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Stacey looked at Cody “She seems like fun.”
“That’s not what Alex thought for a while. Now he’d agree with you.”
They continued down the hall.
Uncharacteristic curiosity had gotten the better of her and Stacey had researched the founding of the clinic. After meeting a few people, she’d already figured out the internet didn’t tell the entire story of Maple Island Clinic. Doing the research in person with one of the founders, especially a particularly handsome one, was an invitation to get personal. Taking a breath for courage, Stacey asked, “So how did you and Alex decide you wanted to start this facility? By your accents you don’t come from the same part of the country.”
He looked at her for a moment as if he was deciding whether or not to answer. “We don’t. We met at a conference. Single guys with childcare issues in common. Next thing I knew we were coming up with this clinic idea.” He turned the corner and started down another hall. “I’m originally from California.”
“That makes sense. One coast for another.” That seemed a pretty dramatic move for a specialty surgeon of Brennan’s caliber. Was there more to it than a chance meeting at a conference? Had something else pushed him into the move? She shouldn’t pry further yet she couldn’t stop herself. “Was that a hard sell to your family?”
“No. The girls were so small they were good with it.”
“Your wife?” Stacey winced silently. She had already asked too many questions.
“She was already out of the picture.” His words were flat and final.
Stacey let go a private sigh of relief. He’d closed the door on that subject, slammed it shut.
They walked back to his office in silence. There he said, “I’ll see you in surgery at six in the morning.” Then he literally closed the door in her face.
So much for Mr. Charming.
CHAPTER TWO (#u9abd6a52-b403-5ffa-9579-df82c6aa516a)
TWO DAYS LATER Cody picked up the girls from dance practice. It wasn’t his favorite night of the week because it was always so busy. To make it less stressful he usually took them out to dinner. Tonight they were going to Brady’s Bistro and Bakery for pizza. They all loved the thin slices and best of all he didn’t have to cook.
As often as possible he tried to give the girls nutritious meals. He was trying to make up for the time when they hadn’t had them. By the end of his marriage, Rachael hadn’t cared enough to prepare meals. Every cent she’d been able to get her hands on had gone toward her next fix.
Cody had promised himself that his girls would have home-cooked, locally grown, wholesome food as much as possible. For the most part he’d managed to achieve that. Still, it was nice to get out of the kitchen and concentrate on having more quality time with his kids.
He held the door to the bistro open. The place was full, noisy with the sounds of talking, laughter and dishes rattling. He looked around the space with its red chrome tabletops and yellow chairs covered in plastic. The black and white tile floors added to the fifties vibe.
With a moan and a hunger pang, he resigned himself to the fact they would have to wait. He scanned the dining area with irritation. It wouldn’t be a short wait. Stepping to the left a pace, he searched again. There was a booth with some empty seats. Looking closer, he saw Stacey sitting in one corner of it.
The thought that it wasn’t a good idea to join her was interrupted by Jean’s plaintive announcement, “I’m hungry.”
Cody drew a fortifying breath for reasons he couldn’t put a finger on. They had worked well together over the last few days. Stacey had a great rapport with the patients, could anticipate many of the things he needed done, and she took direction without complaint. Most of all she was friendly and always wore a smile. So why did he have an issue with her? Could it be he found her attractive and that made him uncomfortable? Even if that was the cause of his hesitation, he had an immediate problem to solve that overrode his feelings.
“This way, girls.” He weaved between the tables, glancing back to make sure they were following.
When he reached Stacey’s table she looked up in surprise. “Dr. Brennan.”
“Hey, do you mind if we join you? There don’t seem to be any more seats and the girls are very hungry.”
“Please do.” She waved her hand toward the open places and smiled at the girls.
“Daddy, do you know her?” Jean asked in a suspicious tone.
Lizzy gave Stacey a look of wonder. Finally, she burst out with, “You’re the woman who fixed my bow.”
Stacey smiled. “Yes, I am. You’re Lizzy, right?”
His younger daughter bobbed her head up and down.
“Yes, I know her,” he said to Jean, then looked at Stacey. “And this is Jean.” He placed a hand on his other daughter’s shoulder.
Jean gave Stacey the sulky look that had become her standard greeting to unknown women. His elder daughter was having the most difficulty with the loss of her mother. She could remember Rachael being a part of their lives, but had been too young to understand her mother’s problems.
“Hey,” Jean said belatedly, with zero enthusiasm.
“Hi, Jean. It’s nice to meet you.” Stacey gave her an encouraging smile. “I work with Dr. Brennan...uh...your father. Why don’t you sit over here beside me?” She patted the bench beside her.
Jean offered her father a doubtful look. He nodded and gave her a light nudge of encouragement. Jean slid in beside Stacey. He said to her, “And you can call me Cody.”
Stacey instantly produced the smile that made him want to return one. “Cody it is.”
He appreciated the way she pronounced his name, as if it were a sweet she was tasting for the first time and finding she liked it.
“You go first,” Lizzy said, leaving Cody no choice but to scoot in until he faced Stacey. His knees bumped hers. Their looks caught. “Sorry.”
“No problem.”
His fascination with Stacey’s green eyes was broken when Lizzy scrambled into her spot beside him.
The awkwardness he was experiencing disappeared when Brigid Brady, their waitress today, walked up to the table. “Hi, Jean and Lizzy. Cody.”
Her look lingered on him a little longer than mere politeness allowed, much to his annoyance. More than once she’d made unmistakable overtures. He wasn’t interested in a relationship with her now or even later. He glanced at Stacey. She watched them with a quizzical smile. No, she definitely hadn’t missed Brigid’s extra attention.
“Uh... Brigid, we’d like a medium pepperoni and cheese pizza.” His gaze returned to Stacey. “I’m sorry. Have you already ordered?”
“No. But pizza sounds good.”
“Then make that a large,” he said to Brigid. “And four sodas.” He looked at Stacey again.
“That work for you?”
“It does.”
“It’ll be out in a few minutes,” Brigid said with a huff of disgust in her voice.
As she left a soft chuckle came from across the table. “Charming in and out of the OR, I see.”
He twisted the corner of his mouth and shrugged.
Her attention went to Jean. “I heard you’re a dancer.”
“I take dancing. I’m not very good, though.” Jean stared at the tabletop.
“I take it too,” Lizzy proudly announced.
Stacey acknowledged her with a look of wide-eyed wonderment and asked, “You’re a dancer too? Awesome!”
Stacey’s focus was completely on his girls and it was genuine. They needed that in their lives. Their mother had never been there for them. The few women he’d had anything to do with in the years since his divorce had been more one-night stands than anything. He certainly had not brought them home to meet his daughters.
“That’s great. I never had a chance to learn.” Stacey leaned toward them as if enthralled with what Jean and Lizzy were telling her.
“Why not?” Lizzy asked, but Jean appeared uninterested.
“I moved around a lot and my mother didn’t put me in any classes.”
“You could come to ours,” Lizzy offered so emphatically that Cody couldn’t help but chuckle. The action felt good. He could only imagine Stacey in an eight and under class of girls in tutus.
“I think that would be fun but I don’t think I’ll be on Maple Island long enough to take lessons now either.” Stacey hadn’t taken her eyes off the girls, especially Jean.
“Where’re you going?” Jean asked, frowning at the tabletop.
“In a few weeks I’ll be going to Ethiopia after a quick stop to visit my mother for a couple of days.”
Jean sat straighter in her chair. “Ethiopia. We’ve been studying about that country in geography. It’s in Africa, isn’t it? That’s a long way away.”
For once his oldest was engaged in the conversation. Stacey had a carefree manner about her. That unique congeniality came from living life on the move with the ease of the wind. Her life was a complete contrast to his. Still, he liked her ability to interact with people as if she’d known them forever. He’d seen her use that skill with his patients and now with his girls. She never treated people as though they were strangers. That was a talent to admire.
“It is, but I’m looking forward to going,” Stacey said.
“Why?” Lizzy asked.
“Because I’ll get to help lots of boys and girls.”
“How?” Jean wanted to know, finally turning to study Stacey’s face.
“I’m a nurse. So I’ll help them feel better.”
Jean lowered her gaze again but stopped short of the table surface. With a tentative touch, she fingered the wooden bead bracelet on Stacey’s wrist.
“You like it? It’s from Bolivia.”
“Boo-liver-a,” Lizzy said.
He and Stacey tried not to laugh.
“Bo-li-via,” Stacey said slowly. “It’s in South America.” She turned back to Jean. “A girl about your age made it for me.” She took it off and handed it to Jean. “You can have it. I bet she’d like to know that a girl in America is wearing it.”
Jean looked at her father in silent question. He nodded. “If Stacey says it’s okay.”
“It is. I don’t get to wear it enough. If you have it, Jean, I’ll know it’ll be cared for.”
“Thank you.” Jean’s words were almost inaudible as she placed the bracelet on her slim wrist.
Stacey continued patiently engaging his girls in conversation until the drinks and pizza arrived.
“I hope you didn’t feel forced into eating this just because it was what we were having.” Cody put a slice on each of the girl’s plates.
“Not at all. I don’t always get pizza in the places I go.” Stacey gave Jean and Lizzy a conspiratorial look. “I have to fill up when I have a chance.” They nodded in simultaneous agreement.
Cody asked the girls what they’d done today, particularly how school had gone.
“I thought you stayed in the day care,” Stacey said.
“We do,” both replied at the same time.
“They go there before school opens, and then are transported to school and back again when school finishes.” Cody took a bite of his pizza.
“Nice and convenient.” Stacey pulled a second slice from the pizza sheet. Cheese strung out, breaking as she turned its triangle edge into her mouth.
Cody held his breath as the cheese landed on her chin. “That was the plan when Alex and I came up with the idea. So far it has worked out great.”
“You have cheese on your chin,” Jean pointed out.
“I do?” Stacey wiped her napkin across her cheek.
Lizzy yelped. “It’s still there.”
Stacey dabbed the napkin over her face again.
“You didn’t get it.” Lizzy giggled.
“Here, let me help.” Cody reached across the table with his napkin in hand. As he removed the cheese, his gaze rose to find Stacey watching him. Her eyes were a forest green, and there was a twinkle in them. They looked like an inviting place where he could go and forget his cares.
“Hey, Daddy. Can we go get an ice cream?” Jean asked, dropping a crust on her plate.
Jerked back to reality, Cody quickly returned his hand to his side of the table. “Yeah, sure,” he said before he’d thought about it.
“Yay,” both girls yelled.
He put a finger to his mouth. “Shush. Not so loud. We’re inside.”
“You want to go with us?” Jean asked as she and Lizzy turned to Stacey.
She looked at him briefly. He did his best not to react one way or another but he didn’t think that was a good idea. For him or the girls.
Finally, Stacey said, “I don’t believe so this time. I’ve had too much pizza. Maybe next time.”
To his amazement, Jean looked as disappointed as he felt. Why? he questioned himself on both accounts. Stacey had managed to forge some kind of relationship with his elder daughter who normally didn’t warm up to strangers, especially female ones. So, what was it about Stacey that had him and Jean doing and saying things they didn’t ordinarily do?
He paid for their meal despite Stacey arguing that she needed to cover her share. “Because of you we didn’t have to wait to eat. The least I can do is get your meal.”
“Thank you, then.”
