an intrinsic part of his life, completely entangled in everything he did. He struggled to imagine leaving Chattanooga and the most remarkable woman he’d ever known.
But every time he’d considered turning down the offer, the past had reared its ugly head, reminding him of all the reasons why he should go.
He’d signed his name on that line for Savannah as much as for himself. More.
Savannah was an incredible woman. One unlike any he’d ever known or dated. Sure, he’d had a few long-term relationships over the years, but none that he’d ever thought twice about walking away from. Walking away had always been easy.
Nothing about leaving Chattanooga would be easy, except knowing that he was doing the right thing for Savannah by leaving before she became any more attached.
She was the most independent woman he’d ever met. He’d not expected her to get so intertwined in his life. Nor had he expected himself to become so tangled up in hers.
“Don’t let a woman hold you back from your dream, son.”
How many times had he heard that or something similar over the years? His father had dreamt of medical school, of working as a travel doctor with an organization such as Doctors Without Borders, of dedicating his life to medicine. Instead, he’d gotten his girlfriend pregnant, dropped out of college and gotten a coal-mining job to support his new family.
He’d resented his wife and child every day since for those stolen dreams. Charlie’s mother and Charlie had never been able to replace those dreams and his father had grown more and more bitter over the years. Rupert Keele had pushed Charlie toward going into the medical profession from the time Charlie could walk and talk. Talking about medicine, about becoming a doctor and traveling the world to take care of needy people, was the one time Charlie’s father liked having him around. For years Charlie had thought if he could make his father proud, that might make his father love him, might make life better for himself and his mother. He’d tried his best but, no matter how good the grade, the game performance, the above and beyond achievement, nothing had ever been good enough. Rupert hadn’t cared one iota about anything or anyone except himself.
Charlie’s mother hadn’t been much better, blaming Charlie for her lot in life as well.
Sometimes Charlie wondered if he’d have chosen something besides medicine if he hadn’t been brainwashed from birth and so eager to try to win his mostly uninterested father’s affections in the hopes it would somehow magically transform his parents into good ones. Regardless, when Charlie had been eleven, his maternal grandfather’s congestive heart failure had worsened and Charlie had decided that, rather than work as a travel doctor, he wanted to do cardiology, to work on healing people’s physical hearts, because he sure hadn’t been able to do anything with his parents’.
Charlie had dreamed of heading up a cardiology unit his whole life and now he had the chance.
* * *
If he’d learned nothing else from his parents, he’d learned giving up one’s dreams only led to misery for all concerned and that he couldn’t protect anyone from that misery, not himself or the people he cared about.
Which was why he was leaving Chattanooga to set Savannah free.
To truly accomplish that, he’d have to hurt her, make her hate him.
Based on past experience, that should be no problem.
* * *
Stuffing the last of the shopping bags into her closet, Savannah closed the door just as her doorbell rang.
Charlie was there.
Finally.
He had a key but always rang the bell rather than just coming in, as she’d asked him time and again.
She turned from the closet and a pair of blue baby booties sitting on the bed caught her eye.
Oops.
She grabbed up the soft cotton booties, hugged them to her for one brief happy moment, then put them in the closet with her other purchases and reclosed the door. She’d decided she was just going to place his hand on her belly and let him figure out for himself why. She’d watch as his face lit with surprise, then excitement. She felt so giddy her insides quivered.
“You okay?” Charlie asked when she opened her apartment door, his dark eyes curious as she had taken longer than usual.
By way of an answer, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.
Immediately, his arms went around her waist and pulled her close, kissing her back. A thousand butterflies took flight in her belly that had nothing to do with the little life growing there and everything to do with the man making her heart race.
His kisses always made her heart race.
“Hmm,” he mused, looking confused, when he pulled back from her mouth. “What was that for?”
“Do I have to have a reason to kiss you?” she asked, batting her lashes. She wanted to just tell him, to jump up and down and scream to the world that she was having a baby—Charlie’s baby. But, seriously, she should probably let him into the apartment and close the front door before doing so.
Probably.
Frowning, he shook his head. “You have to admit, that’s not the usual way you greet me.”
“Well, it should be.” He was right. She didn’t meet him at the door and throw herself at him usually, but nothing was usual about tonight. Tonight, she was going to tell him the greatest news.
His brow lifted in question.
About to burst with excitement, she searched for the right words. Loving the strong feel of him, the spicy smell of him she wanted to breathe in until he permeated all her senses. “I have good news.”
She was about bursting to tell him. But it registered that he’d yet to smile, as his face took on a tired appearance and he closed his eyes, tension tightening his body. “I have something to tell you, too.”
“You do?” She stepped back and motioned for him to come into her apartment. Rather than sitting down, he paced across to the opposite side of the living room.
“Yes, and maybe I should go first.” He raked his fingers through his hair, turned, gave her a troubled look.
The cloud nine Savannah had been walking on all afternoon dissipated and she felt her stomach drop. She’d been off work, but had met him that morning to run at the greenway. Then, they’d hit the gym together for about an hour. He’d been all smiles when he’d walked her to her car and kissed her goodbye. He’d kissed her so thoroughly and soundly that she’d wanted to drag him into the backseat and have her way with him.
Not that that was anything new. She always wanted to have her way with Charlie. He had that kind of body. One she still had difficulty believing she got to see and touch and kiss and hold and...
She shook off the sensual rabbit hole her mind was jumping down. “What’s going on?”
“I didn’t mean to get into this first thing.” He paced over to a bookshelf,
