Always (21 page)

      Taylor looked up and saw Gordon's grin, his aqua eyes twinkling. Her heart stuttered and raced forward at an alarming rate.

      Mr. Kenner gave a nervous laugh and shook his head. "Beg pardon, Dr. Bowen," he said. "I meant no offense."

      "None taken." Taylor smiled and took the empty medicine cup from Mrs. Kenner. "This medication will start working fast, then we'll get that temporary cast in place." She stooped in front of Adam and said, "Your arm won't hurt as bad once the cast is on. Do you want a red, green or blue one?"

      "Blue."

      Gordon assisted, handing her materials and equipment as needed. Her hand brushed against his more than once, sending rivulets of desire oozing through her each time. By the time she sent the Kenners on their way with pain medication and instructions to get Adam through the night, in addition to the specialist's phone number, she was incredibly agitated.

      After locking the front door, she returned to the exam room to clean up the mess, but Gordon had beat her to it. "Thank you," she said.

      "You're welcome." He smiled. "You're good with patients."

      His praise warmed her far more than it should've. "Thank you. So are you."

      He flashed her one of his boyish grins and her head spun. "I obtained EMT certification shortly after I returned to Digby."

      She nodded. "That's right, you've been the only medical care in town for a long time."

      "Only for emergencies, but if you hadn't been here, the Kenners would've had to drive Adam to Buena Vista in pain." He tossed some gauze into the trash and looked around the room. "All done."

      He pinned her with his gaze. Taylor stood paralyzed, drowning in the intensity of his eyes. She wanted desperately to cover the distance between them and lean her cheek against his shoulder. Her breathing quickened and she trembled.

      He took a few steps toward her, then closed his eyes. "No, forget that," he whispered.

      "What?"
 

      "I seem to have a problem keeping my hands to myself lately." His voice sounded husky and strained.
 

      "I...is..."

      "Well, we'd better get out of here before someone decides the clinic is open Sundays now."

      She wanted to ask him why it was a problem that he couldn't keep his hands to himself, but clenched hers into fists instead. "I locked the front door."

      "All my patients went home Friday evening, so even Hank isn't here tonight." Gordon walked past her and into the hall. "I just want to make sure everything's locked up tight."

      Taylor nodded, turning off the light as she followed him from the room. He walked around the waiting room, checked the locks and shades, and flipped off that light, too. "All set," he announced.

      "Thank you again for meeting me here."

      "No problem." A cynical tone edged his voice. "You're free to go back to your fiancé now."

      "My
what
?" She was too tired for this. "I don't have one." And that had been true even before her conversation with Jeremy this morning.

      "A man who'd come all this way to see you is serious, Taylor." Gordon's features seemed pinched, as if he was in great pain. "Trust me."

      "We were never engaged. Besides, he's busy gallivanting all over the Rockies with Sue." She folded her arms across her abdomen. "And he's staying at her house. Did you know that?"

      Surprise made Gordon's brows arch upward. "I believe Sue has an ulterior motive."

      Taylor nodded. "I agree, though I'm not sure that's still true." She pivoted and headed toward the back door. "Thanks again for helping out with my patient, Gordon. I'll see you tomorrow."

      Blinking back the scalding sensation behind her eyes, Taylor opened the back door and stepped into the late afternoon sunshine. Something shiny and red was parked beside her yellow VW. "What...?"

      Gordon closed the door behind them and locked it. "Brand new Jeep," he said. "Like it?"

      "Henrietta's...gone?" She spun around to face him, surprised by how much this bothered her. "You loved that old Jeep, Gordon."
I loved that old Jeep
. "Why?"

      He lifted a shoulder and his nostrils flared slightly. "Henrietta was breaking down every other day. I haven't bought this one yet, but I'm test-driving it for the weekend. Not sure about the color, though."

      On rubbery legs, she followed him down the steps, where they both stood staring at the brand new Jeep. "But...what about Henrietta?" she asked again as he opened her car door.

        
After she was in the driver's seat, she rolled down the window to stare at him. His lips pressed into a thin line and he shook his head. "Time to put the past where it belongs."

      He walked away and climbed into his brand new, very red, very
un
-Gordon, Jeep. She watched him start the engine and back out of the parking lot. He waved, then drove down Drumond without a backward glance.

      Taylor stared at her stricken face in her rear view mirror.
Time to put the past where it belongs.

      "Like me?"

*
 
*
 
*

      Tuesday evening came way too fast. Taylor's doorbell rang promptly at seven, and she drew a deep breath before opening it. Sue looked nervous standing there clutching a bottle of wine in one hand and balancing a pizza box in her other.

      A healthy dose of déjà vu smacked Taylor right between the eyes. How many times during her life had Sue rung this very doorbell? She swallowed the lump in her throat and took the pizza box as her guest came inside.

      "Looks like we're in for more rain," Sue said, pausing to stare at the piano. "Is that–"

      "Yeah." Taylor closed the front door and stood beside Sue, staring at the piano. And remembering. "Mom's."

      "Remember when we used to play duets on this thing?"

      Taylor smiled. "Mom had the patience of a saint."

      "And your dad had earplugs."
 

      They both laughed nervously and Taylor headed for the kitchen. "Let's eat before this gets cold."

      "Where's the corkscrew?" Sue asked, setting the bottle of wine on the counter.
 

      "Uh, I'm not sure." Taylor shrugged. "Haven't needed one since I got here."

      "Drawer number...three." Sue opened the third drawer down and said, "Bingo."

      Taylor set the table with plates, napkins and wine glasses while Sue opened the wine. They sat across from each other in awkward silence.

      "Jeremy told me you want to do some kind of medical research." Sue reached for a piece of pizza. "What kind of research?"

      Small talk was safe. "Immunology. Mom's asthma gets worse every year, and she's been getting allergy shots for years."

      "Like Patches."

      "What?" Taylor knew the easy stuff wouldn't last, but she appreciated having time to warm up to Sue's presence in her home and in her life again. "Is that what's wrong with Patches?"

      "Gordon has run the gamut of tests, but the dog is healthy." She shrugged. "We're convinced it's an allergy that makes him have these attacks, especially in cold weather."

      "Wheezing?"

      "Right. Asthma." Sue gave Taylor a sad smile. "Maybe your folks should move back to the mountains. It might help your mom's asthma."

      "It might." Taylor leaned back and fiddled with her napkin. "Anyway, I hope my research will find ways to help people with allergies. Hey, why don't we do some scratch tests on Patches? It couldn't hurt and it might work. I don't know if that's ever done with dogs, but why not?"

      "Suits me." Sue lowered her gaze to her untouched pizza.

      "I know what you want to talk about," Taylor began, reaching for the open bottle and pouring them both a generous amount of merlot. "And it isn't necessary."

      Sue squared her shoulders and lifted her glass in a toast. "Here's to truth, whether you want to hear it or not."

      Taylor's stomach clenched and she took a sip of wine. "Mmm, good."

      "All right, you drink and I'll talk." Sue sipped her wine. "Better yet, we'll both drink and I'll talk."

      Resigned, Taylor reached for a slice of pizza. "All right, you obviously aren't going to take no for an answer, so have at it."

      "Thanks." Sue took another sip, and wrapped her hands around the stem of her glass and stared at Taylor. "When I told you I was pregnant with Gordon's child, I truly believed that was true."

      Taylor struggled for a deep breath and finally found one, then released it very slowly. "Well, that was direct." She'd never doubted Sue's sincerity, which was exactly why she'd been so crushed, and why she hadn't confronted Gordon before leaving Digby. "I never thought you were lying, Sue, so this discussion really isn't necessary."

      "Yes, it is." Sue took another sip and cleared her throat. When she met Taylor's gaze again, her eyes sparkled with unshed tears.

      "Don't you dare cry, Sue Wheeler." Taylor took a huge gulp of wine and coughed. "Anything but tears."

      "No promises." Sue's voice warbled dangerously. "But I'll try. Just hush up and listen. This is hard. I tried to convince Gordon that he should talk to you, but men are so stupid sometimes."

      
Not to mention stubborn
. Despite everything, Taylor still felt that invisible bond she and Sue had always shared. She'd missed their friendship much more than she'd realized. "Go on, I'm listening."

      "Thanks." Sue sniffled and released a long sigh. "You remember graduation night. Everybody under twenty in Digby was three sheets to the wind by midnight." She took another sip of merlot and shook her head. "I'm afraid I was a lot farther gone than that, and
very
unaccustomed to alcohol."

      Taylor took a bite of pizza and chewed. It stuck in her constricting throat and she washed it down with more wine. The alcohol warmed her, despite the memories trying to break down the door to her mental vault.

      "That was the night I had sex for the first time." Sue gave a self-deprecating laugh, then sobered and leveled her probing gaze on Taylor. "Problem is, I don't remember who with."

      "What...are you saying?" Taylor went cold. No, Arctic. "You told me it was Gor–"

      "Wait." Sue squeezed her eyes shut and held her hand up in front of her. "Please, just listen."

      Anger burned in Taylor's chest. Now she
needed
to know the truth. All of it. "I'm
listening
."

      "I remember having sex. Sort of. I know it happened, though I can't remember details." Sue's voice shook. "And I remember Gordon driving me home. He had to pull over for me to throw up twice."

      Taylor rubbed the back of her neck and reached for the wine bottle. Good thing she'd bought a bottle earlier in the day, because they were probably going to need it. She refilled both their glasses and drew a deep breath.
 

      "So that was why you believed Gordon was...the one?" Taylor took a mouthful of wine and tried to savor the fruity flavor rolling over her tongue. Anything to keep from thinking about... "Gordon was with
me
that night, Sue. He brought me home late. I remember being worried that my folks would be mad."

      "He...he told me later that he found me sitting on the curb in front of your house after he walked you to the door." Sue laughed again without a trace of humor. "The bottom line is, I got so drunk I can't remember who I slept with, let alone how I ended up at your house." Her lower lip quivered. "The next day, I only remembered that I'd had sex and that Gordon took me home. I assumed..." She shrugged. "Taylor, I'm so sorry."

      Taylor stared at Sue over the rim of her wine glass. She believed Sue. Again. Believed her completely. "Later that summer, when you found out you were pregnant, you really believed it was Gordon's child."

      Sue nodded slowly. "You know I did." She dabbed her eyes with her napkin. "I was terrified and you were my best friend."

      "Yeah," Taylor whispered. "Who else were you going to tell?"

      Sue's face crumpled and tears rolled in full force now. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to c-cry whether you like it or not."

      Taylor stood and grabbed the box of tissues off the counter and placed it on the table beside Sue. "When did you realize the baby wasn't Gordon's?"

      "I didn't know you would
leave
." Sue's voice was barely more than a whisper. "I figured we'd both talk to Gordon and work it out somehow."

      It was Taylor's turn to laugh. "Color me cynical, Sue, but I wasn't real crazy about Gordon
or you
at the time."

      "No, I suppose not." Sue took a sip of wine and sniffled. "I had to tell my folks about the baby, and they demanded to know who the father was."

      "And you named Gordon." Mother had tried to talk to Taylor about this long after they'd all moved away, but she'd refused to listen. "Then what happened?"