It Had to Be Them (An It Had to Be Novel Book 4)

  ALSO BY TAMRA BAUMANN

  It Had to Be Him

  It Had to Be Love

  It Had to Be Fate

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Text copyright © 2016 Tamra Baumann

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Montlake Romance, Seattle

  www.apub.com

  Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Montlake Romance are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.

  ISBN-13: 9781503939622

  ISBN-10: 1503939626

  Cover design by Eileen Carey

  This book is dedicated to Matt and Traci, who I love even more than chocolate. You make me so proud to be your mom.

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  INAUGURATION DAY

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  A hypochondriac could be a doctor’s worst nightmare, but Ben Anderson had reason to be particularly fond of the one sitting on the padded exam table in front of him. She was the mother of the only woman he’d ever loved.

  He’d run every test he could think of on Kline Grant’s mother but could find nothing wrong with her. She’d developed a new dire illness every Monday for the last six weeks, and today was no exception. He was tempted to borrow her phone and delete her WebMD app.

  “I have just the thing you need.” He grabbed a small bottle of vitamins from his white lab coat and handed it to her. “Take one every morning for a month, and you’ll be good as new.”

  Mrs. Grant flipped her glasses to the top of her gray-haired head and frowned at the label he’d had his nurse, Joyce, dummy up for him. “What is this?”

  “It’s a new miracle drug and perfectly safe.” He laid a hand on her shoulder. “You trust me, right?”

  She lifted her chin and smiled at him. “You know I do, Ben. Did I mention Kline is finally coming home?”

  Her words were a punch to his gut. It’d been over ten years since Kline had been back. “No, you hadn’t mentioned that.” He looked away from her curious eyes and busied himself with notes in her chart while his system settled.

  “I told her I wasn’t well enough to travel all over the darn world to visit wherever she’s teaching now like I have in the past.”

  Tahiti, last he’d heard. Kline had wanted out of Anderson Butte so badly, and had lived in four other cities and three countries since their breakup. Not that he kept track of her or anything. “You’re well enough to travel if you want. Sand, blue water, and warm weather might do you good.” Of course, that made him think of Kline in a bikini, dammit.

  Mrs. Grant waved her hand. “Oh, she’s done with that job. It was only temporary. I told her we desperately need a science teacher here while her cousin takes maternity leave soon. But you know Kline. Itchy feet. No way she’d ever come back to live in this one-stoplight town . . . blah, blah.”

  Good. Because losing Kline had hurt. So much that he had sworn he’d never get close enough to another woman to let that happen again. He’d let her go, thinking she would come back after a year or so because she missed him. After five had passed, he realized he had made the biggest mistake of his life by not telling her the truth. She probably hated him for it. Hopefully she’d be in and out and they wouldn’t run into each other.

  “She’s coming tomorrow and plans to visit through the end of the month. Then she’s thinking of substituting in Denver for the rest of the school year.”

  That meant she’d be in Anderson Butte for three long weeks. Hard not to run into someone in their small town for that long.

  He helped Mrs. Grant off the table. “Have a nice visit with Kline. And be sure to take those pills now, okay?”

  “Will do.” She slid a purse big enough to hold a fifteen-pound turkey over her shoulder. “I’m going to try to set Kline up with Wayne Jacobs while she’s here. He always asks about her. That way she’ll have a date on her birthday.”

  Kline’s birthday was next Saturday, November 15. Exactly a month after his. But his neighbor, Wayne Jacobs, was the last person Kline would be attracted to. Wayne had been the big jock in high school, entitled and rude, and hadn’t changed a bit. Not Ben’s problem, though. He couldn’t care less who Kline dated.

  Mrs. Grant shook her head and walked toward the door. “Kline is going to be the death of me, always just dating for fun. She says no commitments and especially not marriage for her. But I’d like a grandchild before I kick the bucket. I imagine your dad feels the same about you, Ben. Both you and Kline are so good-looking, it’s odd neither of you ever married, don’t you think?”

  “Nope. And you’re only sixty and not going anywhere anytime soon. Bye now.”

  “Thanks for the pills.” After she waved goodbye, the exam room door softly closed behind her.

  Ben tossed her file onto the table and rubbed his tired eyes. The last time Betty Grant had been in, she’d whipped out a handful of pictures. Kline still looked fantastic, a tall, slender brunette with the deepest caramel-colored eyes he’d ever seen. Eyes that used to gaze at him like he was the last chocolate éclair on earth as he made love to her. Eyes that had cried when he told her that he was going back to Anderson Butte after med school.

  She might have stuck it out with him if he’d told her the truth. That his father, and obligations to the town, had forced him into coming back home after he finished college. He’d wanted to do the right thing by her, so he’d let her go. He’d broken up with her so she could live her dreams and have her adventures. But for her to never come back for even a single holiday? It had to be because she wanted to avoid him.

  She’d accused him of not loving her as much as she loved him, of always putting his family’s needs before hers by staying in town rather than leaving with her as he’d promised, and then she had thrown her engagement ring at his head.

  He couldn’t help that his mom had died and they had a father who wasn’t a parent to his younger brother and sisters. Someone had to raise them, and it had taken a lot of his time and effort. She wasn’t wrong about that. She’d been extremely patient with him—until he’d broken the bad news.

  He’d lost the love of his life and the best friend he’d ever had in a single moment.

  Shaking off the memories, he stood to go see his next patient. Luckily, he was swamped trying to take care of the patients he had, and with his plans for a brand-new clinic that would serve even more people from the surrounding area. That was, if he could convince his father to let him use the piece of land he had his eye on.

  Yeah. He had plenty of excuses to avoid Kline.

  But Wayne Jacobs? What had Kline’s mom been thinking? The guy wasn’t good enough for Klin
e. He couldn’t think of a man in town who would be.

  Kline Grant laid a hand on her roiling stomach as she negotiated the curvy, icy mountain road she had vowed she’d never drive again. When she passed by the sign that said “Welcome to Anderson Butte, Colorado,” childhood memories swarmed all at once inside her head.

  She passed the hotel Ben’s sister Casey ran, and then the General Store, run by Santa Claus, aka Fred. Next she passed the diner located across the street from the Town Square with its pretty white bandstand in the middle. Remnants of a recent snowfall sparkled on the roof in the waning sunlight. Not much had changed.

  Glancing through her passenger-side window, she caught her first glimpse of the beautiful lake between the buildings. The bright November setting sun reflected long, thin lines across the smooth surface. She rolled her window down and drew in a familiar breath of cold air, pine trees, and lake water. Maybe she’d missed that a little, but she hadn’t missed the nosiness of small-town life, the lifelong battle between the Andersons and her family, the Grants, and the memories of her difficult childhood.

  After hearing her mother describe her odd symptoms and how she was too sick to travel, not to mention the signs of confusion, Kline had no choice but to break her vow and come home. She loved her mom—the one constant in her ever-changing life—so very much.

  So she’d have to talk to Ben again. It’d probably be awkward. Their breakup hadn’t been pretty. She still regretted throwing her ring at his head. She should probably apologize for that. On second thought, he should apologize to her for stringing her along all those years. He made promises he’d never intended to keep. Just like her last boyfriend had. She was through with men.

  Her stomach seized again at the thought of seeing Ben.

  She’d just keep things professional with him, ask what the deal was, and then get out. Then she’d stop by the diner and pick up supper so her mom wouldn’t feel the need to cook.

  She pulled into the clinic’s driveway and wound around the back to park, hoping she wouldn’t be too late to catch Ben. After she turned off the ignition, a marching band of nerves reverberated up and down her spine. She hated to be so intrusive, to go around her confused mother for the truth, but her mom’s strange symptoms just didn’t make sense. Well, according to WebMD, anyway.

  She grabbed her purse and headed for the clinic. By the time she tugged on the glass door her stomach had gone from being upset to seriously hurting.

  She started for the familiar waiting room, but had to stop when a wave of dizzying nausea hit. She leaned a hand against the wall to steady herself.

  The sound of heavy footsteps made Kline look up and into Ben’s striking blue eyes. Still as handsome as ever. He hadn’t changed a bit. How unfair was it that men aged so much better than women?

  “Kline? Are you okay?” A frown creased his brow as he reached out to help her.

  She nodded, but then lost the battle with her stomach and leaned over and puked on his designer shoes.

  Still bent in half, staring at the mess, she moaned. Seriously? Had that really just happened? Worse, were those expensive Ferragamos?

  Could the earth open up and swallow her whole, please?

  She hadn’t seen the man in years and what did she do? Ruin his shoes. And humiliate herself on top of it.

  “I’m so sorry, Ben.” Cringing, she slowly lifted her head and met his strangely calm expression. “I’ll replace your shoes.” When her stomach rolled over again, her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, God.”

  She turned and ran toward the ladies’ room, dodging Ben’s nurse, Joyce, who carried an armload of towels. To clean up the mess, no doubt. She’d help Joyce as soon as she could.

  This was not at all how she’d pictured her homecoming. She’d lain in bed the last few nights, dreading her first encounter with Ben and playing out all the possible scenarios. She’d covered the one if he pretended not to recognize her at first, and even the one if he was cold and indifferent to her. She hadn’t anticipated the barfing-on-him reunion.

  After she was sure there couldn’t be anything left in her gut, she hobbled weak-kneed out of one of the two metal stalls in the ladies’ room. Ben leaned against the counter waiting for her, now wearing a pair of tennis shoes. He reached inside his white lab coat and pulled out a lollipop.

  “Thanks.” It’d have to do until she could unearth some mints from the depths of her purse. The sweet cherry flavor quickly eliminated the rancid taste in her mouth.

  “Pregnant?” he asked.

  That was about the last thing she’d be, seeing how she hadn’t slept with a man in months, but she wouldn’t tell him that. “No. More like a bad convenience store egg salad sandwich.”

  “Ah.” He crossed his arms then angled his head as if studying her. “Your mom told me you weren’t coming until tomorrow.”

  Humiliation took a quick backseat as concern for her mother weighed on her again. She mumbled around her sucker, “I must’ve told Mom five times I was coming today. Not tomorrow. I’m worried about her. That’s why I’m here.” She crunched the candy off the stick, tossed the white cardboard into the trash, and then turned on the water to wash her hands and face. With her eyes still closed, because when she opened them she got dizzy, she reached for a paper towel.

  Ben slipped a wad of paper towels into her hand. “Well, you certainly made an entrance. Welcome home . . . finally.”

  “Thanks. I’m sure everyone in town will hear about this from Joyce. And won’t ever let me live it down.” After she’d patted her face dry, she drew a deep breath and then faced him. “I really am sorry about your shoes.” They probably cost more than she made in a month. Ben had always liked expensive footwear. That much hadn’t changed about him.

  He shrugged. “They’re just shoes. Don’t worry about it.” He slowly reached his hand out as if approaching a skittish horse and laid the back of it on her forehead. “No fever. And your color is coming back.”

  Yeah, her cheeks were probably a deep shade of mortification red.

  “What do you mean, just shoes?” She held onto the counter to steady her wobbly legs. “You used to covet shoes harder than any of my girlfriends—”

  He held up his hand to cut her off. “Save me the speech about how many starving children you could feed for the price of one pair. Maybe I’ve changed?”

  “I wasn’t going to say that.” Only because she was a bit off-kilter at the moment and it hadn’t occurred to her yet.

  He cocked a brow.

  “Oh, all right. I would’ve eventually, but that’s not the point. I’m worried about my mom. What’s going on with her?”

  The bathroom door swung open and Joyce’s wrinkled face appeared. “Nice to see you again, Kline. Hope you feel better soon. Wheel of Fortune starts in ten minutes so I gotta run. See you tomorrow, Doc.”

  Ben raised a hand. “Have a nice evening.”

  Kline called out, “Nice to see you too, Joyce. Sorry about that!”

  After the door swung shut, Ben’s eyes locked with hers again. “I can’t talk to you about a patient. Even if it is your mother. You need to ask her.” He scooped up her purse from the counter. “I’ll drive you home.”

  “I can drive myself. It’s a whole two minutes away.” She stuck her hand out for her purse and nearly toppled over. She was still a little dizzy.

  He wrapped his hand around her arm to steady her, then motored her out the swinging door. “You need to be in bed. Lots of ice chips tonight. Dry toast and crackers in the morning if you feel hungry.”

  “Will do.” She leaned against the stucco wall outside while he hit the lights and locked the door. The cool air felt nice on her clammy skin. “Seriously. You must be busy, Ben. I can drive myself.” And then she’d bury her head under the covers for a week and hope to forget the most embarrassing moment of her life.

  “Still so stubborn.” He slid his arm around her waist and tugged her toward the only car in the parking lot. Hers. “How are you going to charg
e an electric car in Anderson Butte? Your mom said you’re staying for three weeks.”

  Crap. She hadn’t thought about that. “Maybe I’ll ask Uncle Zeke. He could probably rig me up something.” Leaning against the hood of her car, she dug around in her purse for her keys. And found her tin of mints. Bonus! And then the keys.

  When Ben just stood there with his big palm sticking out, she gave in and handed over her fob. She wasn’t feeling so hot again anyway.

  She popped three mints into her mouth. “I wasn’t being stubborn about you driving. I was trying to let you off the hook. Things are awkward enough between us as it is without being trapped—” She was going to be sick again. With no time to go back inside, she ran to a nearby trash can and stuck her head inside. It was just lucky that Mondays were still trash day in Anderson Butte, so the can was empty.

  A set of cool fingers slipped through her long hair and pulled it away from her face as she finished up her business. Ben had always been kind and considerate. But still, he’d misled her and couldn’t be trusted.

  She whispered, “Thank you.”

  “Welcome.” He gave the makeshift ponytail in his hands a slight tug. “Let’s get you home before another round hits.”

  Good idea. Or next she’d be the talk of the town as they drove down the road with her head stuck out the window like a dog. Her car was brand-new. She didn’t want to mess it up.

  Ben beeped the locks and opened the passenger-side door for her. After she’d collapsed into the seat, her eyes followed his tall, lean body as he rounded the hood. His thick, dark hair, wavy in all the right places, fell just above one of his stunning blue eyes, and his arms flexed nicely when he removed his lab coat and neatly folded it inside out before opening the driver-side door and tossing it in the back. He’d filled out, become more solid muscle than before, and he still had the same blindingly white pretty smile. The new crinkles around his eyes when he grinned actually looked good on him, as opposed to hers.

  So unfair.

  She closed her eyes and laid her head against the seat so he wouldn’t catch her staring and get the wrong idea. She wasn’t interested in him. She was just noticing, that’s all. She had no intention of opening the can of worms their relationship had turned out to be.