Nica, page 5
“And Melissa died,” Nica said softly.
The pain was still there, sharp and immediate. “Yes. She died. Two kids lost their mother because I didn’t see what was happening until it was too late. Because I trusted the wrong person. I accepted full responsibility, because I should have stopped the procedure when I noticed something wasn’t right. I didn’t and that’s on me.”
“The papers said you were cleared.”
“After eight months of investigation, both by the hospital as well as by the State Licensing Board, yes. They found a witness, a janitor emptying the trash and cleaning the floors, who saw Richardson in the locker room before I came to the OR to prep for the surgery; the surgery I was doing covering for him because he was ‘sick’. While they didn’t see him actually put anything in my coffee, it would have been easy enough, because the cup was right there by my gym bag. The janitor did see Richardson pick up my cup. It was proven that the ketamine was in my coffee. But it didn’t matter to her family. It couldn’t bring her back.” He swallowed hard. “The hospital settled with them out of court. I resigned. Richardson lost his license after it was determined he was responsible. The pressure and the disgrace of what he’d done eventually led to him committing suicide. He never admitted it, so there will always be a cloud over my name. I’ll never be free of the accusations, or the guilt I carry every day. I was cocky and vain. My reputation meant everything to me and in an instant, it was gone, beyond repair.”
Understanding dawned in Nica’s eyes. “If he committed suicide, it can’t be him behind these calls. He couldn’t have mailed me these papers.”
Gabe nodded. “It must be someone connected to him. Or maybe somebody connected to Melissa’s family. They might have settled with the hospital, but that doesn’t mean they don’t still blame me.” He started to reach for her, his hand outstretched, before he pulled it back. “What I want to know is, how did they find out about us, Nica. Nobody knows about our elopement.” The fear he’d been holding at bay surged forward. “If they’re willing to drag all this up again, to hunt me down halfway across the country, I don’t know what else they are capable of, what they might do to you.”
“You should have told me, explained all of this to me so I wasn’t broadsided by a stranger trying to hurt me—hurt us.” Her voice was quiet, but there was steel in it. “We’re married, Gabe. For better or worse, remember? Those aren’t just pretty words. I meant them.”
“I know.” Shame washed over him. “I was afraid. Not just of them finding you, but of losing you. Your family…”
“My family doesn’t know we’re married,” she reminded him, her voice gentle. “I’ve been keeping secrets too.” She pressed her fingers to her temples. “What a mess.”
“I’m so sorry. I know sorry doesn’t even begin to…” The words seemed pathetically inadequate. “I should have trusted you.”
Nica was silent for a long moment, staring down at the papers that had shattered their peaceful existence. “Yes,” she said finally. “You should have.”
He wanted desperately to go to her, to pull her into his arms, but sensed that would be the wrong move. She needed space. Time to process. She was a smart woman, one of the most intelligent women he’d ever met, but she was also her mother’s daughter. Given enough time, she’d come up with the right answer, that he loved her desperately, and needed her in his life. She was already in his heart.
“What do we do now?”
Nica looked up at him, and despite everything, he could still see the love in her eyes, though now tinged by hurt and uncertainty. “First, no more secrets. We’re going to sit down and go over every detail about what happened in California, about these calls, about what you think they want. Then we decide together how to handle it.”
“Together,” he repeated, clinging to the word like a lifeline.
“Yes. But Gabe?” Her voice hardened. “If I find out you’re keeping anything else from me, that’s it. I won’t be able to trust you again. Do you understand?”
He nodded, throat tight. “I understand.”
She stood and walked around the coffee table, the one covered with the medical reports and newspaper clippings, swiping them onto the floor, and took his hand. Her grip was firm, anchoring him. “I think we should order some dinner; I’m in the mood for Chinese. Then we talk. Because whoever sent these,” she gestured toward the loose sheets lying on the coffee table, “they’re not just after you anymore. They’re after us.” She paused and looked into his eyes before adding, “And they are not going to win. Because we are stronger than anything they can throw at us, if we face it together.”
Gabe squeezed her hand, then pulled her into his arms, hugging her close, drawing strength from her touch. The truth might’ve been painful, but keeping it inside had been worse. As the room grew darker around them, he began to tell his wife everything he should have told her long ago—every detail about Melissa Carpenter, about Richardson’s betrayal, about the nightmares that still woke him in a cold sweat.
And somewhere in the back of his mind, a clock was ticking. Because whoever had found Nica today wouldn’t stop there. Somebody had done their homework, had discovered how much Nica meant to him, and would use that as a weapon. The past he’d tried to outrun had finally caught up with him, and this time, the stakes were higher than ever.
This time, it wasn’t just his career on the line. It was his heart.
CHAPTER SIX
Nica gazed out the window of her old bedroom at the Big House, watching raindrops trace meandering paths down the glass. Thunder rumbled in the distance. It was one of those unexpected thunderstorms that pop up, blows in hard and fast, and is gone just as quickly. But sitting here, listening as the rain pounded against the glass, it had triggered something in her—memories of another rainy night not that long ago, one that changed everything.
College Station had been experiencing an unusual cold snap that February evening. Nica remembered slipping into the restaurant, nervously smoothing down her burgundy dress as she scanned the dim interior. There he was, Dr. Gabriel Summers, looking nothing like the clinical professional she’d known in Shiloh Springs. In dark jeans and a charcoal button-down with the sleeves rolled to reveal muscled, tanned forearms, he seemed much younger, more approachable.
But still just as devastating to her composure. What was it about the man that set her heartbeat racing, made her almost giddy and lightheaded? She’d never had this reaction around anybody before. Why him?
“I almost didn’t recognize you without your white coat,” she’d teased as she slid into the booth across from him, trying to hide how her heart hammered against her ribs. She needed to play it cool, act like she was something more than a family friend from Shiloh Springs. Wanted him to see her as an adult—as a woman.
Gabe’s smile had been slow, almost cautious. “I could say the same. You look different too, Nica. More…” He’d searched for the word, eyes never leaving hers, “free.”
The restaurant was one of those carefully curated local spots—exposed brick walls, Edison bulbs hanging from fixtures attached to reclaimed wood, and an impressive wine list that Gabe navigated with surprising expertise. The lighting was low enough to feel intimate without being obvious about it. It was a place frequented more by upper classmen looking for more than beer and wings on a Friday night. To be honest, she’d been surprised when Gabe mentioned meeting here. She hadn’t thought he’d even know about this place.
“How’s your father doing?” Gabe asked after they’d ordered, his fingers idly turning his water glass. “I got his latest labs before I left.”
“Better. Stubborn as ever.” Nica smiled, remembering her father’s complaints about the new diet. “He says he’s following your recommendations to the letter, but Liam caught him trying to sneak extra bacon onto his sandwich at the job site.”
Gabe laughed, the sound warming something inside her. “That sounds like Douglas. Though I can’t entirely blame him—Shiloh Springs’ bacon is worth breaking a few rules for.”
“Speaking of home,” Nica said, taking a sip of her wine to steady herself, “have you heard about the drama with the school board and Principal Carson?”
“Oh, you mean the controversy over the new curriculum?” Gabe leaned forward slightly. “I can’t see our good mayor kowtowing to Carson’s demands, but he’s called an emergency town meeting next week. I’m looking forward to seeing Ruby Jennings stand up and give everyone a piece of her mind.”
They both laughed, the small-town gossip creating a familiar bridge between them, despite being a hundred and fifty miles from home. When she’d chosen where she’d go to school, she’d wanted to be close enough to go home for long weekends and during breaks, but sometimes it seemed like she was a million miles away.
“I miss that sometimes,” Nica admitted. “The way everyone knows everyone’s business. It drove me crazy growing up, but now…”
“You see the value in community,” Gabe finished. “I felt the same way at Stanford. Brilliant minds everywhere, cutting-edge research, but something was missing. There was no sense of people knowing each other. Sure, I worked with some amazing professionals, and learned from the best, but I didn’t really know them. Didn’t spend time with them outside of the hospital. They were simply colleagues.”
Their food arrived—seared scallops for her, steak for him. As they ate, Nica couldn’t help but study him. The confident way he held himself, so different from the boys her age she’d dated in college. Not that there had been many of them. Her studies were important to her, and she headed home whenever she could. There was always something happening at the Big House. Each of her brothers was being bitten by the love bug and were dropping like felled trees for their soul mates. And while she loved her brothers, each and every annoying one of them, bringing home one of the guys she dated never felt right. She was holding onto the dream of bringing home the perfect man to introduce to her family. Somebody they’d not only approve of but would welcome with open arms. It might be foolish, but she wanted that whole princess moment, the whole someday her white knight would come and sweep her off her feet feeling. Having seen it with her parents every day of her life, the special bond, a love affair that never faded, never ended, she wanted that—and she wouldn’t settle for anything less.
She found the strands of gray at Gabe’s temples inexplicably attractive. The way his hands moved when he spoke about his research at Stanford—hands that had saved lives—including her father’s. She’d always found him attractive, been drawn to him, but it wasn’t until he’d come to College Station that she’d found herself wanting to get to know him; not as a friend—as an attractive man who she was curiously drawn toward.
“Why cardiothoracic surgery?” she asked suddenly. “You could have stayed at Stanford, been at the forefront of research. Instead, you came to Shiloh Springs. Our tiny hospital isn’t equipped for that specialty. We aren’t exactly on the cutting edge of medicine.”
Something shifted in his expression. “I wanted to make a difference somewhere it would be felt. In places like Stanford, there are brilliant surgeons on every corner. Plus, I needed a change. Things took a turn in California, something happened, and I needed to make some hard decisions. Decisions that led me to Shiloh Springs.”
It didn’t take much to read between the lines. Something bad happened in California, something he wasn’t ready to talk about…not yet. She found herself hoping that he’d turn to her someday, feeling confident and close enough to confide in her.
“Lucky us. We had Doc Jenkins, who was still recommending bloodletting when I was a kid.”
Gabe chuckled. “He isn’t quite that medieval, but close.” His eyes grew serious. “When your father collapsed that day and was brought into the hospital, I never expected to see Douglas Boudreau in a hospital bed so weak, so sick. He’s always been bigger than life, from the day I met him. I’m just glad we caught things in time.”
The memory hung between them. Nica rushing home from college after the call, finding Gabe in the hospital waiting room with the rest of her family, exhaustion etched into every line of his face after hours working to get her father stabilized and on his way to recovery. She knew without Gabe being there, she’d have lost her father. Something she couldn’t imagine, didn’t want to even think about. Like Gage said, her dad was bigger than life, always walked tall and towered over everyone around him. Gabe had saved her father’s life and for that alone, she’d always be grateful to the man.
“Did I ever say thank you? If you hadn’t been there…I don’t even want to think about the consequences.”
“That’s when I knew I’d made the right choice,” he said quietly. “Being able to help your family, the people in our small town, it gives me purpose. Something I haven’t had in a long time.”
The waiter cleared their plates, and Gabe ordered coffee for them. Something had changed in the atmosphere between them, as if they’d moved past the necessary small talk into more dangerous territory.
“Can I ask you something?” Nica said, her voice barely audible over the restaurant’s ambient noise. “That week I was home, after Dad’s surgery—was I imagining things between us?”
Gabe’s eyes darkened. He set down his coffee cup with deliberate care. “No,” he said finally. “You weren’t imagining anything.”
“Then why—”
“You know why, Nica.” His voice was gentle but firm. “You were twenty-six. I was thirty-eight. I was your father’s doctor. The timing was impossible.”
“And now?” Her heart thudded so loudly she was certain he could hear it across the table.
“Now I’m in College Station temporarily, traveling back and forth between Shiloh Springs and here. It won’t last. Once the cardiothoracic surgery position is filled, I’ll be sticking to patients in Shiloh Springs. You’re finishing your master’s degree. We’re still twelve years apart.” He smiled ruefully. “And I’m still your father’s doctor.”
“Those sound like excuses,” Nica said, surprising herself with her boldness. “Not reasons.”
Gabe leaned forward, close enough that she could smell his cologne, something woodsy and subtle. “They’re complications,” he corrected. “Important ones. There’s a line I can’t, I won’t cross, and right now I’m dangerously close to its edge.”
“I’m not asking you to marry me, Gabe,” she said, her cheeks flushing. “I’m just asking you to admit there’s something here worth exploring.”
The silence stretched between them, laden with possibility. The edge of the forbidden was both taboo and tantalizing. Outside, rain began to fall softly, casting wavering shadows across his face.
“If—” he started, then stopped, choosing his words carefully. “If we do this, there need to be ground rules.”
Nica’s breath caught. “Such as?”
“We keep it between us; nobody else knows. Not because I’m ashamed, but because small towns talk, and Shiloh Springs is no exception. Gossip is like candy to a toddler, and I don’t want you exposed to that kind of talk. Plus, your father is still my patient.” His gaze held hers steadily. “And we go slowly. This isn’t casual for me, Nica.”
The implication sent a thrill through her—knowledge that he’d already thought about this, about them, beyond just tonight.
“Not casual for me either,” she managed.
“And if it doesn’t work out…” His expression grew serious. “Shiloh Springs is your home. You’ve lived there your whole life. Your family is the lifeblood of the town. I’m the newbie, still gaining my feet and the trust of the people who are under my care. It’s another reason I’m leery about taking this step, because if we don’t work out, I’m afraid I’ll be the one having to leave Shiloh Springs. And your father’s care comes first, no matter what happens between us.”
“Agreed,” she said without hesitation. “Gabe, there are no guarantees in any relationship. I’m coming into this with my eyes wide open. I promise, if we try and fail, nobody is going to force you to leave town, especially not my overgrown, overprotective brothers.”
Gabe studied her face for a long moment, then slowly reached across the table. His fingers brushed hers, warm and sure. Not taking her hand completely, just a touch—testing, questioning.
Nica turned her palm upward, wrapping her hand around his, taking a deep breath as his hand engulfed hers, strong and certain.
“I didn’t come to College Station looking for this,” he said softly. “But from the moment I saw you again, standing in that hospital hallway…”
“I know,” Nica whispered. “Me too.”
The restaurant around her faded into background noise. In that moment, as rain streaked the windows and thunder rumbled in the distance, something irrevocable shifted between them. A boundary crossed, a decision made.
As the memory faded, Nica thought about everything that had happened in the past few days. The threats to Gabe’s career, the mysterious letter sent to her, Gabe revealing everything that happened at Stanford, and the threatening phone calls he’d been getting. Anonymous calls from somebody who knew about them, about their marriage. Their folly, their fate from their tentative liaison now led to dangerous decisions, ones that felt right when you made them. Add in the threat of exposure, and the fact they still hadn’t discussed the WHO offer, which she knew would have to happen soon, because they’d be wanting an answer. When had life become so complicated?
Neither of them could have known then how that simple touch would exacerbate everything—the dangers lurking in Shiloh Springs’ shadows, the secrets that might eventually force them both to choose between truth and safety.
But that night, with the storm gathering outside the restaurant, and Gabe’s hand warm in hers, all Nica felt was the intoxicating rush of beginning something forbidden, something that felt inevitable, as if they’d been moving toward this moment from the first time they’d locked eyes. Right now, she wouldn’t change a thing, except keeping their wedding, their marriage, a secret.
