by Marie Force
“No, God, not at all! Who knows better than I do how hard you work and how expensive it is to live here? I remember you saying a few months ago that you might not be able to stay here for another winter, and that’s why I did it. That was the only reason why. And because you deserve a break after everything you’ve been through.”
Blinded by tears, Daisy wiped them away. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Tell me you’re not mad at me for doing this behind your back. I didn’t want to get your hopes up if it didn’t happen, and that’s the only reason I didn’t tell you.”
“I’m not mad. How could I be? No one has ever done anything like this for me. I’m so grateful, Maddie. I’ve never had a friend like you.”
“Our lives were very similar until Mac McCarthy knocked me off my bike. Don’t ever forget that.”
“I appreciate that you never forget it.”
“How could I? I lived hand-to-mouth for years. I’ll never forget where I came from or how blessed I’ve been.”
“This is unbelievable,” Daisy said as more tears rolled down her cheeks. She felt like she’d done nothing but cry for the last twelve hours, but these were tears of joy. “My very own house!”
“I’m so glad you think so, too! The other thing I wanted to tell you is that Mac and I are having a cookout tomorrow afternoon, and we’d like you to come. And bring David, too, of course.”
Daisy used a tissue to mop up the flood of tears. “I’d love to come, but I don’t know if he will.”
“We anticipated that possibility, and we spoke with Joe and Janey about it. They both said it’s fine with them if he’s there.”
“Oh, well… You actually asked them that?”
“We did.”
“I’ll check with him.”
“Good. And did I mention my sister is getting married, and the cookout is going to double as a wedding reception?”
Daisy’s mouth fell open in surprise. “Are you serious? I saw her yesterday, and she never mentioned that.”
“Probably because it happened last night.”
“They’re getting married tomorrow.”
“Yep.”
“Is it because of Jim?”
“You know about that, huh?”
“She was on the phone with Dan when I went to the store yesterday.”
Maddie’s brow arched in question, and Daisy realized she’d said too much. “And what, pray tell, were you doing at Tiffany’s store?”
Daisy made an effort to keep her expression vague. “I hadn’t been there yet, and I wanted to check it out.”
Maddie’s husky laugh echoed through the small room. “You’re a terrible liar, Daisy Babson. You should never, ever play poker. I hope you got something sinfully sexy that made Dr. David drool.”
Daisy knew defeat when it was staring her in the face. “I don’t know that he drooled, per se, but he definitely appreciated Tiffany’s taste in lingerie.”
“So things are moving right along?”
“You could say that.”
“You’re okay with…you know…everything?”
Maddie was so excited about the house and Tiffany’s wedding that Daisy didn’t have the heart to dump her problems on her friend. “I’m hoping I will be, eventually. He’s very good to me.”
“That’s awesome, Daisy. I’m so happy for you. Hell, I’m happy for both of you. He deserves to be happy, too.” She stood to leave. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“I’ll be there.”
“And you’ll try to talk David into coming with you?”
Daisy swallowed hard when she remembered that things with him were a bit uncertain at the moment. “I’ll try.”
“Tell him we’d love to see him.”
“I will.”
“And tell him we mean that.”
Laughing, Daisy said, “I’ll do that, too.”
As she walked home later that afternoon, Daisy tried to wrap her head around the news about the house. It was one of the most exciting things to ever happen to her. Added to her burgeoning relationship with David, she could safely say things had never been better in her life.
That’s when everything usually went wrong for her.
“No,” she said. “Don’t think that way. Maybe this time will be different.” Up until last night—and even including what had happened then—everything about her relationship with David was different than anything she’d ever experienced with anyone else. For one thing, he was always nice to her. Always. She’d yet to see him annoyed or out of sorts or anything other than a perfect gentleman. In all the time they’d spent together, she hadn’t known a single moment of unease or fear that he might take out his frustrations on her.
That feeling of safety was new to her, and it might be the one thing she liked best about him. Of course, he was awfully nice to look at, too, which didn’t hurt anything. The thought made her smile as she took the stairs to her porch and used her key in the front door. Before the incident with Truck, she’d never felt the need to lock her door. Now she couldn’t conceive of leaving it unlocked.
Once inside, she curled up on the sofa and tried to calm her racing mind. David had said he wanted to see her tonight, but they needed to talk about where they went from here. And the thought of that conversation had her nerves stretched nearly to their limit.
David left the clinic on time for once, locking the door to the emergency entrance at the stroke of six o’clock. They’d had a relatively slow afternoon that had given him a chance to catch up on the endless paperwork that had accumulated into small mountains on his desk.
Never far from his mind as he worked was the offer from Dr. Garrity. As he stepped into the warmth of the late afternoon sunshine, David thought about the implications of the offer and whether he was even interested in the job.
On the one hand, the oncology specialty intrigued him. It had been his favorite rotation and had given him the opportunity to make a genuine difference for patients who were in the fight of their lives. After his own battle with lymphoma, he had a better understanding of what cancer patients were going through and could bring that life experience to his work. He really liked the other doctors in Garrity’s practice, too. They were all first-class physicians who would make for excellent mentors and colleagues.
For those reasons, the offer was highly attractive.
When he and Janey were together, their plan had been for him to come back to the island after medical school and take over the practice of the doctor who’d served the island since they were kids. He’d never really considered doing anything else. After they broke up, he’d floundered for a while after his treatment concluded, trying to figure out where he wanted to be.
He’d sort of fallen into the job on the island when Dr. Cal Maitland had left abruptly after his mother had a stroke in Texas. David had been home recuperating from the last of his treatments when Cal’s departure created an opening for the job David had hoped to have all along. Without much consideration, he’d taken the offer from the town council and never looked back.
He’d been fumbling and stumbling through life since he’d broken up with Janey, not giving much thought to the grand plan while he tried to get through every day. Now, however, he felt like he was finally coming up for air, and it was time to take stock of where he was and what he wanted.
After these last few weeks with Daisy, it was impossible to ponder what he wanted without also thinking about her and how she fit into the big picture. He was anxious to talk it out with her but also hesitant to give her reason for doubts when everything was still so new between them.
As he drove by the police station, he noticed Blaine’s SUV parked outside and made a spontaneous decision to stop and see his friend. He needed to bounce this dilemma off someone he trusted, and Blaine Taylor definitely qualified.
Inside, the officer on duty at the front desk asked Blaine if he was available for a visitor. A few minutes later, David was shown to Blaine’s office at the end of a co
rridor off the main dispatch area. Blaine was standing up and on the phone, but he waved David in.
“It’s all going to be fine, Mom,” he said, rolling his eyes at David as he grinned from ear to ear. “Just think of it this way, we could’ve eloped. Isn’t this better than that?” Blaine’s smile got even bigger as he held the phone away from his ear.
David could hear Mrs. Taylor yelling from across the room.
“Gotta go, Mom. I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow. Yes, I know. Bye.” He dropped his cell phone on the desk. “Oh my God! Note to self, don’t give Mom twenty-four hours’ notice the next time I get married.”
David’s mouth fell open in surprise. “You’re getting married?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Get outta here. Seriously?”
“Yep and I want you there. We’re tying the knot on the beach and then crashing Mac and Maddie’s cookout and turning it into a reception.”
“Oh, ah, I don’t know about that…”
“Come on, David. I need all the friends I can get there. My mom is flipping out, and Tiffany’s a nervous wreck even if she’s trying hard to hide it.”
“What’s the rush anyway?”
“No rush. I’ve wanted this for a while now, but now that the douchebag ex-husband is giving her a hard time about shacking up with me, we figured why not move up our plans a bit?”
“That’s awesome. Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Blaine said with a satisfied smile. “I’m getting exactly what I want, even if my mother’s having a shit fit. Anyway, what’s up?”
“Nothing. Doesn’t matter. You’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
Blaine came around the desk and sat in one of the visitor chairs, gesturing for David to take the other. “Something brought you in here. How about you tell me what it was?”
David sat and leaned forward, elbows on knees. “I’ve been offered a job in Boston.” He spelled out the specifics as well as the many advantages that came with the position. “It’s a chance to specialize and to really make a difference.”
“You don’t feel like you’re making a difference here?”
“No, I do. It’s just that after having cancer, I think I could be really good at oncology. It was my favorite rotation during my residency. And then there’s Daisy… Things have been really great with us, and she’s liking her new position at the hotel, so it’s not like she’d want to move to Boston or anything.”
“Wow,” Blaine said. “I didn’t realize you two had gotten to the point where she’d factor into a decision like this.”
“Neither did I until I was faced with the decision and thought first of her,” David replied with a wry grin. “She’s a significant factor.”
“I sort of got the feeling you were liking general medicine and practicing here.”
“I do. I like both those things. I like feeling needed here. I like that I can’t leave the island without making sure I’ve got coverage from the mainland. That makes me feel important.”
Blaine grinned. “You’re like God around here.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“Ask someone like Mrs. Murtry whether you’re right up there with God.”
David had saved the older woman’s life by performing a tracheotomy when she had a life-threatening allergic reaction.
“Or Chris Allston.”
Chris had severed a finger while trimming his hedges. David had preserved the finger, arranged for a medical helicopter to transport the injured man to a trauma hospital on the mainland and had kept him from bleeding out while they waited for the chopper.
“What would Paul and Alex Martinez have done without you over the last year?” Blaine raised a brow. “Need me to go on? How about Daisy? How about Sarah Lawry? Do you feel like you made a difference for them?”
“Yes, of course. And I appreciate what you’re trying to do. I know what I do makes a difference to the island residents. But is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?”
“I suppose only you know that for sure.”
“Sometimes I get tired of living in the town where so many people know I cheated on Janey McCarthy,” David said, getting to the crux of his dilemma.
“This may come as a newsflash to you, but you might be the only one still hung up on that. She’s moved on—happily, from what I can see whenever I’m with her and Joe. The rest of the McCarthy family must surely appreciate what you did for Mac and Maddie when their baby was born, not to mention that you were there for their sons after the sailboat accident.”
“They do.”
“So hold your head up high around here, David. You’ve paid your penance, and for what it’s worth, I think you’re pretty damned good at general medicine. You’ve made my job easier on more than one occasion.”
David got up and held out his hand to shake Blaine’s. “I appreciate that and the pep talk when you’ve certainly got better things to do.”
“No problem. So I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“You know I’d really like to be there, right?”
“I hope so.”
“Let me think about it.”
“Fair enough.”
“Congratulations,” David said. “I’m happy for you and Tiffany.”
“Thank you. I am, too.”
David walked out of the police station with a smile on his face, anxious to get to Daisy’s and hear what she had to say about the job offer.
Chapter 13
Since Blaine had to work until eight before he could break free for the weekend and Ashleigh was with Jim for the night, Tiffany decided to go to the home her mom shared with Ned Saunders to tell them her big news in person.
Francine and Ned were just sitting down to dinner when Tiffany walked in the back door.
“Hi, honey,” Francine said, leaning into the kiss Tiffany greeted her with. “This is a nice surprise.”
“Are you hungry, gal?” Ned asked as he gestured to a platter of barbecued chicken that made Tiffany’s stomach growl.
“I’m supposed to eat with Blaine when he gets home.”
Ned jumped up to give her a quick hug and returned with a plate and silverware. “We won’t let on that you already ate if you don’t want to tell him.”
“I like how you think,” Tiffany said to the man who’d been like a father to her since he got together with her mother. Thinking about what she needed to tell them—and what she wanted to ask of them—had her contending with a rather large lump in her throat.
She smiled gratefully at Ned when he poured her a glass of the wine he kept on hand for her. “Thank you.”
“So what brings ya out and about?” Ned asked when he returned to his seat.
“I have some exciting news that I wanted to share with you in person.”
“What’s that?” Francine asked.
“Blaine and I are getting married.”
“Oh, honey.” Francine’s green eyes were immediately misty. “That’s wonderful news! I’m so happy for you.”
“I know it’s too soon after the divorce and all that, but it feels right to us.”
Francine covered Tiffany’s hand with her own. “That’s all that matters.”
“When’s the big day?” Ned asked.
“Um…tomorrow?”
His eyes bugged as Francine gasped and coughed.
“Tomorrow?” Francine said in a high squeak.
“I know it sounds crazy, but Blaine’s got a big idea to get married on the beach and then crash Maddie’s cookout as a reception.”
“You’re serious,” Francine said.
Tiffany nodded, hoping against hope that her mom would approve and support their decision.
Francine glanced at Ned, who was grinning widely. “What’re you smiling about? This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard!”
“I know, ain’t it? But it’s also the sweetest thing I ever heard. Blaine is pushin’ it cuz of Jim’s threats, ain’t he, sweetheart?”
Not at all surprise
d that Ned had the whole thing figured out, Tiffany nodded. “That’s one reason, but it’s a much lesser reason than the fact that I’m crazy in love with him and want to be with him always. And he loves Ash as much as he loves me.” Saying those words brought tears to Tiffany’s eyes. “He loves us both so much. I never thought I’d have anything like this.” She glanced at her mother imploringly. “I need you to understand—and approve.”
“I do, honey. Of course I do. How could I not understand after what I saw you go through with Jim? For so long I wished for you to have everything you’ve got with Blaine. I’d never stand in the way of your happiness, even if this plan is the craziest thing I ever heard.”
Tiffany laughed as new tears rolled down her cheeks. The food on her plate was untouched as she got up to hug her mother. “Thank you so much. For that and everything you’ve been to Maddie and me our whole lives.”
“Now stop that this minute,” Francine said sternly as she returned Tiffany’s embrace.
“It’s the truth.”
The two women held on tight to each other for a long, tear-filled moment before they drew apart, laughing as they wiped their faces.
“My turn,” Ned said.
Tiffany stepped into his open arms as if she’d been running to him her whole life.
He kissed her cheek. “So happy fer ya, gal. No one deserves it more.”
Ned’s softly spoken words generated more tears. “Thank you.” He let her go, and she wiped her tears again. “Sorry to interrupt your dinner and boo-hoo all over you.”
“Not a problem,” Ned said. “We’re always up fer happy news around here.”
Tiffany turned to him. “I was wondering… If you’re not busy tomorrow, if you might… If I could ask you, both of you…to give me away.” For as long as she lived, Tiffany would never forget the expression on his dear face when her question registered with him.
He blinked several times, as if trying not to lose his composure, and cleared his throat. “I’d be honored, honey. Truly.”
She squeezed his arm. “Thank you.”
“This calls fer a celebration,” Ned announced. He went to the living room and returned with a bottle of champagne. They popped the cork, ate the dinner that had cooled during their celebration and killed the bottle between the three of them, laughing and talking and making plans.
