Gone Too Far (20 page)

“I have to go,” he said into his cell. “I'm not supposed to be on the phone in here, but make sure the meeting with Borst is rescheduled for—”

He was only a few feet from Evan's room when the door suddenly opened and Avery stepped out. Their eyes met and Carter froze. It was the first time he'd seen her since finding out that she had left Anthony and since threatening to take Connor away. During that time, Carter had made some big changes in his life that he was still dealing with, but mostly he had tried his best to keep from calling her. No matter how much he tried to distract himself, he couldn't get her leaving Anthony out of his mind—and even more so the fact that she still had not told him. It was yet another obsession he had that centered around Avery, something he was trying desperately to stop.

It was his weekend with Connor, so he knew he would have to deal with her in a couple of days, but he'd wanted to be more prepared so he could manage his feelings. He wasn't used to having to manage his feelings, but Avery made him angry, excited, and nervous like no other woman could, so although he was no longer interested in hurting her, these surprise encounters could cause him a lot of trouble.

Avery was jolted by this chance meeting too. She had timed her visits to the hospital to avoid anyone in the Chase family except Kimberly, whom she needed to get into Evan's room. The degrading state of her relationship with Carter made it awkward for her to be around any of them. Kimberly had promised her no one was due until 4:00 p.m. Carter, the workaholic, was the last person she expected to see at noon.

So much of her life had changed since she last spoke to him, when he had threatened to take Connor away from her. The threat was still fresh in her mind, and she had expected to hear from one of his lawyers or be served with some papers any day now. She lived in fear of this, because his last threat seemed so much more real than any of the others. Her response, harsher than any others, had made it even more serious. She couldn't take it back because she meant it, and even if it was another empty threat, this had gone too far to play nice.

Then there was the dissolution of her marriage and everything that she had ahead of her to deal with. Now here was Carter standing in front of her, not looking as angry as usual, but clearly not pleased to see her. No, the last thing she needed right now was to say anything that could escalate their drama. So what was she supposed to do? Trying to be civil had done nothing in the past, and she couldn't ignore him. And then there was still that little part of her that wanted…She had to stop that thought before it finished.

“Hello, Carter.” She spoke quickly as she passed him.

“Avery.” Carter turned around. “Stop.”

Avery took a deep breath and turned around. “I was just leaving. Kimberly said I could see him.”

“I don't care about you being here,” Carter said impatiently. “I wanted to know when you were going to tell me about your separation from Anthony?”

Avery sighed, looking away. She had not yet rehearsed this conversation, having so many other important things to think about. She had been dreading his reaction, based on how he'd been treating her.

“Why would I tell you?” Avery asked. “So you could throw an I-told-you-so in my face? You were right. He can walk.”

“Why are you acting as if this is my fault?” he asked.

“I'm not,” she answered. “This has nothing to do with you.”

“Considering I'm the one who made you aware of this, I think it has to do with me.” Carter shoved his cell in the jacket pocket of his suit. “You could have told me.”

“You would have found out eventually,” she said. “Besides, I'm not giving you any ammunition against me.”

“Ammunition?” Carter shrugged, confused. “For what?”

“For Connor. You think I don't know what a disadvantage being a single parent against a married couple is in a custody battle? I don't care if I'm single or you're married to Julia or anyone else. I'm still not going to let you take my—”

“I don't want to take Connor away from you,” Carter said. He could see the look of disbelief on her face. “I was angry.”

“You're always angry.” Avery was trying to figure out how many grains of salt she should give his words. “Every time you get angry, you threaten to take her away from me. You can't keep doing this.”

“I won't do it anymore,” Carter said. “No matter what has happened between us, I know you're a great mother. I would never take Connor away from you.”

Avery was touched by his words despite the voice in the back of her head telling her she couldn't believe him. “All I've ever wanted to be was a good mother to Connor. You've been making it so hard.”

“And I won't anymore,” Carter said. Humility was hard for him, and this was making him feel guilty on top. “Look, Avery…I'm trying to move on with my life. For Connor's sake, we'll find a way to get along.”

“That's all I've ever wanted,” Avery said, knowing it wasn't entirely true. Even now, with all the madness her life had become, she still wanted him. She didn't need him, but she wanted him.

That was the problem, Carter said to himself. If only that could be all he ever wanted, too, things would be much easier. “Where should I pick Connor up from this Friday?”

“My parents' house,” Avery answered. “We're staying there until I can get my own place.”

“Then I'll see you Friday.” Carter quickly turned and walked away.

The haste with which he walked away from her only served to confuse Avery more. She was hopeful that he'd meant what he said, because although there had been lulls in his quest for vengeance, he had never gone so far as to praise her. On the other hand, the way he had just walked away from her told her that he didn't want to spend a second more than he had to in her presence.

“Maybe it's an improvement,” she said to herself as she started off again.

“Maybe what's an improvement?”

Avery turned back to see Kimberly only a few feet away from her. “How long have you been standing there?”

“I just came out as Carter walked in.” Kimberly pointed to Evan's room. “Are you talking to yourself?”

“He can't stand to be near me,” Avery said, “but I guess it is an improvement from wanting to be near me just so he can hurt me.”

“Disregard can be more painful than cruelty to some people,” Kimberly said. “But I thought things were changing now.”

“We'll see, but even if he still hates me, at least he won't use Connor to hurt me anymore.”

Kimberly frowned, confused by Avery's response. “We aren't talking about the same thing, are we?”

“I'm talking about Carter saying he wants to move on and stop threatening to take Connor away from me every time I make him mad. What are you talking about?”

“Wow.” Kimberly looked around before stepping closer to Avery. “Don't you dare tell him you heard this from me. I'm dealing with enough now. I don't need Mr. I Love Making People Miserable on my ass.”

“Do I want to know this?” Avery asked cautiously.

Kimberly smiled as she answered. “He broke off his engagement to Julia.”

Avery's mouth flew open. She didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure what to believe. “How can you know that?”

“That whole family is running in and out of here, and I overheard it.” Kimberly shrugged with a gleeful smile. “Not only did he call off the wedding, but he also broke up with the snobby bitch altogether.”

Avery didn't even know where to begin. “Did he say why?”

“I thought it was because of you,” Kimberly said. “You know, because someone was saying that you and Anthony are done.”

“I had nothing to do with this,” Avery argued.

“Please,” Kimberly said. “You have everything to do with anything Carter does, and you know it. Maybe he thought you left Anthony for him?”

“No,” Avery said. “That was completely separate. It's not—”

“I was so sure.” Kimberly looked curiously disappointed. “I'm thinking for Avery to leave her husband, a man in a wheelchair, it had to be for Carter.”

“My life doesn't revolve around Carter,” Avery said defensively. “I don't need him or any man. I left Anthony for reasons I just don't want to get into now. Not for Carter.”

Kimberly flipped her hair back and looked Avery up and down. With a smirk, she said, “You expect me to believe that you leaving Anthony and Carter leaving Julia within a week of each other isn't related?”

“Believe what you want,” Avery said. “Carter and I aren't together. I left Anthony for my own reasons, and I don't know why he left Julia, but I can assure you it wasn't for me.”

“Well,” Kimberly said. “Could it be eventually?”

Avery looked toward the door, finding it curious that he was so upset she hadn't shared her news, while at the same time not sharing his.

“Sorry, Kimberly, but that ship has sailed. Whatever the future holds for me and Carter, it's not us being together.”

Avery just hoped that one day, this realization wouldn't hurt as much as it did right now.

 

Leigh was staring at the cell phone on her desk at the clinic as if she could will it to ring. She knew she should call Max. He had been gone for a couple of days, and she had yet to call him after he walked out on her in the restaurant.

Leigh found it odd how scared his confession of love made her. She knew that she held on to some baggage because of what had happened in the past with Lyndon and Richard, but what woman didn't want to hear a man who made her feel the way Max did tell her he loved her? And although it felt good to know he loved her, what came next was what frightened the hell out of her. Leigh wasn't sure she had the strength to survive another heartbreak, another public heartbreak at that.

Her first objection had been to the idea that they be together because it was expected, a good union as her mother would call it. It was good for the family socially and good for Max politically. But the truth was, Leigh wasn't really concerned about that. The night they'd spent together in Africa made it clear to her that their attraction was genuine. The fact that she wanted more nights in his bed told her it was more than genuine. And that was her concern. She would let her guard down, let herself fall in love and then…it was always the same.

“Come in.” A knock on the door broke Leigh from her trance.

Alicia, one of the doctors who helped Leigh build the clinic and one of her best friends, poked her head in and asked, “Is it safe?”

“What do you mean?” Leigh waved her in.

Alicia entered, closing the door behind her. “You've been in a bad mood all day. I didn't want to get in the line of fire.”

“I'm sorry,” Leigh said. “I have a lot on my mind, but I would never take it out on you. As a matter of fact, I'm still trying to think of a way I can reward you for running this place so well while I was gone.”

“Don't even think about it,” Alicia said. “This is our dream, and we've done a great job here.”

Leigh smiled at the thought. She began this clinic with Alicia and Richard almost four years ago, and it had grown beyond her dreams. “Can you believe we're going to open a third clinic?”

“We're going to need it.” Alicia sat down in the wooden chair across from Leigh's small, cluttered desk. “Did you see the
L.A. Times
today?”

“No.” Leigh reached out and pulled her laptop closer to her on the desk. “Do I want to?”

“Um…no, but yes.”

Leigh laughed as she typed. “That's helpful.”

When she got to the Web site for the newspaper, she didn't need any direction to find what Alicia was referring to. In the top right column, in black letters, was the headline:

S
OURCES
S
AY
S
TATE
H
EALTH
C
ARE
P
ROGRAM
I
S
N
O
-G
O

“‘Aides to Governor Sand,'” Leigh read aloud, “‘tell the
Times
that a recent report submitted to the governor by Senator Max Cody, a rumored candidate for the governor's seat next year, recommends that, due to budget concerns, he not implement the proposed version of state health care, California's own version of universal coverage.'”

“From the look on your face,” Alicia said, “I take it you didn't know about this.”

Leigh's anger was only compounded by what she read next. “‘This comes on the heels of what Capitol Hill sources say is a recommendation by Senator Cody that the president also reduce some aid programs to Africa.'”

“How could he?” Leigh slammed down the top of her laptop in an act of rage that satisfied nothing.

“The bill has been out there for a few months,” Alicia said. “You aren't the only person who lobbied for it, but you know Republicans.”

“This isn't about him being a Republican,” Leigh said. “It's about him being a liar. He told me he wasn't going to shut down the entire proposal but might make some cuts.”

“When did he tell you that?” Alicia asked. “Were you in an…intimate setting?”

Leigh gave her an agitated look. “Are you saying he only told me that to get me in bed?”

Alicia lurched forward, her eyes wide. “He's gotten you in bed? So it's true. You two are—”

“Don't start.” Leigh reached for her cell phone. “I think I know what this is about.”

“You think it's about you?” Alicia asked.

“It better not be.” Leigh wouldn't be so vain as to suggest that her refusal to return his profession of affection had anything to do with it, but that didn't change the fact that he went back on what he had said he would do.