Practicing Partners (Maiden’s Bay #2)

Chapter Twenty-Four

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2

brAN KNELT IN the grass alongside Doc Bernie’s home, plopping another flat stone in place. It had pained him to leave the hospital last week the way he did. But how could he face the man he had set out to take advantage of? Some of the only family who had been supportive of him? Yet it hurt more not knowing how Doc’s recovery was going. And that he was the cause of Doc needing a recovery in the first place.

“Why don’t you take a break?” Nathaniel held out an iced tea. The weather had turned early in the week, a cold front frosting the leaves overnight and sending a biting wind through in the afternoons. It didn’t register a whole lot after Bran worked up a sweat making Doc’s pathway safer.

“I want to get this finished.”

Nathaniel crouched beside him. “How long are you going to punish yourself?”

“That depends.” Bran sat up, staring at his younger, albeit wiser, brother. “How long are you going to be the perfect son?”

“Come on.” He handed Bran the tea and stood, waiting for him to follow. If Bran had known Doc would have Dad over, and Nathaniel on his fall break, he might’ve stayed away longer.

Bran took his time after standing, sipping the tea and catching his breath.

“I’m not perfect, you know.” Nathaniel crossed his arms.

“I know.” It really was in jest. Nevermind the underlying truth to it.

“Sometimes I don’t think you realize what it’s like being me. Being the one who is the responsible one, that follows the rules, that falls in line with what the family wants.”

“I didn’t mean—”

Nathaniel held up a hand. “No. You never mean for anything. You get to do what you want, like you have ultimate freedom. While I was stuck at home, having to make up for it with good behavior. Every time you got yourself in trouble, I made extra sure I wouldn’t cause more trouble for Dad.”

Bran ran his hand through his hair. He hadn’t thought about the pressure his actions put on Nathaniel. “You’re right. I had no idea.” He looked at his brother, the little boy he knew all grown up. “I’m sorry, Nathaniel. It seems everything I do ends up hurting the people I care about.” He shook his head. “I don’t mean that as an excuse, like I’m helpless. I’m going to do better. I will do better. I just hope, in time, you can forgive me.”

Nathaniel shook his head. “Of course I forgive you.” His lips turned up in a smirk. “It does help seeing you struggle with physical labor, though.”

Bran smiled. “I’m not struggling.”

“You’re certainly not thriving.”

They shared a laugh, and Nathaniel led him to the back deck, where Doc Bernie and Dad were lounging in chairs.

“How’s it coming?” Dad asked.

“Getting there,” Bran said.

“I noticed a few loose railings along the deck.” Dad glared at him.

Bran sighed. “I’ll be sure to fix those up, too.”

“Don’t you worry about those.” Doc shooed his hand at Dad. “He’s done enough already.”

“I want to make sure when you’re here, you’re safe.”

Bran set down his iced tea. “What do you mean by that? When he’s here?”

Dad looked up at him with narrow eyes. “I mean when he’s not with us in Florida.”

“Doc’s going to Florida?”

“We purposely got a place with a guest room and bath. That way, Doc can stay with us whenever he wants. Plus, you and Nathaniel can have somewhere to stay when you visit.”

This whole time, Bran thought Dad had been selfish, missing out on Doc’s party, buying a place in Florida on a whim. But it wasn’t on a whim. He was doing it not only for him and Rita, but for Doc, and his children.

“That’s… really great, Dad.”

They remained frozen, stuck in a silence, neither one knowing where to go from here.

Doc stood. “Would you two mind giving me a minute with Bran?”

“No problem.” Nathaniel leant out a hand for Dad. “Come and see Bran’s progress on the pathway.” He helped Dad up and guided him to the side of the house.

Bran waited until they were out of earshot and eyesight, anxious for the one-on-one time he’d intended in the first place. “How have you been?”

“As well as I could be, given the situation.” Doc sat back in the lounge chair, covering himself in a blanket.

Bran tightened his coat, fingertips growing colder by the second with the stoppage of work.

“I have some more blankets inside if you want.”

Bran shook his head. It felt right to be cold. He downright deserved to freeze after what he had done. Yet here Doc Bernie was, trying to help the man that was going to take it all from him.

He sat sideways on a lounge chair, facing Doc.

“Where have you been, Bran?” Doc sipped on his herbal tea, the white steam weakening the longer they sat outside.

“Here and there.” He folded his hands, elbows on his knees. “When I left the other day, I got in my car, and I drove north. I kept driving north, as if to Seattle, but I didn’t want to be there either. So, I stopped at a small town inland. I didn’t know where else to go. I walked on the streets. I stopped for a coffee. Which led to a meal. Eventually, I got a place for the night. And extended it for a few more.”

Doc paid attention but let Bran talk, not saying a word.

“In some ways, it was nice to be away from everything I knew. Everyone. To be by myself, in my thoughts.” He looked directly at Doc Bernie. “Yet my thoughts also made it miserable. I was forced to face myself in that time.”

“And?” Doc Bernie raised an eyebrow.

“It wasn’t great.” He let out a short chuckle, rubbing his hands on his jeans.

“Why did you come back, Bran? Why are you here at my house, fixing up some stone path I never use?”

“I know you’re expecting me to joke about how a grandson wants to visit his grandfather.” He nodded. “But no joke. I haven’t been the best grandson to you. That’s why I’m here. I want to say I’m sorry. Genuinely sorry.” His voice cracked, the sound resonating. “I should’ve told you about the probation. I shouldn’t have tried to undermine your plans for the practice. I knew you wouldn’t be happy with me selling to Seattle University, but I pursued it, anyway. And that’s why I deserve to be alone, facing my thoughts.”

He swiveled slowly on the lounge chair, propping his feet up and leaning against the tilted back. The two of them sat there quietly, looking out onto the town below, the bay an open swath of gray.

“That’s not true, Bran.” Doc Bernie said the words calmly, a slowness to them. “Yes, you did do those things. If you didn’t feel remorse, I’d say then perhaps you did deserve whatever life throws at you. But you’re here. And it’s not lost on me what coming back means to you. I know how you’re seen by everyone, including me—I admit, I’m guilty of it—as the one who couldn’t get his life straight. Couldn’t stick with anything. Never took anything seriously. Would never grow up and—”

Bran put up a hand. “Okay, I get it.”

They both had a brief laugh.

“But you’ve changed, Bran. I’ve seen it for myself. Coming back to town, facing your past. The way you handle patients. How you welcomed Aubrie, even if it was a rocky start.”

“Rocky start?”

“Oh, I know how you two were bickering. You think just because I’m old that I can’t hear or see things?”

Bran shook his head, amused. He had underestimated Doc Bernie, in just about every way. “Wait, how much of it was Edith telling you?”

“It doesn’t matter how it reached me.”

Bran chuckled.

“The bay has eyes and ears, you know.”

“I know.”

Doc Bernie examined him, staring him down. “The very fact that you returned, that you’re on my deck, proves my point.”

“But when I was confronted, I ran.”

“You removed yourself from the situation to think it through. That’s not always a bad thing. You’re so easily convinced you’re a bad person because of the negative things you may do. Why can’t you let the good things change your mind?”

“I guess it’s because the bad tends to mess everything up. I messed up things with you and the family. With my job. With Aubrie.”

Doc Bernie set down his tea and sat upright. “Okay. You’re here working things out with your family, right? And know that you didn’t cause my fainting. You give yourself too much credit.”

“What do you mean? The letter didn’t—?”

“The letter did get my blood boiling, I won’t deny that. But I’ve been having issues. Holding and grasping things, achy joints that occurred in the morning lasting throughout the day. It’s frustrating, to put it mildly. We’re trying to work out which medications work best. Obviously, not that last one.”

“Why didn’t you say anything before?”

“Are you seriously asking me why I didn’t tell you something?”

“Point taken.”

“It’s the main reason why I felt it was best to retire. I didn’t want something like this or worse to happen, when I was the sole person responsible for the patients.”

“I’m not gonna lie. I wish I had known.”

Doc Bernie scolded him with his eyes.

“I get it, though. I’m just glad you’re okay. You are okay, right?”

“I’m fine.”

Bran fixed his doubtful stare on Doc.

“I promise. We’ve seen how useful it is to keep secrets from one another, haven’t we?”

He had a point, and Bran trusted him. One of the few people he’d trust with his life. “Agreed.”

“Okay.” Doc Bernie clapped. “That’s one mess-up down. Now, what about the job? Have you heard anything?”

“No. Not yet.”

“What if they take you back in Seattle? What then? Are you going to go back?”

Bran sat upright to match Doc’s stance. “I don’t know.”

“Much easier for them to make the decision for you, right? Then, you don’t have to think about it. They say no, you do something else. They say yes, you go back?”

Bran shrugged. “I don’t know if that’s what I want anymore.”

Doc wagged a finger in the air. “See, that is where you’re lying to yourself. Which brings us to the third mess-up you mentioned. Aubrie.”

“I—” Hearing her name knotted up his stomach. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

“How about seeing her? Wouldn’t that be a start?”

“I could explain all of it to her until my voice left me, but I don’t think it would make anything better.”

“So, don’t explain things to her. I think she has a good idea of what happened and why. Better than I did at first.”

It hurt to hear it, the reminder of his actions. But he had no right in complaining about the pain.

“What do I say, then? Besides sorry?”

“That’s a start.” Doc Bernie leaned back again in the chair, talking up to the sky over Maiden’s Bay. “You tell her how you feel, Bran. That’s the only way to give both of you some clarity. Some peace. And you’d better do it before she leaves.”

Bran’s eyes perked open. “Leaves? Where is she going?”

“She got offers out of Boston and Pittsburgh. Not sure if she’s decided which one to take.”

“She can’t go. You can’t let her walk out on the practice like that.”

“Ah. Wrong again. She’s a grown woman, Bran. She can decide for herself where she wants to be.”

“I don’t mean it like—I meant that she’s great at the practice. That Maiden’s Bay would be better served with her here.”

“Wrong again.” Doc Bernie waved his finger in the air again.

“What? How could you say that? I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone that would fill her shoes. That would grow to love this community and put her heart and soul into helping people. All the people we care about, mind you.”

“So, you do care about Maiden’s Bay?”

“Of course I do.” Saying it out loud brought a finality to it. That he truly did care for his hometown, that it mattered what happened to its people. That a piece of him will always belong to Maiden’s Bay.

“Then, you’ll know why I say that the practice shouldn’t go to Aubrie. It should go to the both of you.”

“What? Doc, no—”

“I know you, Bran. Right now, you’re trying to enumerate in your head all of the reasons why you don’t deserve to set foot in the practice. Believe me, I had those initial thoughts in the hospital. But when it comes down to it, the two of you, together, are an impressive team. Imagine how well people here will be served with both of you in it.”

Doc was right. Bran clung to the feeling he didn’t deserve anything from Doc, the practice, or Maiden’s Bay.

“What I needed from you, you’ve given to me already. Today, right here. I needed to know how you truly felt about Maiden’s Bay. Now that you’ve confirmed it, there’s only one thing left for me to know.”

The thought of working together with Aubrie was euphoric. But unattainable. “What is it?”

Doc Bernie stood, and Bran instinctively made a move to rise, ready to help him up. “I’m okay, sit down.”

Doc sat next to Bran at the end of the lounge chair.

“Is wanting Aubrie to take over the practice the only reason you don’t want her to go? Be honest with me.”

Bran looked down at his knees, his boots, the wooden deck beneath them. Doc deserved the truth. Maybe it was time Bran faced it, too.

“I care about her.”

“You care about her? Come on, Bran.”

“All right. I love her.” He threw his arms up in the air. “Okay? I love her and have loved her since I think the evening I spilled wine on her and she kicked me out of the apartment. Which is crazy because it hasn’t even been that long. I don’t know how love works. But I can’t think of a time where she’s been in my life and I didn’t love her.” His mouth rattled as his eyes watered, taking all his effort to stop it.

“Good.” Doc Bernie patted Bran’s knee. “That’s why it has to go to the both of you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You’ll take care of each other. You’ll have each other’s backs and devote yourselves to the practice because you’re devoted to each other, on top of your professions.”

“It’s a nice thought, in theory. But she’d never go for it. Not after what I’ve done. And especially not with offers from other places.” How could he even consider interfering with her decision? “I wouldn’t blame her for taking one of those jobs.”

“No, but you may be able to stop her.”

Bran shook his head. “No. I don’t want to be that guy. The one who makes her choose between a person and a job. At the very least, she deserves to not have that kind of pressure.”

“But you know what she deserves?”

“I’m just saying, I—I don’t know. I’m just trying to do the right thing here.”

“I’ll tell you what she deserves.” Doc Bernie stood from the lounge chair, shuffling his feet and stopping directly in front of Bran. “She deserves to hear how you feel about her. Whether she accepts it or not, feels the same way or not, you can at least give her that.”

Bran stewed over the words.

“I swear, if you don’t, you will be the cause of my first heart attack.”

“Okay, Gramps. Calm down.” Bran stood and helped Doc Bernie back to his chair.

“I’ll calm down when you agree to talk to her.”

Bran covered Doc with the blanket.

“And if you ever call me Gramps again, I’ll call Seattle University Hospital myself to prolong your probation.”

Bran chuckled. “I won’t call you Gramps again.”

“And?”

Bran sighed. “And I’ll talk to Aubrie.”