Extreme Love Makeover (2 page)

“I’ve been wondering the same thing.” I wiped my own brow with a bandana from my back pocket. The rain from the night before had done nothing to cut the humidity. “Apparently his time is more valuable than ours. Must be he can’t tear himself away from his precious work in order to confer on a project that the hospital has put him in charge of.”

“We’re not going to be done on time if he doesn’t get his ass over here soon.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be on the horn to the hospital administrator by the end of the day if he doesn’t show up. Geez, good thing we don’t need his surgical services. We’d probably bleed to death.” I snorted and rolled my eyes.

Usually the people I dealt with were more than happy to have my services. Sure, I was perfectly capable of doing this from start to finish on my own, but the best part of my business was getting to know the people I was working for on a personal level. Pro-bono work was my trademark, and I didn’t respect those who took advantage. This jerk didn’t know who he was messing with.

“I highly doubt you’d bleed to death,” said a deep voice from behind me.

For the second time in two days my body quivered at the timbre of Mitch’s voice. Running into him at the hospital yesterday was sheer coincidence. My hope had been he worked the night shift and our paths wouldn’t have to cross again while I was in town.

Sparks and dynamite, I reminded myself. We’d both gone on with our lives as we should have. Whatever crazy notions my heart was feeding my head were just that; crazy. But I couldn’t deny the ease at which we fell right into balance with each other, or at least I did anyway.

“Ha, ha, you’re sooo fun-nay.” I rolled my eyes again for good measure because I knew it used to drive him nuts. “And what do you know about bleeding to death?” I threw from over my shoulder as I turned away to inspect something, anything.

“I’m a doctor.”

I spun around, mouth agape, to inspect his six-foot-four frame deliciously packaged in black jeans, white doctor’s coat and a black rubber stethoscope dangling around his neck which had failed to grab my attention earlier. The corners of his mouth tipped as he pointed at his name badge. My head snapped back and forth between the laminated tag and his smug little grin.

“You, a doctor?” I couldn’t hold back the laughter. “Since when?” And how had I missed it yesterday?

“I decided to go into medicine, Sid. Why does that surprise you?” His dark brown eyes locked onto mine. He looked so serious I wanted to crawl under the nearest rock for being such a skeptic.

“Because you used to be lazy,” the words were out before I could stop them. “Sorry, but you were.” I glanced at the clipboard someone shoved in front of me, and signed off on a delivery, not really thinking he’d have a comeback.

“You only saw me in the summer. I don’t think that’s a fair assumption.” His gaze ran over my work boots, dusty carpenter jeans complete with tool belt, and I suddenly felt inadequate. “What about you? Since when do you wield a hammer?”

“Looks can be deceiving.” I stiffened my spine, holding myself tall and proud in front of him until the heat of his closeness ignited the flame that still burned deep for him.

Damn, this wasn’t good.

“Exactly.” He matched me eye-for-eye and then step-for-step as I tried to move away from him. I stayed several steps ahead until he called to my back, “In case you’ve forgotten, I know that from experience.”

“Touché.” I stopped short and saluted, deciding to switch the subject back to him in hopes of avoiding disaster, or spontaneous combustion. “Wow. I can’t believe you’re actually a doctor.” I circled around him, over dramatizing my perusal. When our eyes met I caught a glimpse of something almost flirtatious and my bravado retreated, reminding me I’d never been good at this sort of thing. I snatched the tape measure from my belt and pulled a pencil from behind my ear, waving it toward the door. “So...don’t you have someone to go save already or some doctoral duty you need to perform?”

He stood unmoving as if he didn’t catch my hint. The man had M.D. after his name. He couldn’t really be this clueless could he? Neither of us said a word while I measured and re-measured the same piece of board without paying attention to the numbers on the tape.

Why wasn’t he going away? Out of the corner of my eye I could see Kyle scratching his head. Was there a particular reason Mitch chose to hang around?

“Sidney, we need to talk.” Mitch placed a suntanned hand on my arm, and I yanked it away. The brief contact singed my skin and did crazy things to my insides.

Feelings I’d kept dormant for a long time seemed to have worked their way out after two encounters. I knew I’d hurt him deeply back then so I tried to tell myself it didn’t matter what I thought I felt at this very moment. This was an extension of a childhood crush and nothing more.

“There’s nothing to talk about. Now if you’ll excuse me....” I stood on tip-toe trying to look around his broad shoulders. Anything to distract me from those mocha pools of temptation which continued to stare at me. “I’m waiting for a colleague of yours, some surgeon who’s supposed to be here giving me input.”

Good God, I couldn’t be this close to him. Why did I think I could be in town, do this job and not run into him? Duh, because you never in a million years thought Mitch Case would still be hanging around Cape Vincent, and as a doctor no less.

“I’m the surgeon, or in your case, the stuffed shirt.”

Great, He’d obviously heard everything. Mitch moved to block my exit. More body heat and his ocean-fresh scent made breathing extremely difficult.

Kyle stopped working on the outlets and stood up as if hearing our conversation for the first time. “So where the hell have you been, Doc?”

“Kyle!” I gasped, then turned back to Mitch with a shrug. “Sorry. But seriously, why haven’t we seen you ‘til now?” I crossed my arms, trying to appear all business on the outside while hoping to hide the anxiety hammering away at my insides.

Mitch had really done well for himself. Now I was certain the wife, dog and 2.5 kids were waiting behind a white picket fence for super-dad to come home. I should be happy for him. He had everything he always talked about, while I continued to rebuild my life a piece at a time. The sound of Mitch clearing his throat drew me back to a pair of deep brown eyes hinting at annoyance.

“I can’t work patients around my schedule. It’s the other way around. Sometimes surgeries can’t wait. Reconstructive surgery isn’t just stitches, you know.”

“No kidding,” I snapped. “I didn’t mean--”

“It doesn’t matter what you meant.”

The way he pursed his lips and shook his head when he cut me off made my brains scramble. I could almost feel the blood boiling under my skin. I wasn’t an idiot, I had feelings. What was he getting at?

“It’s still all about you, isn’t it, Sidney?” His tone sounded a little exasperated, as if he were somehow disappointed in me. “And when it’s not, you don’t even try to comprehend what could be going on in someone else’s life.” He looked down at his watch, a habit which was starting to irritate me.

“Excuse me? That’s not fair.” My voice sounded defensive as I placed my palm over his wrist intending to set him straight. The charge zipped all the way to my toes. He must have felt it too, because he seemed to startle at the contact.

“It’s the truth, isn’t it?” He dropped his chin and stared me down.

“No.” I scoffed, feeling vulnerable. “And how dare you--”

Kyle coughed loudly, reminding us he was there. “Excuse me, but do you two need a more private place to talk?”

“No!” Mitch and I exploded in unison.

There was nothing private about where Mitch was headed with this. And I certainly wasn’t giving him the satisfaction of going there. I had done the right thing with my life, and he had yet to recognize it. Yes, I deserved a little public lambasting, but no freaking way was he going to pin the past all on me.

“This has nothing to do with why I didn’t marry you.”

“I think it does. You’re still that superficial daddy’s girl. Bill Edwards still pulls your strings. Why not remain his puppet so you can get more funding? Is that how it goes these days? Sure would explain all the work I hear you do for nothing.”

I glared at him, my jaw almost hanging on the floor. He was actually taking this to the next level. Well, he could bring it on because I had years of pent-up frustration to hammer all over his righteous, beautiful, buffed-up body.

“Oh, that’s right,” he continued, bringing me out of my daze. “Between rounds last night, I did a little research on you. Considering you’ve had your company now for four years, you barely make a profit, which leads me to believe daddy foots the bill for your crew’s salary.”

“My business is none of your business.” My stomach hurt, my chest ached, and I wanted to cry. I hadn’t expected him to be so harsh. I really thought he’d somehow be proud of me. I’d wanted him to be proud. I’d even set aside Scarlet and Rhett last night, to dig out his old letters and re-read each one with my glass of wine, trying to figure out what exactly had gone wrong. How foolish of me to wonder if something could finally go right. “You don’t know anything about me, and I don’t think you ever did.” I guess not marrying him hurt him more than I thought.

Well, that made two of us.

“Ditto, princess.” His tone cut like a scalpel. “Maybe it’s best if I send an associate to handle this process.”

“Maybe you’re right.” I swiped my palms down the front of my filthy jeans. I was sooo over him. Or was I?

***

Mitch was true to his word. He sent an associate, Dr. Barber, to confirm all the final arrangements with me. The guy was a total bore and strictly business, which made me miss the Mitchitude.

I made it through most of the day before bugging out to go check on Jim. Secretly I hoped to run into Mitch, if nothing more than to show him his words hadn’t hurt me. I could totally be the bigger person. To my disappointment, there was no sign of Mitch either in the parking lot or inside.

The good news was that Jim was getting stronger every day. According to the spunky day nurse with the Barbie doll figure, so was his temper. I stayed for a few hours reassuring him by midnight tonight the crew would be cleaned up and out for the ribbon cutting and dedication tomorrow. I was very proud of how everyone pulled together in Jim’s absence. It only took several reminders that if he played his cards right, the physical therapy folks might transport him to the ceremony so he could see the finished product.

After slipping him his favorite bear claw and French Roast from Millie’s Diner, I made my way out of the hospital feeling like I always did right before the unveil. Kyle would often describe me as a champagne cork ready to pop! The pride and energy bubbled within, while my heart swelled with anticipation to the point of bursting. I couldn’t wait to show off the craftsmanship of my crew.

Only, there was one part of my heart which remained hollow. How I would have loved to share this moment with Mitch, side by side, both of us involved with helping children and families in our own way.

His anger should have driven home the point of moving on, but it didn’t. I needed closure. A chance to make peace so I could move forward and put the ghost of Mitchell Case to rest in my heart, once and for all. I owed us at least that.

Now, more than ever, I wanted a chance to explain myself from all those years ago. A chance to show him I no longer resembled the young girl who spent her summers first as his side-kick, and then as his girlfriend, and then as a foolish fiancé who didn’t know what she wanted.

When I got to my truck, a small bouquet of wildflowers lay tucked under the windshield wiper. Between the flowers and glass was a note and I immediately recognized Mitch’s handwriting.

Meet me at our spot. 5:00 and don’t be late.

Maybe he wanted closure as well. My heart flew into an old familiar rhythm, and I felt like that summer girl all over again as I slid behind the wheel. One glimpse at the clock, and I flew into panic mode. Closure or not, I still wanted to look good. I only had one hour to make myself decent and then get to the cove.

My foot hesitated over the gas pedal as I remembered the first time we’d made love at the cove, with a picnic lunch and a ratty old blanket from his father’s shed. We hadn’t planned it, but two friends became more that day, and started a romance we anxiously awaited every summer after.

I drove as fast as I dared down the village streets from the hospital toward our job trailer where I stayed on site. Kyle stood at the bed of his truck, putting away tools and equipment as I flew through the doors of my temporary home. He muttered something, but I didn’t quite hear and couldn’t slow down for him to repeat.

Exactly thirty minutes later, I emerged a new person, wearing a lime green sundress and a pair of white daisy flip-flops. My hair was still damp at the ends where it flipped up from being secured behind my ear with a green headband. I thought I looked pretty fresh as I ditched my fanny-pack, and dumped its contents into a cute straw beach bag, complete with bathing suit and towel.

“Well don’t you clean up nice?” Kyle nodded his approval as I locked the trailer. I thought of him as a trusted uncle, although he resembled a big teddy bear with his curly auburn hair and bushy beard.

“Thanks.”

“So where’s he taking you to dinner?” Kyle scrubbed his cheek.

“Dinner?” I imitated his gesture. “Who said anything about dinner? And who said there’s a ‘he’ involved?”

“C’mon Sidney, you don’t put on a dress for just anyone.”

I laughed because he was always right. But Kyle didn’t know my history with Mitch and I didn’t feel like enlightening him. Nothing was going to come of this meeting anyway, so there was not a thing to worry about. “A girl has to have some mystery, right?”

His hearty laughter showered me in love before he stopped at my truck and got all serious. “That Doc seems like a nice enough guy.”

I patted the back of his beefy hand which rested on the edge of the truck door. “He’s the best, now stop worrying.” I blew Kyle a big flirtatious kiss and pulled out of the gravel lot. It only took me fifteen minutes to reach the outside of town and head toward the lake on Pine Grove Road.