LINDY FRANKLIN’S PULSE HAMMERED, and she swiped at the alarm clock to silence it, just as she had every morning for the last two years, before falling back onto the bed in relief. Six o’clock. Just like always. Only now there was no reason to leap up and try to rush to Daisy before she woke up and started to cry. No reason to make omelets and toast for her husband. But she still needed to get up, or her mom would arrive, and she’d be late for her new job.
An actual paying job this time.
Moving back to Savannah had been the right thing to do. Even if admitting she’d been wrong was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. So had realizing that most of her old friends had moved on with their lives. And who could blame them?
Climbing out of bed and sliding her feet into a pair of fuzzy slippers, she went into the bathroom, where the words taped to her mirror caught her eye.
“New beginnings, Lindy. New beginnings.” She recited the phrase just as she had every morning. Ever since the judge had told her she was free to leave Fresno—and her old life—behind.
Today really was a new beginning for her. For the first time since the move to California she’d be able to practice medicine again. Her marriage had closed the door to a lot of things. Her release from it was slowly opening them back up again.
Mouthing her mantra one more time, she hurriedly showered and got dressed and fixed Daisy’s breakfast.
The doorbell rang, and she froze for a pained second. Then she laughed. It was just her mom coming to pick up Daisy.
She swung it open and there stood Rachel Anderson, as tall and elegant as ever.
“You’re early. I was just about to get her up.”
“I know. I wanted to make sure I was here in plenty of time.”
“You always are.” She grinned and drew her mom into the house. “I don’t think you’ve been late a day in your life.”
Unlike Lindy, who tended to run just a few minutes behind no matter how hard she pushed herself. It had been one of those “failings” that had been used as a hammer.
New beginnings.
“I’m not sure that’s true, sweetheart.”
She was pretty sure it was. But her mom’s sweet southern drawl spelled home the way nothing else ever had. She wrapped her in a tight hug.
“What was that for?”
“Just for being you.”
Her mother had been a huge help in making sure she got back on her feet, first by watching Daisy while Lindy had volunteered at the women’s crisis center. And now by insisting she apply for the nursing position at Mid Savannah Medical Center.
Lindy drew a deep breath. “I’ll get Daisy. And I’ve just put breakfast on the table. Do you want something?”
“No, and I told you I could fix Daisy breakfast at the house.”
“I know you did. But I want to try to keep things as normal as possible for her, since I’ll be away from home a lot longer than I was before.”
Normal. What a beautiful word. She’d only recently realized just how beautiful it was.
“And you will.” Rachel peered into her daughter’s face. “How are you holding up?”
“Good, Mom. Good. It’s just been crazy, trying to get settled in the new house. I didn’t expect to get an answer on the job so soon.”
Her husband had left her one good thing: a life insurance policy that had helped her coast along. It had made her squirm to take the money, but that money had also paid for therapy and sundry other things.
Mid Savannah Medical Center had asked about the three-year lapse since her last position in Georgia, but she’d covered by saying she’d taken some time off to be home with her daughter. Not exactly a lie. She’d gotten a surprise phone call the next day telling her she had her dream job as a surgical nurse in the pediatric ward. Her parents had cosigned for the loan on her little starter home—since she hadn’t had a job at the time. She’d vowed to herself that she’d make them proud.
“I told you it wouldn’t take long. Maybe you should have waited a little while longer before getting back out there. I’m sorry if I rushed you into applying.”
She gave her mom’s hand a squeeze. “You didn’t. I needed to do something, and this was the perfect opportunity.”
Her mom was a music professor at one of the local colleges. She’d been alarmed when Lindy had told her she wasn’t going back to work after getting married. She’d been right to be concerned, because Luke had wanted to pack up and move to Fresno almost immediately, effectively isolating her from everyone and everything she’d known.
But that was all water under the bridge. She was back, and she intended to stay back. Nothing or no one would ever change that again.
“Why don’t you let me get Daisy ready? I promise I’ll lock the doors behind me when I leave.”
She hesitated. Locking the doors herself had become her own personal ritual. One she wasn’t sure she was ready to give up. But she’d have to sometime. And the last thing she wanted was to give her mom more cause to worry. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“No. It’ll give me and my granddaughter some time to bond before heading out.”
Lindy’s chest ached. Living on the other side of the country meant that her mom hadn’t seen Daisy until she’d moved back home. Not for lack of trying. Luke had thought of every reason under the sun why her parents couldn’t come to see them, though: the house was too small; the trip would be too hard on them; he couldn’t spare the time away from work.
Those days were behind her now. And her parents had already spent the last two years getting to know Daisy. And Daisy—maybe because of how young she was—had adapted to her new life quickly. Her daughter hadn’t asked once about her father, for which Lindy was truly grateful.
“I think you bonded the moment she saw you and Daddy. But thank you.” She glanced at her phone. She still had twenty-five minutes to get to work, but Savannah traffic could be unpredictable. “Maybe I can be on time for once in my life. Hopefully they’ll like me.”
“Just be yourself, honey. They’re all going to love you. How could they not?”
And with those words ringing in her ears, she scooped up her keys, gave her mom a kiss on the cheek and hurried out the door.
* * *
Zeke Bruen was not loving the new surgical nurse. She’d done nothing wrong and was on top of every request almost before he asked, but he’d seen her eyes repeatedly stray toward the big clock on the wall.