Curtis navigated the dirt road that lead to his sister 's house. The ride had been too quiet. Though he had only his brief time with Simone, he knew that her recent bouts of silence weren 't normal. He couldn 't take it any longer. He had to talk.
"Cynthia really likes working at the clinic. Marsha is nice too. " He thought he sounded pathetic.
"It will be a nice change of pace in my life. I am done with teas and dinners in fancy hotels schmoozing the money hungry hounds. Maybe I can do some good somewhere. "
He 'd opened a can of worms. "Most people want the schmoozing life you have. "
She chuckled and that was more like Simone, especially when she flipped her hair over her shoulder.
Turning to him, she angled her head, which he was sure had been practiced a million times to show her good side.
"You told me, when we were together, " she said and her tone softened, "that you hated dressing up and having to go to fundraisers for the hospital. "
"Can 't say that 's wrong. I usually end up in the corner all night drinking too many drinks served on trays. " Not unlike the charity work he 'd done at Carlos 's weddings.
"Then, perhaps even only a little, you understand. "
"I understand just that little part. But c 'mon, you 'd rather be here, " he raised his hands to encompass all of Nashville as he saw it in his mind, "than on a jet flying to Spain for the weekend, or heading up to the Queen 's for a polo match. "
She stifled the next giggle. "I have never been to the Queen 's. " She let out a long sigh. "This is what I want. " She raised her hands in the same manner as he had, only there was poise to it. But then she set them back in her lap and her fingers gripped all togethe1r until her knuckles were white. "Now all I have to do is secure a place to live and ensure I can pay for the lease on my car. "
Worry flashed in her eyes. Something didn 't match up. How was it that Simone was worried about paying for things? The thought of Cynthia giving her uniforms didn 't settle with him either. Then he reminded himself he wasn 't supposed to care. She wasn 't his problem.
It struck him that he should just pull to the side of the road and see if she could find her own way back to Zach and Regan 's house. That would be fitting. He 'd had to do that from the middle of the fricking ocean.
His fingers tensed around the steering wheel as they had earlier as he 'd driven around town, and he forced himself to relax. That was over. He needed to move on and forget about it. Without letting out the laugh that brewed inside of him the thought about the day some little kid would throw up on Simone at work. Even the office personnel didn 't always escape the patients. That would certainly send her packing to Paris.
Zach 's office on the front of the house was illuminated as he parked the truck in the circular drive in front of the house. Good. He 'd have to answer some questions since Curtis had driven all the way out there to drop off the Parisian princess, and she really hadn 't given him more information than she didn 't like stuffy parties..
She reached for the bag with the scrubs she 'd gotten from Cynthia and climbed out of his truck. Curtis watched her move quickly as though she wanted to escape. "Thank you for dinner and for driving me out here. It was very thoughtful of you. "
Her prim and proper ways annoyed him. Maybe she should stay in Nashville long enough to inherit a twang, yeah, that would have her posh friends freaking out.
"My pleasure, ma 'am. " He lifted his hands toward his head and tipped his imaginary hat to her. She smiled and her perfect teeth sparkled in the dim light as the sun set beyond the trees. But still, her smile didn 't reach her eyes.
"I 'll walk in with you. I wanted to talk to Zach for a minute. "
Simone nodded, shut the door to the truck, and led him into the house.
Zach stood in the doorway of his office. "I didn 't expect to see the two of you together. " His eyebrows raised and Curtis shook his head. The slightest sign of a smile on Zach 's face had Curtis itching to remove it.
Simone stepped forward to him and kissed him on the cheek. "You were always watching out for me. "
"It always seemed to be my job, " Zach smiled down at her.
"I 'm going to head to bed. " She turned back to Curtis. "Thank you again for the ride. "
"Sure. " Both men watched her ascend the stairs and when her bedroom door shut, Curtis looked at Zach. "Pour me a drink and let 's talk. "
Curtis closed the door to Zach 's office as Zach poured him a brandy. As soon as Zach handed it to him he threw it back and let it warm his throat.
Zach watched carefully. "She 's driven you to drink. "
"On more than one occasion. " And that had been the truest statement of the night.
Zach secured the lid on the brandy and set it high on the shelf. "Regan said she went job hunting with Cynthia. How 'd she end up with you? "
Curtis shrugged his shoulders and fell into the couch below him. He kicked his feet up on the coffee table and rested his head back. "Can you believe she got a job at the clinic? "
Zach didn 't comment right away. He sipped his brandy, set the glass on his desk, and then took the seat across from Curtis. "Simone has a job? "
Curtis dropped his feet to the floor. "Not only does she have a job, she works in a federally funded clinic. When I headed over to Cynthia 's today she was there trying on scrubs Cynthia was giving her. "
"She has a job and a bag of hand-me-downs? "
Curtis threw his hands in the air. "Exactly. "
Zach leaned back in his chair. "She must be more pissed at her father than I thought she was. "
"I was hoping you shed some light on that. What 's up with her? "
This time Zach shrugged. "I flew her here. She called me two days before Carlos and Madeline 's wedding and said she needed to be here, in Nashville. She needed a place to stay for a while and she said she wanted to be on her own. It 's not the first time she 's said she 's going to be independent, but she 's never followed through, not this far at least. "
"So she 's done this before? Left all the glitz and glory of high society? " He waved his hand in the air. It 1made him feel better to think that she was making it all up. It would be short lived after all and that was what Curtis needed. He 'd like it if he could show up to Cynthia 's house for dinner whenever he wanted and not have to see Simone there, and Cynthia wouldn 't be sending him away at night.
"She 's tried to do this before. But she always had something set up with people in her father 's industry. " A look of concern washed over Zach 's face and he reached for this brandy. "In fact, now that I think about it, the first time I met Alexander Hamilton on our first build together, she introduced us. "
Curtis watched his brother-in-law 's jaw clench.
"You don 't think Simone was involved with that woman-beating bastard do you? "
Zach shook his head. "No. She was as uncomfortable with him as I was. But that was how she thought she 'd find independence. By getting involved with others like her father. That never worked out in her benefit. "
Curtis didn 't like the way it sounded at all. If she was so used to the power and the men with it, why come to the one place where no one had power like that. Why move to Nashville to mess with his mind. If she like power, prestige, and poise she 'd come to the wrong place. Curtis had none of that.
"On the way here she said she was going to find a place to live and needed to pay for her lease on her car. "
Zach finally drank down his brandy and looked at Curtis. "I have a tele-conference with her father at the end of the week. I 'll ask him what she 's up to. "
"Good. "
A smile formed on Zach 's lips. "But at least the two of you are talking. "
Curtis shook his head. "Don 't go there, " he said as he stood. "I think I walked into some trap today when I headed to Cynthia 's. She left for a date, dropping Simone right into my care. That wasn 't my idea of fun. "
"So you just brought her back out here? "
The heat in the room was rising and
Curtis rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, no. I offered to take her to dinner. "
Zach was obviously trying to hide the smirk on his face again. "And what fancy place did she choose? "
Curtis rested his arms on his knees and 1leaned in toward Zach. "She didn 't choose anything. Instead, she fell asleep in the truck and I took her to my place. I had one steak in the fridge and we shared it. " He thought better of it. "Well, I ate it and she picked at a salad. " Curtis shook his head again. "I 've been a doctor long enough to know something is bothering her and it 's affecting her. It 's eating her up inside. She 's not talking as much as I 've heard you say she does. " That forced a laugh from Zach. "She 's not eating, isn 't drinking, and she just looks plain scared. Whatever reason she 's in Nashville, it 's making her sick. "
"For not wanting to pay attention to someone you 're sure paying a lot of attention. "
Curtis leaned back on the couch. "It 's in the job, that 's all. But if she doesn 't calm down something is going to happen to her. I 'm saying that since you 're her friend and all. "
"Not because you care. "
Now he 'd really like to knock that smirk off Zach 's face. "Might have cared more if you hadn 't had to send for me and buy me clothes just to get off the damn yacht. "
"I 'd do it again if I had to. "
"You 'll never have to. " There was no way he was getting played again. From now on he 'd be treading very carefully around Simone, especially since he knew getting involved with her was like swimming with the sharks.
Curtis stood. "Anyway, let me know what you find out. Now my curiosity is piqued. "
"I 'll look into it. "
Curtis moved toward the office door and opened it.
Zach stood from his seat. "Curtis, thanks for taking care of her. She 's very important to me, a sister if you will. "
He gave his brother-in-law a nod and walked out of the house and to his truck. As he turned around in the drive he could see Simone 's bedroom light turn off. He let out a long breath. Yeah, he 'd take care of her no matter what. She seemed to be very important to him too.
Chapter Six
Simone stumbled down the stairs at six o 'clock and the sun was already too bright. She wished she 'd had the luxury she 'd had her whole life, to stay in bed as long as she 1wanted. To stretch, yawn, and no matter what time you made it into the kitchen there was breakfast waiting for you.
But today she started her new life without the aid of anyone else. There was some merit to feeling totally unprepared for the day. She could do this. Everyone else in the world did it. However, morning sickness wasn 't helping her along.
When she turned the corner into the kitchen Zach was standing over the sink finishing his cup of coffee.
"Bon matin, belle. "
She wrapped her head around his words and with a slow nod said, "Mornin '. "
Zach laughed as he rinsed out his cup. "All right. That 's better, a bit more Southern. I 'll know you 've been transformed when you give me a good y 'all. "
Simone shuffled around him and found the loaf of bread tucked in the cabinet. She took out a slice and dropped it into the toaster all the while knowing Zach was watching her every move with great enjoyment. He always was a morning person and she loathed that about him.
"So today is your first day, huh? "
Simone simply nodded.
"Do you want a ride? "
She shook her head.
"Are you feeling okay? "
She finally looked up, her eyelids heavy. "Idiot! Do not tease me. You know I despise mornings. "
"Excusez-moi. " He was laughing at her. That should have been comfortable. There had been many times in her life that her dearest friend, this idiot, had laughed at her -with her, but now she wasn 't laughing.
"I have to get ready. " She walked out of the kitchen.
"What about your toast? " he called after her, but she kept walking.
An hour later when she 'd walked back down to the kitchen her toast was on a plate smeared with strawberry jelly. A glass of orange juice sat next to it. A note in Zach 's handwriting read, Let 's try this again. Good morning, beautiful. Have a nice day on your first day of work. Love, The Idiot.
This time she laughed.
"He 's worried about you. " Regan 's voice broke the silence in the kitchen.
Simone looked up to see her seated at the table, a sleeping Tyler rested in her arms. Simone picked up her plate and the glass and walked to the table.
"He is already sleeping? " She motioned toward Tyler.
"Well he 's been up since four. "
"I never heard him. " Simone sat down and kept her eyes on the precious boy.
"We have a routine. And I think today that routine has mama laying down for a nap with him later. " Regan brushed her hand gently over his head.
Simone watched the small gestures, and her heart ached in her chest. If she didn 't enlist Curtis 's help, and soon, she wouldn 't have moments like the one she was witnessing. No, she 'd have to put the baby into care right away so she could afford to feed them both.
The very thought made her sick and Regan noticed. "Zach says you 're not feeling well. "
"I am just nervous. "
Regan gave her a reassuring smile, and then she reached across the table and laid her hand gently atop Simone 's. "I 'm very proud of you. For whatever reason you came to live with us and decided to take your life into your own hands, I think that was a blessing. I know how hard it is to do that, but I also know the rewards. " She looked down at Tyler then back up at Simone. "You 're going to do great. "
Simone swallowed hard. Perhaps Regan knew more than she 1was letting on.
One thing was for sure, Simone Pierpont had never had to battle morning commute traffic. There were certainly reasons to have a driver.
She pulled up in front of the clinic ten minutes late. She parked her car, grabbed her paperwork, and hurried inside. Marsha was waiting for her in the lobby.
"I thought you 'd changed your mind, " she said sternly with her arms crossed over her chest.
"I was caught in traffic. I am sorry. I will make sure I make more time tomorrow. "
Marsha nodded and turned to go into the clinic. Simone followed.
One thing she could say for sure was that the scrubs she 'd gotten from Cynthia were certainly comfortable. For the first time in her life she didn 't feel confined. She 'd pulled her hair back into a ponytail and wore her smallest diamond earrings. Perhaps no one would notice such a small bit of glamour.
As they walked to Marsha 's office Simone caught sight of Cynthia. She waved and Cynthia gave her a nod, but was already hurrying past to take care of a patient.
A half our later Simone was in her own office, with another woman, learning the ins and outs of her data entry job. The work was simple. Input, input, input, but nerve wracking at the same time.
The other woman wasn 't much help when it came to answering questions, but she 'd do it each time with an enormous sigh, her hands then dropping heavily onto her desk, and a huge push off for the chair she sat in to roll toward Simone. She never once stood up and walked over to her. It was obvious Simone wasn 't making a new friend. But that didn 't matter. She had a job, and she was going to keep it -this was the life.
After three hours Simone realized her cheeks hurt from smiling. She was working. She was making her own living doing a job she 'd had to learn from someone who was even more stubborn than her own father.
She 'd had to ask questions, make mistakes, and fix them. It might not mean much to her father, but it did to Simone.
Simone took a long bubble bath the moment sh1e 'd gotten home. She 'd only had a few moments to speak to Cynthia during her entire day. She 'd worked her eight hours, eaten lunch from the vending machines, and drank stale, cold coffee. She 'd never have thought it would be the best day of her life.
But she was exhausted. As she lounged in her yoga pants and her wet hair piled high on her head, she put cream on her face and
arms and smiled at herself in the mirror. Would her own mother even recognize her?
"Simone! Simone, where are you? " Zach 's voice bellowed through the hallway and it was filled with anger. "Simone! "
She jumped up and ran to the door. He was right on the other side ready to grab the handle as she pulled it open.
"Zachary, what is the matter? "
"What is going on? " His teeth were gritted and his cheeks bright red.
"I beg your pardon. " Her voice strained as he pushed past her.
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