Champagne and Lemon Drops: A Blueberry Springs Chick Lit Contemporary Romance (5 page)

Realizing Nash was waiting for her to reply
she flushed. "Um, sorry? I missed that."

"I've noticed a genuine need for an outreach
here."

Beth frowned. How much had she missed while
sucking in his scent?

Nash continued, "I think the community and
outlying areas need a recreational therapy program for outpatients.
For example, people with developmental disabilities or physical
issues. It could be part respite care and part therapy. I'm pretty
good at finding grants for this type of thing and I could act as
the attending physician for an outreach while I'm here."

Beth closed her gaping yap. He thought she
should head up a new program for outpatients? She gave his shoulder
a shove and laughed. "Get out of here!" He had to be kidding,
right?

He looked slightly insulted as he
straightened his white doctor's coat. "I've pulled the records for
the patients under your care and the results speak for themselves.
There is a genuine need and I think you should full it."

Beth struggled not to look stunned. "You
researched me?"

He cleared his throat. "Of course. So? What
do you say?" He pulled a folded square of paper from his breast
pocket and handed it to her. "These are the details. Training this
weekend in Dakota."

"Whoa. What?" She slowly unfolded the page,
keeping her eyes on Nash.

"There's professional development funding
that will cover your expenses. I noticed you haven't used yours
this year. It's Saturday and Sunday only so you don't have to worry
about missing work and finding a replacement. I know how difficult
that is out here in the boonies. Go, see what outreaches are about.
No harm, no foul. And if you decide to go through with it, I'll be
here to help."

Beth stared blankly at the information sheet
in front of her and blinked. When it came to stuff like this she
wasn't about to kid herself that her independent, big-girl pants
were from anywhere other than the junior's department. Who was she
to believe she could make a program go from start to finish? And
why was he all over this like it was a done deal?

"Besides," said Nash, standing at the door,
"you could probably use the distraction as well as something to
dive into at the moment. Am I right?"

She hesitated and a slow smile spread across
her face. This would more than fill her lonely weekends. And it
would show Oz that her life didn't stop just because he wanted his
to. This could be the distraction she was looking for. "I'm in.
Let's check it out."

***

Beth paused in the doorway with the last box
of the things she'd need for her time away from Oz. She felt beyond
exhausted—more like a deflated balloon than a human. Oz looked just
as defeated. She took a step toward him, bothered that the box she
was holding kept them from hugging. She was missing the last hug
she'd get for up to a month.

"I wish you'd let me be the one to move
out." Oz reached over and tucked a strand of her hair behind an
ear. She gave him a hard look. They weren't having this
conversation again.

"If you've known since
forever that accounting isn't for you, why did you wait until now?"
Her anger and hurt took root and words flew from her mouth like
they were jet-propelled. "Why not just
dump
the business and get it over
with? Why not just
give
Ed your whole business! I thought you had respect
and cared about others. I thought you were better than that. What
kind of man strings along clients and then dumps them without
warning after they've made a commitment?"

"I
do
have respect for people and
I'm
not
dumping
you." Oz grasped her shoulders and bent down so he could look her
in the eye. "I'm doing this because I love and respect you. I need
time to figure out how I can be the man I want to be, and the man
you need me to be."

"Why can't you tell your dad you don't want
the business? Why are you doing this?" She felt so weak and
pathetic. She pulled her shoulders straight and put on an air of
confidence she didn't feel. She had to be strong. Had to keep her
pride.

"You've never had to tell your parents you
hate the very thing they love after you've just spent the last few
years of your life pretending it was your calling."

"Yeah, well I wish I'd had the opportunity."
Tears blurred her vision and she stepped out onto the porch.

"Beth, I didn't mean it like that."

Her nose burned with unshed tears and at the
bottom of the steps she turned and said, "I won't be at our Sunday
coffee, Oz. I'm going to the city." By missing Sunday, she was
going to have to go a week plus a couple of days until their next
agreed check in. While it hurt to be away from him for that long,
she couldn't help but hope that it would be even worse for him.

She slowly made her way to the car, misery
clouding her vision of the way the earth was greening up, preparing
for spring, the mountains glowing in the evening light. With
shaking arms, she lowered the box into the back of the station
wagon, her alarm clock tumbling out, jangling in protest. She
turned to face Oz waiting for him to ask why she wouldn't be there.
He stayed frozen to the spot at the top of the porch steps. His
grip was tight on the railing, and he didn't speak or blink. She
thought she may have seen him sway, but she couldn't be sure.

In a low voice he asked, "Are we doing the
right thing?"

"Yes," she replied firmly, surprising
herself. "If you're having doubts now, what's it going to be like
in six months or a year? You need to fix whatever's giving you
doubts, Oz. I can't..." She shook her head, holding back tears. "I
just can't." She got in her car, her head still shaking. She had to
get away before her resistance crumbled and she dove back into his
arms only to find out later that he hadn't fixed whatever was
bothering him about their relationship. If things were going to go
south between them, it had to happen now. Not later when they had
kids.

Chapter 4

Beth hunched over her upturned basket of
music, and yawned as she matched cracked cases with their CDs.
Sleeping on Katie's hide-a-bed was so not a good long-term
where-am-I-going-to-live solution. Especially since Katie had just
switched to night shifts which meant she was traipsing through the
living room—aka Beth's new bedroom—at odd hours of the day and
night.

But it was only for a short time. Oz had
already expressed doubts the other night when she was packing, but
she wasn't going to let him end their time apart prematurely. If he
needed a break, he was getting a break. That man had to get his
stuffing together, because if he didn't and she let him off early,
they'd surely end in divorce. She wasn't going to let him toss the
turkey in the oven until she was sure he had his stuffing
together.

"Beth, dear?"

Beth looked up from her CDs at the elderly
woman with flyaway hair. "Yes, Lauretta?"

"You know Wolf and I used to have fights. We
always found the best way to work through those rifts was to stay
together under the same roof and work through it." She reached into
her mouth and adjusted her dentures. "You and Ozzie love each other
very much. You can't let that kind of thing go."

"I'll take that into consideration. Thanks,
Lauretta," Beth said, quickly matching up CDs and cases in order to
escape before others gathered around to add their advice.

Footfalls lacking her patient's
characteristic shuffle echoed across the large room and loafers
stopped at the outskirts of her scattered music pile.

"Good morning, ma'am," said a deep voice.
Beth looked up to see Nash nodding to Lauretta.

Lauretta gave him a slight nod and slipped
away, calling out, "Remember Beth. Same roof. Happy together
forever."

"Getting love advice, are you?"

Beth let out a half laugh. "Yep. Everyone
has something to say. I didn't realize so many couples have had big
fights. Blows my mind." She gave her head a slight shake, making
her curls tumble over her shoulders. She flicked her hair back and
accepted the cracked CD case Nash was passing her.

"Still using CDs? You could ask the
acquisitions committee for an MP3 player. Convert this over to
digital. Make some playlists."

Beth glanced up and was struck by the
nearness of Nash's bright blue eyes. He smiled and she tried to
ignore the extra heartbeat that thrummed inside her chest. Which
was silly. It had only been days since Oz had asked for a break.
She was in no position for heart thrills.

She obviously needed to get more sleep.

"I could help if you want," he offered.

"I already have an iPod. It doesn't work."
Sometimes men didn't understand that old technology was easier,
cheaper, and faster. And harder to lose.

"Oh. Uh, I was wondering... are you hungry?"
He ran a hand through his perfectly groomed hair, each strand
returning to its proper place. "I was angling to grab lunch before
heading back to my clinic. Would you care to join me? A side of
conversation with my cafeteria gruel always makes it more
palatable."

She studied him through her lashes and
stuffed a few CDs in the basket. He gave her a confident, disarming
grin and waited.

"My treat. Simply sustenance and company."
He handed her another CD.

"When?" Beth replied reluctantly. She tipped
the Ella Fitzgerald CD into the basket, wanting to snap it in half
as punishment for all the dance memories it brought back. Damn that
Oz. She shoved the basket onto her cart and faced Nash.

"Now?" he asked, his eyebrows arching
hopefully.

"Yeah." Why the hell not? She had to eat.
Besides, she could use a friend who wasn't invested in her
relationship like half the town seemed to be.

He laughed. "Not exactly the enthusiasm I
was hoping for, but better than eating alone. And besides, we can
arm wrestle over who gets to drive and claim mileage for our outing
to Dakota tomorrow."

She laughed despite her
mood. "I don't know, City Boy. Think you can out-wrangle a country
girl?" She watched him stand, his scrubs momentarily outlining his
fit quads. God, she was such a pushover for a good pair of quads.
When Oz was still playing high school football he had
amazing
quads and some
nights, she used to fall asleep dreaming of where those muscles
ended and what they might feel like pushed against her in moments
of passion. And now she knew—and they were even better than in her
fantasies.

Nash laughed and squeezed her bicep. "Hmm. I
dunno."

She flexed her muscles and grinned.
Laughing, she pushed her cart back against the wall and pushed him
toward the door. "Come on, let's get there before they're out of
the Friday special."

***

"So?" asked Nash sitting down across from
Beth in the small, bustling cafeteria filled with staff, townsfolk
and patients. "Still feeling down?"

"Sorry?" Beth glanced around the room. The
clatter of dishes and hum of conversation, distracting.

"How are you and Oz doing?" He broke his tea
biscuit in half and dipped it in his Irish stew.

Her shoulders sagged. "Oh, you know..."

"I heard you moved out."

"You never struck me as a gossip
follower."

"Well, I can't say I like it, but you can't
get anywhere in this town without wading through it. Some of it
sticks to you." He glanced at Beth, then away. "The two of you are
the topic of the town, you know. Especially with you moving
out."

Beth closed her eyes. Great, so much for
Nash being an impartial ear who didn't know the town's gossip or
everyone's history. The guy probably knew more than she did by now.
She opened her eyes to find Mary Alice, the town's most active
rumormonger beside their table, tray laden with desserts and
coffees for a table of Beth's patients. The woman said she was
volunteering, but the way she pumped those folks for gossip—knowing
they spent half the day on the phone catching up with the town—she
was more like a pioneer trying to fill a leaky bucket with
water.

Mary Alice let out a wheezy smoker's cackle.
"Ha! I heard Oz kicked her out, Dr. Leham." She turned a curious
eye to Beth, brows raised in anticipation.

"I chose to be the one to move out.
Temporarily," Beth said, straightening her shoulders. If there were
two people in town she'd like to avoid until this business between
her and Oz was over, it was Mary Alice and her older sister Liz
and, in particular, their big mouths and active imaginations.

"Now why would you two break up?" Mary Alice
asked, her sister sidling up beside her.

"It's just a break," she muttered.

Liz piped up, "Then where's your ring?"

"Oz has it."

"He asked for it back?" the sisters asked at
the same time. Their eyes slid over Nash and they shared a knowing
look.

Liz elbowed her sister in the ribs and
whispered loud enough for Beth to hear, "Betcha Mandy moves in on
Oz."

Beth shot Nash a look and avoided making eye
contact with the ladies. Seriously. They were worse than a pair of
soap opera writers. Beth focused on her stroganoff and entertained
a brief fantasy of flying away on a private plane, away from these
ladies and their less-than-trustworthy gossip. She could picture a
dance floor on a secluded beach with a live band playing Michael
Bublé. Nash would twirl her around, her light gown flowing out
around her, neither of them with a care in the world. She jabbed a
noodle and shook the image from her head. She really, really needed
to get more sleep. Desperately.

"I think Beth is looking to climb a new
mountain." Liz waggled her eyebrows suggestively, elbowing her
sister again.