Reunited in Walnut River

by RaeAnne Thayne

  She said she would drop off her report that night and he felt as if he had spent the entire evening in a state of suspended animation, just waiting for the doorbell to ring.

  He knew damn well those feelings swirling through him were entirely inappropriate, but he couldn’t seem to move beyond them.

  He couldn’t wait to see her again, foolish as he knew that was.

  He had absolutely no sense when it came to Anna Wilder. It was a rather depressing thing to acknowledge about himself.

  Just how long did he have to carry a torch for her? If someone had asked him a week ago if he still had feelings for Anna, he would have busted up laughing at the very idea. He never even thought of her anymore, he would have answered quite smugly. How could he be foolish enough to think he still had feelings for the woman?

  He thought he had done a pretty good job of purging her from his thoughts. Eight years was a long time to burn for a woman who had made it plain she didn’t want him.

  But now she was back in Walnut River and every single time he saw her, she seemed to become more and more entangled in his thoughts until he had a devil of a time thinking about anything else.

  Did he still have feelings for her? He certainly wasn’t about to admit something so dangerous, even to himself. Sure, he was still attracted to her. He certainly couldn’t deny that, especially since he wasn’t able to stop himself looking at his watch every five seconds and had even gone out once to check that the doorbell was working right.

  He needed to get out more. He could count on one hand the number of dates he’d had in the years since his marriage imploded.

  Richard sighed, wishing again for a clone or two. When, exactly, was he supposed to find time for a social life? Between working to establish his practice and trying to be the best father possible to Ethan, his time was fragmented enough.

  What if Anna hadn’t blown him off eight years ago and left town? If she weren’t here representing NHC? If they didn’t have diametrically opposing goals regarding Walnut River General Hospital?

  What was the point in wasting time with useless hypotheticals? Richard chided himself. He had too damn much to do tonight to indulge in fantasies of what might have been.

  The fact was, she had walked away, she did work for NHC and he would need to keep all his wits about him to keep her and her corporation from taking over the hospital he cared about.

  He would do well to remember all those things, Richard thought as he forced himself to turn back to his laptop, angled on a corner of the kitchen table where he had been working earlier while Ethan played with trucks on the floor.

  The screen had just come out of sleep mode when he heard a car engine out front. The swirl of anticipation he’d tried so hard to tamp down became a wild cyclone. So much for the little pregame lecture, he thought ruefully.

  A click of the keyboard sent the monitor back to sleep, then he hurried to the front door. He reached it just an instant after she rang the doorbell.

  “Oh!” she exclaimed when he opened the door, her hand still half raised to the bell. “Hello.”

  “Sorry to startle you. I was trying to catch you before you rang the doorbell so you didn’t wake Ethan. I have a tough time getting him back down to sleep if something disturbs him.”

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even think. I should have knocked.”

  “No. It’s fine. I doubt he’s even asleep yet.”

  The words had barely escaped his mouth when Ethan popped his head out of his bedroom, his hair tousled but his eyes not at all sleepy. They lit up with excitement when he saw Anna.

  “Hi!” he exclaimed brightly. “I heard the doorbell but I didn’t know it was you.”

  “Hi, Ethan!”

  Richard tried to steel his emotions against the soft delight in her eyes as she looked at his son.

  “I thought you were glued to the bed,” he said dryly to his son.

  Ethan giggled. “I guess the glue must have worn off. When I heard the doorbell, I was able to climb right out. I don’t know how.”

  “What a surprise,” he muttered.

  Anna sent him a sideways, laughing look that stole his breath.

  “Anna, can you read me one more story?” Ethan wheedled. “If you do, I promise, I’ll stay in my bed this time for good.”

  “I guess that’s up to your father.”

  “Daddy, can she?”

  He didn’t want her to feel obligated, but if the anticipation on her features was any indication, she was excited at the prospect.

  “All right. Just one story, and then to bed this time to stay. You have to pinky swear.”

  Ethan had to hold down his other four fingers with his left hand in order to extend the little finger on his right, but his features were solemn and determined as he interlocked with Richard’s pinky.

  “I swear. I won’t get out again, Daddy, if Anna can read me one story. Oh, and if she can give me one more Eskimo kiss, too.”

  “Deal,” she said quickly, before Richard could even think about negotiating different terms.

  She reached for Ethan’s hand and the two of them headed for his son’s bedroom. Richard followed, unable to resist leaning against the door jamb and watching as they carefully selected the right story.

  He wasn’t sure what he felt as he watched Anna slip off her heels and sit on the edge of Ethan’s bed. His son cuddled up to her as if they were best friends and after a moment, she slipped her arm around him, their blond heads close together.

  She read the story, about a worm keeping a diary about his life, with pathos and humor. When she turned the last page, Ethan sighed with satisfaction.

  “I sure do wish I could have another one. You’re a really good story reader.”

  “You made a pinky swear, remember,” Anna said with a smile. She slipped her shoes back on then leaned in and rubbed her nose against his.

  “You smell good,” Ethan declared, and Richard wondered how his son had possibly become such a lady killer with the lousy example he had for a father in that department.

  Anna laughed. “So do you. Now go to sleep, okay?”

  Ethan snuggled down into the covers, his eyelids beginning to droop. “Okay. Will you come to another one of my baseball games? I only have two more.”

  She glanced at Richard, then back at his son. “Sure,” she answered. “I’d love to.”

  “You have to promise or else I can’t go to sleep.”

  She laughed again. “You’re a born negotiator, Ethan, my man.”

  “What’s a go-she-a-tor?”

  “Negotiator. It means somebody who works out deals with people. You agree to do something as long as I do something else in return.”

  “I just want you to come to my baseball game.”

  “I said I would.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  She shook her head. “All right! I promise.”

  He grinned with satisfaction. “Thank you for the story, Anna.”

  “You’re very welcome, sir.”

  “Will you come back and read to me again sometime?”

  She paused for just an instant and Richard thought he saw a faint brush of color on her cheeks before she tugged Ethan’s covers up to his chin. “We’ll have to see about that one. Good night.”

  “Good night,” Richard added. “This time I mean it.”

  “Okay. ’Night, Dad.”

  He closed the door behind Anna—remembering just in time to leave it slightly ajar.

  “I’m sorry you had to do that.”

  “I’m not.” She smiled softly. “He’s darling.”

  “He’s a manipulative scoundrel who’s going to end up behind bars someday.”

  “It’s a good thing his father is a lawyer, then.”

  And his mother, Richard thought. The blunt reminder of Lynne and all the mistakes he had made was like jumping into a mountain stream in January.

  Anna picked up her briefcase and rifled through it for a moment, pulling out a slim maro
on folder.

  “Here’s the report I promised you. I’m sorry I didn’t get it here earlier. I meant to have it done two hours ago but I, uh, had a bit of a tough time getting some of the information I needed.”

  Translation: Those who opposed the NHC takeover were making life as difficult as possible for Anna. He didn’t need her to spell it out for him when he could see the exhaustion in her eyes and the set of her mouth.

  A twinge of pity flickered through him. None of this could be easy for her.

  “Have you had dinner?” he asked. The moment the words were out, he regretted them but it was too late to yank them back.

  She stared. “Dinner?”

  “You know, that meal you traditionally eat at the end of the day?”

  “Oh, that one.” She smiled. “I guess my answer would have to be no, not yet. That’s next on my agenda.”

  “I’ve got some of my mom’s lasagna in the oven. You’re welcome to join me.”

  Surprise flickered over those lovely features. “It does smell delicious. But I’ve got Lilli out in the car. Since my place is on the way here, I stopped on the way to check on her and she begged me to bring her along.”

  He should let her use the excuse as a way to avoid the meal but he found himself reluctant to give up that easily. “She’s welcome to come inside while we eat. I don’t mind.”

  “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to provide Ethan more ammunition in the Great Puppy War.”

  “He’ll never know. Besides, maybe having Lilli underfoot during dinner, begging for scraps, will shore up my sagging resolve to wait a few more years before we enter pethood.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me, but my dog is extremely well-behaved. She never begs. She just asks nicely.”

  Anna was so beautiful when she smiled, he thought, and cursed himself all over again for the impulse to invite her to stay—an impulse, he admitted, that had probably been simmering inside him all evening. Why else would he have thrown an entire lasagna in the oven instead of just grabbing a TV dinner?

  He had absolutely no willpower around Anna Wilder and no common sense, either. He had a million things to do before court in the morning. He certainly didn’t have time to spend the evening entertaining a woman he had vowed to keep at a distance.

  Despite the knowledge, he found he couldn’t quite bring himself to regret extending the invitation.

  Not yet, anyway.

  * * *

  He wanted her to have dinner with him? Anna wouldn’t have been more surprised if Richard had met her at the door doing the hula in a muumuu and lei.

  A wise woman would tell him to forget it and get the heck out of there. She had very few defenses left against Richard Green and his adorable son, and she was very much afraid she was in danger of falling hard for him all over again.

  “Go and get Lilli and by the time you come back in, the lasagna will be on the table.”

  She paused for only half a second before surrendering. How could she do anything else, when this was the most amiable and approachable she’d seen Richard since coming back to Walnut River?

  “All right,” she said. “I’ll admit, my mouth has been watering since I walked in the door.”

  And not just because of the delectable smells of lasagna wafting from the kitchen, she was forced to admit to herself. Richard Green in his charcoal business suit was gorgeous, in a dangerous, formidable kind of way. Richard Green in his stocking feet, faded Levi’s and a casual cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up was completely irresistible.

  She quickly collected Lilli from her car and juggled the excited dog and her umbrella as she hurried back up the walkway to his house. He stood in the open doorway waiting for her and her stomach gave a funny little tremble at the sight of him.

  “Behave yourself,” she ordered as she set Lilli down on the tile of the entryway, the stern reminder intended for her own benefit as much as her dog’s.

  “I’ll do my best,” Richard answered dryly. He reached for her umbrella and Anna slipped off her heels, lining them neatly by the door.

  Lilli’s tail wagged like crazy as she trotted around the house, sniffing in corners and under furniture. With the excuse of keeping a close eye on her inquisitive little dog, Anna managed to assuage her own curiosity about Richard’s house.

  Their group of friends had spent many hours at his place through high school. With the built-in swimming pool and the huge media and game room in the basement, it was a natural teen hangout. She remembered pool parties and study sessions and movie nights.

  Seeing it now after years away was rather disconcerting. Little was as she remembered.

  “Your house has changed.”

  He smiled. “Just a bit. When I bought the place after my dad died, I had the interior completely redone. New paint, new carpet, took out a wall here or there to open it up. The house had great bones but everything was a little outdated.”

  “Diane didn’t mind?”

  “Are you kidding? My mother loved helping oversee the redecorating, as long as it was my own dime.”

  “It looks great,” she assured him as Lilli investigated a cluster of houseplants climbing a matte black ladder in the corner.

  The house was elegant but comfortable, with solid furniture that looked as if it would stand up well to a busy five-year-old.

  “I’m just going to throw together a salad,” Richard said. Do you want to come back to the kitchen?”

  “Sure.”

  With Lilli close on their heels, she followed him down the hall. Here were the most dramatic renovations she had seen in the house. She remembered the kitchen as a rather small, cramped space with dark wood cupboards and a long breakfast bar that took up most of the space.

  This must be where he had talked about knocking down walls because it was about twice the size as she remembered. Rain clicked against skylights overhead and in place of the breakfast bar, a huge island with a sink and second stovetop dominated the space.

  The colors reminded her of a Tuscan farmhouse, warm red brick floors, mustard yellow walls with white accents. It was a dream of a kitchen, airy and welcoming and vastly different from the tiny sliver of a kitchen in her apartment in Chelsea.

  “Would you like a glass of wine?”

  “Yes, please,” she decided, perching on one of the stools at the island.

  He seemed very much at home in his own kitchen and she knew darn well she shouldn’t find that so sexy.

  She sipped her wine and watched him work while Lilli sniffed the corners of the kitchen. The silence between them was surprisingly comfortable, like slipping into a favorite jacket in the autumn.

  “So who was giving you a tough time today?” Richard asked after a moment.

  She flashed him a quick look. “How do you know somebody was?”

  “You never turned an assignment in late in your life when we were in school. If I remember correctly, you always turned everything in at least a day or two early. I figured the only reason you would be late with anything must have more to do with external forces.”

  “Clever as always, counselor.”

  “So who was it?”

  She sighed, some of her peace dissipating at the reminder of the hurdles in front of her and their clear demarcation on opposite sides of the NHC front. “No one. Not really. I just had a…difficult time getting some of the information I needed. I don’t blame anyone. I completely understand there are mixed feelings at the hospital about the merger.”

  His laugh was dry. “Mixed feelings is one way to put it.”

  “Believe it or not, I do understand why not everyone likes the idea of an outside company coming in and messing with the status quo. I understand about tradition and continuity and about safety in the familiar. But I wish people could approach this with an open mind. If people would look beyond their preconceptions, perhaps they might see how Northeastern HealthCare is looking at innovative changes that would benefit both the hospital and the community in general….”
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  She caught herself just before launching into a passionate argument once more. “I’m sorry. I really don’t want to talk about the hospital tonight. After living and breathing this merger from the moment I awoke this morning, I could use a break. Do you mind?”

  He stopped mixing the salad, watching her with an unreadable expression for a moment before he suddenly offered a smile she felt clear down to her toes.

  “Excellent idea. I wouldn’t want to ruin by mother’s delicious lasagna by launching into a cross-examination.”

  He grabbed the salad and carried it through an arched doorway to the dining room.

  Out of old habit, she grabbed plates from the cupboard where they had always been stored, finding an odd comfort that they were still there.

  The silverware was also still in its familiar spot and she grabbed two settings and carried the utensils into the dining room.

  Richard raised an eyebrow but said nothing as she helped him set the table. A moment later, he carried in the lasagna and placed it on the table then took a seat across from her.

  Lilli stopped her wandering and curled up, her body a small warm weight on Anna’s feet. The next few moments were busy with filling plates and topping wineglasses.

  “If we’re not going to talk about the hospital, what’s a safe topic of conversation, then?” she asked when they were settled. “Baseball? The weather?”

  “Who says it has to be safe?” The strangely intent look in his eyes sent a shiver ripping down her spine. A strange undercurrent tugged and pulled between them.

  “All right. Something dangerous, then. Your marriage?”

  He gave a short laugh as he added dressing to his salad. “Not what I had in mind, but okay. What would you like to know?”

  She had a million questions but one seemed paramount, even though she hardly dared ask it. “What happened?”

  He shrugged, his expression pensive. “The grim truth is that it was a mistake from start to finish. I met Lynne at Harvard. She was brilliant, ambitious. Beautiful. In our last year, we started seeing each other, mostly just for fun. Nothing serious. In fact, we both planned to go our separate ways after graduation.”