Teardrop Lane (9 page)

Now all he needed was an idea.

A grand idea. The idea of all ideas. A half-million-dollar idea.

He needed inspiration.

His best ideas always came to him when his mind was empty of everything else following strenuous exercise. When he ran a marathon or swam the channel between Bella Vita Isle and neighboring Sunrise Cay, ideas flowed like rum in the islands. Of course, his most creatively spectacular ideas had happened in the aftermath of a vigorous session between the sheets.

He couldn’t go swimming in Eternity Springs. He could
go running. Skiing. Mountain climbing. But he needed a spectacular idea.

“Guess I’ll go see if Dr. Delicious has plans for lunch.”

He grabbed his coat and exited his studio wearing a self-amused grin. Such sacrifices a man made for his art.

This year the annual Eternity Springs Ice Fishing Derby at Hummingbird Lake boasted a record number of entries. Held on the last weekend in February, the festival went on in sunshine, rain, snow; and once even in a blizzard. Luckily, this year the weather cooperated, and as Rose parked her car in the lakeside campground lot on Sunday afternoon, bright sunshine beaming in a cloudless sky teamed with a nonexistent breeze to make the temperature hovering in the twenties seem almost balmy.

The mouth-watering aromas of grilling brats and roasting nuts drifted from the concession stands erected around the campgrounds, and she stopped and bought a paper cone full of nuts before making her way out onto the ice in search of Shannon. Her friend wasn’t difficult to find since she’d planted a Murphy’s Pub pole banner beside her fishing hole.

Rose couldn’t help but smile. Raised a city girl, Shannon had jumped into the outdoors life with both feet. Rose enjoyed most of what life in a mountain town had to offer, except she honestly didn’t see the appeal of ice fishing. Fly fishing bubbling rivers and frothing streams in summertime, yes. That was an art and a joy. Sinking a line through a hole in the ice? She didn’t get it.

And yet, now that she’d visited the Derby—a first for her—she had to admit that she found the atmosphere appealing. It was like a party on ice. She popped a warm cashew into her mouth and greeted Shannon.

“You look like you’re having fun.”

“I am. It’s a gorgeous day and I’ve caught two fish.”

“You go, girl,” Rose said with a smile.

“Whoa! Not two. Three. Got another one!” Shannon pulled a rainbow trout from the water and chortled with glee.

Rose wrinkled her nose when her friend grasped the wiggling rainbow and began to extract the hook from its mouth. “Yuck. That is why I don’t fish unless I’m with someone who will do that nasty task for me.”

Shannon glanced up at her in surprise. “You don’t like to remove fish hooks?”

“Or touch fish. Fish skin and scales creep me out.”

“What? That’s crazy. You’re a doctor. You touch things that are a million times worse than fish skin. I imagine since you moved to Eternity Springs, you’ve removed a fish hook from a human being a time or two.”

“More times than I can count. But I’m always gloved and there are no scales involved.”

“That’s just weird.” Shannon efficiently freed the hook, then dropped the trout into the cooler at her side. “So I guess it’s safe to assume you’re not ready to chop a hole in the ice and join me?”

“The fish are safe from me.” She pulled a thermos from a tote bag and handed it to Shannon. “I brought us hot chocolate.”

“God bless you. I have a camp stool in that green bag at your feet. Get it and sit down and let’s dish. I have information about your boyfriend.”

Rose couldn’t help but be intrigued. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Shannon released a puff of air that fogged on the
chilly air. “Ha,” she said in disbelief. “Then why do the two of you have dinner together at Murphy’s every night?”

“It’s not every night.”

“Almost. Word is getting around town that the two of you are an item.”

“We live in a small town. Word gets around when somebody buys extra toilet paper at the Trading Post.” Rose shrugged and pulled the camp stool from the bag Shannon had indicated. “I’ve been having dinner at your place regularly since I discovered the ambrosia that is your potato soup. As far as Cicero showing up, too, well, Murphy’s is a public place. I can’t stop him from choosing to eat his supper there.”

“Don’t give me that. You both wait for the other to arrive before you place your meal orders. Seriously, Rose, the two of you are like teenagers.” Shannon laughed and added, “It’s been going on for almost two weeks. And given it’s my restaurant, I’ve had a front row seat!”

“We are just being polite. They’re not dates. We’re not dating. The term boyfriend implies dating.”

“He asks you on a date every night.”

“Eavesdropping?”

“I’m not deaf.”

“Then you’ve heard me refuse every night, too.” Rose waved that away as she set up the stool and took a seat. “It’s a joke. It’s become a joke between us.”

“Maybe so, but he is a man on the prowl and he has you in his sights. I’ve worked in enough bars over the years that I recognize the signs. Okay, girlfriend, spill. He’s hot. He is obviously fishing. Why don’t you let him reel you in?”

Rose filled a Styrofoam cup with hot chocolate from her thermos as her friend lowered her line into the icy water. Handing over the steaming drink, she said, “It’s complicated.”

Shannon studied her through narrowed eyes. “It’s your ex, isn’t it?”

“I’m not sitting out here in the cold to talk about
him
. You promised dish on Hunt Cicero. Whatcha got?”

“Well, I hate to spread gossip”—Shannon ignored Rose’s snort and continued—“but word is that your local fire man has been spending a lot of time at the library. Reading poetry.”

“Poetry? Seriously?” Rose was intrigued.

“But that’s only part of it. The librarian told the nail tech at the salon that he gathers up a stack of books and carries them to one of the private study carrels. He reads for a little while, then he leaves the library and goes for a run. He comes back, reads some more, then runs some more. The nail tech says she’s seen him out jogging, and that he looks really good in running pants.”

“The woman does have a keen eye.” Rose sipped her hot chocolate and considered the tidbit of news. She wouldn’t try to deny that Hunt Cicero was interesting, well traveled, and well read. His interest in poetry shouldn’t surprise her, but it did. “He has a PEZ collection.”

“A what?”

“PEZ. You know, those little candy holders? He has a collection of them. Like over 300 of them.”

“A collector. Hmm.” Shannon twisted her head to look behind her. “See, that fits him. I’ll bet he’s collected plenty of women over the years.”

Rose followed the path of Shannon’s gaze and spied Cicero standing with his arm draped familiarly around a woman’s shoulder. A lovely young woman whom she didn’t recognize. Something ugly stirred inside Rose. “Who is that?”

“The blonde? She’s pretty, isn’t she?”

“She’s young.”

“Twenty-one. I know. I carded her last night.” Shannon
gave Rose a knowing look as she added, “Pull in your thorns, Rosie. She and her fiancé had a beer at the pub last night. Her father is one of Flynn Brogan’s closest friends so it makes sense that Cicero knows them. The whole family is here for the engagement party.”

“Oh.” Rose winced. “Was I that obvious?”

“Yep.”

She sighed. After Brandon ditched her then married someone ten years younger than she, young women and older men were a sore spot for her. “That’s embarrassing.”

“Actually, I think a little jealousy is telling. You can deny it all you want, but you’re interested. The man is obviously hot for you, too. And didn’t I overhear him invite you to be his date tonight? You didn’t tell him no.”

“But I didn’t tell him yes, either. I said I’d see him there. I received my own invitation and since the party is at Angel’s Rest, I just have to walk downstairs.”

“So it’s a semi-date?”

“No. I don’t know. Maybe.” In an effort to deflect her friend’s attention, she asked, “What about you? Are you going?”

“I am.” Shannon dusted her knuckles over her shoulder. “I received invitations from two handsome men, I’ll have you know.”

“Excellent. Although, considering all the times you’re hit on at the pub each night, I’m not surprised. Let me guess.” Rose mentally reviewed the pub’s customers. The owner of the Trading Post, Eternity Springs’s grocery store, had been coming around Murphy’s Pub quite a bit. “I bet Logan McClure is one of them.”

Shannon lifted her line from the water, checked the bait, then sank the hook once again. “Correct.”

“He does make it pleasant to buy groceries. And the second guy? This shouldn’t be difficult since we don’t have that many single men in town. Of course, mystery
man could be a visitor. Since you said handsome, the name Romano pops to mind first.”

Shannon made a patting gesture over her heart.

“Oooh, you scored a date with one of the super-studs? Max or Tony?”

“Max invited me first, so I’m going with him.”

Rose studied her friend, picking up a vibe that surprised her.
He’s not the guy you’d like to be going with, is he? But neither is Logan
. Rose wanted to ask, but Shannon’s manner broadcast that the topic was closed.

“You’ll have fun with Max.” She glanced down at the fishing line and observed, “I think you have another fish.”

“Oh!”

While Shannon dealt with the trout, Rose thought about her own plans for the engagement party. Her attention wandered back to the group that included Hunt Cicero. It wasn’t surprising that she found him intriguing. Any woman with a heartbeat would. Darkly handsome, he seemed always to be … simmering. Yesterday on her way to the clinic, Celeste had asked her to drop off a bridal magazine at the studio for Gabi. She’d watched him work. He’d been hot and sweaty, his movements graceful. When he’d wrapped his mouth around the blowpipe and lifted his gaze to hers, the intensity in those gorgeous dark eyes had melted her. In that moment, the expression playing with fire had taken on an entirely new meaning.

Hunt Cicero. Passion, poetry, and PEZ collections.

He was nothing like her ex.

Brandon had looked like a Nordic god, light and bright and beautiful. A brilliant and talented surgeon, he’d had a charismatic personality and he’d walked the hospital corridors like a king whose confidence knew no bounds even before he’d earned renown in his field. Her father had admired and respected him. In her most vulnerable moments, Rose wondered if even from the beginning,
Brandon had pursued her for professional reasons rather than personal ones. Her father’s mentorship had been a valuable boon to his career.

Looking back, she understood why she’d fallen for Brandon. Less clear to Rose were the reasons why she’d stayed with him for seven years. After canceling plans to marry three separate times due to deployment—twice for him, once for her—they’d put the idea on hold. In hindsight, she could see that having her around made it easier for him to concentrate on what really mattered—his career. She’d been little more than convenience for him. Someone to pick up his dry cleaning. Someone to cook for him. Someone for sex. Of course, once he was established and she had needed
him
for a change, he’d dumped her for a younger, healthier model.

Stupidly, she hadn’t seen that one coming.

Maybe that was part of the appeal where Cicero was concerned. With a man like him, there would be no ambiguity. A woman would know from the first that she was just another notch in the bedpost.
Maybe it’s time you start notching your bedpost, too
.

What would it hurt? It’s not like she could get pregnant.

Shannon interrupted her reverie. “Speaking of brooding, where did your thoughts run off to?”

“Cold fish. Hot tamales.”

“Excuse me?”

“Men. Maybe I should take a lesson from them. Except for one stumble, I’ve been a good girl all of my life. Maybe it’s time I practiced being bad.”

“Ooh.” Shannon’s eyes rounded with intrigue. “Tell me about this stumble.”

“Not now. I’ll play
True Confessions
with you another time.” Maybe. Maybe not. Probably not. That particular story wasn’t one she ever planned to publish.

Just then an air-horn sounded, signaling the end of the
day’s competition and dragging Rose’s thoughts away from her barren love life. While Shannon removed her line from the water, Rose stood and helped her friend pack up. “Are you going to the weigh in?”

“Of course. I won’t even make the top fifty, but I want an official basis point so I can point to my progress next year.”

“I like your style, O’Toole.”

Shannon nodded regally, then said, “I’m all-in on life in Eternity Springs. So, in addition to bringing me hot chocolate, didn’t you say you wanted to listen to the school choir concert? Isn’t that next on the day’s agenda?”

“I did, and it is. I have a large number of patients in the K-to-5th-grade demographic. My inbox overflowed with invitations.”

Rose helped her friend tote her supplies to her car, then while Shannon stood in line with her catch for the weigh-in, Rose grabbed a front row concert seat. The kids began taking their places on the risers. She smiled at the sight of rosy cheeks and the girls’ excited grins and boys’ feigned boredom. Gabi’s niece, Holly Montgomery, spied her doctor and gave Rose a little surreptitious wave.