by Carrie Elks
“Okay, you won that one,” he said, wincing as she started to splash him with salt water. “But I bet you can’t catch me now.” He launched himself into the water, his impact with the ocean almost taking his breath away. It was ball-shrinklingly cold.
“Wait for me,” Isla called, laughing loudly as he dipped beneath the water, then reemerged, shaking his head like an old dog toward her. She grabbed onto his back and he started to swim again, pulling her behind him like a horse and carriage.
“Still think I got the better side of the deal?” Meghan asked him, as she dried Isla’s hair and braided it to stop it from getting matted. They’d finished eating the picnic Meghan had made, and were sitting on the blanket, looking out at the ocean.
“Maybe it’s more even than I thought.” He gave her a crooked grin, and she tried really hard not to sigh. He looked good with his wet hair slicked back from his pretty face. She’d been perving on him all evening. Watching him play in the water with Isla had made her stomach feel all weird inside, like it was on a rollercoaster without her, rising and dipping and turning over.
“Can I gather some shells?” Isla asked. She had a special collection in her bedroom. Only the prettiest and shiniest shells were taken home, but they made her happy.
“Sure.” Meghan smiled at her. “But don’t go too close to the ocean. And we need to go home in twenty minutes. You have school tomorrow.”
Isla ran across the sand. Meghan smiled at her exuberance. Beside her, Rich leaned back, resting his elbows on the blanket, a grin playing at his lips as he watched her run.
“She’s a good kid.”
Meghan nodded. “Yeah, she is. I’ve been so lucky with her.”
“No luck involved. You’re a good mom.” He turned his head to look at her. The sun was dipping in the sky, giving his skin a warm orange glow. “You’re lucky to have each other.”
“I guess we are.”
“She reminds me of Belle when she was a kid.”
Meghan blinked, because he so rarely mentioned his past. “I bet she was a cute kid.” She was beautiful now. With the same dark coloring as Rich.
“She was. She loved swimming, too. She still goes at the local pool, but it’s… different. They have a hoist and she has a helper, but it’s not the same as running into the ocean.” He pulled his lip between his teeth, a faraway look in his eyes. It made her stomach contract to see him so pensive.
“I guess it isn’t. But she strikes me as the kind of woman who takes stuff like this in stride. And that’s thanks to you.”
Rich tipped his head to the side, looking at her for a moment. A wave of warmth crashed over her, despite the cool evening air. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to how handsome he was.
But right now, having him by her side was enough to keep her going.
“When I used to come to the ocean, I didn’t swim,” she said, changing the subject to something lighter. “I was too busy wolfing down ice cream to want to go in the water.”
Rich laughed, as though pleased she’d changed the subject. “You don’t strike me as someone who wolfs down anything.”
“Oh, I was.” She shrugged. “It was my grandma who used to take me to the beach. She knew how much I loved ice cream, and we so rarely had it at home.”
“Why not?”
“I guess my parents weren’t ones for treats. We ate well but carefully. Meat, vegetables, fruit for dessert. Ice cream was for special occasions like birthdays and secret trips out with my grandma.”
“So you’re making up for lost time now?”
She smiled. “I guess I am. When my grandma left me money in trust, I always knew what I wanted to do with it. It took some time to learn the business and find the right place to invest in. But I’m so glad I did it and we ended up here.”
“I’m glad, too.” His voice was low. It sent a shiver down her spine.
“How about you?” she asked. “Did you always dream of being a doctor?”
“I was a science geek at school,” he admitted, his eyes softening when she gave a little chuckle. “I loved it all, especially biology. And my folks were pretty keen on having a doctor in the family, so they gave me a lot of support.”
“It’s nice to have supportive parents.” Her voice was soft.
“Yeah.” His eyes caught hers. “It’s one of the things I hate for Belle. I had all that support growing up and she had none.”
“She has you.”
He lifted a brow. “I was a really poor imitation of a good parent. I had no idea how to be a father figure to her at nineteen. Now I’m at an age where I could do a pretty decent job at it, and she’s too old to need me.”
“She’ll always need you. And she loves you so much. I could tell that just by looking at the two of you.”
He looked down, tracing his finger in the sand. “I just wish I hadn’t made so many mistakes.”
“Me too. The day I finally got to take Isla home I was so scared I thought about taking her back again. This tiny scrunched up thing was staring up at me like I should know what I was doing, and when she realized I didn’t she cried without stopping for hours. I cried, too, because I thought she hated me.”
His expression softened. “She was probably just hungry.”
Meghan laughed. “Yeah, I figured that out eventually. More than that, she wanted comfort. She’d had weeks in the NICU and that’s the only life she knew. She just needed to feel safe with me. To know that I had this, even if I was scared to death.”
His eyes flickered up. “You have got this. You’re a natural.” His pupils were dilated, despite the setting sun, making his gaze look dark and pointed. She felt herself flush at his gaze. Feeling the thrum of her pulse in her neck, and the tingling of her skin beneath her sweater.
“Meghan, I—” he began.
“Mommy! Look at this one.” Isla slid to a stop beside the blanket, holding out her hand. The lustrous white shell was huge – covering her hand completely. The inside of it was a pale pink, and it curled in spirals to a point. “Isn’t it pretty, Rich?”
He nodded. “It’s a milk conch. A snail once lived inside there.”
“It did? Where is it now?”
His eyes caught Meghan’s. “It probably found a new home somewhere else.”
She tried not to smile, because he was so sweet with Isla. They both knew it had died, but he wasn’t going to spoil her fun.
“Can I keep it?” she asked Meghan. “Or should I leave it, in case the snail comes back.”
“You can keep it.” Meghan told her. “It’ll be fine.”
Rich was looking at her again. She could tell from the warmth on her skin. If she was braver, she’d look back.
“Come on,” she said, getting to her knees. “Let’s start packing up before it gets dark.”
And before she did something she might come to regret later.
“Guess what?” Belle sounded excited. Rich leaned back on his sofa, running his hand through his hair. It was almost midnight, but he hadn’t bothered going to bed yet, knowing he wouldn’t sleep if he did.
He’d blame his evening swim in the Pacific if he didn’t know the real reason why he was so restless. It was getting harder to get Meghan out of his mind, and tonight’s talk on the beach didn’t help.
Whenever they were together he had the strangest feeling. It felt like he was home again, which was weird, because he’d been here all along.
It was just attraction. That was all. The fact was, since the clusterfuck with Carlyn he’d been put off dating. Meghan happened to be beautiful and funny and living next door. What warm blooded man wouldn’t be attracted to her.
“What?” he asked Belle, pulling his thoughts aside from the woman next door.
“Carlyn called and said it had all been a mix up. My show can go ahead as we planned.” Belle let out a long breath. “Isn’t that great? I can’t tell you how relieved I am.” She gave a little laugh. “I hope Carlyn doesn’t find out how much I’ve been cursing he
r.”
“That’s wonderful.” He tried to show some enthusiasm. This was what he’d wanted, after all. For his sister to have the show she’d dreamed of. That’s why his lawyer had sent Carlyn a letter this week, a letter that no doubt had led to her contacting Belle.
Whatever. It was done. The show would go on and then he could avoid Carlyn for the rest of his life.
And take Meghan to the show.
The thought of that made his skin tingle. So much more than it should. But he was a grown man, and he knew the difference between fantasy and reality. And Meghan was a fantasy, that was all. Somebody that warmed his blood at night, when nobody else could see him.
He could handle that.
“Isn’t it?” Belle agreed. “I’m sorry for calling you so late, but I was out with a friend until now and wanted to let you know. It’s going to be amazing, it really is.” She exhaled quickly, as though she didn’t want to stop talking. “Thank you for all your support with this. I love you, bro.”
“I love you, too.” His voice was low.
“You’ll be bringing Meghan, right? Carlyn’s asked me to give her a guest list. I can put her on there as your plus one?”
“Yeah, I’ll be bringing Meghan.” The thought warmed him more than it should.
“I’m glad to hear it. Well, good night, bro.”
12
“Dammit.” Meghan gritted her teeth and turned the ignition key again, but all she could hear were some random clicks. A glance at her watch told her it was almost twelve. They were due at her parents’ in an hour. Even if she managed to find the best mechanic in Angel Sands to come out to check the engine, they still wouldn’t make it.
“Mommy? What’s happening?” Isla leaned forward, her hair falling over her face as she craned to look at the dashboard.
“The car isn’t working, honey.” Meghan gave her a quick smile. “I think we’ll have to go see Granny and Gramps another time.”
“But they’re cooking dinner,” Isla said, her brow crinkling into a frown. “Granny said I could help her make some cookies later.”
“We can make some cookies at home.” While we wait for the mechanic. She should have gotten rid of this car years ago, but she didn’t use it that much. The occasional school trip and these drives to see her parents were as much mileage as it got. She had a van for the shop, but Jeannie needed it today to make deliveries. Maybe she could console Isla with a trip to the pool.
They grabbed their jackets and bags and walked back to the apartment building. By the time they got into the elevator, Isla was over her grump and was talking about a cartoon she’d seen that morning. Her voice washed over Meghan as she tried to steel herself to call her dad.
He’d be politely pissed. That was a good expression for it. And she understood. They didn’t get to see Isla much, and they missed her the same way Isla missed them.
When the elevator doors opened on their floor, a loud bang echoed through the hallway. Rich was walking out of his apartment, wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, his phone nestled into his palm.
“Hey.” He gave them a bemused look. “I thought you were heading to White City today.”
“Our car isn’t working,” Isla told him, before Meghan could open her mouth. “Mommy swore.”
His eyes met Meghan’s, and she could see his lips twitch. “I guess Mommy owes money to the swear jar.”
“What’s a swear jar?” Isla asked him.
“It’s a little glass jar that you add a dollar to every time you say a swear word. When it gets full you can give it to charity.” Meghan wrinkled her nose at him, trying to bite down her own smile. “And that would take a long time, because I rarely curse.”
“You swore the other night, too. When you burned your finger on the stove.”
“Thank you for the reminder,” she told Isla. Rich was grinning at her. “I owe the jar two dollars.”
“The charity is going to be very happy.” Rich was deadpan.
“Well we’d better go in. I need to call my parents.” Meghan grabbed her key from her purse. “Let them know we’re not coming.”
“Can’t you call a mechanic? I’d take a look myself but I know nothing about cars.” He looked genuinely upset about that. “If it was a human, great. But engines and I don’t mix.”
“I will. Even if I can find one on a Sunday, we still won’t get there on time. My parents go to church in the early evenings, so we had a four hour window. It’s all good, we can go next time I have a Sunday off.”
“I’ll take you.”
Meghan blinked. “What?”
“I’ll drive you and Isla to White City. I wasn’t planning on doing much today anyway. I was just heading out to the coffee shop because I don’t have any milk in the house.”
Isla’s face lit up.
“We couldn’t ask you to do that. We’d be gone all afternoon. It wouldn’t be worth your time to drop us off and come home again only to turn around to pick us up. I know how precious your days off are. It’s fine, we’ll go another time.”
“Please, Mommy?” Isla gave her a doe-eyed look. “I really want to see Granny and Gramps.”
Meghan ran the tip of her tongue along her bottom lip. When she looked at Rich, he had a half-smile on his face. He’d shaved this morning, and was looking every inch the successful, handsome doctor next door. Her dad would welcome him with open arms.
“Are you sure?”
“Certain.” He nodded, his blue eyes open and warm as a summer sky. “We’ll just need to move Isla’s booster seat to my car.”
Fifteen minutes later, they were on the open road. It was a beautiful late spring day. The sun was high in the sky, making the tips of the mountains in the distant look golden. Rich had opened the windows and the breeze whipped through their hair, making Isla giggle.
“My parents used to call it nature’s air conditioning,” Rich told Meghan. “It’d drive me crazy when I was a teenager. I just wanted to turn the damn blowers on.”
He hadn’t mentioned his parents since the day when he’d told her they were dead. Her mind sparked with curiosity, but she didn’t probe. Not least because little ears were listening.
When they reached the outskirts of White City, she pointed out the fast route to take to the suburb where her parents lived, telling him to ignore the GPS. Isla pointed out their old house, the school she used to go to before they moved to Angel Sands, and the little chapel set back from the road where her grandparents attended services once in the week and twice on Sundays.
When Rich pulled up outside her parents house, she wasn’t surprised to see her dad waiting on the porch. She’d phoned ahead to let them know they were running late, and that she’d be bringing a friend. When he saw who that friend was, her dad walked up to Rich and shook his hand.
“I never got a chance to thank you for looking after my little girl,” her dad said, his eyes warm as he smiled at Isla. “And now you’ve saved the day again.”
“I was just doing my job. Meghan’s the one who takes care of Isla.”
Her dad ignored his words, scooting down to hug his granddaughter, asking her questions about school, her foot, and whether she was reading her bible every night. Isla answered him happily, and then the front door opened and her mom bustled out.
She was wearing her usual Sunday dress, made of a pale green thick fabric that flared out at her waist in a fifties style. A floral apron was fastened over it, to save the dress from getting ruined by her cooking. “Come in, come in,” she urged, taking Isla by the hand. “I’m so happy you’re here. Meghan and Isla, why don’t you come with me and help in the kitchen. Gramps and your friend can put their feet up in the living room.”
Rich’s brows dipped. She hadn’t warned him that her parents had a traditional – bordering on ancient – type of relationship. One where her mom was firmly in the kitchen, and her father was the breadwinner and chief decision maker. She hadn’t worked out how to tell him in front of Isla, but now she felt her cheek
s warm up.
“Are you sure I can’t help you, too?” Rich asked her mom.
She shook her head. “Not at all. We ladies like to stick together, don’t we, Isla? I’ll have Meghan bring you both in some sweet tea. We’ll let you two talk about boy things.”
Rich raised a brow at Meghan and she shot him an embarrassed glance. He winked, and somehow it made her feel better.
Five minutes later, she was carrying a tray of sweet tea and cookies into the living room. The door was closed, and she could hear the low murmur of voices inside. So her dad and Rich were talking? Curiosity overcame her, and she leaned her head against the door, trying to make out their words.
“How long have you been a doctor, son?”
“It’s been about ten years since I graduated from medical school.” Rich’s voice was low. Easy. “I specialized in Emergency Medicine from the start, and have been working at St. Vincents ever since.”
“And you’re an attending physician?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“You must be very well respected in your field,” her dad said.
“I don’t know about that. I just know I love what I do. And it feels good to make a difference.”
Her dad cleared his throat. “You’re not married. Why is that?”
Meghan startled. Oh god, her dad must think they were dating. He was giving him the potential-boyfriend once over. How embarrassing.
“I’ve been kind of married to my job.” Rich didn’t sound phased at all, thank goodness. She really owed him one.
“Any vices? Debts?”
“I’m still paying off medical school, but that should be done with soon.” Was that a hint of amusement in Rich’s voice? He was going to tease her mercilessly about this. Taking a deep breath, Meghan opened the living room door with her elbow, and carried the tray to the coffee table in between Rich and her father, not meeting Rich’s eyes . She didn’t want to know what he was thinking. Or to find out he was judging her.
Because her family was weird. She knew this.