Everything You've Got: Anything & Everything, Book 2 (4 page)

Kat nodded. That made sense. “I still want to go.”

“They’re not going to let you do the CT scan or read it. Dr. Brickham is there, the other partners are five minutes way. You’re an hour away. And there are people here who need you.”

Okay. That was all true.

“Then I’m going home.” She just couldn’t stay here. The party room wasn’t just full of Luke’s family and friends. Her family and friends were in there too. Yes, they loved her. Yes, they’d support her. Yes, they trusted her.

But she really didn’t want any of them to know about this.

And she knew she couldn’t hold it together and pretend nothing was wrong. Not with her mom and dad. Or Sabrina and Marc. Or Luke.

“Good idea. Drink some wine and go to bed,” Nancy ordered. “Do not let yourself sit up all night stewing about this. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Kat glanced at the grandfather clock behind the hostess stand. It was almost one thirty in the morning. She’d be at the clinic in six hours.

A lot could happen in six hours.

Hell, her whole world had been turned upside down in one-sixth of that time tonight. For better and for worse.

Chapter Two

Luke entered the kitchen of his restaurant and immediately groaned. “Are we going to have to come up with a signal like the tie on the doorknob in college?”

Marc pulled back from Sabrina—slowly. He grinned over her head at Luke. “Maybe you should just stop coming into the kitchen. That’s about the only place this stuff happens.”

Luke heard Sabrina giggle from where her face was pressed into her husband’s chest.

He rolled his eyes but grinned too. Maybe he’d spent years believing he was in love with Sabrina, but seeing her with Marc made him wonder how the hell he’d ever thought that. They were so obviously perfect together that it made his chest hurt. Not because he was jealous or wanted her, but because he wanted…
that
. What they had.

And now it was going to happen.

If he could just find the woman of his dreams.

She was around here somewhere. He’d last seen her talking to Nancy.

He had the life he wanted—pretty much. He’d always planned to own a business that was popular and important to his hometown—The Camelot was definitely both of those things. He’d wanted to be close to his family and friends—he lived four blocks from his parents and his best friend was his business partner and married to another of his best friends. He’d wanted to make a difference and impact on the community—not only did he buy and hire locally for the restaurant, but he also volunteered and donated whenever he could to projects and committees.

But there was something obviously missing. He wanted a wife and family. He wanted someone to share his dreams with—cheesy as that sounded. He wanted someone who would volunteer with him, who would understand his need to serve this community, who would work and live here because she loved it as much as he did.

He also wanted kids. He wanted to play in the park, coach baseball, go on Boy Scout camping trips. He wanted it all.

And damned if he wasn’t watching his best friend do and have all of that with the woman Luke had envisioned himself with for years.

He didn’t want Sabrina. But he wanted the life she was giving Marc.

When she’d come home broke, pregnant, finally determined to settle down, he’d been sure it was supposed to be with him.

He’d been wrong.

Marc whispered something in her ear and she hugged him in response.

He’d been really wrong.

He cleared his throat. “Josie told me you wanted to talk to me,” he said to Marc, who hadn’t quite pulled his hands from his wife’s derriere yet.

“Yeah, we have a favor to ask you,” Marc said.

Sabrina turned, with her arm around Marc’s waist. She was obviously pregnant now. Twenty-five weeks to be exact. She was definitely showing, but it seemed that each week that passed made her smile more and talk more about the baby. It was real to all of them now and Luke thought she was actually settling into this beginning stage of motherhood well.

“What kind of favor?” Luke grabbed an olive from the bowl on the counter and popped it in his mouth.

“We want you to drive the RV down to Nashville for us.”

Luke paused midchew and frowned. “What the hell for?” The RV was a monster. And Nashville was something like eighteen hours away.

“We just found out that the band and I were selected to play in a huge outdoor country music festival,” Sabrina said with a huge grin. “But Marc doesn’t think I should drive that far. We were hoping to fly and then have you bring the RV for us.”

“We’ll put you in the hotel during the festival,” Marc added. “A suite even.”

“If you’re staying in a hotel, why do you need the RV?” Luke asked, reaching for another olive.

“I’ll sleep a lot better in the RV,” Sabrina said. “I’m used to that bed.”

“And she’ll need a place to relax when they’re not performing,” Marc added. “She’ll also eat better if we can cook our own stuff.”

Luke looked at his friends. They were serious. And Sabrina had that look on her face—the hopeful, you’re-the-best, I-can-always-count-on-you look that he’d been a sucker for as long as he could remember.

He sighed. “And you used to think that
I
did ridiculous things for her,” he said to Marc. It was good that they were at a place in their relationship where they could talk honestly—and with humor—about his and Sabrina’s past.

“Well, now I understand why,” Marc said unapologetically with a little shrug. “She’s pretty sweet and downright charming.”

“And she’s willing to sleep with you.”

“There is that,” Marc agreed with a cocky grin.

“Not to mention that she’s spoiled rotten,” Luke muttered.

“And really grateful,” Sabrina said, batting her eyes.

“Uh-huh.”

“So you’ll do it?” Marc asked.

“Who will run the restaurant while we’re all partying with Brad Paisley and Miranda Lambert?”

Sabrina’s eyes widened. “How do you know who Brad Paisley and Miranda Lambert are?”

“You played some of their stuff the other night. I got on YouTube. I like you better than Brad but Miranda better than you.”

You
referred to Sabrina and The Locals, the band she sang with regularly at The Camelot and various area events.

She was evidently not offended that he preferred Miranda Lambert’s “Only Prettier” to her own.

“I’m impressed,” she said. “Honestly. But I’m sorry to tell you that Brad and Miranda won’t be there. This is more of an amateur festival.”

Like it mattered. If there was a chance to be on stage in front of an audience, Sabrina would eat it up. And if Sabrina was into it, Marc was into it.

And Luke suddenly had a really great idea.

Luke ate another olive. “Do you think it’s interesting or pitiful that I can’t say no to you even when you’re married to another man?”

Her face lit up. “You’re the best, Luke.” She yipped as Marc pinched her butt. “Second best,” she amended.

Luke shook his head and smiled. Actually, this was the best birthday present Sabrina had ever given him.

“When do we leave?”

“We?” Sabrina asked.

“Me and Kat.”

It was perfect.

They’d be sleeping, showering, dressing—and undressing—in that RV together. There would be no interruptions, no other responsibilities, no distractions. They’d be alone, twenty-four hours a day for at least four days in a very small space, far from home. Oh, yeah, this was perfect.

The moment Kat had climbed up on his lap and kissed him like she’d never get enough, she had accepted her fate.

He was going to fast-track this relationship, and this trip to Nashville together was the ideal way to do it.

“You and Kat?” Sabrina asked.

“Yeah.”

He wondered how Sabrina would react. She was madly in love with her husband, but there had never been another female more important than her in Luke’s life. This might be a little difficult for her.

“
Finally
,” Sabrina breathed. She rolled her eyes. “I cannot believe it’s taken you this long.”

Or maybe she’d be fine with it.

“You knew how I felt about Kat?” he asked.

“No one knows you better than Marc and I do,” Sabrina told him. “And even if we hadn’t known for sure, we know you’re right for each other. She’s got everything you want and vice versa.”

It was true.

“And you’ve been moping around since the wedding,” Marc said. “You hoped something would happen with her that night, didn’t you?”

He shrugged. “You know Kat. I couldn’t make the first move. But as best man and maid of honor I figured we’d be together a lot, it would be romantic…there would be free liquor.”

Marc grinned. “You don’t need to liquor her up. She has feelings for you, buddy. She brought Dan to the wedding because she didn’t know how
you
felt.”

He hoped so. But it didn’t matter anymore. Her destiny had been decided as soon as she’d locked his office door. “She knows now. And I’ll make sure to reinforce it on this trip. Repeatedly.” He watched Sabrina’s eyes widen. “I’m not talking about sex. Well, not just about sex.”

“Still, I’m thinking you might want to take the scenic route,” Marc said with a grin.

Marc knew all about road trips—and what they could lead to.

In an attempt to keep Sabrina from breaking Luke’s heart—again—Marc had run interference by driving to pick her up when her car had broken down in Wyoming on her way home to Justice. Luke didn’t know—or really want to know—the details of the trip. But Marc’s comment made him pretty sure that Marc had started falling for her even then.

“When do you need the RV down there?” he asked.

“Friday,” Marc said. “We’ll fly in that morning.”

It was Sunday now—well, Monday morning.

“We’ll be there.” He started for the door.

“You going home?” Marc asked.

“To Kat’s.” He wanted to see her. Everything had changed so quickly and so dramatically tonight. Things were finally coming together and he didn’t want to waste a minute.

“She got a call from work,” Sabrina said. “I asked Nancy where she was when I couldn’t find her.”

He blew out a frustrated breath. He couldn’t be with her now then. It looked like he was going to get some sleep after all.

But this was the last night he was going to be well rested for a while.

Some days a girl just needed kick-ass boots.

And Kat had a closet full of them. She loved boots. They made her feel tough, confident—and taller, which never hurt.

But she’d opted for ankle-high boots with only a one-inch heel that morning. They were cute, but didn’t make her feel very kick-ass. And it was becoming increasingly obvious that she needed at least three-inch heels and knee-high—no, make that, thigh-high—boots today.

Because the day was starting to kick
her
ass.

“Dammit!” She started to slam the cordless phone down on the countertop but Nancy’s hand shot out and cushioned the blow before Kat could break the receiver.

“I take it they won’t tell you anything either?” Nancy asked dryly.

Nancy had already called the Emergency Department in Alliance, Nebraska, twice, but the staff wouldn’t tell her anything about Tom Martin. All they knew from Jeff was that Tom had been admitted to the hospital after his tests in the ER. Now they had no one who would tell them anything.

“No,” Kat grumbled. “I’m his damned doctor!”

“Except that Brickham is there.”

Yeah, Dr. Brickham was probably still there. Or had at least left instructions that he be the one they called with updates and news.

That definitely didn’t make Kat feel better. She slumped into the chair behind the receptionist’s desk, vacant because they’d sent Mandy on a coffee run to get her out of the clinic. Kat just couldn’t listen to her going on about her cat’s kittens being sick today. Just like she’d been tempted to tell Steve, the guy who delivered the water for their watercooler, that she really didn’t care about his son’s baseball game.

She wasn’t this bitchy usually. It was a bad day, and she knew that her agitation came not from the ER staff’s tight lips but from the fact that any minute Dr. Brickham was going to call and yell at her. And that eventually people in Justice were going to hear not only that Tom was in the hospital but that he’d been in to see her before that. And all of that freaked her out.

“Dr. Dayton?”

She looked up to find Robbie Paxton holding a huge bouquet of flowers.

She knew instantly they were from Luke. He’d called her cell three times and the clinic twice, but she’d been in with patients—she was spending extra time with everyone today—and she hadn’t wanted to talk to him anyway. She couldn’t afford to get distracted from her work.

“Hi, Robbie.”

“These are for you.”