by Lisa Carter
“Mason.” The woman he rented his garage apartment from turned from the stove as he walked into the adjoining ranch-style house. “What are you doing here at this hour?” she asked.
He set the garbage bag against the wall. “I thought I’d leave this with you for safe keeping if that’s all right. I rescued someone from the fire earlier and—”
Clara Carlyle’s hands flew to her mouth. “Are they okay?”
“Well, she wasn’t exactly in the fire. She just got too close, and inhaled a lot of smoke. She’ll be fine.” That’s what his head was telling him at least. His heart, on the other hand, was sick with worry. Ambulances and hospitals made him nervous. “Do you think you could check on her for me?” he asked. Clara checked on a lot of hospitalized people from church. It was something she enjoyed doing.
“Of course I will. I’m going to the hospital to visit Mr. Jacobs from the choir this afternoon.”
Mason nodded. “Thank you.”
“How are you doing?” she asked then, her brown eyes studying him intently.
A bunch of descriptions rattled off in his head. He was tired. Hungry. Anxious... Lonely. “I’m fine,” he told her, grabbing an apple from her fruit basket on the counter and kissing her temple. “I have to get back to work. Then I’ll be at the Teen Center tonight.”
“You won’t be home for dinner?” Clara asked with a frown.
“Maybe tomorrow night,” he said. If the fire was contained.
“Be careful out there. I don’t want to be visiting you in the hospital, too,” she said.
Not a chance. “I will.” He closed the door behind him and walked back to his truck.
* * *
Lexie awoke to the familiar sounds of a hospital. She was usually the one controlling the sounds. Now, for a reason she tried to remember, she was the patient lying in a stiff, narrow bed. There was an IV poking into her right arm.
Pieces of her morning started to reassemble in her memory. The rental home she was staying at had been evacuated while she was out of town. She’d gone back to get her—
Lexie sat up, her eyes suddenly wide as she scanned the room for her grandmother’s wedding dress.
“You need to relax, dear.” A short woman with white hair and a ready smile knocked as she entered the room, holding a large, leafy potted plant.
Lexie had never seen the woman before, so she guessed she was on her way to see another patient.
“I’m Clara Carlyle,” the woman said, placing the plant on the nightstand beside her and pulling up a chair. “Mason sent me to check on you.”
Lexie didn’t know him, either. “Who?”
Clara smiled softly. “Your knight in shining armor. He rescued you when you passed out this morning. Don’t you remember, dear?”
“Y-yes. I was going back to get—”
“Your dress. Yes, I know.” The older woman looked sheepish. “I may have peeked inside the bag. Oh, it’s a beautiful dress.”
“You have my bag?” Lexie asked hopefully.
“At home. A hospital isn’t the place for something like that. Neither is a fireman’s truck. That’s why Mason brought it to me. I’ll take it to you after you’re discharged. Where will you be staying?”
Lexie’s mouth fell open. That was a very good question. The rental home had been cheap. It was run-down and needed renovations. Until she started her real job in the fall, she didn’t exactly have the extra funds to rent one of the more livable, touristy places in town. She could always go back home to Raleigh, she thought, discounting that idea immediately. She’d promised Dr. Marcus she’d help him open and run the free health care clinic in Carolina Shores this summer. She would also be in charge of the clinic’s outreach to the local teens in the community. “I’m not sure yet,” she told the woman.
“You don’t have any family in Carolina Shores?” Clara asked.
Lexie shook her head. “No.” She’d needed a break from the concerned looks of her family and friends. They meant well, but seeing them only made her dwell on her canceled wedding and happily-ever-after.
There was another knock on her hospital room door. Lexie smiled for the first time since waking up at the sight of a short-statured man with an overgrown, scraggly beard. Dr. Marcus had taught a year of her medical school before returning to the field at Carolina Medical to practice medicine.
“Lexie! When I called and asked you to come to Carolina Medical, I meant to work alongside me, not to be my patient. Although it’s always a pleasure to see you.”
“Good to see you, too. And as soon as I’m discharged, I’ll get right on that,” Lexie promised. “I’m so excited about the work we’re going to do together.”
He smiled. “Me, too.”
Clara stood to greet the doctor. “Hello, Dr. Marcus. How are you?”
He nodded and gave her a hug. “I’m well. Yourself?”
Clara patted his back and sat back down in the chair beside Lexie’s bed. “I’m blessed. I didn’t see you in church last Sunday.” She lifted a brow.
Dr. Marcus shook his head. “I’m sorry I missed it. I hear the sermon was a good one, but duty called. I see you’ve met one of my favorite students from the time when I was a professor in Raleigh.”
They both turned to Lexie. She’d passed her medical boards last month. She was officially a doctor now, and couldn’t wait to start practicing.
“I have,” Clara told him, folding her hands in her lap. “Is she going to be okay?”
Dr. Marcus gave her a serious look. “You know I can’t break patient confidentiality, Clara.”
“So you keep telling me.” Clara winked at Lexie. “He never tells me anything when I come to visit.” Clara pretended to whisper, intending for Dr. Marcus to hear every word.
Lexie laughed. “Am I going to be okay?” she asked, turning to Dr. Marcus. “When can I trade in this hospital gown for my real clothes?” And start looking for a place to stay in Carolina Shores temporarily.
“Just as soon as you promise to stop running toward wildfires,” he said, writing something on the clipboard in his hand.
“Oh, trust me, I won’t be doing that again anytime soon,” Lexie said. Heat moved through her cheeks.
“That’s good, because part of being a good practitioner is setting a good example. Especially when it comes to the teens.”
“Right.” She felt conviction in her spirit. She hadn’t started the job yet and Dr. Marcus was already mentoring her.
“And where will you be staying when you leave here?” he asked.
That seemed to be the question of the moment. Lexie knew that Dr. Marcus would offer her a place to stay if she told him she was now homeless, but she also knew he was a newlywed. He and his new wife were late to find love, and had only been married for a couple months. Lexie had attended the wedding here in Carolina Shores. It was the first time she’d visited the coastal town, and she’d wished she could stay a little longer at the time. Now she was here for the entire summer.
She opened her mouth to tell Dr. Marcus she wasn’t sure, but Clara stopped her.
“She’s my new houseguest, Dr. Marcus. A friend of yours is a friend of mine.”
Lexie shook her head. “I couldn’t let you do that. You don’t even know me.”
“You could and you should. Please,” Clara said. “I never turn down an opportunity to bless someone in need. And you’ll be helping Dr. Marcus with the new health care clinic. Our community really needs medical help for people without insurance. The least I can do is put you up in our guest room.”
Dr. Marcus placed the clipboard under his arm. “It’s settled, then. You’re free to go, Lexie.” He pointed a finger in her direction. “But be back in the clinic downstairs tomorrow morning and ready to start working the other side of the bed.”
Lexie’s head was spinning. She lived according to a plan, always had, and going home with a complete stranger was not part of it. But she didn’t see any other option at the moment.
Clara stood and clasped her hands at her chest, looking excited. “Great. You get dressed and I’ll wait outside for you in the hallway, dear. I’ll call my husband and tell him the good news.”
Reluctantly, Lexie nodded, forcing a smile. “Okay. Thank you,” she said as Clara exited. Lexie stared at the closed door for a long moment, then started to put on her clothes. Another change in plans. This was becoming the theme of her summer. She’d been with Todd, her ex-fiancé, for so long that marrying him had seemed like the next logical step—even though she wasn’t in love with him. That realization hurt. Then her plans had crumbled around her. So she’d planned out her summer here, and now her plans were falling apart again.
Okay, I can do this.
Clara Carlyle seemed like a nice enough lady, and since Dr. Marcus knew her, she wasn’t exactly a total stranger. Lexie would spend her summer helping others at the health care clinic as planned, and then return home to the job that would be waiting for her in Raleigh. There would be no gold band on her finger at the end of the summer like she’d thought, but she was sure that was best. God’s plans were better, Grandma Jean always said, and Lexie believed it. She’d been brokenhearted after Todd had called off the wedding, but she was trying to see the bright side. They’d gotten along fine, but maybe there was something, or someone, out there who was more than fine for her.
“Ready?” Clara asked as Lexie poked her head out of the hospital room.
Lexie nodded. “I left my car at Chesterfield Estates,” she told Clara. “Along the side of the road.”
Clara waved a hand. “My husband, Rick, works on cars for a living. He’ll tow it back to our place. Don’t worry, dear. He’s excited about having you as a guest, too. It’s the more the merrier in our home,” Clara continued as they reached the elevators. “Our other houseguest lives in the spare room above the garage.” She talked excitedly. “Did I hear Dr. Marcus say you’ll be working with teens, too?” she asked.
Lexie nodded as they stepped inside the elevator and headed down to the hospital’s first floor. “Yes. It’s part of the health care clinic’s outreach. I’ll be helping teens learn about proper health care.”
“Oh, that’s marvelous. The two of you will get along just fine,” Clara said.
Lexie was only barely listening. Her head was still a little foggy from her ordeal this morning. Something about another guest who lived in Clara and Rick’s garage apartment. Lexie guessed she’d meet him when she got to her new summer home.
* * *
Mason hadn’t been able to take his mind off the woman who’d broken through evacuation lines all afternoon. The fire covered a little over a thousand acres at this point. He needed to be focused on that instead. He also needed to find the runaway girl as soon as possible, before something happened to her. It eased his mind that Clara had promised to go visit the woman from this morning. Knowing Clara, she’d gone as soon as he’d left earlier and had probably taken a care package, too.
He wiped the sweat from his brow as he pulled the hose from the truck and handed it to one of the guys at the station. They were keeping the fire away from the roads while helicopters circled overhead dumping water where the trucks and firemen couldn’t get.
His actions were on autopilot. There was usually a fire like this one every few years. Either someone had burned a trash pile too close to the woods on a windy day or lightning had struck dry land, such as it was in the current drought that Carolina Shores was suffering. No one usually got hurt. Of course, most people abided by the rules set forth for their own safety.
His thoughts drifted back to the redhead with eyes as verdant as this land once was. She’d risked her life for a wedding dress, which meant not only was she crazy for running toward a burning forest, but she was engaged. Somewhere out there was a man who loved her, who needed her to stay safe for him. She’d acted foolishly this morning and now she was lying in a hospital bed. The bride-to-be had been reckless with her health and her fiancé’s heart—just another reason Mason planned on staying single. Loving someone meant the possibility of losing them, and he’d lost enough people he loved.
After spending another hour as close to the fire as he could safely get, he headed to his truck to grab a drink of water.
Fire Chief Henry Rodriguez stepped up beside him. “Your shift is over, Benfield.”
Mason shook his head. “We don’t keep to our regular shifts during something like this.”
The chief raised a bushy eyebrow. “Let me rephrase that. You need a break.”
Mason twisted the cap off his water bottle. Men with families needed breaks. No one was waiting for him at home—not anymore. Unless he counted Clara and Rick, who treated him like a son and always set an extra place at the dinner table on the chance that he’d make it in time.
The chief held up a hand. “It’s not up for discussion. Get out of here.”
Mason frowned. There was no arguing with his chief. He got inside his truck and drove to the Teen Center for a quick minute, then headed to the Carlyles’ house. He was late for dinner, but at least he’d made it.
So had someone else, he noticed, seeing the unfamiliar gold sedan in the driveway. Clara was always caring for someone. It’s what she did best. He wasn’t a man who usually liked to be doted on, but Clara made it feel like he was doing her a favor when he let her.
Walking up the porch steps on the side of the house, he noticed a pair of woman’s shoes. They were smaller than Clara’s. More feminine. As Mason removed his own boots, something inside his gut rang out like a fire alarm detecting smoke. He suddenly had an uneasy feeling he knew exactly who Clara had invited for dinner tonight.
Mason shouldn’t have been surprised. Helping people was what Clara did. That’s how he’d come to live here. He entered the house as Clara set a steaming serving dish in the middle of the dining room’s table.
“Oh, Mason! I thought you said you wouldn’t make it tonight.” She hurried over to hug him. “This is wonderful.” She pulled away and gestured at the redhead standing shyly in the corner of the room. Mason recognized her from earlier in the morning, although she’d been unconscious at the time. “Look who else is joining us for dinner,” Clara said.
Mason nodded. “I didn’t expect to see you out of the hospital so soon,” he said to the woman.
“Well, expect to see a whole lot more of Lexie. She’ll be staying in the guest room here while her neighborhood is under evacuation,” Clara told him. “And—” Clara clasped her hands in front of her chest excitedly “—Lexie is also going to be working with the teens in Carolina Shores! Isn’t that wonderful?”
Mason stiffened. He was fiercely protective of the teens in this area, and he didn’t know much about this woman, Lexie. The things he did know, however, led him to believe she was impulsive, foolish and not a person he intended to let the local teens have as a role model. Not on his watch.
Copyright © 2017 by Sybil Rains
ISBN-13: 9781488018695
The Bachelor’s Unexpected Family
Copyright © 2017 by Lisa Carter
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