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  “How about we reserve that for another time?” she suggested. “I might need it one day,” she winked.

  “Whatever you say, Doc,” Sal laughed.

  Brooke turned back to Tess. “Offer still good?” she asked. Tess nodded dumbly. “Well, lead on. I’m starving.”

  Chapter Two

  Brooke followed with Tess behind the two kids as they walked around the block. She reached over and took the pizza box from Tess’s hands. “You don’t have to carry that,” Tess said.

  “You paid. Seems like the least I can do is carry the goods.”

  “Um. You paid too. Only to have my son feed the floor with your dinner,” Tess reminded the doctor.

  “Eh, it gives Sal an excuse to finally clean that floor,” Brooke said. She looked ahead and saw Davey chase Dani up the porch stairs of a small Cape Cod home. “Yours?” she gestured to the house. Tess nodded. “Cute,” Brooke complimented.

  Tess stepped up behind the kids and unlocked the door. Brooke took the cue and stepped inside. She looked around the small living room and smiled. The walls were painted a sky blue and were adorned with several paintings of seascapes. A soft beige couch sat in the middle of the room facing a stone set fireplace. Brooke noted that there was no television in the room and was surprised that other than the two portraits that sat on the mantle, there was no evidence of children in the space.

  Tess handed Dani the pizza box. “Take this to the kitchen table. Carefully, please,” Tess instructed. “Get washed up,” she said before stepping up beside Brooke. “It’s not really much. I know,” Tess said softly.

  Brooke was lost in her visual exploration of the room. It was stunning. The room could easily have been the common area of a quaint bed and breakfast on Cape Cod. “Did you decorate it yourself?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Amazing what you can do with a few dollars. I wish I could afford some professional artwork, but I tried.”

  Brooke turned and looked at Tess in awe. “Are you telling me that you painted those?”

  “Yeah. I know, not really…”

  “They’re amazing,” Brooke said earnestly.

  Tess wrinkled her nose. “Are we looking at the same pictures?”

  Brooke moved to stand in front of one of the paintings. It depicted a rocky seashore with a dilapidated dock extending out on the right-hand side. The sun appeared to be just setting. Tess had painted the sky in pink and purple tones that reflected in the water. “Do you sell them?”

  “Sell them?” Tess asked in confusion.

  “Your paintings,” Brooke clarified.

  Tess chuckled. “No.”

  “You should.”

  “Mom!” Davey called.

  “Sounds like your troops are hungry,” Brooke said.

  “They are always hungry,” Tess replied. “Come on, or we’ll be licking the crumbs from the box.”

  “I swear, I have never done that,” Brooke crossed her heart.

  Tess looked at her and giggled slightly. Just who are you, Dr. Brooke Campbell?

  ***

  The foursome had been sitting around the table for nearly an hour and Brooke noticed that Tess had not taken one slice of pizza for herself. “Not hungry?” she asked the woman seated beside her.

  “She’s weird,” Davey say with a mouthful. “She hates pizza.”

  “I am not weird,” Tess defended herself. “I don’t hate pizza. I hate pepperoni. And, don’t talk with your mouth full,” she added.

  “You hate pepperoni? No one hates pepperoni,” Brooke said assuredly. Davey and Dani both laughed.

  “Slimy meat and I are not friends,” Tess replied. Brooke’s coy smile caught Tess slightly off guard.

  “Yeah, Jackie hated it too. Nothing on her pizza. She was a pizza purist,” Davey said innocently.

  “Jackie?” Brooke asked curiously.

  “Mom’s ex-girlfriend,” Dani said. Tess choked on the soda in her mouth. Brooke tried not to laugh.

  “Everyone has at least one of those,” Brooke shrugged. Tess’s eyes flew open. “But, you should know to be suspicious of any woman who claims to be a pizza purist. And, really? Who doesn’t like pepperoni? Do you have any other strange aversions?” Brooke asked. Tess choked again and coughed. “You okay there?” Brooke asked lightly. Tess nodded. Brooke turned her attention back to the kids. “So, now that I know your mom’s issues. What about you two? I know you like pizza with pepperoni, so we are on the same page there. How about school? Like it or are you two purists?” Brooke asked seriously.

  Dani giggled. “He likes gym and recess,” she said, pointing to her brother.

  Davey made a face at his sister. “So?”

  “What about you, Dani?” Brooke asked with genuine interest.

  “I like science.”

  “She’s weird too,” Davey pointed at his sister.

  “Am not!” Dani snapped back.

  “Science is cool. I always liked science,” Brooke said. “I liked recess too,” she winked at Davey.

  “You did?” Dani asked in surprise.

  “Yep.”

  “Dr. Campbell is a doctor,” Tess reminded her children with a smile.

  “You’re a real doctor?” Dani asked wide eyed.

  “That’s what they say,” Brooke responded.

  “Cool. Do you see blood and guts?” Davey asked excitedly.

  Tess rolled her eyes. Brooke laughed. “Sometimes,” Brooke said. “Mostly, I see babies.”

  “Babies?” Davey wrinkled his nose. “That’s boring.”

  Tess chuckled as she moved to pick up their plates. Brooke started to stand and Tess grabbed her hand gently to stop her. “No, you are a guest.”

  Brooke managed a half-hearted smile. It was in her nature to move and to help. The last thing she wanted to do was make Tess uncomfortable. The kids had spilled more than their fair share of beans about their mother to Tess’s horror. Brooke had enjoyed the hour long dinner conversation. Davey and Dani were like a young Abbott and Costello. She could see the adventurous twinkle in both pairs of eyes and she could only begin to imagine the kind of trouble that caused. And, she found Tess’s innocent blushing amusing and endearing.

  “Mom was almost a doctor,” Dani told Brooke. Tess dropped a plate in the sink at the words. She didn’t often speak about her original life plans, not with anyone. She didn’t see the point. Tess had no regrets about her decision to put her children first. There were times, if she were to be honest, that she wondered what life would have been like had her life taken the path she once envisioned.

  Brooke looked over at Tess, who just shrugged. “Not really,” Tess said softly. “I didn’t even finish my bachelor’s,” she admitted. “And, that was a long time ago,” she said.

  “Grandma says you still could,” Davey chimed.

  “Grandma says a lot of things,” Tess reminded her son. “Now, come on. You two have tormented Dr. Campbell enough, and I know you both have homework, so skip to it.”

  “Aww…we were just starting to talk about guts,” Davey complained.

  Brooke snickered. “I should probably get going,” she said.

  Tess forced a smile. It had never occurred to her that the object of her innocent crush would end up sitting at her kitchen table. In the short time that they had shared, Tess had grown more curious about the doctor. She didn’t have many close friends. Most of her friends were still single, the few that were married either had yet to start families or they were chasing infants and toddlers. It was refreshing to have another adult at the table. “I’ll walk you out,” Tess said.

  Brooke nodded. “You two behave,” Brooke teased the twins.

  “See ya, Dr. Campbell,” Dani said.

  “You can call me Brooke. Dr. Campbell makes me feel old.”

  Davey and Dani laughed. “Old people can be cool,” Davey said as he ran into the other room. Tess laughed at the look of sheer horror on Brooke’s face as they headed for the front door.

  “Was that a compliment?” Br
ooke wondered aloud.

  Tess shook her head. “From Davey? That was the ultimate in flattery,” she promised.

  “Oh, God. I am old,” Brooke groaned. Tess snickered. “Listen, thanks for dinner.”

  “Thanks for putting up with us,” Tess said. “I’m sure there is much more interesting company you could have shared a pizza with.”

  Brooke detected a hint of sadness in Tess’s voice. She seldom shared dinner with anyone except her dog, Murphy. “Well, don’t get me wrong, I love Murphy’s company, but his conversation can be a bit one sided.”

  “Murphy?”

  “My lab,” Brooke explained. Tess nodded. “I had a good time.”

  “Me too,” Tess admitted.

  “See you tomorrow?”

  “In uniform,” Tess said.

  “Night, Tess.”

  “Goodnight, Dr…” Brooke’s eyebrow shot up into her hairline. “Brooke,” Tess said.

  Brooke smiled and offered her new friend a slight wave. Tess closed the door slowly and watched as Brooke headed back down the sidewalk. Brooke was not what she had imagined. She wasn’t certain what she had imagined or maybe she was. She expected to be intimidated by the doctor. There were times that Tess admittedly felt embarrassed by her lack of formal education. Brooke seemed unfazed by all of it. Maybe, just maybe, Tess had found someone she could cultivate a friendship with.

  As she watched Brooke disappear around the corner, she sighed. There was no way to deny that she was attracted to the doctor. Brooke was gorgeous, intelligent, and quite charming. Dating simply was not on Tess’s agenda. It was too complicated. She had spent two years with Jackie. She let her children grow attached to the woman. It had ended in disaster. Jackie had left her in a financial mess and that was not the worst of it. She had left Tess abruptly and without any thought of how it would affect Dani and Davey. The twins were only five when Jackie left. They had considered Jackie a parent. They trusted her. They loved her. Tess could deal with the betrayal. She recovered quickly. The long nights of tears from her children were a different story. For months, Davey would cry himself to sleep. He could not understand why Jackie didn’t call or even say goodbye. Tess swore she would never put her children through that kind of pain again. She collapsed against the front door. It was only a dinner, somehow it conjured reality for Tess. The reality was that she was lonely. It was just a dinner.

  ***

  Brooke peeked around the corner when she heard a familiar voice. She smiled when she saw Tess laughing with Janine.

  “What are you doing?” Rachel laughed from behind her best friend.

  “Me? Nothing,” Brooke responded innocently.

  “Uh-huh. You are still coming Sunday?” Rachel asked.

  “One o’clock. I’ll be there.”

  “Noon, Doc. Noon,” Rachel smacked Brooke lightly.

  Brooke stepped out into the front office and smiled at Tess. “Hey,” she greeted the courier. Tess smiled.

  Janine regarded the interaction curiously. “You looking for something?” she asked Brooke.

  “No. Why?” Brooke asked. Tess looked at her feet.

  “You usually scurry out here like a kid on Christmas that thinks Tess is Santa Claus with your packages,” Janine commented.

  “I do not,” Brooke said. Tess smirked. “What?” she looked at Tess. “I do not scurry,” Brooke said.

  “Of course not,” Tess agreed.

  “I just was curious if I had any messages,” Brooke said to Janine.

  Janine looked at Brooke as if she had hit her head. “If you had messages, I would have let you know.”

  “I was consulting with Dr. Shaw in her office,” Brooke offered a weak explanation.

  “Uh-huh. Well, nope. No messages. No one is in labor—yet. And, might I remind you that as of ten minutes ago you are not the one on call.”

  “Thank you, Mom,” Brooke said sarcastically. “Rachel has you trained.”

  “Too bad she hasn’t succeeded with you all these years,” Janine replied.

  “Oh, you are a comedian. No wonder my patients are always smiling,” Brooke said.

  “Well, have a nice weekend,” Tess said.

  “You too,” Janine said. “Any big plans?”

  “Not a one,” Tess replied. She looked at Brooke and smiled. Brooke smiled back and excused herself.

  Janine rolled her eyes. “I swear she is like a big kid,” Janine laughed. “Hard to believe sometimes she is the most sought after doctor here.”

  Tess tipped her head in curiosity. “Really?”

  “Yeah. She’s a rare breed. Her and Dr. Cantrell both. But, Brooke? People talk. Most people think she should have been a surgeon. She’s saved more than a few pregnancies and babies in her young career. That’s why she ends up on call or being called when she’s not on call so often. She’s easy going, but she’s also amazing under pressure.”

  Tess smiled. That was not difficult for her to believe. “Well, if I ever decide to have twins again, I will know who to call,” she said.

  “Good choice,” Janine replied. “See you Monday.”

  “I certainly hope so,” Tess said with a wave goodbye.

  ***

  “A drum set, Brooke?” Rachel shook her head. “He’s two!”

  Brooke watched her honorary nephew run across the living room to where his father was playing with the junior drum set she had purchased. “What? Prodigies start young, Rach.”

  Rachel rolled her eyes. Mike seemed to delight in the drum set even more than Eli. “What happens when my lawyer husband wants to become a rock star? I am blaming you!” Rachel warned her best friend.

  “Hey, rock stars make good money,” Brooke argued.

  “He loves it!” Mike called over. He had lifted Eli onto his lap. Eli was doing his best to hit the drums with the stick in his hands and screeching with delight each time he made contact.

  “That’s great,” Rachel said with mock enthusiasm. She turned back to Brooke. “You couldn’t have chosen something a bit, I don’t know, quieter?”

  “What would you have preferred? I give a two-year-old a scalpel?”

  “Funny. What about crayons?” Rachel responded.

  “Do you like your white walls?” Brooke asked.

  Rachel groaned. “You are going to be babysitting—a lot.”

  Brooke shrugged. “I never mind hanging with the little man.”

  “You know, you could have your own little man to hang out with,” Rachel interjected.

  “I gave up little men the same time I gave up big men. That was in about the tenth grade.”

  “Ha-ha. You know exactly what I am talking about. What about that nice teacher you went out with a while back?” Rachel asked.

  “Carmen?”

  “Yeah, her. She seemed nice. She was really into you,” Rachel smirked.

  Brooke groaned. “Too clingy. I need my space.”

  “You need your own damn galaxy,” Rachel replied. “You love kids. You don’t have to have a partner you know. It is 2015.”

  “Oh, no. No way. I am not doing that single mom thing.”

  “Your mom was a single mom,” Rachel reminded her. “For most of your life.”

  “Yes, and it super sucked for her. She gave up everything. Like Tess. No way. I am too selfish for that.”

  Rachel set down the beer she was drinking. “Like Tess? Who is Tess?”

  “You know—Tess,” Brooke said. Rachel lifted her hands in confusion. “Tess! Geez, Rach, you see her practically every day when she comes into the office.”

  “Tess as in the driver that delivers the goodies you are constantly buying online? That Tess?” Rachel asked for clarification.

  “Do you see a lot of other Tesses in the office daily?”

  “Tess has kids?”

  “Two,” Brooke answered. She laughed when Eli hit a cymbal and he startled himself.

  “Huh. Did Janine tell you that?” Rachel wondered.

  “Tell me what?”

&
nbsp; “Hello! That Tess has kids!” Rachel said in exasperation.

  “Oh. No. I met them Thursday,” Brooke said.

  “You met them? What do you mean you met them? She brought them to work?” Brooke was focused on Eli and Mike at the drum set. “Hello?” Rachel waved a hand in front of Brooke’s face.

  “What?”

  “I asked if she brought her kids with her to work or something.”

  “Who?” Brooke asked.

  “Tess!”

  “Oh. No. We had pizza.”

  “When did you have pizza? Wait. What do you mean you had pizza?”

  Brooke shrugged. “That shouldn’t be a hard concept, even for you,” she teased her friend. “It comes in a box, sliced. You open the box and eat it.”

  Rachel narrowed her gaze menacingly. “Yes, I know. Who did you eat this pizza with?”

  “I told you. I had pizza with Tess and her kids.”

  “Wait. You asked Tess out and she brought her kids? Is that what you are telling me?” Rachel asked.

  “What? No.”

  “Explain yourself,” Rachel demanded.

  “God, you would think I announced a marriage or something. It was just pizza.”

  “Pizza does not surprise me. You eat pizza at least four times a week. Pizza with a woman and her children? That surprises me,” Rachel said.

  “I bumped into them at Sal’s. Actually, Davey bumped into me,” Brooke explained.

  “Davey?”

  “Tess’s son.”

  “Uh-huh. And?”

  “And?” Brooke shrugged. “My pizza was a casualty of said bumping. Tess offered to buy me a new one. I declined. Tess offered to share their pizza. I accepted.”

  “Huh,” Rachel mused quietly. Brooke kept her attention squarely on Eli at the drum set. He was banging and clanging in no particular order or rhythm, but he was apparently pleased with the noise he was producing. That delighted Brooke. “So? What’s she like?” Rachel asked as she lifted her beer again.

  “Who?” Brooke asked.

  “Tess, you idiot!”

  Brooke chuckled. “Why are you so interested in Tess?” she asked playfully.