“It doesn’t hurt that Brady owns a successful business of his own. He can structure his time to give me a hand, but he’s really stretched thin.” Maggie was looking at the door. “Speaking of good-looking men …”
Jill knew by the expression on her friend’s face that she was looking at Blackwater Lake’s newest doctor. She hadn’t seen him since the incident by the lake a few days ago. Thinking about it afterward, she’d been unable to decide if he was a good, softhearted guy or an interfering jerk who wasn’t going to be around and had no emotional investment in whether or not C.J. became a responsible adult.
When her friend started to wave him over, Jill protested, “No.”
Maggie’s eyebrow rose questioningly. “Oh, really?”
“What ‘oh, really’?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. I’ve known you too long. What’s up with you and your newest tenant?”
“Who says anything is? Can’t I just not want to talk to him?”
“Not unless you have your eyesight checked and your head examined,” Maggie said, her gaze tracking him as he moved farther into the crowded room. “He’s gorgeous and seems really nice. I know everyone in town hates his guts because of what the last doctor did to you, but I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt.”
“Only because he’s got an ice-cream obsession and is a good customer,” Jill retorted.
“That doesn’t hurt. But, for goodness’ sake, he’s a bachelor without children and is here to support the football team. That gets a check mark in the ‘pro’ column.” The sadness in her eyes deepened. “Danny loved playing football for Blackwater Lake High. It was his idea to do this annual fundraiser, and I’ll defend anyone who is here to support it.” Unexpectedly a small smile turned up the corners of her beautiful mouth. “And by the looks of it he’s not just buying for himself.”
Jill turned and followed her friend’s gaze, noting that there were four kids with Adam in line. Reading the body language, she could see that he was relaying questions and answers from volunteers behind the counter and the boys giving their orders. When each sundae was ready, he handed it over to the child.
“Wow,” Maggie said.
“What?” Jill turned back to her.
“He’s buying the Mag-nificent Mocha and the Dan-dee Delight, the two most expensive things I have.”
Jill knew her husband had created and named them after the two of them. She also knew Adam was trying to win over the community and wondered if this was a bribe or he was being extra nice to Maggie. She hated being that cynical. It would be shallow, self-centered and just plain wrong to compare what she’d experienced to Maggie’s incomprehensible loss, but something had died inside Jill, and a couple of men were responsible. Now she looked at everything involving men through a magnifying glass made of skepticism.
“I hope the kids don’t get sick,” Maggie said, watching the boys juggle their treats over to a table while the doctor paid the bill. “Now Adam is looking around for a place to sit.”
“Are you going to do a running commentary on his movements all night?”
Maggie folded her arms and rested them on her ballooning belly. “Someone took a crabby pill. Maybe you need something to sweeten your disposition.”
“If you’re suggesting ice cream, I’ve already had mine.”
“Finishing C.J.’s doesn’t count.”
Jill automatically looked for her son and saw him in a far corner with Tyler Dixon and his dad. There was a part of her that always breathed a sigh of relief when she could see him happy and healthy.
“I may have finished his, but that means we both took one for the team.” The comment made her friend smile, and that was enough to sweeten her disposition.
“Hello, ladies.”
“Adam.” Maggie’s voice was dripping with friendly and topped with welcome. “Why don’t you pull up a chair?”
Even if Maggie hadn’t announced him, Jill would know that voice anywhere. It was deep and rugged and seemed to have a direct line to her heart, kicking up the beat until surely everyone in the noisy, crowded room could hear.
Jill saw the mischievous gleam in the other woman’s eyes. It momentarily blocked out the sad, and for that she was grateful. When he moved into her view she said, “Hi, Adam. Join us.”
He glanced from one to the other. “You two looked serious about something. I don’t want to interrupt any soul-baring confessions.”
Jill was doing her level best to keep this guy from searing her soul and wanted to tell him he was absolutely interrupting them, but had a bad feeling Maggie wanted him to sit down. There was probably no way to avoid it, so she sweetened her disposition and aimed all that sugar in his direction.
“We were just chatting,” she said to him. “Nothing important. Sit with us.”
“Okay.” A faint look of surprise flitted across his face just before he grabbed a recently vacated chair from a nearby table. He pulled it over and sat. “How’s the mother-to-be?”
“Doing nothing, as ordered, and teetering on the edge of insanity,” Maggie answered.
He laughed. “Apparently the edge agrees with you. Glowing is an understatement.”
Definitely he was being extra nice to her, Jill thought. “Is that your official medical opinion, Doctor?”
“It is.” Then he studied her. “And you look like a woman who could use a day off.”
When he turned his baby blues on her, she felt the effects just short of her soul. Then the meaning of his words sank in. Tired? Bags under her eyes? She looked like something the cat yakked up?
Glancing at her best friend’s amused expression, Jill knew Maggie knew what she was thinking. Before she could decide how to sugarcoat her response, Mayor Loretta Goodson stopped beside the table.
“Hi, Jill.” Her Honor was a tall, slender, attractive woman who made the mid-forties look like the new thirty. Her shiny, shoulder-length brown hair was stylishly cut in layers and her jeans, white blouse and navy blazer struck just the right balance between friendly elected official and professional businesswoman. As far as anyone knew, she’d never been married and when she looked at the pregnant lady, there was a mirror image of sadness in her gray eyes. “You look good, Maggie.”
“I feel good.”
The mayor nodded, then extended her hand to Adam. “We haven’t met, Doctor. Mayor Loretta Goodson.”
“It’s a pleasure,” he said. “How are you settling in?”
He hesitated just a second before responding, “Making a change is always a challenge.”
Loretta nodded. “Folks in Blackwater Lake pride themselves on loyalty.”
“And they’re good at it,” he said wryly.
Jill knew it was a veiled reference to everyone in town freezing him out to protect her.
“Their attitude will change. Doing physicals at no charge for the football team helps,” the mayor said. “And it’s important for everyone to accept you. I was elected to grow the tax base here in town, and to do that we need to attract business. People work in businesses and they’ll need services, like health care.”
Now Jill felt really guilty and personally responsible for hindering town expansion. On her account Adam was being