a family of eight children you could have sibling issues and rivalries and alliances—it was a very interesting balance, loving all of them, but definitely some better than others. She was the only one with no romantic partner, no family of her own. Well, except Matt, who was recently divorced, but that would surely be temporary—he was funny and handsome, and women loved him. But Peyton was alone. That was once by design. She couldn’t wait to move away from the farm and have a life that didn’t make her at least partly responsible for seven siblings. And then while the other young women her age were looking for husbands, she’d been looking for a career, travel, adventure and perhaps some great dates, but not to be tied down. She was in no hurry to have kids, if ever! Lord, she’d had enough of kids. Her first niece had arrived before she graduated from college, and the numbers were still growing. There were ten so far, and Adele, thirty now, was expecting her first. Peyton’s mother, Corinne, was in heaven; her parents loved being grandparents. Her father, Paco Lacoumette, loved nothing so much as sitting at the head of a huge clan.
All Peyton had wanted was to live in a place not crowded by people, have her own bedroom, closet and bathroom. She wanted to do fun things, the kind of things her siblings with kids didn’t have the time or money for—skiing, scuba diving, river rafting. She wanted to be able to spend money on clothes that wouldn’t go missing from her drawers when some younger sister absconded with them; she wanted to drive a car no one had driven before her. She liked being able to watch anything she wanted on TV and reading until four in the morning if she felt like it. And she had done all that. For ten years following college, she’d lived the life she’d always dreamed of and hadn’t taken it for granted for one second. She was not lonely one day of her life. And then, at just over thirty, she was finally ready to share her space again.
That’s when she met The Man. Ted Ramsdale. He was so handsome he stopped her heart and took her breath away. Six-two, built like a god, dark hair, piercing blue eyes, straight white teeth. That was the first thing she’d noticed, but it was not what caused her to fall in love with him. He was a brilliant and powerful cardiologist, one of the best known and most admired in the state. He was charismatic; his success with patients had everything to do with his bedside manner. He could charm even the crankiest old man into doing everything exactly as asked. Ten minutes with a patient and Ted had them eating out of his hand. He could give courses on being a loving, giving physician. His staff would follow him anywhere; his colleagues went to him for advice. Ted always got his way, and at the same time everyone who dealt with him believed they had gotten theirs.
Just as luck would have it, Ted came with three kids. He shared custody with his ex-wife, and she wasn’t exactly cooperative. They lived within a few miles of each other so the kids could spend equal time with each parent and never change schools. Getting to know Ted professionally and then personally before she met his kids, there had been nothing to prepare Peyton for the fact that Ted had no parenting skills at all. Too late, she’d learned he was totally unable to manage or discipline his own children. It was uncanny that Ted, the charming doctor, was somewhat useless as a father. When she’d first met the kids, they were aged seven, nine and twelve, and they were incorrigible. It had been a shock, really. It seemed the only people in the world Ted could not relate to were his ex-wife and their kids.
At first, Peyton had rationalized their behavior was sulky and insubordinate due to divorce issues. But, no.
For over two years she’d spent several days a week with three rude, insensitive, lazy and obnoxious tweens and teens. When she was growing up, her own parents had been firm but kind and fair, but after meeting Ted’s children, her father had said, “Those three would’ve been taken out behind the shed a long while back.” Paco, who rarely raised his voice in anger, whose worst corporal action had been a gentle cuff on the back of a son’s head or a light swat on a rump, had only been half joking when he’d given Peyton his assessment. “I think I’d have to beat ’em.”
For the first time in her life, Peyton had felt lonely. Ted had worked long hours and was frequently on call, his kids were horrid and abusive, and he could not seem to do anything to help. They fought with her, each other, ignored rules, were in trouble at school, and Ted was no help in any of it. Indeed, he excused them. The distance between them had grown; Ted had not only been absent, he’d been emotionally unavailable. She’d eventually realized he treated the kids like his patients—he gave them a good attentive ten minutes and then was out the door, moving on to his next challenge. He’d treated Peyton that way, too. He’d had no patience for her concerns. Peyton had tried so hard with the kids, believing if someone didn’t get through to these little hellions, they were doomed to become incorrigible adults. She had given it her best shot, but she couldn’t do it, couldn’t stay with them any longer. Peyton had left her lover, his home, his children and, because he was her boss, left her job.
Now she needed a place to unwind and clear her head. She was desperate for her own space again...where she was never lonely. She looked out at the still bay. I bet it’s very quiet on the water, she thought. She knew what fall and winter would be like on the coast—wet and cold and on many days it would be dark and foggy. If I had a small house or apartment with a fireplace...
A very pregnant woman walking across the beach from town paused in front of Peyton and gave her big belly a gentle stroking. “If I promise not to talk or wiggle around, can I share your log? I need to sit before tackling the stairs.”
“By all means,” Peyton said. “And you can talk. Out doing the pregnancy walk?”
The woman eased down on to the log, and instinctively Peyton reached out and grabbed her elbow, assisting. “Thank you. Yep, a long walk every day, then a little reading time on the left side for twenty minutes every couple of hours.” She lifted her feet, ankles swollen. “Look at these things. Pretty soon I’ll be wearing my husband’s shoes.”
“At the risk of seeming presumptuous, it appears that complication will be behind you soon,” Peyton said.
“Very soon. I’m due in a month, and like every pregnant woman I’ve ever known, I’m hoping for an early debut. I’m Sarah,” she said, putting out her hand.
“A pleasure,” she said, taking the hand. “Peyton. Where will you do the deed?”
“North Bend. I’m told there will be plenty of time to get there. It’s a first baby.”
“First babies rarely come fast,” Peyton said.
“You speak as one who knows?”
“I don’t have children, but I am a physician’s assistant. I’ve worked in family medicine. I looked after the occasional mother-to-be.”
“Do you live around here?” Sarah asked.
“No. I grew up north of here, near Portland. But I was spending a little off-time at Coos Bay and saw an ad for a PA and decided to look around the area. Do you like it here?”
“I do,” Sarah said. “I was stationed in North Bend—Coast Guard Air Station. I decided to get out and start a new career.” She grinned. “I lived in Thunder Point and commuted to North Bend, so I know the route with my eyes closed.”
“Please, keep them open on the trip to the hospital,” Peyton said with a laugh.
“My husband will be driving. At least that’s the plan. So, where are you applying? One of the local clinics or hospitals?”
“I’d say so. I dropped off a résumé with Dr. Grant.”
“Really? I heard he was looking for an assistant or associate, but that was a while ago, and I wasn’t sure he had actually moved ahead on that project. We love
