Love On Anchor Island: An Anchor Island Novel

“For several reasons.”
Alex smiled. “Is one of them me?”
The doctor had an ego after all. “Maybe?”
Lifting her chin, he said, “Good,” and pressed his lips to hers.
“Alex,” snapped a deep voice from somewhere behind her, and Roxie jerked back. “Who is this?”
Pulling her against his side, he faced the man who looked strikingly like him and said, “This is Roxie Chandler. Roxie, meet my father, David Fielding.” Nodding toward the man standing beside his father, Alex said, “This is Jeremy Butler, the hospital administrator.”
She couldn’t have heard that first part right. “Your father?”
The older man assessed her from head to toe and did not look pleased but kept his thoughts to himself. “Administrator Butler has been gracious enough to give me a tour of the facility.”
The tour guide, whom Roxie had never met, didn’t look much older than Alex. Though his smile seemed genuine, she would have recognized him as the man in charge even without an introduction. With broad shoulders, towering height, and an impeccably tailored suit, Jeremy Butler exuded power.
“I appreciate Jeremy taking the time to show you around.” Alex’s tone said quite the opposite. He seemed more annoyed that his father had bothered the higher up.
“I was happy to do it,” Mr. Butler said.
“Between seeing the hospital for myself,” Alex’s father continued, as if the two men hadn’t spoken, “and witnessing your work today, I see now that you aren’t wasting your talents, and I approve of you continuing here on the island.”
Nice of him to grant his approval. Not that Alex needed it.
“Have you ever told him that you’re proud of him?” she asked, unable to keep her mouth shut. “Or ever once stopped to think that he’s happy where he is and that should be enough for you?”
“Roxie—”
“No,” she said, stepping closer to the older man. “Alex isn’t just a good doctor. He’s a good person. The people on this island care about him not because of his name or because he has some flashy office, but because he cares about them. Would your patients say the same about you?”
Jeremy Butler cleared his throat and sent Roxie a supportive smile, while Alex sighed behind her.
“Young lady,” the elder Fielding said, “I don’t know where my son found you, nor do I care. This is a family matter, and therefore, none of your business.”
“Wrong,” Alex said. “Roxie is part of this family. Or will be eventually.”
“You can’t be serious.” He looked her up and down once again. “Look at her.”
“Every chance I get,” he drawled.
Sliding on the heavy coat he’d been carrying, Alex’s father said, “I can see that I’m wasting my time.”
“Ya think?” she snorted, and Alex squeezed her hand.
“I appreciate your help today,” he said to his father. “But Roxie isn’t saying anything I haven’t been saying for years. You chose your path. Let me choose mine.”
“I never thought a son of mine would settle for this.” The flippant wave to his surroundings only proved that the man could not be reasoned with.
“I would only be settling if I went back to Philadelphia,” Alex countered. “If you spend a little time here, you’ll see that for yourself.”
Roxie couldn’t blame him for trying to make peace. Not when she longed so badly for the same with her own family.
“I’ll be driving back to Norfolk tonight. I have a flight out in the morning.”
When Alex’s face fell, Roxie wanted to punch the old man. She didn’t. But she really wanted to.
“That’s your decision,” he said, offering his father the dignity he would likely never get in return.
Without so much as a handshake, Alex’s father walked away from the son he didn’t deserve.
The silent witness to it all said, “He’ll come around someday.”
Alex shook his head. “Probably not. Thank you again for showing him around. At least now he should leave me alone for a while.”
Jeremy slid his hands into his pants pockets and smiled, revealing a set of deep dimples. If Roxie hadn’t already picked her man, she’d have been much more devastated by the view, which was damn fine.
“If it helps, he spoke highly about you during our tour. He clearly doesn’t know how to say it, but he is proud of you.”
“I appreciate you saying so. Now I promised this woman some food.” Alex kissed the back of Roxie’s hand. “Time to deliver.”
They bid Jeremy goodbye and continued on in silence. At the cafeteria entrance, Alex placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Thank you for that.”
Looking up, she said, “You aren’t mad?”
“No, but given the chance, I’ll return the favor someday.”
Rising on her tiptoes, she gave him a quick kiss. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

Epilogue
The sun was up, Roxie was happy, and the population of Anchor Island seemed to double overnight. Today, she was helping at the Dempsey’s Bar & Grill spring festival stand, and the conch fritters were flying. She could barely keep up with the demand, and all she had to do was add the dipping sauce and hand them over. Nick was doing the real work, dancing between the grill and the fryers.
“Three more fritters and one smothered,” Roxie called, while taking a customer’s payment. The smothered was Dempsey’s cheeseburger, so called because it was topped with grilled mushrooms and onions. “Step to the right, and your food will be ready in a couple of minutes.”
“Good morning,” said Will, stepping up to the table. “How is my newest employee today?”
Once the excitement of the new babies had ebbed, Roxie had done an impromptu interview with Will, who had hired her on the spot. She’d already been assigned to an event and had spent the last five days learning a long list of local vendors for everything from catering to photography.
“I’m good. Can I interest you in a fritter?”
Roxie’s new boss rubbed her stomach. “I made the mistake of hitting Opal’s stand first. The mini cupcakes are awesome, but I had way too many of them.”
If the cupcakes were anything like the cheesecake, Roxie didn’t blame