Unchained Memories (22 page)

“I hope you don’t mind.” Becky’s smile rivaled Clay’s. “I ran into your mom at the grocery store yesterday and she invited me. I had forgotten you do this every year.”

Becky turned to the other Montgomerys close by, and each greeted her with the same warmth and familiarity as Clay. As if she were part of the family. Gorgeous Dr. Goodwin, with her long blonde hair and emerald green eyes, a Barbie doll with brains and personality. And a very close connection with the Montgomerys.

A flashback to ten years ago swooped in to claim her memory.

Charlotte stood before the mirror in her room on the rehab wing, carefully applying eyeliner, then mascara to frame her blue eyes. In ten minutes she would meet Clay for a tutoring session and she was determined to turn his head, make him notice her as more than a patient, more than a student. She added a hint of blush and a swipe of lip gloss before shimmying into a floral sun dress. Slipping her feet into flat sandals, she grimaced, for she wanted to wear heels, but her still unstable gait prevented it. Walking toward his office, Charlotte shook off her nerves, convincing herself she was old enough, mature enough for the man who starred in her fantasies. She was in love with Clay and desperately wanted him to love her back. He just needed some encouragement. When she arrived at her destination, laughter emanated from the room and she peeked inside. Dr. Goodwin, Becky, was in there laughing with Clay about something. Dr. Goodwin, with her gorgeous smile, had her hand on Clay’s arm as she whispered something in his ear. They were so close, they could have kissed. Maybe they had, for at that moment, they looked like lovers. Charlotte’s heart hammered in her chest and her eyes welled up. This couldn’t be. She backed away from the door. She couldn’t let Clay see her cry. Turning, she fled to her room, all her preparations to look beautiful ruined by tears of jealousy.

Ten years hadn’t changed much. Charlotte’s misery tripled at the thought.

Bringing her back to the present, Clay stood before her with Becky in tow. “Charley, do you remember Becky from your stay at the hospital?”

She held out her hand in greeting. “Of course I do. Dr. Goodwin, Becky, it’s nice to see you again.”

Becky returned her handshake. “It’s great to see you again too, Charlotte. You look fabulous.” Becky’s words sounded sincere and her engaging smile was catchy.

“Thanks. You too.”

“I heard you were back in town. A lawyer for the other team, right?”

Although her words could have raised Charlotte’s back, they clearly weren’t meant to antagonize. A simple statement, with the simple truth, said in a matter-of-fact way.

Charlotte bowed her head, and smiled. “I guess you could say that.”

“Let’s get back to the game,” interrupted Jim. “Becky, you can play on our team. We could use an extra player. We’re getting creamed.”

Becky followed Clay to the other side of the net and for the next hour, Charlotte experienced the full-blown fun and camaraderie of the Montgomery clan. Their laughter along with good-natured bickering over the rules combined to verify that this extended family plainly loved to hang out together. Too bad Clay couldn’t often fit them into his schedule.

“That was out,” yelled Sam, Colleen’s boyfriend.

“You need glasses. That was in by a mile,” argued Colleen, on the opposite side of the net.

“You’re cheating ’cuz you’re down by two.”

“We are not cheating. You couldn’t possibly have seen it. You were facing the other way.”

Jim’s girlfriend, Denise, who had been in and out of the house making preparations, came over to the court shaking her head. “I’ll be the ref. You guys are contesting more than you’re playing.”

Clay’s sister, Julie, took offense to the suggestion. “You’re biased. You’ll be in favor of Jim’s team.”

Denise placed her hands on her hips. “I will not. But if you don’t trust me, we’ll get Mr. Montgomery over here and I’ll flip the burgers.”

She was as good as her word, and went over to the grill, sending Clay’s father to preside over the game. Not that the final score was important. The bickering was just part of the process. Even with Mr. Montgomery making the calls.

But he held his ground. “I’m the ref. There’s no instant replay. If you argue with the ref, I’ll throw you out of the game. Right, Becky?” He gave her a conspiratorial grin as if they’d experienced this problem before.

“Right, Mr. Montgomery.” She motioned with her thumb and chuckled, “Out of the game.”

Becky certainly had him wrapped around her slim finger. As she apparently did the rest of them. Friendly shoves, little swats, and joking banter proved her place in the Montgomery family as far superior to Colleen’s or Julie’s boyfriends. Interesting. Just what was the relationship between Becky and Clay?

The game continued on in that vein, stopping the play action after almost every point to discuss the call. After the third game, Mrs. Montgomery intervened. “Time to eat. Put the ball down and go wash your hands.”

That elicited a group laugh and one by one they used the hose by the side of the house to do as they were told, causing even more protests when Julie, the hose holder, sprayed the opposing team members, just for the hell of it.

Charlotte couldn’t believe how fast the time had gone by and how much fun a friendly game of volleyball could be, even with some of her attention being hijacked by questions over Becky and Clay’s bond. While she hadn’t played in years, she had caught on quickly and managed to make points along with the rest of them. She even started arguing over the calls as if she were part of the family. Maybe not as integral a part as Becky, but at least she was getting her foot in the door.

And what an embracing family they were, effortless in bringing her into their midst as if she’d been there all along.

“Charlotte, could you hold Dylan while I help Mom set the table?” Tara, John’s wife, didn’t actually wait for a response before she hoisted him into her arms. The other baby was sleeping peacefully in the playpen under a stately maple tree.

She’d rarely held a baby. It felt...interesting. She gazed down into Dylan’s dark blue eyes as she smoothed his fist with her finger. He grabbed onto it with such force, she was taken aback. Then she laughed. “You’re very strong, Dylan.”

Clay sidled next to her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. “I think he likes you. For such a little man, he has very good taste.”

Clay’s casual caress surprised her. Not that he wasn’t affectionate with her. But here he was publicly displaying that affection in front of his family. In front of Becky. Which sent thrills tumbling through her system.

“Well, thank you. And I think he’s very handsome. Not as handsome as you, of course. Although, you should feel a little threatened.”

Clay whispered in her ear, compounding the tumbling with shivers. “I would. Except that I know your body intimately. I know how to make you scream.”

Erotic flashes tore through Charlotte as he kissed her neck, and it took every ounce of willpower to edge away from Clay and forgo the wild sensations he caused.

“Maybe I better hold the baby.” Colleen winked at Charlotte as she took in her brother’s playful affection. “And maybe you two should get a room.”

Charlotte elbowed Clay as best she could with Dylan firmly in her arms. “See what you did? Now your sister thinks we’re acting like teenagers.”

“I didn’t say that.” Colleen was quick to disagree. “I think it’s great you managed to turn Clay’s head. I can’t remember the last time he brought someone home for the family to meet. Well, other than Becky, of course.”

Charlotte would have clung to those words as a sign Clay felt the same way about her as she did him if Becky’s name hadn’t been added to the mix. And to further dilute any joy she might have been able to salvage, Clay quelled that emotion immediately.

“It’s no big deal. I just thought Charlotte might enjoy a loud, boisterous, obnoxious family to spend a holiday afternoon with. She works too hard and rarely gets a break.” His gorgeous smile made her weak, but his words threw water on the fire he’d started and Colleen had fanned, by allowing Charlotte to feel special for a brief moment.

C’est la vie
. She should have known it was too good to be true.

Trying to ignore the disappointment that could potentially smother her, Charlotte concentrated on Dylan, tickling his belly and playing with his fingers, anything to show neither Colleen’s nor Clay’s words affected her. It must have worked, since Colleen went over to help set the table, while Clay moved toward his father to give him moral support at the grill.

The teasing barbs flying across the picnic table during the meal worked their magic in lightening Charlotte’s mood. Clay’s siblings were relentless in their jibes, seemingly all for Charlotte’s benefit.

“We just want you to know who you’re really dating,” Jim advised while passing the potato salad to his father. “Clay’s obsession with running the ER interferes with his memory of planned get-togethers. On more than one occasion, I’ve eaten by myself at the Nassau Street Bistro, even after I reminded Clay the very same day we were meeting that evening.”

“I only remember that happening once, maybe twice,” chimed in Clay, pouring ketchup on his burger. “And I’m sure I had a good excuse. Even though I don’t remember what it was.”

Everyone at the table had their own twist on Clay’s faults. The teasing comments, peppered with incomprehension over his priorities, flew across the table.

“Maybe you had a good excuse to ditch your little brother,” added Colleen, “but a few months ago, you missed our reservation for Mother’s Day after you assured us you had the day off. I took the train from New York that morning so I wouldn’t be the only one, besides Julie, missing the holiday.”

Clay didn’t take the criticism to heart, and answered to his sins, or not, in a matter-of-fact manner. “Just wait until you’re working full time at a hospital. You’ll see that plans are always tentative.”

“You guys shouldn’t be bad-mouthing Clay in front of Charlotte.” John’s grin held more trouble to come. “She may not stick around very long if she learns she’ll always be second behind the hospital. Even little Dylan and Diana learned his priorities at a very young age.”

“Aw, come on,” pleaded Clay. “You’re ruining me here. I haven’t messed up with Charlotte, yet. Now, she’s going to be on high alert.” He put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze.

Charlotte produced her best skeptical look. “What did you do to poor Dylan and Diana? They’re only six months old.”

Everyone at the table had a response, whether accusatory laughter, a shake of their head, a knowing chuckle.

Tara jumped in with the response. “Clay is the babies’ godfather.” She gave him a stern sideways glance. “He showed up a half hour late for their christening.”

“You didn’t.” Charlotte gaped at him. “How could you be late for such a solemn responsibility? Such an honor?”

What she was hearing from Clay’s family was not meant to fill the positive side of his character chart. Had he brought her home so she’d hear about his mono-focused habits and run in the other direction?

Clay held up his hands, as if to stop the bashing. “That had nothing to do with the hospital. And they all know it.” Now he was speaking directly to Charlotte. “I was just ready to leave for the church and one of the nurses from the clinic called to report a break-in overnight. I had to run over there and report to the police as to what medications were stolen.”

“Oh, and no one else who works for the clinic could have done that,” piped in Julie.

“Let’s not get into past history.” Clay shot his sister a warning glare, distinctly finished with this conversation.

So, Clay wasn’t perfect. She knew that. He put his vocation before his family. But unambiguously, his family came next. So where would that place her? Third. Fourth. And where the hell did Becky fit into all this? She glanced across the table and picked up on a conversation between Becky and Colleen. Apparently, they had become good friends over the years, and were reminiscing over shared experiences. Great.

Finally John came to Clay’s defense. “We all know Clay can find an excuse to work on his way to the bathroom, but he’s been a great big brother to all of us. And a terrific uncle too. He made up for being late for the christening by babysitting a few times. I even heard him singing to Diana once or twice.”

Clay’s face reddened over John’s disclosure. “Maybe not so much singing, as humming. I never know the words.”

Charlotte’s heart melted at the picture she held in her head of Clay holding the tiny infant in his arms while comforting her with a song. Precious.

She tried to catch his eye, but he was responding to something his father said.

“So, Charlotte,” said Julie, pulling her away from Clay’s aura, “what tips can you give me for when I start my job in September?”

Julie had recently graduated from Stanford Law School and was studying for the bar exam scheduled for the end of July.

“Where do you plan to practice?”

“I accepted a job in New York City at Priory Rosen. Although, I’m taking both the New York and New Jersey bar exams. I don’t want to limit my future options to just one state. I’m not at all sure I’ll want to practice long at a huge, international law firm.” She poured more iced tea in her cup and passed the pitcher to Charlotte. “I thought I’d try it for a year or two and see. Plus the money is so good, it’s hard to turn something like that down. While I don’t have student loans, thanks to my brothers, I’d like to repay their generosity. Even with the New York City job, it will take me forever, since tuition was fifty thousand a year.”

Wow. Charlotte couldn’t imagine having that kind of obligation—legal or moral—coming out of law school. She’d been lucky. Her parents’ trust had paid for hers and her sister’s educations, allowing them to graduate without the burden of steep debts. “I don’t blame you for taking the job at Priory. Just be aware those large New York law firms suck the life out of you. But if I had a big financial obligation, I’d do the same thing.”

Julie’s face reddened at her revelation. “I guess I shouldn’t be talking finances with you. But after putting Clay through our usual family wringer in front of you, you should know he’s a terrific brother. Don’t take the stories we told you too negatively. While it’s true he’s committed to his career and the hospital, he’s also committed to his family. At least financially.” Julie bowed her head, as if embarrassed to have let that last sentence slip out.