Meant to Be: Southern Heat Series (8 page)

Surprised, but glad to see another familiar face from home, she jogged to him. “You’re up early. Or have you not been to bed yet?”

He laughed. “In New York, that might be true. I’m heading to Richmond to see about buying some furniture and I thought I’d invite you to come with me.”

“So you’re standing on the sidewalk in front of my place waiting for me to pass by?”

“Not exactly. I headed to your door, but then I saw Patrick and I figured where Patrick is, Julia is too.”

His head was down, a coy smile on his face. Julia would get a kick out of knowing Jagger was afraid to see her. That is, until she hunted him down to rant at him.

She decided not to call him on his cowardice. “Yes, they’re visiting me, which means no trip to Richmond.”

“I figured, but maybe we could have dinner sometime, once they leave. I’ll cook.”

“You know how to cook?”

“You cut me, Syd, with your skepticism. I’ve gotten pretty good at it.”

Sydney smiled and wished her life were easier. Jagger’s reputation rivaled Mitch’s in the ladies department, but he was fun. Definitely someone who could take her mind off her troubles. But he’d dated Julia, which made him off limits to her. Plus, by dating him, it would mean giving up on Mitch, something she couldn’t bring herself to do. “That sounds lovely, Jagger, but I can’t.”

He sighed. “Julia?”

“Yes.”

“Most women don’t keep so closely to the code.”

Sydney didn’t doubt his statement. His world was lavish, extravagant, and indulgent. She didn’t know all the women he’d dated, but if the tabloids were anywhere close to getting it right, they’d been all about the glitz, sparkle, and money, and not about keeping close ties with their female friends. Most wanted the fifteen minutes of fame he could bring them before he moved on. Julia had known that when Jagger first asked her out, so why she was so put out when after only a couple of dates he’d stopped calling, Sydney didn’t know.

“I’m not most women.”

“No. You’re not.”

Sydney couldn’t decide if his annoyed expression was directed at her or Julia.

“Tell me. If I hadn’t dated Julia those few times, would you go out with me?”

“The answer to that might irritate you more.”

“I knew it. You
do
like me.”

He flashed her a grin that made him devilishly handsome. Sydney smiled, although she wouldn’t be swayed by his charm. She wondered if she was the only woman who couldn’t be. “I think you’re a nice man and fun to be around.”

“That’s always the start to a beautiful relationship.”

“Unfortunately, not for us.”

“Well, with my ego in shambles, the only thing left to do is go shopping.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. “See ya around, Syd.”

“Bye, Jagger.”

He got into his car and pulled away while she turned back to her home.

“We have coffee,” Patrick called from her kitchen.

“Water first.” Sydney entered her tiny kitchen, where Patrick was making omelets.

“Who was that you were talking to?” Julia sat on a stool at the breakfast bar.

Sydney grabbed a glass and filled it with tap water, giving her the time she needed to decide on her answer. “Just a friend.”

Julia cocked her head to the side.

“Breakfast is served.”

Sydney was grateful for Patrick’s distraction. She wasn’t sure Julia believed her. Sydney considered telling her the truth, but she knew Julia would want to see him, if only to hassle him about breaking it off with her. Sydney loved Julia like a sister, but she could be difficult, especially where men were concerned. It was one thing to make a scene in New York, but in Charlotte Tavern, something like that would become talk around town. And if Jagger was planning to spend more time there, he didn’t need the scandal of a woman scorned hanging over him.

S
ydney rushed
into the locker room of the hospital and made her way to a shower stall to brush the rain from her coat and umbrella. She never understood why people shook their soaked clothing in an area where people would slip and fall. She then made her way to her locker to change into her scrubs.

She’d been rushing all morning. First, to help Patrick and Julia get on the road. She had planned to take Julia to the airport, but when the call came in that one of her patients was in labor, Patrick agreed to do it, even though it was a little out of the way from his trip to Washington. The labor happened to be a false alarm, but her hurried schedule continued. She received another call while returning from a trip home to pick up medical journals to lend to Jenny. Of course, in her hurry to get to her patient, she’d left them in her car.

“Hey, Doctor Preston.” Jenny opened the locker across from Sydney’s.

“End of your shift?” Sydney slipped the teal green scrub shirt over her head, envious that professional decorum dictated that she couldn’t wear the cute and colorful ones Jenny wore. Today it was Hello Kitty.

“Yeah. I’m sorry I won’t be here to help with Mrs. Alexander’s delivery, although, I doubt this will be her last. I don’t think they’ve figured out how to use birth control.”

Sydney laughed. The Alexanders were a nice couple, but Sydney agreed they were a bit simple. This would be their sixth child, which they insisted hadn’t been planned.

“Speaking of birth control, I saw you and Mitch in the Star Grove at the fair this weekend.” Jenny waggled her brows. “Mitch hasn’t brought anyone there since high school.”

“I wouldn’t read anything into it.” Sydney pulled her long hair back into a tie, trying to forget the scorching kiss Mitch had given her at the fair. She swore she could still taste him on her lips.

“Why not? I see how he looks at you.” Jenny cocked her head. “There’s something about you…”

Sydney wondered if Jenny would still be her friend when she discovered the truth about Mitch’s feelings and why. “It’s not what you think.”

“I wish it was. Mitch hasn’t been the same since he came back from the Middle East. He used to have this spark. I was hoping you’d give it back to him.”

After that kiss, Sydney might have been willing to try, except Mitch had made it clear that attraction or no attraction, he wasn’t going to forgive her.

“I know he has a reputation for being a hound dog, but he really is a great guy. He’s just had a lot of disappointment. It makes him gun-shy.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Sydney knew why Mitch carried animosity toward her, but she wondered if what had happened during his military service also impacted him.

“He seems the same on the outside, but those of us who know him can see he keeps everyone at a distance. Not his family or me or Kevin, but it’s like he’s lost his faith in people.”

Sydney swallowed her guilt that she contributed to his loss of faith. She had thought of him so many times when he was away, wanted to hear his voice, worried about his safety when she learned he’d been deployed to Iraq, and yet, she’d never reached out to him.

“He’s lucky to have family and friends like you.”

“Ain’t he, though?” Jenny smiled. “I’m heading home for a nap and then to study.”

“Oh, Jenny, I brought you a few medical journals but left them in my car.”

“That’s okay. I can get them later.”

Sydney reached into her purse and grabbed her key ring. “Here are my keys. The journals are in the backseat if you want to get them. Just put my keys in my purse before you leave.”

“Okay. Thank you.” Jenny took the keys. “Are you parked in the garage?”

Sydney shook her head and winced. “I’m across the street at the medical office lot. Did you bring your raincoat? It’s raining cats and dogs.”

“I’m in the garage so I can avoid weather.”

“Here, take my raincoat and umbrella. You can put them back when you bring my keys.” Sydney had no qualms about trusting Jenny with her things or leaving her locker unlocked. In New York, nothing of hers had been safe from strangers, even when locked. But Charlotte Tavern was one of those towns in which people left their front doors unlocked and windows opened. Sydney was sure she’d find a lasagna or pie in her house if she left her door unlocked.

“Thank you, Doctor Preston. I’ll put them right back.”

The door to the locker room opened. “Doctor Preston, Mrs. Alexander is pushing with or without you.”

“Right. I’m on my way.” Sydney closed her locker door. “Just drop the keys in my purse when you’re done.”

“Will do.” Jenny slipped on Sydney’s raincoat. “See you tomorrow, Doctor Preston.”

T
he delivery was quick
, one of the perks of having had multiple children. Subsequent births usually went faster. After getting Mrs. Alexander settled, and the pediatric nurses checked the baby, they all left mother and father gushing over their newest addition.

“It’s amazing how no matter how many kids you have, each one seems like a miracle.” Sally, the nurse who’d assisted, walked with her down the hall.

“It is.” Sydney felt a pang of sadness. Although she wasn’t beyond childbearing years, she was just over thirty, with no prospects for marriage or a family.

“I’m heading to the machines for a soda. You want something?”

Sydney shook her head. “No thank you. I’m going to change and go to the clinic.” Sydney headed toward the locker room and was just passing the nurses’ station when a nurse called to her.

“Doctor Preston. Oh, God. Did you hear what just happened to Jenny?”

The nurse grabbed Sydney’s forearms as if she needed the strength to hold her up. Her breathing was quick and shallow, signs of distress that kicked Sydney’s heart rate up as she went on high alert.

“What happened?” Sydney worked to keep her tone even, hoping it would calm the woman.

“She was in the parking lot and someone attacked her.” The nurse began weeping.

“Oh, God.” Bile rose. It was Sydney’s turn to grip the woman’s arms praying her knees wouldn’t buckle. “Is she okay?”

“She’s in emergency, but it doesn’t sound good. The police are there. God, Kevin won’t make it if she dies—”

From somewhere Sydney mustered the words, “She’s young and strong.” It was cliché, but it had to be true.

“Why would someone do that? She never hurt anyone.” The nurse looked at Sydney as if she had an answer.

The problem was, Sydney just might have the answer.

Not again
ran through her mind like a mantra.

“The police are here.”

The words propelled her into action. She rushed to the elevators. When they didn’t open fast enough, she ran to the stairwell and descended the four flights to the emergency room.

As she ran to the main area, she saw Mitch giving a hug to a weeping Kevin.

Oh, God. No. Not again.

Sydney’s knees buckled. She extended a hand to brace herself against the wall and bent over, trying to catch her breath.

“Are you alright?”

Sydney turned her gaze to a nurse rushing toward her.

“I’m okay. Jenny Taggard. How is she?”

The nurse didn’t respond right away.
Of course, she wouldn’t. I’m not family.
But apparently determining the scrubs indicated Sydney belonged there, the nurse said, “She’s in surgery.”

Not dead. Sydney straightened. “What happened?”

The nurse’s eyes narrowed, partly in concern and partly in confusion. “She was stabbed out in the parking lot. She was lucky it happened here and someone found her.”

“Prognosis?”

The nurse shook her head. “I’m not sure.”

“Thank you.” Once the nurse left, Sydney turned toward the wall, braced herself with both hands, and willed herself to pull it together. She needed to tell Mitch and Kevin what she knew — how this was all her fault. She shook her head. Jenny and Kevin had everything, and in one moment, it could be gone.

Taking a deep breath, Sydney stood, turned, and made her way up the hall. Kevin sat in a chair, bent forward, with his head in his hands.

As she approached, Mitch looked toward her, his eyes narrowing. He didn’t say anything, but she was certain if she could read minds, his was saying,
I don’t want to deal with you
.

“I have some information.”

Kevin jumped from his chair. “You saw who did this?”

Sydney shook her head. “No, but—”

“Kevin, you stay here. I’ll take Sy— Doctor Preston’s statement.”

“I want to hear it.”

“You need to wait to hear about Jen. I’ll tell you everything.”

An orderly came around the corner, distracting Kevin. Mitch took advantage by taking Sydney’s arm and leading her toward the floor’s waiting room.

Sydney ran what she needed to tell him through her mind, which made her feel shaky all over again. “I need to sit.”

Mitch steered her toward a chair. He continued to stand but gave her a moment while she gathered her thoughts.

She inhaled a shaky breath. “It was supposed to be me.”

“What?”

Sydney looked into Mitch’s face. His features were fierce and dark, so unlike those of the affable, sweet man she’d once loved. Was it just his cop face or was he always like that?

“Sydney?”

“I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “It should have been me, not Jenny.”

He put his hands on his hips. “Why would you say that?”

“She was wearing my raincoat and carrying my umbrella. She was going to my car, which is parked in the lot by the office building.”

“Jesus.” Mitch looked down the hall toward Kevin. After a moment, he turned his attention back to her. “Why would someone want to hurt you?”

“I don’t know.”

His gaze hardened. “Has anyone threatened you? Have you had a problem with a patient? Maybe someone in the clinic—”

She shook her head. “No. Not here.” Her breath caught in her chest, and she worried she was about hyperventilate. Thoughts and images scattered through her brain, unable to be wrangled into a coherent statement.

“What do you mean not here?”

Sydney pressed the heels of her palms into her eye sockets and let out a frustrated moan, as if it would help her pull herself together. Then she blew out a breath and looked back at Mitch. He frowned.

“Jesus, Syd. What the hell happened?” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, handing it to her as he sat next to her.

She hadn’t even realized she was crying. Wiping her tears, she steadied herself to tell the story. “About six months ago, I was attacked in New York.”

His breath hitched, and narrowed, concerned eyes swept over her face. Wanting to tell him everything in one fell swoop, she continued. “I was stabbed in the parking lot of the hospital I was working in.”

He stared at her, taking in her words, a mixture of anger and disbelief darkening his face.

“The person was never found, but it never occurred to me he’d follow me. The detective believed it was random.”

For a moment, he only stared at her, and the fear and concern in his handsome face made her think he might touch her to offer comfort. But then he turned away. When his gaze met hers again, he was back in cop mode. “Were you robbed?”

Sydney shook her head.

“People don’t go around stabbing people for no reason.”

“He thought maybe the guy wanted to rob me, but another car pulled up as it happened.”

Mitch nodded. “Any suspects?”

Sydney looked down. “He looked at a lot of people. Hospital staff, old colleagues, friends even.”

Mitch sat back, his gaze staring off toward nothing as if he was thinking. Finally, he looked at her. “I’m going to check in with Kevin. His and Jenny’s families are here now, so he doesn’t need me.”

Sydney looked to the crowd around Kevin. She hadn’t even noticed them arrive.

“Then you and I are leaving.”

She flinched at the authority in his tone. “What do you mean?”

“We need to talk about this, but I don’t want to do it here.” He stood.

The only explanation was that he was going to take her to the police station. She wasn’t sure why she needed to retell the story there as opposed to right where she was, but she nodded.

“I’ll be right back.” He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

She glanced at him, surprised and comforted by the spontaneous gesture of reassurance.