Chapter Thirty Four

L ydia should be back by now. Unless something terrible had happened. The longer Cordelia waited, the more convinced she was that perhaps Lydia wasn’t coming back. Which was ridiculous, because all her things were in the house. She couldn’t have just run away.

“We had good times,” Hunter was saying.

Lydia rolled her eyes.

“No,” he said. “No, be fair, come on, Cord. We did have good times.”

She sighed. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, we did.”

“Then why can’t we have them again?” he asked.

“Do you really have to ask that question?” She’d give things another hour maybe. Then she’d start calling. She didn’t want to be one of those… people… who called all the time. Who made a fuss. And she’d almost used the word girlfriend then, just in her head, but still.

Hunter looked pained. “Cord, I’ve apologized. I’ve apologized so many times that I don’t have words to do it again. I screwed up, I hurt you, I know that I did. I ruined everything. But I’m here on my knees trying to get you to understand that I’m willing to do all the work necessary to get you back.”

Of course, she needed to get rid of Hunter first. The last thing she needed was Lydia walking in and seeing her ex-husband here. Think of the conclusions she might come to.

“Hunter,” she began.

His face lit up a little and for an instant Cordelia did remember that they’d had good times. She remembered that they’d loved each other. That not everything had been a disaster. A little piece of her thawed a little inside.

“Hunter,” she said again, more gently this time. “I loved you, I don’t want to deny that I did. I loved you with everything that I had. We weren’t perfect though, and you know that. We argued. You’re critical and I’m thin-skinned and those two things never work well together.”

“I’ll be less critical,” he said, sitting forward.

“No, Hunter. No. It’s not going to work that way.”

“Why not? I can change. You’ve changed. I see it in you. You’re more confident, you’re taller, you smile more. We’ve both grown and changed, Cord.”

“There’s something we can agree on. We have both changed.”

“Then let’s give this another shot. I was an idiot to think that I could walk away from you, Cord.”

“It’s flattering to hear that.” She sat up straighter. There was nothing there, she’d suddenly realized. Nothing at all.

She’d spent so long being angry with him, hating him for what he’d done so much that she deliberately made herself unlovable so that no one else would repeat his actions. But somewhere along the line, that anger had fizzled out. Just disappeared.

“It’s flattering, but a relationship has to be built on something, Hunter. And there’s nothing here. Can’t you feel it? Or not feel it, I suppose. The lack of… of anything.” She smiled. “I’m not even angry with you anymore.”

“That’s a start,” he said.

“No, no it’s not,” Cordelia said. “It’s a finish. I don’t feel enough for you anymore to even be angry. You need to move on, Hunter. You need to go back to your girlfriend, or move on to another. You need to remember what we had and try and find someone to build that with again.”

He looked at her with clear blue eyes for a long moment. Then he swallowed. “That’s what you’ve done, isn’t it?”

Even now, just the thought of Lydia was making her feel warmer, safer, better. “I have,” she said quietly.

“Who is he?”

Was there anger in that question? The skin on the back of her neck prickled. Hunter had a temper, but he’d never turned it directly on her. She took a deep breath. “Want some coffee?”

He nodded.

“Coffee as in just coffee, not a symbol of anything, not a sign that we’re getting back together. Just coffee.”

A shadow of frustration passed over his face. Then it was gone. “Just coffee,” he said.

???

“I don’t understand,” said Lydia.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Mikey said on the other end of the phone. “I’ve searched the database, there’s nothing here. And if there were a vacancy, then we’d know about it. I can start a list and put you at the top, if that helps?”

Lydia frowned. “I’ll let you know, thanks anyway.” She hung up.

“What was all that about?” asked Max, indicating as he turned a corner. “If you don’t mind me asking, that is?”

“It’s about me changing my plans,” Lydia said. “Though I sort of thought if I was going to prove that I’m changing them then it might be best to have a concrete plan B, but it looks like things aren’t going the way I thought they would.”

“Uh, okay,” said Max, eyeing the rear-view mirror. “You do know that none of that made sense at all, don’t you?”

Lydia was tired. Tired and cranky and all she’d wanted was to present Cordelia with proof that she was staying. “It’s a long story. ”

“Try me, if you like,” said Max. “We’ve got time, traffic’s always bad at this time of the morning.” He gave her a glance, then smiled. “And besides, we’re having a good morning, you and I. I don’t think things could have worked out any better, do you?”

The emergency meeting had resulted in a temporary foster situation for Toby. Nat would be seeing him every day, would be attending parenting classes, and eventually, the plan was for Toby to move back home permanently. It was the logical, best solution that any of them could have hoped for.

“I’m in love with Cordelia,” Lydia said simply.

Max snorted.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he said. “Just, well, I mean it was pretty obvious.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “But I am a detective, so…”

“Not a surprise at all then?” she asked.

“Not really,” he said. “But the two of you are a good match, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“We’ll be a good match, which is kind of the point,” said Lydia, looking out of the windshield at the wet road ahead. “We need to compromise and be flexible but I think it’s worth the effort. I know it’s worth the effort.”

“Alright,” Max said. “So what’s the problem?”

“I’ve realized that I want to stay,” Lydia said, the words making her feel warm just by saying them. “That I don’t want to take a job a million miles away, that I want to stick around and prove to Cordelia that I can be here, that I won’t leave her like that idiot ex. I want to see where this is going to lead.”

“Sounds fair enough.”

“Yeah. But that was a contact of mine at the RCGP. According to him, there’s no listing of any vacancy in Whitebridge at all.”

Max frowned at this. “That makes no sense. I mean—” He stopped abruptly.

“It’s fine,” Lydia said. “I know what happened to Doc Morris.”

“Well then. You know that he’ll probably not be coming back.”

“Right.”

Max slid the car over a lane to avoid a building queue of traffic. “ Give me a minute,” he said. “Let me make a phone call.”

Lydia leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “Take your time,” she said sleepily.

She must have dropped off for a few minutes, because Max was shaking her elbow and when she opened her eyes they were parked in front of Cordelia’s house.

“Sorry,” she said, blinking in the sudden light.

“Nothing to be sorry about. You’ve had a long night,” said Max. “Um, I called around and put a few feelers out about the practice. Give me the rest of the day, I’ll ring you when I hear something, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, thank you, Max. I appreciate it.”

He shrugged. “It’s nothing more than you deserve.”

She smiled a little.

“No, I mean it,” he said earnestly. “You were a hero last night. I don’t know what Whitebridge would have done without you. You were there when we needed you, you were selfless, you went above and beyond. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s the kind of doctor we want here. That’s the kind of person we want here.”

“I was just doing my job,” Lydia said.

“Maybe. But you were also being a part of our community. We won’t forget this, Lydia, no matter what else happens. Come what may, you’ll always have a home here. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Actually,” Lydia said, coming more fully awake. “There might be something you can do.”

???

“She sounds… nice,” Hunter said.

Cordelia smiled. He was trying hard. “She is nice. I think you might even like her given the chance.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not so sure about that,” said Hunter.

“Listen,” Cordelia said. “Don’t be bitter. Take it from me, someone who was bitter for far too long. Your relationship ended, and it doesn’t feel good. But there are others out there. Somewhere there’s someone just waiting for you to show up in their life.”

“But not you,” Hunter said.

“No, not me,” said Cordelia. “I’m, um, I think I might be already taken.”

“Might?” Hunter’s eyes widened. “She’d be an idiot to turn you down. Take it from me, someone who was that idiot.”

Cordelia laughed and then came the sound of the front door opening and her stomach dropped a little.

“Uh-oh,” Hunter said.

“Hush,” said Cordelia quietly. “In here,” she said slightly louder.

Lydia walked in, her hair flat, her face wan and tired, looking slightly like she’d been knocked over by a bulldozer. And Cordelia saw the exact moment that she realized who Hunter was. Saw the blink and the recalibration.

Please don’t let her think the wrong thing, she prayed. And please don’t let Hunter be an arsehole about this.

Then Hunter was standing up, reaching out a hand, introducing himself, smiling even. And Lydia was smiling back at him.

“Three’s a crowd,” said Hunter. “And I have to be going.” He looked down at Cordelia. “Apparently, there’s someone out there for me, I just need to find them. So there’s no point in me sitting around here when I could be searching.”

He dropped a kiss on Cordelia’s cheek. “Bye, Cord.” And nodded to Lydia, sniffed. “Look after her,” he said gruffly, before letting himself out.

And finally they were alone.