Sugar Springs

by Kim Law

  “It’s settled then.” Lee Ann forced a smile. She couldn’t believe she’d just been the one to convince her daughter that Cody needed to be at their house tomorrow. What she personally needed was some breathing space and for the man not to show up anywhere near her house for a good long while. But that wasn’t reality. “We have a lot of preparations to do tonight, and I’m sure all of you need some time to adjust.” She knew she did. “We eat dinner tomorrow night at six, Cody. We’ll see you then?”

  He nodded, the movement not quite smooth. “Tomorrow it is.”

  If she had to guess, she would say his dog was about to get a really good workout. She’d caught the two of them running most mornings as she’d headed to the diner, and understood they did the same every afternoon.

  As he started to step away, he took one last look at the girls, and then his gaze locked on hers. What she read in their depths was thankfulness, and suddenly his dark eyes reminded her of melted chocolate and the hot kisses they’d once shared. Parts of her she hadn’t thought about in years roared to life at the memory.

  Oh, boy, what had she invited into their lives?

  The street in front of Lee Ann’s house had cars along both sides as Cody neared it on foot. Some of the visitors were likely at neighboring houses, but knowing Lee Ann and given the list the kids had shown him, the majority would be at hers. He crossed to her side of the road and headed toward the front sidewalk. Stopping at the base of it, he stared at the two-story bungalow sitting there as if waiting for him. As if it had known all along that he’d one day be back.

  He was about to join a big, happy Thanksgiving dinner with people from all over town, and he’d once thought it the last place he wanted to be. Only, now that he was here, he couldn’t wait to get inside. He had two kids in there waiting for him.

  And Lee Ann.

  He started slowly up the sidewalk, thinking about the afternoon before when they’d told the girls. The thought that they might resolutely refuse to have anything to do with him had scared him in a way he hadn’t known before.

  It had been terrifying standing there waiting for them to decide. Until that moment he’d thought he was merely doing the “right thing.” But at the thought that they might say “No thanks” and send him packing, he’d figured out real quick that he was there as much for himself as for anyone. Not because he’d ever wanted fatherhood. He still didn’t know how to reconcile his lifelong thoughts of a life of solitude with who he now found himself to be. But something about those two had gotten to him the instant he’d met them, and he was unable to walk away.

  The door opened before he reached it, and Lee Ann’s mother stepped out, fake blue-green eyelashes glittering as she gave him a once-over. When finished, she lifted her gaze to his and greeted him with a genuine smile. “Welcome home, Cody.”

  He pulled up short. Did she mean this house or Sugar Springs? Neither was home. Not exactly. It had been for a year, but that had always been temporary.

  He nodded, unwilling to correct one of the few residents he’d once enjoyed being around. With her happy-go-lucky ways, she’d often been a frustration for Lee Ann, but he’d found her refreshing and fun. “Good to see you, Reba.”

  Reba London had never gone anywhere unnoticed, and today was no exception. A handful of silver and turquoise bracelets jingled from her wrist, and a matching ring covered half of one finger. A gypsy-style skirt floated around her legs as she shifted and motioned for him to finish his walk up the steps.

  “You must have been watching for me.”

  She held up a cell phone. “Actually, I got a text. I knew you were heading down the street the minute you put Boss back in the apartment after he did his business.”

  His feet stalled. She even knew his dog’s name? He smiled, the grin growing larger than he would have thought. Of course she knew his dog’s name. She also probably knew Boss’s feeding schedule and the brand of food he ate. He shook his head slightly, amazed that didn’t bother him the way he thought it would have, but it was hard to be annoyed with someone like Reba.

  “Come on.” She motioned him inside. “Everyone moved to the dining room when I told them you were heading this way. We eat at six, you know. Lee Ann has been fretting because you were already five minutes late.”

  Cody followed Reba through the room, trepidation clawing at him. He would much rather get to know the girls without a crowd, but he only had a few weeks, so he’d take whatever he could get. When he entered the dining room, however, Lee Ann was the one who immediately caught his attention.

  She entered from the kitchen, a bowl of mashed potatoes in her hands, and looked as good as she had the day before. Better.

  He scanned his gaze down her body. A dress the colors of the earth and fall leaves hugged every curve, and a bright swath of orange with lace at the top poked out from between the open buttons marching down her chest. As a teenager, she’d had the kind of chest that made the tight shirts other girls wore inappropriate, but he’d never complained. Nor did he now.

  The room grew silent, and he realized that everyone at the table sat watching him take in Lee Ann. Aside from the kids, she would be the other reason he was glad to be here. He shouldn’t care, but since he’d teased her the day before about giving the neighbors something to talk about, he’d been able to think of little else. Clearing his throat, he swept a quick look around and caught Kendra’s shy smile. He knew it came from Kendra because she dressed more like her grandmother, whereas Candy was wearing a scowl and had on more conservative clothes that mimicked something Lee Ann would wear.

  Kendra pointed out a vacant chair at the end of the table, and his heart flipped over in his chest. At least she hadn’t changed her mind about him overnight; she still wanted him here. He would work on Candy and get her there, too. Somehow.

  Once everyone was settled and the conversation resumed, the food began making its way around the table. Cody passed a platter of rolls to the man on his right, Sam Jenkins, and Sam grunted.

  “Saw you at the diner the other day,” Sam said. He took a roll and kept the plate moving. “I remember you. Not exactly a saint.”

  “No, sir. I wasn’t.” Out of the corner of his eye, Cody saw Kendra perk up as if hopeful to hear some dirt. Candy seemed to grow still as if listening, too, but she had yet to make eye contact with him. Sam had been a longtime friend of Roy and Pearl Monroe, and Cody had no doubt he would relay how this evening went back to them. He was also the owner of the infamous diabetic dog.

  From the other direction a bowl of green beans was thrust in front of Cody by Lee Ann’s friend Joanie.

  “How are you today, Cody?” She wore a fake smile for the rest of the table, but her eyes speared him. “Not having another bad day are you?”

  Bad day? He started to ask what she was talking about and then he got it. A glance at the glare Lee Ann shot at her friend confirmed his suspicions. She had told Joanie about him saying he’d gotten some bad news the day he’d slept with Stephanie. Clearly, Joanie wasn’t taking it any better than Lee Ann had.

  He might have to eventually do a better job of explaining that.

  Ignoring Joanie for the moment, he scanned over the rest of the guests. There was Keri—still bursting at the seams, as that baby had yet to come—three people he didn’t recognize, and Buddy Sawyer, the one who’d been spreading any and every rumor he could think of about Cody. Given the fact Cody had busted out his hardware store window on his way out of town before, he probably deserved the animosity. He’d anonymously sent the man a few thousand in product a few years back when he’d finally been able to do something to make up for it. The contribution had soothed his conscience but of course did nothing for the man who, as the girls had informed him, apparently still felt Cody was a “hoodlum.”

  The rest of the table consisted of Sam, the girls, Reba, and of course Lee Ann. She sat at the opposite end, separated from him by all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes.

  He returned his attention to Joanie
and gave her as fake a smile as she wore. “So far so good today, Jo.” He shot her a wink meant to irritate. It probably wasn’t the wisest move to piss off Lee Ann’s confidant, but he didn’t appreciate the attack at the dining room table. He’d quit letting people take advantage of him the day after he’d met Stephanie. “If anyone comes at me with bad news, though, I’ll sic Boss on them. He thinks he’s my protector these days.”

  She snorted. “From what I’ve seen, he’s a big baby. Every woman you come into contact with has to stop and pet him while he just sits there lapping it up.”

  Some wanted to pet other things, too, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. Nor had he let them. He was in town to do a job...and now to get to know his kids...and that was all. He glanced down the table at Lee Ann and wondered if that would, in fact, be all. Or if he and Lee might have a bit of unfinished business as well. He couldn’t help but feel like there was still something there.

  He took the next dish from Sam and turned his attention away from his libido. “How about you bring Josie in next week, Sam? I’d love to get a look at her. Let her spend the day with me so I can monitor her sugar level and get her the right dosage of insulin.”

  He’d learned the sick dog’s name from Keri. The dog had been on shots at one point, but Sam had run out and by the time Keri found out, the dog’s glucose level had risen sharply. They needed to get it back under control before it led to blindness or worse.

  “I don’t know,” Sam hedged. Cody wondered if Sam’s hesitation was purely because of him, or if the man was running low on funds. From everything he’d heard, the man loved his dog. Surely he couldn’t stand to see her suffer.

  Cody motioned to the other end of the table. “You trust Lee Ann, don’t you? She wouldn’t have invited me over if she didn’t believe I’d changed, grown up. Plus, I could use some help at the clinic. You hang around and keep Josie and my dog, Boss, company between blood tests, and I’ll give you a deal of half price.”

  Keri’s eyebrows rose, then she tilted her head slightly in acknowledgment that he’d made the right choice. Cody would ensure the other half of the man’s charge was paid himself—he had no intention of shorting the clinic—but clearly Keri agreed that he’d keyed in on part of the issue with Sam.

  Sam leaned forward and squinted down the table at Lee Ann before plopping back in his chair. He gave a half shrug. “Josie has been feeling pretty rough lately. I guess I could give it a shot.” He pointed his work-roughened finger at Cody. “But I’ll know if you ain’t doing a good job.”

  Cody held his hand out. “You’ll see I am doing a good job. I’m glad you’re giving me a chance, Sam. Come on by any day next week.”

  Sam grudgingly shook his hand, before promptly shoving a bite of roll between his dentures. Buddy Sawyer made an irritated sound. Then silence fell as everyone finished filling their plates and began to eat.

  More and more, curious looks were shot in Cody’s direction. Lee Ann tried to start a conversation a couple times, but each one soon died out as those around the table returned to sneaking peeks at the troublemaker they’d found themselves seated with.

  “Tell us about your work in LA, Cody,” Keri insisted. “I’ve never known anyone who does doggy plastic surgery.”

  His teeth cracked together as everyone swiveled their head in his direction.

  “You do plastic surgery on dogs?” Candy asked. At least something had gotten her to speak to him.

  “Sometimes.” But it wasn’t as bad as the look on the faces gaping at him indicated. He earned good money and he did a surgery only if the animal truly needed it. “There are instances where a pet’s quality of life would be better with a certain lift or adjustment.”

  Keri leaned in as far as her belly would allow and peered over the dishes at him. “How did a general practitioner get involved with doggy face-lifts and nose jobs?”

  “It’s all who you know, I guess.” He gave her a genuine smile. They’d already talked about this in the office when she’d asked, but clearly she was trying to help him out instead of just having everyone sit and gawk at him. He appreciated it. Having something to talk about was always better than being the freak show in center stage.

  “A friend from school went into orthopedic veterinary medicine and ended up in Los Angeles with one of the more renowned clinics. As they took on more clients who insisted on less scarring, Crocker, my buddy, remembered that particular talent of mine. The practice eventually grew to handle more than just orthopedics, and I’m one of the surgeons they call on when they need extra hands.” He winked. “I can sew up an animal more precisely than ladies’ maids once tied up corsets.”

  Soft chuckles bounced around the table from the men.

  Candy scrunched her nose in disgust. “I don’t understand why someone would spend money to make their dog prettier.”

  “They have more money than brains,” Lee Ann muttered. The women murmured agreements.

  “If I had a dog I would love him just like he was,” Candy declared. “I—”

  “I’ve read about it, though,” Kendra piped in. With the interruption, Candy shoved a bite of potatoes in her mouth and Kendra continued. “Sometimes they have so many folds of skin, it’s healthier to have plastic surgery.”

  “Exactly.” His daughter might be seriously interested in veterinary medicine if she’d read about plastics.

  “Then I wouldn’t—”

  “I want to be a vet, too, did you know that?” Kendra interrupted her sister again. “Just like you and Dr. Wright. And I’m already learning. Dr. Wright lets me come to her office sometimes and help out.”

  “Is that right?” Cody was impressed. He hadn’t known she’d been helping up at the clinic. He took another look at the lady vet, noticed her exhaustion, evidenced by the dark circles under her eyes, and couldn’t help but wonder where the father of her child was. Then he got it. Everyone at the table was there because they had no family to share the holiday with.

  Everyone except Lee Ann, Candy, Kendra, and Reba. They were the surrogate family for all of these people.

  Dr. Wright smiled. “Kendra is a very bright student. I’ve no doubt she’ll make you proud someday.”

  He stiffened. That was the first indication that someone other than Lee Ann and Reba knew he was the girls’ father. He glanced around the table, but no one made a big deal of the comment or what it implied. They also had all found something more interesting to look at than him all of a sudden. The Sugar Springs grapevine was seriously amazing.

  Kendra glowed at him from her seat. “I want to be a specialist. A neurosurgeon. I’ve read all about it.”

  Pride bumped inside his chest. He’d never been proud of anything but his own accomplishments before. “That sounds like a good plan, but don’t stop working with Dr. Wright. You don’t always know what you’ll love best until you’ve gotten some experience.”

  “Oh, I don’t intend to let her back out on our agreement.” Keri smiled at Kendra. “As soon as I’m back to work, she promised to come in for two hours a week until school was out, on Saturdays. Then I have her for six hours a week next summer.”

  “I’m sure she’ll make a terrific assistant. I might let her help me out as well while you’re out, if you’re okay with that.”

  He caught Candy’s sullen expression as she stared down at her plate. Did she want to help out, too?

  “That sounds perfect to me,” Keri said. “Now, tell us more about some of the jobs you’ve taken. And how you came to be someone who travels to different locations instead of working in the same office year-round.” She looked around. “If the others don’t mind, of course.”

  After general agreement for him to continue, and another glance at a withdrawn Candy, he detailed several of the locations he’d been to in the last couple of years. “But how I got started in all of this was because of Dr. Hutchinson in Chicago. He passed away before I earned my degree. If it hadn’t been for him, I might never have gone to school.” As well as
for Lee Ann, but he would keep that to himself. The group didn’t need to know what she’d meant to him back then. “When I worked for Dr. Hutchinson, I always liked how he would keep an eye out, as he was out driving around, for animals that might need a little help.”

  As well as stupid humans like him who had no more sense than to live on the street in the dead of winter.

  “After I spent the first year after graduation in a clinic in Baltimore, I decided that I’d do my own version of traveling around looking to help. There are always communities like yours that would be in bad shape if no one were there to care for the animals.” He shrugged. “I like being there for a bit, and then I move on. It’s always suited my lifestyle.”

  Only he wasn’t sure how it would suit fatherhood.

  One day he’d do more to honor his mentor, too. Specifically in the area of a scholarship. Exactly as Doc had done for him. Cody was convinced that if that man hadn’t come along, not only would his dog have died instead of living to a respectable age, but he would have as well.

  Though it had taken him years to accept his living through that night as a good thing, he now believed wholeheartedly that it was. He may not be the ideal person in all ways, but he did his due diligence to do the right thing these days.

  He caught sight of Lee Ann, and his chest swelled. She was watching him across the table with a look of admiration he’d once only dreamed of seeing coming from her. It made him feel like he hadn’t turned out so bad after all.

  “I see,” Joanie said, rejoining the conversation, her tone still what he’d call snarky. She pointed her fork at him, eyes glinting. “Not quite the loser you tried to pretend you were in high school, huh? At least not in the education field.”

  “Joanie.” Lee Ann spoke softly, clearly trying to keep her friend and the father of her children from sparring. She glanced around at her guests. “Let’s change the subject. Candy, why don’t you ask our guests what they’re thankful for? Start with Sam.”