Champagne and Lemon Drops: A Blueberry Springs Chick Lit Contemporary Romance (15 page)

Beth massaged her bare ring finger and tried
not to think about having a family with someone other than Oz.
Thoughts like that felt out of place. Greedy, even. Especially
since Nash was the kind of man she could fall for. He was patient,
kind, and stable. He'd make a good husband and a good father. And
he believed in her in a way nobody else seemed to. And the way saw
her through a fresh point of view gave her confidence. Add in the
way his blue eyes danced when she tickled his funny bone and she
was almost smitten.

"I'm right about Oz, aren't I? Just like I
was with you going off to college."

Beth gritted her teeth; she didn't want
Cynthia to be right about Oz this time. Going to college to get
away from Oz and Mandy had been one thing; this was entirely
different. She stood and dusted off her pants. She'd think about it
later over a thick slice of chocolate maven pie. "Shall we check on
Gran?"

"Yeah." Cynthia gave Beth a look she
couldn't decipher and entered the room first, her legs moving
stiffly. "Hey Gran!" Cynthia turned all smiles, her voice strained
and overly perky. "How are you feeling? Can I get you
anything?"

"I'd like a cup of tea," Gran said. She was
flat on her back, eyes cast to the ceiling, tubes running into the
back of her hand. "Make sure it's cool enough I can slurp it
through a straw."

"I'll get it," Beth said, turning to go.
She'd already checked in on Gran twice, and figured Cynthia might
want a chance to visit Gran alone.

"No," said Cynthia shoving past her, face
pale. "I've got it."

Gran shook her head sadly. "That Cynthia. I
can't believe she's still so bothered by hospitals."

"She loves you, Gran. That's all." She took
the chair beside Gran. "She can't see that some people leave
happier and healthier. She can't see the hope that resides
here."

"Well, quite frankly, neither can I. I hate
the smell. I hate the shitty sheets, and most of all," she said,
her voice rising, "I hate the fact that everything is so bloody
controlled and mandated that I can't get a decent sip of sherry!"
She smacked the bed beside her with her free hand. "I need a
goddamned bootlegger!"

Beth bit her lips, trying not to smile.
"Maybe there's something I can do?"

Gran gave Beth a slight smile, her fight
gone. "I'm okay. That city doc will look after me just fine. Even
said he'd see what he could do about getting me some sherry." She
raised an eyebrow at Beth and waited half a beat. "However, I don't
think you need to go chasing after his love buns just yet."

"What?" Beth jolted like she'd touched an
electric fence with a wet hand.

"I heard the two of you girls out in the
hall. I'm not deaf, you know." She gave Beth a stern look.

"I know," Beth said quickly. She scanned
their conversation in her head trying to think what all Gran may
have overheard.

"It was my decision."

"What was?" Beth asked.

Gran winced as she shifted her position.
Beth stood to help fluff a pillow, guilt clinging to her like a
thick fog. Her issues with Oz were affecting others, endangering
her gran, and the town was going to rightly blame her for it. Gran
was one of their own and she'd let her come to harm.

She had to make it stop. She had to cut the
cord even if it meant starting over.

"I
said
, it was my decision. My decision
to dance with Oz."

"Gran." Beth blinked back tears. "I should
have—"

"Oh, enough already. We're
all adults." Gran gave her a disgruntled frown. "I know you got in
some serious trouble from Justin, but don't you go thinking for one
second that it changes anything between us. You are
not
my babysitter no
matter what those numbskulls in their fancy offices
think."

Beth gave Gran's hand a light squeeze. "I
love you, Gran."

Gran waved her off with a frown. "Enough.
You're going to make me vomit."

Beth chuckled and released Gran's hand.

"Now," Gran said. "Damn, I wish I could sit
up." She wiggled her shoulders, snuggling into her bed.

"Can I—" Beth asked, reaching again to help
fluff or adjust.

"Sit! Quit fussing over me," Gran snapped.
She pointed a long finger at Beth. "And don't you let me die of
boredom in here. You wheel this goddamned bed into the common room
every morning, you hear me? I can still chat, play cards, and do
crafts while lying on my back."

Beth lowered herself into the chair and
nodded, unsure how she'd get past the protesting nurses and their
rules.

"If I stay in here my brain will rot and
then what good will I be?"

"I'll bring guests by, Gran."

Gran narrowed her eyes. "I want to be where
the action is, you hear? There's a good reason they pay you to
provide recreational therapy. Now. About these men of yours. I
asked Dr. Leham—my heavens, that man has a nice tush—I asked him to
check under that chair for my slippers more than once, I tell you."
Gran made a satisfied sound. "Mmm-hmm."

"Gran!"

Gran gave her a silencing
look and continued, "I asked him not to ban Oz. But that was all
for naught. Rules this. Regulations that." She shot Beth a sour
look and raised her voice slightly, like she did when making a
point. "However. I do
not
agree with Cynthia. As smart as that girl is, I
disagree. Dr. Leham is a fine specimen of Y chromosome and fun to
spend time with while Oz gets his life sorted, but it should end
there. For now." Another stern look. "Oz is not the type to take
kindly to you spending time with another man."

"He told me to move on. He's not—we're
not... anymore, Gran."

"Sure you are. And if you think spending
time with the lovely doctor is going to swing that man of yours
around, you've got another thing coming."

"But Gran—"

"Shit storms are no fun to
walk in with your mouth open. And don't you
but
me, young lady. You listen to
what I have to say."

"Yes, Gran." This felt a lot like the time
Gran found out she'd gone to the doctor for The Pill while in high
school. She'd been so sure she was going to hook up with Ricky
Fallows and she wanted to be prepared. Gran, on the other hand, had
laid into her for settling for less, and so early in life. How
Ricky was less she never found out because once word had gotten out
that Gran didn't approve, that was it. He'd avoided her like she'd
been sprayed by a skunk. It had taken her a long time to forgive
Gran for that. Well, at least until she'd spotted Oz.

"I know Oz suggested you
move on while he works through his issues. He's doing the honorable
thing because he's realizing he has more issues to work through
before he is ready to start a life with you. You can't figure out
what your dreams are in a half a second. You young kids think
everything should happen on your own terms like it's a grand PVR
and you can fast forward to the parts you want right now. Give
him
time
. You're
young and have time. You don't need to rush and have regrets later.
Anyone else you may be thinking of, if they're worth it, will
wait."

Beth clenched her hands into fists as her
throat closed.

Gran's smile softened like it did when she
saw Reggie. Beth looked over her shoulder, thinking he'd entered
the room, but nobody was there. "Actions speak louder than words
and sometimes that's all a man has," Gran said softly. "Listen
carefully to his actions, not his words. The two of you were good
together."

"Like... what kind of actions?" Beth
prodded.

"He tried to dance with your patients and
especially with me. And the rose? Actions. Signs."

"But he was drunk," Beth said in a hard
voice. "I asked him what he wanted and," Beth tried to bite back
the bitterness seeping into her voice, "he said he wanted exercise.
He didn't come because he wanted to. He's still trying to please
his father. Not himself."

Her grandmother laughed. "Oh, Beth, dear.
He's a big ship. You can't turn one of those on a dime."

Beth shot Gran a look.

"Men are much more complicated than we give
them credit for. You and I both know he didn't show up for
exercise. He's reaching out in the only way he can without wounding
his pride. Men can't always say the words we need to hear."

Beth paused. That would mean her gut was
right and Cynthia was wrong.

Except the real Oz wouldn't have let his
pride stop him from saying that he'd come for her.

"I'm right, aren't I?" gloated Gran.

Beth brought her attention back to her
grandmother. "I don't think so," she said slowly.

Gran's expression grew grim like she'd
received bad news. "Don't rush one of the most important things in
your life. Trust yourself, Beth. Trust your instincts. Trust your
heart."

Chapter 9

Beth sat in her car with the window rolled
down. Being July, her car's air-conditioning had decided it was
truly an option. An option her car no longer had. Parked in the
shade of an old elm, with the steering wheel clammy in her grip,
Beth thought of the overnight bag waiting experimentally in her
trunk. All she had to do was start the engine and head down the
road, take a left onto Second Street, another left onto the highway
and straight out of town and into a new life. A life where she
wouldn't burden her sister. A life where she wouldn't put Gran at
risk. A life where Oz could do whatever he needed to do without
feeling any obligation to her.

A clipping for a new apartment building in
Derbyshire lay beside her and she glanced at the address once
again. A nice part of town on a quiet street, not far from where
Katie's boyfriend, Will, grew up. She'd be far enough away from the
gossip and guilt, but she'd be close enough to visit Gran, Cynthia,
and Katie whenever she wanted. And Nash.

She would miss their long chats on the
phone, his awesome ice cream, and the way he made her feel relaxed,
special, mysterious, and elegant. When she was with him it felt as
though there was more to her life than just Blueberry Springs and
her past. It felt as though there was a completely unwritten future
just waiting for her to walk into it.

It was silly. Dreaming about Nash was like a
girl dreaming about being adopted by movie stars. And of city men
who wouldn't mind settling down with country bumpkins.

She sucked in a deep breath. It was over.
She could keep deluding herself that there was hope in Oz's
actions—just like everyone in town seemed to have—or she could move
on like Cynthia suggested.

Beth gripped her steering wheel and sweat
trickled down her back. Oz was right. There was a new Oz in town
and he wasn't at all like the old one. She should start her engine
and go. New life. She reached to start the car.

"Nice wheels."

Beth jumped. "Oh jeez, Nash! You scared
me."

"Sorry." Nash propped his arms on her open
window. "Where are you off to?"

Beth casually flipped over the apartment ad.
"Um..."

Nash gave her a grin. "When the going gets
tough, the tough gets going, huh?"

She gave him a sheepish smile.

He slid over her hood like
he was in
The Dukes of
Hazard
. A thrill raced up her spine. She
had no idea he could do that. He had athletic, nimble, agile, and
sexy hiding behind his professional doctoral visage. He slipped off
the edge of the hood, landing on the ground and she laughed. He
popped into the passenger's seat, looking embarrassed.

He snagged the ad he'd almost sat on, giving
it a quick once over. "Nothing for rent in town, I take it?" he
asked.

"Everything seems to be taken by the time I
get to it," she admitted. She focused her attention out the
windshield at the leaves wiggling and dancing in a light puff of
air. The leaves showed their pale underbellies, then hid them
again.

"So? You're heading out?" He checked the
backseat. "Reconnaissance mission?"

She nodded and they sat in silence.

Nash, hands clasped between his knees, shot
her an apologetic look. "Sorry about your job."

She frowned. "I didn't lose
it." Although being on probation was almost the same thing as being
fired when you were searching for a new job. Neither was considered
a positive strike during the inevitable reference call. It was one
of the small things keeping her from turning the key and driving
off into a
completely
new life. That, and the fact that the nearest hospital, other
than theirs, was well over an hour away and wasn't in need of a
recreational therapist. Plus, she couldn't leave her outreach now
that people were actually coming besides Gran. Nash had been right
about holding a grand opening and advertising in the paper. She now
had about sixty percent of her spots filled, making it worth
getting up early every Saturday.

"I feel partially responsible for you being
placed on probation, and I'm sorry."

Why was he apologizing when Oz hadn't?

It was another sign. And another reason why
she needed to distance herself from Oz, despite what Gran had said,
and what her heart wanted.

Nash continued, "If there had been a way for
me to avoid reporting it, I would have." He rubbed the back of his
neck. "But I can't admit a patient, especially one from continuing
care, without writing up a report." He gave her an uncertain look.
"You know?"

Some of the tension riding her shoulders
eased away. "Yeah, I know." Her mind shot down a new avenue. What
if she followed her sister's advice? What if she leaned over and
kissed Nash? Placed her warm lips against his soft, pouty lower
lip... closed her eyes and dreamed of the future? A whole new her.
A future where Nash made her feel smarter and elegant just by being
him. She'd no longer feel like she was yanking both ends of her
life together in furious hopes that one day they might connect.