THE LAST TEMPTATION OF DR. DALTON

by Robin Gianna

  “It’s for the hospital, not her.” But as he said the words he knew it was for Charlotte as well, and hated himself for it.

  She regarded him steadily. “I think it’s for both the hospital and her. I made a bad mistake. Maybe she did too. Don’t compound it by making your own mistakes.” She stood and smiled, holding out her hand like he was still a little kid. “Come on, prodigal son. Your dad will be home soon. Stay for dinner and we’ll catch up.”

  * * *

  “I’m sorry, Colleen. For everything. I hope Mike wasn’t mad that you sent the release papers to me instead of Trent.” Charlie studied her online bank statements as she talked to her friend, despairing that she’d find a way out of their financial problems. With everything else a total mess, getting Colleen in trouble would make the disaster complete.

  “No, he’s not. I wish you hadn’t lied to me, though.”

  “I know. I’m so, so sorry. Everything I did was stupid and didn’t even solve anything.”

  “I bet Trent was really angry about it.” Her voice was somber. “I know he left there—I arranged his travel for when he heads to Europe from the U.S. What did he say?”

  “He never found out, thank heavens.” That would have been the worst thing of all. Despite the crappy way he’d left, she wouldn’t have wanted him to know what she’d done.

  “What do you mean? Of course he did. He was telling Mike he wanted to stay there in Liberia. Be assigned at your hospital for the year. And that’s when Mike told him everything you’d done.”

  Charlie’s heart lurched then seemed to grind to a halt. The world felt a little like it was tilting on its axis, and as she stared, unseeing, at her office wall, it suddenly became horribly, painfully clear.

  Trent hadn’t left because he was tired of her, ready for vacation, ready to move on. He’d left because he knew she’d lied and manipulated his paperwork. He’d left because of what she’d done to him.

  “Oh my God, Colleen,” she whispered. Trent had once told her that trying to control the direction the world spun would end up weighing heavily on her shoulders. Little had he known exactly how true that was. At this moment, that weight felt heavy indeed.

  Numb, she absently noted a ping on her computer that showed a wire transfer from a bank. Mind reeling, she forced herself to focus on business. Any money would help pay a bill or two.

  But when she pulled it up, her mind reeled even more dizzily. Air backed up in her lungs and she couldn’t breathe. “Oh my God,” she said again, but this time it was different. This time it was in stunned amazement. “It’s the donation from the Gilchrist Foundation. All of it they’d committed to us. What...? Why...this is unbelievable!”

  “Oh, Charlie, I’m so happy for you! This is awesome!”

  “Yes. It is. Listen, I need to go. I’ll call you later.” Charlie hung up and stared at the wire transfer, unable to process that it had come through, beyond relieved that the hospital wouldn’t have to shut down. Once the plastic surgeon showed, they’d be able to get the wing open and operating for a long time, helping all those who so needed it.

  But knowing her project would now be complete didn’t bring the utter satisfaction it should have. Didn’t feel like the epitome of everything she’d wanted. And as she stared at her computer she knew why.

  She’d ruined the sweet, wonderful, fledging romance that had blossomed between her and Trent. Through her adamant “the end justifies the means” selfish attitude, she’d no doubt hurt the most amazing, giving, incredible man she’d ever known.

  He’d wanted to stay the year with her, which just might have turned into forever. But instead, she’d destroyed any chance of happiness, of a real relationship with him.

  Her computer screen blurred as tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. How could she have been so stubbornly focused on the hospital’s future that she couldn’t see her own, staring her in the face through beautiful blue eyes?

  She’d always prided herself on being a risk-taker. But when it came to the most important risk of all—risking her emotions, her life and her heart—she’d cowardly backed away in self-protection. Afraid to expose herself to potential pain, she’d tried to close a shell around her heart, hiding inside it like a clam. But somehow he’d broken through that shell anyway.

  Why hadn’t she seen she should have been honest with Trent, and with herself, about all of it? Maybe the outcome would have been different if she had, but now she’d never know. Trent doubtless hated her now, and she had only herself to blame.

  Her phone rang, and she blinked at the tears stinging her eyes, swallowing down the lump in her throat to answer it. “Charlotte Edwards here.”

  “Ms. Edwards, this is Catherine Gilchrist Dalton. I’m founder and president of the Gilchrist Foundation. I wanted to make sure you received our donation via wire.”

  “Yes, I did, just now.” The woman was calling her personally? “I’m honored to speak with you and more than honored to receive your donation. I appreciate it more than I can possibly say, and I promise to use it wisely.”

  “As you know, your hospital was originally denied because it didn’t meet our requirements.”

  “Yes. I know.” And she hoped the woman would tell her why they’d changed their minds, though she supposed it didn’t really matter.

  “My son, Trent Dalton—I think you know him?—he came to see me, asking me to still provide the donation. Convinced me your hospital is more than worthy of our funding.”

  Charlotte nearly dropped her phone. Trent? Trent was the woman’s son? She tried to move her lips, but couldn’t speak.

  “Hello? Are you there?”

  “Y...yes. I’m sorry. I’m just...surprised to hear that Trent is your son.” Surprised didn’t begin to cover it. He’d called himself a rich boy? That was an understatement.

  “Perhaps I’m being a busybody, but that’s a mother’s prerogative. Trent told me he’d wanted to spend the next year working at your hospital with you, but you made a mistake by lying to him which has made him change his mind.”

  “Yes, that’s true.” Her voice wobbled. “I was selfishly stupid and would give anything to be able to do it over again. To be honest with him about...everything.”

  “Would that ‘everything’ include caring for him in a personal way? Being his mother, I would have to assume you do.”

  The woman’s amused tone reminded her so much of Trent, she nearly burst into tears right into the phone. “You’re right, Mrs. Dalton. I do care for Trent in a personal way, because he’s the most incredible man I’ve ever known. I’m terribly, crazy in love with him but, if he cared at all about me before, I don’t think he does anymore. I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me.”

  “You won’t know unless you try to find out, will you? I made a terrible mistake with him once, too, tried to manipulate his life and paid a harsh price for that. Our years of separation were very painful to me, and I should have tried harder to apologize, to ask him to forgive me. I suggest you make the effort, instead of wondering. And maybe regretting.”

  She was right. A surge of adrenaline pulsed through Charlie’s blood. She’d find Trent and she’d make it right or die trying. “Thank you. Do you know where he is?”

  “He’s here in New York City, visiting with a few friends. He’s leaving soon. I can try to find out his travel plans, if you like.”

  Colleen. Colleen had his itinerary. “Thanks, but I think I know how to get them.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHARLIE CAREENED DOWN the muddy road, hands sweating, heart pounding, as she desperately drove to the little airport, trying to catch the plane that would take her to Kennedy Airport in New York City, which Trent was scheduled to fly out of in about ten hours. And, of course, the rain had begun the moment she’d left, slowing her progress and making it nearly impossib
le to get there in time.

  But she had to get there. A simple phone call wasn’t enough. She had to find Trent and tell him she loved him and beg him to forgive her.

  As she’d thrown a few necessities into her suitcase and tried to process the whole, astonishing thing about his mother being a Gilchrist, and the unbelievable donation and phone call, she’d realized something else.

  The fifty-thousand-dollar donation for the school must have come from Trent. Who else would just, out of the blue, anonymously donate that kind of money to their little school? The incredible realization made her see again what she’d come to know: that he was beyond extraordinary. A man with so much money, he could choose not to work at all. Instead, he’d trained for years to become a doctor and a specialized surgeon. He helped the poor and needy around the world, both financially and hands-on. He was adorable, funny, sweet and loved children. And if she didn’t get to the airport on time, and find a way to make him forgive her, she’d never, ever meet anyone like him again.

  She loved him and she’d hurt him. She’d tell him, show him, how much she loved him and make right all her wrongs.

  She jammed her foot onto the accelerator. She had to get there and get on that plane. And if she didn’t, she’d follow him to Florence or wherever else he was going. If she had to, she’d follow him to the moon.

  * * *

  Trent stretched his legs out in front of him and pulled his Panama hat down over his eyes. His flight from Kennedy was delayed, so he might as well try to sleep.

  Except every time he closed his eyes he saw Charlotte Grace Edwards. Never mind that there were five thousand miles between them, and that she’d lied and obviously didn’t care about him the way he’d thought she did. Her face, her scent, her smile were all permanently etched in his brain and heart.

  He’d broken his own damned rules and was paying the price for it. Knew he’d be paying the price for a long, long time.

  He’d been happy with his life. He liked working in different places in the world, meeting new people, finding new medical challenges. Setting down roots in one place hadn’t occurred to him until he’d gone to Liberia. Until he’d met Charlotte. Until she’d turned upside down everything he thought he knew about himself and what he wanted.

  He hadn’t gotten out fast enough. Their one-night fling had become something so much bigger, so much more important, so deeply painful. His vacation alone in Italy was going to be the worst weeks of his life, and his new job couldn’t start soon enough.

  A familiar, distinctive floral scent touched his nose, and to his disgust his heart slapped against his ribs and his breath shortened. Here he was, thinking about her so intently, so completely, he imagined she was near. Imagined he could touch her one last time.

  Except the firm kick against his shoe wasn’t his imagination.

  He froze. Charlotte? Impossible.

  “I know you’re not asleep, Trent Dalton. Look at me.”

  Stunned, he slowly pushed his hat from his face and there she was. Or a mirage of her. He nearly extended his hand to see if she could possibly be real. He ran his gaze over every inch of her—her messy hair, her rumpled clothes, her bandaged arm.

  She was real. The most real, the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. His heart swelled and constricted at the same time, knowing what a damn fool he was to still feel that way.

  “Why aren’t you wearing the sling on your arm?”

  She laughed, and the sound brought both joy and torment. “I nearly killed myself running off the road in a rainstorm to get to the airport, flew thousands of miles to find you, and the first thing you do is nag me?”

  Yeah, she was something. He had to remind himself that single-minded ruthlessness was part of the persona he’d adored. “What are you doing here, Charlotte?”

  She crouched down in front of him, her green eyes suddenly deeply serious as they met his. “I came to apologize. I came to tell you how very sorry I am that I lied to you. That I realize no hospital wing, no donation, no amount of need, could possibly justify it, no matter how much I convinced myself it did.”

  It struck him that she’d gotten the Gilchrist donation, and that his mother had probably meddled and spilled the beans about who he was. Charlotte must somehow feel she had to apologize, to make it right, because of the money, even though it was an awful big trek for her to catch him here. His chest ached, knowing that was all this was.

  “No need to apologize. I know the hospital means everything to you.”

  She slowly shook her head as her hand reached for his and squeezed, and his own tightened on hers when he should have pulled it away. “No, Trent. The hospital doesn’t mean everything to me. I know that now.”

  “Well, pardon me when I say that’s a line of bull. Like so many others you fed me.” She’d already proven he couldn’t trust anything she said. “You’ve shown you’ll do anything to make things go your way for the place. You’ve shown it’s your number-one priority over everything.”

  “Maybe it was. Maybe I let it be. But it isn’t anymore.” She stood and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his mouth, and for a surprised moment he let himself feel it all the way to his soul. He let it fill all the cracks in his heart before he pulled away.

  “You’re my number-one priority, Trent. You’re what means everything to me. Only you. I hated myself for lying to you. After you left, I hated myself even more for letting myself fall for you, because I was sure you’d just moved on to be with some woman in Italy. That I didn’t mean anything to you but a brief good time.”

  “What makes you think that’s not the case?” Though it was impossible to imagine how she could have believed that. That she hadn’t seen the way he felt about her; hadn’t known what she’d come to mean to him. But, if she didn’t know, he sure as hell didn’t want her to find out.

  “Because I know you told Mike you wanted to be assigned to my little hospital for your year assignment.” Tears filled her green eyes and he steeled himself against them; wouldn’t be moved by them. “When I realized you’d left because of my stupid, misguided mistakes, I knew I had to do whatever I could to find you.”

  Obviously, she’d come because she still needed a plastic surgeon to get the hospital wing running. “You’ve found me. But my plane leaves in an hour, and I really don’t want to go through a third goodbye. So please just go.” The weight in his chest and balling in his stomach told him another goodbye might be even more painful than the second one in her kitchen, which he’d never have dreamed could be possible.

  “No. No more goodbyes. I love you. I love you more than anything, and all I want is to be with you.”

  She loved him? He stared at her, wishing he could believe her. But he’d learned through a very hard lesson that she lied as easily as she breathed. He wasn’t about to go back to Liberia with the woman who “loved” him only as long as she needed him to do plastic surgery work, or whatever the hell else was on her agenda, then doubtless wouldn’t “love” him anymore.

  “Sorry, Charlie, but I’m sure you can understand why I just don’t believe you.”

  Tears welled in her eyes again. “You just called me Charlie,” she whispered. “You’re the only person who always calls me Charlotte.”

  He shrugged casually to show her none of this was affecting him the way it really was. “Maybe because you’re not the person I thought you were.”

  He had to look away from the hurt in her eyes. “I hope I am the person you thought I was. Or at least that I can become that person. And I do understand why you don’t believe me. I deserve that disbelief. I understand you need proof that I mean every word.” Beneath her tears, her eyes sparked with the determined intensity he’d seen so often. “You once asked me why I went to Liberia to rebuild the hospital and school. And I told you my roots were dug in deep there, and I wanted to grow those roots, and I’d
do it no matter what it takes. But I’ve changed my thoughts about that.”

  “How?”

  “I’m not willing to do whatever it takes for the hospital, because that attitude led to some terrible mistakes. But I am willing to do whatever it takes to convince you I love you. That I want to grow roots with you and only you—wherever you choose to grow them. I always told you I can find doctors to work at the Edwards hospital, but not someone to run it. But you know what? I’m sure I can find someone to run it, and I will if you’ll let me travel with you, be with you, help you, wherever it is you’re headed.”

  He stared at her, stunned. The woman would be willing to leave the Edwards Mission Hospital to be with him instead? As much as he wanted to believe it, he couldn’t. Her lies and machinations had been coldly calculated, and he had to wonder what exactly it was she was trying to achieve this time around. “No, Charlotte. You belong in Liberia and I belong wherever I am at a given moment.”

  “I belong with you, and I believe that you belong with me. I’m going to work hard to convince you how sorry I am for what I did. To give you so much love, you have to forgive me.” She swiped away the tears on her lashes as her eyes flashed green sparks of determination. “You said I’m sometimes like a pit bull? You haven’t seen anything yet. I’ll get on the plane with you. I’ll follow you wherever you go and keep asking you to forgive me and keep telling you how much I love you. I’m going to quit trying to control the world, like you always teased me about, and beg you to run it with me, for us to run it together. I want that because I love you. I love you and my life isn’t complete without you.”

  He stared into her face. Would it be completely stupid of him to believe her again?

  His heart pounded hard and he stood and looked down into her eyes focused so intently on his. In their depths, he saw very clearly what he was looking for.

  Love. For him. It wasn’t a lie. It was the truth.

  He cupped her face in his hands and had to swallow past the lump that formed in his throat as he lowered his mouth to hers for a long kiss, absorbing the taste of her lips that he never thought he’d get to taste again.