Dropping her clothes onto the floor, she stepped under the spray of the shower and leaned her head against the wall. Hopefully, this trouble with Dylan wasn’t a premonition of things to come. They’d had their spats during the years as parents and children do, but they were closer than most because they depended so much on each other. In a way, they’d grown up together. She had imagined that one day she’d find a man to marry, to help raise Dylan and be the father the child never knew, but life hadn’t worked out that way. They had to get through this summer. Doc Wheeler would come back from his surgery and Cade would be gone. All those things he’d said years ago, about living in a small town and helping people the way his uncle did, had been a lot of words that had meant nothing. Thank goodness for that, because the sooner he left, the sooner her life and Dylan’s could get back to normal.
AT SIX in the morning Cade nosed his vehicle into a spot on the edge of Main Street in front of the Main Street Coffee Shop. Cypress Landing didn’t seem to find a need for originality in names. What else would one name an eatery on the town’s main street? He’d been hungry the minute his feet hit the floor, and he remembered the diner opened early.
He found a stool at the breakfast counter, avoiding the tables, several already occupied by brooding gray-haired men. They either gathered up here or at the old store on the highway that led outside of town.
An older woman stopped across the counter from him. “You want the same breakfast as usual?”
He hadn’t been in Cypress Landing long, but he’d already been in the Main Street Coffee Shop enough that Alice Berteau, the waitress and owner, knew what he wanted. “That’ll be good.”
She poured him a cup of coffee and disappeared into the kitchen.
A man took a seat beside him and waved to a waitress, who smiled and motioned that she’d be right there.
“Mr. Mills, right? Jody Mills’s dad.”
The man gave him a confused look.
“I’m Cade Wheeler, Dr. Wheeler’s nephew.” Mr. Mills had lost weight since Cade had last seen him, but he’d spent a lot of time with his son, who’d been one of his best friends during his first visit here. Maybe he and Jody could get together again, go fishing like when they were younger.
Recognition finally passed across the man’s face and he nodded. “I almost didn’t recognize you, you’ve grown some. Heard you were coming to help your uncle while he was laid up. That’s good of you.”
Cade wished people would quit telling him he was being nice to come and help his uncle. They made it sound as if he’d left a lot behind to come here, when in truth his uncle’s plea for help had filled a blank hole that had appeared in his life.
“What’s Jody doing? I’d like to see him.”
Mr. Mills’s jaw tightened and he wadded a paper napkin in his hand. “I thought Dr. Wheeler would have told you. Jody died close to a year ago. Got mixed in with the wrong people and started messing around with drugs. Ended up gettin’ shot.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Did they ever catch who did it?”
The man grasped the plastic container the waitress had brought for him and shook his head. “Ask that Brijette at the clinic. She can tell you more. She’s the one who found him. They took to being friends when she moved back here.” He paused as if he realized his voice had gotten louder. “I’ll be seeing you, son. You stay out of trouble, you hear?”
Cade could only watch as the man hurried from the diner.
“He’s changed since Jody died.”
A plate slid across the counter in front of him and Alice propped her arm on the counter. “They never did find who killed the boy and it’s made the man bitter. Wants to blame everyone.”
“Whose fault was it?”
She frowned. “It was Jody’s fault for gettin’ involved in all that. Can’t really blame no one else. Mr. Mills thinks the sheriff isn’t trying hard enough, but there’s only so much that can be done. I don’t know. Maybe I’d feel the same if it happened to my child.” She moved on as a customer at the other end of the counter asked for a coffee refill.
He couldn’t imagine why his uncle hadn’t told him Jody had been killed. Of course, his uncle hadn’t been too pleased that summer when his parents had shown up and carted him back to Dallas. At the time, Cade had just wanted to escape. He’d had very little contact with his uncle after that. Even at his father’s funeral, the man hadn’t mentioned Cypress Landing or the events of that summer. That was why he’d been surprised when his uncle had called and asked for his help. Now that Cade was back in Cypress Landing, his life seemed to be getting tangled in ways he hadn’t expected. All he wanted was a simple medical practice, a wonderful wife and two or three beautiful children. Was that asking too much? He forked a piece of omelet, letting the cheese ooze and wondering if those things would ever happen for him.
BRIJETTE TRIED TO control the jump in her chest, tried to tell herself it wasn’t her heart racing the minute she saw Cade stroll in the door. The same locks of hair slipped over one eyebrow, framing emerald eyes that could draw you in deeper and deeper. His shoulders strained beneath the fabric of his lab coat, making him appear much larger than she remembered. The young man had gone. This Cade seemed to fill the hallway. His blond good looks were what had attracted her to him in the beginning; his warm caring heart was what had made her stay. The chart she held dropped to the floor, scattering loose pieces of paper. That heart had transformed into an iceberg the minute their little sea of love started having a few waves. She’d been crazy in love with him and she hadn’t wanted to believe he’d left. Then his mother came. She took a deep breath and stretched to get the last paper, but her head made a thumping sound as it rammed into Cade’s. He’d crouched to help her get the papers and she hadn’t seen him. Why did he do that? She didn’t need his help, not now, not ever.
“Sorry.” She snapped the file shut, gritting the word between her teeth like a nasty piece of candy.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” She turned to leave, but her foot wobbled in her open-backed clogs. The chart went flying and her shoulder bumped the wall at the same time a hand grabbed her upper arm. Cade steadied her.
“Don’t move.”
He let go and gathered the chart while she stood there, unsure why she kept following his directions but unable to get her muscles in gear. When he had the chart together he caught her arm and pulled her into an empty room, shutting the door behind them.
“I’m sorry about last night.”
If she’d been holding the stupid chart she’d have dropped it again. “What do you mean, you’re sorry?”
“It’s not a riddle. I’m sorry. I said a lot of nasty things to you. We have a past, but it’s just that, past. If we’re going to be working together, we have to get along. Neither one of us may be comfortable with it, but this is the way things are going to be.”
Brijette couldn’t do much more than stare at him. This was how it was going to be? How could they possibly work together with all the resentment between them? What had old Dr. Wheeler been thinking?
Cade caught her hand and squeezed her fingers. “We can do it.” And there he was, the old Cade she’d fallen in love with. The you-and-me-against-the-world Cade, the even-if-the-world-kicks-our-butts Cade. But the world had come to kick their butts, and there hadn’t been a you and me.
“It’ll be fine.” She heard herself say the words but didn’t feel as though they came from her.
He dropped her hand, disappearing through the door, only to reappear seconds later. “Oh, and no swamp medicine.”
Blood