The Doctor's Secret Son

by Deb Kastner

  “He has second-degree burns on his left hand and forearm,” Zach continued crisply as he hung the IV bag on a hook on the wall and then helped his partner transfer Spence to the examining table. “His vitals are stable and we gave him morphine for the pain. Under normal circumstances we would have taken him to the nearest hospital, but I thought we should get his wound looked at as soon as possible, and now that you’re here in town…well, I hope you don’t mind that we brought him here to the clinic.”

  “No, no, I don’t mind at all. I’m happy you thought of me.” Actually, she had all kinds of conflicting emotions about the idea that Zach had thought of her, but again she willfully tucked her feelings into the back of her heart to scrutinize later.

  “My father went and called 9-1-1 after I asked him not to,” Spence explained in a raspy tone. “I really didn’t need an ambulance.”

  “Sure you did,” Ben disagreed affably. He and Zach supported Spence as he transferred himself from the gurney to the examining table.

  “You’re just too stubborn to admit it,” Zach added with a chuckle.

  Even though Delia didn’t say so aloud, she agreed with Zach and Ben. She was glad old Frank Spencer had responded with an emergency call. Spence might not have thought he needed attention, but burns were nothing to play with.

  “You’ve got this?” Ben asked Zach.

  Zach’s lips flattened into a straight line, but after a moment he gave Ben a clipped nod.

  Ben looked from Zach to Delia and back, his expression unconvinced. Everyone in this town knew Zach and Delia’s history together. Ben was no doubt wondering if leaving them alone together was the best idea.

  “We’re fine,” Delia assured him.

  Ben tapped his clipboard and nodded, and then turned for the door. “I’ll get to the paperwork, then.”

  “So what have we got here?” she asked her patient. Wrapping a blood pressure cuff around Spence’s right arm, she leaned over the grimacing man and carefully drew back the blanket that covered his left hand.

  The area across the back of his hand and halfway up his forearm was red and blistered, but Delia was relieved to find it looked no more serious than a second-degree burn, something she could treat here at the clinic.

  Spence grimaced and Zach moved to his side, laying his large, reassuring hand on Spence’s shoulder.

  “Hang in there, buddy,” he murmured gently.

  Delia felt a wave of emotion reach her throat at the kindness in his words and actions. She was completely unprepared for the sizzling epiphany that reached both her heart and her head at the same time.

  Zach wasn’t the boy she had left behind.

  He was a man now, and not just in the way his lanky teenaged frame had filled out with solid muscle, either. For whatever reason, he volunteered his time and capability in a career dedicated to helping others. It wasn’t his usual self-centered M.O., or at least it hadn’t been, and she realized it would take her awhile to change her perspective. She’d grown up—she was far different from the teenager she’d been when she left.

  Perhaps Zach was different, too—maturing into the man standing with her now.

  She hoped her observations about Zach had at least some basis in truth. Riley needed a good, stable influence from his father, not the hot-cold, on-again/off-again relationship she feared might happen.

  Had Zach changed—or was it just that paramedic work provided the adrenaline that he so craved? It was still too soon to tell.

  “How did this happen, Spence?” she queried gently as she unwrapped the wound.

  “I was boiling water,” Spence explained, wincing. “The twins’ favorite meal is spaghetti.”

  Delia smiled and arched her brows as she closely examined the red and blistering skin. Keeping a patient talking kept his mind off the pain. “I didn’t know you had children. Boys? Girls?”

  “Boys. Matty and Jamey. They just turned three and they’re a real handful, let me tell you.”

  Delia thought of Riley at age three and had to agree, if only to herself. Obviously she couldn’t say what she was thinking out loud.

  “Really cute little buggers,” Zach confirmed with a grin, though he didn’t look at Delia when he spoke. “They’re both on the junior T-ball team I coach every spring. They’ll be ready to move up into the major leagues pretty soon.”

  Zach was a coach?

  For a kid’s team?

  She was equally relieved and flustered by the new information, but she’d learned a long time ago the necessity of compartmentalizing her thoughts and feelings when she was dealing with a patient. Right now her mind had to be on her work.

  “So your burn is from the water?” she asked, turning Spence’s hand over to examine the palm.

  “Yeah, that and the steaming pot. One of the twins screamed and I lost my focus—just for a moment. When I turned back to the stove, the water was overflowing. I scrambled to take the pot off the burner bare-handed, without even thinking about what I was doing.”

  “Looks like you scalded yourself pretty good, buddy,” Zach said in a gentle, teasing voice.

  Spence grimaced. “Pretty stupid, huh?”

  “No, of course not,” Delia replied. “Accidents happen. Don’t worry. I can fix you up.”

  Just for a moment, her gaze met Zach’s. His eyes were surprisingly full of compassion.

  “Happens to the best of us, big guy.” Zach winked at his neighbor. “I’ve had my fair share of accidents myself.”

  That was an understatement if Delia had ever heard one.

  Zach Bowden was an accident waiting to happen, and Delia wasn’t positive she was any more prepared for him this time around than she had been as a teenager.

  She continued to examine Spence without blinking an eye, but internally she was in turmoil. She might be able to fool the others but she could never fool herself. Today’s encounter with Zach had changed the playing field entirely, and she didn’t know what to do with what she had learned.

  She didn’t know the man Zach Bowden had become.

  Worse yet, she wasn’t over him.

  Chapter Two

  On the outside, at least, Zach kept his attention on his ailing neighbor, but, surreptitiously, he watched Delia work, his heart drinking in the presence of the woman who had once been his whole life like a man who’d spent years in the desert with no water.

  In a way, that was exactly what he was. He had told himself a million times that he wouldn’t care if he ever saw Delia again in his life, but he now knew that was a flat-out lie.

  How could he not care when she had taken his heart and smashed it into thousands of pieces?

  Time hadn’t healed his wounds, nor had it changed the way his heart leaped out of his chest every time their eyes met. It shook him to the core to discover that despite the anger and bitterness he felt toward her, his attraction to her had only deepened with the passage of time.

  She was beautiful.

  She’d always been pretty, but now there was a new maturity shining from those huge sapphire-blue eyes of hers. Her black hair, which she’d worn shoulder-length as a teen, now flowed in thick, glossy waves down her back. Her rich alto voice had matured to be smooth as silk, wrapping around a man’s senses like a warm wind.

  “On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst pain you can imagine, how do you feel?” Delia asked Spence in a soft, reassuring tone.

  “Still about a five or six,” Spence said with a groan. “Man, this really hurts.”

  “That’s actually good news,” Delia informed him, and Zach silently concurred. “When you really start to worry about a burn is if it doesn’t hurt at all.”

  “Great,” Spence muttered.

  Delia chuckled.

 
Zach squeezed the man’s shoulder as Delia added additional morphine to the IV and efficiently prepared a cart for dressing the wound.

  “It looks worse than it is,” he assured Spence. “Right, Delia?”

  “Absolutely. You’ll need to change the dressing a couple of times a day and take the antibiotics I’m going to prescribe you, but this should heal up just fine. I’ll clean up the wound a bit and you’ll be as good as new.”

  Spence’s gaze widened perceptibly, but he clenched his jaw and nodded gravely as he resolved himself to endure the discomfort.

  Zach felt for him. Burns really hurt, even the small ones, and even though Spence’s burn wasn’t life-threatening, he’d still have to struggle with the pain.

  “Do you feel the narcotic kicking in yet?” Zach asked as the tension left Spence’s shoulders.

  Spence’s eyes grew dilated and hazy, and he laid his head back on the pillow and sighed. “Yes, thankfully.”

  “Just keep your eyes on me, man,” Zach suggested. “This will all be over in a minute. You can trust Delia. She’s a great doctor.”

  Delia’s surprised gaze flew to Zach, and it was no wonder. In truth, he had no way of knowing what kind of a doctor Delia was. He’d made the comment for Spence’s benefit, to ease his anxiety.

  That said, he was fairly certain his statement was correct. Even though he’d never actually seen Delia practice medicine, he had no doubt in his mind that she was a very good doctor. As long as he’d known her, she’d dreamed of having a career in the medical field. She’d always excelled as a student. And she was nothing if not persistent and dedicated. She wouldn’t let any obstacle get in the way of whatever she wanted to do.

  Even if he was the obstacle in question.

  He ignored the tug in his gut and reminded himself to keep his mind on his work. This was no time to visit the past.

  Delia was quick and efficient as she cleaned and dressed the wound. Zach imagined she’d encountered dozens of similar situations on her emergency room rotations in Baltimore, although this time her patient was a neighbor, a man she’d known from her childhood.

  How did she feel about being able to provide medical assistance to someone she was acquainted with? Did she find the same satisfaction in helping a friend as he did?

  Maybe that’s why she’d finally come home.

  He experienced another acute, agonizing stab in his gut. Unlike Spence’s burn, which probably would do little more than leave a scar, Zach’s wounds had never quite healed properly, and he didn’t think they ever would.

  Delia reached for a key to the medicine cabinet and provided Spence with a bottle of prescription painkillers and an antibiotic. She was the pharmacist as well as the doctor in this little town; but, as with the rest of her duties, she handled the transaction with ease.

  She rechecked the wound one last time and pronounced Spence good to go.

  “Ben and I can give you a lift back to your house,” Zach suggested, supporting Spence’s arm as he rolled to a sitting position.

  “I’ve already caused you enough grief,” Spence argued. “I can find some other way home.”

  Delia’s gaze shifted to Zach. She knew him well enough to know he wasn’t going to back down. That wasn’t his way.

  “Nonsense,” Zach said with a shake of his head. “It makes sense for us to give you a ride. Your father can’t drive anymore, and even if he could, he’s the one who’s watching the twins.”

  “Yes, but—”

  Zach cut him off with a wave of his hand. “Ben and I will be happy to take you. Not another word, you understand?”

  Even after Zach’s friendly warning, Spence still looked like he was about to argue some more, at least until Delia laid a hand on his shoulder.

  “Listen to Zach,” she advised. “It’s not like you’ll be inconveniencing them. Short of a kitten stuck in a tree, you’re likely to be the day’s only emergency. Think of it as a favor—you’ll be giving the two of them something productive to do with their time.”

  “Don’t argue with Delia,” Zach added. “Take it from me—she always wins.”

  That hadn’t come out right. He didn’t know why he’d said it. He sounded churlish.

  He definitely wasn’t over her.

  In his youth he’d been devastated by her leaving. Now he was bewildered by her return. Still, he knew he could be handling it better.

  “I don’t know that I always win,” Delia countered, her bottom jaw rocking forward as she tempered her response. “But I hope in this case, Spence, you’ll take my advice.”

  Zach was immediately ashamed of himself. He was a changed man now; and, hopefully, a better one, thanks to God’s grace. It wasn’t like him to bring personal issues into his working life, especially not with a patient present. Seeing Delia again had really done a number on him, much more than he had ever anticipated.

  “I guess I’ll take that ride, if you’re sure it won’t be a bother,” Spence said, caving in to Delia’s persuasive smile.

  “That will be best,” Delia agreed, patting Spence on the shoulder. “Would you like some help getting out to the ambulance? Morphine can make you a little woozy.”

  “I’m good.” Spence stood and found his balance before gingerly taking a couple of trial steps. Zach hovered at one of Spence’s elbows, while Delia stayed next to the other. Her patient was a little shaky, but he appeared stable enough to walk on his own.

  “Don’t forget to take those pain pills when you get home, Spence,” Delia instructed. “The morphine is going to wear off soon and your hand is going to hurt for a while.”

  “I can’t thank you enough, Delia,” Spence said.

  “I’m glad to be here,” she assured him.

  Zach’s breath caught in his lungs. Delia might be glad to be here, but Zach wasn’t sure how he felt about the fact that she’d so suddenly appeared back in his life.

  She had thrown him off balance. Emotionally, he was having a harder time staying upright than Spence was.

  He’d imagined Delia’s return to Serendipity a thousand times, but the stark reality of the moment was completely different than anything his mind could have conjured—never mind his heart.

  “Zach?” Delia called just as he was about to close the door behind him.

  Just her saying his name made a ripple of awareness flow through him. He took a deep breath, casually arched an eyebrow and turned toward her.

  Her eyes were shaded and her expression neutral. It used to be that he had easily been able to read the depths of her heart through her gaze. But he would have thought the time and distance would have changed that ability.

  He was surprised to find that it hadn’t. He could see that she was struggling emotionally with this unexpected reunion, just as he was.

  He questioned her with his eyes. What did she want—or expect from him, for that matter?

  He was aware of the very moment she elevated an emotional barrier. Her gaze turned from a glimmering sapphire to a steel-blue. Clearly, whatever courtesy she had shown him had been for Spence’s sake and not his own. Although, why that should surprise him was beyond his comprehension. Hadn’t he done the same with her—or at least had tried to do?

  He dropped his brow. He didn’t know whether she had put their past aside. He only knew that he couldn’t.

  She had left him without a word. She had broken his heart.

  There was so much he wanted, no, needed, to say to her, but the words would not come. And even if they had, now was hardly the time.

  “Well?” he asked when she continued to stare at him without speaking.

  “I just wanted to say thank you,” she said in a raspy near whisper that sounded dry and strained.

  His brow lowered further. “For what?”
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br />   “For helping me out here today. For being there for Spence. I might have been able to do it without you, but I don’t think he could have.”

  “It’s my job,” he replied curtly.

  “Maybe,” Delia said, shaking her head. “But I don’t think that’s all it is.”

  His mouth twisted but he didn’t deny it.

  “I’m glad I could help,” he said after another extended silence. Help Spence, he added to himself.

  She hesitated, looking as if she had something else to say, but then her jaw tightened and she shook her head almost imperceptibly. “So, I guess I’ll see you around.”

  He nodded. This conversation was over. His gaze broke with hers as he gestured toward the door. “Spence and Ben are waiting for me.”

  He turned and nearly sprinted for the door. It was more of a getaway than an exit.

  How, he wondered, was he ever going to be able to work with her when just seeing her drudged up so many uncomfortable feelings?

  If there was a way out of this, Zach didn’t know what it was. He knew how God would want him to respond—with forgiveness and love. Zach wasn’t sure he could manage either one of those right now.

  Maybe ever.

  Chapter Three

  Two more days passed before Delia was ready to turn the clinic sign from Closed to Open, and by then it was Friday afternoon and the end of the workweek. The supplies she’d ordered online had arrived and were organized, the financials were up to date. She’d talked Vickie McCall, who’d been Doc Severns’s receptionist, into returning to her old job. Monday morning the clinic would officially open for business.

  She wondered how long it would be before her tiny waiting room was full of people. The word was definitely out about the clinic reopening, at least to some extent, or Zach would never have known to bring Spence in.

  Her best guess was that Jo Hawkins Murphy, the owner of Cup o’ Jo, the local café, had learned of her arrival and spread the word. News traveled fast with that good-humored, redheaded lady. Jo was better advertising than a television ad—and a good deal more persuasive—so on the off chance that the woman hadn’t heard of her return, Delia thought it would be worth a walk down Main Street to fill her in.