Love's Tangled Web by Donna Taylor

Chapter 9

8 x 75%

Ellie had barely kicked off her shoes when the hospital called, urging her to get back to her internship.

Monday rolled around, and she was right back in the swing of things. Her boss gave her a thumbs up, dropping hints that if she kept killing it, a permanent spot might be hers for the taking

Come lunchtime, Ellie was holed up in the break room, scrolling through her phone for any part–time gigs.

Her internship paycheck was slim, and she was on the hunt for extra cash to help out at home. She refused to let Aaron be the only one holding the family together.

A quick knock and a coworker poked her head in with a mysterious, “Dr. Thompson, you’ve got a guest,” before vanishing as swiftly as she’d appeared.

was still wrapping her head around the cryptic message when Alex walked in. Their eyes met for a fleeting moment, and Ellie quickly deflected, offering a “Hey, Alex as if they’d never had

power button. It had been a few days. since she’d seen Alex, and she found

his presence known by slamming a bag and keys onto

attention shifted from the bag of treats to

indicator that he was carrying

Ellie settled into the massage chair, Alex took a seat on the desk’s edge, facing her. The only sound in the room was the gentle hum of the massage chair, filling

tried to crack a joke to ease the tension. “You bailed on me with that injured leg, not even a goodbye. You’re not adding another crutch to the family, are you?” His smile didn’t reach

with a seriousness he’d never seen. “That’s not funny,” she said, her tone flat.

trying to save a strange boy. If it weren’t

“Ellie come on,” he said, his voice edged with annoyance. “Who’s been letting you get away with this attitude? It

down, not bothering to argue. To Alex, she was just a girl who’d been under the Warren