Page 35 of Welcome Home to Ivy Falls (Ivy Falls #3)

FORD

I’d Rather Eat Glass

‘The patients are very happy with you, Dr Foster. You’re taking your time with them. Listening even when they tell the same stories over and over. Just yesterday, Ferris, who is always a bit of a grump, told me he thinks you’re a keeper,’ Janice chuckled from the doorway to my office.

‘He’s a nice old guy. Keeps telling me about his prize roses every time he comes in to have his blood pressure checked.’

She gave me a determined look. ‘Dr Sheridan has served the people of this town for over thirty years. This trip with his wife was put off at least five times until she threatened him within an inch of his life if he cancelled again.’

‘I don’t blame her. Traveling the world is exciting.’

‘Thirty years is a long time,’ she said.

‘To be in one place? It sure is.’

‘What about you? Ever considered planting roots somewhere?’ There was a weight to her voice, a knowing look that said gossip about me and Piper had filtered her way.

‘Not right now. I still have a few years before I think about finding a place to stay.’

‘What about here?’

‘This is a nice spot, sure.’

‘So you’d consider coming back? Because once people start filling the doc in on what a good job you’ve done, I think he’d consider bringing you on full-time.’

For a minute I let myself play with the idea. Of finding a cute place in town. Coming in the door every night to Piper. Having her snuggled up naked next to me in the bed we shared.

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t let my mind wander through that fantasy more than a few times.

For right now it could not be my reality.

I’d signed a contract, and Piper had made it clear that once it was time for me to leave, we had to let go of whatever this was we’d been doing for the last several weeks.

‘That’s not in the cards for me right now. When Dr Sheridan returns I’ll be on my way back across the world. It’s where I’m meant to be.’

She tapped her fingers against her hips. ‘Plans can be broken. Think about it. We could use more help in this community. The longer that show of Torran and Manny’s goes on, the more people will want to move here. We’re already stretched too thin as it is now with one doctor.’

‘I understand, but the timing isn’t right.’

‘Fine,’ she said, defeated. ‘You almost done with your charts? If so, I’ll take them off your hands.’

I stood and handed her a dozen Manila folders. ‘You know you all could come into the twenty-first century and go digital.’

She barked out a laugh. ‘Can you imagine handing a tablet to Ferris or Mrs V and asking them to figure it out?’

‘Good point.’

‘Although, if we had a young doctor around to help teach…’

I shook my head and she clutched the folders to her chest, understanding she wasn’t going to change my mind.

‘We’re done for the night. You headed out?’

‘Yes. I promised Piper I’d head over to the theater. Help with installing the last of the sets.’

She opened her mouth like she wanted to say more. Offer another convincing reason for me to stay. Instead, she said, ‘Have a good evening.’

‘You too,’ I said, hanging my white coat on a peg attached to the wall.

After straightening up the desk, I walked to the door.

My phone pinged in my pocket. I glanced at the text from Gray outlining all the information for our parents’ wedding anniversary party next weekend.

What I should wear. The fact that I was not getting out of giving a toast. The last message made me stop in my tracks:

Bring a date asshole or Mom will find one for you.

Shit. Going to the event at all was going to be an exercise in patience and restraint.

Having to swap mindless talk about the stock market, and how much the Titans needed a new stadium, was already creating tension in my jaw.

Adding a date to that scenario was a thousand times worse.

Of course, my mind went to Piper. How having her by my side would make the night bearable.

But every time I thought about bringing it up, considered having to introduce her to that vapid crowd, my throat went dry and my pulse raced.

I could barely stand those people. How could I in good conscience consider making her suffer through it as well? And my parents? They’d be awful to her just because she didn’t have an old-money pedigree.

The one time I introduced them to Sydney, I had to grit my teeth through the entire dinner because all they did was ask about her family.

What her parents did for a living. By the angry pinch to her mouth after they were done with their interrogation, it was obvious my girlfriend wondered what the hell she was doing with me.

I shoved my phone into my pocket and walked to the front door.

All day long the clinic had been a frenzy. Nurses rushed in and out of rooms. Receptionists and schedulers answered the dizzying number of phone calls. But once we closed for the night, a peaceful calm settled over the space.

I’d never pictured myself in a place like this.

Getting to know a community in such an intimate way.

If circumstances were different, if I thought I could change Piper’s mind, maybe I’d consider coming back.

She’d been very clear on the terms of our relationship though, and the last thing I wanted to do was push her into something she never wanted.

Chaos was too calm a word for the current scene inside the theater.

Teenagers chased each other across the stage, singing songs and trying to follow the accompanying choreography.

The kids that weren’t onstage filled the first three rows.

Various parents scrambled around them, pressing costumes into their hands.

I searched the room for Piper and found her at the piano singing along with the kids.

Her dark braid swung behind her as she tipped up her chin, head tracking each of the young actors’ movements like she was mentally making notes for what needed to be adjusted.

I was so mesmerized by her that I didn’t notice Maisey walk to my side.

‘Piper’s damn talented, don’t you think?’

‘There are no words for it. She is simply… extraordinary.’

She gave me a pleased smile. ‘Ding. Ding. Ding. That is the correct answer.’

‘Did you think I’d say anything else?’

She tapped her chin. ‘You like her.’

‘Of course I do.’

‘No.’ Her eyes narrowed and she stepped closer. Too close. ‘You like like her.’

I laughed, looking down my nose at this small and very determined woman. ‘What does that mean exactly?’

‘That this isn’t some small-town fling for you.’

I pressed my lips thin and she didn’t bat an eye. ‘We’re enjoying each other’s company,’ was all I could offer.

Hell, this woman was Piper’s best friend. She knew her better than anyone. If I let it slip that Piper was all I thought about, that I couldn’t imagine her not being a part of my life, it might spook Piper into ending things with me right now, and there was no way I was risking that.

‘Basically, you’re rolling around in the sheets with zero commitment. Sounds like a great deal for you.’

Her voice carried and more than a few parents shot unpleasant gazes in our direction.

‘I’m not comfortable saying more,’ I said in a low tone. ‘This is a private matter between me and Piper.’

‘You’ve been here long enough,’ she huffed out. ‘So I suspect you’ve heard why she was in the hospital that night.’

‘Honestly, no. I’ve haven’t heard much, which I guess is a credit to how much people care about her.’

‘That asshole, that…’ She took a gulp. ‘There was a dealer she owed money to, and he forced her to tell him about the Huckleberry Lane house. He showed up with a mass of people, made her watch while he and his group destroyed the home that Beck, Torran and Manny had lovingly restored. The place that held the last precious memories of her parents. It nearly killed her.’

The murderous look on her face told me there was much more to the story.

‘They tore down the antique lighting. Put holes in the freshly painted walls with sledgehammers. Manny spent weeks restoring the stairs and banister, and those guys destroyed it in minutes,’ she spat out.

‘Imagine finally getting a piece of your family, your past, back and then having it eviscerated right before your eyes.’ Her gaze flicked to where Piper stood.

‘That girl has been through a lot of rough shit. If things are casual like you say they are, then walk away when the time comes. But,’ her breath hitched, ‘if your feelings are more serious, tell her. Piper’s traveled a long road.

She’s done the work to get to this life that she deserves.

That life should also be filled with real and true love.

If you can’t be that guy, make sure she knows that before you leave. ’

My mind spun back to the night in Piper’s apartment when I asked if she could trust me. How pain and fear flickered across her face. She’d been through hell. Treated like crap. The fact that she’d taken a chance on me said volumes about the person she’d become.

Piper walked up the aisle toward us and for the first time Maisey’s tough exterior shook. ‘All I’m asking is that you don’t hurt her. Promise me you won’t.’

Hurt her? I’d rather cut out my own damn heart.

‘Maisey, you’re a good friend. You have my word that both Piper and I will be honest with each other before I go back to Africa.’

She gave me a nod and hurried back to where the parents were inspecting the costumes.

Her voice continued to rattle in my head.

She had asked me to be honest, but on the rooftop that night, Piper had been firm about the conditions of our plan and I’d agreed.

If I pushed, wouldn’t I be like all the other men in her life who never listened to what she wanted?

As soon as she was beside me, Piper gave me a smile that pulled all the air from my chest.

Fuck. How could she do that to me?

‘Silvio and Ferris have been pestering me for an hour. They need your help backstage to bring in the admiral’s platform for the show’s opening scene near the Banks’ home on Cherry Tree Lane.’

‘Okay, I’ll head back there in a second, but there’s a question I need to ask first. And please feel free to say no if you want.’

She sat down in the upholstered theater chair and pulled me beside her. ‘You sound too serious. What’s going on? Is it Old Mrs V?’

I clasped her hand. It always felt perfect against my palm. Everything about being near her felt right. ‘Greta is fine.’

‘There’s an uneasy tone to your voice I don’t like.’

‘It’s not a big deal. I just need to ask if you want to go to a party with me?’

Her brows furrowed. ‘A party?’

‘It’s for my parents. I know I talked about keeping you away from them, but it’s their fortieth wedding anniversary. My brother and I have to be there. Give a toast.’

‘Ford, it’s fine. It sounds like fun.’

I pressed my lips together. ‘It won’t be.’

‘Why?’

‘My parents, well, I’ve told you about them.

They can be hard on my friends. And,’ I gulped, ‘especially tough on women I bring home. I’d rather eat glass than have you anywhere near them, but if I don’t take a date, my mother will spend the entire evening throwing eligible women in my direction.

It will be a nightmare considering the only thing that will be on my mind is you. ’

‘Ford.’ She inched close until our knees touched. ‘One night with your parents can’t be that bad.’

‘You have no idea, Bird. If you don’t want to put yourself through the snobbery, the elitist bullshit that’s bound to happen, tell me now and I’ll go alone.’

She rolled back her shoulders. Gave me a wicked grin that made my dick twitch. ‘So you need someone to have your back if your folks get to be too much?’

‘Sadly, yes,’ I confessed.

‘And there’s also a possibility that your date will need to get mysteriously and violently ill, giving you an excuse to leave if things go bad?’

‘Oh my God, you are fucking brilliant.’

She laughed and put her hand to my cheek. There was so much light in her eyes it made me want to pull her onto my lap. Kiss her until she was dazed. Most of all, it made me want to confess that I was falling in love with her and didn’t think I could stop.