The Promise (Thunder Point #5)(80)

Since she knew there was no risk of a panic attack or argument during her next couple of conversations, she drove and made hands-free calls. Her first call was to Amy, her friend from Ted’s practice. She told her what she was struggling with.

“I know who it is, Peyton. Even though Lindsey isn’t working here anymore, she hasn’t been at all discreet. She couldn’t wait to spread the word that Ted’s home life is a disaster and that his daughter is pregnant. My sister works for a really great OB in the area, but don’t you have a sister-in-law who has volunteered on a crisis hotline or something like that?”

“Yes! How did I not think of that?” Peyton said. “George’s wife, Lori. She’s perfect. She knows everyone. She can get me a referral of some kind. She’d know exactly who to call.”

Peyton waited until she’d reached the halfway mark and was still six hours from Portland before stopping for gas and a bite to eat in the car. She bought herself a pretty sad-looking half sandwich, some jerky, some chocolate and some hot coffee and sat in her car behind the gas station’s mini-mart. It was six in the evening. She had no idea where Scott might be. He could be home, getting the kids dinner. Or he could be at the hospital. This was the call she’d been looking forward to, the one she thought would soothe and comfort her.

“Scott,” she said. “Where are you?”

“Just wrapping it up at the clinic,” he said. “I stayed to finish my charting and clean up a little, but I’m done now. Devon picked up the kids, and I’m headed to her house to scoop up mine. If I drag my feet a little, she might feed them.”

Peyton laughed, missing him. Missing the whole group. “Don’t be mean.”

“I’m on call tonight, so she might get stuck, anyway. And then there’s always payback. How’s it going?”

“Ah, yes, how’s it going. Well, there’s good news and bad news.”

“Lay it on me,” he said.

“Well, the good news is, I’ve left San Francisco a little early. The bad news is, I’m headed for Portland.”

“Portland? That wasn’t in your plans, was it?”

“Nope, I had a very abrupt change of plans. There’s a crisis—one of Ted’s kids called me—she’s in some trouble and I’m needed. I don’t know how much I can help, but I’m going to try. It’s serious or I wouldn’t bother. But I was wondering—”

“You’re going to Ted’s house?” he asked, sounding a little brittle.

“Well, that’s where his kids are.”

“I thought you had decided you’d done all you could for that family,” Scott said.

“And as it turns out, there might be one or two more things I can do. You have to believe me—I’m not doing this for Ted. It’s his daughter—she needs me right now.”

There was a long moment of silence. “Of course,” he said. “How long do you suppose she’ll need you?”

“Hey, you’re upset!” she said.

“I’m surprised,” he said. “You were very convincing when you said you were all done there. The kids hated you, you said. How much can you do for kids who hate you?”

“Don’t do this, Scott. I wouldn’t be going if I thought I was just being exploited by Ted or his kids. It turns out to be quite important. His pregnant daughter reached out to me.”

“And I suppose you’ll have quite a lot of discourse with Dr. Ramsdale while you’re there, helping his daughter.”

“I don’t give a crap about Ted, though I pity him! But at this moment I’m beginning to feel pretty sorry for you, too.”

“I’m sorry, Peyton,” he said. She could picture him rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “I’m reacting. I guess I’m disappointed.”

“Apology accepted,” she said, but it really stung.

“Maybe while you’re that far north you should take the time to check out that surgeon in Seattle.”

“What? What?” she asked twice.

“Peyton, I love you. But we both know I don’t have nearly as much to offer you as that Seattle surgeon does. Or as Ted does, for that matter.”

Peyton was stunned. God, he’s jealous. Of Ted. How ridiculous! But ridiculous or not, it was plain as paint—Scott was licking his wounds and had been since the day Ted had descended on them, driving his fancy car, calling the clinic a dump and not good enough for Peyton, acting like the hotshot he thought he was.

Peyton thought that, of all the people she knew, Scott would know what a real pauper was.

She was quiet. She could try to soothe him, reassure him that Ted had nothing she wanted, that all his glitter meant nothing to her. She could go to him, be there in two or three hours, have a heart-to-heart with him about what things really mattered to her, and ask him to try to understand.

Or not.

“All right, Scott, everyone’s entitled to be petty sometimes, so I’m going to just let that go. What I’m going to do is drive to Portland and see if I can help Ted’s daughter. I might spend the night with my parents since I’m that close, and then I’m going to come back to Thunder Point where I happen to live at the moment. We’re going to have a serious talk and get this issue completely resolved. When this crisis is behind me, we’re going to talk our crisis to death. I’d do that right now, but I’m tired, I have hours of driving ahead, I have a lot of other things to worry about and, frankly, you really pissed me off. But when our problem has been aired, we’ll decide where we go from there.”