A Perfect Homecoming

There was so much Ashleigh could say in response, but now was not the time.

“I want to take your blood pressure before I go.” Ashleigh pulled her blood pressure cuff from her bag and attached it to Paula’s arm. Having an injured child was bound to raise anyone’s blood pressure. “Where’s Mark?”

“Playing at a friend’s house.” Paula stiffened, her words curt. “The mother is supposed to bring him back around six.”

They were silent as Ashleigh listened to Paula’s rapidly pumping blood with her stethoscope.

“Not bad, but higher than it should be,” she told Paula as she removed the cuff. “Just close your eyes and take some deep breaths. I’ve got everything else covered.”

Ashleigh silently packed up her medical bag, afraid to say anything that would inflame Paula and raise her blood pressure.

Like why couldn’t you have been loyal to me when my marriage was falling apart, instead of taking Kyle’s side?

* * *

ASHLEIGH HAD NEVER driven a minivan, but Ryan was too young to ride in the front seat of her two-seater sports car, so she’d taken Paula’s vehicle. One more reminder that Paula had been blessed with a growing family while Ashleigh had been denied a single offspring.

The mile drive to the hospital provided an abundance of memories. From the quaint shop where she and Kyle had shared a bowl of bubble gum ice cream on their first date in high school, to the tiny apartment they lived in before they bought the historic home that still housed Ashleigh’s pediatric practice.

The office where she no longer worked.

Knowing that Kyle wouldn’t be at the hospital was a relief. Though it only prolonged the inevitable no more than a day or two.

She’d deal with Kyle and her myriad of emotions when the time came.

Meanwhile, Ryan kept up a constant dialogue during the short drive, forcing Ashleigh’s mind away from the memories that haunted her.

“And my friend Jarrod can do a wheelie,” Ryan was telling her.

“Wow! That’s impressive. Is he the same age as you?”

“He’s a year older and doesn’t have training wheels anymore.”

“Were you trying to do a wheelie when you fell?” Ashleigh’s suspicion was confirmed by Ryan’s sheepish nod reflected in the rearview mirror.

Rekindling her relationship with her nephew wasn’t the time to lecture him on his foolishness. She’d leave that to his mother.

“Here we are,” she told Ryan after she maneuvered the minivan into a parking space in the hospital visitor lot. Back in the days when she had privileges here, she’d been able to park in the staff lot, which was closer to the entrance.

Once again, she shoved away those memories and walked Ryan across the parking lot and through the automatic doors leading to the emergency entrance. The sound of a siren got louder as an ambulance pulled up to the hospital.

“Dr. Wilson.” The middle-aged receptionist, Kathy something, gave her anything but a warm welcome.

Another convert to the Kyle camp.

The woman’s flowery perfume battled with the hospital’s unforgettable smell. But the nasty combination of illness, medications and antiseptic made her nostalgic nonetheless.

“How are you, Kathy?” Ashleigh realized how much she’d missed this place, no matter what kind of reception she received. Would this punch in the gut happen every time she ran into someone she once knew?

After exchanging cool pleasantries, Kathy’s attention turned to Ryan. “Oh, dear! Let me put this poor boy into the system.”

She returned to her computer and took down his information, including the insurance info Paula had sent along. She ushered them right back into a curtained area. “Dr. Phillips should be in to see Ryan shortly,” she said before leaving them alone.

Not more than two minutes went by before the curtain was pulled back, but it wasn’t Dr. Phillips. Ashleigh’s heart leaped into her throat.

Kyle.

Her ex-husband looked even better than she remembered. His thick, dark hair was matted, a product of his longtime habit of moving his protective eyewear to his head when not in use. He had a healthy tan and the corners of his deep blue eyes crinkled ever so slightly. Rather than make him look older, they made him more attractive. Even when those gorgeous eyes barely glanced at her before landing on Ryan.

She blanched at Kyle’s insolence. Not that she blamed him. She’d been out of his life long enough for him to go on without her.

He did his customary tug at the neck of the T-shirt he wore under his blue scrubs and cleared his throat. Kyle was the only man she’d ever known who looked hot in scrubs.

“Hey, buddy.” Kyle bypassed Ashleigh and spoke directly to his nephew, who sat cross-legged on the gurney. “What happened?” He gently removed the scarf from the boy’s arm and handed it to Ashleigh without taking his eyes from Ryan.

As their nephew related the tale, Ashleigh took a mental inventory of Kyle, searching for battle scars, perhaps, that matched her own. She saw none.

Hers weren’t visible on the outside, either.

CHAPTER TWO

IF ASHLEIGH HAD THRIVED without him, Kyle didn’t want to know. He purposely kept his eyes and attention averted, unprepared for his inevitable physical reaction whenever she was near. Instead, he concentrated on Ryan as the boy explained how he got injured.

“I thought we talked about that wheelie stuff,” Kyle admonished gently.

Ryan hung his head, the expression on his face reminiscent of his father back when Scott and Kyle had been young and adventurous.

“At least wait until your training wheels are off before you try any of those tricks,” Kyle reminded him.

Ashleigh drew in an audible breath, probably upset that he would approve what she would consider dangerous behavior. He turned his head partway in her direction. “Better a wheelie than something worse.” He paused and made the mistake of catching her eye. She’d always been a stickler for safety and rules, even though she used to flip backward off someone’s shoulders onto a hardwood floor as a high school cheerleader.

“I was told you weren’t working today.” Ashleigh’s comment was more of an accusation than a question.

“Multicar accident on Hamilton.” He’d been about to go home when Paula called him about Ryan. Thankfully, she’d given him a heads-up that Ashleigh was in town and was bringing the boy in.

Ashleigh turned back to Ryan. “Maybe you should wait until there’s an adult with you before you try a wheelie.”

Ryan looked to Kyle for confirmation, but the emergency room doctor on duty interrupted them.

“Hey, Hank.” Kyle turned from the gurney and greeted him, shaking the older man’s hand when he came through the curtain before making the proper introductions. “Dr. Ashleigh Wilson, this is Dr. Hank Phillips. He joined the staff about a year ago.”

While the two shook hands, Hank ran his other hand through his thinning gray hair. “Are you Paula’s sister? The resemblance is remarkable.”

Kyle should have mentioned Ashleigh was Ryan’s aunt. Even if she hadn’t kept in contact with the boy.

“You’ve met my sister?” Ashleigh’s eyebrows rose.

“Oh, yes.” Hank chuckled. “She’s included me in several of their holiday gatherings since my kids all live a few time zones away.”