Free All I Need (Hearts of the South) by Linda Winfree

order, although Emmett wasn’t sure why she bothered. The three of them always ordered the same items here. Ice water in hand, Emmett gestured at Clark. “How’s the ankle?”
    “Better. I’m glad I took the days and rested it.” He lifted his own glass of iced tea and grimaced. “Of course, now I’m in the bus, listening to Jim catch up on three days of bitching about what shit his life is. I almost broke down and begged Latrelle to put me on nights with Pantone.”
    “Davis would not like that.” Emmett leaned back in his chair, stretching out his leg.
    “I don’t give a good damn what Davis likes.” Clark made a disgusted sound in his throat. “We are done, man.”
    “For real?” Troy Lee’s brows dipped downward in an expression of confused surprise that Emmett shared. Clark had been seeing Davis for weeks; they’d seemed to be a good match.
    “Yeah.” The server’s approach interrupted Clark’s reply, and he waited until the young woman had settled plates and retreated before he spoke again. “The guy apparently didn’t understand that ‘I don’t feel like it’ did not involve waiting until I was asleep and half-out on pain meds to feel me up. I’m not wasting time with someone who doesn’t respect a boundary.”
    Emmett nodded. At least Savannah had recognized his and backed off. Sure, things were unresolved between them, but all he’d had to say was “stop”. She had, instantly, with her first thought for his well-being. Maybe he should relent and be the first to reach out.
    As they ate, they shared the everyday happenings and concerns of their lives—Emmett’s experiences with the new job, the impact of parenting small children on Troy Lee’s marriage, Clark’s sense of weirdness at having been shot at while doing his job. Emmett thought of spilling the whole mess with Savannah, but he wasn’t ready to go there yet.
    Near the end of the meal, Bennett strode in. Taking the seat next to Troy Lee, he set a bottled water and two headache powders on the table, then greeted the others. Unfolding the end of the paper packets, he downed both powders at once and chased them with water. A grimace twisted his face.
    “You all right?” Troy Lee flicked a finger at the discarded wrappers.
    “I forgot the cabinet door was open and came up too fast.” Bennett grimaced. “Hit my head.”
    “You’ve got a knot.” Troy Lee reached to touch the back of Bennett’s skull, and Bennett winced. Troy Lee’s familiar Cheshire-cat grin spread over his face. “The back of your neck is bruised, too, but it looks like fingernails… Oh. Got it. You went home for lunch.”
    “Shut up.” Bennett knocked Troy Lee’s hand away.
    “You might have a concussion.” If possible, Troy Lee’s grin widened, and he relaxed in his chair. “You should go to the ER.”
    “I cannot go to the ER.” Bennett laughed, then winced. He pressed a finger to the back of his head. “Didn’t I tell you to shut up?”
    “You’re the only guy I know who turns sex into a full-contact sport and gets injured.”
    “You’re jealous because there’s no sex in your house at the moment.”
    “Wait until you have small kids.”
    Emmett tuned them out, spinning his glass in a slow circle on the tabletop. Did it make him weak if he texted her? Friends did that after a misunderstanding.
    “Hey, Emmett.” Troy Lee snapped his fingers in front of Emmett’s face. “What is with you, man?”
    “Nothing. Thinking about schedules.” Making himself crazy thinking about a woman who was supposed to be only a friend. Yeah, right. He’d never had a friend tie him in this many knots.
    * * * * *
    With the ER board clear and the waiting room empty for once, Savannah seized the opportunity to work on the implementation report SGM had requested. Her attention span left much to be desired, and she rested her forehead on her hand and puffed out a frustrated breath. Damn it, she simply could not focus, and she knew why. Unhappy and