A Merger...or Marriage?

Richard knew he ought to just gather up his son and head home. But he couldn’t quite force himself to sever this fragile connection between them, though he knew damn well it was a mistake to spend more time with her.

He was largely silent while they ate the shaved ice. For that matter, so was Anna, who seemed content to listen to Ethan chatter about his friends in kindergarten, his new two-wheel bike, the kind of puppy he wanted if his dad would ever agree.

Though Richard wondered how he could possibly have time to eat around all the never-ending chatter, Ethan finished his shaved ice in about five minutes flat then begged to play on the playground conveniently located next to the stand.

“Not for long, okay? It’s been a long day and you need to get home and into the tub.”

Ethan made a face as he handed Lilli’s leash back to Anna then raced off toward the slide.

“He seems like a great kid,” Anna said after a moment.

“He is. Seeing the world through his eyes helps keep my life in perspective.”

“He’s lucky to have you for a father.”

She paused, her eyes shadowed. “My dad’s been gone for six months and I still can’t believe it.”

Her father’s opinion had always been important to Anna. Maybe too important.

He had respected her father—everyone in town had. James Wilder had been a brilliant, compassionate physician who had saved countless lives during his decades of practicing medicine in Walnut River. He doubted there was a family in town that didn’t have some member who had been treated by Dr. Wilder.

But he didn’t necessarily agree with the way James had treated his children. Even when they were younger Richard had seen how James singled Anna out, how hard he tried to include her in everything and make her feel an integral part of the family.

From an outsider’s standpoint, Richard thought James’s efforts only seemed to isolate Anna more, reminding her constantly that she was different by virtue of her adoption and fostering resentment and antipathy in her siblings.

“I tried to find you at the funeral to offer my condolences but you must have left early.”

She set her plastic spoon back in the cup, her features suddenly tight. “It was a hard day all the way around. My father’s death was such a shock to me and I’m afraid I didn’t handle things well. I couldn’t wait to get out of there and return to New York so I could… could grieve.”

He found it inexpressibly sad that she hadn’t wanted to turn to her siblings during their moment of shared sorrow.

“Have you seen Peter or David since you’ve been back?”

“No. Only Ella, today at the hospital.” Her brittle smile didn’t conceal the hurt in her eyes. “I’m quite sure they’re all going out of their way to avoid me.”

“They may not even be aware you’re back in town.”

“You know better than that, Richard. They know I’m here.”

She was quiet for a moment, then offered that forced smile again. “It’s not exactly a secret that NHC has sent me here to close the merger after six months of problems. I might not have received an angry phone call from holier-than-thou Peter or a snide, sarcastic email from David, but they know I’m here.”

He didn’t want to feel this soft sympathy for her but he couldn’t seem to keep it from welling up, anyway.

She had created the situation, he reminded himself sternly. Why should he feel sorry for her at the estrangement with her siblings when she had done everything possible to stir up their wrath?

She shrugged. “Anyway, I’m sure J. D. spread the word he was meeting with me today.”

She rose suddenly and threw her half-eaten shaved ice in the garbage can next to their bench. He had the distinct impression she regretted letting her emotions filter through.

“Which reminds me, I’d better go. I’ve got a great deal of paperwork to file after today’s meeting.”

He didn’t think the reminder of their adversarial roles in the takeover was at all accidental.

She picked up her little dog and set her in a carrier attached to the handlebars of her bike. In bike shorts that hugged her trim, athletic figure, she looked long and lovely and so delectable she made his mouth water.

“It was nice bumping into you and meeting Ethan. Thank you for letting me share a little of your evening together.”

“You’re welcome.”

She gave him one more small smile then, to his surprise, she stopped at the playground to say goodbye to Ethan. She even went so far as to take the dog out of her carrier one last time so the petite creature could lick at Ethan’s face.

Their interaction touched something deep inside him. In his experience, most women either completely ignored his son or went over the top in their attentions, fawning all over Ethan in an effort to convince Richard how maternal they could be.

Anna’s interest in Ethan seemed genuine—and it was obvious his son was smitten by her.

Or at least by her little rat-dog.

After a moment she gave Ethan one last high five, settled Lilli in her carrier again and rode away with one last wave to both of them.

He watched her go—as he had watched her go before. He sighed, his mind on that last miserable day when she had left Walnut River.

He still wasn’t sure exactly why the hell she had left—or, more importantly, why the memory of it still stung.

They had been good friends through high school and he could admit to himself now that he’d always had a bit of a crush on her, though he hadn’t fully realized it until college.

They went to different universities for their undergraduate work. He was at Harvard, but since she had only been a few miles away at Radcliffe, they had seen each other often, but still only as friends.

Though he could sense his feelings for her deepening and growing, they had both been running in opposite directions. He was headed for law school while she was busy preparing for med school.

But one summer night after their first year of graduate work everything had changed.

By a happy coincidence, they had both been home in Walnut River temporarily for the wedding of a friend. Since neither of them had dates, they had decided to go together—again, strictly as friends.

But he had taken one look at her in a sleek, pale-blue dress he could still remember vividly and he hadn’t been able to look away.

They had danced every dance together at the wedding reception and by the time the night was over, he’d realized he had been hiding the truth from himself all those years.

He was in love with her

Deeply, ferociously in love.

And she had returned his feelings—or least, she had given a good imitation of it.

After the wedding festivities were over, they had gone to his house for a late-night swim. His parents were gone and he and Anna had stayed up long into the night, sharing confidences and heady kisses, holding hands while they looked at the stars and savored being together.

And then they had made love and he still remembered it as the single most moving experience of his life, except for Ethan’s birth. She had given him her innocence and had told him she was falling in love with him.