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Lucas balked. “What?”
“I bet you think that enormous office building of yours is going to rescue all of us stupid townsfolk.”
His green eyes went wide. “Zoey, I didn’t mean—”
“Save it. I have a patient that needs me.”
Lucas
Sittingbetweenmyparentsin the waiting room of the clinic, fighting nerves, my right leg was restless. I leaned forward and used my elbows to anchor my feet to the floor. I hoped Dr. Marshall would perform a miracle.
Maggie couldn’t die. She’d been a part of our family for years. From the day my father brought her home, she had been with us for every Christmas since our sixteenth birthday. Besides that, Leo wasn’t here to say goodbye. Our parents weren’t ready to let her go. Neither was I.
Bolting from the chair, I took slow steps from one end of the waiting room to the other. It was night. The dazzling sunset I had planned to show off to Zoey was long gone. So was my chance of impressing her with the view from the Great Room inside the lodge over dinner.
I settled in front of the large window and crossed my arms when I realized I was pacing. On the other side of the glass, people strolled by the clinic. Some of them filed into the diner. Others carried shopping bags to their cars while they talked on their phones. In the distance was the town square, bright with strings of lights hanging from every tree and teaming with crowds gathered around the gazebo. They were there for one of Covington Falls’s longest traditions.
Once a month, the town held movie nights at the square. Starting in October, the showings increased to once a week. This year, movies were being played each day during the last two weeks of December.
Gazing around Main Street, I concluded I was wrong. Covington Falls wasn’t still stuck in the past. Although right now, I wish it had been. Then I wouldn’t have received the phone call from my foreman, informing me that there had been another, more serious act of vandalism near the V-Sparks project site.
This time, someone started a fire in the open field behind the complex. Luckily, the extra security we hired discovered the blaze before it could spread to the building or towards the town.
Between the stumbles with our expansion and the shock of Maggie’s illness, all of my frustrations culminated in that moment. But I shouldn’t have ranted in the car with Zoey. I said things I didn’t mean. And now I’ve hurt her, ruining any chance for me to…
“For me to what?” I grumbled under my breath.
“Did you say something, son?”
My father appeared by my side. He had a habit of doing so when we were kids. You’d think you were alone. Then, out of nowhere, he was there to offer comfort. I’m not sure how long he’d been beside me this time, though. My mind was racing everywhere.
“Dr. Zoey looked mighty upset earlier,” my father said a moment later.
My eyes fluttered shut. Vivid, as if we were still standing together on the sidewalk, I saw Zoey’s face. I opened my eyes again and stared out at the street when the image of her with tears glistening in her eyes formed in my mind.
“Yeah, I really stepped in it.”
“That’s a shame. Everyone in town likes Dr. Zoey. She’s a hell of a better person than that old grinch Dr. Anderson. And a better doctor. She fixed up this place, nearly bankrupting herself in the process. I heard the renovations cost her three times as much as they quoted her at the start. One contractor even quit on her so they could work on your building site for twice their normal rate. Poor girl. It took her a while to find someone who would do her small job. The whole time, she couldn’t have us coming into the clinic. Dr. Zoey made house calls for months. But she kept a smile on that pretty face. All so the people of this town could feel a little better about themselves.”
My father’s words soaked in. I felt even worse than I did before. Not only did Zoey sound like a person anyone would be lucky to have in their life, it sounded like my expansion of V-Sparks to Covington Falls had been a strain on her as well.
Dammit, I should’ve…
Should’ve what, Lucas?
“Yep, it’s a real shame. Your mother was hopeful about you two.”
So was I. As I sighed loudly, I recognized I was doing it again. I was thinking about Zoey as if we had a future. Even if I hadn’t angered her with my words, my life was in L.A. and Covington Falls had clearly become Zoey’s home.
“I made a huge mistake with her,” I confessed, not knowing whether I was referring to my outburst in the car, or if I meant when I asked her out on a date last night.
My father patted me on the back and said, “Mistakes are a part of life. Just like setbacks and misfortune. Change is also a part of life.”
I turned and looked at him. On his face were all the signs of aging. Deep wrinkles, sagging skin, and graying hair. But there was wisdom, too.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said. “I told your mother that we’ll move into the lodge after the new year. I liked your idea about fixing up the old house. When your mother was younger, she used to talk about owning a bed-and-breakfast. I was thinking we could—“
The sound of a door opening caught our attention and ended the conversation. Behind us, Zoey exited from one of her examination rooms behind the reception desk. Her hair was no longer draped over her shoulders in shiny waves. As soon as she opened the clinic door, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She still looked beautiful and put together, despite the sweat gleaming on her forehead.
