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Longing for his childhood best friend.
Hatred at himself for throwing aside everything they had meant to each other.
Now, here Jax stood, literally caught between Luke and another pregnant girl they both wanted. What god did he piss off to deserve for this to always be his fate?
Jax turned to face Luke with the same hopeless acceptance he would a firing squad. “Top of the morning to you too, sunshine.”
“Oh shut up.” If exasperation could be considered a step up from loathing—which is what Andie kept insisting—then he and Luke were making progress. At least the guy no longer hurled pitchforks full of shit at him.
“Andie? You ready to go?”
Jax hated how Luke softened when he looked toward Andie. Everything the guy felt was always plain as day on his stupid, open face.
Jax cleared his throat. “Go? I didn’t know you had plans.” And now his own—to fix her drip then whisk her away for a picnic—were dashed to hell.
“Yeah, sorry, Jax. We have a doctor’s appointment today. I wish you would’ve called.” She made a pained face that was as clear for him to read as Luke’s. She hated being caught between the two of them and playing referee. Jax bit back his disappointment and plastered a bolstering smile in place for her.
“No worries. Honest. I’ll take a look at your sink and then—”
“Sink? What’s the matter with your sink?” Luke immediately headed for the house while simultaneously tugging at the tie he’d put on for the occasion.
“Wait. Luke? We don’t have time. Whoa! Not you too, Jax. Stop! Both of you!”
Jax picked up his pace when Luke did, determined to not let the fucker snake in on his brownie points. Luke noticed him coming and broke into a jog.
Andie trailed after the two of them, yammering about a plumber. Silly woman didn’t even realize that was like gas on the fire spurring them both on.
A shrill whistle rent the air like the wail of a tornado warning. The noise stopped them all in their tracks. Jax looked in astonished admiration at the pint-sized pixie in her welding gear as she dropped her hand from her lips. “Hey,Dumb and Dumber. I already fixed the sink, so you two are going to have to find some other way to win the hand of the fair maiden.” Then she dropped her face plate back in place and went back to welding.
While Andie clapped and shouted her thank yous to Kiki, Jax tried not to draw attention to the casual way he smoothed his clothing back into place. Until he noticed Luke fighting with his tie, not the least embarrassed about the lengths he’d been about to take to impress a girl. So Jax gave up feeling sheepish and watched as Luke reversed course and snagged Andie by the elbow with a mumble about being late. Then he shuffled her into his Chevy before she managed more than a wave in Jax’s direction.
Jax watched Luke’s truck leave in a cloud of dust. Behind him, AC/DC was wailing about going all night long, and sparks were once again flying from the open shop doors. Jax didn’t even notice how thoughts of Andie and Luke drifted away as smoothly as the dust left in their wake. He just adjusted his shades and lost himself in the music, in the art, and in the little spitfire who wielded her torch like a magic wand.
* * *
“Hello,Andie, I’m Dr. Green. I understand you originally met with Dr. Shooster?” A beautiful woman with dark silky hair and the kindest brown eyes Andie had ever seen walked into the exam room. She had a crooked smile that immediately put Andie at ease.
“Yes. He was Uncle Wally’s doctor, so I went to him, because his was the only name I recognized. And he sent me to you.”
The woman exuded calm and confidence, and she felt a great well of gratitude for Dr. Shooster. Sweet as the old coot had been, Andie was blissfully grateful that it was going to be this competent and professional woman guiding her through this ordeal rather than a man who looked so ancient she felt compelled to tell him to sit down the first time she visited his office.
“I’m so very glad he did. He was the doctor who delivered me, you know.” Her smile warmed with the memory, and her affection for the other doctor was evident. “Doc Shooster is one of my very favorite people. He even wrote my letter of recommendation when I went to med school.” As she spoke, she didn’t scroll through her electronics or riffle through papers. She gave them her attention and made eye contact. The sense they had her undivided attention was so reassuring that Andie felt a huge weight lift from her shoulders. The difference between this visit and the type of doctors she was used to seeing in the walk-in clinics and harried offices in her city was so vast she could hardly reconcile the contrasts.
“And this is your first pregnancy?” Dr. Green asked.
“Yes,” Andie said.
“No,” Luke said. Then turned bright red. “I mean. I have a son. Not with her. He’s nineteen.”
“Congratulations.” Her mouth pursed like she wanted to laugh at Luke’s bumbling nerves but was trying to hold back.
Luke actually flushed in pleasure and met Andie’s eyes. The heat in her face told Andie she looked just as giddy and excited as he did. Luke took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. She felt her blush deepen.This is going to work.
“My name’s Luke by the way. This is… well, hell, you already know who she is. I’m sorry. I’m going to stop talking now.” Luke backed into a stirrup, turned the color of a tomato when he recognized it, and Andie fell just a little bit in love at his muttered “Oh geez.”
Dr. Green sent her a coconspirator’s smile, and Andie decided she loved her just a little too. The doctor finally looked at the tablet in her hands, scrolled for a few minutes, and said, “Okay, it looks like you’re about fourteen weeks along, and all your vitals look normal. Go ahead and lie back. Let’s start by checking the heartbeat.”
Andie lay back and managed not to smirk at the way Luke fluttered around her. As though lying down was magically a difficult task now. She could do nothing to stop the eye roll. Both the eye roll and the smirk melted away when Luke clasped one of her hands in both of his and brought her fingers to his lips.
