Page 42 of Welcome Home to Ivy Falls (Ivy Falls #3)

FORD

A Little Restraint

Three days later Dr Sheridan still wore that knowing smirk.

More than once he’d complimented my handling of the clinic.

How everyone he’d spoken to, including Janice, said I’d been a nice addition to the town.

He stayed silent about Piper, but his perma-grin told me his feelings about that situation.

He sipped his coffee slowly before setting his mug down on the desk.

‘Hard to get a good cup a joe in some of those European towns. Sure, espresso is fine, but I like plain old coffee sometimes.’ He leaned forward and tented his hands on the desk.

‘Although the way Janice makes it, it can taste a little like tar.’

I smiled because I’d grown used to the strong brew she made.

There were a lot of things around Ivy Falls that had grown on me.

The gossipy whispers of the office staff when they spotted a cute new tourist in town.

How they were all anticipating fall and the return of Barb and Susan’s traditional pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls.

What kind of booth the office would set up in the square for the festival at the end of October.

An ache swelled in my chest. I’d miss all of it once I was gone.

‘Bring me up to date. What’s happened in my little town since I’ve been gone?’

‘It’s all written down in the charts. Janice was very clear about how I was supposed to keep up so there’d be a smooth transition when you returned.’

‘She can be a drill sergeant, but this place would be lost without her.’

‘I agree.’

His lips pinched together as he leaned forward. ‘Now, tell me the specifics of what is not in the charts.’

‘Sir?’ I said, not sure what kind of information he was expecting.

He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. ‘For instance, how is Greta Vanderpool doing? I got an earful about her fainting spell at Sugar Rush. Is it true you rushed to her care?’

I scrubbed at my chin. ‘I forget how quickly information spreads around here.’

‘This is Ivy Falls. The minute people finished saying “Welcome home” they told me about her.’ He let out a weary breath. ‘I’m shocked nobody texted me. Maybe this town is learning a little restraint, or, better yet, they’ve learned to trust you.’

‘Not so sure about that, but they do know my every move. The other day I walked into the market and Minnie handed me the ground coffee I like without me asking for it.’

‘People around here are special.’ His eyes twinkled. ‘But I see you’ve already learned that considering the time you’re spending with Piper Townsend.’

My cheeks went hot. Shit. I was a grown man. I should not be blushing.

‘Things are good—’ I cut off, not knowing what else to say about the woman who had flipped my entire existence upside down. I was still kicking myself that I didn’t tell her how I felt in the square.

‘Any chance things might be permanent there?’

I hesitated because I’d asked myself that same question too many times to count.

‘Back to Mrs Vanderpool,’ I said, not wanting to explain the complications of Piper with him.

‘She’s in treatment with a mentor of mine at Vanderbilt.

I put all of his contact details in her file.

I plan to follow up and let him know you’ve returned and will check in with him periodically. ’

He gave a thoughtful nod and I tried not to stare at the psychedelic array of camels spread across his shirt. How his shoulder-length white hair was tucked into a low ponytail.

‘Can you stay until the end of our agreement? I’d love to have your help until I get up to speed.’

‘Sure, that’s not a problem,’ I said with relief because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Piper yet.

With Dr Sheridan’s surprising return, Piper and I had been dancing around the subject of my departure. You could feel the tension in our kisses though. How when she touched me it was more tentative, hesitant, like she wanted to remember every single minute we spent skin-to-skin.

Things for me weren’t any different. Every time I put my mouth on her, brought her to the edge of pleasure, moaned her name in the way she loved, I held on to it for a beat longer.

Wanted to remember the heady thrum of my pulse, the thrill of anticipation as she climbed toward me on the bed, her hair messy, her lips kiss-swollen.

Those were the moments I’d hold on to when I was alone in Africa.

‘I was engaged before I met my Sylvie,’ Dr Sheridan said, bringing me back to the conversation.

‘My fiancée, Nora, was my high-school sweetheart. Six months before our wedding, I did an away rotation in Knoxville. I was having a beer at a local restaurant with some other residents and this blonde beauty walked in with some friends. I’m not lying when I say I swear Sylvie had this glow of light around her.

Some of her pals knew the guys we were with, and they ended up sitting at our table.

Every word out of her mouth, her dreams and aspirations, aligned perfectly with mine.

’ His eyes glazed over like he was recalling the sweet memory.

‘I returned to Nashville after that, but I couldn’t get her out of my head.

Even in my dreams she made regular appearances. ’ He gave me a devilish grin.

Yeah, I knew what he meant.

‘No matter how hard I tried to forget Sylvie, I couldn’t. It was like my heart understood better than my brain what was right for me.’

I nodded again. Piper had been unexpected when I came here, but everything within me screamed we were meant to be together.

‘As soon as I returned to Ivy Falls, Nora knew there was something off about me. We had a serious talk about what we wanted for our futures and agreed we were headed in different directions.’ He smiled. ‘Sylvie and I were engaged a year later.’

‘That’s a nice story,’ I said.

‘Ford, I’m not your father or your mentor, maybe not even your friend, but I hope you’ll let me tell you one thing about life from my experience.’

‘Could I stop you?’ I chuckled.

He gave me that smirk again. ‘For thirty years, I’ve taken care of the citizens of Ivy Falls.

Some of them have had long and beautiful lives like Greta Vanderpool.

But I’ve also had to give some devastating diagnoses.

Seen some young lives sadly cut short.’ His voice went quiet.

‘You have all these important plans and commitments, which I admire, but along the way you need to consider if those plans are fulfilling enough. If all those achievements are worth celebrating alone.’ His gaze flicked to all the frames on his shelves.

‘I can tell you from experience that none of my triumphs would have been as meaningful if I didn’t have Sylvie by my side. ’

‘But what if,’ I scrubbed at my pulsing temples, ‘she’s made it clear she wants something else?’

‘Has she?’

‘When we first started spending time together, that’s what she told me.’

‘Like you, do you think her feelings have changed?’

‘Not sure.’

A sharp knock on the door kept me from saying any more. Janice stuck her head in the room and let out an irritated huff. ‘While I’m sure you are both enjoying your bonding time, we have an overflowing waiting room of patients who need to be seen.’

‘All right. Thank you for keeping us on the straight and narrow,’ Dr Sheridan chuckled.

‘It’s what you pay me for,’ she said with a sharp chirp.

She was a drill sergeant, but a drill sergeant we respected.

‘Well,’ she grumbled. ‘You two are still sitting!’

We moved from our chairs and Dr Sheridan slapped a hand on my shoulder. ‘Let’s go take care of our town, shall we?’

Our town . The words lodged in my throat like a dry piece of meat. I’d never expected to feel connected to this place. To these people. Now I wasn’t sure how I would ever say goodbye.

I started for the door when my phone buzzed with a text. The throbbing in my temples morphed into hammers banging against my skull.

‘Problem?’ Dr Sheridan asked.

‘Yes, sir. It looks like I won’t be able to stay after all.’