CHAPTER FOUR
“Hey, Jonas, where are you headed?” asked Garr, walking toward him with a few other couples.
“Nowhere,” he frowned.
“Aren’t you doing New Year’s Eve with Khloe?” asked Clark. Nell stared at the man, wondering why he had distanced himself from their beautiful new doctor.
“No. I don’t think so,” he said, shaking his head.
“Well, that’s a shame,” said Nell. “We’re headed to The Well, which is where she went with a bunch of others. The Well is always jumping on New Year’s Eve. I’m sure there will be plenty of single men there to ask her to dance. Pretty woman like her won’t last long in a place like that.”
The group moved to one of the boats, boarding as slowly as possible, hoping that the stubborn Jonas would get the hint. Just as they were about to pull away from the dock, he leaped onto the boat and took a seat. No one said a word, just grinning behind their hands.
The Well was always busy, but on New Year’s Eve, it was insane. Over the years, it had grown from a small, raised Acadian cabin turned bar into a full-blown bar and restaurant with dancing, live bands, and three decks that held hundreds of people.
They easily spotted their group on the top deck and moved through the crowds to join them. Sure enough, Khloe was sitting with Ajei, Luke, Kennedy, JT, Lucinda, and Irish.
He immediately noticed the beautiful silver satin of her blouse and the silver sequined jeans. She looked like a gorgeous ornament. Her hair was piled loosely on her head, and the bright red of her lipstick made his dick hurt.
At first, he didn’t know how she was keeping warm, but then he felt the blast of the heaters on the deck and knew.
Turning toward the new group, Khloe smiled at Jonas, hoping to get one in return. If he didn’t, she would move on. She thought there was a half-smile, but it disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. Her heart nearly cracked. She was heeding the advice of Kate and Ajei, allowing him to come to her. She was trying to be patient and understanding. What he’d gone through was terrible, but she’d hoped that they could talk about it and maybe both heal. But him ignoring her was hurtful. She’d never had to beg a man for attention, and this was a man she desperately wanted to pay attention to her.
But she also understood his reluctance. She just wanted to speak to him.
“Excuse me, would you like to dance?” asked the man.
Khloe looked up at him in the darkness. She could see that he was older but was reasonably handsome. He was wearing dark jeans and a sweater with dirty running shoes. She looked back at Jonas and then at the man again.
“Sure. I’d like that,” she said. She took his hand, and he squeezed it a little too hard, pulling her toward the dance floor. This was going to be a quick dance, for sure.
Jonas stared at the couple, then felt the others staring at him.
“What? She can dance with whoever she likes.”
“Brother, whatever is eating at you, figure it the fuck out. She’s a keeper all the way. You need to make sure of it,” said JT.
“It’s complicated.”
“It always is,” laughed Moose. Jonas felt someone tap his shoulder and turned to see U-Jin pointing at the dance floor.
“It looks as if she does not want to dance with him any longer. You might want to let him know that is not correct.”
Jonas turned to see the man tugging on Khloe’s hand, pulling her toward the steps to the docks. He immediately pushed his way through the crowd and instinctively knew that the others were moving to block the man as well.
“Let me go!” yelled Khloe above the music, panicked at the thought of someone taking her once again.
“You’re a sinner! A whore and a sinner!” said the man.
“God, let me go,” she cried again.
“God won’t help you now.”
“No, but I will,” said Jonas.
He grabbed the man’s elbow, wrenching it upwards, forcing him to release his grip on Khloe. She fell backwards, and U-Jin and Moose immediately helped her up and gently pushed her toward the other medical team members.
“Are you alright, honey?” asked Ajei.
