************************* Sample, unedited, of This Time Around ************************
Prologue
The door slammed
causing the sleeping golden retriever to skitter down the hall. First one
peep-toe pump then a second were thrown in to the living room, barely missing
the only framed photograph in the entire apartment.
She
was such an idiot. She knew never to make a big deal about her dates, not that
she’d been on many. But she’d been on enough to know she would never be asked
on a second date.
Somehow
it always ended with the same result: her going back to an empty apartment
carrying with her empty promises of a phone call. They never called. Hell, even
a text message would be sufficient at this point. Each time it got more and
more difficult to make the effort to go out with men because in Eve Morgan’s
world, she was never good enough. So why even try.
“Gideon,
come here boy. I didn’t mean to scare you,” she called down the hall in the
direction her poor dog had hustled after she let out her frustration on her
front door. “Gideon, wanna go for a walk?”
Her
dog peeked his head around the corner, eyeing her cautiously.
“Great,
now I’m even scaring dogs off,” Eve murmured to herself as she knelt. “I’m
sorry, boy.” She held out her hand and let Gideon approach. Being a rescue,
Gideon was startled by loud noises. “That’s it, buddy. Now, wanna go outside?”
Eve
waited until Gideon wagged his tail before standing to grab his leash from the
coat tree. She slipped on a pair of flats, hooked the leash to Gideon’s green
collar and opened the door. As she walked her dog, the only man in her life,
Eve vowed never to change who she was, vowed to herself that eventually just
being Eve Morgan would be good enough for someone. And if not, then she would
just be happy without someone to come to at night.
***
He
stood watching another of his siblings speak the vows he once had spoken.
Honor, fidelity and love were things he used to believe in but now he stood by
and watched first Cam then Mallory find happiness. He didn’t fault them for
marrying someone they each loved. He didn’t try to talk anyone out of being
happy. To be honest, he didn’t really say much to anyone about anything these
days. No, William Carlyle knew exactly who was to blame for his views on love,
honor and fidelity.
“You
may now kiss your bride.”
Will
smiled slightly as Denny wrapped his arms carefully around Mallory, mindful
that her body would be sore after giving birth to twins only hours earlier.
Will clapped as Mallory wiped away the single tear that had escaped from
Denny’s eyes.
“Your
smile could use a little work, baby boy,” Rebecca Carlyle said under her
breath, her eyes never leaving the newlyweds at the front of the hospital
chapel. Then her eyes shifted to the sleeping newborn girl in her arms. “I know
you’ll just tell me to mind my business, but that woman did a number on you.”
“Mama…”
“I
know. I know. But you aren’t my William anymore. I miss my son.” With that
parting shot Becca carried her newest granddaughter up the aisle to be reunited
with Mallory and Denny.
Will
watched Cam and Tate laughing while holding their five-month-old twins. He
watched Denny kiss each of his newborn children then kiss Mallory on the
forehead. He turned to see his parents, Sydney and Nate gathered together
laughing and talking. Nora had taken off after the twins had been born. Will
needed to figure out what was going on with his baby sister except that would
have to wait for now.
But
Will mostly looked inward. His mother was right. He’d lost himself in the
aftermath of his marriage. He had become bitter, angry and jaded. Will knew he
needed to find himself again. He just wasn’t sure his future would involve
marriage.
Chapter 1
Eve
sighed as she sat on the bench in the staff locker room. She rubbed the twinge
in her lower back, wanting nothing more than a hot bath and a glass of wine.
She glanced at her watch and groaned. She still had two hours left in her
shift.
“Eve,”
a voice called from the door.
“Yeah,”
she said wearily.
“I
know you’re taking a break but Mr. Hunter is asking for you.”
Eve
sighed again, stood and straightened her scrubs before walking into the hall of
the ER where she worked as a trauma nurse.
Mr.
Hunter’s wife had suffered a massive heart attack earlier this evening. The
trauma team had been able to revive her but she had slipped into a coma. Mr. Hunter
probably just needed someone to hold his hand. Eve felt emotion clog her throat
as she saw the older gentleman sitting in the waiting room, his gray hair
sticking up from running his fingers through it. He and his wife had been
married for forty-seven years. Eve couldn’t even get a second date with a man
and this couple had lasted forty-seven years. All of a sudden she was feeling
very defeated with her life.
“Mr.
Hunter,” she said quietly as she sat beside him.
He
raised his head from his hands, his red-rimmed eyes shimmering. “Ah, dear Eve.
I just wanted to say thank you for helping my Abigail.”
Eve
smiled and covered Mr. Hunter’s hand with her own. “I’m glad we were able to
help. She seems strong. I hope she wakes up soon.”
Mr.
Hunter squeezed her fingers. “I’m sure she will. I’m just waiting for our
children to get here. But I did want to thank you before you left. Not only did
you help my wife but you were extremely kind to me and that’s something I’ll
never forget.”
Eve
blinked the tears in her eyes away then leaned over and hugged him. “Make sure
you get some rest when your kids get here. You’ll need you strength to help
Abigail when she wakes up.”
“I
will. I promise. You get some rest too. You are a beautiful young girl. Some
day, a young man will snatch you up and make you rest.”
Eve
couldn’t help it. She laughed and shook her head. “I’m holding out for what you
and your Abigail have.”
Mr.
Hunter’s eyes twinkled as he smiled. “Good girl.” He turned as four adults
rushed into the waiting room. “Here are the children.”
Eve
watched each of Mr. Hunter’s grown children embrace him, concern etched on each
of their faces. The three men and one woman watched and listened intently as
Mr. Hunter explained what happened. As a group, the family began to leave the
waiting room. Mr. Hunter turned back and winked at Eve before following his
children.
She
sat for a moment longer wondering if her life would feel as empty if she had a
strong family behind her. She had her younger sister Anna, but she was across
the country in college. Her father had passed away eleven years ago. And her
mother was quite possibly the Antichrist. Eve was still withholding judgment on
that one.
“Eve,
trauma two!” shouted the charge nurse as she ran down the hall following a
stretcher.
Enough self-pity. Your life isn’t as bad as
other people’s lives, she thought as she took off in a jog, holding her
swinging stethoscope down. Just get to
work.
***
“What’s
a girl gotta do to get some food in this joint?”
Will
looked over to see his younger sister Sydney come out into their parents’
backyard. His mama had planned a big welcome home picnic for his little sister
who had just finished her internship at a hospital in Tennessee and was now
home to start her residency at Fayetteville General. He watched and listened to
the exchange between his sister and father, as they caught up. Tom Carlyle wore
his pride for each of his children proudly, just like the badge he wore for so
many years while working as a police officer. That pride was what allowed each
of the six Carlyle kids to follow their dreams, no matter where those dreams
took them.
“Hey,
what about me?” Will complained good-naturedly, just because he could. “I teach
the girl to drive and get no respect.” He grabbed his sister’s hand and pulled
her into his arms. “It’s good to see you, darlin’.”
Sydney
held his gaze with blue eyes that matched his own. “It’s good to see you
smiling,” she said as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in
his chest. “I missed you, William.”
“Ah,
sugar, I missed you too,” he said, feeling the clutch in his heart. Being the
oldest of six kids was never a hardship for him. He got to be there for each of
his siblings all their lives. To him, being the oldest was a privilege. His
Southern manners took over after the brief reunion and he remembered his friend
that had come to the picnic.
“Syd,
this is Officer Jake Stewart. He transferred in from New Jersey about five
months ago. He’s still trying to adjust to our slow way of life.”
Sydney
snorted and shook Jake’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Hopefully, I’ll get to
know you outside of the hospital.”
The
interested looks between the two made Will a little uncomfortable. He hadn’t
intended to hook his sister up with Jake but after the problems between Cam and
Denny last year, he wasn’t about to throw his opinion where it wasn’t wanted.
They were both adults. But he was still Sydney’s big brother.
“Okay,
I know you said you didn’t want a big, flashy deal to welcome you home but we
voted and you lost.”
After
some obligatory sibling bantering, the rest of the family started to show up.
Will watched first Nate, then Mallory, Denny and their twins Benjamin and
Bayleigh then Cam, Tate and their twins David and Rebecca pile out of the
house.
“So,
explain this to me again,” Jake said to Will as they watched the rest of the
family greet each other. “And now I’m thinking the diagram you offered isn’t
such a bad idea.”
Will
laughed but before he could say anything else, Mallory jumped into his lap.
“It’s a good thing you lost all that baby weight,” he groaned. “Otherwise we’d
both be on the ground.”
“Oh,
shut up and come see my beautiful babies,” she said before she saw Jake sitting
beside her brother. “Hi. You’re new. I’m Mallory.”
“Jake,”
was all he was able to say before Mallory pulled Will across the yard.
“That
was a little rude,” Will laughed.
Mallory
stopped indignantly. “I did tell him I’d talk to him later.”
“No,
you yelled over your shoulder like you’d be coming back with an inquisition.”
Mallory
waved off his argument. It hadn’t been that bad. But she wanted her brother to
see her babies. She led Will across the yard to where Denny sat rocking one
baby in his arms and the other in the carrier on the ground with his foot.
“Denny,
looks like you are getting the hang of being a daddy,” Will said with a smile.
His
brother-in-law looked down at his daughter in his arms and smiled softly. “It’s
not so hard, especially when they are just like they’re mom.”
Mallory
and Denny smiled at each other, the smile of people who had gone through
struggle and hardship to find each other. For the shortest moment, Will was
jealous of their love for each other. But he shook off his feelings and knelt
down to unhook his nephew from the car seat.
“Hey,
little guy. Wow, you are a big boy.” Will cradled the five-month-old to his
chest and unconsciously began rocking him. It was a good thing both Tate and
Cam and Denny and Mallory had each had twins; enough babies to go around for
the rest of the family.
Cam
and Tate wandered over, each carrying one of their twins and they all stood
around talking and catching up until they saw movement at the backdoor. One by
one, every member of the family turned around to find Nora standing at the back
door. Everyone in the yard watched Sydney rise from her seat beside Jake and
walk over to Nora. They just looked at each other for a few moments before
Sydney wrapped Nora in a soft hug.
Mallory
sniffled and leaned into Denny as he wrapped his free arm around his wife,
kissing her temple. “She’ll be okay, honey. Just give her time.”
She
nodded and took her daughter from Denny’s arms. It sucked being the only one
who knew what was wrong with Nora, but she had promised her sister that she
wouldn’t say a word. Will caught Mallory’s glance and tried to implore her to
tell him how to help. Mallory shook her head slightly, not able to break her
promise. Denny hugged her tighter and cleared his throat. He felt like he had a
special bond with Nora, more so than Mallory’s other siblings because of the
trauma his mother had put them all through before the twins were born. “Is this
a party or a funeral? Jesus, somebody smile already.”
The
somber mood broke as Tate laughed and shook her head. “Cam, go get a drinks for
all of us holding babies,” she ordered her husband. Denny grabbed David from
Cam’s arms before Cam could complain that he was holding a baby too.
“Fine,”
Cam grumbled and stomped off, this time making Nora smile too.
Will
looked around at his family now, the smiles and laughter warming his heart. He
still wasn’t sure what was making Nora sad and causing her to run but he did
know that eventually she would come home to heal. Until then, they all just had
to wait.
“Hey,
Will,” Sydney broke into his thoughts. He looked over to see her heading in his
direction. “The chief just called to see if I wanted to come for a tour of the
hospital later this afternoon. Will you drive me so we can get my stuff out of
storage after? I really, really miss my stuff.”
“Sure,
darlin’. Not a problem.” His life was pretty good, as far as he was concerned.
***
The
two hours passed quickly and Eve was able to actually leave on time. As she
left, she passed the trauma chief giving a young woman a tour. Eve walked out
to her car, not thinking a thing of it, just wanting to get home. She wasn’t
worried about Gideon. She paid the teenage girl down the hall to walk him
during her long shifts.
But
that bath and glass of wine she’d been fantasizing about all day were definitely
calling her name. Her cell phone interrupted thoughts of bubbles. Eve stopped
to pull her phone from her purse, noticing the man leaning against the truck
next to her car. Because she had been staring at the gorgeous man a few feet
from her she didn’t look at the caller ID.
“Hello,”
she said distractedly. Hot Guy had heard her and looked over.
“Evelyn,
I have not heard from you in four days.”
Eve
closed her eyes. Her mother, the Antichrist. “I’ve been working.”
“If
you had done something more with your life, you wouldn’t have to do grunt work
at the hospital. Or work holidays. You’ve missed Thanksgiving the last three
years.”
On purpose, Eve mouthed and rolled her
eyes. “Mom, I don’t do grunt work. I’m a trauma nurse.” Eve didn’t know why she
was even trying to have this conversation. Nothing changed her mother’s opinion
on Eve’s job.
“I
don’t know why you didn’t go to Duke and then to medical school.”
“With
what money?” Eve snapped. She pulled the phone away from her ear and squeezed
the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. Pointing out that her
mother had not given Eve access to the college fund Eve’s father had left each
of his daughters would only start an argument which would lead to guilt trips
and mock distress on her mother’s part.
“Mom,
I just got off a twelve hour shift. I don’t want to argue. Was there something
you needed?” Exhaustion beginning to take over, Eve leaned against the trunk of
her car.
“Since
you’re so busy, I’ll let you go. I would hate to interrupt your busy life.”
Eve
sighed. “That’s not what I said.”
“Good
bye, Evelyn.” Dead air sang through the earpiece in her phone.
“Wonderful,”
she muttered before dropping the phone back into her purse then grabbing her
keys. Two glasses of wine, she decided. Big glasses.
“A
smothering southern mama?” a male voice behind her drawled.
Eve
gasped and turned around. She’d forgotten about the very attractive man
standing just a few feet away from her. His eyes were hidden behind reflective
lenses, his brown hair tousled from the wind.
It
hit her then that he’d asked a question. “Oh, something like that,” she
stammered out as she fumbled her keys. Great
job, Eve.
The
man bent to retrieve her keys from under his car. “I have one of those too.”
“One
of what?” she asked, very confused about the conversation they seemed to be
having. Or he was having and she was just along for the ride.
“A smothering
mama,” he answered with a smile. “You might need these,” he added as he handed
her the keys.
“Thanks.”
Eve took her keys, unsure how to get in her car to head home. “Uh, excuse me. I
have to go walk my dog.”
He
smiled again then stepped away from both vehicles and extended his hand as if
to invite her into her own car.
“Thanks,”
Eve said again quietly while rushing to get into her car. I have to walk my dog? She groaned and barely refrained from
banging her head on the steering wheel. “Eve, you’re going to die a virgin with
smooth moves like that,” she berated herself as she pulled out of the parking
lot. She glanced in the rearview mirror but the man was nowhere to be seen.
***
Will
waited for his sister to finish her tour of the hospital in the parking lot. He
spent enough time in the ER for work that he could have given Sydney her
welcome tour but he tried to stay out of there when he was off duty. Also, he
didn’t want his presence, good or bad, to reflect on Sydney. He wanted the
emergency room staff to judge her on her abilities alone.
His
thoughts drifted to the woman he’d encountered in the parking lot. There was something
about her curly blonde hair and curvy body that triggered a response in him.
She wasn’t even average size, a little bigger than that, but there was
something about her that had captured his attention. And her frustration with
her mother made him want to guard her, which was absolutely crazy. Last time he
wanted to protect a woman, he had been the one to end up burned. It was not
happening again.
“Where
are you?” a soft southern voice broke into his thoughts.
Broken
from his thoughts, Will looked down into the blue eyes of his sister and
smiled. “Waitin’ right here, darling. How was the tour?”
Pausing
for a moment as if she didn’t believe him, Sydney watched Will’s face through
one eye then she grinned and practically jumped up and down. “Oh, I’m so
excited, William! I can’t wait to get started. And when the chief was
introducing me, everyone was thinking I was an intern and it was hilarious when
he told them I was the new resident.”
Sydney
was the smartest of the Carlyle children. No one argued that point, especially
with her, because that guaranteed a loss on the complainer’s part. But her
brains were just a part of life, just like Cam was the best athlete and Mallory
was the kindest. Nate was the loudest and Nora went along with the flow. She and
Will were the same in that way. Man, he missed his baby sister.
But
since Sydney was the smartest, she also graduated early from high school and
college, which made her the youngest graduate in her class in medical school.
So her new colleagues thought she was an intern because she was actually young
enough to be one.
“Are
they going to listen to you when you are actually in charge?” Will finally
asked.
“I
hope so. Maybe once I get in there and start working they will. I guess we’ll
see on Monday.” Sydney shrugged and pushed the bangs back off her forehead. “I
still can’t believe everyone came for that picnic.”
Will
smiled as they got into his truck. Sydney had been immediately hired as the new
ER resident as soon as she finished her residency in Tennessee. Will knew she
was happy to be home. He also knew his mama was happier that another of her
chicks was near the nest.
“So,
did you meet any of the nurses?” he tried to ask subtly. Maybe Sydney would
know the name of the nurse he’d met in the parking lot. Why the hell does it matter what her name is, Carlyle?
“Just
a few. It was shift change so the staff locker room was kind of crazy. I kept
hearing about this one nurse that everyone loves. Her name is Eve. I heard
she’s great with patients and families.”
Could
the woman he met be Eve? Will tried the name on for size and decided it could
fit. Seriously. Shake it off.
“Will,
you keep spacing off. What’s up?”
He
shook his head. “Nothing. Just glad to have you home.”
“Liar.
Whatever. I’ll figure it out. I’m the smart one.”
Will
laughed at that. “You may be the smartest but Nate is the most obnoxious. He
always figured things out before everyone else because we usually just told him
to get him to shut the hell up.”
Sydney
grinned. “Well, then I know exactly who to ask for advice.”
He
shook his head as he pulled into traffic. “I could just let you haul your own
crap to you apartment.”
“No,
your southern upbringing wouldn’t allow that no matter how annoying you think I
am.”
Will
grunted his acceptance and drove toward the storage unit containing Sydney’s
belongings that she couldn’t or didn’t take with her to Tennessee. “Just for
the record, I’m not hauling this stuff twice.”
Sydney
smiled and winked at her big brother. “That’s okay. If you take it over to my
apartment and gently dump it, I’ll
call Nate and tell him you had to go to work or something but that I need his
help.”
“That’s
a girl,” Will laughed.
