“Kingston!”
Her shocked squeal caused him to pull his phone away from his ear. He put it back.
“I wasn’t expecting you to answer. Youneveranswer my calls.”
Now, that wasn’t accurate. Before his life had spiraled, he’d talked to her at least once a week, if not more than that. Pointing out that fact wouldn’t do him any favors, though. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes again, tension sharp in his neck. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, everything’s peachy. I wanted to remind you about Sunday brunch. You seem to have forgotten our monthly tradition.”
His eyes flew open. “I haven’t forgotten. I’ve been...” Busy. So busy he’d been planning to skip out again this Sunday. Not this time. “I’ll be there.”
“Splendid!” Her tone shifted from censuring to enthusiastic faster than a racehorse at Oaklawn. “Paisley and Ryan will be here too. They’re making a quick weekend trip.”
He hadn’t seen Paisley in months. He had always intended to make time for a visit to Dallas but never managed to do so. “Do you need me to bring anything?”
“Just your charming self.”
Only his mother could say that and sound genuine. “Thanks.”
“I just have one request.”
“What’s that?”
“A haircut, please. You looked like a vagabond the last time I saw you.”
He was certain he’d had a haircut since the last time he saw her, which was... Oh, wow. He couldn’t remember. A trip to the barber was definitely needed now. “Will do.”
“Excellent. It will be so wonderful to have all my children under one roof again. I’m flying in Maine lobster for the occasion.”
Excessive, but it was her and Dad’s money to spend. And he did like lobster. For the first time since he’d been banned from his job, he managed a genuine, yet small, smile. “Sounds delicious.”
“It will be. Ta-ta for now.”
He put the phone on his desk and blew out a long breath, then glanced around the office. Like Lawrence, he displayed his certificates and diplomas, along with three basketball trophies that he kept on a shelf, hiding the labels so no one knew he’d received them for intramural play in high school. He’d earned those trophies, regardless of where they came from. And he’d been consumed with his studies in college and med school and making sure he graduated at the top of his class in both. There had been no time for extracurriculars then.
Kingston stared at the certificates, his gaze landing on his board certification. What was the point in all this education, all these accolades, if he’d failed his patients and negatively affected his colleagues?
With a sigh, he took his stethoscope from around hisneck and put it in the bottom drawer of his desk. He had a full medical kit in the trunk of his car and one at home, so he didn’t need to take the scope.
He picked up his briefcase and started to pack his work laptop, then changed his mind. No doubt, if one of the staff members discovered he’d taken work home, they’d be knocking at his condo door to confiscate the computer. Instead, he gathered up his personal laptop bag and his phone, took one last glance at the office, and walked out.
“Bye, Janine,” he said, stopping at her desk. “And thanks for putting up with me. I promise to make things easier for you when I get back.”
She gave him a knowing smile. “See you later, Dr.Bedford. Alotlater.”
He left the clinic, the hot August sun beating on his neck, a ball of guilt, shame, and frustration in his gut. He fiddled with the fob in his pocket and remote-started his Audi. The car hadn’t cooled down by the time he opened the door, and stifling heat hit him as he sat behind the wheel and shut the door.
Now what?
At a loss, he turned up the air. He couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t have something to do. Even as a kid his schedule had always been full. Now that he didn’t have a schedule, he had no clue how to proceed.
What he couldn’t do was sit in the employee parking lot. Not without attracting suspicion. He wouldn’t put it past the clinic staff to make sure he left. They were probably spying on him right now.
Giving in, he drove out of the lot to the streetlight atthe busy intersection near the clinic. He glanced to the right as a car pulled to a stop in the lane next to him. For a split second his breath caught. The make and model were the same as Olivia’s. But that fleeting moment of panic passed. He hadn’t seen or spoken to her in over a year, ever since Anita’s wedding. Like the morning after their coffee date, he’d sincerely intended to call her. But he’d forgotten the round of golf he had scheduled for the next day with two of the doctors he worked with at the hospital—something he’d promised to do a month earlier after canceling the month before. Then after that—
Beep!
The light was green, and he quickly turned left onto Center Street. There was no use musing about what he should have done differently with Olivia. He’d gone back on his word—again—and let his job and busy life get in the way. And when the time had passed for him to call and apologize, he’d just let it go. He didn’t deserve her forgiveness a second time. He was positive she wouldn’t give it to him anyway.
