Summer on Lovers' Island (7 page)

“I figure I'll finish that bunting bag by the time I need it this winter,” Charlie joked.

Babies and knitting … Lizzie really did feel out of place. But now that she'd had an official invitation, it would be rude to refuse. “No need to drag me anywhere,” Lizzie informed them both. “I'll go, for a while, anyway.” She offered a smile. “Girl's gotta eat.”

The Old Dogs took the field again and Lizzie watched as Josh took to the pitcher's mound. The score was close, with the Young Pups ahead by a single run. The game was getting serious now, with less trash talk and more honest-to-goodness cheering. Josh had the count at two-and-two when the young man at bat cracked one straight down the third-base line.

The third baseman caught it easily and sent it humming to first. Lizzie recognized her landlord, Tom, playing first and smiled as the big man stepped forward to catch the ball, anticipating that the throw was slightly short. But he stepped right on the baseline just as the runner came barreling toward the bag, his foot extended.

Tom held his spot, his glove hand extended, focused entirely on the ball.

The collision knocked him back a step, but he was a big man, well over six feet and sturdy as an ox. The kid didn't stand a chance, particularly when his knee hit Tom's thigh.

The kid went down like a rock, while the crowd fell silent.

Josh dropped his glove and went straight to first base while teammates on both sides crowded around. Lizzie and Charlie both stood, and then Lizzie raised her eyebrow. “You stay. I'll go.”

“You're sure?”

“Yep.” Lizzie hopped down off the bleachers and made her way to the field.

“Excuse me,” she ordered, pushing her way through players to where Josh knelt next to the runner. She tapped Josh on the shoulder just as he was pushing up the player's pant leg to examine the knee. “What's up, Doc?”

It was easy to see that the boy was in a lot of pain. The moment Josh eased up the fabric past the knee, they both knew what had happened. The kneecap was dislocated, shifted to the outside of the leg. “Ouch,” she said lightly, looking down at the player. “Hey, sparky,” she said, kneeling down. “Take a deep breath for me and relax.”

He did and opened his eyes to look up at her. “You a doc?” he asked. “Nothin' against Josh and all, but it's kind of humiliating to have the enemy fix me up, you know?”

“You guys and your pride,” she responded, giving a little laugh. “Hurts like hell, doesn't it?”

“Yes, ma'am.”

She looked at Josh and nodded, and he nodded back. “Don't call me ‘ma'am,' it makes me feel old, and I just turned thirty last month. And don't say thirty is old.”

“No, ma'am. I hurt it bad, didn't I?”

“It could be worse. You dislocated your patella, but that's easily fixed. Let's see if we can get your leg straight, first.”

He shouted as they manipulated his leg, and Lizzie tried not to wince. “Hey, guys? Can someone go get an ice pack or two?” There were too many people around, hovering. Still, this wasn't the first time she'd seen one of these. When she was working in the emergency room, all sorts of sports injuries came through the door. This was pretty straightforward.

She looked back at Josh, and once again he nodded. Now was the time to trust him. “You wanna switch spots?” she asked quietly.

“I got this,” he answered. For a moment her ego flared to life, but she reminded herself that Josh had been a doctor in a war zone. He could handle an itty-bitty kneecap.

“So, what's your name?” she asked. “Might as well make some small talk while we wait for that ice.”

“Shawn.”

“Okay, Shawn. It kinda hurts running into a big bruiser, doesn't it?”

“Tom's like a friggin' tree.”

She laughed. “Did you run right into his leg or what?”

“I could see him there. At the last minute, I tried to pivot out of the way—”

Ah, that was it. He'd planted and twisted and pop!
She put her fingers behind her back and started counting down from three.

“So you planted your foot?”

“Yeah, but I just couldn't get around him and—” He yelled as Josh deftly put the kneecap back in place. “Holy shit!”

Lizzie laughed and patted Shawn's hand. His face had gone white for a few seconds, but the color was coming back now. “You're still going to have to have it checked out, and no weight on it. We're going to wrap some ice around it and carry you off the field. But everything's back where it's supposed it be. Say ‘thank you, Dr. Collins.'”

“Yuh, thanks,” he mumbled, but then turned his gaze back on her. “You're a nice distraction—”

“Dr. Howard. And thank you. Now stop flirting. I'm old, remember?”

He blushed and she laughed, then stood up. She'd worn cutoff denim shorts and a blue T-shirt today and the rusty-brown dirt of the field stuck to her knees. She brushed it off as Josh wrapped the ice pack around the leg and he and a couple of the guys carried Shawn off the field as the players and spectators clapped.

She didn't get a chance to speak to Josh again until after the game was over. The Pups won, but only by a run, and the Old Dogs were looking a little less spry than the kids, who were already talking about heading back to a teammate's house for a barbecue and then picking up girls for the fireworks later in the evening. The older guys were ready for cold beers and some downtime.

Charlie was starting to really feel the heat and Dave had taken her back to the car in the middle of the ninth so she could sit in some air-conditioning. Lizzie was making sure everything was in her tote bag when Josh, his gray pants streaked with brown from a slide into second, made his way over to her.

God, he looked good. His tanned skin contrasted with his dirty-blond hair, which curled out from beneath his cap just a little bit. Then there were his eyes. It seemed like all the Collins kids had inherited the same clear, blue eyes.

“Hey, good teamwork out there, huh?” he asked.

“It was okay. You still lost.” She kept her tone nonchalant, deliberately misunderstanding his meaning.

He laughed. “I meant you and me.”

“I know you did.” She couldn't help but smile now. “That probably really hurt. Hitting Tom had to feel like hitting a brick wall.”

“He's a big lad.”

She chuckled. “When I signed the lease on the cottage, I was like, holy cow, who is this lumberjack dude?”

Josh really laughed now. “Hold up. Dr. Howard, did you just say ‘dude'?”

“So?”

“So, I didn't know such vernacular was in your vocabulary. It's not … um…”

She shouldered her tote. “Not, um, what?”

“Never mind.”

She had a feeling she knew what he was going to say. “Are you saying I have a stick up my ass, Collins?”

He looked shocked that she'd suggested it. “Of course not! Just that you're very … uh…”

She knew she'd been short with him at times. Stupid truth was that when she felt awkward she reverted to her professional self. Ian had told her once that she sometimes seemed cold. She wasn't, not really. She was just … unsure. Of course she'd never admit that to Josh. She didn't like people knowing about her weaknesses. Especially capable, hunky people she had to see every day.

“Good thing you're a doctor,” she teased. “Your vocab sucks.”

“I was going to say ‘professional,'” he finished.

“‘Uptight.'”

“Maybe.” She was playing with him a bit, and what was more, she was enjoying it. She let him off the hook. “Hey, I'm new, still figuring out the dynamic and stuff. Cut me some slack.”

He grinned at her. “You surprised me today. You seemed more easygoing than usual.”

“I take my work seriously. But after hours I like to be more chill. It's how I balance things out. My day is organized and efficient. My outside-of-work life is more spontaneous. The game was fun. I do know how to have fun once in a while. I can tell you stories that'll curl your hair.”

His eyebrows went up. “Really? Like what?”

She tilted her head to the side. “Well, I think one of my favorites was cliff diving in Hawaii.”

He blinked. “You did that?”

“Sure I did. And walked volcanoes and learned to surf. I didn't do so well with the surfing. Hurt my pride a fair bit.”

“Excuse me, but that does not seem like the Dr. Howard who shows up at my clinic pressed and dressed for a day of diagnoses.”

She hesitated for a minute. “You know, I think you aren't all that you seem, either.”

He looked over at her. “Me?”

“I think the amiable guy who goes casual in faded jeans and T-shirts might be a bit of a front. You, Dr. Collins, are not as laid-back as you appear. Am I on the right track?”

That he didn't look at her this time said a lot; at least she thought it did.

“I'm no workaholic.”

“Okay.” She wasn't about to press the issue. And he had taken a day off and left her at the clinic on her own earlier in the week. The day he'd cut himself on the utility knife. Maybe he wasn't a workaholic, but there was an intensity about him, a restlessness. Maybe small-town medicine wasn't enough for him, either. It was pretty slow compared to a city emergency room.

Damn, she was all curious now. And it really wasn't any of her business.

“I'd better check on Charlie. The heat really seems to get to her these days.”

“You're coming to Jess and Rick's?”

“Apparently.” They paused at the edge of the parking lot. She realized Josh's old truck was only a few vehicles away, dusty and with rust patches along the bottoms of the doors. “Josh, I have to ask. Why the old truck? You're a doctor. You could afford something so much nicer.”

His face hardened and he met her gaze. She wished she could tell what he was thinking, but she realized he knew how to do this thing where he could look right into the person he was talking to but not reveal anything of himself, like a two-way mirror. She wondered if he'd learned to shutter away personal feelings as a doctor or if he'd mastered the art of it when he'd been in the Army. Either way, it was very effective.

“Why do I need anything nicer? It does what I need it to do and gets me where I need to go. I've never seen the point in status symbols. Just because I'm a doctor doesn't make me anything special.”

He spun on his heel and walked away, and she was rooted to the spot, nonplussed. There'd been a hostility in his voice that was unexpected. Like she'd touched a nerve.

She came to the conclusion that sure, they'd worked together just fine this afternoon, but on a personal level he didn't like her very much. Not that she needed him to, but she was a little offended. All she'd done was ask a simple question. And his response had felt personal. Like it was obvious she thought she was something special and drove a fancy car.

She shook her head, coughing a little as his truck spun up a bit of dust as he pulled away. If he only knew how unspecial she was, he'd maybe keep his opinions to himself.

 

C
HAPTER
5

Josh knew he hadn't been fair.

He twisted the top off a bottle of beer and took a long swig, standing in Rick and Jess's big backyard. Their new retriever, Riley, romped around, going from person to person with a ball in his mouth, looking for someone to play with him. Most of the alumni teammates were already present with their spouses and kids, laughing and munching on the snacks Jess had put out to tide people over until dinner. Music played from outdoor speakers placed on either side of the steps that led from the back porch, which used to be Rick's studio. Now the long and narrow room was decorated with wicker furniture and a profusion of plants. Jess came out through the screen door, carrying a platter of something for the buffet table, looking blissfully happy.

What was it about Collins family meals that put him on edge? It was only a little more than a year ago when he faced his cousin Tom for the first time since Erin died, at a similar backyard party. A lot had changed since then. Josh had faced a lot of truths about his marriage, and he and Tom had patched things up. Progress. Back then Rick had been drinking too much and dealing with his own demons. Now Rick and Jess were blissfully happy and expecting a baby. Tom and Abby had been married since last October and were happily settled at the Foster mansion on Blackberry Hill. Heck, even Josh's sister Sarah and her husband, Mark, seemed to be doing better after her miscarriage a year ago.

And Josh was back home where he belonged and going through the motions of being happy. Fake it until you make it was his policy, but that went out the window last week when Lizzie Howard came to work with her uptight hair and flashy convertible and capable ways. Confidence was so not a problem with her, was it? He'd done some checking up, and his suspicions had been verified. She was the daughter of Russ Howard, who'd been one of the top trauma specialists on the East Coast. Talk about money and privilege. Sounded like another family he knew. Erin's. Overachievers and so concerned with status and appearances.

And so he'd snapped at Lizzie today when she'd done nothing to deserve it. All because she'd made a simple comment about his truck and he'd gotten all up in arms about her elitism.

He was in the middle of a ladder golf game with his nephew, Matt, when she walked in with Dave and Charlie. Charlie looked refreshed—they'd likely gone home after the game to change—and Lizzie had dressed up as well, in a flowery sundress with a light sweater draped over her arm. She'd let her hair down, and soft curls touched her shoulders. Josh watched as Jess went over and said something to Lizzie and she smiled, popping a dimple he hadn't realized she possessed.

Because she hadn't had much cause to smile at him, had she?