Page 16 of Daddy's Double Surprise

I drove to Rick’s house, singing to songs on my satellite radio as I fought traffic. When I pulled up in front, I expected to walk to the door and collect Sunny, but she was perched on the frontstep waiting. She wore a short jean skirt and a bright yellow summery top. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail, but as usual she had a finger tangled in it, twirled along her slender digit.

I got out of the car and walked around the front, meeting her halfway up the drive.

She grinned at me, but I saw how nervous she was in her expression as I gently touched both of her elbows and kissed her cheek. “Don’t,” she hissed. “Not here.”

She continued walking hastily to the car so I scurried to keep up and open the door for her. Only when she was seated and the door closed behind her did I see her relax a bit. I climbed back in and started the engine, and she burst into a flurry of explanation.

“Sorry, but Dad’s home and he’s not happy with me going out for dinner. I think he had some scheme to have someone else over to the house tonight to set me up again, and I’m just tired of it. I don’t want him knowing we’re seeing each other right now because I don’t know how he’ll react.”

In all fairness Sunny had every right to feel that way. I nodded my acknowledgment as I pulled the car into traffic and rested one hand on her thigh.

“I wish it wasn’t that way for you, but I completely understand. Rick has a bit of a temper at times, and I’d hate to upset him.” As I drove, I pictured his angry face, red with fury and disappointment at the sight of me with Sunny. For her, it would feel even worse. I was just his friend. She was his blood.

“I’m sorry if that upsets you. It’s just that…”

“Not at all,” I told her, squeezing her thigh. “I think it’s wise to keep things on the down low for a while. Until we figure out what this is.” She shifted her gaze out the window and sighed. Her finger remained firmly lodged in her hair.

“I’m not sure what this is, Carter. I’m just having fun right now.” When she turned to me, I saw the melancholy way her eyes looked, though she had a smile on her face. “A lot of fun.”

“More fun than the far flung reaches of Tampa, Florida?” I chuckled. I wasn’t sure how to bring up the topic of the entire life she’d built across the country. If it weren’t for my clinics, I’d just follow her there where we could explore this without Rick’s hovering eyes. But I had a responsibility here, something I couldn’t turn my back on.

“Tampa is okay; it just won’t be the same without her.” There was a hint of sadness in that statement, but she continued as if it didn’t bother her. “I just have to figure it out. And right now I’m enjoying work at the clinics. And hooking up with an old friend from high school has been okay too.”

I remembered the other day when she insisted she had to check on a friend. I wondered if it was the same friend, if somehow Sunny was starting to reach out to her old life and find connections other than me that might help encourage her to stay here. It made me smile, but I didn’t pry.

“I’m glad you like working at the clinics. I love helping people so much. It’s the whole reason I got into medicine. I want to make a difference and ease suffering.” Traffic wasn’t quite as bad on this side of town, so it was easy to carry on a good conversation with her while I weaved in and out of the cars passing by. At one point, however, I did have to put both hands on the wheel which felt like severing a lifeline for some reason.

“Helping people is a life calling.” She rested her head on the head rest and said, “I think we’re all given a gift to help others in this life, but not everyone uses it. I’m glad you do. I like that about you. It’s noble or something.”

I chuckled and said, “Just call me Sir Carter Price, physician extraordinaire.”

“God, you make it sound cheesy but seriously, you’re a good man, Carter. I love that about you.”

Hearing those words felt like high praise coming from Sunny. We bantered about destiny and gifts. Before we parked at the restaurant, Sunny waxed spiritual, talking about how she was finding a deeper purpose in Kira’s death, which she didn’t go into detail about, but I admired how open she was with me.

After we were seated and had our orders placed, I scooted my chair closer to hers and brought her hand to my lips to press a kiss to her knuckles.

“Thank you for accepting my invitation to dinner. I can’t seem to get my mind off of you.”

Sunny batted her eyelashes and tried to hide behind a smile, but I was charming her out of her shell. “Dr. Price, you’re making me blush.”

“I know and I like it.” Kissing her knuckles again, I said, “I know whatever is going on right now wasn’t exactly on your schedule of life plans, but I do hope you’ll take your time deciding about me. I never expected you to come into my life either, but I feel like it was meant to happen.”

She brought her hand up to clasp around mine and we sat staring at each other for a moment. “Carter, there are so many things going on right now. I don’t know what the right choice is. It’s complicated. I don’t want to jump into something with you and you’d get your heart involved only to find out I can’t stay here for other reasons. I hope that doesn’t mean we can’t keep doing whatever this is, though.”

Her honesty was refreshing but a bit painful. “Of course we don’t have to stop.” When I lost my daughter, I lost all hope of life being good to me again. It made things in my life spiral out of control. I was desperate for anything good to come my way back then. Then my wife left me, and it only confirmed that life wasn’t going to be good to me. Sunny was changing that for me, but shedidn’t seem to be on the same page as the universe that aligned our paths.

“You are an amazing, sweet man, Dr. Price.” Her radiant smile melted my heart.

“So when we’re all done eating, do you think you’d like to join me at my house for a few drinks? Or will Rick be waiting for you?” I was going to soak up every single second of time I could with her for as long as she was in town. As much as she’d give me. But I didn’t know if I was pushing her boundaries because the look on her face told me she wasn’t sure.

She was a ray of sunshine, but it appeared storm clouds were set to block out the light, at least judging by the look on her face.

11

SUNNY

Carter’s home wasn’t nearly the mansion I figured it would be. I sat on his plaid sofa waiting for him to come in with some drinks. I sipped on a glass of wine at dinner, but it made me feel a little sleepy, so when he suggested more here at his house, I had to pass. I’d been so exhausted lately from working and life, I didn’t want to end up falling asleep on his couch.

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