Baby, Drive South (22 page)

Her heartbeat picked up. Hadn’t Porter said something about bears? And there were snakes around, too. Just yesterday one of the workers had been bitten. Of course, when she’d arrived onsite, the man wanted “Doc” Riley to tend to his wound. Because the snake was a nonvenomous variety, she’d acquiesced. But from her research, she knew there were at least six types of poisonous snakes in these mountains. Rattlesnakes were charitable enough to issue a warning before striking, but the other species weren’t so considerate.

Nikki was suddenly rethinking her quest for solitude.

She glanced all around, but saw nothing except trees and bushes and fallen logs. Eventually, the insects and birds quieted by the sound of the four-wheeler resumed their song, and she relaxed.

To reach the ladder, she stood on the seat of the four-wheeler and pulled herself up. The climb to the top of the water tower was invigorating, just what her body needed. When she reached the platform, her shirt was stuck to her back and her muscles were tingling. Heat emanated from the colossal metal tank, but a tiny breeze cooled the perspiration on her neck.

She moved to the front of the tower and absorbed the sprawling view. She inhaled deeply to fill her lungs, then exhaled, hoping to rid her body of some of the stress that had been building for weeks now. Tears pushed at the back of her eyes over so many things. Her thoughts were jumbled and spinning like a tornado, tossing out hurtful images at will. Thinking of Darren left her almost breathless with grief. She knew she was better off without him if he was going to be unfaithful before they even walked down the aisle, but she mourned the good times they’d shared and the potential of what might have been.

She felt tricked by the universe. She’d rid herself of a happily-ever-after fantasy sometime between starting college and finishing medical school. Darren Rocha had come along and led her to believe she’d been mistaken. And just when she’d allowed herself to be happy, he’d proven she’d been right all along.

Now, here she was, falling under the spell of another man who made her feel unworthy.

Nikki exhaled in frustration. What was broken in her that made her gravitate toward this kind of man?

She pulled out her phone and held it up until the bars climbed, indicating a strong signal. The phone vibrated and a “voice messages waiting” symbol appeared. One message was from Amy, just checking in, wondering if Nikki was on her way back to Broadway. One message was from the manager of the apartment complex where Nikki had lived, asking where to forward her mail. It was a reminder of how quickly and recklessly she’d made the decision to leave town.

And one message was from Darren.

Nikki’s stomach dropped when she heard his husky voice. “Hi, Nikki…it’s me. I heard you left town and I was just calling to see if you’re all right.” His tone was low and fluid, the way it had sounded after he’d had a couple of glasses of wine. “And I wanted to say that if it means anything to you, I’m sorry for the way things turned out. Okay…bye.”

Nikki breathed in and out. He was calling to see if she was all right? What if she wasn’t all right? What then? And he wasn’t sorry for being a lying cheater—he was sorry for the way things turned out? As if he had no culpability in what had happened. She realized her cheeks were wet and swiped at them. How could she have given her heart to someone who’d treated it so carelessly?

She gave in to a few more tears, then wiped her face. Her grammy always said there was no use in crying over spilled milk, and her words had never seemed more appropriate. What was done, was done. She had to keep moving forward.

Nikki punched in Amy Bradshaw’s number and smiled when Amy answered. “Greetings from May-berry,” Nikki said.

“Nikki! You’re still in Sweetness? I thought you were headed back to Broadway.”

“There are…extenuating circumstances.”

“Does this have anything to do with a cleft chin?”

Nikki straightened. “No. My van still hasn’t been repaired…and I’m caring for a wounded deer.”

“You’re a veterinarian now?”

“No. But there was no one else to take care of it. And then there’s Nigel.”

“Nigel?”

She squirmed. “Rachel Hutchins’s pug was accidentally food poisoned.”

“Don’t you have any human patients?”

“At the moment, just Porter Armstrong,” Nikki mumbled.

“Ah…he’s milking his broken leg?”

“He’s suffering from food poisoning, too.”

“How did this guy and Rachel’s dog both get food poisoning?”

“By Rachel.”

Amy laughed. “I guess that’s one way to get a man on his back. But no one else gets sick in that town?”

“A lot of the women are suffering from allergies…but the male workers seem to resent a woman doctor. There’s an older guy with homespun remedies they turn to.”

“Male pride,” Amy offered wryly. “Southern men will take a bullet for a woman, but chivalry cuts both ways. No matter how modern they say they are, they’re chauvinists at heart. They don’t want a woman to see them when they’re down.”

“All the more reason for me to leave,” Nikki said. “My former boss is looking for someone to take my place, but I’m thinking about not coming back to Broadway.”

“Where will you go?”

“I was thinking maybe Atlanta, although I’ve never been there. Any advice?”

“It’s a big, hot city. The job market is better than where you are. And I think you’ll find the cultural pursuits a little more diversified.”

Nikki laughed. “I might check it out since I’m this close.”

“And here I was counting on you coming back.”

“I’m sorry. What’s going on with you?”

Amy sighed. “Still waiting to hear if I’ll be assigned to the state reservoir repair job. Keep your fingers crossed for me.”

“I will,” Nikki said, then told her friend goodbye. When she disconnected the call, she nursed a pang of regret. If she didn’t go back to Broadway, she would miss Amy. But after listening to Darren’s voice message, she wasn’t sure she could go back. She wasn’t over him yet, if he still had the power to hurt her.

She called Dr. Hannah and after being put on hold for a short time, she heard the woman’s friendly voice come on the line. “Nikki, how are you?”

“I’m fine,” she lied, although just saying the words made her feel better.

“I’m glad to hear from you, I was going to give you a call. I might have found a physician who’s willing to come to Sweetness to work in the clinic.”

Why didn’t the news excite her as much as it should have? “That’s terrific,” she said. “Who?”

“Dr. Jay Cross. He’s fresh out of residency and eager to work in a rural clinic where he can make a difference. But he wants to arrange a visit first to see how he likes the town.”

Nikki wrote down his contact information and promised to give it to the Armstrongs. “And the town is supposed to be wirelessly connected soon, so communication will be easier.” Dr. Hannah said she was still asking around about some of the other clinic positions, and she would be in touch. She ended the conversation by asking Nikki if she was coming back to the practice.

“I haven’t decided,” Nikki admitted. “But I appreciate the offer. I’ll let you know soon.”

Nikki disconnected the call and took a few moments to gaze at the peaceful mountain scenery before her. It was a meditative place, to be sure. The majestic peaks, the terraced trees and the rolling foothills…they were unwavering. Nature didn’t give a hoot about man’s problems, it just kept marching on. A lesson to its inhabitants, she mused. After a few more leisurely moments, she glanced at her watch and decided to head back. For now, at least, she had patients to oversee, even if most of them were of the four-legged variety.

She descended the ladder carefully and stepped on the seat of the four-wheeler, then lowered herself to the ground, feeling oddly triumphant for driving an ATV to the top of a mountain and climbing a water tower—things she couldn’t have imagined doing only a couple of weeks prior. She could see how a rural environment produced resourceful individuals, how it had instilled in the Armstrong brothers a will to defy nature and rebuild a town from nothing.

But she could admire their goals without being sucked into them.

Nikki pulled on her helmet and started the engine. When she goosed the gas, the vehicle’s wheels spun, kicking up dirt and leaves. She eased off the throttle and glanced at the rear tires. A shiny object stood out among the debris. Remembering the pocket watch find, Nikki put on the brake and climbed off the vehicle for a look.

It was a ring.

The gold filigree band looked delicate against her palm, but in fact, was quite heavy and probably of considerable value. Was it another artifact carried here by the tornado a decade ago? Nikki was both saddened and filled with wonder—sad for the person who’d lost the ring and amazed that she’d found it by chance. Was the person still looking for it? There were no visible inscriptions in the gold, but the ring might reveal more secrets once it had been cleaned. She tucked it into her pocket, then mounted the four-wheeler and headed downhill, eager to see Porter to show him her find.

And not for any other reason.

Before, the ride down the mountain had always gone more quickly than the ride up, but Nikki drove slowly and it seemed a long time before she saw the roof of the boardinghouse through the trees. After pulling the four-wheeler to a stop where Porter usually parked it, she stashed her helmet and hurried into the building.

Her first stop was by her office to make sure, as she expected, that no one was waiting to see her. She went inside to check on the two animals that had been moved to the bathroom. The deer lay in the bottom of the glass shower stall, still dozing from sedatives to keep it from standing on its cast leg for at least one more day. She watched as its ears flicked and its chest rose and fell rhythmically. The animal wasn’t out of the woods yet, but so far, so good.

Outside the shower, Nigel was asleep in the dog bed that Rachel had furnished. He lay on his side, his stubby little legs bicycling occasionally. He was well enough to go back to Rachel’s room, but he seemed reluctant to leave the deer, whining and walking back to sniff the animal when Rachel tried to coax him away. For now, she agreed to leave him nearby.

Nikki left her office to go next door to the empty bedroom where Porter was recuperating. She hesitated, wondering if Rachel was in there with him. Probably. She raised her hand and knocked. “Porter? It’s Nikki. Is this a bad time?”

“Come on in,” he called.

She turned the knob and pushed open the door. The bed where he’d been confined for the better part of two days was empty. Straight ahead, the bathroom door was open. Porter stood leaning against the sink, shirtless, shaving with a disposable razor. His hair and skin were damp. “I had Kendall bring me a change of clothes and some toiletries so I could at least take a sponge bath.”

Her pulse jumped erratically at the sight of his wide shoulders and dark chest hair. “Your coloring is improved,” she said to cover the fact that she was staring. “But you still need to rest. Where’s Rachel?”

“She left,” he said curtly, then picked up a towel to wipe his jaw. He turned to face her. “Listen, Nikki. I want to apologize for what happened the other day in your office.”

Her cheeks warmed. “No need. I let things go too far.”

He frowned. “I was apologizing for the interruption.”

She swallowed hard, assailed by sensual memories. “Like I said—no need. Let’s just forget it happened.”

“But—”

“Porter,” she interrupted, anxious that her body was reacting to him even now. “Drop it, okay?”

He averted his gaze. “Okay.” He draped the towel over the edge of the sink. “How was your outing?”

“It was good,” she said breezily. “My former boss thinks she’s found a replacement for me, so I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist that my van be repaired as soon as possible.”

His expression was unreadable. “I promise I’ll get right on it.”

“You’ve said that before,” she added.

He pursed his mouth, then nodded. “I mean it this time.” He retrieved a light-colored chambray shirt from a hanger, then shrugged into it, leaving the front hanging open to give her a glimpse of his planed stomach. He reached for his crutches, then made his way back to the bed, where he sat on the edge. “So when does your replacement arrive?”

“I don’t know.” She pulled a scrap of paper from her pocket and extended it to him. “I said I’d pass along his contact information to you and your brothers.”

He took the paper. “Your replacement is a man?”

She nodded. “It’s probably best for now, don’t you think?”

He didn’t say anything, just tucked the piece of paper into his shirt pocket.

“Oh, and I found this,” she said, pulling out the ring and holding it up for him to see.

All of the “improved” coloring left Porter’s face. He took the ring and she noticed his hand was shaking slightly. “You found this at the water tower?”

“Yes, not too far away from the spot where I found the pocket watch. Do you think it was carried up there by the tornado?”

He nodded, turning the ring over and over. “I know it was.”

“So you think Molly will be able to find the owner?”

“She won’t have to,” he said, pinning her with those amazing blue eyes. “This is my mother’s wedding ring.”

Nikki’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding?”

“No. She took it off just before the tornado hit, and it blew away with everything else we owned. She cried for days, then resigned herself to the fact that she’d never see it again.” He exhaled noisily, visibly moved. “Thank you.”

Nikki was almost speechless with incredulity…and the emotional fallout of the find made her uncomfortable. She hugged herself. “You’re welcome. But I didn’t do anything—it was just there under the wheel of the ATV.”

Porter closed his hand over the ring and suddenly a smile broke over his face. “Go to Atlanta with me.”

She blinked. “What?”

“Go to Atlanta with me. Someone has to get supplies for the clinic, and you’re the best person for the job.”

Nikki pondered his offer. It would be a good chance to see the city. “Only if you get an appointment to see an orthopedist to make sure your leg is healing.”