Drawn Deeper (11 page)

“Naw, what’s his name covered everything. I was still half doped up, but I think I got it all.”

“Looks like we’re keeping you through tomorrow while we run more antibiotics through your IV. Enjoy the time to rest and relax. You work too hard.”

“’Spose I do.” He drew his brows together with concern. “This cut ain’t gonna get infected or anything, is it? I wasn’t watchin’ to see if that guy washed his hands before the surgery.”

“I guarantee he did, and you’re on so many antibiotics that you won’t have any problems.”

He nodded and leaned his head back against the pillow. I stood up.

“Get some rest, okay, Trace? You look like shit.”

He laughed. “I’ll try, Doc. Thanks for comin’ in to see me.”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

I left to see my next patient, pushing aside my concerns about Meredith and me being an object of gossip.

If I’d been thinking, I would’ve pulled her Jeep into my garage for the night. Now word would spread that we were seeing each other, and I wasn’t prepared for that. Not because of myself, but because of Jordan and Kyle. They’d been teased at school over their mom’s issues, and it had hurt them. Kids could be assholes. I didn’t want them hearing I had a girlfriend. It was too soon, and it wasn’t even true.

Meredith and I were good for each other. I knew that for sure. But I wasn’t in a rush to get into anything serious.

My operations today were all minor, and I was done by noon. I was having lunch at a local deli when I had an urge to text Meredith. I’d waited all weekend, so hopefully it wasn’t too soon.

Me: Hey, how was the rest of your weekend?

Meredith: It was good. Relaxing. How about you?

Me: Took the boys to St. Louis to see Justin.

Meredith: Sounds like fun.

Me: Hey, do you have plans Friday night?

Meredith: Not yet. ;)

Me: Can I see you again?

Meredith: Sure, I’d like that.

Me: I had a really good time the other night.

Meredith: Me too.

Me: Have to drive back to my office. See you this afternoon.

Meredith: See you then.

I anticipated seeing her all afternoon as I saw patients. I was still replaying our night together in my head, the feel of her already becoming a too-distant memory.

Until she’d fed the hunger inside me, I hadn’t realized how strong it was. Jerking off to porn didn’t even compare to being with her. I didn’t want us to be the object of gossip for my boys’ sake, but it was inevitable.

Unless I stopped seeing her. And as sensible as that would be, I couldn’t. She made me feel something I’d never felt before, and I couldn’t give it up.

We’d have to keep what we had low-profile. If we didn’t flaunt it, it would just be whispered about. I wasn’t ready for anything more than that. The boys and I were a threesome now, and I wanted them to feel secure in our family unit.

When I got home that afternoon, Meredith and the boys were just pulling into the driveway, all smiling and eating ice cream cones.

“Hey,” she said, giving me one of the smiles that made me forget there were other people in the world.

“Hey.”

“Dad, I got bubble gum,” Eric said, thrusting his cone toward me. “Try it.”

“Uh, no thanks.”

“Cotton candy?” Jordan offered as he jumped out of the Jeep.

“Even worse.”

“Vanilla?” Meredith tilted her cone toward me, and I walked around to the driver’s side.

“Vanilla, huh?”

I leaned down and tasted her cone.

“Vanilla’s a good place to start,” she said softly.

“It is. There are lots of other flavors to add later.”

Her playful smile made my dick stiffen. The boys took off for the garage, and I leaned against Meredith’s Jeep door.

“You coming in?” I asked her.

“I have to go back to work, actually. We sold a crazy amount of cars between Saturday and today. The paperwork needs to be caught up.”

“See you tomorrow, then?”

She nodded and tilted her ice cream cone toward me again. “Want another lick?”

“Most definitely.”

I touched her hand as I brought the cone to my mouth and swiped another taste.

“See you soon, Kyle.”

“Not soon enough.”

Her cheeks pinked as she backed out of the driveway. Across the street, Billy Carmichael pulled into his driveway, got out of his car, and waved at me.

I didn’t wave back. Nosy bastard. He needed to live his own life instead of paying so much attention to mine.

I did force myself not to stare as Meredith drove away, though. Maybe I could keep Billy guessing.

Meredith

My dad walked into my office, his hand in a giant bag of beef jerky.

“How’s it going, Merry?” he asked, biting into a piece of jerky as he closed my door.

I took off my glasses and turned away from my computer to face him.

“I’m good, Dad. How are you?”

He sat down in the chair in front of my desk, a little breathless just from the walk in here. My worry for him was always present, whether in the front or the back of my mind.

“We’re selling like gangbusters, so I’m a happy camper,” he said, grinning.

He was financially secure, but the salesman in my dad loved it when business boomed. Morale at work this month was very high because everyone knew he gave out bonuses at the end of big sales months. I’d heard some of the guys in our repair shop talking about how they’d spend them already.

I loved that my dad didn’t just give bonuses to the sales staff. Every employee got one, because our business was a team effort.

“It might be our biggest month ever,” I said. “I’m all caught up, and it’s our biggest to date, so we’ll see if it holds.”

“People in this town know the importance of shopping local. We’re lucky to have that.”

“Shopping local is good for them and us. A big dealership wouldn’t have picked Jimmy Morris up in the middle of the night because the car he bought from them two years ago broke down.”

“Dead battery,” Dad said with a chuckle. “He sure felt like an ass for cussing out that new guy in the service shop who picked him up and changed it when he found out that was the problem.”

There was never a good time to bring it up, but I couldn’t keep watching him eat crap after bypass surgery and not say anything.

“So how’s the diet and exercise plan going?”

He smiled sheepishly and held up the bag of beef jerky. “It’s hard to eat healthy here. I had some broccoli last night with my meatloaf at the diner.”

I kept my cool, though I wanted to blow up and ask him if he had any idea how much it upset me to see him putting his health in danger.

“What about walking in the morning before work? Have you tried that?”

He chuckled and grabbed another piece of jerky. “I walk to the toilet, does that count?”

“Dad, I’m serious. I’ll come over and walk with you. You can do this—we can do it together. I’ll cook you dinner every night if you want.”

He waved a hand. “You’ve got a life of your own, Merry.” His expression turned serious. “In fact, that’s why I wanted to talk to you. Word has it you’re seeing Kyle Lockhart.”

My cheeks warmed with embarrassment. I was still feeling the glow of my first kiss with Kyle, still reveling in the giddy uncertainty of what might happen next. We definitely weren’t an official thing, but the Lovely gossip mill had churned it into more than it was.

“I’m not
seeing
him, really.”

“I can see by your face there’s something going on there.”

I looked down at my desk. “Yeah. There’s something. I’ve been tutoring his boys after work every day for a couple weeks, and I guess . . . Kyle and I . . .”

“You don’t need to explain the details.” Dad shook his head. “I’d rather you didn’t. I still don’t think any man out there is good enough for my little girl. And I don’t like to bring up the Lockhart family because I know how painful it is for you, but I can’t keep quiet on this. Don’t do this to yourself, Merry. Please.”

“There’s nothing serious between Kyle and me. And he’s a good man, Dad. He really is.”

His brow creased with worry. “You’ll never be welcomed by that family. They won’t let anyone forget what happened with Reed. Even after all these years, I see you left out of things and talked about, and it hurts.”

My dad was normally a happy-go-lucky guy with an easy smile. He rarely got serious like this, and it was tearing at my heart.

“That’s Grace, Dad. Not Reed. Not Kyle. And not anyone else in the family.”

He shook his head. “You think you can sit across from Reed and his wife at Christmas dinner? Grace Lockhart won’t stand for it.”

I sighed softly. “You’re way ahead of yourself. Kyle and I are just spending time together.”

“I’ve noticed how happy you’ve been these past few days. You haven’t found any man worth spending time with in a very long time.”

“It’s not like I’m in demand, Dad.”

He sat forward in his chair. “And why is that? You’re beautiful, smart, and everything else a man could want in a woman. It’s because Grace Lockhart won’t let go of her hard feelings over you not marrying Reed.”

“Well, I did leave him waiting at the altar. That was awful of me.”

“How many
years
should you have to feel like a pariah over it?”

“I don’t know that I’m a
pariah
, exactly . . .”

“You don’t get included in things, Merry. Hospital fundraisers, shopping trips, those damned blanket-making parties your mother used to go to . . . Grace Lockhart has made sure you’re shut out of all of it.”

I nodded. “She doesn’t like me, Dad. And she never will. I accepted that a long time ago.”

“If you accept it, stay away from Kyle Lockhart. I won’t see you hurt by that family ever again.”

“It’s not Kyle’s fault.”

“Don’t waste your time on a man whose loyalty lies with his family, when his mother is a spiteful old witch. You’ll end up hurt.”

“Like I said, Kyle and I are just—”

My phone dinged with a new text, and I looked down at my desk.

Kyle: Thinking about you.

I flipped it over so the screen faced the desk and cleared my throat. “Anyway . . . I hear what you’re saying, Dad.”

He shook his head. “Just like I hear what you’re saying about my diet?”

“It’s similar, yes. Only Kyle Lockhart has a minimal chance of killing me.”

He blew right past my dig about his diet. “Just think about it, will you? Please?”

“Yes. I will, Dad.”

He left my office, but his concerns stayed with me. Deep down, I knew he was right. Kyle and I could hook up at his place, but could there ever be anything more between us? Anything real?

Not likely. My dad was right; the Lockharts were a fiercely loyal family. Kyle would never turn his back on them to be with me. And I’d never want him to.

I left work a couple hours early and took Jordan and Eric out to a movie at the downtown Lovely theater. It was a beautiful old building with lots of fond childhood memories for me.

“You want some candy?” Eric offered, holding his box of M&M’s out toward me.

“I do, thanks,” I said. “Trade?”

I gave him the popcorn and took a few M&M’s, letting them melt slowly in my mouth. The movie we were watching was animated, and it was cute. Mostly, I was enjoying the mental break, and the snacks were a nice bonus.

I’d texted Kyle about taking the boys to the movie, and when we got back to the house, his Range Rover was in the garage. I pulled into the driveway, planning to let the boys out and go home.

“Aren’t you coming in?” Jordan asked.

“Um . . . sure.” I put my Jeep in park and followed them inside through the garage.

“Hey, guys,” Kyle said when we walked into the kitchen. “How was the movie?”

“Good,” Eric said.

The boys both went into the living room, leaving Kyle and me alone.

“How are you?” he asked, leaning a hip against the kitchen counter.

I shrugged. “Kind of wishing I lived in a city of a million people.”

“Yeah, Lovely’s a little too small at times. Is someone bothering you?”

“Not really,” I said softly. “I’m just realizing you can never reinvent yourself in a place like this. The past is always there, and everyone always knows about it.”

“Everyone has a past, though.”

“Yeah.” I leaned against the kitchen counter across from him. “You know, the finance guy at the dealership calls me ‘The Runaway Bride.’ Never Meredith.”

“Sounds like a real asshole.”

“Yeah, he is. He doesn’t do it in front of my dad.”

“Have you ever thought about telling him to stop?”

“After so many years, I’ve started to feel like he’s right. Like that’s who I am to most people around here.”

“Definitely not to me.”

I smiled. “Thanks.”

He opened his mouth to say something else, when Jordan came into the kitchen.

“Practice starts in five minutes, Dad.”

Kyle glanced up at the wall clock. “I forgot that was tonight. Let me turn off the heat on the stove.”

“I can take him,” I said.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, it’s no problem.”

“You want to come back for dinner?”

“I would, but I’m full from all the snacks at the movie.”