The Sweetheart Secret Read online

  The dog didn’t answer. Colt took that as agreement.

  He climbed the sandy path to the inn, scanning the building for any sign of Daisy. He hadn’t seen her since last night, since that incredible moment on the beach that had changed everything. It wasn’t just about finally opening up to her about Henry, it was about finally letting her into his heart.

  Falling for her in a way that went far deeper than the lusty infatuation he’d had at eighteen. That thought had him hastening his pace, taking the wooden steps to the inn two at a time.

  “Hey, Colt. Nice surprise to see you here,” Nick said. He climbed down from the ladder and swiped the back of his hand across his forehead. Then he reached in a nearby cooler and pulled out a water bottle. “Want one?”

  “Yeah, thanks.” Colt unscrewed the top, then grabbed a plastic lid off of Nick’s makeshift workbench, and poured some water into it for the dog. “Have you seen Daisy?”

  “You just missed her. I think she was heading for your place.”

  “Oh, okay. Just thought I’d ask.”

  “Just thought you’d ask? Bullshit.” Nick grinned. “You’re interested in her. I can tell.”

  “She’s still my wife, Nick. Of course I’m interested.”

  “In a purely legally connected way?”

  Colt took a long drink of water. “Well . . . I wouldn’t call it purely.” Actually, not a single one of Colt’s thoughts lately about Daisy had been pure. “Or legal.”

  Nick laughed. The back door of the inn opened and Maggie came outside. She had on a dark blue tank top and cutoff denim shorts. Nick’s attention jerked to her legs, then her breasts, then her legs again. Colt half expected his friend to start drooling.

  “I’m going to grab some subs for lunch,” Maggie said to Nick. “You want one?”

  Nick was still staring at Maggie’s legs, and didn’t respond. Colt gave him a jab. “Oh, uh, yeah, sure,” Nick said.

  Maggie grinned. “The usual?”

  “Yeah, that’d be great. And some chips.”

  Maggie put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “You know what happens when you order chips? I end up eating half of them. You are one bad influence, Nick Patterson.” Then she turned and went back inside.

  “Don’t I wish,” Nick mumbled.

  “You are a pitiful excuse for a man,” Colt said.

  “What the hell do you mean by that?”

  “You keep telling me to go after Daisy, in a non-purely legally connected way, and here you are, having to pick your jaw up off the concrete after a conversation about subs with Maggie.”

  Nick shrugged. “I get excited about lunch.”

  “You get excited about her.” Colt nodded in the direction Maggie had gone. “When are you going to ask her out?”

  “Never. I work with her.” Nick swiped at the sweat on his brow and took another drink of water. “Do you know what a disaster that would be?”

  “So you’re saying you’re planning on breaking her heart?”

  Nick scowled. “Don’t make me regret giving you that water bottle.”

  Colt laughed. He took a seat on an overturned five-gallon bucket, with Major curling into the shade beside him. “Speaking of women who make a man weak in the knees, I think you’re right about taking things beyond a purely legal interest. I’m going to go for round two with Daisy.”

  “If this is going to lead into a discussion about your sex life, at least wait till I have my lunch.”

  “I meant round two of our marriage. Not sex. Though the two do go hand in hand.”

  Nick leaned back and gave Colt an assessing glance. “You two are back together? Didn’t you tell me a few days ago that she drives you crazy? Now you’re rocking the Kasbah over there in chez Harper?”

  Colt laughed. “I am not even going to talk about that mess of a sentence you regurgitated.”

  “You, my friend, are avoiding the question.”

  “Okay, yeah, we are back together.” A goofy, silly grin filled Colt’s face. The same grin he’d woken up with and had yet to shake. “I’m thinking of making it permanent.”

  “More permanent than already being married?”

  “More permanent, as in, making it a real marriage.”

  Nick chuckled. “You just want an excuse to have her sleep in your bedroom.”

  “Well, that is one of the many perks of marriage.” Colt grinned again, then sobered. He toyed with the water bottle, peeling at the label. “Seriously, though, she’s different now. I’m different now. And together, we’re better than we were before. She makes me want to be a better person, a better man, and I don’t want to let go of that. But I still worry about it not working out.” He tore off the label and tossed it in the trash. “Maybe I’m doing the wrong thing and I should just let us get divorced.”

  Nick wagged a finger at him. “You, my friend, are afraid. You are an excellent doctor, but maybe you’re too good.”

  “There’s no such thing as being too good of a doctor.”

  “There is when you keep thinking you’re responsible for the whole world. You can’t fix everything or everyone.”

  “I know that.” It was part of the tragedy that came with being in medicine. Sometimes those you fought really hard to save still didn’t make it. Even those you loved. “You can’t force somebody to take your advice. They have to want it for themselves.”

  “Yeah? Then why are you the only one you haven’t fixed? You take the cautious road, the one most traveled, instead of going after what you really want. You’re all talk, no follow through. If you ask me, I think it’s because you’re afraid of losing someone else you love. And hell, that risk comes along every time you open your eyes.”

  Colt thought about that for a second. Was that what he had done? Why he had let fourteen years go by before seeing Daisy again? Why he had taken off after that night they’d had three months ago, and sent her the divorce papers? “You’re awfully wise for a man who barely beats me at basketball.”

  “That’s just part of my charm.” Nick grinned.

  “Thanks, Nick.” Colt finished off the water, and tossed the bottle into a nearby recycle bin. Nick was right. It was time to stop worrying about the what-ifs and just take the leap. “I’m going to head home now and see if my wife wants to go out to dinner tonight. And every night for the rest of our lives.”

  * * *

  Daisy clutched the envelope to her chest. It was done. She didn’t know how she felt yet, other than . . . numb.

  A few swipes of a pen, and the last bit of silly, girlish hope in Daisy Barton had dissolved. She had made a vow this morning to stop being starry-eyed and impetuous and instead approach her decisions with calm, reasonable rationale.

  She had just started scribbling out a note when the back door opened. Major barreled through first, followed by Colt. Her heart stuttered when she saw him, and she wondered if that reaction would ever stop. It didn’t matter if he was in shorts and a T-shirt or wearing those damned khakis and ties, just the sight of him made her pulse race.

  He smiled when he saw her, and her heart did that silly little flip again. “Just the person I was looking for.”

  She put down the pen and crumpled up the note. “I didn’t know you’d be back today.”

  “I took the rest of the day off. Thought maybe we could go on one of those picnic lunches you’ve been trying to talk me into. And tonight, dinner out, just you and me. A real date. What do you say?”

  She bit her lip and studied the tile floor. The envelope seemed to chafe her skin, as if the documents inside were trying to climb out. This was the right decision, she knew it was. She just had to say the words, and it would be done. Tell him. Tell him before you start believing in the impossible again. “I won’t be here tonight, Colt.”

  “No problem. We’ll go tomorrow night.”

 
“I won’t be here then, either.” She lifted her gaze to his. “I’m moving out.”

  The light in his eyes dimmed, and the smile on his face dropped. “Moving . . . out?”

  “Emma already moved into the Hideaway Inn because Nick got enough of the electric and plumbing repaired for us to stay there. So I’m going to go there, too.”

  “You don’t have to stay with her. You can stay here.” He moved closer. “With me.”

  How tempting those words sounded. With me. She could tear up the papers in her hands, and just slide into life with Colt all over again. She clutched the envelope tighter and shook her head. “Come on, Colt. We both know this isn’t going to work. For one, your grandpa needs a real nurse to be with him, not me. And I can’t stay here and keep . . .” She bit her lip and shook her head. “Keep thinking this is going to turn into something more. Besides, my cousin needs me at the Hideaway. After all, someone’s going to have to answer the phone to handle all those new bookings.” She gave him half a smile, then dropped her gaze again because it hurt too much to look at Colt’s face.

  “That’s an excuse, and we both know it.”

  “It’s easier than saying I signed the divorce papers.” She held out the envelope.

  He stared at the package for a long time, then took the envelope and looked inside, as if he couldn’t believe she had really done it. “Why?”

  She tried another smile but it hurt her face. “We both knew this was a temporary deal. Quid pro quo, right? I have the inn on the path to restoration and you . . . have your freedom.”

  “Happy ending all around?” His voice was harsh and cold.

  Just push through this, she told herself. Once she was moved out and living at the inn, it would be easier. And it was the best decision for all of them. “I already talked to your grandpa and told him what I was doing. He agreed to let a visiting nurse come in every day until you find someone else.”

  “You thought of every detail.”

  “I didn’t want to leave you in a bind.”

  “How thoughtful.”

  She heard the hurt in his words, and averted her gaze before he saw the tears in her eyes, and she was tempted to undo all she had done. “I’m going to go pack.”

  “Daisy, wait.” He grabbed her arm and spun her back to him. “Why are you really doing this?”

  “One night together doesn’t change the fact that we are two different people, Colt. We always have been.”

  “Are we? Really? Because I see two people who have been let down by the people who love them. Two people who are scared to trust each other. But if we do, we can make something great.”

  She wanted to believe him, wanted it more than anything in the world. But they’d been down this road before and she could already predict the ending. “We’re oil and water, Colt. They don’t mix.”

  He took her hand, and waited until she looked at him. “I think we’re more like tinder and a spark together. Sometimes we come together and create an explosion, something that is really hot and awesome to watch. But the problem with us is we never took the time to let the fire die enough to see what was beneath it. I’m willing to try, Daisy. Because I think what’s underneath will be even better than the fire above.”

  She shook her head, and the old familiar fears chased up her throat, tightened her airway. “I can’t, Colt. I just . . . can’t. I’m no good at staying in one place or making commitments. I thought I wanted that when I came here, I really did. All my life, I’ve looked at my cousin and her family and wanted what she had, what I’ve missed out on by flitting from here to there and never settling down. A family. A sense of belonging. Something permanent.”

  “We can have that together, Daisy.”

  She swallowed and kept talking. “Then I realized I’m not that sort of person. I don’t even know how to be. I don’t put stock in people, and I don’t put stock in places, because most of my life, I lost it before I could even get attached. Until I came here. Now I have something I want to hold on to, but I’m scared as hell to put down roots, to stay here and run the Hideaway. To be honest, half the time I think about packing up my car and heading anywhere. Just . . . away.”

  “Why? Why not stay? You love that inn.”

  “What if I do? And I screw it up? Colt, I’ve been a screwup most of my life. I dropped out of high school, eloped with you, and I’ve never had a career, just a lot of jobs serving burgers and scrambled eggs. That’s not the kind of person people should be depending on.” She waved in the direction of the inn. “Emma’s the one with experience, the one with staying power. She’s the one who should be running it, not me. She worked at the inn for several summers, she’s got her degree. She’s married, settled down. Dependable.”

  “And you don’t think you’re dependable?” He took a step closer. “Because you’ve been here for me, and my grandfather. And you’re here for your cousin.”

  “All temporary, Colt. I’ve never held a job for longer than a few months. Never lived in one place for longer than a year.”

  “But you’ve been married fifteen years. Today, in fact. It’s our anniversary, in case you forgot.” He gave her a cockeyed grin.

  “Not anymore.”

  The truth sat there between them, cold and harsh. Their marriage, such as it was, was ended. A few swipes of a pen, and it was over.

  She raised on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on his lips. “You are a good man, Colt. You always have been. I wish I was the kind of woman who would stay around and appreciate that.”

  Twenty-five

  “You coming in with me?” Colt pulled into a parking space outside of Golden Years and parked the car. He was on his fourth cup of coffee of the day, after spending most of the night tossing and turning and resisting the temptation to run over to the Hideaway Inn to try to talk some sense into Daisy. In the week and a half since she had left, the house had become more and more empty and cold without her. She’d been resolute in her decision to leave, and so he’d let her go.

  He had yet to file the divorce papers. The envelope sat on the kitchen counter day after day, like a lead weight.

  “Hell, no, I don’t want to go in with you,” Grandpa Earl said. He sat back against the seat and crossed his arms over his chest. “Why would I want to go in that place? Nothing but a bunch of old geezers who sit around and complain all day.”

  Colt arched a brow. “And what makes you think you wouldn’t fit right in?”

  “Hey, I don’t complain.”

  “I thought you went and played cards with the guys the other day. After the festival.”

  Grandpa looked away. “I didn’t go. I said that because I didn’t want anyone pestering me. I just needed some time alone. I ended up at the Shoebox Café, had a little . . . episode and they panicked and called in the ambulance.”

  “Next time, please let me know where you are. If something happens and I don’t know where you are—”

  “I’m not five years old, Colt. Stop treating me like I’m gonna break.”

  Colt didn’t say a word, just turned off the car. Ever since the friendship with Walt Patterson had gone south, Grandpa Earl had found one reason after another to skip the weekly card games the guys had been holding at Golden Years for three years now. Colt had hoped that bringing Grandpa along on his rounds would encourage him to stay, hang out with his friends again. No dice. Maybe things between them weren’t going as well as Colt thought. “All right. Well, I’ll be a couple hours. If you get bored—”

  “I know how to keep myself occupied.” Grandpa waved toward the building. “Just go. I don’t need you hovering over me. For God’s sake, you were like a mother hen back at the doctor’s office.”

  Colt bit back an argument, because he knew it would just be the same one he’d had last week and the week before that. Grandpa didn’t want to take any doctor’s advice—and especially not his grandson
’s. Colt was the one taking notes, asking questions, double-checking the prescriptions. Grandpa acted as if the entire thing was one major inconvenience. At least he’d gone to this appointment. He’d canceled the last three behind Colt’s back.

  “Grandpa, I love you,” Colt said and turned in his seat. “But I’m tired of this battle we keep having. I miss you and I want to get back the grandpa I had . . . before.”

  Grandpa Earl didn’t say anything. He just stared out the windshield. His lower lip trembled, but he shook it off. “When you go, leave the keys so I can at least listen to the talk radio station.”

  Colt sighed. Why did he keep trying? It was clear that Grandpa was never going to forgive him. “Fine.”

  Colt headed inside and spent the next hour or so completing his rounds, checking on patients who had been sick, others who were recovering from surgeries, and popping in to see the ones who didn’t always follow his recommendations. Ending with the most contrary patient of all.

  Greta Winslow.

  Colt entered the morning room and crossed to the round table by the window. “Good morning, Mrs. Winslow. How are you?”

  Greta looked up from the table where she was sitting with Pauline and Esther. The ladies had a pile of papers spread out on the table before them, along with a stack of newspapers and a couple legal pads. Pauline scooped up the papers and swept them under the newspapers. Colt bit back a laugh. Must be the ladies’ newest letters from the lovelorn requesting advice. Greta had told him about the column the ladies did their best to keep secret from everyone else in Rescue Bay, lest it mess with their “process,” whatever that was. Greta hadn’t explained and Colt hadn’t asked.

  “Why, Doc Harper,” Greta said. “Back again so soon?”

  “Here every Tuesday at two for rounds. Just checking to make sure people are taking my advice, following their prescriptions.”