The Two of Us

by Victoria Bylin

  “Tell me about yourself.”

  For the second time in an hour, Mia rattled off her qualifications and experience. With Sheryl, she had let her personality show. With old-school Dr. Collins, she kept her tone formal. He grunted a few times, and asked about her preceptorship and how long she’d been licensed.

  When she finished answering, he barked a question. “Can you be here on Wednesday at three o’clock for an interview?”

  “That’s perfect.” Wednesday afternoon was Mia’s time to catch up on paperwork. With a little rescheduling, she could drive up for the interview and stay through Saturday for Lucy’s wedding.

  “Fine. Fax your CV and references.”

  The phone clunked in her ear, leaving Mia with her heart racing as she printed out her CV, wrote a short cover letter, and faxed the package to Echo Falls Primary Care. If she and Dr. Collins reached an arrangement, she would need to give Dr. Moore two weeks’ notice, find a place to live in Echo Falls, and clean out her apartment.

  Mia glanced at the clock, then at the pile of phone messages on her desk. She didn’t have time to call Lucy, but she did it anyway.

  Her sister answered on the second ring, cheerful as always. “Hey. What’s up?”

  “How would you feel if I took a job in Echo Falls?”

  “Really? I’d love it.”

  “It would be temporary, but I’m desperate.” Mia told Lucy about the interview, the need to prove her adaptability, and her call to Dr. Collins. “The interview is Wednesday.”

  “That’s great! I’ll tell Jake and his dad that you’re getting here early. The house is huge. They won’t mind at all.”

  “No, don’t. I’ll stay at a motel.” Mia didn’t want to impose on the Tanners, but mostly she liked her privacy. At times she craved it. But what did that say about her adaptability? “On second thought, that would be nice. But only if it’s okay with the Tanners.”

  “They’ll be glad to have you, especially Claire.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. She used to do a lot of entertaining. In fact, she’s teaching me how to cook. It’s funny how her hands sometimes know what her brain can’t remember.”

  “Just let me know what they say.”

  “I will.”

  Mia glanced again at the clock. Her first patient was probably waiting in the exam room. “Gotta run—”

  “Bye!”

  “Bye!”

  That was how they ended most of their calls, sometimes in midsentence, because when Mia said she needed to go, she meant it. She did a quick skim of the phone messages to check for emergencies, saw nothing that couldn’t wait for her next break, and hurried out of her office.

  In the hallway, she glimpsed herself in a mirror. The teddy bear scrubs wouldn’t cut it for an interview with old-school Dr. Collins. She wanted something new, maybe a business suit in a cheerful color instead of the gray and beige she usually favored. She also wanted a fabulous new dress for Lucy’s wedding.

  Jake Tanner had nothing to do with that desire. Not a thing. But it wasn’t lost on her that she’d be seeing a lot of him if she moved to Echo Falls.

  Chapter

  7

  Jake walked with his mom into the Echo Falls Emporium, a combination market, deli, and variety store with a hundred-year-old history. He wrangled a cart from a row of them and gave it to his mom.

  “I just love that girl,” Claire said for the fourth time.

  She meant Lucy. Last Saturday, when Sam brought Lucy to the house for the first time, the poor girl dashed to the bathroom and threw up. Whatever resentment Claire felt about needing help vanished the minute she saw Lucy’s stricken face. A mother at heart, she took Lucy under her wing, and they bonded over crackers and dill pickles.

  Now they planned to make the wedding cake together. Jake smiled at the thought, but he hoped they remembered to put in the sugar. Mia was right about Lucy being a little scatterbrained, and his mother’s memory was at the cat-and-mouse stage, where thoughts emerged and vanished before she could wrap her mind around them.

  Claire pushed the small cart down the baking aisle, her gaze intense as she studied the boxes and jars, cans and bags, a million colors and shapes, and a thousand words in a hundred different styles of print. Every few steps she stopped and studied her list, until she reached a row of small orange boxes.

  “Baking soda,” she said as she lifted the Arm & Hammer brand.

  “That’s it.” Jake used the same stuff to clean battery terminals.

  She checked the item off her list, said the words out loud a second time, then read the next item. “Baking powder.” Her brows furrowed. “What’s the difference? I used to know that.”

  Jake didn’t have a clue, but he snagged a can off the shelf. “I don’t know, but here it is.”

  A sigh whispered from his mother’s lips, one that echoed the constant ache in Jake’s own soul. Every day she lost a little more of her old self, and the downhill slide seemed to be picking up.

  They made their way to the bags of flour. White or wheat. Bleached or unbleached. All-purpose or special for cakes. Gold Medal, Pillsbury, or the bargain store brand? His mother clutched his arm. Thinking she was confused and maybe frightened, he put his hand over hers.

  As he turned to say he’d handle the flour crisis, she waved to Kelsey Baxter at the far end of the aisle.

  Jake liked Kelsey. The office manager for Echo Falls Primary Care was cute with brown eyes and bouncy hair, and she supported Camp Connie. They had dated a few times—a couple of lunches and a singles gathering at church. He had tried hard to feel more for her than he did, but he couldn’t seem to warm up to anything about her. Not her looks. Not her outgoing personality. Nothing. Friendship was the best he could do. To his consternation, Kelsey’s feelings weren’t so mild. She lit up like Christmas whenever she saw him. Like now.

  “Claire! Jake!” She hurried toward them, a red plastic basket dangling from the crook of her elbow.

  Jake greeted her with a nod. “Hello, Kelsey.”

  She gave Claire a quick hug. “Did you two hear the big news?”

  His thoughts went to Camp Connie and the battle for the zoning change. “What’s up?”

  “Dr. Collins found someone interested in taking over his practice. She’s coming this afternoon for an interview.”

  Jake knew all about it. “Mia Robinson, right?”

  Surprised, Kelsey drew back. “This is a small town. How did you hear?”

  “Mia is Lucy’s sister,” Claire explained. “And Lucy is . . . Lucy is living with us.”

  “Who’s Lucy?” Kelsey turned to Jake.

  “Sam’s fiancée.”

  “Got it.” Kelsey shifted the basket to her other arm. “I wondered how a stranger heard about Dr. Collins. That phone call came out of the blue.”

  Not to Jake. Lucy couldn’t stop talking about how great it would be to have Mia in Echo Falls, and Jake couldn’t stop thinking the same thing. Mia and Las Vegas popped into his mind about ten times a day. He’d learned a lot about her over those three cups of coffee, and he’d been impressed with her compassion, personal drive, and slightly goofy sense of humor. When they parted at the elevator, she’d thanked him again for the stuffed hen and dubbed it Henrietta.

  He’d been tempted to quiz Lucy about her sister, but that seemed nosy. Besides, knowing Lucy like he did now, she’d see right through him and play matchmaker. Next to Frozen, the Disney movie about two very different sisters, Beauty and the Beast was her favorite. She and Claire watched one movie or the other almost every day.

  Kelsey glanced at the bags and boxes in the shopping cart. “It looks like you’re baking a cake.”

  “For . . .” Claire’s voice trailed off. “What’s her name again?”

  “Lucy,” Jake replied.

  “Lucy,” Claire repeated. “She’s engaged to Sam.”

  Kelsey’s smile froze in that helpless way of someone who didn’t know what to say when an Alzheimer’s pat
ient repeated something. She glanced at Jake, compassion bright in her eyes, then tried again with Claire. “Jake told me about Lucy already.”

  “Oh, that’s right.” Claire fluttered her hand. “And her sister is coming to visit. What’s her name?”

  “Mia.”

  “Mia,” Claire said firmly. “She’s Lucy’s sister. And Lucy’s engaged to Sam. We’re making a cake.”

  Small talk exhausted Claire as much as giving a speech to a crowd. Knowing she was near her limit, Jake put his hand on her back but spoke to Kelsey. “We need to finish shopping.”

  “Of course,” Kelsey said. “But there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

  “Sure. What is it?”

  “The Stop the Camp group is picking up steam. They’re holding a rally.”

  Jake stifled a groan. “A rally? When?”

  “In about a month.” She reached into her purse, a much smaller one than the sack Mia carried, and handed him a piece of paper the color of an orange traffic cone. “This is the flyer they asked us to put up in the office. You know how Dr. Collins feels about politics. He said no.”

  “I don’t like politics either,” Jake muttered. “I just want to start a camp for some hurting kids.”

  Four months ago the idea had seemed simple. With his parents relocating to Westridge, Jake was destined to be the sole occupant of a six-bedroom house on a property with three outbuildings. It was ideal for a youth camp, but he needed a zoning change much like the one other homeowners routinely obtained to start bed-and-breakfasts.

  No big deal, right? But he’d been wrong. His plan had stirred up a volcano of local resentment because of a five-year-old tragedy. Arson, committed by a teenage boy living at a rehab facility. The six fires, set in the dry month of August, had terrified the entire community. Four of the incidents had been dumpster fires, small and quickly contained, but the fifth was set at a vacant cabin. It had burned down the garage and nearly spread to a stand of piñon pines.

  The sixth fire destroyed the home of long-time resident Bill Hatcher. A widower in his late sixties, Bill had fled from the burning house, fallen down concrete steps, and dragged himself away in spite of a shattered tibia. Now he used a cane and lived with constant pain. The fire had destroyed every photograph of his late wife, the watercolors she had painted, and everything else she loved, including their elderly cat.

  Jake, a victim of a crime himself, understood Bill’s loss in his own marrow. The circumstances were both sad and tragic. But a camp for sons of fallen heroes was light-years removed from the group home that had closed in the aftermath of the fires.

  To Jake’s consternation, some people didn’t see the difference. In all good conscience, they believed they were protecting their town, their property, and their families. Others opposed the camp for less noble reasons. Unfortunately, drama and gossip were favorite pastimes in Echo Falls. Stirring the pot, as Frank called it. Either way, opposition to Camp Connie was growing, and the group was organized enough to raise money and choose Bill Hatcher as chairman.

  Jake took the flyer from Kelsey and saw a photograph of the Hatcher home engulfed in flames. Jaw tight, he read the group’s call to action.

  Keep City Problems in the City

  By William T. Hatcher, Chairman

  Stop the Camp Committee

  I know from personal experience that a youth camp is a Trojan horse for crime—everything from shoplifting to acts as heinous as arson. If you’re willing to fight to preserve our safe and quiet way of life, please join the Stop the Camp Committee at a rally . . .

  “This is ridiculous.” His fingers itched to ball up the flyer, but instead he folded it into fourths. “Hatcher’s playing on fears that aren’t realistic. People need facts.”

  “They won’t get them from Bill.” Kelsey sighed. “You two need to debate.”

  “I offered when the Stop the Camp group first formed, but I didn’t get an answer.” Jake jammed the flyer in his back pocket. “I’ll ask again. Or better yet, I’ll call Marc Scott.” The Chamber of Commerce president. “He’s leaning in our direction because it’ll bring in business from the visiting families. Maybe he can persuade Bill to turn the rally into something more civilized.”

  “That’s a great idea! If anyone can do it, you can. Jake, you’re brilliant!” Kelsey had a tendency to gush over him, a habit that rubbed him the wrong way. He didn’t deserve the praise, didn’t want it, and felt like an imposter in the face of her hero worship.

  “Thanks for the info,” he said, almost monotone. “I’ll let you know what Marc says.”

  “I’ll help in any way I can. But you know that.” She waited a moment, maybe hoping he’d invite her to the house to talk some more.

  No way could he give that invitation. Kelsey, a junkie when it came to local politics, could have told him where town leaders stood on the issue of the camp, but he needed to be careful of her feelings.

  Claire broke the silence. “Lucy’s getting married. We’re baking a cake.”

  The movie Groundhog Day used to be one of his favorites. Now he couldn’t stand to watch Bill Murray live the same day over and over, much like Claire did. Jake nodded a quick good-bye to Kelsey.

  Smiling her sympathy, she murmured, “See you later.”

  He indicated Claire should push the cart, something that gave her a sense of security, and they went back to grocery shopping. They were in the soft-drink aisle when Jake thought of Mia again. She’d be at the house for four days, and he wanted her to feel welcome. He shot a quick text to Lucy. What does Mia like to drink? How about snacks?

  She answered with That yucky soda water (lemon/lime), green apples, mini carrots, whole grain bagels (yuck). She likes Skittles too, but don’t tell her I told you. She finished with a row of smiley faces.

  Jake smiled too. “Come on, Mom. Let’s check out the candy aisle.”

  “Candy?”

  “Lucy says Mia likes Skittles.”

  “Mia?”

  “Lucy’s sister.”

  Claire lit up. “Oh, that’s right. Lucy’s getting married.”

  With her hands knotted on the cart, his mother steered down an aisle filled with M&M’s and gummy bears, twelve kinds of Life Savers, peppermints, licorice, chocolate in bags and bars, not to mention SweeTarts, Nerds, and movie-size boxes of everything from Milk Duds to Junior Mints.

  Claire stopped abruptly, her eyes suddenly dull with confusion. Jake guided her to the Skittles and put a couple of the original red bags in the cart. With Claire, it paid to keep things simple.

  But what about Jake? He used to relish a challenge, the more complex the better. What had happened to the man determined to make detective before he turned thirty-five? The man who solved problems with logic, chased down trouble, and tackled it head on? Aside from the Stop the Camp fight, Jake’s biggest problem now was what to eat for breakfast. Or maybe it was the dead weight in his chest when he went to bed alone and woke up alone. He hadn’t felt really alive since the tragedy.

  Did he want to be a bachelor the rest of his life? No wife. No kids. A monk, essentially.

  No, he did not.

  He was tired of being alone. Tired enough to toss four more bags of Skittles into the cart, each one a different color with a different assortment of flavors. He hoped he had found Mia’s favorite.

  On Wednesday afternoon, Mia walked out of Echo Falls Primary Care in a daze. Dr. Collins had skimmed her CV, agreed to her salary request, and asked when she could start. With a new RV in the driveway, he and his wife were eager to live their retirement dream while they still enjoyed good health.

  In Colorado, a nurse practitioner could prescribe, diagnose, and treat without physician oversight, so once she started work, Dr. Collins was free to travel. They agreed on a start date in two weeks. Since she was possibly leaving in six months, he wanted to keep the practice up for sale. Mia was fine with that. Considering it hadn’t sold in a year, she believed the job was secure.

  “Thank you,
God,” she said out loud as she turned left on Tanner Road. She could hardly believe it. When it came to her love life, God moved with glacial slowness. But when it came to her career, He moved fast, opening doors the instant she knocked.

  Mia made a mental list of things to do. Calling Dr. Moore and finding a place to live in Echo Falls took top priority. Maybe she’d ask Jake to help her find a little house to rent. Or maybe not. She liked him a lot, too much for a woman hoping to leave the country in six months. Staying just friends was both smart and wise, especially with his strong ties to Sam.

  With her adrenaline still rushing, Mia drove a half mile down Tanner Road and parked in front of the house Lucy had described as a castle made of wood. The description fit the multistoried, haphazard layout that suggested rooms had been added in different decades. A wide deck with several wooden steps leading up to it reminded Mia of a moat with a lowered drawbridge.

  She expected Lucy to greet her, but it was Jake who came down the steps. Pirate trotted at his side, a four-legged squire to his master, but Jake didn’t resemble a medieval knight in the least. Dressed in Wrangler jeans and work boots, he was the spitting image of Mr. Claw Machine, except for the cowboy hat. When her heart gave a happy bounce, Mia realized she needed to be careful. The man she had considered a handsome stranger was now a handsome friend.

  Pirate wasn’t wearing his red vest, so when he and Jake reached Mia’s Toyota 4Runner, she greeted him with a friendly scratch to his neck before she looked up at Jake.

  His mouth hooked into a grin. “He’s glad to see you. So am I. How did the interview go?”

  “Great.” Her mind stuck like glue on Jake being glad to see her. The feeling was entirely mutual. “I start in two weeks, or sooner if I can make arrangements with Dr. Moore.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you. I’m happy about it.”

  He hauled her suitcase and a garment bag to the house, and she carried her purse and computer. When they reached the front door, slightly ajar, he nudged it wide with his elbow and moved to the side to give her access. “The stairs are to the right.”