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Eli listened, but refused to get involved. Over and over he kept telling himself he was only here for a short time. Whatever was going on now would still be going on long after he was gone.
Five years ago, when he’d considered coming back, he’d discovered Nora and Todd had started dating. Eli knew then he’d blown his chance for a reunion. Now Eli needed to stay focused on his own goals of helping his father by working in his clinic and getting back to the potential new job when he returned to Atlanta. End of story. He wasn’t back here to do anything but to be a fill-in...and not for a late husband.
“The doctor said we could go back and see Mac, but not until later,” Bev said, pushing her silver hair behind her ears. “Why don’t you guys take a break and come back this evening.”
Cameron came striding down the hallway, sliding his cell back into the pocket of his jeans. He leaned down, placed a very innocent peck on Nora’s cheek, and Eli had to take another bite of his burger to keep from reacting.
This was a widow, for crying out loud. Not only did his brothers have no room to wink or give kisses, he sure as hell had no business getting jealous.
“Thanks for the food,” Cameron said, grabbing the last burger. “You’re an angel.”
“Your standards are low if you’re that impressed over a cheeseburger.”
The banter between his brothers and Nora took Eli back to when they were all teens, before life intervened...before he’d grown strong feelings for her and watched her marry another man.
She’d fit into his family beautifully. Everyone had thought he and Nora would end up together. Their ultimate dreams and the bigger picture just didn’t match up. But that didn’t mean he’d ever stopped caring for her...or loving her.
“I’m going to head to the clinic and check things out.” Eli came to his feet and tossed his trash in the wastebasket beside his chair. “I’d like to glance at the schedule for next week and look at some charts.”
“Don’t mess too much up in the office area,” Drake warned. “If you do, Lulu will have your head.”
Eli groaned. His father’s receptionist, real name unknown, was not a typical receptionist. In fact, she was flat-out weird and if she hadn’t been at his dad’s office for the past twenty years, he’d suggest his father hire someone else. But she knew the place inside and out and could answer any questions he had.
Eli only hoped she’d keep the flask at home, the nail files put away and her cleavage covered while she assisted him for the next few months.
“I promise not to bother any of Lulu’s things,” he stated.
Bev stood, wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. “You don’t know what it means that you’re here, Eli.”
Easing back, Eli looked her in the eye and smiled. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else, Mom.”
After making sure one of his brothers would be there for their mom until he returned, he said a quick goodbye to Nora, who had also come to her feet.
“I’ll walk out with you,” she said. “If that’s okay.”
Eli nodded. This was going to be a long three months if he didn’t get over these emotions that kept sliding up and choking him. He’d managed to dodge such strong feelings before when he’d visit because the occasional “hi” as they passed in the yard didn’t resurrect too much. The thought of spending actual time with her, probably learning more about her personal life, had Eli’s mind all in a jumbled mess.
Nora walked by his side toward the double sliding glass doors leading outside. They’d passed the concrete fountain in the middle of the circular drive-up area and visitor benches before she finally broke the uncomfortable silence.
“You don’t seem happy to be back.”
Eli squinted against the afternoon sun glistening off the light dusting of snow on the grass and guided her down the sidewalk toward the visitor parking. “I’ve been nervous with Dad’s surgery. And to be honest, I’m anxious about his practice. I hope the people in town will accept me as their doctor while dad’s recovering.”
Nora’s delicate hand came up to his forearm as she stopped walking. Eli turned to look at her. The unusually bright winter sun almost created a halo effect around her colorful hat. When he noticed her squinting against the sun, too, Eli shifted his stance to cast a shadow over her.
“What I meant to say was, you seem uneasy with me,” she said, holding his gaze as if she dared him to look away.
Inwardly he smiled. He’d forgotten how she’d always been a take-charge type, never one to back down even if a topic was uncomfortable or awkward.
“I am,” he told her honestly. “I didn’t get to make it back for Todd’s funeral and I’m not quite sure what to say to you now that I’m here.”
Okay, that wasn’t a total lie, but it was just another layer to his unsettled mood.
Her hand slid from his as she pulled her coat tighter over her chest, crossing her arms. The slight breeze picked up strands of her low ponytail and sent pieces dancing around her shoulder.
“You don’t have to say anything, Eli. No words will bring him back and I won’t fall apart if you mention his name. He died doing what he loved, but I’m getting along.” She offered a tender smile. “You and I used to be so close.”
She inched closer, still holding his eyes with her own. Eli swallowed, but held her gaze. Nothing could make him turn away from such beauty. She’d always been able to captivate him with no effort on her part.
“All I need right now are friends,” she told him, her bright blue eyes searching his. “Can you handle that?”
Could he handle being her friend? He could, but there would be that secret silently settling between them, forming an invisible wedge.
Her pleading eyes tugged at his heart and he couldn’t deny her.
“I can handle that,” he told her with a brief nod.
She cupped her gloved hand over his cheek and the warmth spread throughout him. “I’m glad you’re back, even if it is for a short time.” She flashed him a knockout smile, then dropped her hand and pulled her coat back around her as if to shield herself against the chilly breeze.
Nora may act like everything was fine, but Eli’s body was still reeling from her innocent touch. Everything about her gesture had been harmless. And yet he could still feel her softness as her hand slid against his cheek—even though he hadn’t felt her bare skin.
“I’m so relieved the surgery was a success,” she told him, turning to walk again. “I’ve been a nervous wreck since we found out he’d have to have it.”
Eli kept his pace slow so she could remain by his side and in case there was a skiff of snow on the walk. He didn’t mind the cold; he would’ve walked anywhere she wanted to go if she’d just keep talking to him. He’d missed spending time with her. Because even though they’d parted ways, she’d always been so easy to talk to, so understanding and compassionate. They’d been best friends at one time and he’d yet to find anyone else he shared such a strong bond with outside of his family.
“I honestly was, too,” Eli told her. “I knew he was in good hands here, but you never know when something can go wrong.”
“How did you manage to get off work for so long?” she asked, stopping beside a small silver SUV. “That wasn’t much notice considering they told him yesterday he’d be having surgery.”
“I requested an emergency FMLA.” When she gave him a questioning look he clarified. “A family leave of absence. It’s for twelve weeks. If Dad is better before then, I can return, but that’s the limit I can be gone.”
“You like it in Atlanta?” she asked.
“I love Atlanta,” he told her without hesitation. “Even though I just settled in a few months ago, I love the hospital, the staff. I love the city itself.”
A slight smile tipped one corner of her mouth. “You were always so eager to leave.”
Yeah, he’d had it all figured out. First graduation, then the army, then seeing the world.
But his plans got a bit derailed and he’d gone back into the army before getting out and looking for a job in his field.
So far, he’d accomplished every career goal he’d ever wanted. But what about his personal life? What goals had he worked toward or even set for himself outside of his career?
“I’m not a small-town guy,” he told her. “I knew when I left I wanted something more.”
This topic was starting to venture into a territory he truly didn’t think either of them was ready for so he nodded toward the car he’d seen in her drive. “This you?”
“Yeah. I may be back later, but right now I need to go home and lie down.”
Not for the first time he noticed she was a bit pale, which only showcased those dark circles beneath her eyes even more.
“Are you feeling okay?”
She sighed and nodded. “Yeah, just tired a lot lately.”
“You’re working too hard, then.”
Nora shrugged without defending herself as most people would do. “If I don’t see you back here, I’ll see you at your parents’ house.”
“Thanks for being there for them,” he told her, holding the door open for her. “Over the years when I’ve been overseas, you’ve just...you’ve always been there and I’m not sure I ever said thank you.”
Nora’s eyes misted as she met his gaze overtop the car door. “I love your parents, Eli. Just because we stopped dating didn’t mean I loved or cared for them any less. I’m happy we have one another because, trust me, they’ve been there for me, too.”
She turned and got behind the wheel before he could question her. His mother and father rarely mentioned Nora other than in occasional conversations and then when Todd had passed. They’d never talked about her needing them or hard times. He assumed they didn’t mention it because they knew he had moved on.
Nora’s sad smile told him her life had been anything but what she’d envisioned. She was hiding something and as bad as he wanted to know what that was, he knew he had no place in her life...past or present.
Chapter Three (#ulink_104a4c8e-7219-560d-8090-aa23409c376d)
Nora was pretty much hugging the toilet. Not her most shining moment in life, but she had no control of certain bodily functions lately.
The second she’d opened that bathroom cleaner her stomach had revolted and all she knew was that she was thankful she’d already been in the bathroom because there was no holding it back.
Wasn’t morning sickness supposed to be in the morning and in the first trimester? Come on, life, could she get some slack cut here?
At twenty weeks’ pregnant her ob-gyn had assured her that the nausea, exhaustion and sickness were quite normal and every pregnancy was different so Nora couldn’t compare all her experiences to things she’d seen online.
The exhaustion she could handle, but the nausea that chose to hit her at random times during the day really left her helpless. Talk about awkward when she was doing an exam on an animal. So far she’d only had to leave the room twice and thankfully her clients were understanding.
Nora eased back, praying this round was over. Apparently the bathroom wasn’t going to get cleaned, not by her, anyway. She was flat-out drained and, as of this moment, didn’t even have the energy to stand, let alone scrub.
Mac was coming home today and she’d wanted to surprise them with a nice, clean house. There was no way Bev would have the time to clean with taking care of Mac. It wasn’t much, but she felt like she should do something to help them.
She also had made up a few casseroles and put them in the deep freezer in the garage so hopefully Bev wouldn’t have to worry about cooking for a while.
Nora had just reached and flushed the commode when she heard the front door close. Perking an ear, because that’s all she had the energy to perk right now, she listened for voices, but didn’t hear any. At least it wasn’t Bev and Mac.
Heavy footsteps stopped right outside the bathroom door and Nora glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes traveled up denim-clad legs, a dark gray wool coat, and landed on the most handsome face peeking from beneath a black knit cap. Dark stubble covered his jawline, and between that ruggedness and the scar peeking out of the hat, he looked even more intriguing and attractive than ever.
Eli leaned against the doorway and crossed his arms over his chest. Seeing as how she’d been cleaning, she’d left the door open to let out some of the chemical smell.
He raised a brow. “What are you doing on the floor?”
“Oh, you know, just resting.” Nora tried to smile, but she wasn’t quite sure she pulled it off. “Sorry. I was trying to help...”
The room was spinning again, but she turned her cheek to rest her face on the cool tile on the wall. She would not pass out. But if she did, at least she was still on the floor and wouldn’t have far to go down.
“Nora. Are you okay?”
Eli squatted down, resting a hand against her forehead, instantly turning into a doctor before her. Nora closed her eyes at the feel of his gentle touch, resisting the urge to lean into his strength and draw from it. How many lives had those hands healed? Did he have a clue just how powerless she was right now between her weakened state and his innocent caress?
“I’m just not feeling well,” she told him, being as honest as she could. “I wanted to clean before your mom and dad came home.”
Eli muttered something under his breath, then sighed. “Can you walk?”
She could barely hold her head up, so standing on her legs and putting one foot in front of the other was out of the question. And if the room didn’t quit spinning, she didn’t know how much longer she could go without lying down.
“Maybe in a bit.”
She lifted her lids and met his concerned gaze. Those dark eyes were always so mesmerizing. Maybe if she just focused on that, on him...
No, she had enough to focus on as it was. A baby, coming to grips with the fact she’d been married to a man who hadn’t truly loved her and now left her a pregnant widow, plus the very great possibility she’d have to find a smaller, less expensive house.
Before she knew what Eli had planned, he’d wrapped one arm around her shoulders and slid another arm beneath her knees. He came to his feet with ease and Nora rested her head against his warm shoulder. If she had more strength she’d be embarrassed he’d found her in such a humbling position, but she was too sick to care.
“I’m sorry, Eli.”
“Don’t be sorry for caring about my parents,” he told her, easing sideways down the hallway and then up the stairs. “Be sorry that you’re not listening to your body and taking it easy.”
She didn’t protest when he took her into his old bedroom.
“I’ll be fine,” she promised. “I just need to lie still for a few minutes until this nausea subsides.”
“Have you had a fever?” he asked.
“No.”
There was absolutely no way she was going to tell him about the baby. He would find out soon enough. There were only so many ways she could camouflage her belly. She just wasn’t ready to tell him—didn’t want to see the pity in his eyes, didn’t want him to feel like she was an obligation because they’d been friends and Todd had been his friend, too.
Nora didn’t have her coat as a shield today, but the yoga pants and oversize sweatshirt certainly did the trick.
“How about aches?” he asked, gently laying her down on the bed. “This is flu season.”
“No. I know it’s not the flu.”
Nora couldn’t help the sigh that escaped her as she sank into the soft, plush comforter. All she could smell was Eli’s strong, woodsy cologne and she took a deep breath, wanting to take in as much of him as she could.
Funny, that smell didn’t turn her stomach. Obviously that was a sign she should lay off cleaning for the safety of her health.
That was a pregnancy rule she could get behind.
“You don’t have a fever,” he went on. “Maybe it was just something you ate that didn’t agree with you.”
Nora glanced up at him and attempted a grin. “Must be. Just give me a minute and I’ll finish picking up.”
“Like hell you will,” he informed her. “I came back from the hospital early to get things ready for Dad. Cameron is there to bring Mom and Dad home when he’s released.”
“I have casseroles in the freezer in the garage,” she told him. “I had already washed the few dishes in the sink and put them away. I dusted and ran the sweeper. All that’s left is the bathroom downstairs, which is where I was when I got sick.”
