Almost Summer by Susan Mallery Read Free Book Online Page A

place?”
    “No,” Simon said easily. “I thought I would, but I’m happy
here. I’ve found where I belong.” He shrugged. “I have the best of all worlds.
My patients come to me. I’m with the woman I love in a town where I feel
welcome.” He glanced at his friend. “I’m not like you, Alistair. I’ve never had
a place to call home before now. Fool’s Gold gives me that and more.”
    He put his brandy on the table by his chair and leaned forward.
“The hospital has joined a network that stretches around the globe. They’re
raising money together and will bring the neediest of patients here for surgery.
I’m doing extraordinary work.” He paused. “I can always use another pair of
hands.”
    “Stay?”
    “You might like it.”
    Alistair hadn’t considered settling in one place. Not recently.
Before Sara’s death, he’d always assumed one day he’d return to England and live
in the village where he’d been born. But that day had never come. To stop
traveling now felt like a dismissal of the woman he’d married. A rejection of
the only thing she’d asked of him.
    He recognized the fallacy of the argument. His desire to
continue his work had nothing to do with his affection for his late wife and not
finding a place to call home wouldn’t bring her or his daughter back. But
telling himself that and believing it weren’t the same thing.
    “I’m not ready,” he admitted, recognizing that eventually he
would like to be in one place. Put down roots. Not in England, he thought. That
would be uncomfortable. His young brothers were more connected to the title and
the community there than he had ever been. Let one of them deal with all that
went with being an earl.
    “When you are, call me,” Simon told him. “I want the first shot
at convincing you to move here.” He picked up his brandy. “Where are you off to
next?”
    “Australia. Sydney, then Melbourne. I’m giving several seminars
in each location. From there, I’ll spend three months in Thailand. I haven’t
decided where to go after that.”
    Paige would enjoy Australia, he thought. While he was
lecturing, she could explore the area. He would have days off where they could
go places together.
    He shook off the idea nearly as soon as it crossed his mind.
Paige barely knew him. She had her own to destiny to fulfill. She wouldn’t want
to be tied to someone like him when she could be free. Or was that just an
excuse? A reason not have to face the bone-crushing guilt he carried with
him?
    Because the truth was that while he’d loved Sara, he’d never
been in love with her.
    He’d known how she had felt for years, had known she was
waiting patiently for him to return. She had always been there. A part of his
life in England. In truth, he’d secretly been pleased when she wouldn’t travel
with him. He’d been able to go off and do what he wanted. Oh, there hadn’t been
other women. He had no interest in cheating on her and had believed in the
importance of honoring his wedding vows. Instead, he’d been able to take the
dangerous assignments to the most interesting places. He’d often said he didn’t
have a choice, but he did. He’d been gone more than he needed to be.
    He could have been home when she died.
    He’d taken on the extra work, had stayed longer than necessary.
Because he hadn’t been ready to go back to the quiet village. Chatting with
neighbors and setting up a home had seemed boring and unimportant. Now that he’d
lost both, he knew he’d been wrong.
    “You’re gone again,” Simon said quietly.
    “I’m thinking about Sara.”
    “Feeling guilty?”
    Alistair stared at his friend. “How do you know?”
    “I know you. You blame yourself for not being there. What
you’re forgetting is that you couldn’t have stopped her from crossing that
street.”
    “I might have.”
    “I doubt that. It was her time, Alistair.”
    “An acceptance of fate?”
    Simon shrugged. “Perhaps.” He raised his arm, the one