My Sweetest Sasha: Cole's Story (Meadows Shore Book 2) (17 page)

Cole went behind the counter and hugged Marcia so hard he nearly lifted her off the seat.

She grinned as he walked out of the office. “If only I were a whole lot younger, boy. You’d have met your match,” she said to herself.

* * *

Cole, of course, wasn’t shy about demanding to see the president of the hospital without an appointment.

“I realize he doesn’t normally see anyone on the spur of the moment, but this is of the utmost importance. Please tell him if he doesn’t have time to meet with me in his office today, I’ll drop by his house this evening.”

If Cole Harrington’s reputation hadn’t preceded him, the president’s secretary would have been terrified by the wild-eyed doctor standing in the executive suite, and she’d have called security. But instead she calmly relayed his message to her boss, who agreed to meet with Cole right away.

Apparently the hospital president wasn’t all that keen on the idea of a doctor showing up on his doorstep after hours.

He walked into the living room with Alexa's report tucked under his arm, stopping to pour a couple fingers worth of scotch before making himself comfortable in his favorite chair. He read all one hundred and ninety-seven pages, every word, getting up only to refill his glass. It read like a novel.

The first time his brother Mark met Alexa, she was shadowing him. It was the night Lily was born, and he’d asked Cole if she was writing his biography. In an odd way, she had been. And she’d written him exactly the way he saw himself, or rather, how he hoped others saw him. It wasn’t all wine and roses, but it was honest and real. It made his heart swell to learn how well she knew him, and how she’d put his shortcomings in the most favorable light.

Rubbing his fingertips across the print, he reread the part that had probably gotten her fired:
Boston General is fortunate to have Dr. Harrington in their employ, and there is little doubt competing institutions will stand on line to hire him if his relationship with the hospital is severed. While his methods are sometimes unorthodox, he is open to suggestion from anyone who does so with good intention, because in the end, what he cares most about are his patients, and the well-being of his colleagues and staff.

He called her, left messages, went by her apartment. A neighbor told him she might have gone to visit her family.

* * *

Cole stopped by Sophie and Max’s to see Lily on his way home from work. He needed to hold the little miracle, and surround himself with the love in their home. It was his only hope for chasing away the bone-chilling cold that had settled in his soul.

“Hey, come in. Sophie’s in the shower, she’ll be out in a few minutes. You want a drink?” asked Max.

He nodded. “Scotch, neat. Don’t be stingy.”

“Where’s Alexa? Sophie thought she might be with you.”

Cole didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to, Max recognized a heartbroken man when he saw one.

“What’s going on with you two, anyway?”

He swirled the amber liquid in the glass before throwing it back.

“She left, went to visit her family.”

“You might want to go easy on this unless you’re planning to spend the night,” Max said, adding another splash of eighteen-year-old Macallan to Cole’s glass. “Lovers’ spat?”

“Not that it’s any of your goddamn business, but we were never lovers.”

“You look like shit. You’re this broken up over a woman you never even slept with? You’re in trouble, man—big trouble.”

“I know.” He grabbed the stuffed bunny on the coffee table, examining it without ever really seeing it, and put it down again. “In my whole life, I’ve met lots of women who’ve made my dick ache, but she’s the first one who’s ever made my heart ache.”

“The world’s filled with women who can make your dick ache, but when you find one who can break your heart, you need to hold on tight with both hands. And no matter how rocky it gets, don’t let go. Don’t ever let go.”

“I don’t mean to interrupt you two waxing poetic about love, but if you miss her so much, why are you sitting here feeling sorry for yourself? It’s not productive or attractive.” Sophie had one hand on her hip and the other gesturing madly. “Do something. For crying out loud, go get her.”

“She’s right,” said Max.

“She’s always right. And it’s extremely annoying. I don’t know how you stand it.”

* * *

Cole made a quick call to the travel agent and booked a flight for the following afternoon. He felt better now he had at least some semblance of a plan. He’d figure out the rest on his way to Minnesota.

After dinner Sophie gave Cole a pep talk and kissed him good-bye. Shutting the door behind him she turned to Max. “I was listening to you guys talking earlier.”

“Eavesdropping, you mean?” he asked, kissing her.

“Call it what you want. But about all those women out there who can make your dick ache,” she whispered, running her bottom teeth along his lower jaw. “If I hear any more about them, I’ll sever the relationship between dick and his two closest friends, and then you can talk to me about aches.” She found his mouth, pulling seductively on his lower lip.

“You used to be such a sweet, demure woman. What happened?”

“I was never a sweet, demure woman.”

“Mmmm. Thank God for that.”

Cole held his breath while he knocked on the painted wooden door. He was a teenager the last time he’d met a girl’s parents.

“Mrs. Petersen?” he asked the petite woman who came to the door. Her eyes were grayer than Alexa’s, more wary, and the silver strands had edged out the gold ones in her tidy bob. But he saw the resemblance.

“Yes?”

“Cole Harrington,” he said offering her his hand. “I’m a friend of Alexa’s from Boston. I work with her at the hospital.”

“Cole, come in, please. Lexie didn’t mention she was expecting company from Boston.”

“I was hoping to surprise her.”

“She’s visiting with a friend, but I expect her back before long.”

The door swung open behind him, but it wasn’t Alexa, it was her father and Owen.

“This is Cole Harrington, he’s a friend of Lexie’s from Boston. Works at the hospital with her. Cole, this is my husband Henry and my son Owen. And, please, call me Jane.”

“Cole.” Henry Petersen took his hand, but didn’t seem all that happy to see him.

“Do you know Jake Harrington?” asked Owen hopefully. “He’s the quarterback for the Hawks. He lives in Boston too.”

Cole smiled at the little boy, who had big blue eyes like his sister. “I’ve spent some time with him.”

“Really? Do you think he knows Teddy Bridgewater?”

“The Vikings’ quarterback?”

Owen nodded.

“I bet he does.”

“Wow!”

“Owen, too much chatter, it’s not polite. Why don’t you go upstairs and start getting ready for bed?” his mother directed.

Owen stole a look at his father, who nodded, and then took the stairs two at a time.

“Sorry about Owen. He lives and breathes sports, especially football.”

“Don’t be sorry. Sports are the universal language of boys, big and small.”

“Where you staying, Cole?” asked Henry. “Not many places to sleep nearby.”

“I’m not sure yet. Thought I’d check in to a hotel,” he said. Although he hadn’t seen a hotel since leaving the city limits, and he was afraid he’d be lucky to find even a motel in the area.

Her parents exchanged curious glances. “That’s different,” said Henry.

Cole had learned enough about Minnesotan culture to know that Henry was sending a message:
What kind of idiot makes a trip to the middle of the country without planning a place to sleep?

“What brings you to Minnesota?” asked Henry, who seemed to have a suspicious nature where Cole was concerned.

His wife gave him a sharp look, and Cole had a sense that the question was too inquisitive for Jane’s liking.

He figured that Henry Petersen, like any man with a pretty daughter, probably had a well-honed bullshit meter, so he told the truth. He preferred the truth, anyway. “I came to see your daughter. We’ve become good friends, and she left before I could say good-bye.”

Jane suppressed a smile, but she couldn’t hide the twinkle in her eyes. “I can give you directions to her friend Meghan’s house. You can surprise her there, if you’d like,” she said.

Henry stiffened and started to say something, but Jane shot him another look, a
keep your mouth shut
kind of look. Cole recognized it.

He thanked them and left to find Meghan’s house.

“Tell Lexie to give a ring if she’s going to be late,” her mother called after him.

“I will. Good night.”

“Do you think it was a good idea sending him to Meghan’s?”

“I wouldn’t have sent him if I didn’t.”

“Okay, then.” Henry pulled an apple from the refrigerator. “What if he’s a stalker?”

“He’s no stalker. I’m thinking he’s the boy she’s been moping about since she got here.”

“He doesn’t look much like a boy.”

“Good thing, too. In case you haven’t noticed, your daughter doesn’t look much like a girl.”

“You could’ve waited till she got back. She’ll be home soon.”

“Ya, I could have. And I would’ve paid good money to see her expression when she laid eyes on him. But I thought they might like a little privacy. Trust me on this.”

* * *

Cole knocked on what he hoped was Meghan’s door. “Hi, I’m a friend of Lexie Petersen’s,” he said to the young woman who answered.

Alexa heard a familiar voice. It couldn’t be. She missed him so much her brain was playing tricks on her now. Cole at Meghan’s door, fourteen hundred miles from Boston? It just couldn’t be. Her head was swampy, but her body prevailed, taking her closer to the door. And sure enough, there he was, looking a little frayed around the edges, but a sight for sore eyes nonetheless.

“Cole?”

“Hey,” he grinned anxiously, shifting from foot to foot. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by to see you.” His heart hitched when the corners of her mouth quirked, before morphing into a megawatt smile that lit up her eyes.

“In the neighborhood?”

“Well, I was at your house, and your mom told me you were here.”

My parents, ouch
.

“I was hoping we could talk.”

Meghan eyeballed him over Alexa’s shoulder, whispering conspiratorially while they said good-bye. “Call me tomorrow.”

* * *

Cole followed Alexa to a well-used pickup parked out back. “It was so weird to hear you call me Lexie. You never call me that.”

He put his arm around her, planning to never let her go. “No, but everyone around here does. It’s pretty, but I love Alexa. It means helper, defender of mankind. It’s the perfect name for you.”

Alexa knew she should pull away, but she couldn’t force herself to.

“I don’t suppose there’s anywhere nearby where we could grab a cup of coffee or a drink,” he asked before climbing into the passenger seat.

“Nothing’s open. This will have to do.” She hopped up into the truck’s cab pulling the door shut behind her, and made herself comfortable with the back of her head against the driver’s side window.

He faced her, his back resting on the passenger side door, not quite sure where to begin. “I’m sorry about what happened with Chet. I wanted to kill him when Marcia told me. Did he touch you?”

“Don’t be sorry, it wasn’t your fault. He got awfully close, but he didn’t touch me, not in the way you’re thinking.”

He reached over and grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb in circles over the palm.

“Why did you come?” she asked.

“Because I have a bone or two to pick with you.”

She cocked her head, her blue eyes widening.

“I read your note. First, you weren’t my therapist. I never signed on for that. So don’t give me that shit about boundaries. And second, do you think I’m some chump who can be led around by his nose? You took advantage of me, really? You’re thinking of the wrong guy.”

“You were going through a bad time with Christian. You were vulnerable, and I let you depend on me. You got attached. And so did I,” she added softly.

“Depend on you? You mean like how friends depend on each other? Or how co-workers do?”

She didn’t say anything.

“I wanted you from the second I laid eyes on you in those lacy blue panties. While we ate dinner that first night in my office, I wanted to touch you so badly I almost embarrassed myself. The whole thing with Christian was …. horrific. But I’m a trauma surgeon—people die on me all the time.”

“Patients. Not close friends.”

“My parents died together with my aunt and uncle, who I loved dearly. This wasn’t my first rodeo, Alexa. And when they died, plenty of women tried to comfort me. Some of them even offered to do some mighty nice things for me, none of which do I remember hearing you offer to do. And I’d have remembered that.”

He reached for her hand again. “I came because I couldn’t stay away. Because I missed you so much my chest ached. I don’t know what got into me the morning I went to your apartment. Exhaustion, stupidity, I don’t know. Maybe I had a moment of decency, thinking it was better to let you go to find someone else, an accountant or a plumber, someone with a sensible job who could make you happy.” He shrugged. “But it took less than an hour for me to realize I was an idiot, and that I couldn’t let you go.”

Her breath was coming in short spurts, and she hadn’t said much of anything. He wondered what was going through her mind, wondered if she was about to kick his sorry ass out of the truck. There was not one chance in hell he was letting that happen. He might have made a huge mess of things, but he wasn’t leaving until he’d cleaned everything up.

“You think you took advantage of me.” He chuckled. “You’re just not that devious, sweetheart. But I’ve got to admit, it’s a pretty arrogant thought coming from a midwestern social worker. I think you’ve been hanging around surgeons too much.” He tugged on her hair.

“Alexa, we were thrown together in a way that sped things up, stoked the chemistry already there. I don’t regret that I fell for you, not at all. Do you have regrets?”

She sighed deeply. “No. I don’t regret one minute—even if you hadn’t come here, even if I never saw you again, even if it was wrong, I wouldn’t have regretted any of it.”

He began to relax. “I heard Chet’s been fired, and
they offered you your job back. Are you going to take it?”

“I didn’t think so, but I’m not so sure now.”

“Please take it, even if only for a little while. Or don’t take it, but come back, and let’s see if we can make something together.”

“Cole, I’ve met your family, and you’ve met mine. Do you think we could be from two more different worlds? Relationships are hard, even when the deck isn’t stacked against them. Between that … and your job, I’m not sure we could make it work.”

“Alexa, that’s a pile of crap. My parents were from two vastly different worlds, even more different than ours. I’ve never met two people who had more in common, or who loved each other more than they did. Sometimes differences in a relationship are good. They can bring out the best in the other person. Our differences are on the outside, not the inside.” He reached across the cab, and brushed his fingers lightly over her heart.

Alexa sat silent for a few moments, and then seemed to brace herself, making him nervous again. “Clarisse talked to me about what happened with their relationship. Christian never shared anything about his work with her. He compartmentalized everything, probably because he didn’t want the bad stuff tainting the beautiful life they’d created for themselves. She feels so guilty that she allowed him to do it.”

She fixed her eyes on his. “You need to know I won’t allow it. Not now, not ever.”

“I’m counting on it.” He swallowed hard before continuing. “Christian tried to protect his family, his relationship with Clarisse, in the best way he could. No one will ever convince me otherwise. But it wasn’t the right way. I know that.”

He took both her hands in his. “I came prepared to put my surgical career behind me—trauma surgery, anyway. And if you’d like to live in Minnesota, I’ll talk to the guys at the Mayo clinic. I’m committed to making this work. I’m all in.”

For a minute or two the gravity of his commitment didn’t seem to register. “You’d do that? Leave Boston General, your family, the ocean you love so much … for me?”

“My dad chose my mom over his family, and he never once regretted making that choice. He told me that himself. I’d still see my family as often as I can and I’d visit the ocean, with you, I hope. All I’d be giving up is my job.”

“That’s all, huh?”

“I don’t think you have any idea how much you bring to my life. I didn’t even understand how much myself until you left. Please don’t cry.”

“They’re happy tears, from my heart.”

“All the time we’ve spent together, talking, sharing, and working together, and those kisses on the beach … there’s something worth exploring between us, and I’d like to try. No one’s ever made me ache for them, Alexa, not like I ache for you.”

* * *

Her heart was so full she was sure it would burst, leaving little bubbles of pure joy floating through the cab, bouncing off their noses. “Those kisses were pretty hot,” she agreed.

“Scorching. Maybe I should kiss you again to see if it was just an anomaly.”

“What are you waiting for, Batman?”

He moved the seat back, pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. A needy, searching kiss that claimed her heart all over again. While they sat catching their breath, he fingered the key ring dangling from her wrist. It was a small placard embroidered with flowers, and the name Sasha.

“My grandmother called me Sasha. It was her special name for me. I remember cuddling on her lap in an enormous rocking chair my grandfather built before I was born.
Besta
, my grandmother, would patiently answer the hundreds of questions I asked. And when I was done, we’d rock quietly and she’d hold me tighter, ‘Mmmm, Sasha,’ she’d whisper, ‘I love you.’ It always made me feel so cherished.”