Second Time Around Page 2

  She spun around.

  Gazing into her eyes was a mistake. He forced away the sudden image of kissing her and putting that wedding ring on her finger—for good this time.

  He turned to see what the commotion was behind him, just in time to see the bouquet bounce like a volleyball from one female to the next…and into his own hands. Cheers and laughs filled the room.

  “Sorry, ladies, I’m out of the running.” He shrugged his shoulders and smiled, then tossed the bouquet back into the air.

  Emily had sidestepped her way past him and was escaping into the crowd. But the bridal bouquet arched toward her. Obviously surprised, Emily reached out and caught it.

  She spun around and shot Kevin a cold, hard stare. Then she threw the flowers back at him, turned and ran.

  Chapter Two

  Emily frantically chopped the onion, tears rolling down her face. “Who does he think he is?”

  “Sounds just the same as I remember him.” Her younger sister looked at the cutting board. “Are we going to eat that onion, or drink it?”

  Emily glanced at the pile of pulverized white mush. “When did you get so picky?”

  “Well, normally I wouldn’t argue, but we’re making salad, not stew.” Katarina scraped the mess into the garbage disposal, rinsed the wooden slab, then walked across the kitchen, drying the cutting board with a towel. “So Kevin still looks great, huh?”

  “I didn’t say anything about the way he had looked—did I?” Emily was certain she hadn’t told her sister he looked so devastatingly handsome that she had even failed to notice what color of dress the matron of honor was wearing. She didn’t tell Katarina Kevin’s hair was blonder than before, his skin more bronzed and his laugh even huskier. She hadn’t, and she wouldn’t. She didn’t dare.

  Katarina disappeared into the other room, but her raised voice more than made up for the distance. “You may have the M.D. behind your name, sis, but I’m the heart specialist.” Her sister’s honey-blond head momentarily peeked around the corner. “And trust me, that onion was not strong enough to warrant that river of tears.”

  When Katarina reappeared from the living room, soft music floated in behind her swaying body. “Maybe ocean waves will help you relax. You really do need to lighten up, sis.”

  Her sister was right. She was too serious. Emily pulled another onion from the hanging basket and chopped a couple of slices, then set the cutting board in front of her cheery sister. “There is your onion.”

  “Why are you mad at me?” Katarina shrugged her shoulders, hands palms up in front of her. “I didn’t tell you to break your engagement with Kevin to become a doctor for my sake. In fact, if you’d asked, I’d have said you were crazy to let Kevin go. My hearing was already damaged—nothing anyone could have done, including you. The job of Savior has already been filled—in case you need another reminder.”

  “That’s not even funny, Katarina.”

  “Lighten up, sis. I was joking!”

  Emily’s focus instantly moved to the hearing aid tucked into her sister’s right ear. “Oh, Kat. I’m sorry. I don’t blame you.” Emily set the knife on the ceramic-tile counter and rinsed her hands, then hugged her younger sister. “No, sweetie. It wasn’t just because of you. It was for families like ours who grew up without the money to get proper medical care. If you’d only had the medicine for your ear infections, you’d be fine now.”

  Katarina’s eyes clouded, and Emily saw sudden visions of their impoverished childhood. She leaned back and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, remembering arguments she and Kevin had had regarding family finances. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Guess I haven’t let go of my past after all, have I? I hand it to God, then I yank it back. Bet He thinks it’s a yo-yo by now.”

  Kat reached out her hand and held Emily’s, her ornery smile erasing the look of hurt from her blue eyes. “I think there’s one part of your past you’d better examine very carefully before letting him slip away a second time.”

  Emily turned her sister’s head and spoke into her ear. “Is your hearing aid on?” she teased.

  Katarina nodded.

  “Good, because I don’t want you to miss what I’m going to say. I don’t care about Kevin MacIntyre.” Emily tugged the unruly curls to the top of her head and fastened a barrette, then continued. “I don’t wish him any harm, but…I don’t need him. I am perfectly happy on my own.”

  “Right. I don’t believe a word of it, but the time will come when you’ll realize what he still means to you.”

  Emily watched her sister dance to the back door and pull the Victorian lace curtains closed, seemingly mocking Emily’s problems. Katarina was the only sane person she knew who could switch moods as easily as turning pages on a calendar.

  “I am curious,” Kat continued. “How do you plan to avoid him when both of you are friends with Laura and Bryan?”

  “They’ll understand.” Emily placed the ivy-trimmed dishes on the antique table and added two glasses of iced tea. She thought of Kevin’s promise that they would see each other again, and the seething anger started anew. “Oooh, he’s so sure of himself.”

  Katarina didn’t say anything, just smiled. The disk changed, and it wasn’t long before she began humming with the music. Pretty soon, Emily heard an echo of the wedding processional behind her.

  “Knock it off, Katarina.”

  “Mama always said your temper was because of that fiery red hair. Came from the Irish side of the family, I suppose.”

  Emily shook her head and rolled her eyes, remembering their childish arguments as if they were yesterday.

  They continued preparing dinner in silence. Even though Katarina irritated her like only a little sister could, Emily was anxious for Kat’s move to town so they could get together more often. They were the closest of the three siblings in age and in spirit.

  If it hadn’t been for her sister’s youthful encouragement, Emily never would have made it through the broken engagement or medical school. Kat’s zany sense of humor was a totally endearing quality that Emily had learned to appreciate, and had come to depend upon.

  “Emily?” Her sister touched her arm.

  She turned, shaking the daze away. “What?”

  Kat had moved the food to the table, and now motioned for Emily to sit. In unison they bowed their heads, while Emily blessed the nourishment before them.

  There was an unsettling quiet as they ate.

  “Do you think Dad ever loved Mom?” After all these years, Katarina’s voice echoed Emily’s gnawing childhood fear.

  Emily stared at her food. Would the mention of her broken engagement ever stop reminding all of them of their father? “I try not to analyze them, Kat. We both know how unforgiving Mom can be. Maybe Dad couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe… Who knows?” Emily shrugged, then took a bite of chicken. She wished her sister would change the subject.

  “Don’t you ever wonder why he never came back to see us?”

  Slurping the juice dripping from the bite of pear, Emily mumbled, “Of course I do. I doubt I’ll ever get over it.”

  “What?” Katarina turned her head slightly, tears brimming in her bright blue eyes. Out of frustration, she combed her fingers through one side of her sporty hairstyle, as if the hair were preventing her hearing aid from working.

  “I mean, there are parts of my past I can’t seem to forget.” The hearing aid in Katarina’s ear was tiny and no longer bothered her, but it always would Emily. It was a constant reminder of why she’d gone into medicine. No matter how much she tried, Emily would never forget the pain she’d nursed her little sister through. She’d do everything possible to help prevent another child’s suffering. “How do you deal with it? You’re always so disgustingly cheerful.”

  The brightness of her sister’s porcelain skin paled and the smile dimmed. “There are still days when I’m so mad I could spit nails. Trust me.”

  Emily took her sister’s hand and squeezed it. “I’m sure there are, Kat.” Caring
for Katarina and their youngest sister, Lisa, while her mother had worked two jobs had made Emily realize the importance of an education. Which was why she and Kevin had agreed to wait until she finished her bachelor’s degree to get married. Then came that letter—

  Her mind pulled the plug on the memory. “Hey, we’re supposed to be having a good time tonight. Who brought up this maudlin subject, anyway?”

  Katarina grinned. “You’re right. Let’s change the subject. So, tell me more about the wedding. The part without Kevin, if you’d prefer.”

  In between bites of chicken cordon bleu and salad, Emily told her everything, excluding the charming way Kevin had played with the kids during the reception. Remembering it made her heart swell. There he was in his tailored suit, romping around on the floor with Laura’s sons so the bride and groom could enjoy the reception….

  His thoughtfulness and boyish sense of humor were what had first caught her attention so many years ago. She had been sitting solemnly by herself under the golden leaves of the grand old maple tree at the college-sponsored concert, when Kevin spied her staring at him. Even from a distance, she’d seen the way he made everyone around him feel. He had a contagious laugh and a quick wit. As she blushed, he introduced himself. A few minutes later they were sharing the shade, deep in conversation and laughter.

  For three years he’d courted her, throughout it all putting up with her mother’s ridicule. But Emily had stayed, falling ever more deeply in love with the man her mother had predicted would love her and leave her, just as Emily’s philandering father had done.

  “I’m going to Lincoln next week for a show. Do you want me to take anything to Mom?” If her sister noticed Emily’s distraction, she didn’t mention it.

  Emily welcomed the interruption.

  “Mom… Oh, yeah, would you take her birthday present?”

  “What did you get her? I haven’t found anything yet.”

  “It’s an airline ticket. Thought I’d take her to the mountains. Care to join us? I’ve borrowed Laura and Bryan’s cabin for a week.”

  “Sounds fun. I’ll check my schedule. With the move, I may have to make a last-minute decision depending on how everything is going.”

  “I thought I’d see if Lisa can join us, too. We’ll make it a family reunion.”

  After catching up on the latest on Lisa and her beau, they discussed Kat’s growing business and her worries of keeping up with the demand for her designer dolls.

  Clearing the dishes while Katarina called her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Emily let her thoughts return to their mother’s influence on the three daughters’ relationships. Katarina couldn’t take that final plunge into matrimony. Lisa didn’t date any man long enough to fall in love.

  And Emily—the broken engagement to Kevin had been enough to send the frightened child in her running as far as possible from love and commitment.

  Eight years later, she was still running.

  Two weeks had passed since her sister’s visit, and since she’d seen Kevin. Emily walked into the church’s preschool to tell the children about being a doctor. She and the teacher visited for a few minutes before a little boy from Emily’s Sunday school class grabbed her hand. “Dr. Emily, come see what a tall tower I can build.” She followed Ricky, welcoming the chance to visit with the little boy away from the examination room.

  For the next half hour, Emily watched as Ricky played with the children. After Circle Time, they prepared for the guests to talk about their careers. A cake decorator was first, and gave each child an ornately decorated cookie to keep each busy while she turned a mound of cake into a stand-up penguin.

  Emily was next. She looked at the cake and the children eagerly eating cookies. Great, how do I top this?

  After telling the children about how much she enjoyed being a doctor, she pulled the stethoscope out of her pocket.

  “Dr. Emily, can I listen to your heart?” Ricky blurted out, his raised hand flapping back and forth.

  “Sure. You can each have a turn. Come up one at a time.” The familiar boy with streaked brown hair jumped to his feet and nearly leaped over the kids sitting in front of him. Emily recognized most of the children, either from Sunday school or the medical clinic. Before she knew it, all the children were crowded around.

  “Shh,” Emily prompted. “We must be very quiet.”

  Ricky listened for a minute, then expertly moved the stethoscope. She wanted to cry at the extent of his knowledge of the workings of the instrument, which came from more hands-on experience than any child his age should have.

  “I don’t hear anything, Dr Emily.” He frowned. “I think you have a broken heart.”

  A deep chuckle rumbled behind them. “An insightful young man.”

  Emily’s heart raced at the sound of Kevin’s voice.

  The little boy’s brown eyes grew larger. “Wow! There it is. It’s beating as fast as Thumper’s paw. ’Member, in Bambi?”

  “Are you twitterpated, Dr. Emily?” a precocious little girl asked.

  “Twitterpated?”

  “You know, in love.” The little girl sighed. “Like Bambi and Faline.”

  Emily felt the blood rush to her cheeks. “No, I’m not. We’d better let someone else have a turn now, Ricky.” She gave him a hug and watched as he ran across the room…to Kevin.

  Kevin knelt down and spent several minutes in conversation with the child. From the corner of her eye, Emily watched, angry at herself for paying Kevin any attention.

  The other preschoolers filed past, and Emily helped them listen to each other’s hearts beating. Ricky moved back to the circle of children after giving Kevin a high-five. Then Kevin visited with a parent, while Emily finished talking with the children and gave them the disposable masks and hats.

  Then she turned the stage over to Kevin. He leaned close as Emily walked past. “Any time your heart needs a jump start, let me know.”

  “You’d be the last person I’d call,” she mumbled, wishing she could dispel her reaction to him. Emily silently joined the parent volunteer in the back of the room. She and the other woman listened as Kevin told about the construction business, demonstrating with a toy log set.

  The children were mesmerized by the rugged-looking man with the contagious smile and rumbling laugh. Other than the uncustomarily clean blue jeans, he looked every bit the brawny construction worker. A red-plaid flannel shirt over a blue T-shirt and a bright yellow hard hat completed the irresistible image. His strong hands moved the tiny logs with the same delicacy one would use to move fine china.

  All the little boys proclaimed they, too, wanted to be builders after his enthusiastic description of tearing walls apart and building others. The energy in the room began to escalate.

  “Why did you become a builder?” The teacher prompted the conversation back to the subject, her calming voice reminding the children to listen.

  “My father was a builder, and it was something I always enjoyed. It’s hard work, but I like bringing families together in a new home,” he said.

  It was obvious that he loved talking to the youngsters. The children drilled him with questions, and he took time to answer each one. He still had his way with kids.

  Emily wondered why he hadn’t married. Coming from a family with six children, he had wanted to have at least four of his own. He had chivalrously promised Emily that he’d support them all, yet that wasn’t enough for Emily. She wanted a career of her own, one through which she could provide for her family, if necessary. She wasn’t about to watch history repeat itself.

  Emily stared critically at Kevin. Why was he here? How had he, of all people, come to be asked to speak to the preschool?

  Kevin smiled lazily, then winked at her before saying goodbye to the preschoolers. She realized the desperate attempts she was making to taint her image of the only man who could touch her heart with a mere glance.

  The children would be leaving soon, and this was Kevin’s only chance to talk to Emily alone. As he exite
d the preschool room, he nodded for her to join him outside. He could see her reluctance.

  “Why are you here?” she demanded as soon as the door closed behind them.

  He folded his arms across his chest and smiled. “I heard there was a damsel inside with a broken heart. Thought I’d come to the rescue.”

  “Very funny.”

  He smiled. He had decided after the confusion at the wedding that he needed to find out if she was still interested—if that had been the reason for her tears. He challenged himself to make her laugh. Or at least smile. She had a beautiful smile. “Actually, I was just waiting for the rescue breathing.”

  Her eyes were clear as green ice. “I’m serious.”

  “It’s obvious that hasn’t changed.”

  Emily put her hands on her hips and waited. She had changed from the college co-ed he’d fallen in love with, he thought. Her shyness had matured to a quiet confidence, her insecurities had been replaced by a calm determination, and her wide-eyed look of fear reflected a love that hadn’t died.

  “Okay, the truth,” he continued, hoping that reflection was wrong. “I’m working on developing a new image.” He started to tell her about the bid, but she took an abrupt step toward him and flashed him a look of annoyance.

  “I really would have thought you’d grow up a little in eight years.” She turned and walked back inside.

  “Just as I thought, you can’t handle the truth,” he mumbled, once she had turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

  Kevin recalled Laura begging him to come talk to the preschoolers. He glanced through the narrow slat of a window into the preschool and watched as a little boy clung to the teacher, doing whatever he could to get her attention. There was no question in Kevin’s mind that Laura was trying to set him and Emily up again.

  “Better luck next time, lady.”

  Chapter Three

  The conference room was filled with the aroma of gourmet coffee and glazed doughnuts. Sunlight filtered in through the broken slats of the blinds. The chief of staff addressed the doctors and board members, summarizing the top three clinic renovation proposals. At the mention of a small independent builder, Emily let out a quick gasp.