Drawn Deeper (4 page)

I couldn’t make up for that loss in any way, but I knew spending time together would be good for them and me. It was funny that of all the people to give me a second chance, Kyle Lockhart was the one to do so. No one in his family was a fan of mine.

I’d stop at the store after work and buy new pens and notebooks. I’d always been a pen and notebook nerd, collecting them in all sorts of colors and patterns. And maybe a chart to track the boys’ homework assignments—with stickers, because let’s face it,
everyone
loves stickers.

Helping the Lockhart boys with their homework would have been a small thing to most people, but to me, it was a big thing. And now that I had a clean bill of health, I could focus on something that made me happy instead of something that ate me up with worry.

Kyle Lockhart had one of the nicest houses in all of Lovely. I’d been here with Reed right after Kyle and Kim finished construction and moved in, but that had been a long time ago. Things between Reed and me had been over for eight years now.

The massive two-story brick home and professionally landscaped yard were immaculate. It looked like a photo out of an architectural magazine, whereas I was used to my small, shabby chic bungalow.

When I knocked on the tall, dark wood front door, a girl who looked high school-aged answered it.

“Hey,” she said, smiling. “Are you Meredith?”

“Yes. Stephanie?”

She nodded, stepping aside so I could enter. I remembered the dark wood floors from my first visit here all those years ago, but everything else was different now.

A table in the entryway had a basketball in a glass case on top of it. An engraved plaque on the case said it was from a championship college game, likely one Kyle played in. All the Lockhart boys were amazing basketball players.

The walls had photos of the boys and Kyle. They were on a fishing trip in one, all three wearing goofy fishing hats covered with lures and grinning.

I remembered there had been a big watercolor painting of a beach over the fireplace in the two-story great room. Kim had bragged about having it commissioned by some famous artist. Now there was a huge team photo of Kyle’s college basketball team. He looked so young in it, his face leaner and clean-shaven.

“Guys, come downstairs,” Stephanie called up the open staircase.

I heard a groan. A few seconds later, the boys came walking down the staircase, both looking less than thrilled.

“We just started our game,” the older boy, Jordan, said. “I can do my homework later.”

“That’s not what Dad said,” Eric said, giving him a serious look.

Stephanie sat down in front of the coffee table, where she had her homework spread out. She texted away on her phone, oblivious to the conversation around her.

“I’m Meredith,” I said to the boys. “Jordan, I met you once when you were . . . two, I think.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I actually came over to your house once. I was . . . a friend of your uncle Reed’s back then.”

“Oh.”

“But that was a long time ago,” I said. “I haven’t talked to him since before he married your aunt Ivy.”

“I love Aunt Ivy,” Eric said.

He was a solemn boy with medium brown hair that curled a little on the ends. Jordan’s dark hair was cut short. They both had the big, brown Lockhart eyes and good looks. These boys were miniatures of their father.

“Have you guys had a snack?” I asked. “I brought some cookies I made last night.”

“Cookies?” Eric arched his brows with interest.

“What kind?” Jordan asked.

“They’re called monster cookies. They have M&M’s and peanut butter in them.”

Jordan shrugged. “I’ll take one.”

“Great.” I patted the canvas bag I carried over my shoulder. “They’re in here. Let’s go into the dining room, and while you guys get out your homework, I’ll set up milk and cookies.”

Eric ran toward the kitchen. Jordan gave me a skeptical look but followed me.

“How tall are you?” Jordan asked as I opened kitchen cabinets to find a plate for the cookies.

“I’m five ten.”

“That’s tall for a girl.”

“Yes, it is.” I found a plate and set it on the counter.

“You play basketball?”

“I played basketball and volleyball in high school.”

“Cool. How old are you?”

I arranged the cookies on a plate and searched for cups for the milk. “How old do I look?”

“I don’t know. Twenty?”

“I’m glad I brought you cookies. I’m twenty-nine.” I smiled. “So what are you learning about in school?”

He shrugged. “Pyramids. And how to add fractions.”

“What’s your favorite subject?”

“Gym.”

I poured two cups of milk, picked up the plate and inclined my head toward the dining room.

Eric already had his homework out. I scanned over the assignment sheet from his teacher, smiling when I saw Kyle’s illegible, doctor-ish signature in every box for parents to sign off on.

“Let’s start with your math,” I said to Eric. “I rock at grade school math.”

“Let’s start with the cookies,” he said, lowering his brows so seriously I almost laughed.

“Good idea,” I said, sliding the plate toward them. “Cookies first.”

Kyle

I was on the way home from work, about to turn from Main Street onto the road my house was at the end of, when I saw Ray Turner and slowed down.

Ray was a sixty-something man who spent his days driving around Lovely on his riding lawn mower. He had a cart attached to the back of the mower that he used to transport groceries and metal he scrapped for money. The temperature was in the mid eighties today, and Ray had sweat rolling down his face.

I slowed the car and pushed the button to roll down my passenger side window.

“Hey, Ray,” I said.

“Doc.”

“How you doin’?”

“Can’t complain.” He gave me a toothless smile.

“You want to stop by and get some water?”

“Nah. I’m meeting the boys for a beer.”

“All right. Take it easy, man.”

He waved and I rolled up my window, waiting for him to cross my street on his mower before I turned onto it.

Stephanie’s white Honda was in the driveway of my house, and there was a red Jeep Wrangler parked on the street out front.
Must be Meredith’s
, I thought as I pulled into my garage.

When I walked in through the kitchen, I heard voices in the dining room. I tossed my car keys on the counter and went in there to find Eric reading to Meredith.

He was sounding out a word as she waited patiently, leaning her elbows on the table.

“Won . . . drouse,” Eric said, his brow furrowed with concentration.

“Almost,” Meredith said. “It’s won-
drous
. But that’s a really hard word, and you did great.”

“Hey, Dad,” Eric said.

“Hi. How you guys doing?” I leaned a shoulder against the doorframe.

“My homework is all done,” Eric said. “I was just reading a book Meredith brought.”

“He did fantastic,” Meredith said, standing up. “So did Jordan.”

“Can we keep the cookies?” Eric asked her.

“Sure. Save some for our snack after school tomorrow, though, okay?”

“You’re coming back over?”

“Of course. I want to hear more of that story you’re reading me.”

She grabbed her bag and smiled at Eric. I’d forgotten how tall and lean Meredith was. She had the lines of a model—long, graceful arms and legs. Her straight black hair fell just past her shoulders, and her skin was fair. She’d always been Reed’s girlfriend, fiancée, or ex-fiancée to me, and the last time I’d seen her, she’d been a patient.

I was seeing her for the first time as just Meredith, and she was pretty. More than pretty, actually.

“See you guys later,” she said, slinging the bag over her shoulder and heading for the door.

“I’ll get that for you,” I said, jogging to the front door and opening it for her.

She waved as she walked out, putting on her dark sunglasses.

Stephanie had packed up her books, and she left right behind Meredith.

“Hagrid peed in the kitchen,” Eric said as soon as I closed the door.

“I’m not surprised. Why don’t you guys take him for a walk while I make dinner?”

“But I want to watch TV.”

I gave him a serious look. “After dinner. And your homework’s all done so we’ve got the whole evening for fun stuff.”

“Will you swim with us?”

“Yeah.”

I went to the fridge and rummaged through it for ingredients. Looked like I was grilling burgers again. But the boys liked them, and I did, too.

As I shaped the meat into patties, I thought about Meredith again. It had been nice to see a woman in my house for once. There hadn’t been a woman here other than my mom and sisters-in-law since Kim left.

Not that anything would ever come of my finding Meredith attractive. She wasn’t someone I could ever date, given that she’d been engaged to my brother. My mom, who got along with most everyone, still had hard feelings toward Meredith.

Just the thought of walking into my parents’ house with Meredith made me chuckle to myself. Reed would shit his pants. It would be beyond awkward for all of us.

Ah, well. I wasn’t interested in dating anyway. My plate was already full.

I’d made four hamburgers—one for each of the boys and two for myself—when I grabbed some more ground beef and made a small one for Hagrid, too.

He was one of the boys, after all. I didn’t want him feeling left out.

Gene’s Diner had a full lunchtime crowd. I waved at the co-owner Margie on my way to meet Mason at the booth he was sitting in.

“Hey,” I said as I slid in.

He shook his head. “Those scrubs could get you so much ass, man.”

I looked down at my green surgical scrubs and then back at him. “Women aren’t thinking about sex when they see me, dumbass. They’re either sick or worried about someone who is.”

“Right.” Mason’s eyes widened like the answer was obvious and I was still missing it. “Someone could turn to you for comfort after seeing their cousin in the hospital—”

I rolled my eyes with disgust.

“—hear me out, man,” he continued. “For something completely non-life threatening. Like maybe her cousin had an ingrown toenail removed.”

“Which would definitely not require hospitalization.”

He shrugged. “Maybe the whole toe, then. Anyway, her cousin’s gonna be fine. And she’s single and eager to sneak off to an empty room with the hot doctor who saved him.”

“There are so many things wrong with that scenario.”

“But one thing that’s very
right
.” He nodded knowingly.

“For a guy in a committed relationship, you’re still kind of a douchebag about women.”

That got a dramatic eye roll from him. “There’s nothing wrong with casual sex, Kyle. Nothing. As long as both people are single, legal, and they both know the deal.”

“A woman is the last thing I need. The last one gave me enough grief to last a lifetime.”

“Kim was a psycho bitch. Find someone normal.”

Margie cleared her throat next to us. “What can I get you boys?”

We ordered burgers and fries, and she rushed off to the next table.

“Let’s not talk about Kim,” I said to Mason.