance in the bay and plugged it in.

He returned to his lunch, finishing the now-cold macaroni and cheese. After lunch, he washed his dishes and put them away. He settled down in front of the TV, planning to take an afternoon nap on the couch. The tones sounded.

“Medic 4 respond. County airport. You’ll be meeting Med Flight 32, transporting a surgeon to General Hospital.”

Ugh, Josh thought. Surgeons coming in on a Med Flight meant donor organ harvesting. It was also a colossal waste of time for him. They would have to meet the flight at the airport, pick up the surgeon, transport them to the hospital, and then wait while the surgery was performed before rushing the surgeon and the organ back to the airport.

Josh went back out to the bay and unplugged the truck. Dillon was right behind him. There was no sign of Cheyenne this time, but Josh still had the feeling he was being watched.

When they arrived at the airport, Josh waited impatiently for the flight to arrive. Of course, it would be late. And it would probably be some self-important prick who had never ridden in an ambulance and didn’t understand the physics of moving vehicles and would complain about Josh’s driving the entire time.

Med Flight 32 finally landed and taxied toward the hangar where the ambulance was parked. Josh was surprised to see a younger woman, about thirty-five, step off the plane carrying a cooler with “Human Organ” and the orange biohazard symbol printed on the side. She had shoulder-length, brownish-blonde hair, and she was about 5’2” and Josh guessed about one hundred and twenty pounds. She walked up to the driver’s side window and stuck out her hand. Josh shook her hand as she said, “Hi, I’m Dr. Leanne Casey. I’m guessing you guys are my ride to General Hospital.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Dillon got out of the ambulance and opened the side door for Dr. Casey, a rare act of chivalry. She walked around the ambulance and climbed inside. Dillon shut the door behind her. Rather than sit in the captain’s chair or bench seat, Dr. Casey stowed her cooler on the stretcher, then wedged herself into the opening between the cab and the patient compartment. Josh noticed that she had no difficult fitting into the small, tight space.

“So, how are you guys doing today?” she asked as the ambulance got underway.

“We’re doing good. You are our second transport of the day,” Josh said. “How has your day been so far?”

“Well, it’s better now that my patient is getting a heart. You guys have a donor here that matches my patient, and I’m coming in to harvest it, then I’ll do the transplant when I get back. It’s going to be a long day for me.”

When they arrived at General, Dr. Casey got out of the ambulance and went inside. Josh and Dillon waited in the ambulance bay for a couple of hours before Dr. Casey came back outside. Josh had been telling Dillon about his divorce, to which Dillon had given the customary, supportive comments. Dr. Casey climbed into the ambulance and said, “Okay, I’m ready to go.” She once again stowed the cooler on the stretcher and knelt in the space between the cab and patient compartment. Josh finished telling Dillon about the ongoing saga of his divorce from Lisa as they rushed back to the airport, lights and siren going. Dr. Casey listened quietly, and when they arrived at the airport, she took a slip of paper from her pocket. She handed it to Josh and said, “When your divorce is final, you should call me.” With that, she collected her cooler, got out of the ambulance, and walked toward the plane.

Chapter Fifteen

Josh watched at Dr. Casey got on the plane. She was cute, he thought, even though she was older. She was closer to Josh’s age, much closer than Cheyenne was. And she was a doctor. Josh felt a little intimidated by that fact.

He looked at the slip of paper she had handed him. Scrawled on it was her name and phone number. Josh smiled and put the paper in his pocket as he watched the small plane race down the runway and take to the skies. He would definitely call her later.

“Medic 4, complete and available.” Dillon said into the radio.

“Medic 4, show you complete. You may return to your station.” The dispatcher replied.

Josh drove back to the station while Dillon fiddled with the laptop computer. He was trying to write the trip ticket for the organ transport, but he was having technical difficulties. Frustrated, he slammed the laptop on the dashboard and said, “I’ll just do it when we get back.”

“Problems, buddy?”

“Yeah. This stupid thing won’t boot up.”

“Do we need to go get a new one?”

“Probably. I think it’s broken. We can pick up a new one when we go by the hospital next time.”

“Okay, if you’re sure. I don’t mind going now, if we need to.”

“Yeah, that would probably be best. Let’s go ahead and get it over with.”

Josh did a U-turn and went back to the hospital. They had an agreement with the hospital’s information technology department to service their laptop computers. IT always kept spare computers on hand for them, in case one broke.

He waited in the ambulance while Dillon carried the laptop to IT. Dillon was gone for a long time, then he finally reappeared, carrying a new machine. He climbed in the ambulance and said, “You’re not going to believe this.”

“What’s that?” Josh asked.

“IT says that someone remotely hacked the laptop and was watching us on the webcam. They tried to trace it but didn’t have any luck. All they know is that it was someone local. Someone was spying on us.”

Cheyenne. It had to be Cheyenne. Josh felt very uneasy. Had he said anything that he didn’t want her to hear? He didn’t think so, he and Dillon had only been talking about Lisa and the fact that Josh wasn’t contesting the divorce. That was nothing that Cheyenne didn’t already know. Still, just the fact that she had been watching and listening was enough to unnerve Josh and reinforced his belief that he had done the right thing by breaking up with her.

Josh did not share his suspicions with Dillon. When they got back to their station, Josh called his apartment manager and asked them to install a deadbolt lock on his door, something that could not be easily broken or picked. The manager assured him it would be done before he got home the next morning.

Josh thought about texting Cheyenne to see why she had been spying on him. He decided not to, because he was angry and didn’t trust himself to not say something he might regret later. Besides, she was obviously crazy, and there was no telling what she might do next.

He sat down on the couch and flipped through TV channels absently. He was too focused on Cheyenne and her obsession with him. His phone beeped. He looked at the text message. It was from Cheyenne. It was only two words, but it was enough to cause Josh’s heart to skip a beat. It said, “I’m pregnant.”

Dammit! Josh thought. He knew better than to have fucked her without a condom. He now regretted ever meeting her. Scenarios ran through his mind. He wasn’t going to marry her, that was for sure. He didn’t want to raise a child with her. He was against abortion in most cases, but he wouldn’t object if that’s what she wanted to do. If he could get her to agree to put the baby up for adoption, that would be the best scenario for his conscience.

Wait a minute, he thought to himself. What if she’s lying? What if this was a manipulation? It had only been two days since the last time they had sex. How did she already know she was pregnant? He decided to call her out on it. He hit reply and typed, “That’s great. I’ll go with you to the next doctor’s appointment. When is it?”

She did not respond for several minutes. When she did, it was a longer message that read, “It was a home test. I haven’t been to the doctor yet. I’ll make an appointment today and let you know when it is.”

Josh was even more suspicious. If this crazy bitch was actually carrying his child, he would have responsibilities that he would have to honor. But if she wasn’t, and he strongly suspected that she was lying, he was going to be done with her forever.

He needed to think. He stood and started pacing back and forth. If she was really pregnant, then there would be doctor bills, there would be a hospital bill, there would be baby clothes, diapers, food, and all the things that a baby would need. And then, there would be child support. Eighteen years of it. And there was a chance that the baby would turn out to be just as crazy as its mama.

Abortion was not an option that Josh wanted to consider, but he did anyway. It might be more humane, and it would definitely be more convenient. It was a way to keep Cheyenne from having a permanent connection to him, a way to stay in his life forever. He sighed. He really didn’t like the idea of abortion, but he realized that she couldn’t be trusted to give the baby up for adoption. The best-case scenario was that she was lying and wasn’t really pregnant. Josh was so wrapped up in Cheyenne’s drama that he forgot all about Dr. Casey.

Chapter Sixteen

When Josh left work the next morning, he had a voice message from his attorney’s office.

“Hey, Josh. It’s Darrell from Legal Services. I just wanted to let you know that your divorce papers were finalized this morning, we just need you to come by and sign. As we discussed, you aren’t contesting the divorce. Lisa gets everything, and you walk away with nothing but your separate savings account. If you agree with these terms, just stop by the office today and sign the papers, and your divorce will be final in sixty days.”

The message ended. Josh turned away from his apartment building and drove straight to the Legal Services office. His attorney, Bill Webb, was with another client, so Darrell, the assistant who left the message, came out to the lobby to greet Josh.

Josh signed the papers, and while he was there, he asked Darrell, “What can I do if there is someone stalking me?”

“Who is stalking you?”

“The girl I cheated on my wife with.” Darrell jerked back a tad in surprise, whether at Josh’s reveal or his honesty, but then filed away the emotion to present a professional front.

“Oh. What has she done?”

“She follows me, she’s hacked into the computer at work to watch me on the webcam, broken into my apartment, and every time I turn around, she’s there.” Josh didn’t mention the two deaths he suspected she was responsible for.

“Well, you can file a report with the police, especially if you can prove she was the one who hacked into the computer. You should have already filed a police report if she broke into your apartment.”

“I can’t prove it, though. About the computer.”

“Still, filing a police report will give you a paper trail, in case a restraining order becomes necessary in the future.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“No problem. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“No, that’s all.”

“Okay, great. We’ll get these papers filed, and your divorce will be final in sixty days.”

Josh drove home after signing the papers. He was glad to be getting rid of Lisa, but now, he had to deal with Cheyenne. He felt as though he hadn’t made any progress at all. He was cutting loose one ball and chain, only to be tied to another one.

He stopped at the drug store and bought a pack of condoms. He didn’t foresee himself having sex with Cheyenne again, at least not anytime soon, but they were a reminder to not be stupid again.

He felt a little embarrassed as he checked out at the drug store. He hadn’t bought condoms since he was a teenager. With Lisa, he didn’t need them since he was actively trying to get her pregnant. Over the years, he had completely forgotten about them, and that’s what led to him not using one with Cheyenne. And that’s how she got pregnant, if she even was. Josh still needed to find out for sure.

Josh went home and lay the condoms on the table beside his bed. He showered and thought about how he could get Cheyenne to either confirm or deny her pregnancy. He decided to have an open and honest, face-to-face conversation with her. That would at least let him read her body language, and maybe she would be honest with him.

He texted her and asked her to come over to talk. She replied immediately with “OMW” and a smiley emoji followed by a heart emoji. Josh groaned. He was sure he was going to regret this.

When she arrived, her hair was still wet. Josh asked, “Did you get caught in a rainstorm?”

“No, I was in the shower, washing my hair.”

“You could have finished. I would have waited.”

“No, you wanted to talk. That’s more important. I can fix my hair later. I brought my hair dryer and brush with me.”

“Well, I wanted to talk to you about this pregnancy.” Cheyenne sat in one of the living room chairs as Josh continued, standing up. “I want to have kids. I really do. I just don’t think right now is a good time to be starting a family. I mean, I’m still going through a divorce, still trying to get my apartment furnished, I’m really starting over with nothing. And you and I haven’t been together long enough to be bringing a baby into this mess.”

“You really want to have kids?”

“Yes, I do.” Josh looked into her eyes and spoke gently to her. He wanted to come across as genuine and sincere. Of course, he was telling the truth, he did want kids, he just wasn’t going to tell her that he didn’t want kids with her.

“I have a confession to make then.”

“Okay. Let’s hear it.” Josh felt relief. He had been right.

“I took a second pregnancy test. It was negative. Dr. Garrison confirmed it. I’m not pregnant. I didn’t tell you, because I didn’t know how disappointed you would be.”

“I’m not disappointed. I’m relieved. I’m sure you’ll get pregnant someday. But right now is just the wrong time.”

“I understand.” She gave him a coy smile. “But in the meantime, there’s no harm in practicing.”

Josh knew he should say no. But she was already here, and he felt a stirring in his pants. He knew he was weak, and he knew he would give in. “I’ve got to go pee first.” Josh went into the bathroom. Cheyenne went to the bedroom.

“Are these condoms for us?” she asked.

“Yes. No more bareback,” Josh called out.

He came out of the bathroom, naked. Cheyenne already had her clothes off and was lying on the bed. He put on one of the condoms. Josh felt better about having sex with her, he felt safer and more secure knowing that there was protection against her getting pregnant. He didn’t want or need any more worries about a baby with Cheyenne, not with everything going on in his life. Besides, she was certifiably crazy. He never noticed that while he was in the bathroom, she had poked a hole in every condom in the pack.

Chapter Seventeen

Cheyenne had to go into work early that night. She had a meeting scheduled before the start of her shift, a meeting about Mr. Edwards. Her bosses had reviewed her incident report and wanted to discuss it with her.

She was apprehensive about the meeting. These things could go either way. If she was found to be responsible for the death of patient, she would most certainly be fired and possibly even reported to the state. If she was cleared, on the other hand, she would go right back to work and the matter would be over with.

As she walked into the building, she felt the stares of her day shift counterparts. They all knew why she was there early. She felt them judging her, looking down their noses at her. She held her head high and walked to the administration offices.

After signing in with the secretary, Cheyenne took a seat in the administration lobby. She waited about ten minutes before she was called into the facility administrator’s office. She saw the facility administrator, the director of nursing, and the night shift charge nurse, all looking up at her as she entered the room.

They all had blank expressions that Cheyenne could not read. This did not look like it was going to go well. The facility administrator spoke first.

“Cheyenne. Thank you for coming in. I’m sure you know why we’re all here.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, I want to put your mind at ease. We’ve reviewed your incident report, and the EMS report. There was no wrongdoing on your part. In the heat of an emergency, we don’t expect you to stop to check a wristband. The family isn’t filing a complaint, and everything is going to be okay. I’m proud of the way you immediately started abdominal thrusts to try to save one of our residents. Thank you.”

The director of nursing spoke next. “Cheyenne, you did well with the abdominal thrusts. I would like it, though, if you knew your patients well enough to know which ones have Do Not Resuscitate bracelets. There won’t be any write-ups this time, but next time, please have the decency to honor the wishes of our residents with regard to their end-of-life care.”

The night shift charge nurse remained silent. She still had a blank expression on her face. The administrator said, “Okay. Well, I think we’re done here. Cheyenne, thank you for coming in.”

As Cheyenne stood to leave, the others did as well. She felt relieved, thankful, and there was another feeling she didn’t quite understand. Curiosity, maybe. She wondered, if she had been fully responsible, if she could still have gotten away with it.

Cheyenne felt like the night shift charge nurse was suspicious of her. Maybe she knew that Cheyenne was texting Josh instead of answering the call light promptly. Cheyenne couldn’t read her expression at all.

Her thoughts shifted to Josh, as they always did. She smiled. Her fake pregnancy ruse had worked. Not only was she back in his life, but she had made it back into his bed. He’s playing hard-to-get, she thought. But she had him, she knew it. They were meant to be together.

Her face darkened as another thought crossed her mind. Who was that bitch at the airport? She had seemed enamored with Josh, and that did not sit well with Cheyenne. Of course, she couldn’t ask Josh directly since he would know that she had been spying on him. She had taken screenshots of the woman’s face through the laptop computer’s webcam. She pulled out her phone and studied the photo. This bitch is ugly, she thought, looking at the wrinkles around her eyes and her too-tan skin, excessive makeup, and hair that Cheyenne couldn’t decide if it was brown or blonde. She thought to herself, “This bitch looks like an ugly, old whore.”

She cropped the photo, so that only the face was showing. She then ran an image search. The results linked to a social media profile for a Dr. Leanne Casey. She checked her watch. She still had twenty minutes before the day shift went home. She started scrolling through Dr. Casey’s profile. Obviously, she wasn’t too concerned about privacy, her posts were all public. She was a doctor at Nashville Memorial Hospital, a cardiovascular surgeon. She went to school at Johns Hopkins. She wasn’t at the top of her class, but she did graduate. She had a string of boyfriends. Judging from their photos, the relationships ended because their fragile egos couldn’t handle a woman being the breadwinner in the relationship.

She had a decent following, about 400 people, but it seemed like none of those were close friendships. She had expensive taste in clothes, food, cars. Her favorite restaurant was The Vineyard. Cheyenne had never been there, but it sounded expensive and the photos of her food that were taken there looked fancy.

Cheyenne searched the profile for clues about Dr. Casey’s family. She looked for the posts that were made on or around the holidays. She found a brother, but no other relatives. By going back several years, she found that both parents were dead, and the family photos showed no other siblings.

She pictured Josh together with this Dr. Casey. Was this his type? What was it about her that Josh was interested in? She needed to find a way to monitor his calls, to make sure that he wasn’t talking to this woman. This could be a serious problem for Cheyenne’s relationship with Josh.

Cheyenne felt threatened by this new woman in Josh’s life. She tried to console herself; after all, there was no evidence that Josh had contacted her since their meeting at the airport. Maybe she was just a work acquaintance and nothing more. She still worried. No work acquaintance would be that googly-eyed when looking at a co-worker. This woman was romantically interested in Cheyenne’s man. She was an obstacle, and she would have to be removed, just like all the rest.

Chapter Eighteen

Josh regretted sleeping with Cheyenne again. He felt like he was leading her into the sense that they had a relationship, when he didn’t want a relationship with her at all. His goal had been to gently break up with her and be done with her for good. Crazy as she was, though, she was a very attractive woman, and Josh found her irresistible.

Besides that, the sex was great. Lisa had been withholding it from Josh for the past two years, and it felt good to be able to enjoy physical relations again.

Josh got out of the bed. His muscles ached. Lately, it was always like this when he came home and went to bed. He never got a good quality sleep when he was at work, so he would sometimes take a nap as soon as he got home. It never failed, though, that he slept too long, and when he woke, he would be achy all over.

He looked at the full laundry basket. That seemed like a good place to start his day. He picked up the clothes he had just taken off from the floor and put them in the basket. He gathered some detergent and a roll of quarters, put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, and carried the basket to the laundry room on the first floor.

The sun was starting to set, but the laundry room was brightly lit with long, fluorescent tubes in the ceiling. Under the harsh light, Josh sorted out his clothes into two different machines, making sure to check his pockets. He had a bad habit of leaving change in them. Now that he had to use the apartment complex laundromat to do his laundry, it was important for him to save all of his quarters. In the pockets of his work pants, he found a scrap of paper. It was a phone number. Josh remembered the doctor from the airport.

She was an attractive woman, but she was a doctor. He wasn’t sure how that would work out. She would have an expensive lifestyle, one that Josh was not accustomed to. Sure, Lisa had money, but that was her money. Josh was simpler and more frugal with his spending. Since leaving Lisa, he had been very comfortable shopping at thrift stores and dollar stores.

Josh decided to take the chance. What could it hurt to try? He pulled out his phone and texted the number “Hey. It’s Josh. The EMT from Colton County yesterday.”

There was no immediate reply. He put his phone away and continued sorting laundry in the meantime. After he started the machines, he took a seat in one of the chairs and scrolled through videos on his phone. When the washers finished, he moved his laundry to the dryers and resumed scrolling through videos. After about an hour, Josh’s butt was sore from sitting on the hard, plastic chair. He stood and moved around, stretching his legs. He heard the buzzing sound as the dryers stopped. He gathered his laundry back into the basket and carried it to his apartment to fold and put away. His phone dinged.

It was Cheyenne. She was letting him know that her meeting went well. Josh was disappointed. He was hoping that it would have been the doctor. He continued folding and putting away his laundry. Cheyenne’s message reminded Josh of the suspicions he’d had about her grandfather and that patient. If she had been cleared in the death of the patient, then maybe he was just overly paranoid. She was clearly crazy, no doubt about that, but a killer? He stopped himself. What was he thinking? Surely, he wasn’t considering having a relationship with her. No, he had to cut her loose, and the best way to do that was to find someone else. Someone like a cute doctor.

Josh finished putting his laundry away, and the phone dinged again. It was Cheyenne still, asking if he missed her. For crying out loud, it had only been a couple of hours. Josh hated the text app on his phone, because it would let Cheyenne know that he had read her message. He either had to reply, or she would become upset that he was ignoring her. He was afraid that if she got upset, the texts would become more frequent. He texted back, “It’s only been a couple of hours.” He didn’t want to say no, that he didn’t miss her, for the same reason he didn’t want to ignore the text altogether.

His phone dinged again. That would be Cheyenne, again, and Josh didn’t want to read the message. It would be better to leave it unread, that way she could see that he hadn’t gotten her message yet. Maybe she would stop texting him. No such luck, he thought as the phone dinged again. He picked it up and looked at it.

There was a message from Cheyenne, asking if he was ignoring her. But there was also a message from another number. It was the doctor. What was her name? Leanne? Leanne Casey. That’s it. Josh looked at the message. “Hi. I’m glad you reached out. I wondered if you might be interested in getting dinner some time?”

Josh held the phone for a moment, trying to decide how to respond. Of course he wanted to get dinner with her. But he had to choose the right words. “I’d love to. When are you available?” he finally responded after spending way too long racking his brain.

Her response was immediate. “Tomorrow night is good.”

Josh smiled. “Tomorrow works for me, too,” he texted back.

“Where?” she asked.

Josh froze. He realized he didn’t even know where she lived. He had just assumed that she was local, but that plane could have taken her anywhere.

“Where do you live?” he asked.

“Nashville.”

“Okay. I don’t know any good places in Nashville. Do you have any recommendations?” Josh hoped she wouldn’t take that the wrong way.

“How about I come to town, and you can take me some place local? You pick.”

“Okay. Sounds great.”

“I’ll text you tomorrow evening. I should be in town around 6:00.”

Chapter Nineteen

Cheyenne sat in her car, fuming. She had followed Josh to some swanky restaurant where he would obviously be meeting someone. There’s no way he would go out to dinner at such a place by himself. And worse, he hadn’t invited her to go with him, and he was ignoring her texts and calls.

She watched as he went into the restaurant dressed in similar, if not the same, clothes that he had worn on the date they had at his ex-wife’s house, then she scanned the parking lot. That’s when she saw her. The bitch from the airport. Dr. Leanne Casey. So, Josh was cheating on her with another woman.

Her heart sank as she spotted Dr. Casey walking into the restaurant. This was the woman Josh preferred over her. He couldn’t love her, and there’s no way she could love him the way Cheyenne did. Cheyenne was willing to kill for him, had killed for him. No one else could love him like she did.

She had been trying to reach Josh all day. She had sent multiple texts, all of which were ignored. She had called fifteen times, and none of her calls were answered. He was deliberately ignoring her. That would not do. And now, she knew why.

She felt the anger rising, her face felt flushed and her breathing became heavier. How could he treat her this way? How could he cheat on her so brazenly? He had to know that she would find out, it was so obvious.

Cheyenne waited in her car for a few minutes, then she got out and located the Lexus that Dr. Casey had drove up in. It was a sporty, red, four-door sedan. She took the knife from her pocket and looked around to make sure no one was nearby. She slashed all four tires. The hissing sound of air escaping was satisfying. She took her keys and held them between her index finger and middle finger. She ran the keys down the side of the car, so that three of her keys made contact with the paint, scratching three wavy lines in it all the way down the side. Then, she took a single key and scratched the word “WHORE” in the driver’s side door.

She thought about setting the car on fire. She considered it for several moments, but she decided it would attract too much attention too soon. Instead, she climbed onto the hood and dropped her pants. She defecated on the windshield.

Proud of her handiwork, she went back to her own car. That should send the message. Both the doctor and Josh should get the meaning loud and clear. Cheyenne would not be cheated on, not without repercussions. She loved Josh, but sometimes, he needed a little discipline. Most men did, Cheyenne guessed.

She smiled as she drove by the doctor’s car on her way out of the parking lot. She wished she could see the look on Josh’s face when he came out of the restaurant, but she needed to be somewhere else, just in case they called the police.

* * *

Josh was laughing at a joke Leanne had told. She had already admonished him for calling her Dr. Casey and insisted it was Leanne. She was beautiful under the flickering light of the candles. Josh had certainly done well selecting the restaurant. It was an informal dress code, though he made sure to wear his best, but not for the wait staff. They were in suits and ties, the food was gourmet, and the only light came from candles on the tables and a string of LED lights on the floor to light the path to the exits and restrooms. It was all very tasteful and elegant.

His biggest concern was the cost. He’d ordered the cheapest entree on the menu, a steak that was still going to cost thirty dollars. He only had seventy-five dollars on him. He would have to put the rest on a credit card. It would be embarrassing for Leanne to see him having to use multiple payment methods. He decided then that he would put the entire cost of the meal on the credit card to save himself from her judgement.

He tried hard to forget about the cost of the food. It was done now; all he could do was enjoy the food and the company and wait for the check. Leanne was telling another story about a transplant she had done. They were taking turns telling each other stories about their work.

When the check came, Josh tried hard to not register any facial expression. The final cost was eighty-two dollars and some change. Josh handed over his credit card, but Leanne stopped him. She insisted on paying and handed the waiter her card instead. Josh protested, but she persisted. Honestly, it felt nice that she was willing to treat him. He wasn’t used to it, and he certainly wasn’t expecting it. He thanked her for the meal, and they left the restaurant together.

Josh walked her to her car, still talking about some call he had run, when he noticed that she had stopped walking. He knew something was wrong by the way she was frozen in place. He followed her gaze to a red Lexus. It had been scratched horribly, the tires were all flat, and there was something on the windshield.

He knew instinctively that it had been Cheyenne. The word “WHORE” was carved in the driver’s side door. It had to have been Cheyenne. She must have followed him and then seen Leanne with him.

Josh apologized and then told Leanne about Cheyenne. “I’m so sorry, it must have been this girl I know. We had a fling, and when I tried to end it, she didn’t take it so well.” He braced himself for the inevitable, and justifiable, anger that she was sure to release.

At first he found it difficult to read the expression on her face before it clouded over with the anger he was expecting. Josh thought, “Well, this is one way to blow a first date.”

Leanne didn’t respond initially, only pulled out her cell phone and called the police. While they waited for officers to arrive, she then turned her attention back to Josh. “Did you know that she was going to do this?”

“No, of course not! I never would have come out on the date if I had,” Josh rushed to reply. With that, her anger softened some. When Josh offered to drive her back to Nashville, all but the smallest remnants of her anger stayed—at least towards him. When the police arrived, they took down her information, took photos of the car, and then asked Josh for a detailed account of his interactions with Cheyenne. Leanne called a tow truck to take her car to the shop, and Josh drove her home.

Chapter Twenty

Josh sang to himself as he got dressed. Tonight, he would have his second date with Leanne. When he dropped her off at home last night, she had suggested that they try again, this time in Nashville to avoid Cheyenne, who was now referred to as Josh’s “crazy ex-girlfriend.”

They would be having dinner tonight at The Vineyard, which was Leanne’s favorite restaurant. After dinner would be a movie. Josh planned on being home late, because it was a two-hour drive to get to Nashville and then another two-hour drive to get home.

Despite the vandalism of Leanne’s car, Josh had a good time with her last night. The date itself went well, and he got an extra two hours to spend with her on the drive back to her apartment in the city. They had chatted about the weather, work, and their families during the ride. Josh learned that Leanne came from a large family, with five siblings. Both of her parents were dead, unlike Josh who had no siblings and his parents were divorced.

He had dropped her off in front of her apartment building. He wanted to linger for a few more minutes, but he was in a no-parking zone. He watched as she went inside the building and then drove back home.

Josh stopped singing and checked his watch. He calculated the time he had remaining before he needed to leave. He was trying to be punctual, and he wanted to make as good of an impression on the second date as he had made on the first.

He finished getting dressed and checked his watch again. Right on time. He grabbed his wallet and keys and locked his apartment door behind him. He made sure to lock the deadbolt, just in case Cheyenne tried to break in again.

Cheyenne. The thought of what she had done to Leanne’s car made Josh angry again. The text messages she had been sending him became more demanding, wanting to know who Leanne was and why Josh was seeing her. Then, they slowed down. Maybe Cheyenne was taking the hint that Josh didn’t want to see her or even speak to her.

Josh circled the block a few times to see if anyone was following him, then he got on the interstate headed for Nashville. He had no doubt that Cheyenne would try to follow him, so he would make a few wrong turns and try to lose her in traffic once he got into the city.

* * *

Cheyenne looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She drove back home, upset that she had lost Josh in traffic. She knew he would be seeing that tramp again tonight, and she had tried to follow him, but he got away. She felt as though she was losing him to another woman. That was unacceptable. After all she had done to keep him, she couldn’t lose him.

He had stopped answering her texts and calls completely. She would have to do something drastic to win him back this time. She pondered for several minutes, trying to think of something she could do that would make his life better and make her a hero in the process. Finally, she had the perfect plan. His divorce. What would make his divorce happen faster and free him up to marry her? The death of his soon-to-be ex-wife.

Cheyenne drove by Lisa’s house. Her car was in the driveway. There were no neighbors outside their homes, and the street was quiet. She parked several houses down and walked back to Lisa’s driveway. Cheyenne peeked through the windows and saw Lisa having dinner, alone. She watched as Lisa ate, washed her dishes, and got ready for bed, her mannerisms reminding her of Josh and just making Cheyenne even more determined to go through with her plan. Under the cover of darkness, Cheyenne picked the lock on the workshop door. Josh’s tools were still where he had left them. He didn’t have room for them at his new apartment.

She knew that there was a connecting door between the workshop and the house. She’d seen it when she was here before. The lock would be easy to pick, and the door didn’t have an alarm sensor on it. Cheyenne crept back outside and watched the bedroom window until she saw Lisa lying in bed. The lamps turned off, and the house was plunged into darkness. She went back into the workshop. Using her phone as a flashlight, she mixed the chloroform she had bought earlier, after initially finding out about Leanne, in a bucket, then soaked a rag in it.

She picked the lock on the door to the house, then switched off the flashlight on her phone. She made her way through the house to the bedroom, her footsteps silent on the thick carpeting. Lisa was asleep in the bed, and Cheyenne clamped the chloroform-soaked rag over her mouth and nose. Lisa woke and struggled for a couple of minutes, hitting out at Cheyenne but never being able to make contact. Lisa became weaker and weaker until she lost consciousness. Cheyenne dragged her out of the bed, to the workshop. She bound her wrists and ankles and stuffed the chloroform rag into her mouth, securing it with duct tape.

Back inside the house, Cheyenne grabbed a suitcase from the closet and filled it with Lisa’s clothing. She made the bed and left the closet and drawers in a mess, making it appear that Lisa had packed a bag and left in a hurry. She stowed the suitcase in her own car, then returned to the workshop. She spread heavy-duty plastic sheeting over the area she would be working in, then dragged Lisa to the middle of a sheet of plastic. Cheyenne prepared everything she would need. Trash bags to contain body parts, a water hose to wash the blood down the floor drain, and a scrub brush to clean the floor with afterwards. Her plan was to cut Lisa into smaller pieces, stuff her into trash bags, and leave the bags in the trash bin by the road. Tomorrow was trash pick-up, and none of the neighbors would even notice. Cheyenne selected a saw from the shelf and began dismembering Lisa’s body.

Chapter Twenty One

The tones blared overhead. “Medic 4 respond. 1802 West Wind Circle, Apartment A-37. 57-year-old female, prescription refill.”

Josh groaned. Did this woman really call 911 to get a prescription refilled? He got up from the couch and pulled on his boots. He had been watching television and thinking about his date with Leanne the night before.

Dinner had been amazing. The Vineyard was an elegant restaurant, known for their wine selection, which had not been disappointing. Josh tried several wines while Leanne knew exactly which one that she had wanted. He had ordered the smoked salmon, she had grilled chicken.

After dinner, they went to a movie theater and saw a romantic comedy film. Josh had felt relaxed and comfortable around Leanne, and she seemed to find him charming and interesting as well. The date was cut short after the movie because Josh had to drive two hours to get home and they both had to work the next day.

There had been no talk of Cheyenne; in fact, Josh didn’t even think about her the whole night. It was as if she never existed, and Josh much preferred it that way. She had progressed beyond “crazy ex-girlfriend” and gone to “psychotic stalker.”

Josh made his way to the ambulance. It was raining outside, and he made sure to fasten his seatbelt. Dillon got in the passenger seat, and Josh pulled the ambulance out of the bay. Since they knew the primary complaint was a prescription refill, which was not an emergency, they did not use the lights or siren. While driving toward the address, a car suddenly changed lanes and was heading directly for them. Josh slowed, but the car did not. It was on a collision course with the ambulance. Josh had nowhere to go, so he swerved and crashed the ambulance into a ditch. The car, narrowly missing them, drove away.

The airbags deployed, hitting Josh in the face. His eyes stung from the dust, and he felt a shooting pain in his left arm. He couldn’t move it. His ears were ringing, and blood clouded his vision. He used his right hand to feel for the radio and called for help.

While he was waiting for help to arrive, Dillon, who was thankfully not injured, tried to help Josh out of the ambulance. “It’s okay, buddy, I’m gonna get you out.”

“Just hurry, please,” Josh pleaded. His whole body hurt and being trapped made him feel claustrophobic.

The passenger’s side had taken the most damage, but the driver’s side door was jammed. Dillon had no luck, but he made sure to keep talking to Josh to keep him as calm as possible. Firefighters arrived and cut the door off, freeing Josh. He felt the rain come pouring into the wrecked vehicle. Dillon bandaged a large laceration on Josh’s forehead and fashioned a sling for his left arm, applying a splint as well. Josh couldn’t see it, because there was still blood in his eyes, but Dillon said it was obviously broken.

Another ambulance arrived and cleared Dillon, then loaded Josh into their vehicle. A third ambulance responded to Josh and Dillon’s original call. Inside the ambulance, one of Josh’s co-workers started an IV, while the other prepared a dose of pain medication. The drug made Josh sleepy, and soon, he couldn’t feel the pain in his arm anymore.

He saw the accident replay in his mind. He saw Cheyenne behind the wheel of the car that ran him off the road. He woke with a start. He was no longer in the ambulance but was now in the hospital and a doctor was talking to him. Josh tried to focus, but the drugs were too strong. Had he really seen Cheyenne driving the car, or had that just been his imagination? He couldn’t be sure, but he wouldn’t put it past her.

Josh was vaguely aware of his arm being manipulated, then laid on something cold. It must have been the x-ray. After the cold plate was removed, Josh faded back to sleep. He dreamed of the accident again, but this time, it was Lisa driving the car. Surely that was just his imagination. What reason would Lisa have for running him off the road? Besides, Cheyenne was the crazy stalker who had been following him.

When Josh woke next, his arm was in excruciating pain. The drugs must have been wearing off, he thought. He pressed the nurse call button. A young nurse that Josh had never seen before came into the room. “Mr. Barnow, your arm is broken in two places. It’s going to hurt for a little bit. I’ll check with the doctor to see if you can have more pain medication.”

Josh gritted his teeth. A police officer entered the room, wincing apologetically once he saw how annoyed and in pain Josh was. Still, he was determined to do his job. “Mr. Barnow, I’m deputy Jackson with the Colton County Sheriff’s Office. I’m investigating the accident. Can you tell me what happened?”

“Yes. We were going on a call, and suddenly, this woman whipped out of traffic into my lane. I slowed down, but she didn’t. I had to take the ditch to keep from hitting her head-on.”

“Did you have your lights and siren on?”

“No. It wasn’t an emergency call.”

“I see. So, this woman was driving in your lane, coming in the opposite direction?”

“Yes.”

“Can you describe the vehicle?”

“It was a small, green sedan. That’s all I know. But I think I might know who was driving it.”

“Who’s that?”

“My ex-girlfriend. She’s been stalking me ever since I broke up with her. She keyed my current girlfriend’s car, and even took a dump on the windshield.”

“I remember hearing about that. Do you know where I can find her?”

Josh gave the officer Cheyenne’s name, description, and contact information. Then, he called Leanne to tell her what happened and warned her to be careful. Leanne was immediately concerned. “Are you okay? Do you need anything? If I leave now, I can be there before dinner.” .

Josh told her no, despite how badly he wanted to see her. “No, no, I’ll be okay. I’ll come see you as soon as I’m discharged, okay? I’ll call you if anything changes.” Josh hung up the phone and waited for the orthopedic specialist to splint his arm and apply a cast. He never did get a second dose of pain medication, but he just gritted his teeth and dealt with the pain.

Chapter Twenty Two

Leanne rushed through her rounds at the hospital. She wanted to get home so that she could go check on Josh. She shared his suspicion that it had been Cheyenne who ran him off the road. Of course, there was no proof, but given what had been done to her car, Leanne had no doubts.

After seeing her last patient, she hung her lab coat and stethoscope in her locker and hurried to the parking garage. Her rental car did not appear to have been tampered with. She drove home, anxious to learn the extent of Josh’s injuries. He told her not to come to the hospital, but she was going to anyway.

Her phone rang. It was Josh. “Hey, I’m on my way to Nashville,” he said.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yes, it’s just a broken arm. It’s fractured it two places, but they put a cast on it, and I’m fine now. Still hurts like hell.”

“I bet. You be careful. I’ll be home by the time you get here.”

“Okay. Watch your back. There’s no telling what this crazy heifer will do next.”

“Will do. Drive safe.” She hung up the phone. She was truly afraid for Josh’s safety. If she was capable of doing this, what else would she try? Thankfully, Cheyenne didn’t know where Leanne lived. Or did she? She had been following Josh and could have followed him to Nashville, right to Leanne’s door. She wondered if her home address was on any of her online profiles. She would have to check.

When she arrived at home, there was something white and fluffy outside her door, which was ajar. It was her cat, Tigger. He wasn’t moving. Written on the door, in blood, was the word “BITCH.” Leanne recoiled at the sight, barely containing the urge to vomit and cry simultaneously, and called 911 from her phone.

When officers arrived, Leanne showed them the scene, and they searched her apartment. It appeared as though someone had searched it, but Leanne couldn’t find anything missing. She told the officers about Cheyenne, and they took down her information. One of the officers advised her to go down to the courthouse and file for an order of protection. He told her to have Josh do the same. “You can’t be too careful with sick people like this woman. She obviously doesn’t care about taking a life,” he said before leaving, giving Leanne chills.

She set about the task of cleaning up. When Josh arrived, she showed him Tigger’s body, and the blood on the door. Josh was furious. He helped her finish cleaning and then drove her to the courthouse, where they both filed for orders of protection. They were assigned a court date for the following week.

Josh wasn’t satisfied. He drove to the gun range. “Have you ever shot a gun before?” he asked.

“No,” Leanne replied.

“Well, today you’re going to learn. We’re going to get you a gun, and I want you to keep it on you at all times.”

“Okay. I guess.” Leanne wasn’t sure about the gun, but she did want some kind of protection. If it came down to her or this Cheyenne, Leanne wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever was necessary to save her own life.

Inside the range, Josh selected a nine-millimeter and showed Leanne how to hold it. She fired some practice shots, all of them missing the target. Josh laughed, then seemingly remembered the situation and got serious once more. He helped her aim at the target, putting his arms around hers and holding her hands with his. Leanne felt safe there, but she wasn’t sure if it was Josh, with his arms around her, or the loaded gun in her hands.

After a couple of hours of practicing, Leanne felt she was getting pretty good with the gun. She was hitting the target with almost all of her shots. Josh taught her how to load and unload, how to store the gun, where to carry it, where not to carry it, and how to transport it safely. She didn’t want to admit it because of the situation, but she was having a good time.

Josh, on the other hand, seemed to be struggling. Teaching someone to shoot with an injured arm proved difficult for him, but he never complained. He purchased the gun, some ammunition, and a holster for her.

It was getting dark when they left the range. Josh was hyper-vigilant in the parking lot, checking his truck thoroughly before he let Leanne open the door and get in. He looked all around, then got in himself and started the engine.

When they got back to her apartment, Josh went inside and made sure it was clear first. Leanne entered and told Josh to make himself comfortable while she changed clothes. She changed into a pair of sweats, and when she came out of the bedroom, Josh was on the couch.

“Do you want to hang out, watch some TV for a while?” Leanne asked.

“With you? Absolutely,” he replied.

She smiled and sat down on the couch beside him. She snuggled up to him as he scrolled through the movie channels. He selected one at random.

“Do you want to stay here tonight? On the couch?” she asked. She had considered letting him share her bed, but she thought it was too soon. She didn’t want to rush into anything.

“That sounds fantastic. As long as it’s no trouble.”

“No trouble at all. It would be nice to have you here, just in case she comes back.”

Leanne felt sad about Tigger. He’d been her only companion for several years. She felt tears welling up in her eyes as she noticed his food bowl, still full, on the kitchen floor. She snuggled closer to Josh. She smelled his cologne, mixed with the slight odor of sweat. She didn’t mind the musky smell and pulled his arm around her shoulders. He smiled at her and squeezed her gently.

After the movie, Leanne retrieved a blanket and pillow from the closet and gave them to Josh before retiring to the bedroom alone. As she climbed into bed, she thought that she might have offered to let him have the bed and her sleep on the couch. After all, he was injured. But she knew him well enough by now to know that he would never accept such an offer. She felt safe, knowing that he was in the house, and she was able to sleep soundly.

Chapter Twenty Three

Cheyenne was pissed off. She was so angry that she had started crying again. How could Josh do this to her? They were meant to be together. She had killed for him, and he was cheating on her with some tramp from the hospital.

Well, she thought, this just is not going to work. Nobody cheated on her. She decided that if she couldn’t have Josh, then nobody could. And that bitch doctor was going to get what was coming to her, too.

Cheyenne had seen them call the police on her. She knew they would recognize her car, so she had taken Grandpa’s old car, a green Ford sedan. She had run the ambulance off the road, and Josh had broken his arm. Served him right.

She had gone straight to Nashville and broke into that bitch’s apartment. She had searched for anything she could use to break them up but didn’t find anything. Instead, she had found a cat. She stabbed it with a knife until it died and used its blood to leave a message on the door. She was still angry, and she wanted Josh to see that. Instead of calling her and apologizing, he had taken the bitch and gone to the courthouse, no doubt to get a restraining order. Well, that’s fine, she thought. A restraining order was just a piece of paper.

Cheyenne vowed that Josh would pay for cheating on her. She was the only woman who could ever love him, truly love him. And punishment was part of love. He had to learn that this behavior was not acceptable. And if he couldn’t learn that, then he would have to be dealt with severely.

For her plan to work, she would have to spend the night in Nashville. If she went home, the police would be looking for Grandpa’s car. In the city, however, nobody would even notice her.

She drove to the park and settled down in the car. She would sleep here tonight, and then confront Josh bright and early tomorrow. Hopefully, he would be reasonable and stop this foolishness with the doctor. If not, well, she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

* * *

Josh was awakened by the sound of knocking at the door. “Police,” came a voice following the knock. Josh opened the door and saw an officer standing outside.

“Are you Josh Barnow?”

“Yes, I am. How can I help you?”

“I’m afraid I have some bad news from Colton County.”

“What is it?”

“The sheriff’s office there is trying to reach you. They’ve found your wife’s body. I’m sorry to inform you, but she’s dead. We’ll need you to make a positive identification in the morning.”

Josh turned and sank back onto the sofa, his legs not even feeling adequate enough to hold him anymore. Poor Lisa. Josh didn’t want to be married to her anymore, but he didn’t wish her any ill will, especially not death. He asked the officer, “How did she die?”

“She was murdered, sir. Her body was dismembered and thrown in the trash. We won’t know more until a full autopsy is done.”

Josh felt a chill down his spine. It had to be Cheyenne. So, she was capable of murder of a person after all. The officer left, and Josh checked Leanne’s gun to make sure it was ready, in case Cheyenne came back.

Leanne woke and came to the living room to see what was going on. “It was about my ex-wife. Someone murdered her and threw her body into the trash.” Obviously unnerved, she sat down on the couch, her hands shaking with her nerves.

Josh would have to go home in the morning to positively identify Lisa’s body. He dreaded seeing her in that state. He’d seen plenty of dead bodies before, but no one he knew, much less his own wife. He tried to not think about it.

Leanne got up and made a pot of coffee. Neither of them would be going back to sleep tonight. Josh sat quietly on the couch, feeling sad, scared, and desperate. He just wanted Cheyenne to go away. He thought about the gun again. He didn’t want to have to kill her, but he would if he were to be placed in that situation.

Josh and Leanne sat on the couch for hours, with Josh telling her about Lisa, how they met, about their wedding, their honeymoon, the good years, and the bad. Leanne listened patiently, sympathetically. She comforted him when he started to cry.

He wondered out loud why Cheyenne had gone after Lisa. What could her motivation have been to kill her? Lisa was divorcing Josh, because of Cheyenne, and so she wouldn’t have been a problem for Cheyenne. If anything, Leanne would have been Cheyenne’s biggest problem now. That thought gave Josh another chill. Cheyenne had a problem with him seeing Leanne, and she was still at large. She knew where Leanne lived, and she had been here once before.

Josh got up and checked the gun again, almost compulsively. He wanted to keep it in his hands, but he knew he was so jumpy he might accidentally shoot the large grandfather clock in the living room. The coffee wasn’t helping his jitters.

* * *

Cheyenne woke early. It was time. She started the car and drove back to the apartment complex. She took a visitor’s parking space and backed the car in so that she could have a clear view of the front of the building. She sat there, watching and waiting for Josh to come out of the building. She could only imagine what kind of wild, carnal activity he was engaged in. She would show him. He would have to learn that cheating was not okay. She would teach him, he would be punished, and he would never do it again. She wouldn’t stand for it. As the sun came up, Cheyenne turned off the engine and got comfortable in the seat of the car. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be a long wait. Josh already had a broken arm, so he wouldn’t be able to fight back, but she wasn’t interested in hand-to-hand punishment. She was going to break a few more bones.

Chapter Twenty Four

As the sun rose, Leanne prepared breakfast for them. She scrambled eggs, made pancakes, bacon, and sausage. The aroma made Josh realize just how hungry he was. After feasting on the meal that she had cooked, Josh waited patiently while Lisa changed her clothes. She had offered to accompany him to the coroner’s office to identify Lisa’s body.

Josh watched as she strapped on the holster and concealed her gun. He locked the door behind them and walked quickly toward the truck. As he was crossing the parking lot, he heard a car engine start. He looked around but did not see anyone. He chastised himself for being so jumpy. Lisa was walking right behind him, and as they crossed between a row of cars, Josh heard it.

The car engine he had just heard now roared. Tires squealed. Josh looked up and saw the green sedan barreling toward Leanne, gaining speed. He turned and shoved Leanne out of the way, but the car hit Josh, hard. He landed on the hood and heard tires squeal again as the brakes were applied. He flew off the car and landed on the asphalt. The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was the sound of fireworks close by.

* * *

Leanne followed Josh through the parking lot. She was nervous, but they should be safe here in the apartment parking lot. She heard a car engine, then Josh abruptly turned and shoved her, knocking her down. She jumped back up in time to see the green sedan hit Josh, dragging him at first, then throwing him to the ground. The driver, a woman with long, brownish-blonde hair, put the car in reverse. She was aiming for Leanne.

Leanne pulled the gun from its holster and aimed carefully. Remembering what Josh had taught her, Leanne squeezed the trigger repeatedly until the gun was empty. The car crashed into another car parked in the lot. The driver was slumped over the steering wheel. The bullets had shattered the back glass and the driver’s side window. Judging from the amount of blood, more than one of Leanne’s bullets had found their target.

The incident attracted the attention of the neighbors, who gathered to watch the scene as police began to arrive. Leanne dropped the empty gun on the ground, and ran to Josh’s side. He was breathing but unconscious. She began checking him for other injuries, and finding no bleeding, she took off her jacket and placed it under his head.

When EMS arrived, they took Josh away. Leanne identified herself as a physician and ordered them to take him to Nashville Memorial. She stayed behind to answer questions for the officers.

* * *

When Josh woke, he was in the hospital. Everything hurt, and he noticed that he had more splints. He looked around the room. There was a bouquet of flowers in a vase on the table, and on the other side of him, Leanne slept in a chair. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been out, and the last thing he remembered was being hit by the car. He tried to move, but the pain was too strong, and he groaned loudly. Leanne stirred, then woke and noticed that Josh was awake.

“Hey. How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Like I got hit by a car,” he replied, giving her a lopsided smile, all that he was capable of doing without hurting himself more.

“Well, as it turns out…” she let the sentence trail off. She smiled and him and then said, “It’s finally over. Cheyenne’s dead, and you’re safe now.”

“What happened?” Josh asked.

“She hit you with a car, and I shot her,” Leanne responded.

She took him by the hand and put the control for the morphine pump in his other hand. Josh kissed her hand, then pressed the button. He enjoyed lying there, holding her hand, before he started to feel lightheaded and everything went black again. Before falling back asleep, Josh felt comfortable and safe in the knowledge that Leanne was there, right by his side.

The End