Practicing Partners (Maiden’s Bay #2)

Chapter Twenty-Three

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

THE PAST SEVERAL days slogged on. Aubrie went back and forth between staying until she found another job and getting the hell out of Maiden’s Bay. She didn’t know where exactly Bran was, but the most logical choice was his apartment in Seattle. Still, she hesitated every time she considered going to Campy’s Bait and Bar, or out to pick up a coffee and pastry at Crescent Cafe, with the fear of running into him.

Was there anything left to say to him at this point? He knew what he had been doing the entire time. Knew that making Doc Bernie’s practice affiliated with Seattle University Hospital would take local money without providing the local level of care. Patients would either have to travel farther for more serious ailments, or they’d opt to go to White Bend Hospital, which would mean they probably wouldn’t continue going to the practice. Who knew what it meant for their insurance coverage?

She swore to stop thinking about it, but it kept nagging her. How could he have been so cold-hearted? Did the people of Maiden’s Bay mean nothing to him? Did she mean nothing to him?

She closed her jacket tighter, the gray day adding to her melancholy. The cold breeze and dreariness felt more like what she pictured a winter day here, not one in September. She had braved the walk to the lighthouse, one of the last sites on her bucket list to see before leaving. Where to, that was the question. Doc Bernie had pleaded with her to stay two weeks, giving him time to find a replacement. And honestly, giving her time to figure out what the heck she was doing with her life.

She walked the curvature of Pearl Avenue, the lighthouse behind her and a cluster of houseboats floating on the water. Maybe that’s what she needed to do. Get on a boat and float wherever the current took her. It was about as decisive as her current situation.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. For a moment, she found herself hoping it was Bran, yet she had no desire to speak with him. Perhaps knowing he was thinking of her as much as she thought about him, despite her not wanting to, would give her a little hope in his humanity.

She checked the caller ID and sighed. “Hi, Mom.”

“Finally! I’ve been trying to reach you since your father told me about what happened.”

Aubrie’s plan had worked, at least for a few days. Calling Dad to explain the situation at the practice was the right move. He’d tell Mom so at least she’d know the big picture, then Aubrie could decide when to pick up whenever Mom called. Whenever she was ready.

She still didn’t feel ready for the barrage of questions, but it’d be rude of her to let it linger any longer.

“I know. I saw your missed calls. I just needed some time to process everything.”

“What are you going to do? Are you still in Washington?”

“For the time being.” Aubrie walked by Campy’s, the porch as barren as the sunlight. “Doc Bernie asked me to stay to give him some time to find someone else.”

“How long will that be?”

“I agreed to two weeks. It wouldn’t be right to just drop him and the patients.” Although that’s what Bran did. Saying it out loud would only poke the inquisition bear.

“And then you’ll come home?”

Aubrie stopped in front of Bea’s Bouquets. A woman with sleek dark hair pulled back into a bun busied herself with taking out the sunflowers, making way for the next window display.

“I’ve applied to a few other places.” Luckily, several of the positions she had eyed before spotting the Maiden’s Bay opening were still open for applicants, though closing out soon. Hopefully, she’d get a call for an interview from one of them.

Mom’s silence on the other end was enough for Aubrie to know how the woman felt. No sense in hiding the truth now.

“San Francisco. Pittsburgh. Boston.”

“Dallas?”

Aubrie sighed, a staggered one in time with her quickening steps. “No, Mom.”

“Aubrie, I know losing Reid—”

She stopped again, nearing the television and radio station on the southern end of Pearl Avenue. “This isn’t about Reid. I mean, I’ve come to realize that I’m not entirely healed. That I need to actively take steps to move forward with it. I know speaking to a professional will help, and I fully intend on doing so. But this is not all about what happened there. It may have started out that way, and me running away from it, but not now. This is about me finding my purpose. Figuring out where I should be. And I wish you’d not just listen to me, but hear me. Really hear what I’m saying.”

The silence lingered. Aubrie started to think the connection had been dropped, but Mom spoke up. “I do hear you, honey. All I can go by is your word, and I do hope what you’re saying is true. I hope you’ve processed what happened with Reid and have learned to move forward. As much as it hurts me that you won’t be around, I really do hope you find what you’re looking for.”

It was the first time Mom acknowledged her words over her circumstance for what they were. The truth.

Emotion swelled through her, the wind not helping with the tears forming in her eyes. “Thank you.”

“You’ll let me know when you hear back from those places you applied to?”

Aubrie looked up at the sky, two seabirds holding out their wings, letting the wind do the work. “Of course. Bye, Mom.”

She hung up and plodded onward to the front door of KSMV, the local TV station for Maiden’s Bay and most of the Crescent Coast. Meeting up with Josie had been in the back of Aubrie’s mind for some time. But between Doc Bernie’s practice, the date with Garrett, and time with Bran, she hadn’t found a window of energy. She would’ve preferred to meet with Cynthia to have a third person to help with conversation, but she was out on Harpeth Rose with Ben Campbell. Which reminded her to check in with his wife Angela about their daughter while he was out.

A man at the front desk greeted her.

“Hi, I’m supposed to meet Josie?”

“Go ahead on back. They’re done with the midday news.”

“Thanks.” Aubrie walked through the hallway. At the end of it lay a large room divided into sections, with a news desk in one area and a more laid-back couch arrangement next to it.

A hand tapped Aubrie’s elbow.

“Hey, Aubrie.” Josie’s hair was perfectly still, the tight brunette curls sprayed frozen, most likely for the camera. Her makeup was thick but not cakey, perhaps the most flawless a newswoman could look given what she had to wear for the camera.

“Hi, Josie. Sorry if I’m late.”

“You’re fine. Come on back.” Josie guided Aubrie to a side room of the hallway, a break room with a mini kitchen and table. “I got us salad and sandwiches delivered from Crescent Cafe, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah. Sounds great.” Aubrie took off her blazer and hung it off the back of a chair before sitting.

“Thanks for coming out to the station. I know it’s not an ideal luncheon place, but it’s hard to get lunch in between the live broadcast and then editing, filming advertisements, all that stuff.”

“No worries. I’ve never been to a television studio.”

Josie divided the salad onto two plates. “You should come back some time to watch us shoot. I can get you a pass.”

“That’d be cool.”

“That is, if you’re still around?”

Aubrie’s shoulders slumped. “Okay, what exactly did you hear?”

“You know. I joke that our local broadcast is always late when it comes to Maiden’s Bay.” She winked and offered up the two sandwiches.

Aubrie opted for the turkey and swiss over the ham on rye.

“I didn’t get the fine details, but I do know something happened with Doc Bernie? That maybe he had a change of heart about retiring?”

Aubrie considered whether or not to correct her. On the one hand, she wouldn’t have to explain the drama with Bran. On the other, she didn’t want the town putting that kind of pressure on Doc.

“He had a little emergency. That part’s true. But it’s a bit more complicated when it comes to me and Bran.”

Josie nodded. “I figured as much. Well, Nick said something in passing about it. Oh, and Cynthia.” Josie bit into her sandwich.

Aubrie got the feeling she knew more than what she was letting on. “What did they say?”

“They were talking about visiting the practice. I guess they had a day of physicals? Nick is a stickler for safety. I can’t hate him for that. In fact, I love him for doing his due diligence as captain.”

Aubrie picked at her salad, not really taking a bite.

“Anyway, they said they sensed something was up between you and young Doctor Jackson.”

Aubrie bit her bottom lip. It’s not like there were dozens of people she could talk to about this. If any drama had come up, she would’ve talked to Bran. But Bran was in the center of all of it. It was one of the reasons, beyond having promised her, that she called Josie to meet up.

“I’m sorry,” Josie said. “I’m prying. We barely know each other.”

Aubrie held up a hand. “No, it’s okay. It’s good to have a girlfriend to talk to. I’m only sorry I didn’t call you sooner. Maybe I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

Josie pouted, a sincere emission of pity.

“I thought there was something between us. That I had misjudged him as a jerk, a player. He seemed to really care about the patients and about the town. Then, I learned his plan was to acquire the practice to sell to Seattle University Hospital.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Aubrie left her food untouched. “I know Doc Bernie’s isn’t the only medical practice in town. But it’s the most trusted, and probably most valued. With such a change, in some ways healthcare would be less accessible. But it’s not the idea of selling the practice. It’s how he was sneaky about it. That he would do it behind Doc’s back. And after all that, he’s gone. Dropped everyone like we meant nothing.”

“Are you certain that’s why he left?”

It was a simple question. She hadn’t considered that he left for any other reason than selfishness.

“I mean, why else? Doc Bernie found out, and it nearly killed him.”

Josie laid down her fork and pushed the salad plate aside. “Maybe he was embarrassed. From what Nick has told me about him, he wasn’t exactly the most reliable person when he was younger. Is it that hard to think he was different, that he was genuinely passionate about practicing medicine here, got caught up in whatever it is he got caught up in, and was embarrassed? To show his face with yet another failure at his hands?”

The thought sent pangs through Aubrie’s stomach. Could she be wrong? Bran had mentioned failure when Doc shared the letter. Were her feelings for Bran interfering with objectively looking at the situation?

No. What he did to Doc Bernie was inexcusable, even if it was his idiotic way of preserving his career.

“Have you asked him how he could do it? How he felt about it, about you?”

“Yeah.” She thought over the fight in the hospital, some words clear in her mind, others a blur. “Maybe not directly.”

“He didn’t say anything to you?”

She sat up firmer, certain words blazed into her brain. “He said he doesn’t deserve me.”

“Hm.” Josie slid her sandwich in front of her but didn’t unwrap the wrapper. “I don’t know, Aubrie. I don’t know him, nor you that well. I’d like to think the best in people. It’s not just part of my job with my series I do here, but it’s in my nature. And for someone to admit you deserve better, sounds to me like he does care for you.”

Aubrie shook her head. “Knowing you’ve done wrong and changing to be better are two different things.”

Josie shrugged. “Maybe he needed time away from you, from Doc, to be better.”

Aubrie didn’t know if she should take Josie’s approach, or be upset Josie was taking his side of things.

“So, if Doc isn’t going to stay on at the practice, after all, why are you leaving?”

She had floundered answering this question for herself over the past couple of days. She wanted to say because she wasn’t the right fit. Because Doc would need someone with different expertise. Because the right thing to do for Doc was to give him space from her and Bran. But those were all excuses. Not the truth.

“I don’t think I can be there, in that office, with constant reminders of Bran around me. And it’s not just the office. It’s Pearl Avenue, it’s Campy’s. It’s Sentinel Hill and Park. It’s all of Maiden’s Bay.” Her eyes welled up for the second time today. Damn Bran Jackson.

Josie reached out and touched Aubrie’s hand.

“I’m sorry,” Aubrie said. “This is our first lunch, and I’m dumping my baggage onto you.” She wiped her eyes with the back of her free hand. “It’s unfair to you. I waited too long to do this. You’re a good listener, and I feel like you’d be such a good friend. Here I am, trying to leave when I’m not sure I want to.”

Josie smiled. “Hon, we’re not done with us. Not by any means. Whether you decide to stick it out in Maiden’s Bay, or you go to Timbuktu. We’re just beginning.”