2. Madeline
Chapter 2
Madeline
I left Cakeology knowing the girls behind the counter had heard of me. Hell, for all I know they’re the ones who got the hospital to call me back. It's a small town. I can only imagine the gossip that's spread, good or bad, true or not. But I wasn’t quite ready to spill my guts about it all. It took everything I had to even drive back into town. I have no right to come back here. I have no right coming back and interrupting his life.
Maybe he’s moved on.
Maybe he hates me.
Maybe I was never good enough for him to begin with.
I jump back into my two-door white Mercedes which is a huge flashing neon sign alerting everyone I am in town and I know it won’t be long before my arrival makes its way through the grapevine. I drive straight to Candee Baylor’s house. I haven’t seen my close friend since I left town three years ago and though we’ve spoken on the phone I can’t wait to finally squeeze her. Candee and I met almost fifteen years ago when I did my first travel nurse assignment here at Love Beach Hospital. I got my Bachelors in Nursing then continued in schooling for another two years to become a nurse practitioner. I worked hard knowing I wanted to be able to travel and help as many people as I could and do it at a moment's notice. Back then, it was exciting to pick up and leave, go where I was needed for as long as they needed me. I had nothing to tie me down so why not?
But there was something about Love Beach that kept me coming back. The townspeople are amazing, the beach and the shops make this small town ever so appealing. Having no close family, I found a great friend in Candee and her husband Bill, despite me being twenty years their junior. It was so nice to have someone in my corner, who supported my dreams but who also understood my need to move, to search for more. Bill is a retired fireman and Candee worked at the hospital as well, then once she retired, she continued to volunteer there. I suspect it was part of the reason why I kept being called back.
The last time I was in Love Beach to work was four years ago. I had just turned thirty-six and Candee threw me a birthday party at the firehouse. It’s where I met Ryan Donnelly. He was a captain at the time, quickly rising in the ranks. He caught my attention immediately with his tall, muscled build and shaggy dark hair that looked so soft I just wanted to run my hands through it. A calm demeanor but with dark lustful eyes that promised there was a whole other side to Ryan Donnelly.
And I found it.
“Maddie!” Candee yells from the front porch as I step out of my little sports car. I leave everything in it and run towards her. We meet in the middle of her yard hugging and laughing.
She holds me at arm's length. “You look fucking amazing!”
I laugh at her choice of words. “Well, you look fucking amazing, too!” I pull her in tight to me once more for another hug. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Me, too. Come on, let’s go sit on the back deck and catch up.”
Two hours later I’ve heard all about Candee’s son Maddox and his fiancé, Marigold. All about her daughter Reece taking the teaching job here and falling for her high school boyfriend, Isaac. I even know about Marigold’s cousin who’s now dating the new probationary fireman, Jace.
In turn, I’ve filled her in on my last few years of travel, being everywhere from New Mexico to Maine and even having spent time in smaller countries I hadn’t even known existed. I remember being placed in a large family compound where they all worked together to make their town run. It was a found family, it was friends. It was husbands and wives and kids and, though it was nothing like Love Beach, it was everything that Love Beach is.
“I found myself missing everything about our small town on the water, but being able to help those people at a moment's notice has been everything to me, Candee.”
I saw my days filled with the hospital. I saw my nights filled with Ryan and I saw weekends and parties and weddings, and babies filled with the family that had taken me in as their own.
And I knew at that point Love Beach is where my heart lies.
She nods while sipping from her iced tea. “I understand that. I loved being at the hospital and six out of seven days a week, I miss it. But I’m at a point in my life now where I would have missed out on the big happenings with my own kids had I been working the night shift the day Maddox proposed. Or the day Isaac and Reece moved in together.”
She grows quiet and I know why. “You think I’ve missed out on my best years?”
“No, honey, I don’t think that at all. But I do think your best years are happening right now though and in five years, or maybe ten you could be saying something different.”
“Is that why you requested me back here?” I eye her with suspicion.
Her lips twist. “Not completely.”
“Candee!”
“Maddie! Listen, we need a nurse. Naomi is going out on maternity leave and I couldn’t add any more rotations to everyone’s already packed shifts. She also expressed interest in changing roles. So while I figure that out, you being here will help the entire floor.”
I nod waiting for her to go on.
“But I won’t say I’m not secretly hoping you run into Ryan again now that you’re here.” She puts up a hand when I begin to speak. “And I won’t say I'm not secretly hoping you decide to stay a bit longer this time. Like forever. With me. And possibly him.”
I blow out a breath. “Staying here would be a dream. Of all the places I've been, Love Beach is always top of my list. I’m meeting with Saige tomorrow—thank you for putting me in touch with her by the way. I’m sure those little cabins are going quickly with the summer season approaching.”
“She’s the best realtor Love Beach has. She’ll get you everything you need.”
My mind races and I speak the words I’m afraid to say out loud. “But I don’t think Ryan wants to see me again. We didn’t exactly leave it as the best of friends.”
We didn’t leave as friends at all. And after the intense six months we spent together, and my abrupt departure on the night of one of the biggest events here at Love Beach, I know earning that trust back will be very hard, if doable at all.
“There’s only one way to find out.”
“What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything. But I think you should. And you think you should, too.”
She’s right. I need to go see him.