Читать книгу A Dose Of Passion - Sharon Cooper C. - Страница 12

Chapter 4

“Daddy, Macy is pretty,” Jason said when Derek set him on his feet but held his hand as they walked back to their house. “Do she have some kids?”

“It’s ‘Does she have some kids?’ and I want you to call her Ms. Macy.” Derek stopped when they made it back onto his property and bent to his son’s level. “And, Jason, I don’t want to have to keep talking to you about this girlfriend nonsense or about you asking grown-ups how old they are. Do you understand me?”

Jason kept his head bowed and kicked at the grass beneath his feet.

“Jason, look at me.” His son slowly lifted his head and looked at Derek. “Do you understand?”

“Yes,” he mumbled.

“Good, because if we have to have this conversation again, there will be consequences.” Derek stood to his full height. His son was quickly learning about consequences since he’d had his handheld video game taken away twice last week for misbehaving.

Derek grabbed hold of Jason’s hand again, knowing there was a good chance he would take off in a sprint toward the movers. “Oh, and Jason—” his son looked up at him “—you’re right. Ms. Macy is pretty, very pretty.” They grinned at each other and proceeded to the house.

He still didn’t know how he felt about Macy living next door to him. No. Actually, he did know. He hated the idea. She was a distraction he didn’t need, especially when she wore shorts that barely covered her butt, showing off just how long her legs really were.

More than once he had caught a couple of movers glancing her way, checking her out. He wondered why she was cutting her own grass anyway. Surely it wouldn’t take much effort for her to talk some poor guy into doing it for her.

Jason jerked on his hand, trying to pull away. “Daddy.”

“Nope. You’re staying with me, at least until we get in the house. I don’t want you getting in the way.”

“What are they doing?” he asked of the movers.

“They’re unloading the truck and taking all of our stuff into the house.”

“My toys, too?” Jason asked, his voice pitched higher with excitement.

“Yep, your toys, too.” After speaking to one of the movers who was near the truck in the driveway, Derek headed into the house. “Jason, maybe you should hang out in the family room until they’re done. I don’t want you getting in anyone’s way while they’re bringing in boxes and furniture. All right?”

“Well, I see you’ve still got it goin’ on with the ladies,” Keith said when he strolled into the kitchen, a stupid grin on his face and his key chain spinning around his finger. “I started to go over there and introduce myself to Ms. Short-Shorts, but by the way she was glaring at you, I didn’t want any of those daggers to accidentally hit me.”

Derek tried to ignore his brother’s bark of laughter. He could only imagine what the movers were thinking of the exchange, since he was sure they had witnessed every bit of it. He clearly had overreacted. It was just that when he saw her and the way she was dressed, something inside of him snapped. Thoughts of her had been flitting in and out of his mind for weeks. He didn’t want to live next door to her, but in order to fulfill the stipulations Noah had left behind, he needed to stay put for at least a year.

It’s going to be a long year.

“It’s time, man.” Keith interrupted his thoughts.

“Time for what?”

“Time for you to get back out there and start living. Dating.”

Derek shook his head. “Keith, don’t start. I have been living. As a matter of fact, I have a wonderful life that just got better.”

“Yeah, you might have more zeros on the numbers in your bank account, but your social life sucks. I know Sam did a number on you, but four years is more than enough time to mourn your marriage.” Keith sat at the breakfast bar, across from where Derek was standing. “When was the last time you went on a date? I mean a real date. Not some booty call with a friends-with-benefits type of date.”

Derek didn’t speak. He hadn’t been serious about a woman since his wife walked out on him, ripping out his heart and leaving him with a baby.

“My goal right now is to raise my son and get acclimated to my new job and responsibilities. I don’t have time to date.” Hell, he wasn’t interested in dating seriously. The thought of getting back out there in that scene made his head hurt. Nah, things were fine the way they were.

“Well, you’re a fool if you don’t get to know your new neighbor. I mean, really get to know her.” Keith propped his elbows on the counter and rubbed his chin. “You know what? Since you’re not interested, maybe I should step to her.”

“Now you’re talking crazy. Your divorce isn’t even final. The last thing you need to be doing is trying to get with anyone.” Derek knew his brother was baiting him, but he had no intention of taking it. “Besides, she doesn’t seem like the type who would settle for a fling.”

“How would you know?”

Yeah, how did he know? He had only spent a little time here and there with her, but even with their small amount of interaction, he could tell she was the marrying type.

“I just know.”

“But seriously, dude, don’t let your ex ruin the rest of your life. My marriage might have fallen apart, but that doesn’t mean I’m giving up on love.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “Good for you.”

“And I don’t think you should, either. You’re always saying that you’re doing this or that for Jason, but don’t you think he needs a mother?”

“Nope. He has enough women in his life and most important, he has me.”

“Mom once said you would make the perfect husband out of all of us. And you know Mom is never wrong.” That got a chuckle from Derek. That was his mother’s claim to fame—that she was never wrong. “Besides, you’re giving your ex too much power. You both were young when you two hooked up. Neither one of you really had a chance to experience life as an adult before marrying and having a kid. Don’t base your future on how your past was. Create the future you want.” Keith jiggled his keys. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours, but think about what I said.”

Derek’s gaze followed his brother to the door that led out to the garage. A new city, more money than he could ever spend in a lifetime and a beautiful neighbor. Maybe it was time for him to rethink his stance on dating.

* * *

Days later, Macy practically glided to the clinic’s back door, eagerness bubbling inside her. After operating the facility alone for three years with only a receptionist and a medical assistant, she could barely contain her excitement about bringing on another doctor.

She swung the back door open. “I could kiss you!” She threw her arms around her longtime friend, Dr. Rachel Thurston, and pulled her close. “I’m so glad to see you. Oh my God, you have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

Laughing, Rachel stepped across the threshold. “You just saw me less than a month ago.”

“I know, but you weren’t a doctor on my staff then.” They walked through the hallway that led to the front of the clinic. “I am so hyped to have you here, I feel like dancing on top of the desk.”

“Does that mean that with this extra time on your hands, you’re going to run out on me and never come back?”

Macy grabbed them both some coffee and they sat in the small space that made up the receptionist’s area. Macy swiveled back and forth in the secretary’s office chair. For years she’d barely had a day off besides Sunday, and she couldn’t remember her last real vacation. Oh yeah, she was super happy to bring on another doctor.

“I won’t run away, but I can’t wait to see what it feels like to work only four or five days a week instead of seven.”

Rachel’s brows drew together. “I thought the office was closed on Sundays.”

“It is, though lately I have been using Sundays to catch up on paperwork. So that’s why I’m happy to see you.”

Macy grabbed her tablet from the tidy desk and pulled up her notes of things she needed to go over with Rachel. She had asked her friend to come two hours before the clinic opened in order to fill her in on the day-to-day operations and to play catch-up. A tentative work schedule, clients that would be transferred to her and information about the new medical complex were only a few of the items they needed to discuss.

“Once the medical complex is opened, we’ll be moving our operations.”

“Are you excited?”

“Very. I have always dreamed of having a facility that houses specialists in more than twenty medical fields under one roof.”

“I remember when you first told me about the idea of opening a medical complex, and it looks like you’re actually going to pull this off.” Rachel put her arm around Macy’s shoulders and squeezed. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you.” Macy smiled. For the first time, her dream seemed reachable.

For the next hour, they went over additional details of what Rachel could expect.

“Okay, I’m all set,” Rachel said and placed files back into the cabinet, slamming the drawer closed. “You know, I was sorry to hear about Noah. He was such a great guy and I know how much he meant to you.”

“Yeah, I still can’t believe he’s gone.” Macy thought back on the man who had easily fit into her life and became the father she’d never had. “The world has lost a good man.”

“I’m glad you had him for as long as you did. My parents died when I was in middle school and I hate they didn’t get to see me grow up or see me become a doctor.”

Macy stood. “I’m sure they would have been so proud of you.”

Rachel shook her head and shivered as if trying to shake off the sadness. “All right, enough of this humdrum stuff. Let’s talk about something fun. How’s your love life?”

“Ha! Well, this is going to be a short conversation.” Macy refilled both their coffee mugs. Her gaze traveled around the colorful reception area and a portion of the waiting room. “This place has pretty much been my life. Between here, my days at the hospital and my volunteer work, there’s not much time for a social life.” She grabbed her tablet and made sure she wasn’t leaving anything behind. “Cindy should be here shortly and will probably kick us out of her space. Let’s head to my office.”

Rachel followed Macy down the hall. They turned the corner and entered the last room on the right. It wasn’t a large area, but Macy appreciated having a place to get away from the riffraff of her days.

“I hear you about the long hours.” Rachel sat in the cushioned chair against a nearby wall. “I was putting in sixty, seventy-hour weeks at the hospital. So, when you mentioned the doctor position here, I knew I had to go for it.”

“I’m glad you did. I’m sure Trey is going to be happy to have you home a little bit more.”

Rachel’s beaming smile spoke volumes. Macy only hoped one day she would be able to experience the same type of happiness her friend had in her marriage.

“That’s putting it mildly. We’ll have been married a year soon, and he’s ready for us to start a family.” Rachel sipped from her coffee mug. “So who knows? Maybe we can get started sooner than later.” She waggled her eyebrows and they laughed. “Enough about me. Let’s talk about you.”