The sandwich was made with sourdough bread and filled with thin layers of honey ham, and she’d never tasted anything better. She hadn’t quite finished when a bottle of beer came into focus. She’d been enjoying her food so much she hadn’t realized Mack was standing over her, trying to hand her a drink. “Hasn’t been in the fridge long enough to be cold quite yet,” he said, “but it tastes okay.”
This time she didn’t even try to refuse. He’d already popped the top.
Once she finished her sandwich, she just sat there, slumped against the wall, watching him play with her son while slowly drinking her beer.
“You all set?” he asked, after she was done, and offered a hand to help her up.
Surprisingly, she’d regained some of her strength. Who knew a sandwich could make such a difference? But she still had a problem with the fact that she was once again relying on Mack Amos. The last time she’d accepted his help, she’d fallen so deeply in love he’d ruined her for all other men.
But she was going to be much smarter this time.
They needed to get far enough on the cleaning that they could unload the beds, at least, so they’d have somewhere to sleep tonight. Telling herself that his touch did nothing for her, she let Mack haul her to her feet.
Three
After being awakened by Lucas at three in the morning and getting him back in bed, Natasha couldn’t drop off again. Pulling on a cardigan over the gray silk tank top and matching shorts she’d received at her bridal shower almost seven years ago, she slipped down the stairs and past Mack, who was sleeping on the old couch from the den, to go outside and sit on the front steps, where she could gaze at her new town and feel the cool breeze rustling the leaves of the maple tree taking up most of the front yard.
So much had changed in her life. And in such a short time. Only eighteen months ago, she’d been getting her credentials and negotiating contracts with the various health insurance companies that were popular in LA, signing a small business loan for financing and investigating medical record software so she could run her office as efficiently as possible. She’d also been spending a great deal of time with a commercial real estate agent, searching for the perfect location for a pediatrician. Instead of buying into an existing practice, or purchasing the practice of a doctor who was retiring, she’d chosen to start out on her own. She’d been eager to set the tone for how her patients would be treated from the very beginning. Even though Los Angeles was a big city, she wanted to offer small-town care, the kind where a doctor took a greater interest in getting to know her patients and maintained a lasting relationship with each one.
She’d expected her first few years to be tough, knew it would take time to build a practice, and cash flow would be a challenge. Being a doctor wasn’t only difficult when it came to getting through school and paying back a mountain of student debt. Insurance companies took so long to pay after she’d seen a patient. And it was difficult to collect from people who left the office without taking care of their share.
But she’d known the challenges she’d face and had still been optimistic, especially when, in her first three months, she’d outpaced all her projections. She’d thought she was going to make it, that she would continue to grow and become an important part of the community—had never dreamed that something she couldn’t have planned for, something unforeseen, would bring her down.
When it could’ve been so many other things—why was it that?
She sighed as she leaned back and stared up at the sky. If not for Maxine Green, she’d probably be back in Laguna Beach, giving babies their immunizations and helping sick kids get well before going home to Ace and Lucas at night. Her marriage could’ve withstood her success; it just couldn’t withstand her failure. Ace wasn’t capable of supporting her, financially or emotionally. He’d always relied on her to support him, and she’d done her best to play that role—until she just...couldn’t.
The screen door creaked and she twisted around to see Mack. He was barefoot, like she was, but wearing shorts he’d made himself by cutting the legs off a pair of sweatpants. They rode low on his narrow hips, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt, so she could see his well-muscled torso—something that would be better for her not to see.
Besides being only half-dressed, his hair was mussed from sleep, but he didn’t seem remotely self-conscious. She’d never known him to be self-conscious. Vain, either. That was part of his appeal. He was just himself, always. With thick, curly hair he often let grow too long, a prominent chin and jaw—one that sported a five-o’clock shadow almost immediately after he shaved—eyes that somehow saw the best in everything and a pair of dimples that gave him a megawatt smile, it was sometimes difficult for her to look away. His teeth weren’t quite straight, and one of his incisors had a slight chip, but even those imperfections added to the overall character of his face.
Damn him, she thought, wearily. After everything she’d been through, she should not be feeling the same old attraction.
She supposed some battles she’d have to fight forever.
“Having trouble sleeping?” he asked.
Mustering what she could of her defenses, she wrapped her cardigan tighter around her. “Lucas woke up. He was disoriented, what with being in a new place. After I helped him find the bathroom, I couldn’t go back to sleep. What about you? What are you doing up?”
He sat on the step beside her. “He must’ve come downstairs after you took him to the bathroom.”
“He woke you?” she asked in surprise.
He lifted a hand. “It’s fine. He’s on the couch. I’ll take his bed when I go in. At least he’s back to sleep.”
“His bed will be way too small for you. I’ll move him. I’m sorry.” She’d have to risk waking Lucas again when she carried him upstairs; it wasn’t as if Mack had many options. Other than boxes, the beds and that couch were all they’d brought in. By the time they’d cleaned the house, they didn’t have the time or energy to haul any more.
“He’s quite a kid.”
She was glad Mack liked Lucas, couldn’t help wanting him to. “A handful,” she acknowledged. “But I never dreamed he’d bother you. The divorce has him missing Ace, I guess.”
She’d never seen Luke take to someone so quickly. Of course, it would be Mack.
His sidelong glance gave her the impression he had something weighty to say, something beyond the parameters of what they’d discussed since he’d come to LA. Afraid for what that might be, she stiffened, but when the intense expression left his face and he turned away, she could tell he’d decided not to go forward with it and relaxed.
“Must be tough to deal with what your nurse did,” he said instead. “Is that what keeps you up at night?”