Unexpected Daughter

His gut twisted slightly at the thought. Had that been the right thing to do? He shook his head. Of course he’d done the right thing—no need to second-guess a decision he’d made that long ago. He pulled into his drive only to be hit with blaring lights from three sheriff’s vehicles. He recognized Matthew Wright, who was only a few years older than himself and had been with the sheriff’s department when Cade was here before.

Cade climbed out of his car and gripped Matt’s hand. “Hey, how are you? It’s been a long time.”

Matt nodded. “Yeah, it has.”

Cade stuffed his hands into his pockets and leaned against the truck door. “I think you were the investigator when I was last here.”

“I took over as sheriff a few years after you left.”

The ever so slight pause between “you” and “left” didn’t get lost on Cade. More than one person in this town likely thought he’d been as guilty as Brijette. He hadn’t been, which is why he’d gone home before things had gotten worse.

“You’re going to be the new doctor in town.” The sheriff seemed to be sizing him up.

“Only until my uncle recovers from his surgery, then I’ll go back to Dallas.”

“City boy, huh?”

Cade shrugged. “I guess. My mother likes Dallas and doesn’t want to leave. She’s getting older and I need to be nearby.”

Matt accepted the answer without a response. It was one that would make sense around here—a son doing his duty by seeing to his aging mother, the honorable thing to do. Cade didn’t know how honorable his intentions were when part of him resisted it so much. But he’d made promises to his father and, being an only child, he felt the need to keep them.

“Don’t think we’ll get much here.”

Cade swung his attention back to the sheriff. “No idea what happened to the horse?”

“Not yet. I wouldn’t even have noticed those tire tracks if Brijette hadn’t told me where to find them.”

Cade smiled against his will. He didn’t want the image of Brijette kneeling, studying the grass in his backyard to make him smile, but it did. It was what had drawn him to her when they were younger, the way she would get completely engrossed in something and forget everything else. These were not the memories he wanted to think of right now. Actually, he should eliminate them from his mind permanently.

“Her daughter’s the one who found the marks first.”

Sheriff Wright rubbed his chin. “That figures. The kid’s part bloodhound, same as her mother.”

“What was her father like?”

The man’s lips thinned. “I don’t know the girl’s father. Maybe you should ask Brijette. Or better yet, let things like that lie.”

What a quick freeze—the sheriff’s friendly attitude had shifted so abruptly. But a part of Cade couldn’t let the subject go. “I thought he must be from here and you’d know him.”

“Like I said, I don’t know the guy.” Sheriff Wright turned away from him. “We’ve done what we can for now. We’ll be going.”

Matt Wright waved to the other men and they climbed in their respective cars, leaving Cade standing in the damp grass. He walked to the door of the kitchen still feeling the tension that had hung in the air this evening. After flipping off the light, he made his way to bed, trying to decide if he was sorry he’d come to Cypress Landing or not.

THE WHOLE HOUSE seemed to shift as Dylan’s bedroom door slammed shut. The girl hadn’t said a word since Brijette had gotten in the car and driven them home. The child had been around Cade one evening and already Brijette’s life was changing—and not for the better. She took off her shoes and counted to ten before padding down the hall to stand in front of the closed door.

She tapped lightly. “Dylan, I’m coming in.”

A muffled no penetrated the wood, but Brijette ignored it. She was the adult around here.

“What’s going on? Why are you so mad?”

“You don’t even like Cade. Why did I have to sit in our car while you got to stay there and talk to him?”

That set her back and she had to struggle to get her thoughts together. She hadn’t expected her spending time alone with Cade would make Dylan angry. “He told you we had to discuss a patient, and we can’t do that in front of you.”

“I can keep a secret.”

Brijette’s muscles tightened. “I’m sure you can, but you’d better not keep secrets from me.”

“Why? You and Cade kept whatever you talked about in the car a secret.”

From nowhere, tears pricked behind Brijette’s eyes. She hadn’t planned to keep secrets from her daughter, but in reality she had. Protection, she reminded herself. I’m protecting her from the family who would never really accept her because she’s part of me. Focus. She had to focus to get this problem solved.

“Discussing patient care is not keeping a secret. And don’t go to his house bothering him when you’re supposed to be staying with Norma. He’s a busy person.”

“I’m not bothering Cade. He said so. And I only went in his backyard to fish. He’s the one who sat down and fished with me.”

Brijette sighed. “You fish behind Norma’s house where she can see you. That creek can be dangerous.”

“It’s shallow.”

Brijette fought the urge to stomp her foot. “Dylan, you heard me. It’s dangerous. Don’t do it.”

The girl hugged a pillow to her and faced the wall.

“I’m going to take a bath and go to bed. Do you need anything?” Dylan didn’t move or answer, and Brijette leaned over to kiss the top of her head. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

She pulled the door closed behind her and went to the bathroom that adjoined her bedroom. She could afford the small two-bedroom house, which was all that mattered, even though at times she longed for one of those huge tubs with the jets to wash away the aches and pains of a long day.

Dropping her clothes onto the floor, she stepped under the spray of the shower and leaned her head against the wall. Hopefully, this trouble with Dylan wasn’t a premonition of things to come. They’d had their spats during the years as parents and children do, but they were closer than most because they depended so much on each other. In a way, they’d grown up together. She had imagined that one day she’d find a man to marry, to help raise Dylan and be the father the child never knew, but life hadn’t worked out that way. They had to get through this summer. Doc Wheeler would come back from his surgery and Cade would be gone. All those things he’d said years ago, about living in a small town and helping people the way his uncle did, had been a lot of words that had meant nothing. Thank goodness for that, because the sooner he left, the sooner her life and Dylan’s could get back to normal.

AT SIX in the morning Cade nosed his vehicle into a spot on the edge of Main Street in front of the Main Street Coffee Shop. Cypress Landing didn’t seem to find a need for originality in names. What else would one name an eatery on the town’s main street? He’d been hungry the minute his feet hit the floor, and he remembered the diner opened early.

He found a stool at the breakfast counter, avoiding the tables, several already occupied by brooding gray-haired men. They either gathered up here or at the old store on the highway that led outside of town.

An older woman stopped across the counter from him. “You want the same breakfast as usual?”

He hadn’t been in Cypress Landing long, but he’d already been in the Main Street Coffee Shop enough that Alice Berteau, the waitress and owner, knew what he wanted. “That’ll be good.”

She poured him a cup of coffee and disappeared into the kitchen.

A man took a seat beside him and waved to a waitress, who smiled and motioned that she’d be right there.

“Mr. Mills, right? Jody Mills’s dad.”

The man gave him a confused look.

“I’m Cade Wheeler, Dr. Wheeler’s nephew.” Mr. Mills had lost weight since Cade had last seen him, but he’d spent a lot of time with his son, who’d been one of his best friends during his first visit here. Maybe he and Jody could get together again, go fishing like when they were younger.

Recognition finally passed across the man’s face and he nodded. “I almost didn’t recognize you, you’ve grown some. Heard you were coming to help your uncle while he was laid up. That’s good of you.”

Cade wished people would quit telling him he was being nice to come and help his uncle. They made it sound as if he’d left a lot behind to come here, when in truth his uncle’s plea for help had filled a blank hole that had appeared in his life.

“What’s Jody doing? I’d like to see him.”

Mr. Mills’s jaw tightened and he wadded a paper napkin in his hand. “I thought Dr. Wheeler would have told you. Jody died close to a year ago. Got mixed in with the wrong people and started messing around with drugs. Ended up gettin’ shot.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Did they ever catch who did it?”

The man grasped the plastic container the waitress had brought for him and shook his head. “Ask that Brijette at the clinic. She can tell you more. She’s the one who found him. They took to being friends when she moved back here.” He paused as if he realized his voice had gotten louder. “I’ll be seeing you, son. You stay out of trouble, you hear?”

Cade could only watch as the man hurried from the diner.

“He’s changed since Jody died.”

A plate slid across the counter in front of him and Alice propped her arm on the counter. “They never did find who killed the boy and it’s made the man bitter. Wants to blame everyone.”

“Whose fault was it?”

She frowned. “It was Jody’s fault for gettin’ involved in all that. Can’t really blame no one else. Mr. Mills thinks the sheriff isn’t trying hard enough, but there’s only so much that can be done. I don’t know. Maybe I’d feel the same if it happened to my child.” She moved on as a customer at the other end of the counter asked for a coffee refill.

He couldn’t imagine why his uncle hadn’t told him Jody had been killed. Of course, his uncle hadn’t been too pleased that summer when his parents had shown up and carted him back to Dallas. At the time, Cade had just wanted to escape. He’d had very little contact with his uncle after that. Even at his father’s funeral, the man hadn’t mentioned Cypress Landing or the events of that summer. That was why he’d been surprised when his uncle had called and asked for his help. Now that Cade was back in Cypress Landing, his life seemed to be getting tangled in ways he hadn’t expected. All he wanted was a simple medical practice, a wonderful wife and two or three beautiful children. Was that asking too much? He forked a piece of omelet, letting the cheese ooze and wondering if those things would ever happen for him.

BRIJETTE TRIED TO control the jump in her chest, tried to tell herself it wasn’t her heart racing the minute she saw Cade stroll in the door. The same locks of hair slipped over one eyebrow, framing emerald eyes that could draw you in deeper and deeper. His shoulders strained beneath the fabric of his lab coat, making him appear much larger than she remembered. The young man had gone. This Cade seemed to fill the hallway. His blond good looks were what had attracted her to him in the beginning; his warm caring heart was what had made her stay. The chart she held dropped to the floor, scattering loose pieces of paper. That heart had transformed into an iceberg the minute their little sea of love started having a few waves. She’d been crazy in love with him and she hadn’t wanted to believe he’d left. Then his mother came. She took a deep breath and stretched to get the last paper, but her head made a thumping sound as it rammed into Cade’s. He’d crouched to help her get the papers and she hadn’t seen him. Why did he do that? She didn’t need his help, not now, not ever.

“Sorry.” She snapped the file shut, gritting the word between her teeth like a nasty piece of candy.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” She turned to leave, but her foot wobbled in her open-backed clogs. The chart went flying and her shoulder bumped the wall at the same time a hand grabbed her upper arm. Cade steadied her.

“Don’t move.”

He let go and gathered the chart while she stood there, unsure why she kept following his directions but unable to get her muscles in gear. When he had the chart together he caught her arm and pulled her into an empty room, shutting the door behind them.

“I’m sorry about last night.”

If she’d been holding the stupid chart she’d have dropped it again. “What do you mean, you’re sorry?”

“It’s not a riddle. I’m sorry. I said a lot of nasty things to you. We have a past, but it’s just that, past. If we’re going to be working together, we have to get along. Neither one of us may be comfortable with it, but this is the way things are going to be.”

Brijette couldn’t do much more than stare at him. This was how it was going to be? How could they possibly work together with all the resentment between them? What had old Dr. Wheeler been thinking?

Cade caught her hand and squeezed her fingers. “We can do it.” And there he was, the old Cade she’d fallen in love with. The you-and-me-against-the-world Cade, the even-if-the-world-kicks-our-butts Cade. But the world had come to kick their butts, and there hadn’t been a you and me.

“It’ll be fine.” She heard herself say the words but didn’t feel as though they came from her.

He dropped her hand, disappearing through the door, only to reappear seconds later. “Oh, and no swamp medicine.”

Blood rushed to her head and she opened her mouth to reply, but he cut her off, laughing. “Hey, I was joking, okay? We’ll do what works.” He paused, as if contemplating his next words carefully. “I’d still like to see that birth certificate.”

She nodded. Damn Cade Wheeler. She didn’t need this confusion in her life. She fiddled with the exam-room supplies on the small desk. She’d have to find a way to deal with him until he left. Suddenly there was a shout and a thud from the direction of the lobby. Then Cade’s voice seemed to rattle the window in the small room.

“Brijette, get in here now.”

CHAPTER FIVE

A BODY SPLAYED prone on the office floor first thing in the morning did not spell good news. Cade rolled the young man over.

“What’s his name?” he shouted at the bony girl with him.

“Ray,” she cried. “Is he gonna be all right?”

Cade ignored her. “Ray, can you hear me?”

Ray didn’t move. He made a wheezing sound, then went quiet. Leaning close to the man’s face, Cade couldn’t feel air on his cheek. “He’s not breathing.”

An ambu bag appeared over his shoulder and he fit the plastic piece over Ray’s mouth and nose, holding it in place, squeezing the attached bag to give the man air. Brijette knelt on the floor and stripped Ray’s shirt off, slapping on the pads for the automated external defibrillator.

“Tell me we have a crash cart.”

Brijette gave a quick shake of her head, then pointed to a large red tackle box.

“How am I supposed to know his heart rhythms or what meds to give? Do we even have the equipment here to intubate?” Surely his uncle kept supplies here in case of breathing emergencies, so he could put a tube into the lungs and get air to a patient who couldn’t breathe.

“We’ve got the AED here to administer a shock if needed, and the ambulance is on the way. We can unhook the big monitor from the cardiac exam room and roll it up here, but…” She paused as sirens shrieked outside. “But the ambulance will probably be here before we get it.”

The medics rushed in and Cade moved back, letting the two men take over. In seconds they had the man called Ray on the stretcher, racing to the ambulance.

Ray’s distraught girlfriend or wife waited in the doorway. “Is he going to be all right?”

Brijette crossed the room and stood in front of her. “We don’t know, but it doesn’t look good.”

Well, she didn’t sugarcoat that.

“It would help if we knew what kind of drugs he’s been taking. He did take something, didn’t he?”

“It… I think it might have been OxyContin. But he had a prescription.”

“Why did you bring him here instead of the emergency room?” Brijette asked.

The slender girl hugged her purse to her body. “He didn’t seem that sick. He walked in here. He was real weak and not breathing too good. This was the first place we passed, so we stopped.”

Cade groaned, watching Brijette head back to the desk. He stared at the girl.

“It wasn’t like he was doing illegal drugs, you know. I tell you, he had a prescription.”

The girl hurried through the door and Cade reached the reception desk in time to hear Brijette finish her report to the hospital’s emergency-room doctor. She leaned back in her chair and sighed. “Sorry we didn’t have the equipment you wanted. I’ve talked to your uncle, but he says we’re so close to the hospital that we don’t need it.”

“Sounds like him.”

She smiled and Cade realized he was glad she’d been here. He’d worked in a clinic for such a long time that he’d forgotten what it was like to try to save a life in the immediate sense rather than the long term.

“You don’t seem surprised about the OxyContin.”

She snorted. “Not a bit. Some people tend to forget that drugs aren’t candy.”

“And the fact that he had a prescription?”

“Plenty of doctors will write prescriptions for anything. And then there are always stolen prescription pads.”

“Get much of that around here?”

She shrugged and glanced away. “A pharmacist in town had one on me yesterday.”

He hadn’t expected that. “How’d they get the pad?”

“Stole it when they had a visit here, or tore a sheet off when I laid it down. I try to keep up with mine, but your uncle leaves his where he drops it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind when I’m writing prescriptions.”

She nodded and got to her feet. For an instant he imagined how nice it would be to forget the mess that was their past and pick up anew. He’d like to smile at her, maybe throw his arm over her shoulder. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t trust her for more reasons than one. He followed her into the hall to see the first patient he had waiting.

THE SUN HUNG LOW in the sky as Brijette turned the key to crank the boat. If Norma wasn’t such a good person she’d have quit being Dylan’s sitter long ago. Brijette ran late at least once every week, usually on Thursday when she went to Willow Point. She hated missing time with Dylan, but she hoped her daughter would learn from her example to help people who didn’t have the opportunities she’d had. She wished now she’d brought Dylan with her to the field clinic today, something she often did during school vacations. Her daughter enjoyed helping A.G. at the store or fishing at the dock with the local kids. She and Dylan didn’t have a lot, but it was important for her to learn that many people had even less, and they were still good people, happy people. Things she’d never learn if Cade’s family had their claws in her life. She’d worried more about Dylan lately. They’d had such a close relationship, until recently…until Cade came back. Her lip hurt as she chewed on it, trying to remind herself that her problems with Dylan really had nothing to do with Cade. The girl was growing up and disagreements were a natural part of that. Twice lately she’d mentioned her father, and both times Brijette had supplied the story that he’d left them because he’d been afraid to try to raise a child. That particular lie made her stomach lurch every time. She hated lying like this to her daughter but it was a necessity, to protect her, to protect both of them. Lately, however, it felt like a merry-go-round that was spinning so fast they couldn’t jump off.

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