One Hot Summer

by Heidi McLaughlin

  They walked to the fourth hole and after two practice swings, Danny teed off. He held his follow through, watching as his ball sliced through the air. He expected a rush of adrenaline, but his thoughts never strayed from Kelly. He wanted to see her again, and when he did, he was going to ask her to join him for a walk on the beach or dinner in another town, away from the prying eyes and ears of Gray.

  “Nice hit. Is she pregnant?”

  “Who?” Danny asked as he stepped aside.

  “The woman who has you tangled in knots. I have to say, Taya is going to be pissed because she didn’t hear about you dating anyone.”

  They picked up their bags after Neil hit and continued down the fairway. “That’s because I’m not dating anyone. So, to answer your question, no she’s not pregnant. She’s back.”

  Neil stopped walking. Danny took a few more steps before stopping and turning around. He sighed and shook his head. “She, she?” Neil questioned.

  “Yeah.”

  “How come I haven’t heard?”

  “She’s the new owner of Java Hut.”

  “Son of a—”

  “I know. I spent four hours in the café this morning, saying nothing, just watching her and sipping on cold stale coffee.”

  “She hot?”

  He shook his head. “She’s beyond gorgeous. And everything from that last summer we spent together came rushing back. I swear, if I had kissed her today, it would’ve been like she never left.”

  “But she did.”

  He nodded. “She did, and without a goodbye and that still hurts. I know things were bad and I played a huge part in it, but she didn’t have to treat me like yesterday’s garbage.”

  “All I can say is that I’m glad I wasn’t there.” Danny wanted to flip his friend off but refrained. Neil had gone on a college visit and missed that fateful night and never jumped on board when everyone starting hazing Kelly.

  “I told her I was sorry earlier. It’s partly why I was late. I left my wallet at the café and had to go back and get it. Couldn’t find my keys either and Mr. Lange picked me along the side of the road. He left me with a few parting words. Rambo’s pissed because I left him at the office when I went back there for a second time to pick up my clubs. What a cluster.” He swung at a clump of grass and dirt and watched it fly about ten feet in the air before landing with a thud.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Be present, I guess. I don’t know. I want her to forgive me, but hell if I don’t want to kiss that woman senseless and see if the magic is still there.” Danny’s phone rang out with the office’s ringtone. He groaned, but answered anyway, telling her he was on his way back without even saying hello or waiting to see what she wanted. “Rain check?”

  Neil nodded. “And maybe when I see you next, you’ll have her on your arm again.”

  “Don’t hold your breath. She’s either recently divorced, going through one or widowed. I haven’t heard which, but her last name isn’t Taft.”

  “Tread carefully, my friend.”

  Danny sped as he drove back to the office. Martha hadn’t spoken a word to him, so he didn’t know exactly what was going on. For all he knew, Jimbo had fallen and broken his arm or worse, broken someone’s nose. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s had to set bones for either Jimbo or one of his victims. Thankfully, there were only two cars parked close to the front of the office when he arrived, and he couldn’t hear any yelling so that was a plus. At least no one was in pain.

  He walked in and glanced briefly into the waiting room. He was certain he saw Kelly but didn’t want to go back and look. Plus, that could possibly mean she has a child and for some reason he didn’t want to believe that possible or that she was sick, and that feeling hurt even worse. He changed quickly, putting on his customary doctor coat and asked Martha to show his patient into the exam room.

  “Room one, stomach bug,” Martha said when they met in the hall. She winked at him, which he found odd. It wasn’t until he opened the door, did he understand why.

  “What are you doing here?” Kelly asked. She crossed her arms over her chest and stood defensively in front of the child sitting on the table. The child leaned to the side, to look at the doc and smiled. His stomach dropped. Looking back at him was a mini version of Kelly, except her hair was darker. “I asked you a question.”

  “I work here.” He pointed to the name on his coat.

  “Where’s your dad? I want a real doctor.”

  “He looks real, Momma.”

  Kelly sat her hand on her daughter’s knee and looked down. That’s when he saw a single tear rolling down her cheek. He wanted to reach out and wipe it away, pull her into his arms or ask her what he can do to help her. “Do you want me to call my dad, Kelly? I can if it’ll make you feel better, but he’s been retired for a few years now.” He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone, but she shook her head.

  “She’s not feeling well.”

  “Okay.” He opened the file and read the intake sheet, scanning until he came to the father’s name. Blank.

  “Kori, I’m Doctor Danny,” he said, closing the folder. “It says here that you have an upset tummy.” He approached Kori slowly, his eyes going from hers to Kelly’s and back again. Kelly moved only slightly and kept her hand on her daughter’s knee. Danny didn’t have to know everything that was going on, he could see it written all over Kelly’s face. Kelly had been hurt, again. And Danny saw red. He wanted to strangle him.

  Danny proceeded to give Kori a check-up. Everything he did, proved that the girl was healthy. He had her lie down and he pressed on her stomach, which caused her to giggle. He did too and when he looked at Kelly, she was watching him.

  “Tell me where it hurts, Kori.”

  She shrugged. “All over. My tummy’s rumbly.” Danny ran all the necessary tests, took a few notes and excused himself from the exam room.

  “Martha, can you have Mrs. Franklin meet me in my office.”

  “Dr. Weatherly, I don’t believe this would be very professional.” Martha stood up and shook her head. He laughed, mostly at the expression on her face. He rested his hand on her shoulder.

  “I just need to talk to her about her daughter. Nothing will happen. I promise.” He continued down the hall, laughing. Mostly because there was a time when he and Kelly used to play doctor when his parents weren’t home, but those days have long since passed. There’s too much between them now for those types of games.

  It takes about five minutes before Kelly appeared in his doorway. They lock eyes and stare silently at each other. “Um…” she starts to say, only for Danny to shake his head, clearing the cobwebs.

  “Sorry, please come in and sit down.” He stood and pointed to one of the two chairs that were in front of his desk. For the second time today, he closed his office door. This time he did it because he wanted to speak to her privately, and he really wanted to be alone with her.

  “I’m sorry—”

  “You said that earlier.”

  “No, I mean about being the doctor. I guess I thought you knew.”

  She shook her head and cleared her throat. She took a shuddering breath and started sobbing. Danny was by her side instantly, pulling her into his arms, where she continued to cry. This was exactly how he held her the last time, while whispering how sorry he was.

  “I can’t lose her.”

  “Who?” Danny pulled back a bit and looked at the girl he once loved. It hit him, right then and there, he could easily love her again. That he never stopped.

  “Kori. She’s all I have.”

  “Why would you lose her? Is something going on? Do you need my help?”

  “You’re going to tell me she’s dying right? That’s why I’m in here?”

  He stood abruptly and almost fell back against his desk. “Why would…” he stopped himself from talking. Of course, she thought her daughter was ill otherwise he would’ve given the diagnosis in the exam room. He was such a fool, especially wit
h this woman. He walked back around to his desk and sat down. The last thing he wanted was to send the wrong message. He had a reputation to protect and comforting women in his office with the door closed, was possibly not the greatest idea. Even if it’s the woman who got away. “Right. Kori is fine. More than fine, really. It’s my medical opinion that she’s faking it.”

  “And where did you get your degree?”

  “Stanford.” He chanced a look at her. He continued with their plan, without her, and hated every single minute of it. Nothing had gone as planned. He changed his major three times before deciding to follow in his father’s footsteps. The plan was never for him to come back to Gray and take over the practice, but his father made him an enticing offer he couldn’t pass up. He agreed, the second Dr. Weatherly retired, and the third took over.

  She grimaced. “She’s faking it?”

  He wanted her to ask about California, ask if she took the train to San Francisco like they had planned, but he knew she never made it there. When he arrived, he sought her out, searched everywhere, bribed unsuspecting women in the administration office for her dorm room. He wanted to tell her, that he didn’t take the train, at least, not at first. It took him three years before he finally agreed and hated every minute of it because she wasn’t with him. “Yeah, she’s very healthy. Medically, there isn’t anything wrong with her, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have an upset stomach. Those are just common with life.”

  “Okay.” She stood and opened the door. She turned and looked at him. “Thank you.”

  She was gone in an instant, leaving Danny to tend to his other patients. As soon as he was done, he was back in his office and dialing a phone number, a number he never thought he would ever dial again.

  “Hudson residence.”

  “Hi Carolyn, this is Dr. Weatherly, may I speak with your mom, please?”

  “Mom, Dr. Weatherly is on the phone.” Carolyn pronounced the th in his name as d. “Hello, Dr. Weatherly is everything okay?”

  “Hey, Melody.” He called her by her first name, something he hasn’t done since they were in high school. When he and Kelly ended, so did his friendship with Melody and her then boyfriend, Chad. Like with any breakup, people took sides. Most everyone took his, except these two. When he returned, he kept his distance expect on a professional level.

  “Danny.” Clipped was the only way to describe her tone. “What do you want?”

  “Look, I know you don’t owe me any favors, but I’m going to ask anyway. Our reunion is coming up, I want you to make sure Kelly is there.”

  “And why would I do this for you?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know, because you believe in second chances?”

  “Danny Weatherly are you still in love with Kelly Taft?” She chuckled.

  He didn’t want to admit it, but yeah, he was. “Redemption, Mel. I’m going to make sure everyone apologizes for what they did to her.”

  “Are you going to apologize?”

  “I’m going to grovel.”

  She sighed. “It’s a long shot, but I’ll try. Answer me this, Danny, are you going to hurt her?”

  “Not in a million years. I’m going to win her back.” He hung up, leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up. He had no idea how he was going to do it or if he even stood a chance, but he was going to find a way to make Taffy fall in love with him again.

  9

  Kelly

  Kelly sat on her terrace, watching the ocean. The view alone made the purchase of the Java Hut worth it even though she was second-guessing everything. Breaking down in front of Danny was not her idea of a good time, and only added more fuel to the humiliation she felt when he was around. She couldn’t wait for this day to be over, however she wasn’t exactly looking forward to tomorrow either. Her therapist in New York had always says, “tomorrow’s are yesterday’s memories,” and while she wanted to embrace this thought fully, the memories from today were going to stay with her.

  She wasn’t prepared to see Danny today, nor was she prepared for him to tell her he went to Stanford. She should’ve known he’d stay on the path they had laid out, but part of her thought he’d change his mind. They were young, fell in love too fast, and thought they could conquer the world together. They only thing they conquered was heartache.

  She perked up when she saw Melody’s car pull in across the street. It was somewhat foolish of her to think Mel would be at her beck and call. They were, however, best friends and when she needed Melody, she was there.

  Melody waved what looked like a bottle of wine, in the air and yelled for Kelly to open her door. With a smile, she went back into the house, checked on a resting Kori and made her way to through the kitchen to make sure the door was open for her friend.

  “Chicken soup for Kori,” she said as she walked in. “Wine for us.”

  “How’d you know Kori didn’t feel well?”

  Melody deadpanned. She looked at her friend with wide eyes and cocked her head. “He called you?” Kelly blurted out. “Isn’t there some patient/doctor privilege or something?”

  “Are you sick or something? No, he didn’t call me. I mean, he did, but not because of Kori. Carolyn told me Kori went home sick. Thanks, by the way, for calling and letting me know. I had a freaking panic attack when I was in the pick-up line and only two of my three came out of the building.”

  “Sorry,” she mumbled. “But wait, Danny called you? Why?”

  Melody held up the bottle of wine, two glasses, and motioned for them to go sit outside. Kelly fixed Kori a bowl of soup and found her friend already sipping on a glass of Merlot. “Spill,” she said after sitting down. Melody poured another glass and handed it to her. She sipped, thinking that Mel probably wanted her tipsy. Just thinking about Danny made her this way. She wanted to be disgusted with herself for even thinking about him, but once she saw him today, any rationale she’s been holding onto for the last fifteen years went out the door. So did her resentment. However, she wasn’t willing to admit that just yet.

  “He was worried about you. Asked me to stop in and check on you.”

  “Why would he care?”

  Melody shrugged. “Maybe he still cares about you.”

  The thought not only excited her, but made her heart ache. They shouldn’t care about each other, not anymore, and if he had cared back then, he wouldn’t have laughed with the others. As much as she wanted to forgive him, forgetting would be near impossible. She also knew she wasn’t being fair to him. He did apologize this morning, which stunned her. The right thing to do would’ve been to tell him she accepted his apology, but she kept her words to herself. She had another opportunity this afternoon, to which she could’ve apologized in kind for questioning his medical degree. Again, found herself without a voice.

  “You know I tried to go talk to him, to ask him how his life has been, but it was like I had no voice box. I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. I think maybe, he felt the same way. I don’t know. I wasn’t prepared to see him. No thanks to you.”

  Mel shrugged. “Honestly, he’s not on my radar, ya know? Everything happened such a long time ago, sometimes I forget, and he definitely doesn’t dare ask me about you.”

  “Couldn’t even fill me in on him being the town doc. I made a fool of myself today.” She picked up her glass and swirled the red wine around before taking a drink. On one of her trips with Alan, they went to Napa and visited every winery they could. She was drunk for days, but at the time thought it was worth it. He was worth it. Over the last year, she’s tried to figure out when things changed. She couldn’t pinpoint a specific date though and it drove her batty when she thought about it.

  “You know, I’m sitting in the office today and this woman is next to me, going on and on about how hot Dr. Weatherly is, and all I could think about was my dad.”

  “Your dad is hot though.” Melody bumped Kelly’s elbow with hers.

  “Shut up.”

  “What, it’s true.”

&n
bsp; She rolled her eyes and changed the subject back to her visit. “I told Danny that I wanted Kori to see his dad. He actually offered to call him for me, pull him out of retirement.”

  “Danny’s a good physician. When his father announced he was leaving, the town was in a tizzy. He waited a few days before coming clean that Danny was coming back to take over the practice.”

  “He wasn’t even supposed to be a doctor,” Kelly mumbled. “That wasn’t the plan.”

  The friends grew silent after that comment. They both knew what the plan had been, there wasn’t a need to rehash and bring up the past. Besides, she wanted to be done with the “what if” game, and since running into Danny earlier, those questions have plagued her mind. Of course, now she wondered if he would’ve switched his major if their plan hadn’t changed. Would they have ended up back in Gray, no matter what?

  Melody finally broke the silence. “Plans change. It’s a part of life. That’s why nothing is ever set in concrete because once it is, you have to chisel and break the stone to get rid of it and no one wants that hassle.”

  “I broke down in front of Danny today,” she paused and shook her head. “So stupid. I thought he called me into his office to tell me that Kori was dying.” She looked out over the railing of her terrace, spotting a man and his dog. Her mind instantly went to Danny and his furry pal, who waited outside so obediently for him this morning. “He held me, and it was like we were back in high school. It felt good, genuine. I wasn’t questioning why he was touching me, and he was clearly crossing the patient/doctor line.”

  Her tears though, they had no issues with falling in front of him. Loud and obnoxious sobbing out of fear she was losing her daughter over a silly stomachache. She was due for a good crying session. She hadn’t had one in months, not since she saw a picture of Alan, having the time of his life on his Facebook page. She’s since deleted her social media presence, mostly out of spite. If his family wanted to see or know what Kori’s up to, they could call. They hadn’t, not in months. It was like once Alan decided he no longer wanted a family they cast Kori aside. That was another reason to move home.