Forever This Time
A Hope Harbor Romance
Ann B Harrison
Forever This Time
Copyright 2019 Ann B. Harrison
Updated Version
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
CHAPTER ONE
Drew held out his hand and helped Sally Frazer down off the examination table. “You’re doing fine, and so is the baby.” He waited until she took a seat in front of his desk.
“Thanks, Drew.” She brushed a hand over the swell of her stomach and gave him a contented smile. “I can’t believe how easy this pregnancy has been.”
“I’d like to keep it that way. I want you to come and see me every week from now on. We’re going to keep a close eye on you and the baby until a week or so before your due date. Then I’m suggesting you to go stay with your mother on the mainland as we’ve already discussed.”
“Not going to happen. You’re my doctor and I want you to deliver my baby.”
“We’ve talked about this, Sally, and you agreed when we started this journey. I want you at the Shoreside Hospital in Seattle to deliver. You know it’s not our policy to do births here on the island.” He slipped behind his desk and sat down. “Too many things can go wrong and without a midwife to assist, it’s too dangerous.” He made a note on her file. Sally seemed determined to stay on the island, but after discussions with his partner and fellow doctor, Liam Davidson, they had opted to stick to their protocol for a hospital birth.
“I’m going to change your mind on this one. My baby will be born in Hope Harbor.”
Drew leaned back in his chair and took note of the defiance in her eyes as she sat down in front of him. Little did she know her husband had already spoken to Drew and Liam about taking her to her mother’s on the mainland well before her due date. Paul couldn’t bear the thought of a stressful delivery, especially when the doctors were not on board. “We’ll see. In the meantime, take care of yourself and don’t go overdoing things. Rest in the afternoons and keep hydrated.”
“Yes, Drew.” Sally laughed, and picked up her handbag, and got to her feet. “See you in a week then.”
“Make an appointment with Nancy on your way out.” He opened the door for her, watching as she waddled down the hallway toward the reception desk.
“Drew, got a minute?” Liam poked his head out of his own office across the hallway. “The nurse the agency sent is here. I’ve offered her the job and she’s accepted. Even though you insist I do the hiring of staff, I’d like you to meet her before she starts work on Monday.”
“Sure.” It’d be good to have someone working for them permanently instead of having to guide a temp along as they had the last few weeks. He crossed the hallway and walked into Liam’s office where a woman sat in front of his desk.
“Mrs. Williams, I’d like you to meet Dr. Andrew Hope.”
Bells went off in his head, creating early warning signs that caused Drew to stare in disbelief. She stood up and turned toward him. It couldn’t be!
“Hello, Drew.” Her voice hadn’t changed. It was still the soft, seductive tone that used to drive him insane as a teenager. The voice of the girl he thought would be with him forever. Until she dumped him for another man without a word of warning or explanation. Her last words rang loud in his head.
“We’re over, Drew. I can’t do this anymore. You act like I don’t even exist.”
How many times had he regretted not fighting for her, not admitting she was right? Too many to count. But he’d gone on his merry way, head down as he took on more than he could manage in the pursuit of becoming the doctor he thought he needed to be. In the process he’d lost the one person in the world who meant everything to him.
“What’re you doing here?” He ignored her outstretched hand. Barely noticed the tremble of her fingers.
“Dr. Davidson has offered me the job as practice nurse. I work here now, unless you have any objections.”
Fire lit her hazel eyes, the grim tightness settled on her lips. She had always been stubborn. It seemed that not much had changed in the fifteen years since they’d seen each other. A few lines decorated the area around her eyes that weren’t there before, but that was to be expected. Her mouth remained the same perfect shape made for kissing. He should know. His lips had been glued to hers at one time. Her hair perhaps. Fine strands of auburn highlighted the warm brown. Her figure had bloomed, filled out, giving her seductive curves that seemed perfect on the once willowy body. More mature, more alluring. Always taller than most of the girls he’d known, April had stood out in a crowd then and still would.
She hadn’t changed that much. And she still gave his heart a jolt by just standing in front of him.
“Mrs. Williams has all the qualifications we need, Drew. She has more qualifications than we need. She’s done a stint as midwife and emergency room nurse in San Diego. She’s recently moved to the island and can start on Monday.” His words met silence as Drew continued to stare at her.
Behind April, Liam ran a hand through his hair nervously, as if anticipating an argument. “Drew, we need her. Whatever the problem, we can work through it.”
That was going to be harder than Liam could imagine. “Welcome aboard. Liam, a word in my office, if you don’t mind. See you on Monday, Mrs. Williams.” He turned and stormed back to his office, shut the door, and fell into his chair. Was it frustration or defeat that made him feel like someone had punched him in the gut? Either way, his day had just gone downhill faster than he could have imagined.
How on Earth was he going to cope with her here every single day? For years, Drew had worked hard to deal with getting over April, and now he thought he was on top of it, ready to move on with his life, she arrived on his doorstep proving just how wrong he’d been. Bloody great!
The door opened and Liam strode in, fire in his dark eyes. “What the hell was that about? I’ve never seen you so rude before, Drew, treating her as if she was something disgusting you’d stepped in on the pavement. I won’t be surprised if she doesn’t show up for work next week after that reception.” He moaned. “We’ve waited so long for someone capable to apply for the job, and you treat her like…like she’s your worst enemy. I don’t get it. We need her.”
“She’ll show up.” Drew rocked back in his chair. April wouldn’t have come home if she didn’t have a plan, and once she began something, it was almost impossible to change her mind.
“Do you know her?” Liam pulled up a chair and sat.
“I thought I did, but it would seem that I was wrong.” Drew picked up a pen and clicked it off and on against the polished wood of his desk.
A change came over Liam’s face as realization kicked in. “Hang on, is that... No, don’t tell me. That’s the chick you lost when we were in residency together? The one who dumped you for a Marine?” He leaned back in the chair, his eyes bright. “Shit, sorry, Drew. I didn’t know. You never told me her name.”
“What was the point? You weren’t in the same grade as us at school so I doubt you’d have recognized her anyway. I never thought she’d end up back here.” He threw the pen at the phone, then watched it bounce off the hard plastic and land on the floor.
“April Williams. A widow here with her two children, staying at your brother’s bed and breakfast, and moving into a rental house as soon as she can find one, so she tells me.” Liam ticked off the salient information.
“She’s very well qualified, midwife and emergency room experience including burns, so has done everything we could possibly need and more. I spoke to her last employer and she comes highly recommended.”
Drew jolted upright. “She’s staying with Matt?” How come he hadn’t been told that?
Liam shrugged his shoulders. “Uh, yeah. That’s what she said. I’m guessing you didn’t know anything about it?”
How much worse could it get? “You got that right. Not that he usually tells me who’s staying there but still, he knew about April and me. I wouldn’t have thought he’d be that damned sneaky keeping it too himself.”
Liam straightened up, bristling. “Matt was always good at keeping secrets so you shouldn’t be surprised. Besides, it’s his business who stays there, and April is old history. Maybe he didn’t think it was relevant.”
“I know you guys were best friends growing up and you automatically defend him, but I’m his big brother. Family. Surely that accounts for something.” Drew’s phone buzzed. He picked it up and listened. “Sure. Send her in, Nancy. Thanks.”
Drew put the receiver down and stood up. “I have another patient to see before I go home. Thanks for dealing with the staff issue. I do appreciate it even if I’m not tally onboard with the applicant.”
“Drew, if you want to hire someone different, I’ll understand.”
Like that was even possible considering there hadn’t been any other applicants. It seemed that coming to work on the island didn’t rate highly amongst the professional community, especially coming into winter. People tended to avoid the islands that time of year. “There hasn’t been anyone else remotely eligible, so we don’t have much choice, do we? I’ll cope. It was years ago and I’m sure I’ve grown up since then.” Might not have gotten over it, but grown up. Yes, certainly that.
“Hello, Dr. Hope. Nancy said to come on down.” Ivy Bloom stood at the door, peering in.
“Come in, Ivy, come in. Dr. Davidson was just leaving.” He held open the door so Liam could slip past the elderly lady leaning on her cane.
“Talk before you go home, then.”
“Sure thing.” He smiled at one of his favorite patients. “Come on in, Ivy. Always ready to see my best girl. What can I do for you today?”
***
“You should have told me you were coming back, April.”
The hurt in her best friend’s voice hit home almost as much as the look of shock on Drew’s face when he saw who had the job as nurse in his practice. Today was a day of causing quite a stir with everyone. “I know, but it all happened a lot faster than I anticipated, Aggie. You know I’d never normally do this kind of thing to you, but it was a weird situation and I didn’t have time to think.”
She hadn’t made a mistake bringing the children back home. It was impossible to stay in the city after the funeral and the court case. Too many memories to haunt her, too many things that could go wrong. But it was the sightings of Rob’s parents hanging around the school yard that had been the catalyst for her sudden move. Who’d have thought the freedom of being back scared her more than being in the city had?
“So you just packed the kids in the car and ran?” Agnes Hope was nothing if not straight forward. It was a family trait. One that April didn’t always appreciate, but her friend had always had her best interests at heart so she was forgiven more often than not. It’s what besties did for each other.
“Yeah, that’s it exactly. I contacted an agency and they pointed me to this job, said my hours could work around the children’s schooling so long as I committed to the same hours every week. I couldn’t afford to turn it down, even if it was working for your brother.” April stood and looked out over the harbor, breathing in the cool sea air and hoping the salty scent would help keep her calm. She’d called her friend as soon as she’d got back from her job interview and half an hour later, Aggie had turned up demanding answers, her anger palpable at being left out of the loop. “I needed the job, Aggie, and I think you’ll understand when I tell you everything that happened leading up to it. So please, give me a break.”
“So, tell me then.” Aggie dropped her aggressive stance and put her arms around April. “You know I love you, and if anyone understands your situation, it will be me. But, April, you have a habit of running before you think, and sometimes for not very good reasons.”
“You only say that because you have no idea what made me leave. There are some things I couldn’t tell you. Some things that will never see the light of day.” Deep breathes, it can’t hurt you unless you let it.
Aggie reached for her, looking into her eyes. “Now you’re starting to scare me. If you’re in trouble, you’d tell me, right?”
April glanced up, hating the worry in the pale blue eyes. It would be so easy to unburden herself, but she couldn’t do it. Not yet. Not while things were still so up in the air. The last thing she needed was Aggie to look at her with judgement instead. “Right.”
“Why don’t I believe you?” Aggie dropped her hands and turned to watch the children running after the seagulls along the beach across the road. The scent of the ocean mingled with the perfume of the late summer blooms in Matt’s cheerful gardens.
“Is this secret of yours going to get those two babies hurt?”
“I don’t think so.” She couldn’t be sure, but God willing, it would all sort itself out in the next few weeks.
“Don’t think so isn’t good enough. They’re my godchildren. If anyone harms a single hair on their precious heads, I’ll personally take them on, and tear them from limb to limb.”
April gave a nervous laugh. “Thank you, but I promise, the kids are going to be fine now we’re here.”
Aggie leaned her head against April’s. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
“I can’t, it’s too raw. Not yet, but I will soon. Promise.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing, honey.”
She wrapped an arm around Aggie’s waist and hugged her tight, loving that they still had the close bond that they’d shared since they were little kids running wild along the shore without a care in the world. “Yeah, me too.”
Squeals of laughter coming from her children on the sand encouraged her to keep positive. If they could keep under the radar for a few weeks until everything was finalized she would breathe easy. That was all she could ask for.
“Drew didn’t take seeing you well, I take it?” Aggie slipped her hand through April’s arm and led her up to the porch where Matt had a jug of sweet tea and glasses set on a small table on the side veranda for them. They could sit here out of the breeze and watch the children playing.
Drew would have moved on by now, not that she’d asked directly in her conversations with Aggie. By all accounts though, he was a very popular man. He always had been, even as a teenager. “Not really. He was shocked and I understand that because it’s been awhile. Still, I didn’t have a choice. There aren’t exactly lots of positions for nurses here on the island.”
Matt’s voice rang out from the kitchen. “I’ll be there soon. Save the juicy gossip for later so I can hear it all. I want to know how your interview went and what Drew did when he saw you.”
“There is no gossip,” April shouted back. “But I got the job.” She giggled—a release mechanism she found difficult to control as a teenager. No matter how hard it was seeing Drew again, she would do anything to give her kids a safe place to live. After what they’d all been through, it was the only thing keeping her going.
Aggie gasped and grabbed her hand. “You’re really going to go through with it? Working with him is going to be quite the challenge. Believe me, I know what my big brother is like these days and it’s not always pretty.” She gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and then poured two glasses of tea, handed one to April, and sat down in a comfy cane chair with the other glass clasped between her hands. “He’s a man on a mission. But to what, none of us are quite sure. Dad reckons he needs a holiday before he burns out and Aun
t Gigi keeps telling Dad to leave Drew alone. Let him work out his own problems.” She sipped her tea. “It’s like he has this secret agenda he must stick to as he goes through life.”
“I gather his business is going well. I met Liam. He’s the one who interviewed me for the position today. Turned out to be quite a handsome beast, didn’t he?” No longer the gangly kid who was a year behind them in school she’d caught Aggie staring at on more than one occasion.
Aggie blushed and turned her face away. “They went through residency together. Drew was ahead a year, but Liam was clever enough to advance quickly and they get along very well. My dear brother can’t deal with the island’s patients all on his own, so it was more than feasible that they go into business together.” She sighed, watching the children for a while before speaking again. “Liam was the perfect choice really. Whenever there’s a need for minor surgery, Liam steps in as anesthetist. Got his training in Seattle before he came over to join Drew.”
“Sounds like Drew was lucky to get him.” She peered at Aggie, wondering why the sudden bashful glances. “Is Drew still living at the big house?” April sat back in her chair, hand above her eyes watching her children playing at the water’s edge, skipping stones across the water. As soon as Leo threw his pebble, he ran along the shore and chased a flock of seagulls, setting them screeching as they took off only to land a few yards down the beach. Tilly followed him like the protective big sister that she was.
“Yep, but not for long. He brought a house and is almost finished renovating it. At least, I think he is. Seems to be dragging on for longer than it should be.” Aggie thumped a cushion into submission, then leaned further back in her chair. “It’s huge and the views are to die for. Not quite sure what he has planned for the future, but he’s been very secretive.”
“I guess it’s not my business anyway. How is Aunt Gigi? I miss her. She was like a second mom to me.”
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