Surrender My Love(34)

Guilt threaded around her as she set her bags by the door and walked through the hall, trying to ignore the way the house felt like a shell, with no heartbeat keeping it alive. She walked through the living room, her eyes skirting over the wall of books surrounding the tiny fireplace. She hadn’t changed much after her father had passed away, keeping the same furniture that was permanently molded to his middle-aged frame. She picked up a pillow and closed her eyes as she brought it to her nose, inhaling deeply. She didn’t expect to still smell her father’s scent. She could barely conjure up his voice any longer without listening to the sole voicemail she’d saved on her phone, but still, she tried. She inhaled two, three times, smelling nothing but old fabric.

Setting the rust-colored pillow back in place, she ran her finger along the bookshelves, eyeing the titles. Her father was an avid reader and had enjoyed reading everything from Stephen King to self-help books and anything in between. He wasn’t a well-educated man, but he was brilliantly savvy and intelligent in ways that couldn’t be learned in a classroom. As an insurance salesman for twenty years and a manager for six before he became too ill to work, he could negotiate with the best of them and his work ethic was unparalleled by most men. Well, except Cole. He seemed to put as much into his work as he does into his family and…and me.

She walked into the cozy kitchen, smiling at the table built for two, and retrieved a glass from the cabinet. She filled it with water and leaned against the counter as she drank it, thinking about her father. It wasn’t his brilliance that she missed. It was his presence. Walking into the house and hearing him call out her name. Annalise? That you, hon? And his ever-present support. The ache of missing him clung to her, and her hands began to tremble. She set the glass on the counter with a clunk as tears sprang to her eyes. Her chest felt heavy, and her legs must have taken the cue, because as she lowered herself into a wooden chair, they simply gave out, and she landed with a thump on her butt.

She gave in to the ugly sobs that bubbled up from her chest. She cried for the father she wished she could have saved and for the life he’d lost at too young an age. She cried for the way she felt certain Andy’s life had also been ruined, and she cried for the loss of Annalise Avalon, the woman her father had worked so hard to raise in all the right ways. She cried for the girl she’d tried to become in Peaceful Harbor, and she cried for the people she’d left behind there, too. She cried because as she sat in the house that had once made all her troubles disappear and all the answers become clear, it no longer held those powers.





Chapter Nineteen


MONDAY MORNING ARRIVED without Leesa in Cole’s arms and with a full patient load at the office. It was officially the shittiest Monday of the year, and there had been plenty of not-so-pleasant ones. Somehow the not-so-pleasantness of patients who argued about treatments and complained about Cole running late for their appointments didn’t compare to Leesa, alone in Towson, facing down demons she didn’t deserve.

She’d called last night to let him know that she’d arrived safely, and he’d heard sadness in her tone despite the brave voice she was putting on. It had cut him to his core.

He lifted his eyes from the chart he was reviewing at the sound of a knock at his office door.

“Yeah, come in,” he said. He was surprised to see his brother Sam open the door.

“Hey, dude. Sorry I didn’t call, but…yeah. I wanted to see your ugly mug.” Sam strutted in, wearing a pair of cargo shorts and a tank top, his tanned muscles on full display. Cole was sure his staff got a kick out of that. He’d heard the murmurings about his siblings. They were hard to miss when the single girls lit up like the sun whenever his brothers came by. He’d heard words like stud and hot too many times to count.

Cole pointed to a chair. “Take a load off. I have a patient in ten, but what’s up?”

Sam rubbed his chin. The spark of mischief in his eyes dimmed to a concerned, assessing gaze.

“Did Mom get ahold of you yet?” Sam leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs, his hands rubbing in the way he did when he was trying to figure out how to say something.

“No. What’s up? She usually doesn’t call during patient hours unless it’s an emergency.” Cole closed the file and shoved it to the side to focus on Sam.

“She’s pulling together another goodbye dinner for Shannon, and Ty’s coming back for it. It’s in two weeks. Saturday night, at Mom and Dad’s.”

“You came all the way here to tell me that?” He cocked a brow.

Sammy’s lips curved up. “Nah. I came to make sure you weren’t crying into a hanky or hiding under your desk.” He laughed. Cole shook his head. “What? You go all gaga over a woman for the first time in forever and she left you high and dry. Someone’s gotta watch out for the master at hiding his emotions, Dr. Braden.”

Cole walked around his desk and sat beside Sam. “I suck at hiding my feelings where she’s concerned, but I’m fine. I’m a big boy, and she’s a big girl.” He scrubbed a hand down his face, hoping Sam would buy the lie. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to pound the shit out of something or someone for the position she’s in.”

“That’s what I’m talking about.” Sammy patted him on the back as another knock sounded at the door.

“Come in,” Cole said.

Faith, a physician assistant who had worked for Cole for the last year and a half, peeked around the door, and her eyes stole to Sammy. Her dark hair was piled on her head in a tight bun, and she held the edge of the door in a death grip. She was usually professional and confident, except when Sam came around—then she became meek and nervous.

“Excuse me. Um. Hi,” she said to Sam, holding his gaze a beat longer than necessary, making Cole chuckle.

Sam lifted his hand in a wave. “Hi, Faith. It’s nice to see you. I love your hair like that.”

Her cheeks flamed as she tore her eyes away. “Um. Thank you. Um…”

Cole glared at Sam. He did shit like that just to make her blush. His glare was wasted, as Sam’s eyes were still locked on the pretty, flustered brunette.

“Faith, is there something you needed?” Cole asked.

“Oh. Yes, sorry. Mr. Hood showed up early, and he’s waiting to speak with you.”

“Okay. I’ll be out in a sec. Thanks.” He didn’t bother to wonder why she’d come to tell him instead of the front desk staff calling him. Whenever one of his handsome siblings was in the office, one of the single girls always popped in with some excuse to get a peek.

She closed the door behind her, and Cole nudged Sam with his knee.

“Cut that shit out. She works for me, remember?”

Sam snickered. “It’s not like I’m sleeping with her. I think she’s cute as hell when she’s embarrassed, but don’t worry. She’s way too good girl for me.”

“Yeah, let’s let her stay that way. She’s the best PA we’ve got.” Cole rose to his feet, and Sam followed. “Listen, I appreciate you coming by, but I’m fine, really. I talked with Leesa last night and again this morning. She’s heading over to talk to her old boss today. She’s a smart woman, Sammy. She’s doing the right thing for her, even if it sucks for me.” He nodded toward the door. “Now get outta here so I can talk to my patient’s father and get him to do the right thing.”

Sam pointed at him. “Drinks tonight at Tap It. Me and Nate’ll be there, and if you’re not there by eight, I’m going to find you and drag your ass there.”

Even though drinks were the last thing on his mind, Cole knew that when Sam was determined, there was no fighting him, so he agreed. “You mean you’re actually giving up a night with a random chick to hang with your brothers?”

Sammy winked. “Hey, you’re the one who taught me that family has to come first. Besides, the thought of you crying at home makes my stomach turn.”

Cole took a quick step toward his smirking younger brother.

Sam sidestepped the feigned grab and said, “See ya tonight, bro,” before disappearing out the door.

A few minutes later Mr. Hood had replaced Sam in the chair across from Cole’s desk. His beady eyes held a look of determination that Cole had seen many times and almost always led to a poor choice for his patients. The churning in Cole’s gut told him that this was not a good day to face the man who stood between him and his patient. Especially when he’d prescribed a treatment plan that would certainly lead to her full recovery. It didn’t bode well for Elsie that she wasn’t present for this meeting. Usually when a patient was going to forgo treatments, they simply canceled their appointment or didn’t show up at all, but there were a handful who sought his approval. It was approval he never gave, but at least with those who came to see him, he had one last shot at changing their minds.

“Dr. Braden, by now you understand the difficult position I’m in as a parent. My daughter has worked for years for all that she has achieved, and she has a chance to reach a level of success doing what she loves most. A level of success that very few people can claim.”