No Exchanges, No Returns

by Laurie Kellogg

  “Now, wait just damn a minute!” David dashed after the intruder to the back of the house.

  Brianna gasped. “Marc!”

  Okay, so maybe the guy wasn’t a stranger to her. In fact, judging from the guilty look on Brianna’s face and the tension arcing between them, she knew him, all right—probably in the biblical sense.

  David shook his head. So he’d been wrong. Things actually could get weirder.

  ~*~

  The furious glint in Marc’s eyes paralyzed Brianna. She’d never seen him so livid. She couldn’t blame him. The way she’d snuck away was cowardly, at best. Nevertheless, she’d hoped he would understand it was the only way she could force herself to leave—and if he couldn’t, she’d prayed, at the very least, he would forgive her.

  “Why’re you here?” she whispered.

  “Why the hell do you think I’m here?” he snarled. “To bring you back. If you think I’m gonna to let you waltz out of my life the way you walked out on that poor schmuck you divorced, you’ve got another think coming.”

  “Meet the poor schmuck.” David extended his hand toward the man. “Or more accurately, David Lambert-Schmuck.”

  “Sorry.” Marc shook his hand. “Marc Huntley. No offense intended.”

  “None taken. I probably was a schmuck to let her go.” That he hadn’t fought harder simply proved he hadn’t been as much in love with her as he’d once imagined. David took the baby from Brianna’s arms and handed Jamie to his mother who was standing with his dad in the archway to the hall, listening.

  “Oh, you don’t know the half of it.” Marc laughed without a hint of humor. “Or has your darling ex-wife finally explained why she—”

  “Marc!” Brianna snapped, cutting him off. She wanted to tell David in her own way. “I don’t think this is the time to—”

  “Oh, yes it is!” He whirled around to face her. “It’s all about time, isn’t it, baby? Or, more to the point, how little you think you have left? Well, I don’t give a shit how much that is. I want every second.”

  “Wait,”—David grabbed Marc’s arm—“what’re you saying? Brianna’s sick?”

  Her stomach sank.

  “Was sick. Back in June, I removed a grade two ependymoma from her right central sulcus.”

  “Oh, God, no.” David stared at Brianna. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”

  She shrugged. “Because I knew you’d never let me go if I did.”

  “That’s for damn sure.”

  “But I didn’t want you wiping my drool along with Jamie’s. Your daughter deserved a healthy mother.”

  He swung his attention back to Marc. “How’d the surgery—”

  “I wish all tumor excisions were as easy. She had some serious post surgical swelling at first, but she’s been left with practically no residual effect on her brain function. Since then, she’s completed several courses of chemo and radiotherapy.”

  Glancing over at her, David’s gaze narrowed. “That explains the shorter hair. I assume that’s a wig.”

  She nodded. “I had it custom made from my hair.”

  He looked back at Marc. “So in your professional opinion, she’ll be all right?”

  “If I’m half the neurosurgeon I hope I am and medical treatment keeps advancing the way it has.”

  David snapped his fingers. “Now I know why your name sounded so familiar. My buddy, Paul Brennan, told me the two of you went to med school together. He also said you’re one of the best in your field, so I guess I should trust your medical opinion.”

  “Well, I believe Brianna is gonna stay in remission long enough to collect social security. With me,” he added, making it clear Brianna shouldn’t even think about reconciling with her ex-husband.

  “Hold it just one second. If you’re her doctor, you have no freaking business—”

  “I was her doctor. I transferred her case to my colleague.”

  David turned back to Brianna, and the anguish in his eyes slowly dissipated as it obviously sunk in that Marc loved her. “Do you have any idea how guilty I feel for not noticing you were so sick? Have you considered how much it’s going to hurt your sister that we fell in love with each other after you snuck off to die?”

  “I don’t want anyone to feel guilty or responsible for me, David.”

  “Well, good. I refuse to hang on the cross for something we didn’t know about. I’ll always care for you, Brianna, and you’ll have Casey’s and my help whenever you need it. But after what’s happened this summer, that’s all I can offer. I’m in love with your sister, and she’s the only woman I want as my wife.”

  “I’m glad to hear it, because Brianna’s mine if she’ll have me.” Marc dropped to one knee and took her hand. “Please, Angel. There are patients like you who’ve survived more than twenty years, and there are new medical techniques being developed every day.”

  The love shimmering in his eyes made Brianna’s chest tighten. He just didn’t understand how afraid she was of dying and breaking his heart again. “What if the tumor comes back and I don’t make it?”

  “Angel, everyone’s dying—some just a little sooner than others. What guarantee do you have that I won’t be struck by lightning next week?”

  “He’s right, Brianna.” Judy strolled into the family room and sat in the recliner with the baby. “Your mom and James both died too young, and neither one of them was sick.”

  Marc pulled Brianna close to him. “I love you, Angel. I refuse to believe God would’ve sent you to me if he didn’t intend for us to be together a long, long time.”

  “Oh, Marc, I love you, too.” She wrapped her arms around his neck in a stranglehold. “I pray you’re right.”

  “I’m so confident, I’ll call Jack Hudson right now and accept the position at U of Penn Hospital he’s been hounding me to take. We can move halfway between here and Philly so you can spend as much time with your sister and niece as you’d like.”

  Brianna smothered his face in kisses.

  David smiled and slapped Marc lightly on the back. “I’d say the part about moving close to Casey clinched the deal.” He raced toward the door and called over his shoulder, “Let’s hope I have as much success with Brianna’s sister.”

  ~*~

  Five minutes later, after a trip back into the house to ask Marc to move his rental blocking the garage, David finally pulled his Camry out of the driveway. Undoubtedly, Casey had either gone to talk to Andy or Mattie or she’d holed up at the school to lick her imagined wounds.

  Several times over the past few days, he’d implied in one way or another that he wanted to spend his life with her, so how on earth had he given her the impression he still wanted Brianna? What the hell had Casey thought he’d meant last night when he told her he didn’t want her to stop what she was doing for the next sixty years or so? And if she loved him as much as he suspected, why would she go out of her way to try to orchestrate a reconciliation between his ex-wife and him?

  Unless....

  Maybe Brianna and he had both read her sister wrong. Was it possible Casey really didn’t want him? Had she only gotten involved with him because she’d wanted a complete family for their baby and figured Jamie would have that if Brianna took him back?

  No. He shook off his doubts as he turned his car toward the preschool. He knew Casey better than he knew himself. She couldn’t have made love to him the way she had last night if she didn’t feel the same why he did.

  He glared down at the hard-on rising between his legs, remembering all the new, imaginative ways she’d found to excite him.

  The only feasible explanation for Casey treating him to a night designed purely for his pleasure and then shoving him back at Brianna was that it had been her way of saying good-bye. Brianna had to be right. Casey didn’t believe he loved her.

  The memory of her tears in the hospital flooded back and made his stomach knot. If she was suffering from postpartum depression....

  He immediately rejected that thought. Casey w
as too levelheaded to go off the deep end. Then again, she’d never given birth before. Hormonal changes could make a woman do things she wouldn’t ordinarily do.

  He couldn’t take if he lost her. No one else made him laugh the way she did or had such a generous heart. No other person forced him to be so honest with himself or brought out the best in him. He’d never wanted anything more than he wanted Casey to be his wife and the mother of his children. Somehow he had to convince her of that.

  Just as soon as he found her.

  ~*~

  The setting sun cast the enclosed porch at Mattie’s house—previously Casey’s apartment—in deep shadows. After living in David’s spacious home, the place seemed more cramped than ever.

  She lay on sofa and sobbed into the damp throw pillow. Somehow she would get through this. She’d been reasonably content before her pregnancy. She could be again.

  Of course, back then she hadn’t known what it was like to make love with David. She hadn’t experienced the joy of sharing her day with him and lying in his arms at night. Nor had she felt the thrill of waking up to his smile every morning.

  She just needed to focus on loving Jamie and being the best mother a child ever had.

  In the past, she’d been made to feel inferior by aggressive women who claimed that catering to others signified a lack of self-esteem. She used to wonder if it was true. But no more.

  She was finished feeling guilty about being an introvert or feeling second-rate because she was different. She would never be a vibrant, hard-driven individual like her sister, who flourished in the spotlight.

  That was okay. She was happy with who she was, and it gave her pleasure and satisfaction to be the wind, helping others soar in life. Being a nurturing person didn’t mean she was a victim or incapable of asserting herself. She’d proven that today when she’d walked out of David’s house. She hadn’t left because she didn’t deserve his love. She’d gone because she did. She deserved every bit of it, and she wouldn’t accept any less. Allowing David to settle for her as his wife could only lead to misery for everyone involved.

  The ache in her breasts reminded her it was way past time to feed Jamie. She massaged her chest and sighed. If she and David were going to share custody, the baby might as well get used to drinking from a bottle.

  She flinched at a loud rap on the door.

  “Casey, let me in.” David rattled the locked doorknob.

  Oh, Lord, he sounded mad. “No. Did you talk to Brianna?”

  “Yes, damn it! I’ve been driving around for two hours, searching for you. You weren’t here an hour and a half ago. Where’ve you been?”

  “I stopped at the park and took a walk.” She’d been so upset, she’d been afraid she’d have an accident if she’d kept driving.

  “Would you open the door?” He huffed. “I’d like to talk face-to-face.”

  She glanced in the mirror at her puffy, tear-streaked face. What a wreck. “No. I don’t want you to see me right now. Please don’t be angry with me.”

  “Well, how would you feel? I made a date with you, and then you called in a substitute and ditched me with no explanation.”

  If he was upset over that, things must not have gone well between her sister and him.

  When Casey still didn’t let him in, there was a loud thump as if he’d punched the wall. “Damn it!” he hollered. “Now is not the time to dig your heels in. So quit saying no and open the freaking door.”

  Resting her forehead on the molding, she sighed. “David, you don’t understand. I just wanted to give the two of you a chance to work things out.”

  “Why the hell would I want to reconcile with your sister when I’m so crazy in love with you?”

  Her heart did a little dance. “You are?” She sniffled, wiping away a new stream of tears. “Then why’d you push me away when I tried to kiss you at the hospital? And why’d you say you were looking forward to Brianna seeing how much you’ve changed?”

  “Is that what this is all about?” He sputtered. “I was trying to protect you. I didn’t want everyone at the hospital gossiping about you again. And I simply wanted your sister to see what a difference you’ve made in my life and to tell her how grateful I am that she had the courage to leave me.”

  “Oh.” Casey exhaled and dropped her face into her palms. She’d been such an insecure idiot. Last night, he hadn’t just said he loved her in the throes of passion.

  “Now, would you open up, please?” he asked, his tone softening. “I have something special for you.”

  “Is it a bribe?” A tiny hiccup distorted her chuckle.

  “If that’s what it takes.”

  Smoothing her bedraggled hair, she wiped her cheeks and swung the door wide. He looked more gorgeous than ever in a dark suit and crisp white shirt. She glanced down at her faded tank top and shorts. “You look so handsome, and I’m a total mess.”

  “No.” His voice turned husky. “You’re more beautiful than ever.”

  She held out her hand. “So what do you have for me?”

  “Not yet. First I need to tell you why your sister left me last spring.”

  “I already know why.” Her cheeks warmed as she admitted, “Brianna found one of my journals and discovered I’d once had a crush on you. The flake thought we’d be more compatible than the two of you were.”

  “That’s partially true, but that’s not the whole story. I just learned she had a brain tumor and was trying to spare us.”

  Bile rose in Casey’s throat as she stared at him for several seconds, praying she hadn’t heard him right. “No!” She squeezed her eyes shut. “She can’t die.” It would be like losing a part of herself.

  He pulled her into his arms and stroked her head. “Shhh....according to her neurosurgeon, she’s going to be fine. I met Marc—who by the way, she’s crazy about.”

  Relief flooded through her. Evidently her suspicions the day her sister called for the creamy mustard chicken recipe had been dead on. Brianna really had fallen in love again. Casey drew back and frowned. “How’d you end up meeting him?”

  “Marc showed up as I was about to leave. If Brianna wasn’t wearing a wig, he—”

  “So that wasn’t her hair?”

  He released her and laughed. “Nope. And it’s a good thing, because he was ready to drag her back to Minnesota—caveman style, if need be. Anyway, Marc told me he removed her tumor in June, and now that Brianna’s had some chemo and radiation, she has a good shot at living a long and happy life with him.”

  “Oh, thank God.”

  David pulled a velvet box from his pocket and opening it, revealing an exquisite sapphire ring. “I want to marry you more than anything. And just so you don’t have any doubts—I didn’t realize exactly how much I love you until Brianna let me think she regretted our divorce.”

  He slipped the platinum ring on Casey’s left hand. Its glittering blue stone was a modest size, only about a half carat, and was surrounded by a sunburst of marquis diamonds.” Obviously he’d truly learned he didn’t need to prove himself with extravagant gifts.

  “David, this is beautiful—and perfect. How did you know this is exactly the kind of ring I would want?”

  “Actually, I didn’t buy it for you, but I knew it would fit your taste. It was my grandma’s, so there are a lot of good memories attached to that ring.”

  Fresh tears streamed down her face as she breathed the scent of soap and his spicy aftershave. “Can you forgive me for running out on you?”

  “Of course.” He brushed her mouth with his. “In fact, I love you even more for leaving to give Brianna and me a second chance. It made me appreciate how much you love your sister—and even more important, me.” He took her hand and kissed her ring finger. “My mom wanted me to tell you, if she had a daughter, she would’ve given this to her.”

  It meant the world to her that Judy wanted Casey as her daughter-in-law.

  “I was going to propose to you at dinner tonight, but—”

  “
I’m sorry I ruined it.” She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I love you so much.”

  He ground his lips into hers, murmuring into her mouth, “And I love you, my beautiful Tinkerbelle. More than I can ever show you.”

  She drew back and gazed down at her sparkling ring. “Thank you. You just did.”

  “So is that a yes to my proposal?”

  “You bet it is.” She grinned up at him. “Do you really think I’d turn down an incredible rock like this? Or you?”

  “Well....I was little worried.”

  “You didn’t need to be.” Casey chuckled. “What I’d like to do now is go feed our daughter and hear firsthand Brianna’s gonna be okay.”

  “You’ve got it. And while you’re nursing Jamie, I’ll thank your sister again. Next to our little girl, you’re the most precious gift I’ve ever received.”

  “Unh-uh. I think you’ve got that backwards, Dr. Lambert. Brianna’s and my situation was a lot like O. Henry’s Christmas story, The Gift of the Magi. My sister and I love one another enough to make a major sacrifice for the other. You’re her gift to me.”

  “No way.”

  “Come on.” She tugged him toward the door. “Let’s go home and ask her.”

  “Wait.” He pulled her back to him and stared into her eyes. “Do you have any idea how great it feels to finally hear you call our house home?”

  “It’s just bricks and mortar, David. Home is wherever Jamie and you are.”

  He held her close and buried his face in her hair, whispering, “From now on, I’m hoping that’ll be in your arms.”

  Epilogue

  Christmas, five years later

  “Man, this smells good.” David groaned, inhaling the mingled aromas of herb stuffing and sweet potatoes as he reached across the dining room table to light the candles.

  “I think I’m gonna need another notch in my belt.” Paul laughed, easing the cork from the chilled chardonnay. Marc opened the sparkling apple cider that would also accompany the Christmas dinner Brianna and Andy had helped Casey prepare.