Falling For Her Army Doc / Healed By Their Unexpected Family. Dianne Drake

was what it was, and we managed,” Lizzie said, as they walked along the narrow road, while people on bikes and scooters passed by on both sides of them. “When you never have a person in your life—like I didn’t have my mother—you get used to it and make it work. My dad and I did.”

      “What happened to your mother?”

      “She lost interest in the life we lived, then in my dad, and left us when I was about five. Died a couple years after that.”

      “So she never had a chance to make amends?”

      “She could have. But she didn’t want to.”

      “And your dad…?”

      “He wasn’t interested in trying before Alzheimer’s hit. Then afterwards he didn’t remember her at all.”

      “It couldn’t have been easy on you, taking care of your dad the way you did.”

      “It wasn’t—but I gave him the care he gave me when I was a child. I couldn’t just…send him away somewhere.”

      “He isn’t the reason you’re here?”

      “Actually, he is. They have an excellent treatment program at the hospital and I think it gave him more than anybody might have expected. But he lived at home because he loved it there, and I didn’t have the heart to take that away from him. Especially his garden. When he was losing so many things in his life, his flowers still made him happy. It’s nice, looking out every day, seeing a little bit of my dad still there. Somehow it makes the end seem easier. But don’t get me wrong. I miss him. We had a tough life together, which was no one’s fault, but he always tried. He just wasn’t single father material, I suppose you could say. And…and now I look at his flowers and wonder if we both could have tried a little harder. Of course, Alzheimer’s stepped in before we had much of a chance to do anything.”

      “How long has he been gone?”

      As they walked down the path to the hospital Mateo took hold of her hand and she didn’t pull away. It was nice feeling his touch. Having someone there who cared…at least for a little while. His hand was soft, and she could almost imagine it caressing her skin, giving her goosebumps.

      Maybe she’d give him a few goosebumps as she ran her hand over his tight six-pack abs…

      Nice dream.

      “A year, now. One less brilliant surgeon in the world.”

      She noticed Mateo was starting to lag behind, so she slowed her pace to match his, but when she did he slowed down even more. This doctor clearly wasn’t comfortable returning to the hospital, even if he was no longer a patient there.

      “Do you need to take a break?” she asked, coming to a stop on the narrow road that led to the hospital’s front door. It was lined with a rainbow of flowers and green, with draping wisps of vine hanging from the trees.

      She’d always loved this path. It had welcomed her the day she’d first arrived, and every day since then. And this was part of her dilemma. To stay or to leave? Admittedly, she wasn’t as restless as she’d been only a few weeks before, but her choice still wasn’t clear. In other words, she didn’t know what she wanted. She’d spent a lifetime living the life her dad had wanted for her, and now it was her turn to choose. But what?

      Truly, she didn’t know.

      “No,” Mateo said. “I’m fine. Just not excited to be back here.” He took his place against a large lava rock, leaned casually back on it, and folded his arms across his chest. “You go do what you need to do, and I’ll wait here.”

      He pointed to the little shop just down the road. The front was totally open to the air, and several clothing racks spilled out onto the walkway.

      “Or wander down there and pick out the most hideous clothes you can imagine.”

      “I’ll be about ten minutes,” she said, heading to the front door, walking along the path and crossing over the circular drive that led straight to the welcome sign: Welina. Greetings to you. It was a friendly place to some. But to some, not so much.

      “I didn’t know you’d be stopping by,” Janis said, approaching the entrance to greet Lizzie.

      “In the neighborhood.” She glanced back over her shoulder to make sure Mateo was still there. “Looking for clothes for my…whatever he is.”

      “Speaking of which—how’s he doing? We were worried until you called. But the thing that really concerns me is that he’s living with you, Lizzie. That’s not a good idea. Dependencies form. It may be difficult to get rid of him when the time comes.”

      “It was either that or the beach. And he was totally emphatic about not coming back here or going to the veterans’ facility in California. So…” She shrugged. “What was I supposed to do? He’s not exactly ready to be out in the world on his own, yet.”

      She took another hasty glance and saw Mateo talking to a handful of strangers who were huddled around him. He did have that kind of personality—the kind that drew people in. He was making good use of that now.

      “He’s not supposed to be living with one of his doctors,” Randy Jenkins said, approaching Lizzie and Janis.

      “I’m not his doctor—never have been, never will be. And, not that it’s any of your business, he’s in the ohana, not in the house,” Lizzie said, almost defensively.

      “Do what you want,” Randy said. “He’s not a patient here, and right now he’s on his own. So be his friend. I’m sure he needs that.”

      “Randy’s right. It’s your choice, Lizzie. But don’t get too involved. I don’t want to see you getting hurt.”

      “Hurt?”

      “You know…feelings that aren’t reciprocated. You’re vulnerable right now, just like he is, and I don’t want that playing against you.”

      “He’s not like you think he is,” she insisted.

      “Or maybe he’s not like you think he is,” Janis countered. “Just be careful. That’s all I’m saying. That, and put a leash on his desire to practice medicine. Because if people associate the two of you as medical partners and he makes a mistake, or forgets something…”

      “What?” Lizzie spun around and, sure enough, Mateo was examining the wrist of a young boy who couldn’t have been more than seven or eight. “Look, courier those papers over later and I’ll sign them. Right now I think I’ve got to stop a doctor from practicing medicine.”

      “Easier said than done,” Janis warned. “It’s in his blood.”

      That was going to be a huge problem—teaching an old dog new tricks. Or completely rewiring the old dog until he was an entirely new one. Also, staying detached. That, perhaps, was going to be the hardest part, because Mateo was charming and she was not above being charmed, no matter how much she denied it to herself.

      Why? Because she was lonely. Because he was attractive. Especially because he was attractive. Oh, and the charm that just oozed from his pores. She didn’t know if that was really him, or a new Mateo he was trying on for size. But she liked it. Too much.