Hot Docs On Call Collection

The rest of the four-bedroom house gave the appearance of being lived in but with obvious recent upgrades, like a state-of-the-art kitchen and a family-friendly brick patio and neatly manicured lawn, complete with a small vegetable garden. Now she understood where Joe had probably gotten his idea for his own inviting patio and backyard. He hadn’t fallen far from his family tree.

Being in this home, sensing the good people who inhabited it, caused nostalgia for something Carey would never have to sweep through her, pure bittersweet longing. She’d be all the family her baby would ever have. Their home would be each other, small but loving. She vowed her child would always feel loved, no matter where they lived. Seeing good people like Joe’s parents with such love in their eyes when they looked at their adult kids gave her hope for her and the baby. She wanted it more than anything for herself, that parent-child relationship.

The moment the twins walked in with a couple of bags of groceries, everything stopped and it was clear they were the wonder kids. The light of their mother’s life. Martha made over them as if they were still in their teens, and Joe raised his brows and half rolled his eyes over her ongoing indulgences. Wow, would you look at that, the babies have just managed to go to the market all by themselves, he seemed to communicate with that look. Since she and Joe had a strong history of nonverbal communication, she was willing to bet on it. Come to think of it, Lori and Drew had exactly the same expression, and it made Carey smile inwardly. Nothing like a little friendly sibling rivalry, something she couldn’t relate to. She also found it interesting that Tammy had dark hair like her father and Todd was nearly a blond—the only one in the family.

“Let’s get that ice cream going,” Doug said, clapping his hands, reminding Carey of Joe. He grabbed Todd, since his shopping bag contained the essential ingredients, putting him immediately on ice-cream duty. Joe was assigned to grill the burgers on the gorgeous built-in gas stainless-steel barbecue on the patio, and Lori enlisted Carey to help put together some guacamole dip and chips to go along with cold sodas and beers for those partaking, as an appetizer. Except, coming from Illinois, Carey didn’t have a clue how to make guacamole, so all she actually wound up doing was mashing the avocados and letting Lori take over from there. With Martha overseeing the condiments and side dishes, already made and waiting in the refrigerator, the early dinner preparation seemed to run like a well-oiled machine.

Carey felt swept up, like a part of the family, and she cautioned herself about enjoying it too much. These were Joe’s people, she’d never be a part of them. Today was simply a gathering she’d been invited to take part in rather than be left alone on a huge national holiday. If there was one thing to be sure of in these otherwise confusing days, Joe was way too nice a guy to let that happen. Yet, curiously, no one else had brought a date.

His mother loved to tell tales about her kids, embarrassing or not, she didn’t care. It was clearly her privilege to share as their mother. Carey learned a whole history of childhood mess-ups and adventures for all five of the Matthews kids as the afternoon went on. Then Lori took her aside and asked her a dozen questions about what it was like to be unconscious for three days. They wound up having a long conversation, just the two of them, and Carey could see herself making friends with Lori if given the chance. It made her feel special to be taken in so easily, and closer to everyone—a sad thing since she understood there would never be a chance to really be close to any of them beyond today. Unless Joe came to his senses.

Later, as they ate, Carey found out that Drew’s lady friend was in the navy and was currently deployed in Hawaii. Poor thing, he’d said with a grin, and just as quickly notified his parents he was planning to take a trip to see her in August if his dad would be willing to give him the time off. Hmm. Carey wondered if anyone else worked for their dad.

Just as Carey prepared to take a bite of her thick and delicious-looking home-grilled cheeseburger, which required both hands to hold the overfilled bun, a gust of wind blew a clump of hair across her face. Before she could put down the burger to fix it, Joe swept in and pulled the hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear, a kind but cautious glint in his eyes. The simple gesture was enough to give her shivers and make her once again long for that dream she’d had to tuck away. Fact was, the guy couldn’t resist coming to her rescue. Plus at his parents’ house they couldn’t very well hide out in their separate bedrooms, avoiding each other.

Why did things have to be the way they were? Why couldn’t they just go for it? She took the bite of seriously delicious burger, Joe having cooked them to perfection, her mind filled with more secret wishes. But even as she wished it she knew that between the two of them, with all the baggage they held on to, the fantasy of being Joe’s woman would probably never be.

Lori, a yoga instructor, soon explained that her significant other was a resident at County Hospital and couldn’t get the day off. Martha mentioned that Todd and Tammy would be seniors at the University of Arizona and were living at home for the summer. It made Carey feel like a special person to have the entire family to herself. And they all truly seemed to enjoy having her there.

“This is the most delicious peach ice cream I’ve ever tasted,” she said later to Todd when the homemade dessert was served.

“It’s my dad’s secret recipe. He wants to make sure I carry on the family tradition.”

It made Carey wonder if only the men got to learn the peach ice-cream recipe and she glanced at Joe, her unspoken question being, Do you know how to make it, too?

Incredibly, he gave a nod. She looked at Lori, who shook her head. Then she glanced at Drew, who’d made eye contact with her and nodded. Cripes, this intuitive communication business must run in the family, and evidently only the guys got the ice-cream recipe.

“Before you call me sexist.” Doug spoke up, obviously noticing all of the subtle communication going on. The mental telepathy gift was beginning to creep Carey out! “I have my reasons,” Doug continued. “It’s to make sure that once a lady tastes this ice cream, she’ll love it so much she’ll never be able to leave one of my boys.” He gave a huge, self-satisfied grin over the explanation that Carey couldn’t argue with. Obviously it had worked with Martha. And from the taste of it, she understood perfectly well why. It was also very apparent Joe had never thought to make any for her.

Then it hit her that Joe’s wife had left him, peach ice cream or not, and putting her own feelings aside she worried that Doug had inadvertently brought up a touchy subject for Joe. She glanced at him as he studied his bowl of dessert, though he’d stopped eating it. Martha seemed uncomfortable, too, and sent those unhappy feelings Doug’s way through a terse look.

The family was well aware of Joe’s heartache, and that was probably why they’d been so delighted he’d brought her over today. Oh, if they only knew how disappointed they’d soon be, but that would be nothing near what she already felt. If only...

As the afternoon wore on into evening one by one the siblings made excuses to leave, and soon it was only Joe and Carey hanging out with Doug and Martha.

“Over the years the trees in the neighborhood have grown so high they block out a lot of the view of the Bowl fireworks.” Martha seemed compelled to give Carey a reason.

“I thought you said you could watch the fireworks from your backyard?” she said when she had Joe alone at one point.

“The really big ones we still can, but everyone has plans, you know how that goes.”

She guessed she understood, but the thought of families, like trees, outgrowing themselves made her feel a little sad. It didn’t seem to faze Martha and Doug, though. After all, the twins would be home for the entire summer.

It amazed Carey that after spending only one afternoon with the Matthews clan she already felt she knew more about their open-book world than she did about Joe, having lived with him for over a month.

“We’re staying, though, right?” To be honest, Carey looked forward to seeing those famous Hollywood Bowl fireworks from his family’s backyard.

“We sure are.” His beeper went off and he checked it. “Excuse me.” He got up, walked toward some bushes and made a return call.

She figured it was work related and suspected she might not get to see any fireworks at all today. Her sudden disappointment quickly dissipated when Joe smiled at her.

“Guess what? I’ve just received a special invitation.”

“To what?”

Joe winked. “I must be doing really well at the clinic because James himself just invited me and a guest to his private fireworks viewing tonight.”

“At his house?” A flash of pride for Joe made the hair on Carey’s neck stand on end, further proving she was still far too invested in the guy. “Why so last minute?”

A satisfied smile stretched Joe’s lips, the ones Carey had secretly missed kissing. By the way she’d longingly glanced at them just now, she’d probably just given herself away. “Well, apparently someone cancelled, and I was the first person he thought of.”

“So you’re a replacement?”

“I’d rather not put it like that but, yeah, I guess I am.”

She wanted to hug him. “I didn’t mean to burst your bubble. It’s really a big honor.”

“I know. I’ve heard that every year he invites a handful of employees to share the evening with him. It’s sort of his way of giving a pat on the back to his best-performing department heads.” Pride made his smile bright, and Carey quickly realized how rarely he grinned. If only she could put a smile like that on his face again. She had, that one special night.

“That’s fantastic, Joe.” Without thinking, she touched his arm, immediately being reminded of and missing the feel of his strength. “You’re a hard worker and it’s good that Dr. Rothsberg has noticed.”

He covered his pride with a humble shrug. She wanted to throw her arms around him, but he’d made it very clear that he was never going to let her near again. Yet she’d had a wonderful afternoon and evening with his family and really liked every single one of them, feeling closer to him because of them, and a secret dream to be a part of his life rose up, refusing to get brushed aside again. Stupid, stupid girl.

Joe knew better than to push things any further than they already had, after spending the entire afternoon with Carey and his family. But he’d had a great day. Carey had fit right in with everyone, and they all clearly liked her. It made him wonder if he’d made the right decision to never let anything further happen between them. In so many ways she was right for him. It was all the stuff from before that kept both of them hung up. He hated to admit how scared he was, because it seemed so damn wussy, but he was. And Carey had wounds and scars of her own, yet she seemed more willing to move beyond them than he was. Being here with her made him feel confused again. Needing to keep his distance but not wanting to completely let go.

And here she was, in his old backyard, smiling at him. The Tiki torches lining the patio emphasized the red in her beautiful auburn hair and made her eyes look as green as the lawn. He couldn’t seem to stop himself from making another big mistake where Carey was concerned. Knowing he really shouldn’t open the door for more, James had told him to bring Carey along when he’d mentioned where he was and who he was spending the holiday with. And right now he couldn’t think of a single reason not to.

Letting the moment take control, Joe made a snap decision. “Will you come with me?”

At a quarter to nine Joe pulled into the designated employee parking lot at The Hollywood Hills Clinic, the huge, lighted building as alive with activity as ever. Hospitals never got to take days off, but Carey was grateful she had this one Monday before she started her new job.

He directed Carey to a mostly hidden employees-only elevator by putting his hand at the small of her back. His touch made her tense with longing. Stop it! Don’t get your hopes up.

Soon they were on the top floor, walking down a long, marble-tiled hallway. Joe opened huge French doors at the end and they stepped onto a balcony. She immediately heard music and loud talking coming from above. In the corner of the small balcony was a spiral staircase leading to the roof. Joe took her hand to show the way. Again, touching him like this set off a million unwanted feelings and emotions with which she wasn’t ready to deal. Fortunately, the spectacle of a group of highly gorgeous people on the roof quickly took her mind off that.

Wow! The panoramic view of the entire city of Los Angeles was spectacular from up there, too.

Dr. Rothsberg, the tall and handsome, blue-eyed blond, golden boy of medicine, immediately came to greet Joe. “Hey, great, you could make it.” He turned to Carey. “I’m so glad you could come, too.”

“Thanks for having me.” Carey tried to hide her fascination with the incredible specimen of a man but was worried her dazed stare may have given her away.

Dr. Rothsberg kept smiling as though he was used to people looking at him like that. “Make yourselves at home. There are drinks over there.” He glanced at Carey. “No alcohol for you, young lady.”

She laughed, perhaps a little too easily, wondering if all women acted this way around the guy, then figuring, Hell, yeah.

Joe led her to the bar and got her a root beer, already knowing her weakness for that particular soda, while he grabbed an icy IPA because it wasn’t everyday he got a chance to enjoy an imported Indian pale ale.

“See that lady over there?” Joe pointed out a beautiful woman with hair a similar color to Carey’s. She nodded. “Her name is Dr. Mila Brightman and she runs a clinic in South Central L.A. It’s called Bright Hope. She used to be engaged to James.” He’d lowered his voice and moved closer to her ear so she’d better hear him say the last part.

Carey’s eyes went wide. It was hard enough being around Joe after only spending one incredibly beautiful night with him, so what must it be like to be on the same rooftop as an ex-fiancé? “What happened?”

“I don’t like to spread gossip, but I heard from Stephanie the receptionist that he stood her up at the altar.”

Holy moly! Why would she come close to the man if that was true?

“She’s best friends with Freya, James’s sister,” Joe continued.

“Oh, I met Freya one day in the recruiter’s office. She’s our PR lady, right?”

Joe nodded.

“That should make for some heavy family tension. Wow.”

“You’ve got that right.”

He’d moved closer to bring Carey up to date without sharing the info with anyone else, and she’d moved in because of the music and talking, and now they huddled together, sipping their drinks and taking in the incredibly romantic skyline of L.A., and it suddenly overwhelmed her. They’d gotten too close. She couldn’t handle it.

“I’m going to get one of those delicious-looking cookies I saw over there.” She pointed to a dessert table in a secluded corner that promised to be both a delight and a nightmare for a woman monitoring her baby weight. “Can I bring you one?”

Joe shook his head, a look she couldn’t quite make out covering his face. Was he sorry she’d stepped away? Or was he shutting down again? After such a great day, she hoped not.

She crossed to the spread of goodies and wound up having a harder time than she’d thought, making a decision. There was so much to choose from!

On the walk over she’d noticed Dr. Rothsberg surreptitiously watching Mila, who was across the roof, talking to Freya. Then Mila wandered over to the dessert table and stood next to Carey, and though she gave a friendly enough greeting, the woman seemed totally preoccupied with the group where James stood. As Carey continued to decide which two goodies to choose—she’d increased her limit upon seeing all the choices—Dr. Rothsberg also headed for the table.

Not having anything to do with the couple but now knowing their history thanks to Joe via Stephanie, Carey got nervous for both of them as well as for herself. Yikes. What would happen when they faced each other? She kept her eyes down, studying the huge display of desserts, unable to make a choice or move her feet, willing herself to become invisible.

“Mila,” James said, all business, “I’m sure Freya has told you I’ll be coming to your clinic for a personal tour in early September.”

Carey had wound up being between the two of them but on the other side of the table, and didn’t dare move. They didn’t seem to notice her anyway, as their eyes had locked onto each other. She chanced a glance upward to see for herself. Yowza, she could feel the tension arcing between them, so she distracted herself by first choosing a huge lemon frosted sugar cookie.

“Yes, Freya mentioned it. So thoughtful of you to tear yourself away from your girlfriend to make the trip.”

Could the woman have sounded more sarcastic? But who could blame her? She’d been stood up on her wedding day. He was lucky she didn’t pull a dagger on him! Carey worked to keep her eyes from bugging out and began to slice a large piece of strawberry pie in half so as not to feel too guilty about gobbling it all down. It had whipped cream topping with fresh blueberries sprinkled over it, so it was definitely a patriotic pie. Really, she should eat it. For the holiday’s sake.

James moved dangerously close to Mila, a woman who looked like she’d claw out his eyes if he got even an inch nearer, and yet he leaned down with total confidence, his mouth right next to her ear. “In case you’re interested, I’ve broken up with her.”

Carey couldn’t help looking up, but only moved her eyes so they wouldn’t see body movement, still praying she was invisible, but the couple didn’t seem to see her or care that she could hear their entire conversation. Mila was clearly flustered by his comment. She obviously hadn’t known he’d broken up with the other woman. Wow...oh, wow.

Practically impaling Mila with his piercing blue eyes, now that he’d noticed her surprised reaction, he went still. “In the future, why don’t you ask me personally how things are going in my life, instead of relying on the gossip pages as your source of information?” The sarcasm was sprinkled over every single word, yet Carey got the distinct impression that a pinch of hurt had been mixed in. She wanted to gasp over their hostile encounter but kept her mouth shut rather than draw attention to herself.

Then she accidentally dropped the knife. They both noticed. “Sorry,” she said as she grabbed the pie, put it on the plate with the cookie and rushed away, wondering why Freya hadn’t told Mila that James had broken up with his girlfriend, since they were best friends.

She arrived back where Joe stood, casually talking to another employee she’d seen around the clinic over the last couple of weeks. Frank, was it? They said hello and the man seemed friendly enough. Her hands shook as she took the first bite of the cookie. She glanced over her shoulder back to the dessert table but Mila and James had moved away to their respective groups. Even while trying to hide, she’d felt their sexual chemistry.

James may have stood Mila up, an unforgivable thing to do, but Carey could’ve sworn she’d glimpsed lingering love in his eyes. And though Mila had come off like a hurt and still angry woman toward him, Carey was pretty sure she’d seen relief on her face when James had told her he’d broken up with whoever that other woman was. Then again, Carey did have a huge imagination where love was concerned and may have seen what she’d wanted to see. She glanced at Joe, still chatting with Frank, remnants of her own lost before it ever started love driving home the point.

She promised to keep everything she’d just heard to herself. No way would she want that gossip Stephanie to get hold of this juicy information.

At exactly nine, as if some great force had waved a magic wand, fireworks started popping up all over the valley from the Hollywood Bowl, all the way out to Santa Monica beach. Someone shut off the outdoor lights as the magical display continued. Amazing and mesmerized, having never seen anything as spectacular in her life, Carey stood closer to Joe, and his arm soon circled her waist, and her arm wrapped around his. So natural. And right now there was no fighting her attraction to the man. The constant effort from living with him, plus spending all day long with him today, and especially now with a night filled with sparkles and shimmering colors dripping down the sky, had worn her down. She secretly savored his sturdy, steady build.

Carey gazed up at Joe, who beamed like a kid, nothing like that dutiful mock smile he’d given on the drive to his parents’ house earlier today. She offered a bite of the fabulous cookie and was surprised when he took it greedily. Knowing this moment would only complicate things further between them, she ignored caution and leaned into his strength. His fingers gripped her side the tiniest bit tighter and her own version of pyrotechnics exploded in her chest. Yes, this would definitely confuse things. Their eyes locked for an instant. Along with seeing the reflection of fireworks in his darkened gaze, she was pretty sure she saw some regret.

Oh, who was she kidding? She’d just read her own feelings into those wonderful brown eyes, just like she’d done with Mila and James. She really needed to stop projecting her thoughts and feelings onto everyone else. It would never get her anywhere, just make her feel disappointed. Because no matter how much she might want a second chance with Joe, it didn’t matter. He wasn’t open to it. But why did he keep glancing at her during the fireworks show? And now his fingertips lightly stroked her side. Funny how holidays could do that to people.

She went back to watching the dazzling and dizzying display of colors across the night sky and became aware of a strange sensation inside her. Had she eaten too much sugar? Or were the gunshot-like sounds of the rainbow-colored rockets popping and crackling through the night causing the reaction?

The feeling was very subtle, yet she couldn’t deny it. This had to be quickening. She’d learned in her class with Gabriella that primigravida mothers often didn’t realize it the first time their babies moved. Who knew? Maybe it had happened before and she’d missed it. But not this time! Oh. My. God. Her baby was alive and moving. Inside. Her.

“Joe.” She nearly had to yell for him to hear her.

Grinning from the bright chaos playing out before them, he glanced down at her. When she knew she had his full attention, she was so excited she could hardly get out the words. “I just felt the baby move for the first time.” Her throat tightened with emotion as she admitted it, and the unrelenting firework display went blurry in the background.

His eyes widened and his childlike grin from the fireworks turned to an amazed smile, as if she’d just told him “their” baby had moved. There she went, projecting again. But, in her defense, they had just gone over the information at the last prenatal class. Joe had been there with her, like he’d promised.

He grabbed her full on, pulling her close, then squeezed. “That must feel amazing.”

Thankful for his goodness, and her good fortune of feeling her baby move for the first time on the Fourth of July, the blurriness turned to tears. “It did. Oh, my God. How strange and wonderful.” She sucked in a breath, feeling like she was floating on air, then pulled away from his shoulder.

His eyes had gone glassy and the dazzling lights sparkled off them as he turned serious. She could have sworn she’d seen a flash of pain, but he quickly covered it up. He shook his head as if amazed and unafraid to show it. Just like the day in the clinic when she’d come to and nearly the first thing she’d asked had been if her baby was all right, and the nurse had assured her it was. She’d cried with joy. So had Joe. The stranger who’d saved her.