Baby, Drive South

by Stephanie Bond

  “No, it’s fine,” he said. “I’m glad you’re excited about our plans. We’re lucky to have you here.”

  She leaned in and made a doodle on the back of his hand with a manicured fingernail. “There are other things in Sweetness that excite me.”

  Porter’s mouth went dry. The woman packed a powerful physical punch with her golden hair and big blue eyes…but his stomach still churned over leaving Nikki high and dry. A loud bark pierced the air, claiming Rachel’s attention.

  She turned to her pug. “Do you need to take a walk?” She looked back to Porter and shook her head. “Even in all this wilderness, he has to be on a leash or he can’t go.” She grabbed a leash and stood, brushing off her short shorts, then cooed to the pooch, who waddled over to be hooked up. “I’ll be right back,” she said with a promise in her smile.

  Porter nodded, then exhaled in relief that the awkward moment had been interrupted. He jammed his fingers through his hair—he had to think of something to get out of this situation without hurting the woman’s feelings. He wanted to check on the injured doe…and he desperately wanted to see Nikki. In hindsight, he should’ve never left her with the wild animal. If it regained consciousness, it could injure her in an attempt to escape.

  Porter began to repack their picnic leftovers. He’d manufacture a work issue or a minor emergency, something that required his attention. He stopped to rub his stomach, which was starting to feel decidedly queasy. Now eager to get back, he pushed to his feet and awkwardly refolded the picnic blanket. He looked up to see Rachel returning with her pug.

  “Must’ve been a false alarm,” she said brightly, “but he’s acting strange. I’ve never seen him try to eat grass before.” When she noticed their picnic had been packed, her face fell. “We’re leaving?”

  “I’m afraid so,” he said. “Marcus needs for me to check on a work crew.”

  “Okay. I don’t think Nigel is feeling well anyway. Maybe it’s the heat.”

  To punctuate her statement, her pug made an unholy noise, then proceeded to throw up at their feet.

  Porter winced and swung back on his crutches. “I’m not feeling so great myself. Did the chicken salad sit out before you packed it? It might have gone bad.”

  Rachel looked offended. “It only sat out while I was waiting for you. But Nigel didn’t have any.”

  “Yes, he did,” he said with remorse. “I fed him some of my sandwich.”

  She looked distressed, swooped down to cuddle her dog close. “Oh, no.”

  A wave of nausea shuddered through Porter forcing him to lean on his crutches to stay upright. “Let’s get back, pronto.”

  “Nikki will know what to do,” Rachel said, clutching her pet.

  Porter was filled with dread that overrode the sickness swirling through his body.

  He was sure Nikki would do everything in her power to help the dog, but she just might let him perish this time.

  He drove back to town in record time, swallowing hard against his roiling stomach every time the four-wheeler hit a bump. When he pulled up in front of the boardinghouse, he urged Rachel to go on ahead instead of waiting for him to get his crutches. But she could see he was weak himself and insisted on helping him inside.

  “Nikki!” Rachel shouted, raising the alarm before they reached her office.

  Nikki came out in the hallway, her expression wary. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nigel and Porter might have food poisoning.”

  “From what?” Nikki asked.

  “Chicken salad.”

  “Nigel in there,” Nikki said, pointing to her office. “Write down all the ingredients in the chicken salad. I’ll take Porter into the room next door.”

  When Nikki took Rachel’s place under Porter’s shoulder, he was relieved, chagrined and embarrassed at the same time. “I’m sorry, little lady doc.”

  But her body language was all business. “Save your strength,” she said, then ushered him into an adjacent empty bedroom and urged him to lie on the bed.

  “I feel lousy,” he muttered, happy to recline on the cool sheets.

  “You’ll feel better once you throw up,” she offered, then propped his crutches nearby and positioned a trash can close to the bedside.

  “I mean about earlier.”

  “Can’t help you there,” she said breezily, still not making eye contact. “But if you have food poisoning, it should work its way through your body in a day or two.”

  Frustration welled in his chest at his inability to communicate how guilty he felt about putting the moves on her before. “Are you going to stick around that long?”

  She finally looked at him, leveling him with a wry stare from those gorgeous green eyes. “Who else is going to take care of your deer?” She adjusted his pillow. “I’ll be right back.”

  Porter watched her leave, and something akin to wonder descended over him. His chest squeezed painfully with an emotion unlike anything he’d ever felt before. But before he could name it, a cramp assailed him.

  Good, he thought as he leaned over to empty the contents of his stomach into the trash can. The alien feeling had simply been a symptom of his illness.

  It would be gone in a day or two.

  23

  “I feel well enough to drive you to the water tower,” Porter insisted from the doorway of the side entrance of the boardinghouse.

  Nikki took in his pale face and how heavily he leaned on his crutches as she tested the feel of the handgrips on the four-wheeler. After forty-eight hours of being in close quarters with Porter Armstrong, nursing him back from food poisoning, she was ready to be away from him. And it had nothing to do with the sickness—that she was trained to handle with a clinical detachment. It was the way her pulse picked up when she touched his feverish forehead, the anxiety that gripped her when his body convulsed from the violent retching and the fantasies she spun when she watched him sleep that concerned her. The attachment she was developing to this man felt dangerously familiar…and she wanted no part of it. Not after what had almost happened between them and how it had ended.

  “You should rest for at least another day,” Nikki said. “And someone has to keep an eye on the animals while I’m gone.”

  “I’ll help,” Rachel said, emerging to stand next to Porter. She put a proprietary hand on his arm. “I was just going to check on my sweet Nigel. I’ll make sure that Porter stays in bed.”

  Nikki took perverse pleasure from seeing Porter squirm. At least the cad had enough of a conscience to feel awkward about bouncing from Nikki’s arms to Rachel’s the day he’d brought in the wounded deer. Visualizing what they’d probably been doing on their “picnic” before Rachel had accidentally poisoned him made it easier for Nikki to keep her distance. She gave the couple a cheerful smile. “Sounds like everything is under control. I’ll be back soon.” She pulled on a helmet and buckled it under her chin.

  “How are you going to get up the ladder?” he asked.

  Remembering how he boosted her to the bottom rung before sent unwanted sensations through her midsection. “I’ll manage.”

  Porter took a half step closer. “Go slow. And tackle that last climb on a diagonal rather than head on.”

  She nodded, then pushed the ignition button to fire up the engine.

  “Use the two-way radio if you run into trouble,” he shouted. “And be careful climbing the ladder!”

  Nikki ignored him and goosed the gas. After a couple of lurching false-starts, she steered the four-wheeler toward the path that would take her up to the water tower.

  Her adrenaline climbed as the vehicle ascended the incline. The vibration of the engine resonated through her body, keening her senses. The dank scent of moss and soil permeated her lungs, along with the fragrances of grass and flowers. Her allergies seemed to have calmed a bit, although she was sure it had nothing to do with the licorice candy she’d been ingesting and everything to do with the massive doses of antihistamines she’d been taking. The fresh air felt good on
her face.

  The trees on either side of the path were practically pulsating with life—heavy with leaves and nuts and birds and squirrels. Blooming bushes bowed underneath the weight of bumblebees. The sun was high and searing, infiltrating the canopy of trees to spill onto the rocky path in front of her. Heeding Porter’s warnings, she slowed her ascent as the climb became steeper, but the thought of the man made her tense in anger.

  At herself.

  For letting him get to her the day he’d brought in the wounded animal, for believing for one second that they shared a connection or that a physical encounter would make her feel better about anything.

  Like being dumped by Darren.

  Instead, the encounter had made her feel worse, had reinforced her feelings that men only wanted her for what they could have at the moment. And she’d nearly violated her professional ethics by getting involved with a patient. She needed to get away to clear her head, and she couldn’t think of a better place than the water tower.

  Besides, she wanted to talk to her former boss, Dr. Hannah, and she was missing her friend Amy. The other women from Broadway were settling into Sweetness and making it their home. She longed to talk to someone from the outside, someone who could reassure her she didn’t belong here.

  Twenty minutes later, Nikki took the last incline on the diagonal and leaned forward on the four-wheeler, applying steady throttle as the engine whined to eat up the ground. When the wheels began to spin, she panicked she was going to be stuck, but the tires suddenly caught traction and popped the four-wheeler up over the rise and onto level ground.

  She slowed the ATV and pulled it to a stop beneath the ladder, then cut the engine and removed her helmet. The sudden silence was jarring. Nikki had felt alone many times in her life, but she’d never felt quite as isolated as she did at that moment.

  Her heartbeat picked up. Hadn’t Porter said something about bears? And there were snakes around, too. Just yesterday one of the workers had been bitten. Of course, when she’d arrived onsite, the man wanted “Doc” Riley to tend to his wound. Because the snake was a nonvenomous variety, she’d acquiesced. But from her research, she knew there were at least six types of poisonous snakes in these mountains. Rattlesnakes were charitable enough to issue a warning before striking, but the other species weren’t so considerate.

  Nikki was suddenly rethinking her quest for solitude.

  She glanced all around, but saw nothing except trees and bushes and fallen logs. Eventually, the insects and birds quieted by the sound of the four-wheeler resumed their song, and she relaxed.

  To reach the ladder, she stood on the seat of the four-wheeler and pulled herself up. The climb to the top of the water tower was invigorating, just what her body needed. When she reached the platform, her shirt was stuck to her back and her muscles were tingling. Heat emanated from the colossal metal tank, but a tiny breeze cooled the perspiration on her neck.

  She moved to the front of the tower and absorbed the sprawling view. She inhaled deeply to fill her lungs, then exhaled, hoping to rid her body of some of the stress that had been building for weeks now. Tears pushed at the back of her eyes over so many things. Her thoughts were jumbled and spinning like a tornado, tossing out hurtful images at will. Thinking of Darren left her almost breathless with grief. She knew she was better off without him if he was going to be unfaithful before they even walked down the aisle, but she mourned the good times they’d shared and the potential of what might have been.

  She felt tricked by the universe. She’d rid herself of a happily-ever-after fantasy sometime between starting college and finishing medical school. Darren Rocha had come along and led her to believe she’d been mistaken. And just when she’d allowed herself to be happy, he’d proven she’d been right all along.

  Now, here she was, falling under the spell of another man who made her feel unworthy.

  Nikki exhaled in frustration. What was broken in her that made her gravitate toward this kind of man?

  She pulled out her phone and held it up until the bars climbed, indicating a strong signal. The phone vibrated and a “voice messages waiting” symbol appeared. One message was from Amy, just checking in, wondering if Nikki was on her way back to Broadway. One message was from the manager of the apartment complex where Nikki had lived, asking where to forward her mail. It was a reminder of how quickly and recklessly she’d made the decision to leave town.

  And one message was from Darren.

  Nikki’s stomach dropped when she heard his husky voice. “Hi, Nikki…it’s me. I heard you left town and I was just calling to see if you’re all right.” His tone was low and fluid, the way it had sounded after he’d had a couple of glasses of wine. “And I wanted to say that if it means anything to you, I’m sorry for the way things turned out. Okay…bye.”

  Nikki breathed in and out. He was calling to see if she was all right? What if she wasn’t all right? What then? And he wasn’t sorry for being a lying cheater—he was sorry for the way things turned out? As if he had no culpability in what had happened. She realized her cheeks were wet and swiped at them. How could she have given her heart to someone who’d treated it so carelessly?

  She gave in to a few more tears, then wiped her face. Her grammy always said there was no use in crying over spilled milk, and her words had never seemed more appropriate. What was done, was done. She had to keep moving forward.

  Nikki punched in Amy Bradshaw’s number and smiled when Amy answered. “Greetings from May-berry,” Nikki said.

  “Nikki! You’re still in Sweetness? I thought you were headed back to Broadway.”

  “There are…extenuating circumstances.”

  “Does this have anything to do with a cleft chin?”

  Nikki straightened. “No. My van still hasn’t been repaired…and I’m caring for a wounded deer.”

  “You’re a veterinarian now?”

  “No. But there was no one else to take care of it. And then there’s Nigel.”

  “Nigel?”

  She squirmed. “Rachel Hutchins’s pug was accidentally food poisoned.”

  “Don’t you have any human patients?”

  “At the moment, just Porter Armstrong,” Nikki mumbled.

  “Ah…he’s milking his broken leg?”

  “He’s suffering from food poisoning, too.”

  “How did this guy and Rachel’s dog both get food poisoning?”

  “By Rachel.”

  Amy laughed. “I guess that’s one way to get a man on his back. But no one else gets sick in that town?”

  “A lot of the women are suffering from allergies…but the male workers seem to resent a woman doctor. There’s an older guy with homespun remedies they turn to.”

  “Male pride,” Amy offered wryly. “Southern men will take a bullet for a woman, but chivalry cuts both ways. No matter how modern they say they are, they’re chauvinists at heart. They don’t want a woman to see them when they’re down.”

  “All the more reason for me to leave,” Nikki said. “My former boss is looking for someone to take my place, but I’m thinking about not coming back to Broadway.”

  “Where will you go?”

  “I was thinking maybe Atlanta, although I’ve never been there. Any advice?”

  “It’s a big, hot city. The job market is better than where you are. And I think you’ll find the cultural pursuits a little more diversified.”

  Nikki laughed. “I might check it out since I’m this close.”

  “And here I was counting on you coming back.”

  “I’m sorry. What’s going on with you?”

  Amy sighed. “Still waiting to hear if I’ll be assigned to the state reservoir repair job. Keep your fingers crossed for me.”

  “I will,” Nikki said, then told her friend goodbye. When she disconnected the call, she nursed a pang of regret. If she didn’t go back to Broadway, she would miss Amy. But after listening to Darren’s voice message, she wasn’t sure she could go back. She wasn’t over him ye
t, if he still had the power to hurt her.

  She called Dr. Hannah and after being put on hold for a short time, she heard the woman’s friendly voice come on the line. “Nikki, how are you?”

  “I’m fine,” she lied, although just saying the words made her feel better.

  “I’m glad to hear from you, I was going to give you a call. I might have found a physician who’s willing to come to Sweetness to work in the clinic.”

  Why didn’t the news excite her as much as it should have? “That’s terrific,” she said. “Who?”

  “Dr. Jay Cross. He’s fresh out of residency and eager to work in a rural clinic where he can make a difference. But he wants to arrange a visit first to see how he likes the town.”

  Nikki wrote down his contact information and promised to give it to the Armstrongs. “And the town is supposed to be wirelessly connected soon, so communication will be easier.” Dr. Hannah said she was still asking around about some of the other clinic positions, and she would be in touch. She ended the conversation by asking Nikki if she was coming back to the practice.

  “I haven’t decided,” Nikki admitted. “But I appreciate the offer. I’ll let you know soon.”

  Nikki disconnected the call and took a few moments to gaze at the peaceful mountain scenery before her. It was a meditative place, to be sure. The majestic peaks, the terraced trees and the rolling foothills…they were unwavering. Nature didn’t give a hoot about man’s problems, it just kept marching on. A lesson to its inhabitants, she mused. After a few more leisurely moments, she glanced at her watch and decided to head back. For now, at least, she had patients to oversee, even if most of them were of the four-legged variety.

  She descended the ladder carefully and stepped on the seat of the four-wheeler, then lowered herself to the ground, feeling oddly triumphant for driving an ATV to the top of a mountain and climbing a water tower—things she couldn’t have imagined doing only a couple of weeks prior. She could see how a rural environment produced resourceful individuals, how it had instilled in the Armstrong brothers a will to defy nature and rebuild a town from nothing.

  But she could admire their goals without being sucked into them.