Full Circle (12 page)

The medical personnel huddled around Laura and swiftly prepared to take her to the ambulance. Elisa spotted Liam hovering in the doorway to the kitchen. She hurried to update him.

“I’m going to the hospital with Laura,” she said. “I’ll come back when Justin gets there. You’ll stay here for the boys?”

He nodded.

“Is everything all right at the clinic?”

Liam waved off her question. He looked concerned, but she didn’t have time to tell him anything else because the paramedics were heading out the door. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and followed them.

Every breath emptied from Liam’s lungs.

The ambulance pulled out of the driveway, and he collapsed on Justin and Laura’s living room couch. The sirens grew softer with distance and he wished the paramedics would come back for him. He couldn’t breathe.

Have you told Liam yet? About
your
baby. Have you told him it was his?

The women hadn’t seen him come in. He hadn’t wanted to interrupt, seeing as Laura was in a lot of pain and the only man who could help was her husband, so he had waited in another room—and heard every word of their conversation.

Elisa’s baby…was his? The baby she’d lost?

But she had mentioned going into labor. And they had used protection, both in the past and two days ago. Had she lied about the miscarriage, or were the two women talking about a different pregnancy all together? Good God, did he have a child somewhere?

And why the
hell
hadn’t she told him?

Laura knew. So Justin probably did too. They had kept a secret from him, and based on what he’d heard, it was a damn significant secret.

He had an overwhelming urge to confront Elisa immediately and demand answers, but it wasn’t the time. There was a tiny life in danger, and he couldn’t bring himself to argue with her in the middle of such an emergency. But he knew right then it was over. He didn’t even want to imagine the possible answers to the question of why she would play him for such a fool.

His cell phone rang and he snatched up the call, grateful for the distraction.

“Liam, it’s Justin.”

“Thank God, please tell me you’re at the hosp—”

“I’m on my way. Listen, I talked to the neighbor who has the boys right now, and she said she’ll keep them over there for the day, so you don’t have to stay at the house.”

“Got it. I’ll go reopen the clinic.”

“You can keep it closed if you want, since Elisa and I are—”

“I can handle it.” Just the sound of Elisa’s name frustrated Liam so much, it was either stay busy or go insane. “Worry about your wife. I’ll take care of things here.”

“Thanks, man.”

Justin quickly hung up. Liam headed back to work, where he found Mrs. Dale waiting outside the front door. She wasn’t wearing her usual perky smile, though her tight clothes and high heels remained.

“Good afternoon, Heidi.” Liam unlocked the door and let her walk in front of him. “What can I do for you and Rainbow today?”

She cleared her throat and clutched her dog protectively to her chest. “I had an appointment with Dr. Haley thirty minutes ago,” she answered in a stiff tone. “Rainbow hasn’t been eating well.”

Have you tried feeding her?
Liam wanted to respond. He’d learned quickly that Elisa was right about some of the women who visited the clinic. This woman’s obsession with Justin would drive them all crazy.

“Yes, I’m sorry.” He grabbed a paper cup from the water cooler in the waiting room and filled it. “We had to close briefly. Dr. Haley’s wife is in labor and he’s at the hospital right now. Have a seat and I’ll be right with you.”

Labor.
He downed the water, trying to cool the rage that brimmed inside him when he thought about Elisa having his baby and not letting him in on the news. What if she’d given it up for adoption? He’d never forgive her. The list of maddening possibilities grew longer. She had a lot of explaining to do when they were alone again.

A look of horror crossed Heidi’s face. She backed away. “No, thank you. I’ll not have a man with such a lack of ethics treating a member of my family.”

Choking on his drink, Liam dropped the cup into a trash can. “Excuse me?”

Heidi waved her hand condescendingly. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard. Your, um,
activities
are all over town.”

Activities? This sounded eerily similar to a conversation he’d had with a colleague in Dallas a few months ago regarding Kelly Black. “I’m sorry, Heidi, but you’re mistaken.”

“I’ll come back when Dr. Haley is back at work. A decent family man,” she mumbled as she left the office.

Liam stared after her, wishing he’d furnished his new house with a punching bag. After this day of hell, he needed a safe place to let his frustration erupt.

He’d let his priorities get way off track. If news of his past hit the rumor mill here, his life in Windy Flats would be over before it began. He would have to tell Justin and show him the proof that he was innocent. At the very least, that might save his job.

Once he found out the truth about his mystery child, he was directing his focus back where it belonged—honoring his mother and planning a future that didn’t include Elisa Haley.

Chapter Nine

Rrrrng.

Tuesday afternoon, Elisa tapped her fingers on her desk, staring at the five-figure number on the computer screen. She’d gotten three hours of sleep after returning from the hospital. She turned down the volume on the phone, because the noise stung her rest-deprived ears.

Rrrrng.

She felt like a stranger in the clinic where she’d worked for five years. Something was very wrong. There hadn’t been any appointments today, and Liam said yesterday he’d only treated a couple of minor injuries. In fact, that was the one sentence he’d spoken to her since she’d come in this morning.

Rrrrng.

That was the third ring. Damn. Justin hated it when she let the business line ring more than twice.

She snatched it up and delivered her standard greeting, still more interested in her online banking—or, preferably, a nap—than the call.

“May I speak to Elisa Haley, please?” a pleasant female voice replied.

That got her attention. She glanced at the Caller ID. The number had an out-of-state area code.

She squelched the urge to dance while she listened to the recruiter offer her a job in Nashville, at the company where she’d interviewed a few weeks ago. But by the time the lady finished explaining the details of the position, Elisa’s desire to shimmy had been reduced to a halfhearted tap of her foot. She didn’t have enough experience to start in the PR spot she’d aimed for. However, the higher-ups were impressed enough with her academics and enthusiasm to offer her an entry-level spot with the company—an internship. An internship that wouldn’t pay her a dime for six months, after which she’d move up to a position with some kind of salary.

She thanked the recruiter for the offer and politely requested a day to think about it. Not getting paid for six months wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind…but so what? She wasn’t in this for the money. She was in it for the prestige, to prove to her family and her slimeball ex-boyfriend that getting pregnant at nineteen hadn’t doomed her to lifelong employment at the corner store—or as it may be, a career answering phones because her brother had felt sorry for her and given her the job.

Her eyelids dropped closed as she pictured the party girl she used to be. The tiny figure, long blonde hair, short cheerleading skirt…and complete lack of common sense. She’d been a Barbie doll with an exuberant libido.

And she’d believed Brett had loved her for her mind.
Ha.

After she lost him as well as her baby, Elisa had resigned to wearing jeans and oversized shirts. She’d cut and darkened her hair. She had wanted to look tough, even though she’d been dying inside.

She turned her attention back to her account information. Thank God Brett’s parents had forced that chunk of money into her lap, because her fabulous new career wasn’t going to have a fabulous paycheck for quite a while.

The silence in the building almost hurt more than the piercing ring of the phone. Good thing they didn’t have any patients coming in, because Liam was nowhere in sight. He’d been in some other room all day. What was going on with him? He hadn’t even answered his phone last night when she’d tried to call and tell him about her nephew. Caleb Joseph Haley had entered the world relatively safely, though way too early. He would be spending the next several weeks in the NICU. Elisa had visited there briefly, walking on eggshells as she’d followed Laura through the maze of Isolettes, too many of them occupied by tiny infants hooked up to tubes.

Her heart caught in her throat when she pictured Caleb lying there in such fragile condition. He was thin and frail but resting peacefully, his breathing assisted by a complex setup of machines. Those machines hadn’t been able to save her daughter. She couldn’t fathom how terrified Laura must be feeling. Elisa hadn’t wanted to leave the hospital, but her parents had arrived in town to help out Justin and Laura, and the clinic needed her.

At least, she had believed it did, but business was unusually slow lately.

And heaven only knew what had gotten into Liam. Though she tried hard to give him the benefit of the doubt, his distance so soon after they’d made love reminded her way too much of his behavior toward her after spending the night with her in school.

Alexis Hunter walked into the clinic, and Elisa got up from her chair when she noticed the cat wasn’t with her.

“Alexis, is everything all right? Did Peanut have her kittens?”

“Oh yes, four of them. Everything’s fine. Actually, I’m here to apply for the receptionist position.”

Elisa’s eyes narrowed. “The recep—” She stopped short, then remembered Justin had put their ad in the newspaper before Laura’s unexpected labor and delivery. He wanted someone to be trained and ready to go so there wouldn’t be any lag time when Elisa moved away.

But Alexis?

“Do you have an appointment, or do you just want to fill out the application?”

“I’ll fill out the app, but if you wouldn’t mind, if Dr. Barton isn’t busy I’d like to go ahead and interview too.” Alexis flipped her hair over her shoulder. She was dressed to the nines in a black pin-striped skirt and suit jacket.

Justin was spending most of his time at the hospital, and he had told Elisa and Liam that he trusted them to handle any applicants who might come in. By now, the whole town knew about Caleb’s early arrival. Alexis could have specified interviewing with Liam for that reason, but Elisa had a sinking feeling she was interested in more than the job. She was a beautiful, confident girl—Liam’s leaving the dance on Saturday night wouldn’t deter her.

Elisa handed over a clipboard and application form then chewed her pen. Why did she feel so insecure? Over the weekend, Liam had made it clear he wouldn’t pursue a relationship with Alexis or anyone else while they were sleeping together, but what would happen when she went to Nashville? The mental picture of Liam and Alexis chasing their four kids around his nice big yard almost made her gag.

Alexis filled out the form in record time and returned to Elisa’s desk. “Hey, listen,” she said quietly, looking around to make sure there was no one else within earshot. “Sorry about the stuff with my mom.”

“Your mom?”

She shrugged, tossing off a casual laugh. “Yeah, you know how gossipy people around here can get. They think you’re trying to gain respect by marrying a doctor, but I told her you’re moving as soon as you graduate, so there’s no reason you’d want to be with Dr. Barton.”

“When did I lose respect?” Elisa asked incredulously.

“Don’t ask me. My mom said I was too young to understand when ‘it’ happened. Whatever that is.”

Elisa’s world cracked then fell to the ground in pieces. The town hadn’t forgotten about her pregnancy.

Liam strode into the waiting room, answering the page Elisa had sent him when Alexis first arrived. “Ladies,” he said. “What can I do for you?”

Elisa pasted a smile on her face. “Alexis wants to interview for the receptionist position.”

The younger girl nearly bounced with excitement. “Yes, you’re looking for a couple of part-time people, right? I figure I can work evenings and weekends, and someone else can take the hours I’m in school.”

Liam chuckled. “I can see you haven’t thought about this at all,” he joked. “Come on back, I’ve got about half an hour before my next appointment.”

Without so much as a smile in Elisa’s direction, Liam led Alexis to his office, still chattering with her.

Elisa released a breath and sagged against the back of her chair. Liam was being an inconsiderate jerk, Windy Flats hadn’t changed at all, and she knew with more certainty than ever that she had to get out. Soon.

Did people really have nothing better to think about? Yes, her return from college so soon—pregnant, no less—had shocked her old-fashioned community. She’d been the subject of disapproving glances and relentless gossip. Only her parents, Justin and Laura had stood by her. The rumors and ostracism, though still present, had at least lessened after her pregnancy ended, because she had insisted her family tell everyone it was a first-trimester miscarriage. That was a somewhat common occurrence, and it had drawn less attention than the true, more dramatic event would have attracted.

She’d had no desire to rehash the story of delivering and laying to rest a baby who hadn’t survived, even if it might have won the town’s sympathy. Even if their intentions were good, people would have asked her questions and talked about it endlessly. She had wanted to pretend it never happened. In a way, she still did.

One would think that after nine years, her personal life would be at the bottom of the town’s agenda. But it was clear her neighbors still judged her by that one mistake. She wasn’t about to go through that again.

So much for thinking about the job. Elisa picked up the note with the Nashville recruiter’s number on it and reached for the phone.

Liam said goodbye to Alexis just in time to hear Elisa tell someone on the phone that she would be “happy to start in September”. She had to be talking about her new job. In another state.