by Jenna Harte
“Same old, same old.” Drake kept an arm around Lexie. “I’ll need to go to New York next week.”
“Do you miss it?” Mitch couldn’t stop himself from asking. In many ways, Sydney and Drake were similar. Both came from rich, prominent families and big cities. But Drake had been willing to ditch it all to make a life in a little, rural Virginian town with Lexie. In the end, he was able to stay in the family business and work most of the time from home, with only occasional visits to New York. But would someone like Sydney be happy here?
“Only the pizza.” Drake grinned.
“Mitch had a hard day.” Lexie looked up at Drake. “He needs good news.”
Drake smiled down at her. “You don’t want to wait for your parents?”
“No. But.” She turned to Mitch. “You have to act surprised later.”
“Sure.”
Lexie grinned and, like always, it was infectious. “Drake and I are expecting.”
“Expecting what?” Mitch deadpanned.
“Ugh, you’re so dense sometimes, Mitch.”
He laughed as he pulled his pint-sized sister into his arms. “Congratulations.” Then releasing Lexie, he pulled Drake close for quick hug “Did it happen on the kitchen table?”
Drake’s cheeks reddened, but Lexie punched him. “You’re a pervert.”
“Hey, I’m not the one—”
“Don’t you want to know when the baby is due?” Lexie shook him.
“Yes.”
“In about six months. “
“That’s awesome. Uncle Mitch.” He tested the sound of it. “I think I like it.”
In the background, the door opened. “Hello?”
“That’s Mom and Dad. Mum’s the word.” Lexie was a small woman, but she wasn’t one to be crossed.
Mitch nodded. His life might be going to hell, but he’d live vicariously through Lexie and Drake’s happiness.
Sydney made her way into her apartment, one of four in a renovated Victorian home. She kicked the door shut and made her way toward the couch. She’d intended to plop down in an emotionally exhausted heap but, instead, detoured to the kitchen. Dealing with her day required wine. Copious amounts of it. She brought the whole bottle with her back to the couch along with an oversized wine glass. Taking a gulp, she sat back and tried to figure out what the hell she’d been thinking by moving to Charlotte Tavern.
“It’s not good to make any major decisions right after a traumatic event.” Her childhood friend Doctor Patrick Andres’s words came back to her. But it was that traumatic event that had her rethinking her life and her choices. She could have died after being attacked in the parking lot of her New York hospital. In the aftermath, all she could think about was Mitch and what might have been. He was the one regret in her life she couldn’t die without resolving.
When she learned about an opportunity for a sabbatical in Charlotte Tavern, Virginia, she took it as a sign that she needed to get her resolution. So she made the arrangements for leave, sublet her apartment, and moved to Virginia.
Overall, she liked the south. Southern hospitality wasn’t a myth. Everyone was friendly and accepting of her. Even when she went for her morning run, people she didn’t know smiled and waved. In New York, if she smiled and waved at strangers, they’d protect their wallets and run away.
The only thing she hadn’t been able to bring herself to do in the six weeks she’d been in town was see Mitch. She’d found his number and address in the phonebook the first day she moved in. Calling would have been easier, but she knew they needed to talk in person, if she had the guts to see him. She’d driven by his home so many times, she was afraid someone might report her as a stalker. Sydney wasn’t fearful of many things. Not anymore.
She’d spent a year as a doctor in a refugee camp in Jordan, where she witnessed the incredible courage and dedication of the Syrian women she worked with. It was hard to be timid about life in a place like the United States where she had a successful career and a support system after meeting people who purposefully left their homes with only the things they could carry to live in tents in a different country. Many who’d made the long trek on foot were pregnant women. They taught Sydney what it meant to be strong.
After the attack, her confidence wavered, but she was determined to not let it hinder her life. More than anything, she’d been afraid that Mitch wouldn’t respond well to seeing her. A fear that came true. Her stomach clenched at the memory of it. How he’d looked at her with such bitterness and then pretended not to know her.
Sydney finished her wine and poured another glass. Maybe Patrick was right. She should have thought through her decision more carefully. She could have arranged a visit instead of a move. She groaned at the stupidity of her impulsive decision. She was now stuck for another ten months in a town where people were nice, unless they didn’t like you. And from Jenny’s comment about Mitch’s “bitch ex,” Sydney was pretty sure she’d be ostracized when they learned she was that bitch.
She eyed the wine bottle, concerned there wouldn’t be enough, when her phone rang. Excitement and panic flared. Was he calling? She dug her phone from her purse.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Syd.” Julia Andres, her best friend and Patrick’s sister, greeted her. Sydney chastised herself for thinking it could be Mitch. How would he have even gotten her number?
“Oh, hey.”
“You alright?”
“Nothing time and wine won’t heal.” Sydney topped off her glass and leaned back, grateful for the haze from the wine and the call from her friend.
“I take it you finally saw him?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
Sydney didn’t like reliving the scene in her mind. The idea of speaking it out loud was unbearable. Still, she needed a friend. “He pretended to not know me.”
“Ouch. That’s a jerk thing to do.”
“I think he was just taken off guard.” Why was she defending him? He had been kind of a jerk. Granted, she’d started it ten years ago, but still.
“What did he say?”
“Nothing, really. A nurse at the hospital was trying to set us up. He apparently has a reputation as a ladies’ man, but she’s happily married and wanted to play matchmaker.”
“Does she know about you and him?”
“She didn’t at the time. It won’t be long before she knows I’m the one that hurt him, at which point, I may be run out of town.”
“How much of that wine have you had? You’re not usually so melodramatic or defeatist.”
“Not enough.” She rubbed the spot over her heart that had never quite stopped hurting since she and Mitch split.
“I’d tell you to come home, but I know you’re not a quitter. So, how about I come see you?”
“Really?” Sydney prided herself on being a strong, independent woman, but right now the idea of a shoulder to cry on sounded perfect.
“Yeah, of course.”
“What about your job at the gallery?”
“You know I only do that to appease my parents. I haven’t gotten paid since the economy tanked. But my parents are happy knowing I have something to get out of bed for.”
Sydney laughed. They both grew up in affluent New York families, but while Sydney had always been driven, Julia would have been better off living in the 19th century, where her skills as a pretty, rich hostess would have served her better. Patrick was more like Sydney, determined to accomplish things in the world. He’d completed two doctorates and now worked as a forensic psychiatrist.
Growing up they’d been inseparable. Their parents called them the three musketeers, which, as an only child, Sydney loved. As children, they’d decided that Patrick and Sydney would get married so the three of them would always be together. Sydney and Patrick had gone so far as to date in high school and his first years in college. But Sydney left that fantasy behind the day she met Mitch McKenna her freshman year at Princeton.
Since graduating from college and endi
ng things with Mitch, the three musketeers were back together. At one point, Patrick attempted to re-establish their romantic connection, but Sydney hadn’t returned the sentiment. Thankfully, he seemed to have moved on.
Julia and Patrick both questioned whether trying to resolve things with Mitch was a good idea, but fortunately, neither had tried to stop her. She’d hit the jackpot with her friends. She needed to find a way to let them know how grateful she was.
“Yes, come down and we’ll live it up. Well, as much as you can live it up in a town where everything closes by nine.”
“Nine!”
Sydney winced. “We’ll make our own fun. Maybe we can find some genuine moonshine.”
“Now you’re talking. I’ll be there tomorrow.”
Chapter Three
Sydney used a tissue to wipe sonogram gel off Alicia Shoner’s pregnant belly. “Not long now. Maybe even this weekend.”
“Really?” Alicia stared at Sydney with wide blue eyes. “I don’t think I’m ready.”
“No one is ever ready.” Sydney smiled, although she was concerned Alicia was less ready than most of her moms. At only nineteen, Alicia was nearing the end of an unplanned pregnancy. But she’d accepted her situation and, along with her boyfriend, JD, was doing her best to get ready.
“I’ve helped many women have babies. By the end, they say they’re ready, but it always takes them by surprise. I think it’s more that they’re ready to not be pregnant anymore.”
“No doubt.” Alicia took Sydney’s extended hand to help her up.
“Why don’t you sit over there and we’ll finish up a few things.”
Alicia waddled to the chair and sat.
“Have you seen your nurse and case worker from CTMCH?” The first thing Sydney did when she arrived in Charlotte Tavern was to familiarize herself with all the resources for families, as well as meet with their directors and many of their direct service workers so she could make appropriate referrals. Sending Alicia to Charlotte Tavern Maternal Child Health services was a no-brainer for Sydney. Although Alicia and her boyfriend were committed and had support from Alicia’s father and grandmother, they were young and uneducated. They’d need more than love to survive.
“Yeah. She helped me get a car seat and some really cute onsies for the baby.”
“What about school and work?”
“I just finished my first year at community college. I checked out those customer service places you told me about that let you work from home, and I have an interview with one next week. I’m worried, though, because they say you can’t have background noise. Don’t babies cry a lot?”
“I thought your dad or grandmother would help.” Sydney wished young people would consider the real-life ramifications of having a baby before having sex. Although, admittedly, she and Mitch hadn’t always been careful in college.
“JD and I are getting our own place. But it’s not far from Gram’s, so maybe she can help. I’ll talk to her. “
“Do it soon. You don’t have much time. Between now and when this little person shows up, get some rest, because there’ll be no more of it once you’re a mom.”
“I can’t believe it.” Alicia looked at her hands rubbing her belly.
“Believe it. I’ll have a nurse bring you some more things you might need and a few reminders about what to expect.”
“Thank you, Doctor Preston.”
Sydney left Alicia, handing orders to the nurse as she made her way to the front of the clinic. Checking her watch, she headed over to the hospital to check on Mrs. Warner.
“Oh, Doctor Preston, there you are.” Jenny and a petite woman with assessing eyes approached. “I want you to meet someone.”
Sydney had a sense of déjà vu, looking into the woman’s green eyes, but since she didn’t know anyone outside the hospital, she couldn’t place her.
“This is my friend Lexie Carmichael. This is our new OB/GYN, Doctor Preston.”
“How do you do?” Sydney extended her hand.
The woman took it but didn’t look happy about meeting her.
“Lexie is just entering her second trimester.” Jenny grinned, clearly excited for her friend.
“How wonderful. How are you feeling?”
“I’m holding down my food again.”
“Good. Well…”
“Lexie is Mitch’s sister. This is the doctor I told you about, Lex, the one that knew your brother in college.”
Sydney’s heart jumped. Now it made sense. Lexie had Mitch’s green eyes. They even glared at her with the same anger. There was no mistaking that Lexie knew exactly who Sydney was and what she’d done to Mitch. Apparently, she hadn’t said anything to Jenny, who beamed her usual affable smile.
“Jenny, can you bring Mrs. Warner a couple of ibuprofen? She’s been having a hard time with the cramping. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Sure. I’ll take care of it now. I’ll see ya, Lex.”
“Bye, Jen.”
“Shall we move over here?” Sydney motioned to the empty waiting area.
“Why?” Lexie’s suspicious eyes narrowed.
“Because I know you have things you want to say to me, and I doubt they’re about your pregnancy.”
“Charlotte Tavern is not so big that people won’t eventually know who you are and what you did.”
Sydney didn’t respond. She moved to the empty waiting room and stared out the window, gathering her thoughts as she waited for Lexie to join her.
“What are you doing here?” Lexie went straight to the heart of the matter.
Sydney turned to Lexie. “I don’t think that’s any of your business.” In the few weeks Sydney had been in Charlotte Tavern, she’d learned everything was everyone’s business, but she didn’t have to make it easy for them to find out. Especially since this was a conversation she should be having with Mitch.
“I’m Mitch’s sister. That makes it my business.”
Sydney shook her head. “No. It makes you his sister. My business is my business. If I have business with Mitch, I’ll discuss it with him.”
Lexie snorted. “Honey, that juice ain’t worth the squeezin’. There’s no way Mitch is going to be in the same room with you, much less talk to you.”
Sydney bit her lower lip to keep from saying something rude. Since coming out of her shell, and especially after her work abroad where assertiveness, even aggressiveness, was required to get things done, she’d learned to speak her mind. But the south had a different form of communication. Southerners could be equally as snarky as northerners, but it was usually hidden in subtlety. During her first week in town, Sydney had discovered the term “Bless your heart” wasn’t always an expression of pity or sympathy. More often than not, it meant, “You’re an idiot.”
“That would be unfortunate.”
Lexie’s eyes narrowed and then softened. “So you are here to see him?”
Sydney opted to not reply. She’d already told Lexie where she stood on the subject.
“You hurt him. Seeing you again brings that all back. Why would you do that?”
Lexie’s switch from aggression to pleading softened Sydney’s stance. “I don’t want to hurt him, but there are things that need to be said.”
“Why now?”
“That’s none of your business.”
Lexie rolled her eyes. “Great day, you are contrary. I could help you if I thought you were being sincere.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“Because he’s broken and if you can fix him, I want to help you do that.”
Guilt stabbed at Sydney’s heart. Broken. Of course, she was broken too. Wasn’t that why she was here? “I don’t know if I can.”
“Would you if you could?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
Lexie pursed her lips, suggesting she wasn’t convinced. “When do you get off?”
“What?”
“When are you done with work tonight?”
“About six or so.”
<
br /> “You show up at my house at seven tonight. I’ll have Mitch there.”
“I have company coming tonight.”
“Do you want to talk to him or not?” As it turned out, Lexie preferred to be blunt as well.
Sydney nodded. “Yes. I’ll be there.”
“Good. Here’s my address.” Lexie scribbled her address on a scrap of paper and handed it to Sydney. “I hope I’m doing the right thing,” she muttered under her breath.
“Why are you doing this for me?”
“It’s not for you. It’s for Mitch.”
Sydney watched Lexie walk off, surprised that Mitch’s sister was willing to arrange for her to see him. No. Not for her, but for him. Sydney wasn’t sure she’d help him. It was possible she’d make it worse for them both. A part of her longed for the relationship they’d had in college, when their love was young, pure, and passionate, but as usual, she pushed those feelings aside. She couldn’t risk hoping for more than understanding and forgiveness.
She blew out a breath and made her way to Mrs. Warner’s room. After checking that mother and baby were doing well, Sydney headed out of the hospital, crossing the street to the outpatient buildings, where she had more patients to see. As she walked, she called Julia to let her know her plans. She was relieved when Julia told her the earliest flight she could get to Charlotte Tavern, which, she grumbled, required a connection in Washington, D.C., would put her at Sydney’s around nine.
Sydney entered her office, taking a moment to collect herself before meeting her next patient. She was going to see Mitch later that night. Nerves fluttered at the thought. She was grateful Julia would be arriving. Sydney feared that by the end of the night, she’d be more broken than she already was.
Mitch pulled into the hospital parking lot, hoping to hell he wouldn’t run into Sydney. It was bad enough that she invaded his dreams the night before, with her long, sexy hair and curvy legs. Fortunately, a cold shower that morning had washed away the lust, clearing his mind of everything except the reminder of why he couldn’t trust his heart. But his dream was a wake-up call that she still had a pull on him, which meant he needed to steer clear of her.