by Cheryl Wyatt
She feigned a full-body melt. “Total yum! I’m game.”
He smiled, waved at Tia and headed to the trauma center.
When he reached the door, Dr. Lockhart was getting out of her bright red sports car. He felt rude walking in, so he waited for her.
She seemed delighted to see him and jogged to catch up. She lifted her trendy purse over her shoulder, its sleek black color matching her hair. Funny, he’d always been attracted to dark-haired women before.
These days, though, it seemed blond was more his style.
“Good morning. What are your grand plans for the day?” she greeted him.
“Hopefully a slow day here, then a relaxing dinner with my daughter and our babysitter.”
“Bri, right?”
Ian nodded, feeling almost dishonest by simply referring to her as his babysitter. She felt like more. “Bri’s an amazing friend. I hope you get to know her.” Now, even simply referring to Bri as “friend” felt off kilter.
The doctor smiled kindly. “I intend to. I could use some friends here in town. Kate and Lauren hit me up for my number yesterday and told me to expect to be called to join them for their upcoming girls-night-out to the drive-in. It’s hard to believe there’s still a town that has a drive-in.”
“Yeah, Eagle Point is like that. So, have you ever been to Golden Terrace?” he found himself asking out of politeness.
“No, but I’ve heard they have to-die-for grilled shrimp.”
“They do. All of their food is good. The fried crawfish are a must.” They entered the center and hung their lab coats up.
Her face pinched. “I think not.”
He chuckled. “A few of us are getting together there after work hopefully. You’re welcome to join us,” Ian said, fully intending to invite the rest of the crew.
He didn’t want Clara to feel left out, since she was new in town and in need of friends. Ian was glad Kate and Lauren planned to include her in their plans. He knew they were planning to ask Bri along, as well. Thankfulness filled him.
She hesitated a moment, then set her bag down on the nurses’ station chair. Met his gaze. “Sure. If I wouldn’t be intruding, I’d like that.”
“No intrusion,” he assured, waving at Kate, who came in still-damp hair through the employee entrance and headed to the time clock. Kate waved back and went about her day.
Dr. Lockhart smiled and pulled out her stethoscope to begin their patient rounds. Ian already felt the lightened workload and plummeted stress since her arrival. “Golden Terrace grilled shrimp in double portions, here I come.”
* * *
Ian’s grin was delicious, Bri thought to herself, about the one he’d cast ruefully over his wide shoulders upon departing ten minutes ago.
Bri turned back around and knelt to join Tia in playing with the pup. She noticed Tia’s eyes were red and puffy. “Do you have allergies, sweetie? Or is something wrong? You look like you’ve been crying.”
“I’m crying because promises always break.”
“Sometimes. It depends on the promise giver and the situation. Did someone break a promise to you?”
“They both did.”
Bri assumed that “both” meant her parents. She needed to tread lightly here. Yet knew she needed to get to the root of Tia’s anguish and reassure her. Maybe Tia misunderstood that Ian was still covering for Ava. In Bri’s estimation, it was only serving to erode his relationship with Tia.
Lord, give me the words and Ian the wisdom to handle this.
That Bri suddenly felt like a partner in parenting Tia gave her a funny flip in her stomach. But, truthfully, it was a joint effort, since Tia’s mom was willfully MIA and Bri was now Tia’s primary female caregiver.
Bri set Mistletoe in his basket and reached for Tia. She scrambled willingly into Bri’s lap. “Tia, I’m not sure what happened. I don’t know your mom, but I do know your dad. He’s the kind of person who always keeps his promises. If he doubts he can keep one, he won’t make it in the first place. Trust me on that, okay?”
Skepticism fluttered across Tia’s enormous eyes.
Bri brushed a comforting hand along Tia’s back. “It’s okay to hope for good things again. Okay?”
Tia’s eyes watered. Her lips trembled. “Mommy didn’t call.” She uttered in such a fragile whisper, Bri barely heard it.
“Sweetie, what do you mean?” She strained to listen.
“She said she’d call and didn’t again.” Pain grew so pronounced in Tia’s eyes; they resembled watery circles of sharded glass. Again? Bri had no idea what parental situation prompted Tia’s raw words but Tia’s composure fractured with them.
Bri pulled her swiftly in for a hug. “I’m so sorry. I can’t promise you that your mom will call. But I can promise you that whether she does or not, life will look up. Good things and happy times will happen again soon.”
Tia gathered a lock of Bri’s hair and brushed her hand down it. “How do you know?”
“Because I believe in God and He says so. And He never, ever breaks a promise.”
“How can He say so to me?”
“When you pray and listen. He speaks deep inside us. With words invisible to our ears that we hear with our hearts. He also promises through words in the Bible. Do you have one?”
“I don’t know.”
“Would you like one? I think it would cheer you up.”
“What would cheer me up is if you were my mom instead of her.”
Bri couldn’t help the gasp. “Tia, don’t say that.”
“Well, it’s true. I’m not dumb.”
“You certainly are not.” She pulled Tia’s hair into a strand and began braiding, something her mom always did during heart-to-hearts. “Do you understand I’m only your babysitter?”
“I’m not a baby.” Tia scrambled to cover Mistletoe with his blanket. She got his head, though, and he flailed and bucked his head until Bri discreetly tugged his face into view.
“Then I’m just your big-girl sitter. You know that, right?”
“I know that if you were my mom, you would have called.”
If I were your mom, this wouldn’t be a discussion because I wouldn’t be stupid enough to break my daughter’s heart or let a man like Ian go. Bri nearly gasped again. This time, at her own thoughts. She pulled Tia in for another hug.
“Tia, do you believe your dad will never leave you? Because sometimes, it seems like you’re scared he might.”
“I don’t care.” She tossed Mistletoe’s favorite tennis ball. He scrambled up and wobbled after it, nails clicking, then skidding on the tile. The ball was too big for his mouth, but he gave it a good try. Cute little growling sounds came out of him as he attempted to apprehend the fuzzy yellow ball.
“Yes, deep down you do. You might not want to care, but you do. Sometimes I pretend to be tough enough not to need anyone. Like my mom or dad or brother or friends. But truth is, I do. I think God gives us at least one solid person in our lives at all times, whom we and He knows will be there for us.”
Oddly right now, that person was not Caleb, but Ian.
“I hope you will try to believe that solid person is your dad. He loves you very, very much.”
Tia appeared to think about that. Bri hoped and prayed she’d take the words to heart.
“He likes chocolate,” Tia said a while later as they folded a load of laundry together. “He needs it when he’s grumpy.”
“Is he grumpy to you?”
“No, he’s grumpy to you. Maybe we should make him chocolate.”
Bri burst out laughing. “Now, there’s an idea.”
They baked double-fudge cookies and Bri sprinkled a few extra chocolate chunks in the one Tia said was to be Ian’s. After baking them, the pair bundled up themselves and Mistlet
oe in the new snowsuit Ian had purchased for him, and they set off to the trauma center.
Once inside, Kate pointed Bri to Ian’s office. She knocked, suddenly feeling like an intruder. Dr. Lockhart sat across from him at his huge mahogany desk and they appeared to be going over a charting system.
“Hey, guys, come on in.” Ian stood and smiled. Scooped Tia up, but again, she stiffened in his arms.
To her credit, she shoved the small cookie plate toward him. “That one’s yours. No one else’s. Got it?”
He bit his lip, Bri presumed to keep from grinning. “Got it.”
Bri stepped across the floor, greeting Dr. Lockhart. “Nice to see you again.” She really, really tried to mean it.
“You, as well.” She barely acknowledged Bri though, and rather knelt, giving Tia her full attention. “Hello again.”
“Hi,” Tia said shyly. “You can have a cookie, too.”
“Well, thank you very much. They look delicious. I’m sure your dad will like them, since he’s so crazy about chocolate.”
She knew that already? Bri fought insecurity. Over the doctor getting to know Ian and spending so much time with him. Also she seemed to be making an effort to reach out to Tia. Bri kicked herself mentally. The woman probably missed her daughter. Bri cast her a kind smile and this time truly meant it.
Once back at the cabin, Tia started helping Bri load her dishwasher. “Do you like my dad?”
Bri gulped. Helped Tia slide cups into the top rack. “He...well...we’re friends. So of course I like him.”
“I meant do you like him like a boyfriend. Because sometimes it seems like you do.” Tia’s eyes narrowed, resembling her dad’s when he asked if her arm was hurting and she always denied it.
Bri gulped again. Odd how Tia had taken Bri’s words and turned them around in a quest for information of Tia’s own. “Well, I’m not sure yet,” Bri answered honestly. “How would you feel if one day I told you I do?”
Tia’s grin said more than her words ever could. But it made Bri feel anxious rather than elated. If Tia was getting her hopes up and something didn’t happen, she was destined for heartache and so was Bri. Again.
She could handle her own heart breaking, but to be responsible for heaping more pain on Tia’s life? No way.
Lord, I need understanding as to what’s going on here. Where Ian’s concerned, I need Your wisdom on whether to hit the brakes or step on the gas. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Bri’s new phone woke Tia from her nap. Especially since Bri couldn’t remember how to answer it right away. Tia ran up and swiped the face, causing Bri to laugh. “Leave it to a kid to lead an adult through a technological crisis.” Bri checked the missed-call menu, since it had already gone to voice mail. “That was your dad.” Bri hoped he wasn’t calling to cancel dinner. She hadn’t set anything out to thaw. Soup would do, though, if so.
Bri hated her still-occasional pessimism. “Hello, sorry I missed your call.”
“That’s fine. I’m getting off in about ten minutes.”
“We’ll be ready.”
“Awesome.” A hesitation sounded in his voice, then, “We’ll see you in a few.”
We? Bri ended the call feeling numb dread travel up her arms. Especially given the weird vibe of Ian’s hesitation.
Moments later, Ian knocked on her door. Bri opened it.
There stood Dr. Lockhart next to him. Bri shuttered her shock, acutely aware of her simple slacks and nondescript shirt, compared to the stylish doctor’s high-end name-brand clothing. “Please, come in.”
Dr. Lockhart entered with Ian following more slowly. He paused in front of Bri and said in low tones, “Everyone else declined, saying they’d already made plans.”
What did that mean? Bri eyed Ian quizzically but didn’t ask. Did he sense her unease? He shouldn’t worry about it. She was just being ridiculous. She shrugged it off and showed the lady doctor around her cabin.
“This is adorable,” Dr. Lockhart was saying. “The wood is gorgeous, gleaming gold. I love your color selections.”
“Thanks.” Bri secured Mistletoe in his kennel. She thought she felt Ian’s stare on her back, but didn’t have any idea if Ian really studied her because she wasn’t about to look at him.
They took the scenic route to the restaurant, Ian giving Dr. Lockhart the tour Bri had given him. Bri sat in the back with Tia and tried not to grit her teeth. They arrived at the restaurant in a half hour, after touring through Eagle Point.
Midway through dinner, Tia asked to get something out of the quarter machines in the front of the restaurant. Ian excused himself to take her. They stopped midway to speak to someone.
Instantly Dr. Lockhart’s hand came across the table to cover Bri’s. Bri froze, looked up. The woman’s kind eyes canvassed Ian, whose back was to them, then she caught Bri’s gaze. “I feel the need to reassure you that I’m not interested in Dr. Shupe. I respect him professionally, but that’s the extent of my feelings and interest toward him.”
Bri knew her mouth gaped. She tried to compose herself. “Oh. Well, it’s none of my business, really. We’re just friends.”
The pretty doctor’s mouth curved up in a rueful smile. “Mmm-hmm. That’s exactly what he tried to tell me. Yet neither one of you can keep your eyes off the other when you think you’re not looking.”
Bri forgot to breathe. “No, I’m sure it’s—”
“Oh, honey, I know the signs of deep and abiding care that precedes a complete romantic eclipse of the heart. I fell in love once. Stupidly, but still.” Pain fluttered across her face, making it look strained, regretful and drawn.
“I’m certainly not in love with him,” Bri blurted.
“Perhaps not yet. But I’d be remiss not to tell you that he talks about you all the time.” The doctor sighed. Leaned in, imploring Bri to listen. “He’s a good, good man, Bri. Take my advice, be patient. He’s struggling now. But he’ll come around. And when he does, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the man he is on the other side of his pain.”
All Bri could do was be silent.
Dr. Lockhart watched Ian take Tia to the goodie machines. She faced Bri and continued, “He’ll definitely be worth the wait. Plus, Tia adores you.” Her eyes watered, causing Bri to turn her palm up and squeeze. Dr. Lockhart’s hand trembled all the way to her fingers.
“Dr. Lockhart, I’m so sorry about your little girl,” Bri whispered, voice going as raw as the agony in the doctor’s eyes.
Smiling genuinely, she nodded. “Please, call me Clara. And when I’m able, I’ll tell you about her sometime.”
Bri squeezed her hand again. “I’d like that. I’d like us to be friends.”
A humbly grateful expression lifted a layer of dismay from Clara’s exceptionally pretty face. Her dark eyes brightened with wit. She released a tinkle of a laugh and patted Bri’s hand. “Especially now that you know I’m not scoping out your man.” She hiked a clandestine thumb Ian’s way.
Bri’s laughter died on her tongue. She blinked at Clara. Blinked at Ian.
Her man? Really?
As Bri’s pulse skittered out of control when he peered over his shoulder and disarmed her with one of his stellar smiles, she began to wonder if Dr. Lockhart’s assessment was accurate, after all.
Chapter Fourteen
On the way to the car, Clara approached Ian. “Would you mind if Tia came to spend the night? I have some toys I’d like for her to go through. Even have a few fairy outfits she might like.”
Ian realized the things had probably been her daughter’s. And that she was having a tough time giving them up. “You won’t have a hard time seeing them on another child?”
“No. It would bring me quite a bit of comfort. I can’t see them going to waste, and I can’t bear to take them to the consignment shop since
no one else will get their sentimentality. You two get it, but not many others know.” She indicated Bri, who stood on the sidelines out of the conversation.
Ian had seen the two women talking jovially, but he needed Bri to know he hadn’t invited Clara because he was interested in her romantically. Everyone else had already had dinner plans and he couldn’t take back his invitation to the new doctor. Yet he was afraid Bri had been hurt by what he’d meant as an act of pure compassion, a friendly overture. He studied Clara. “I’m not sure she’ll go with you.”
Just then Tia skipped up. “Can I go to Miss Lockhart’s house? She has fairy clothes and toys.”
“Sure you won’t get scared at night?”
“No. I’m a big girl,” Tia said bravely. Ian decided to let her go with Clara, even though he had a feeling Tia would wake up scared.
He passed Clara his cell number. “Just call me if I need to come get her.”
She nodded. “I will. Thanks, Ian.”
He nodded and wished Bri’s house wasn’t first on the road. He dropped her off and walked her to her cabin. “Hey, you okay?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
He studied her carefully. She seemed to be telling the truth. “Okay, then, I’ll catch you later.”
He drove Tia and Clara to Clara’s lakeside house, two down from Ellie’s. He walked them in, surprised when Tia didn’t panic. She waved him away and skipped excitedly into Clara’s home.
Ian pulled into his own driveway, but couldn’t stand the thought of sitting in a dark house alone. He really, really wanted to make sure Bri was okay. He peered through his trees, over the lake, past the trauma center. The faint glow of her cabin lights let him know she was still awake.
After driving over, he knocked lightly and said, “Bri, it’s Ian.”
She opened the door swiftly. “What’s wrong?” She peered behind him as though looking for someone else. He noticed she was in her pajamas. Had he dragged her out of bed?
“Tia’s at Clara’s.” He raked a hand across the back of his neck. “I’m not even sure why I’m here. Don’t know why I got you up. This is— Look, I’m sorry. I should let you sleep.”