First Impressions: A Modern Retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (Meryton Medical Romances Book 1)

by Ruby Cruz

  Truth be told, I was nervous for Aunt Jo to go home by herself. She was still relatively young, but stubborn enough that I could easily see herself over- or under-dosing herself with insulin. And as nice as the rehab facility sounded, I sincerely doubted Aunt Jo’s ability to adhere to any type of physical therapy regimen. I wondered if Darcy had considered ordering any type of home health services for my aunt, at least until she got a hang of the carb counting thing. As I pondered the concept, I considered the very real scenario that Aunt Jo would completely refuse home health services; after all, she’d thrown out the cable guy and canceled her service when he dared track mud on her carpet.

  When I left the hospital after visiting hours ended, I went back to her apartment. Jasper had graciously marked the couch I’d planned on sleeping on for the night, so back to the store I went. After thirty minutes of treatments with upholstery cleaner and pet urine remover, the sofa was damp but no longer smelly. I set a towel on top of the damp spot and lay down upon it. Even though I was physically tired from the day’s chores and I was mentally exhausted from dealing with my aunt, my mind raced instead of rested.

  A part of me was apprehensive about seeing Darcy again. After all the months that had passed since we’d encountered each other in New York, even after we’d come to somewhat of a professional understanding between us, something about seeing Darcy outside of Meryton (but still so much in his element) intimidated me, even impressed me. Maybe it was because I was seeing him as many of his patients saw him, not as a self-righteous and arrogant doctor, but as someone who’d literally saved their lives and did his best to keep them safe.

  I thought of the surprise I’d seen in Darcy’s face when he saw me in Aunt Jo’s room. I’d seen more than embarrassment in his expression and a part of me couldn’t help but think that he’d been so flustered because he still may have harbored feelings for me. I shook off the possibility and mentally chastised myself for even considering it. New York had happened months ago and, true to his word, he’d portrayed the epitome of professionalism since then. Not once had he acted out of line and a part of me (a very small part, mind you) missed that.

  I slept fitfully that night, my dreams cluttered with images of darkened dance floors and the memory of one fevered kiss. When I finally dragged myself off the sofa to shower, I felt a hundred years old and my face in the bathroom mirror seemed to reflect that. I applied more makeup than usual to conceal the dark circles and puffiness under my eyes. I was tempted to pull my hair into its usual ponytail but opted to leave it down for once, if only to help further shield my tired eyes from the world. I picked up a latte from Dunkin’ Donuts before heading to the hospital and finished it before I even left the car. The jolt of caffeine did little to erase the grogginess in my brain but I prayed I would be able to muddle through the day. God knew I needed all my wits about me if I were to deal with both Darcy and my aunt.

  When I entered Aunt Jo’s hospital room as soon as visiting hours allowed, I saw that Darcy was already there and they were both grinning. One of the nurses had helped Aunt Jo style her hair and apply her makeup so she looked refreshed, as if a good night’s sleep had been enough to chase the pallor of the heart attack from her face. “Hey, Lizzy, the doc here says I can be discharged today. He says everything’s arranged for rehab and you can take me on home.”

  Darcy gave Aunt Jo a handful of prescriptions she would be taking at home. He started to briefly describe the indications for each medication but she waved him off. “Lizzy knows what those things are. She’ll explain all that to me later. Just get me out of here.”

  He obliged and gave the discharge instructions to the nurse. As the nurse set about removing Aunt Jo’s IV site and completing the discharge paperwork, I followed Darcy out to the nurse’s station. “Are you sure this rehab is the best place for Aunt Jo? I’m really not sure if her insurance is going to cover it,” I reiterated.

  Darcy’s face was impassive as usual. “I understand your concern but please believe me when I say that you shouldn’t worry about the cost. If it makes you feel any better, after you bring your aunt home and get her settled, you both can meet me there this afternoon after I finish rounds here. I can introduce you to the owner.”

  “I know you’re really busy, working at two hospitals. I don’t want to inconvenience you.”

  “It’s not an inconvenience.” Darcy checked his watch. “I can meet you at the registration office at four.”

  ~

  Within the next couple hours, Aunt Jo and I were back at her apartment. She scooped up Jasper who protested and scrambled to run away from the unexpected affection. “Damned ungrateful cat,” she muttered, “Don’t know why I bother keeping him. Lazy, fat bugger.”

  Aunt Jo sniffed at all the food I’d stocked in the fridge and cupboards. “How much do I owe you for all this garbage? I can’t eat this stuff.”

  “Yes, you can. I’ll cook a couple meals for you and you’ll like them,” I said firmly.

  Aunt Jo shuffled to her bedroom where I could hear her mumbling about self-righteous children. I fixed us some grilled chicken salads for lunch as she lay down (“Those damned stairs nearly gave me another heart attack!”), then endured her complaints as she ate them (“Rabbit food, that’s what this shit is”). I was impressed that she ate every bite of salad and slugged down the entire can of Diet Dr. Pepper. I noticed that some of the pallor had returned to her face, so I badgered her to lie down again until it was time to tour the rehab facility.

  She was even crabbier when I woke her from her nap. “I don’t see why we have to visit the place. Dr. Darcy said this was the place to be, so it don’t matter if I see it or not.”

  I didn’t have the energy for another argument, no matter how minor, so I just bustled my aunt out the door and to my car. Following the directions from my GPS, I drove through acres of farmland and forest after leaving the highway. Finally, I found the sign. Pemberley Rehabilitation Center, A Member of the DeBourgh Medical Group. The facility appeared to have been built on an old horse farm. Some of the original fencing was present and I spied a small stable yard and barn not too far from the main building.

  I parked in front of the main building and as I helped Aunt Jo out of the car I couldn't help but think that this was nothing like any other rehab I'd seen or heard about. The atmosphere was more like a genteel farm rather than a high class rehabilitation center. Patients were walking along well-groomed pathways and I even spied someone in denim scrubs leading a patient who was astride a horse. At the back of the main building, I saw a large addition housing what appeared to be exercise equipment. When we entered the building, the atmosphere was far from clinical. I felt like we'd just walked into someone's well-appointed home: discreetly expensive furnishings adorned the small waiting area, counters of granite instead of Formica, area rugs over hard wood instead of linoleum. Aunt Jo's arm stiffened beneath my hand but I propelled her towards the registration desk.

  A few moments after checking in, a process that was conspicuously missing paperwork, Darcy emerged from a back office with an attractive brunette in tow. They were smiling and I sensed an ease in Darcy I'd never seen before.

  Without realizing what I was doing, I was on my feet, steeling myself for the approaching couple. "Welcome to Pemberley," the brunette greeted. She appeared rather young to be the proprietor of such an exclusive facility, a few years younger than me, if I had to venture a guess, and seemed vaguely familiar. Her handshake was firm and the unfamiliar burn of inexplicable yet intense jealousy began to emerge within me.

  I schooled a smile onto my face but I couldn’t will my body to relax. Every muscle was tensed, as if poised to make escape or to do battle as soon as the opportunity arose. As if sensing my unease, the woman released my hand and her expression became less congenial, and her attitude was much brusquer. She shook my aunt’s hand. “Hi, I’m Georgiana Darcy but you can call me Ana. If you’re ready, we can begin the tour.”

  What?! Bef
ore I could voice my shock, my aunt chimed in. “Hold on a minute. You’re telling me that you and your brother run this place?”

  Ana raised an eyebrow at Darcy. “You didn’t tell them?” She rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. “Please forgive my brother. He may be a brilliant doctor but he can be such a doofus when it comes to business. To answer your question, yes, we own Pemberley. As you can probably tell, this used to be a horse farm. The land and buildings have been in the family for six generations but it wasn’t until our parents died that we made the choice to convert it to the rehab center.”

  In a rare show of sympathy by Aunt Jo, she said, “You both are so young to not have your parents around.”

  Ana shrugged in a gesture I’d often seen mirrored by her brother. “Our Aunt Catherine helped us out quite a bit when it first happened but it’s been more than six years since our parents passed. Will and I have learned to rely on each other.” She gave Darcy’s arm an affectionate squeeze. “Anyway, shall we go on that tour?”

  Aunt Jo and I followed the Darcys back outside and into the courtyard. As Ana explained the services offered while we walked the short path to the stable yard, I watched my aunt. She was getting winded, a fact that was not lost on Darcy, who immediately had her sit down on one of the many benches lining the path.

  He checked her pulse, monitored her breathing, and after a moment, declared that she’d had enough exercise for the day. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I should’ve known better than to invite you out here so soon.” He extracted his cell phone and ordered someone to send for an oxygen tank and wheelchair.

  Aunt Jo waved him off. “I’m fine, just winded is all. Why don’t you and Lizzy go on ahead? Your sister can sit with me until I get my breath back.”

  Before we could protest, Aunt Jo had pushed me back onto the path and Darcy could do no more than follow me. For a beat, I watched Ana coach Aunt Jo on controlling her breathing before I realized that Darcy was watching me. I raised an eyebrow at him.

  “My sister is trained as an EMT. Your aunt is in good hands. Aunt Catherine wanted her to go to medical school like me but Ana has her sights set on an MBA.”

  “She seems pretty smart.”

  “She is. This was her idea, converting this place to be a rehab center. When our parents died, I was just starting med school at the time and she wasn’t even in college. We knew we didn’t have time to manage the farm, but we couldn’t give it up either. We considered leasing the stables out but again we couldn’t properly oversee the upkeep without hiring someone. Ana wanted to honor our parents and preserve this farm, but we didn’t know how to do it without making some changes.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, so far I think this place is great, but doesn’t a place like this need a lot of upkeep and management?”

  “We didn’t officially open the center until a few months ago. Ana actually incorporated the business plan and implementation into her senior capstone project and she’s using her experience here for part of her MBA requirements. She’s the one who’s done all the research, overseen all the renovations and interviewed and hired most of the staff.”

  “Wow. When I was in my senior year, I was just happy to have a job after graduation. You probably already know this, but your sister has done an amazing job here, and while still in school. Does she really need to go for another degree after this?”

  “Revamping Pemberley is just one of the projects she has brewing in her busy little brain. Besides, if she’s to be taken seriously in the business world, she needs the degree.”

  “I hate the idea that a few letters after your name can make or break your career. Schooling isn’t everything, believe me, I’ve met many doctors who, while they may be book smart, they’re dumb as bricks when it comes to dealing with people.” After the words left my lips, I immediately wished I hadn’t said them. “Sorry. I didn’t mean you.”

  “No, it’s okay. I’m more than aware of my reputation around the workplace.” A wry smile twitched on Darcy’s mouth. “I’ve never had an easy time dealing with people professionally. As you can tell, I’ve gotten by mostly on bluster and arrogance. My sister is the one who was gifted with all the people skills.”

  “I have to admit, you have a way with patients, though. I mean, look at Aunt Jo. I think she’d find a way to make you marry her if she could, and she’s not someone who impresses easily.”

  “Your aunt does have a certain charm to her,” Darcy said contemplatively.

  His tone was serious enough to have me quirking a brow at him. “Stop it. She’s old enough to be your mother.”

  Darcy chuckled. The sound was warm and rich and had my heart fluttering. All of a sudden I was aware that we were quite alone. The path had curved around the stable house and we were hidden from the view of Aunt Jo, Ana and any of the other patients doing therapy. Darcy stopped chuckling and his expression sobered. He reached out his hand and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. Despite the slight chill in the spring air, his hand had felt warm when it had brushed my ear. My heart stuttered at the touch, at the way his bottomless eyes were fixed on mine.

  Self-consciously, I broke eye contact and tucked the hair behind my ear again, then said, “You know we can’t accept this. It’s too much.”

  “Lizzy, it’s the least I can do for…for a colleague. I know you have concerns about your aunt, concerns about her lifestyle that I share, and I promise that we will do whatever it takes to make sure that she doesn’t go back to where she was before her heart attack.”

  “You’ve met Aunt Jo. She’s the most stubborn woman on the planet. I don’t see how you treating her as a charity case is going to help her get better.”

  “For a very select few clients, we do offer in-patient services. In fact, one of the things I wanted to broach with you was the possibility of having your aunt stay here while doing rehab.”

  “This is too much. Even though I’m pretty sure she loves this place, Aunt Jo will never go for it. She has too much pride and there’s no way she’s going to leave her cat.”

  “Before you say no, just think about it and discuss it with her. I do think it’s the best option for her. Most insurance plans don’t cover in-patient rehab for someone like your aunt so the expense is usually covered out of pocket, which, I know, is cost-prohibitive for most people. I discussed this with Ana and she said that, for a friend, we could do this, absolutely. This way, your aunt will be monitored around-the-clock, her medication regimen and diet will be monitored, just like in the hospital, but she’ll do it in the comfort of all this.”

  “I don’t want your charity.”

  “It’s not charity and it’s not…I’m not expecting anything in return. Just think about it and talk to your aunt.”

  Darcy’s eyes searched mine as he awaited an answer and the more time that passed, the more my stomach felt in knots. Finally, I answered, “Fine. We’ll think about it.”

  ~

  Darcy spent another fifteen minutes escorting me around the grounds. I was impressed by the stable yard and paddocks, by the heated indoor pool and spa, and the therapy room which boasted state-of-the art equipment. When Darcy and I returned from the tour, Aunt Jo was in full recovery and Ana was smiling at something she was saying.

  “There you two are. We were wondering what was taking you so long.” Aunt Jo’s eyes were piercing as they searched mine.

  I prayed that I wasn’t as flushed as I felt. “How are you feeling?”

  “Much better. Your sister makes for good company,” she answered as she glanced at Darcy.

  Ana beamed at us. “In fact, we were just talking about how great it would be if we all had dinner together. Not tonight, obviously, since you need your rest, but maybe tomorrow? You’ll still be in town, right, Lizzy?” I barely nodded my acquiescence when Ana turned to her brother. “Please tell me you’re not on-call.”

  I thought I caught a hint of “deer-in-headlights” in Darcy’s eyes. “I’m not. I h
ave patients to see both here and Meryton, though.”

  “That’s okay,” Ana said brightly. “We’ll do a late dinner. Why don’t we all meet here at, say, seven? The center is closed for outpatient therapies by that time and we’ll have much of the property to ourselves.”

  “You live here?” I hadn’t realized that this may actually be the Darcys’ home.

  “I do, at least for now. I’ll be managing the center and taking online classes for my MBA for the next couple of years. Once the business gets off the ground in the next year or two, I should be done with my degree and then who knows where I’ll end up. Until then, I’m staying in the family quarters.” She gestured to a small cottage beyond the stable yard. “It used to be the guest house but I figured it made more sense to convert the main house into client facilities.”

  “Please say you’re not planning on cooking,” Darcy requested dubiously. “My sister is a vegan and refuses to cook anything resembling real food,” he explained.

  Ana rolled her eyes. “As the cardiologist in the family, I would think that you, my dear brother, have learned about the dangers of saturated fat and cholesterol.”

  Darcy ignored the jab. “I’ll order something appropriate for everyone. Now, I’m sure our client is tired from her day and would like to go home and rest.”

  Ana’s eyes softened. “Mrs. Gardiner, I’m so sorry. Of course, you must be exhausted. I’ll see you out to your car and leave my brother and Lizzy to make the final arrangements.”

  As Ana helped Aunt Jo to her feet, I murmured, “Why do I get the feeling that we’ve just been ambushed?”

  “That’s my sister. Look, Lizzy, I know this has probably been a rough couple of days for you and your aunt. Please don’t feel obligated to do anything…”