“Mr. Scott?”

He’d almost reached the elevator when he heard someone calling his name. He turned and saw a short woman with dark hair and glasses. She wore a white coat and had a patient chart in her hands.

“I’m Del Scott,” he said.

“I thought you might be.” The woman gave him a smile, then held out her free hand. “I’m Dr. Sanders. I’ve examined Josie and will be taking care of her while she’s here in the hospital.”

Dr. Sanders looked to be in her mid-forties. She was pretty, in a capable-looking way, with blue-gray eyes and a steady gaze that seemed to see down to his soul.

After they shook hands, she gestured to a small empty office just off the main corridor. “Do you have a minute? I need to clear up a few things.”

“Sure.”

He followed her into the consulting room and took the visitor’s chair, leaving the seat behind the metal desk for her. When she was seated, she studied the top sheet on the chart, then turned her attention to him.

“I’ve spoken with Josie. I have a summary of her procedures over the past year. According to her, she’s divorced. You two share the same last name. Am I correct in assuming you’re her ex-husband?”

He nodded, not sure what this had to do with anything.

“I see. Well, that lets you off the hook, doesn’t it.”

What was she talking about? “I don’t understand.”

“Ms. Scott hasn’t been taking care of herself as well as she should. Her stay here is the result of that. She will require some specific care when she leaves us, but if you’re not married, it’s not your problem.”

She was right. Josie wasn’t his problem. She hadn’t been for years. Basically the doctor was telling him it was all right to walk away. To forget this ever happened. Del sucked in a deep breath. Except it wasn’t going to be that easy. Not that he should be surprised. Nothing with Josie was ever easy.

“She came back to town a few weeks ago,” he said. “She bought a house and I’m remodeling it for her. So we’ve been spending a lot of time in each other’s company.”

He was deliberately making it sound as if they were considering a reconciliation. Which was crazy. He didn’t want anything more to do with her. But he also knew he couldn’t just walk away and forget what had happened. Somehow, without him being aware of how or when or anything, his ex-wife had reentered his life. She’d caught his attention in a way he wouldn’t have thought possible, pretending to be someone else. And he’d never even come close to guessing the truth. The only hint had been that when he was around her, he couldn’t stop thinking about Josie.

“So you’re considering a reconciliation?” the doctor asked.

“We haven’t gotten that far,” he said, not willing to outright lie. “But we do have a history, and I’m concerned about her. I don’t know all the details of her accident and recovery. I know it’s been grueling.”

“Does Ms. Scott have other family in the area?”

“No. Her folks live in Texas. She has a brother up in Seattle and a stepsister in Los Angeles. I’m the only one in town.”

Dr. Sanders tapped her pen against the chart. “This makes things more difficult.”

“Why?”

She leaned forward, her gaze direct. “Your ex-wife has let a few things slide. For some patients, that’s fine, but for her, in her stage of recovery, it was a mistake. She hasn’t been getting enough rest, which interferes with the body’s ability to heal. In addition to being dehydrated, she has a low-grade infection. Due to her lack of physical therapy, her muscles are weakening. Unfortunately, she’s about to pay for her personal neglect. She’s going to have to spend the next few weeks in a wheelchair. She will be allowed to stand on her own for short periods of time so she can shower without assistance, but other than that, she’s to be sitting or lying down. In addition, she can’t drive until I’ve cleared her.”

Del heard the words but he didn’t believe them. A wheelchair? Josie? She would hate that. Anyone would. The restrictions on her life, the dependency.

“You look shocked,” Dr. Sanders said.

“I am. Stunned.”

An odd expression crossed the woman’s face. “Mr. Scott, this isn’t the first time your ex-wife has been in a wheelchair. According to her medical history, she’s only been able to use a cane full-time for about two months.”

Was that possible? Had Josie really been so disabled for so long? He’d heard her talk about her surgeries and the recoveries, but he hadn’t understood it before.

“You said you were remodeling a house for Ms. Scott. Is it going to be compatible with the change in her condition?”

A wheelchair at the old Miller place? He pictured the empty rooms and all the construction equipment and supplies. He thought about the drop cloths on the floors and the fact that the only bedroom was upstairs.

“I can tell from your expression that there are going to be problems,” the doctor said. “Should I call a family member?”

He knew what she was asking. It would be easy for him to say yes, to dump the responsibility on someone else. He and Josie were divorced. He hadn’t asked her to come back, and he sure didn’t want anything resembling a reconciliation. He’d done fine without her all this time.

But he also wasn’t willing to turn his back on her. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he felt he owed her more than that.

“You don’t have to call anyone else,” he said. “I’ll be responsible.”

“I see. Will your ex-wife agree to this?”

He couldn’t help smiling. “I suspect Josie will put up a bit of a fight, but in the end, she’s not going to have another choice. I can’t see her running home after all this time. The rest of her family have their own lives. No, this is for the best.”

“If you’re sure,” Dr. Sanders said. “I will be providing you with a list of instructions, including exercises she has to do every day. Also, I’m putting her back into physical therapy to help her build up her strength and her range of motion. She has to do these things or she will lose her ability to walk. It’s not going to be easy.”

Of course, he thought ironically. Why would this be any different from any other situation with Josie. “Easy?” he said. “Nothing is ever easy with her.”

He found Annie May on her knees in Josie’s empty kitchen, cutting into the wall and cursing to high heaven.

“We have to talk,” he said abruptly.

“Go away. I’m busy.”

“I know about Josie.”

Annie May set her small saw on the floor and turned to face him. Most of the crew had left for the day so they were alone, except for one guy patching a wall on the second floor. She stood up, all five-foot-nothing of her and planted her hands on her hips.

Her coveralls dwarfed her slight frame, and her red hair glowed like fire. She was intelligent, mouthy and hell on wheels when her temper got the better of her. But this time she was the one in the wrong.

“How is she?” Annie May asked.

“Fine.”

She shifted slightly. “You look mad. Guess you figured out the truth, huh?”

“Yes. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Thin red eyebrows drew together. “For one thing I just found out this morning when I saw her for the first time since she’d been back. For another thing, she’s your wife. Seems to me you would have recognized her.”

“She was my wife. We’ve been divorced for three years. And she looks completely different.”

“I knew who she was in a hot minute.”

He ignored that. “You took her side. You’ve known me nearly all my life, and yet when I showed up here today you didn’t even hint at the truth.” He hated that Annie May’s actions left him feeling betrayed. He’d known that she and Josie had been close, but Josie had walked away from all of them, including Annie May.

The older woman sighed. Her hands dropped to her sides. “I know. I felt real bad about that, too.”

“Not bad enough.”

She glared at him. “Don’t be talking to me that way. You might be nearly twice my size, but that don’t mean spit and we both know it.” Some of her tension eased as she shrugged. “Dammit, Del, what do you want from me? I did what I thought was best. When I saw Josie, I was happy she was back. I’d missed her. I always liked her, and I felt bad for her. You were so bent on making sure she knew everything that went wrong in the marriage was her fault.”

He couldn’t believe it. “How can you say that?”

Annie May’s gaze sharpened. “It takes two to tango. Always has. So the problems in the marriage were shared, at least in my mind. You don’t have to agree if you don’t want to.”

Her tone clearly stated that if he didn’t agree, he was a fool. Del didn’t think anything could shock him, but this did.

“It wasn’t me,” he protested, knowing even as he spoke that he was yelling into the wind. “She was the one who wouldn’t compromise. What about all the times I suggested we share responsibilities? From the cooking to the laundry, I was willing to do half. Sometimes more. But she wanted it all her way or not at all. What about all the times she wouldn’t admit she was in the wrong? It could never be both of us. In her mind I had to be the one to crawl or it didn’t count.”

Annie May dismissed him with a wave. “I’m not saying she was a saint. Josie’s many things, but perfect isn’t one of them. She’s as stubborn and difficult as you. But that’s my point. You’re just as pigheaded, only you never wanted to see that. It was always easier to talk about compromise and make all the fuss, knowing you got to be the martyr when she didn’t agree. Besides, why did you marry her?”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” He couldn’t keep up with the change in topic. Nothing made sense. He felt as if he’d stepped into a conversational house of mirrors where nothing was as it seemed and even the floor beneath his feet was constantly shifting.