Fair Catch (36 page)

“You’re welcome.”

“We love him so much.” Jenny cuddled the little boy close. “I really don’t mind the middle of the night feedings.”

“I’m glad you brought him by.”

Sophie watched mother and child leave the Denver Children’s Hospital multipurpose room, grateful that a mere five months ago her steady hands had successfully repaired the baby’s defective small intestine a few days after his birth. She felt such a joy to see some of the children she had helped over the past year and half since she had come to Denver.

The hospital was celebrating the opening of a new wing by throwing an open house for the public. Some of the guests attending were parents of children who had previously been patients at the hospital. Working as a pediatric surgeon, Sophie usually only saw very sick children. Today was a special treat for her to see so many happy, healthy kids.

Stifling a yawn, Sophie turned and saw her boyfriend, Peter Elliot, standing in the corner. He was busy with his iPhone—something that was not unusual—and something he had been doing since he’d arrived nearly an hour ago.

As always, whenever she looked at Peter, she couldn’t help noticing how incredibly handsome he was. Dark wavy hair styled to perfection and a strong jaw line made him stand out in any crowd. The way his shoulders filled out his Armani suit, Peter fit the image of a successful attorney, which he was.

Everyone always thought they were the perfect couple. A doctor and an attorney. Since both of them had dark hair and brown eyes, they were bound to have beautiful dark-haired, intelligent children.

If only it were that simple. While Sophie loved Peter, she wasn’t
in love
with him. She longed to get married and start a family. Peter was a very sought after bachelor, but when he’d asked her to marry him a couple of weeks ago, she’d told him she needed more time, hoping that once life settled down she would find her feelings had deepened.

Before she looked away, Peter met her gaze and gave her an impatient look then gestured toward his watch. He had wanted to leave thirty minutes ago. Knowing she’d made him wait long enough, she nodded her head and stooped down to pick up her purse.

A wave of dizziness made her start to lose her balance. Slowly she stood back up, drew in a long, cleansing breath and waited for the dizzy spell to pass. The weeks of sleepless nights were finally getting to her.

The nightmares had started nearly three months earlier. At first they only came once or twice a week. Now, each night when Sophie closed her eyes, the recurring dream would awaken her, remind her that her father was still missing, and that she had no idea what had happened to him.

Sophie crossed the room, hoping she didn’t look as bad as she suddenly felt. She finger-combed the wispy layers in her hair, hoping it helped restore some of its style. Reaching inside her purse, she pulled out her tinted lip gloss. What she really needed was a shower, but she didn’t want to miss having dinner with the Elliot family.

As she approached Peter, a twinge of guilt pricked her conscience. She might not be madly in love with him, but she was completely in love with his family. His parents were wonderful people who loved being surrounded by their children and grandchildren.

The fact that she loved Peter more for his family than for him troubled her. But at the same time while Peter had said he loved her, Sophie had a feeling his affection had more to do with her looks and her chosen profession. He had often said that dating a beautiful doctor was good for his image and he loved having a girlfriend men envied him for.

Meeting his gaze, Peter’s brown eyes no longer held irritation. Now he watched her with concern. “Are you okay?”

“Just a little dizzy.” She gave him what she hoped was a confident smile. “It’s been a long day.”

He reached out and took her hand in his. “Mom delayed dinner. I’m sure you’ll feel much better once you can sit down and eat.”

“She didn’t need to do that, but I appreciate it.” Mrs. Elliot’s consideration warmed Sophie’s heart.

Sophie leaned into Peter’s shoulder as they stepped onto the elevator. Maybe she did love him enough to marry him. He made her feel safe and protected.

She’d already been in a long-term relationship where passion had been the pervading element. That had ended four years ago when Sophie had finally realized her boyfriend David never had any intention of marrying her. She’d given everything to David, much more than just her heart. In the process she’d distanced herself from God by letting go of her Christian faith and the values she’d always adhered to in her youth. When she had reaffirmed her faith and resumed attending church again, David hadn’t liked the changes in her—or their relationship. He had walked away without looking back.

How ironic for her to now be dating a great guy who shared her faith and wanted to marry her, yet she was the one who couldn’t commit. It didn’t make sense. She was an only child and after her mother died when Sophie was eight years old, it was just her and her father. That’s why she loved being with Peter’s family. He had his parents, two sisters and two brothers—all of which were married—and nearly a dozen nieces and nephews. She wanted that for herself.

The first time Peter had taken her to a family dinner at his parents’ house, Sophie had been awestruck. She’d felt like Lucy—the Sandra Bullock character in
While You Were Sleeping
—when she had celebrated Christmas with her pretend fiancé’s family. Like Lucy, Sophie had taken everything in that day, loving the family interaction between the adults and children, the laughter and the incredible food. Peter’s parents and siblings had welcomed her with open arms, expressing how glad they were that he was dating someone like Sophie.

If she didn’t marry him, what were the chances she would find another guy with an amazing family who loved and accepted her like she belonged?

She was so conflicted inside and desperately wanted to fall head-over-heels in love with Peter. Part of her believed that if she stayed with him long enough, those feelings would come.

For the time being, she could hold off on her answer to Peter since her father had gone missing in the Costa Rica jungle a few months ago. To not hear from her father for a month or even two months was not unusual, but when three months had passed, Sophie had grown concerned.

Then, about four weeks ago, the recurring nightmares had started, and she knew something had happened to him. The bad dream was virtually the same almost every night and felt like some sort of omen. Sophie ran frantically through the jungle, calling out for her father. She would always catch a glimpse of him right before someone grabbed Sophie around the throat and pressed a hand against her mouth. Her terror filled scream would awaken her, leaving her shaking and unable to fall asleep again.

Peter tugged on her hand as the elevator door slid open. They reached the main lobby and exited to the parking garage. Sophie pulled her keys out of her purse. “I’ll just follow you in case I get a call for an emergency.”

“I thought you weren’t on call?” Peter’s voice had an edge to it, letting her know he didn’t like the way she ran her practice.

Sophie was one of the few doctors who wanted to be notified if there was an emergency with one of her patients. They always called her first and she would then decide whether or not she deemed it necessary to follow up herself or allow the on-call doctor to take care of it.

“I’m not, but you know I like to be available if a child needs me.”

He let out a deep sigh as he continued to lead her toward his car. “If you really need to return to the hospital before our evening is done, I’ll bring you back.”

“Thank you.” She glanced up at him. “Sorry I made us late for dinner. Every time I started to leave, another mother or father would stop me.”

Peter didn’t look at her or make a reply until they had made it to his black Mercedes. Instead of opening her door, he leaned her against the car and kissed her. She kissed him back, wanting to feel something beyond contentment and security.

After a minute, Peter pulled back and stared at her. His dark eyes blazed with passion, making Sophie feel even guiltier for not feeling the same way.

“If you agree to marry me, I won’t mind how much you work.”

She bristled at his comment. He worked more hours than she did, but since her job required her to be on call, a lot of their time in the evenings or on weekends was cut short. “You could’ve stayed by my side tonight instead of hiding in the corner with your phone.” It wasn’t like Sophie to be so sharp-tongued, and she almost apologized. Then she thought about how irritated Peter would get if they were at a social gathering and she would have to take a call.

He took several seconds to respond to her terse comment. Finally, he nodded his head. “You’re right. While I did have some pressing issues with the Van Buren case, I shouldn’t have used the added time I had to wait for you to conduct business. I apologize for not being more considerate.” He leaned down and gave her another lingering kiss. “Forgive me?” he whispered against her mouth.

She’d been with him long enough to note his apology was couched by pointing out that
he
had been waiting for her, but she was too tired to say anything about it right now.

“If you’ll forgive me for making us late,” she said, turning her head so his lips brushed against her cheek.

“Of course.” He gave her a brief hug before he stepped back and opened her door.

Sophie caught the scent of his expensive cologne as she slid into the immaculate car. He climbed in behind the wheel and started the engine. Deciding to touch up her makeup, she pulled down the visor and almost gasped at how bad she looked. While Peter was always put together, she frequently looked like she had been wearing a scrub cap all day long. It didn’t matter that she actually
did
wear a scrub cap all day long—or at least part of the day—she should have done something with her hair before going to the open house. She flipped up the visor, knowing the only thing that could help her look better was a good night’s sleep.

“You look tired, Sophie,” Peter said. “Have you heard anything about your father?”

“No.” Her voice quivered as the constant worry she felt bubbled to the surface. “The man I hired to find Daddy changed his email address and his phone number once I sent him more money.”

“You should’ve asked me before you issued additional funds. I could’ve advised you to never send anyone more money until you have some kind of results from the first payout.”

Sophie bit back another biting reply. Lashing out at Peter wouldn’t help anything. “Probably,” she said, glancing out the passenger window.

“So, now what happens?” he asked, reaching over and taking her hand.

“I need to decide what I should do next.” A decision she would make once she heard back from her friend Camille.

“If I have time this week, maybe I can do a little research and find someone else to search for your father.” He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze before releasing them. “Someone a little more reputable, like a private investigator.”

Sophie
had
hired a private investigator. Peter must have forgotten that little tidbit. Sometimes it seemed like he never listened to anything she said.

“That’s not necessary, Peter. I’ll figure something out.”

“But I want—” His words were cut off when Peter’s phone beeped an incoming call. “I need to get this.” He didn’t wait for her to respond before answering the call with his Bluetooth earpiece.

While Peter was deep into his conversation with one of his clients, Sophie leaned her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes. She didn’t need to hire another private investigator. What she needed to do was go to Costa Rica and look for her father herself. A plan she had already set in motion. A plan she knew Peter would never support. So Sophie had simply decided not to tell him. Yet.

She had already requested the time off for the end of the month and was just awaiting the contact information for the guide she hoped to hire.

Sophie recalled the telephone conversation she’d had with her best friend, Camille Campbell, two weeks ago.

“I have a brilliant idea!” Camille said, her voice bubbling with excitement. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it earlier.”

Sophie had just finished with a four hour surgery and she desperately hoped Camille’s idea involved chocolate. “What is it?”

“Did I ever tell you about Jack Mathison?”

“No,” Sophie said, pulling off her scrub cap. “Who is he?”

Camille went on to explain that when she was in high school her older brother Tyson had just graduated from college and had gone on a youth service mission trip with their church to Central America. He lived in Costa Rica for four months, and Jack Mathison, another volunteer, had been one of his roommates.

“I had the wildest crush on the guy,” Camille said on a sigh. “He came home with Tyson and stayed with us for a week and then burst my seventeen-year-old fantasy bubble when he introduced me to his fiancée.”

“Okay,” Sophie asked, glancing at the clock. She had an hour break before she needed to get to her office to see patients. “But how does this all amount to a brilliant idea?”

“I’m getting there. Anyway, the twins were taking a nap this morning so I decided to watch TV while I folded laundry. The first channel I turned to was that movie
Dragonfly
with Kevin Costner. He plays the part of a doctor who goes into the Amazon jungle to the place where his wife died. I totally got sucked into it when all of the sudden it reminded me of Jack!”

Sophie rubbed her eyes, wondering where Camille was going with this. “Jack looks like Kevin Costner?”

“No. Jack was way better looking.”

“Camille, you have totally lost me.”

“That’s because you won’t let me finish.” Camille blew out a big breath. “Anyway, Tyson and Jack had lost contact with one another, but about eight years ago Tyson had run into one of the other guys who had also gone on the mission trip. He told Tyson that Jack had never married and had permanently relocated to Costa Rica. The last he’d heard Jack took medical outreach groups deep into the Costa Rica jungle so they can provide medical services for the natives in some of the remote villages.”