Georgia On My Mind (26 page)

Georgie knew the exact moment that Nathan slid out of bed because she had been awake next to him for hours.

He found his shorts on the floor, slipped them on, and left the room without a sound.

As she pulled the sheet up tight around her, she wondered if he was coming back or if he would leave without talking to her.
Wait
. She peered down to the floor where two size-twelve sneakers lay sprawled.

When she heard the toilet flush, she sat up straighter in bed, her heart pounding with anticipation and dread and fear. She wouldn’t be surprised if he came back to say enough was enough. Who could blame him?

“Oh, hey,” he said. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No, I was up.”

He sat on the bed to put on his shoes.

“Are you nervous?” she asked, desperate to break the awkward silence that hung between them. “About court?”

“Not really. I just want to get it over with.”

She couldn’t think of a single other thing to say. How could she put into words what she felt when she wasn’t even sure, exactly, what she was feeling?

He finished tying his shoes and turned to her.

Her stomach twisted with fright. Here it comes. She didn’t want him to profess his love, but neither did she want him to say good-bye.
Not yet
, she cried silently.
Please not yet
. She braced herself.

“I have some work I need to get done on my house this week.” He reached for her hand. “So I’ll be pretty tied up at night.”

“Okay.” If he was going to end it, she wished he would just do it fast and get it over with.

“But will you save Friday night for me?”

Flustered and surprised, she stared at him. “I’d understand if you didn’t want to see me—”

Bringing her hand to his lips, he sent goose bumps scurrying over her skin. “Why wouldn’t I want to see you?”

“Because I’m driving you crazy?”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes the way it usually did. “Yeah, you are, but I guess I’m a sucker for punishment, because I keep coming back for more.”

“Are you going to stop coming back one of these days?”

“I’m not planning on it.” He paused before he added, “So, Friday? Yes?”

Relieved to know there would be more, she nodded.

He leaned over to kiss her. “I’ll try to come by the hospital later to check on Gus.”

“Good luck in court.”

“Thanks.” With one last kiss, he got up and headed for the door.

“Nathan?”

He turned back to her.

“Thank you for being here last night when I needed you.”

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be, Georgie. I’m hoping one of these days you’ll realize that.”

She listened to his footsteps on the stairs, heard him talking to Cat downstairs, and through the open window, she listened to him jog down the hill toward home. How far they’d traveled since she had lusted after him on his morning runs, and yet they were no closer to figuring out what they were going to do about all the feelings flying between them. Reaching for the bedside table, she flipped the two remaining condoms between her fingers and regretted that they hadn’t gotten used.

Cat appeared at her door. “What’s up?”

“Not much.” Georgie studied her roommate. “Have you been crying?”

“No,” Cat said quickly—too quickly.

“What’s wrong, Cat?”

“Nothing.”

Georgie patted the bed.

Seeming relieved by the invitation, Cat came in and stretched out next to her. “Are you naked under there?”

“No,” Georgie snorted.

“Were you?”

“At one point. I raided your stash,” she said, pointing to the condoms on the table.

“Finally got around to doing it again, huh?”

“We were talking about you, not me.”

“I’d rather talk about you, since I won’t be needing condoms for a while after this morning.”

“What happened?”

Cat shrugged, but there was something so defeated in the gesture that Georgie reached for her friend’s hand.

“The thing with Ian . . . it’s not going to fly.”

“Why not?”

“Timing, complications, the usual stuff.” She told Georgie what had happened earlier.

“
Ugh
,” Georgie groaned.

“No kidding. Easily the single most embarrassing moment of my life.”

“I’m sure it was no treat for him, either.”

“Probably not,” Cat conceded. “I just wish he hadn’t managed to ruin me for sex with all other men.”

“That good, huh?”

“There are no words.”

“Same here,” Georgie said with a sigh.

“Must be something in the genes,” Cat said, and they shared a laugh. “Get this—I found out last night that the two of them were eagle scouts.” She stuck her tongue out.

“Doesn’t surprise me one bit about Nathan,” Georgie said. “Ian, on the other hand, I’m not sure I see it.”

“Oh, I can.” Cat shared the story of Rosie’s birth.

“Wow,” Georgie said in a subdued tone. “If that doesn’t tell you everything you’d ever need to know about who he is…”

“Yeah.” A deep sob seemed to take Cat by surprise.

“Oh, honey,” Georgie said, slipping her arm around Cat.

“It was fun,” Cat said between sobs. “I know it was only a couple of days, but I don’t want it to be over.”

“Why does it have to be?”

“It’ll never work, so why put myself through it? Look at me. I’m a total disaster after three days. I can’t tell you when I last cried over a guy. This isn’t me. I don’t want this crap in my life.”

“But if you really like him . . .”

“I
do
really like him. A lot. Maybe more than I’ve ever liked any guy. I wanted to keep it casual, but . . .”

“Nathan said he was surprised Ian agreed to that. Apparently, it’s not his style.”

“I knew you’d rat me out to Nathan.” Cat laughed through her tears. “I
knew
it.”

“Sorry,” Georgie said, trying and failing to show some chagrin.

“No, you’re not!”

The front door squeaked open and then closed.

“Guess who never came home last night?” Georgie whispered.

“No way!” Cat hissed. “Little Miss I’m Going to Be Better Than You Two?”

“One and the same.”

“She’s as weak as we are! Let her think we’re sleeping in.”

As they listened to Tess futz around downstairs before heading up, they muffled their giggles in Georgie’s comforter. When the sound of Tess’s footsteps grew closer, Cat whispered, “Ready?”

Georgie gave her a thumbs-up.

In the hallway, Tess tiptoed past Georgie’s open door.

“AHEM!”

Tess almost jumped out of her skin. “What are you guys
doing
? Are you in
bed
together? What the heck?”

“We’ve been worried sick,” Cat said. “We’ve been lying here all night wondering if we should call the police or the hospitals. We had no idea what to do.”

“Shut
up
,” Tess said, rolling eyes that sparkled with delight and satisfaction.

“And where have you been, young lady?” Georgie asked in her best stern voice. Apparently, Cat approved, because she poked her under the blanket.

“You know exactly where I was. The big question is where did
Nathan
sleep last night, because his bed was very, very empty this morning.”

“Who cares about that?” Cat said. “We already know about them. What about
you
? How was it?”

Tess flopped down across the foot of the bed. “We didn’t, you know, go all the way.” Her cheeks turned bright red. “We did a lot of other stuff—a lot of really
good
stuff—but not the main event.”

“Why not?” Cat asked.

“He said he wasn’t ready.”

“Really?” Georgie asked. “Aren’t they, as a gender,
always
ready?”

“So you think it’s weird, too?” Tess said. “Let me tell you, it wasn’t because of me. Despite what I said to you guys, I really wanted to.”

“And he knew that?” Cat asked.

“Oh, yeah. I was hardly subtle. But I’m wondering if it’s something to do with his injuries.”

“Could be,” Georgie said.

“He told me he loves me,” Tess shared with a giddy smile.

“
Already?
” Cat said.

“We both just
know
. It’s so fast, but I love him, too.”

“Good for you,” Georgie said as a knot of emotion settled in her chest. Why couldn’t it be as simple for her and Nathan? “No one deserves it more.”

“It’s the best thing ever.”

Cat sniffled.

“Are you
crying
?” Tess asked, shocked.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Cat snapped.

“Ian,” Georgie said to Tess. “No go.”

“
Why?
” Tess cried. “He told Ben he’s totally into you.”

“He did?” Cat brightened for an instant before she seemed to remember the situation was hopeless.

“It’s because of Rosie, isn’t it?” Tess asked.

“You guys think I’m a monster, but you don’t know why I feel the way I do,” Cat said.

“Then why don’t you tell us,” Tess said. “Tell us why you’d sacrifice the chance to be with a really great guy just because he has an adorable daughter. I’ve got to be honest with you, Cat. I don’t get it.”

“Because you’re a kid person. Is it so hard for you to believe that I’m not?”

“I think there’s more to the story than you’ve let on.”

“There is,” Cat said grudgingly. “I don’t want to get into all the details, but for a number of reasons, I’ve spent the last ten years raising my younger brother and sister. My brother is
finally
going to college next week. I just got my life back. I can’t start all over again with someone else’s kid—no matter how great a someone he is. Can you understand that at all, Tess?”

“Of course I can. It makes much more sense to me than you deciding not to like Rosie simply because she’s under five feet tall.”

“Rosie’s adorable,” Cat conceded. “I’m not blind to that. But I
know
what he’s got ahead of him. I know about years of lunches and homework and school buses and curfews and sports and sleepovers and birthday parties and dances and friends.
I’ve already done it!
I just want to be
me
now. I want to be Cat. Not Cat with someone else’s kid in tow. It’s not fair to me—or to Ian—to get further involved with him when I
know
I don’t have it in me.”

“Would it matter at all,” Georgie ventured, “that if you were to end up with him—with them—you wouldn’t be doing it alone this time?”

“I don’t know,” Cat said, dejected. “What if I tried it and a year or two later I realized I couldn’t do it? Then you’ve got a child rejected by her own mother and me, too. I don’t have that in me, either.”

“I hate that it seems so hopeless,” Tess said. “I liked you with him.”

“
I
liked me with him, too,” Cat said. “But we can’t all end up with happily ever after here. Two out of three ain’t bad.”

“Don’t lump me in there quite yet,” Georgie said.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Tess said with a smug smile. “I like the odds where you two are concerned.”

“I wish I shared your confidence,” Georgie said. “I really wish I did.”

Georgie stopped for donuts and coffee and opened the center right at ten. She set up the Monday morning ladies’ craft group and got them started before letting the kitchen staff know she was going to the hospital.

On the short drive, she said several prayers for Gus. Bringing the extra donuts and coffee she had bought for her friends, Georgie entered the ICU waiting room, where Walter, Henry, Alice, Bill and Annette were sitting with Good Gus’s daughter, Dawn, while Bad Gus paced, nervous energy coursing through him. His wife Donna nibbled on her thumbnail as she watched him move back and forth.

“Hi,” Georgie said when they greeted her. She set the treats on a table. “What’s the latest?”

“Been two hours already,” Gus said. “They said ninety minutes. What the hell’s taking so long?”

“Take it easy, Gus,” Donna said.

He scowled at her and resumed his pacing.

“No news is good news,” Walter said.

Georgie took a seat between Annette and Walter, her stomach aching with nerves. Like everyone else in the room, she just wanted to hear that Gus was going to be okay.

The others helped themselves to coffee, but they didn’t talk. The quiet among the usually boisterous group only fueled Georgie’s anxiety.

They waited for what felt like forever before a doctor came into the room and signaled to Dawn.

“It’s okay,” she said. “You can tell them, too.”