Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everything sucked.

Zoe Hart wasn’t sure when her life had taken such a turn, but there was no doubt in her mind that she had hit rock bottom. Even though he was in the same profession she was herself, her boyfriend got tired of her only ever talking about medicine and surgery and dumped her. Her mother was driving her crazy all of the time. All of her friends were getting engaged or married or having kids already. To top it all off, her cardiology residency was over and she had no fellowship residency to move onto.

Yes, everything sucked, absolutely everything.

Walking into the apartment, Zoe slammed the door, dropped her bag on the floor, headed straight for the couch and face-planted onto it. She needed something, anything, to go right for her. What she really needed was a sign, some direction, a way forward.

Zoe wasn’t sure if she was wishing or praying or just thinking out loud, but when she suddenly lifted her head, her eyes caught on the unread mail piled on the coffee table, and she was sure somebody, somewhere, somehow had been listening.

“Harley Wilkes.”

Sitting up, Zoe reached for the latest postcard on the table, turning it over in her hands, reading the message from the strange Southern gentleman she had met only once in-person. He had shown up at her med school graduation, congratulated her on an excellent speech, and offered her a job. Of course, Zoe said no. She hadn’t wanted to be a GP in a small town in Alabama. She was going to be a surgeon, just like her father. The same father who she had barely heard from in more years than she cared to count.

The postcard in her hands urged her to come visit Bluebell. To finally accept the job Harley Wilkes had offered her repeatedly over the last three years. Zoe had no idea why he wanted her at his practice, except for the fact she was top of her class at Johns Hopkins and made a decent commencement speech, of course.

Flipping the card over again, Zoe stared hard at the picture on the other side. A pretty, white, flower-covered gazebo in the middle of an immaculate town square, surrounded by cute little buildings and smiling townsfolk. It was like a fairytale, not even real.

“Reality isn’t really my friend right now,” Zoe muttered to herself, making a quick decision.

Within a minute, she was on her feet, headed for her bedroom, already trying to figure out what in her closet would actually be suitable to wear in Alabama. The kind of heat they had in the south was far away from anything New York ever experienced, but she could probably make it work. A few things she bought for the gym, or for beach vacations, plus she could probably buy other things when she got there.

Zoe’s hands stilled in the next drawer of her dresser. When she got there. To Bluebell, Alabama. Was she really going to do this? Take a job more than a thousand miles away in a town she knew next to nothing about, with a man she only met once in passing?

“Why not?” she asked herself, beginning to shove clothes, toiletries, and other essentials into her suitcase. “What do I really have to lose anyway?”

“Dr Wilkes? You left your cell behind in reception again.”

“Thank you, Emmeline.” He smiled and took the phone from her. “I swear, if I didn’t have to have this for emergencies...”

“I know, but we all have to get used to these new-fangled things,” she sympathised. “Like you said, for emergencies. Oh, you had one incoming call, but since it wasn’t a local number and couldn’t be one of those emergencies, I let it go to voicemail.”

“Voicemail.” Harley nodded, though he didn’t entirely understand.

“You want me to get to the message for you?” Emmeline asked kindly, holding out her hand to take back the phone.

“Sometimes, I don’t honestly know what I’d do without you,” he said, letting her help.

Harley knew he told her that a lot, to the point where perhaps she didn’t pay any mind anymore, but it was as true as the first time. He looked to Emmeline as almost a daughter, even though she had parents of her own, of course.

Shaking his head, he tried not to think too much about what might have been, if he had his own children around about the place...

“Here you go. Message is about to start,” said Emmeline then, encouraging Harley to take the phone and put it to his ear.

He thanked her quickly, retreating into his office as she answered a call of her own out at the desk. In his ear, a robotic voice explained there was one new message, from a number he didn’t know at all, and then, a voice he hadn’t heard more than once in his whole life spoke into his ear.

“Hey, Harley Wilkes. This is Zoe. Dr Zoe Hart. The one you keep sending all the postcards to? Anyway, you got your wish. I’m headed down to Bluebell, Alabama to help out at your practice. I don’t know how long for, or if you’re even serious about this job, but I guess we’ll find out. See you soon.”

It was only when the message was over, the robotic voice returning to give him options he neither heard nor needed, that Harley realised his mouth had dropped wide open.

“Dr Wilkes, I’m sorry, but there’s a... Well, what in the world is wrong?”

Emmeline looked genuinely panic-stricken when Harley glanced up at her then, and he felt truly awful for scaring her.

“My daughter,” he forced out around the lump in his throat. “My Zoe, she’s... she’s coming here,” he explained, gesturing with the phone, in the hopes that explained it all.

His rear hit the desk chair rather harder than he intended, as he sat down fast before his legs gave out. Harley was only vaguely aware of Emmeline closing the office door and rushing to his side, until suddenly she had taken a hold of his hand.

“Harley, are you sure that’s what she said? She’s comin’ here?”

“She did. She is,” he said, nodding his head, suddenly realising his cheeks ached from the wide smile set across them. “Oh, Emmeline, after all this time.”

“You did say if we kept on sending those postcards, eventually, she would come on down here. Guess you know her better than you thought you did.”

Harley would’ve argued that point if he had the voice or the strength to do it. In that moment, he had neither. All he could think about was Zoe, his own precious daughter, coming to live in his town, work at his practice. Twenty-eight long years of mostly keeping his distance, and finally, she would be in his life.

“I have so much to do,” he realised, moving to get up again. “She’ll need some place to stay, my guest room is in a bit of a state, but-”

“Oh, Harley, I wouldn’t... I mean, your guest room?” Emmeline asked awkwardly. “I’m not certain any young woman is going to just move into the home of a man she’s barely met. Even if you told her right away who you really are to her...” she trailed off.

“You’re right, of course.” He agreed without pause, knowing that Emmeline almost always was right about these things. “The Whippoorwill might work, but that would be so temporary. I’d much prefer for her to feel she belongs. I wonder if Mayor Hayes would be so kind as to give her a place on the plantation?”

“Now, that is a wonderful idea.” Emeline smiled widely. “I can give him a call, see what he has to say on the matter.”

“I would be obliged. Thank you, Emmeline.” Harley smiled, squeezing her hand. “My daughter’s coming to Bluebell,” he said out loud, marvelling at the fact all over again. “I can hardly believe it.”

“I can’t believe this!”

The trip from New York to Alabama had not been the smoothest so far, and now, after a bad plane trip, a lot of waiting around, and a smelly bus ride, it seemed Zoe was about to have a long walk on her hands too.

“Hey, you Zoe Hart?” a voice called.

When she turned to see who was there, catching sight of a guy in denim and plaid, leaning against a truck on the opposite side of the road, her mouth dropped open of its own accord. All thoughts of complaining flew right out of her head too.

He looked like something from the cover of a romance novel. The kind where the sweet innocent virgin girl got swept off her feet by the rugged cowboy type, and a lot of very hot sex scenes followed. Zoe shook her head in hopes of clearing those thoughts away fast. She also prayed that any colour in her cheeks could be blamed on the heat rather than embarrassment for her brief moment of fantasy.

“I got the right girl?” he asked, coming over to her, pulling his aviators down his nose to stare into her face.

“Uh, yeah. Yes. I mean, I’m Zoe Hart,” she agreed, nodding her head. “Dr Zoe Hart, actually.”

“Then I have got the right girl.” The stranger grinned at her, replacing his sunglasses and reaching to pick up her case. “Oh, I’m Wade Kinsella,” he explained, offering his free hand for her to shake, which she did. “Ol’ Harley wanted to be here himself, but there was one o’ those pesky medical emergencies goin’ on. He called up Lavon, but he had mayoral business of his own to deal with, so yours truly got pulled into the breach.”

Zoe was listening, she really was, but it was also very easy to be distracted by Wade’s muscles straining under his shirt, as he effortlessly put her luggage into the back of the truck, then opened up the passenger door, ushering her inside.

“You feelin’ okay there, doc?” he checked, clearly wondering why she was staring dumbly and not moving at all.

“I’m fine,” she said fast, shaking her head one more time, as she finally got herself in motion and slipped into the passenger seat.

Wade whistled low. “Wow. Now, those are some serious shoes you have there. Not so sure how easy you’ll go on, walking around Bluebell in those. We don’t exactly have a lot of smooth, flat sidewalks like you’re prob’ly used to in the big city.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” said Zoe, smiling politely, watching as Wade closed the door and then hurried around to get into the driver’s side. “Thank you for coming to pick me up,” she said, just as soon as they were both strapped in safely. “I take it you work for the mayor?”

“Kind of.” Wade shrugged, as he put the truck into gear. “See, I live on the plantation, which the mayor owns, and in return for doin’ maintenance work and all, I don’t pay so much rent for my place. ‘Course another perk to my living situation will be the new neighbour.”

“New neighbour?” Zoe felt bemused, especially given the strange look on his face.

“Well, you, doc.” Wade laughed, clearly amused by the fact she didn’t seem to know what was going on. “I’m guessin’ Harley never got the chance to tell you about the livin’ arrangements he made for you yet, but the fact is, he squared things with Lavon for you to come live up at the carriagehouse. Me myself, I got the gatehouse, right across the pond from your place. Like I said, we’re gonna be neighbours.”

He looked very happy about that, which Zoe chose to take as flattering, rather than anything else. She wondered if maybe she ought to be more freaked out about a stranger looking at her with such interest, but Wade didn’t really have a dangerous vibe about him, just a friendly one. Not to mention hot. So. Very. Hot. If anything was going to outdo the weather in that sense, it was going to be Wade Kinsella.

“Um, so, this town, Bluebell, it’s small, right?”

“Pretty small.” Wade nodded in agreement. “But prob’ly just about the friendliest place you’ve ever been in your life. Means most folks are in your business more often than not, but most times they mean well enough, even when they’re driving you crazy.”

“Sounds... interesting,” she said, glancing out of the window, as finally some buildings and more trees came into view.

Right on cue, they passed a sign indicating they had arrived, and Wade grinned across at her, as they headed for the town square.

“Welcome to Bluebell, Dr Zoe Hart.”

She smiled right back, so far having no regrets at all about her decision to be there.

Chapter Text

It was going to be a culture shock, she had been well aware of that before she ever left New York. She may not have put too much thought into her decision, but even Zoe knew that Alabama was going to be hot and humid, and that small town living would be far and away from her experiences in New York City.

Obviously, she had heard that people from such places as Bluebell were generally friendly and welcoming, and Wade had proven both points, first by coming to pick her up, and second, by confirming the town’s friendly nature in their initial conversation. Still, she hadn’t quite been ready for the overly exuberant welcome she received. Honestly, she had never been hugged so much in her whole life!

“It is such a pleasure to have you here, Zoe. After all this time.”

Harley Wilkes couldn’t seem to stop grinning at her, which she probably ought to find unnerving, yet it kind of seemed sweet, in a way. He had been one of the first people to hug her, followed by the receptionist at the practice, Mrs Hattenbarger, and then, Lemon Breeland, daughter of Dr Wilkes fellow medical expert, Dr Brick Breeland, followed by her cousin, Betty Breeland, and their friend, Annabeth Nass. All in all, Zoe was feeling pretty overwhelmed by all the love she was getting from so many strangers, but she couldn’t exactly say it was a bad thing.

“I’m sure if you’d known what a welcome you were gonna get, you’d’ve got here a might sooner,” said Mrs Hattenbarger with a wide smile.

“Maybe.” Zoe nodded. “It’s kind of a lot, you know? This place is very different to what I’m used to.”

“I don’t doubt that, but we’re pleased as punch to have you here, as if you couldn’t tell.”

“Why, yes, of course.” Lemon smiled just as wide. “And you know you shouldn’t pay too much mind to my daddy and his grumpy mood. He’ll get used to you real fast, and when he realises how much more free time he’ll have for his fishin’ and huntin’ now that you’re here to take on shifts for him, I just know he’ll be so happy you decided to come join the team.”

“Right.” Zoe nodded some more, a little uncertain about what else she should do.

It was very strange, standing between two grown women in dresses that were first in fashion God knows how many decades (or maybe centuries?) before, being told what an asset to the town she would be. Honestly, she would prefer to transition into this whole situation a little more slowly. Maybe get to that plantation she was told she could stay at, unpack her bags, get in a little yoga or something.

Unfortunately, she had to wait on Wade for that. He got a call from somebody at a place called the Rammer Jammer and apparently it was an emergency. Since Dr Wilkes confirmed to Zoe that the Rammer Jammer was a bar, Zoe couldn’t quite understand what sort of emergency situation they could possibly be having at one in the afternoon, but she chose not to ask. It seemed safer somehow.

Wade promised to be back at the practice just as fast as he could, and in the meantime, Zoe had hoped she would just hang out with Dr Wilkes and learn more about the kinds of cases she might be dealing with in Bluebell. See first-hand what it was like to be part of a GP practice. Instead, she found that he had rounds to go out on, something he was already late getting to after the earlier emergency. That left Zoe alone with four women, three of whom all seemed to want to stare at her like something under a microscope.

“Uh, ladies, don’t you have a lot of practicing to do for the Founders Day Parade?” Mrs Hattenbarger said then. “Far as I know, all that fancy dancin’ doesn’t learn itself while you just stand here lookin’.”

“Well, of course, we do have a lot to cover yet,” Lemon agreed, clapping her hands just so. “Come on now, ladies. Back to our work. I’m sure we’ll get properly acquainted later on, after you settle in some,” she said to Zoe, before literally flouncing out of the door, her two accomplices following on behind her.

When they were finally gone, Zoe let out a long breath she hardly knew she had been holding. “Wow. They are intense! Seriously, are the Belles related to the Mafia?”

“That is one school o’ thought,” the older woman considered. “Although I’m fair certain those girls are a hundred times scarier than anythin’ or anyone I ever saw in those Godfather movies.”

Zoe laughed at that. Mrs Hattenbarger seemed a lot more straightforward than the Belles, that was for sure. Most likely she knew a lot about what went on, both in the practice and around town, and would be an invaluable source of information for Zoe.

“Have you lived here all your life?” she asked curiously.

“You know it,” she said, smiling across at her. “Most folks around here are Bluebell born and raised, or at least from someplace real close by anyway. ‘Course, the Wilkes family goes back more generations than most,” she explained, pointing to some pictures on the wall. “There are a whole lot more in Dr Wilkes own office, but most of these are relations of his. Not all doctors, obviously, but real pillar of the community types, for the most part.”

“That’s nice.” Zoe nodded and smiled, taking a moment to cast an eye over the pictures, though she wasn’t sure why it should matter to her that a work colleagues family went back a long way in the town. “None of these are Dr Breeland’s relatives?”

“No, they are not,” he answered for himself, stepping out of his office and startling Zoe just a little bit. “I am a first-generation doctor in my family, much as I suspect you are.”

“Actually, I’m second gen,” Zoe explained. “My father is Dr Ethan Hart, renowned cardio-thoracic surgeon. You’ve probably heard of him.”

“Why would I have?” asked Brick, staring blankly at her.

Zoe might have explained, if she knew where to begin, but never got the chance. The door opened and a harried mother came in with her daughter, desperate for help since poor little Lavinia simply could not stop itching. Within a second, mother and child were in Dr Breeland’s office and the door was closed behind them.

“Bet you ten dollars she changed her laundry detergent recently.”

Mrs Hattenbarger glanced up from her paperwork and frowned. “I don’t know how they do it in New York, but down here in Bluebell, we don’t bet on the patient’s ailments for sport.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean...” Zoe began to say, but the phone ringing took the receptionist’s full attention and she lost her chance. “Sorry,” she muttered anyway, turning herself around and heading down the hallway.

She hesitated a little at Dr Wilkes’ door, then finally decided to let herself in to wait there. After all, Mrs Hattenbarger had more or less invited her to look at the pictures on the walls, and it wasn’t as if she would be unprofessional and snoop into anything private and confidential.

Wandering around the room, Zoe’s eyes scanned row after row of largely black-and-white photographs. Men and women, young and old, plus kids besides. A couple of group shots obviously contained Harley Wilkes himself, when he was younger, but obviously, nobody else was at all familiar. There was no reason why they should be. Zoe had made a whole half-circle and was over by the desk, about to reach for a framed snap in the corner, when someone rapped loudly on the door she had left ajar.

“Well, hey, there, Zoe Hart,” said Wade, smiling widely at her when she glanced up. “Sorry that took so long, but you about ready to get outta here now?”

“Very ready,” she confirmed, nodding her head. “I’ve never actually been on a plantation before.”

“Trust me, doc. You’re gonna love it, and the mayor is all ready and waitin’ to welcome ya too. Tell me somethin’, you watch much football?”

“Some. Why?” Zoe asked, as Wade led the way out to his truck.

“I’m guessin’ nobody mentioned the mayor’s name to you yet...”

“No way! Lavon Hayes, the linebacker!”

She could hardly believe her eyes when she finally came face-to-face with the Bluebell town mayor. All the way home, Wade had been so secretive and smirky when it came to his identity. Now Zoe understood why. Of course, she couldn’t help but enthuse about Lavon’s amazing career and, naturally, he was more than okay with that, especially when she told him he was robbed in ‘06.

“I think I’m gonna like havin’ you livin’ alongside us, Dr Hart.”

“Zoe, please,” she insisted, “and I am more than happy to live here. Seriously, it’s incredible. I didn’t even know places like this existed anymore.”

“All kinds of things down here you probl’y never considered before. We a long way from New York City, that’s for sure.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Zoe nodded. “But I needed a change and Dr Wilkes has been trying to get me to come join his practice for quite a while. I’m not exactly sure why, especially since I just met his partner. Does a small town like this really need three doctors?”

“I figure the womenfolk will be more than glad to have you, doc,” said Wade, taking her bags out of the truck bed for her. “Which is not to say the rest of us ain’t, but Harley is always sayin’ a female doctor would be a useful thing to have around, you know, for the ladies more personal problems.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Zoe shrugged. “Well, whatever I’m needed for, I’m here, at least for now.”

“And like I said, we’re happy to have you,” Lavon confirmed with a smile. “Now, if you wanna come this way, Miss Zoe, we will show you to the carriagehouse.”

She couldn’t help but laugh when he offered her is arm like an old-fashioned gentleman, Wade following behind with the bags. Seriously, she felt as if she were in some strange Alabama version of Downton Abbey, but Zoe didn’t really mind at all. The views were pretty, the sun was warm but not stifling hot, with the trees to offer some dappled shade, and so far, she hadn’t met a person she didn’t like. Well, maybe Dr Breeland was a little prickly, but Zoe thought she probably would be too, in his position, with another doctor being brought in to his workplace without his full knowledge or approval.

“Now, there’s no kitchen in the carriagehouse, nor the gatehouse either, which is why you’re welcome to come up to the house for breakfast or any other food-related needs, just the same as Wade here.”

“Sounds good.” Zoe smiled up at Lavon. “Although I’m guessing Bluebellians aren’t big on bagels or anything.”

“That is true,” Lavon considered, “but Agnes at the Butterstick bakery makes a mean buttermilk muffin, if that’s-”

“Oh my God!” Zoe hadn’t meant to interrupt, but when she saw the carriagehouse, she just couldn’t help it. “This is my place?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m sorry, it is a little, well, tumble-down here and there. Needs a little more airing out than it’s had, maybe even a couple of repairs...”

“I can get right on that, doc, no problem,” Wade assured her, tipping her a wink as he walked by her and up the porch steps, carefully missing out the obviously broken stair, as he took her bags inside.

“I didn’t expect it to be this big,” said Zoe, staring wide-eyed at the building, “or in such a great spot,” she added, turning to look at the pond with the water making sparkles across the surface, then the trees swaying all around. “I’m really not in New York anymore.”

She expected to be saying that like it was a bad thing, but honestly, Zoe kind of felt like she had been scooped up and dropped in an Oz-like land in the best way. Sure, there was no place like home, but Zoe wasn’t sure she would feel like clicking her heels any time soon if this was how she would be living. When Wade came back out of the house, all muscles and smiles again, she had one more reason on her list to be glad she decided to come on down to Alabama.

“So, we’ll leave you alone now, let you get settled in,” Lavon was saying to her then, “but if you need anythin’ at all, just holler. I’ll be back at the house and Wade is right across the way there,” he said, pointing over to the gatehouse.

Zoe thanked him and they gave each other a wave as Lavon finally walked away. When she turned around, she realised Wade had yet to go and was actually very close behind her. They ended up as much chest-to-chest as two people of such varying heights could be. Zoe tipped her head back to look up at him, then shuffled back a small step or two.

“Sorry, doc, I was just thinkin’, I reckon we made out better in this deal with New York.”

“Deal?” Zoe shook her head, feeling confused by the statement and, once again, a little bowled over by how incredibly good-looking this guy was. “Um, what deal?”

“It’s not so much a deal, I guess. More like a coincidence, if you want the truth,” Wade explained. “See a while back, one of our own went ahead and moved up to New York. Name of George Tucker. He wanted to be a bigger time lawyer than he could be here in our small town.”

“Oh. Well, good for him.” Zoe nodded.

“That’s what I said, even though I guess I miss havin’ the guy around sometimes, us two havin’ come up together and all. Still, like I said, startin’ to think we got the better end of the swap or whatever.”

The way his eyes moved down her body and back up again ought to have made Zoe uncomfortable. She should want to yell at him for being a pig or slap his face or something, but she didn’t. Feminist tendencies were all very well in certain circumstances. Sometimes, Zoe had to admit it was just nice to be appreciated, even if it was for her looks more than any skills or intelligence or winning personality traits she had.

“I should probably go inside, unpack my bags and everything,” she said then, pointing up the stairs towards the front door of the carriagehouse.

“Sounds like a plan, Zoe Hart. Like Lavon said, you find you need anythin’, just holler,” he reminded her, turning to walk away at last.

Zoe picked her way up the steps to the porch, then turned to look back when she heard Wade call her name from halfway around the pond.

“Before I forget, you and me, we share a generator, and the fuse-box, it’s kinda temperamental sometimes. I’m just sayin’, if I have the TV on and you plug in your curling iron or whatever, might be some sparks.”

“I’ll try to remember that,” Zoe yelled back, nodding her head to make the point clear.

Wade raised his hand in a salute-like wave and then continued on to the gatehouse, without looking back that time. Zoe sighed as she watched his back disappear from sight, then went inside herself.

“There might be some sparks,” she said to herself as she went, a grin on her face a mile wide, at least until she got into the carriagehouse proper. “Oh,” she said, looking at the peeling paint, taking a breath of stale air, wondering if she even dare plug anything in at all at the sketchy-looking sockets.

Maybe not everything in Bluebell was quite as welcoming and wonderful as she thought!

Chapter Text

“Good morning.” Lavon’s smile was brighter than the early morning sun. “Oh, not good morning?” he checked, clearly noting that Zoe’s own expression was much less bright.

“What’s up, doc?” asked Wade, leaning back against the kitchen counter.

Even his smile and good looks were not going to pick her up this morning, most especially if he continued with the poor jokes.

“I didn’t sleep,” said Zoe groggily, putting all the effort she could muster into pulling herself up onto a stool. “Or maybe I did, for a little bit, here and there, but it was just so quiet. So quiet. I mean, I could actually hear the bugs buzzing, there was just no other sound, and let me tell you, that is not a noise I like to hear. Not comforting,” she grumbled, scratching at her neck that was starting to feel sore. “Pretty sure one of those bugs bit me too.”

“Yeah, now that I think on it, there are a couple o’ holes in that screen door,” said Lavon, looking back at Wade when Zoe looked at him.

“Shoot, I knew there was somethin’ I forgot to do,” her fellow tenant squirmed some in the saying of it. “Sorry, doc. I’ll get that patched up before tonight, I swear.”

“Thank you.” Zoe nodded, reaching for the coffee pot and pouring herself a large mugful. “How do you people sleep in all this quiet anyway?”

“Guess we’re just used to it.” Lavon shrugged. “Truth be told, I had my problems sleeping with all the noise of the cities I found myself in when I was playing ball. ‘Course that’s an easier fix, since ear plugs take all o’ that noise away. If you’re actually looking for a racket to keep you awake...” he said uncertainly.

“Not a racket.” Zoe shook her head. “It’s just... I don’t know.” She sighed, taking a long drink from her coffee. “I guess I just have to get used to the peace and tranquillity thing,” she considered. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be such a Debbie Downer. I’m just never at my best when I don’t have enough sleep, and after all the travelling yesterday...”

“Nobody is gonna be at their best after all that,” Lavon sympathised. “But like Wade said, he’ll get your screen fixed. You already found the coffee, and I can also offer you eggs and bacon, or pancakes, or pastries. We got the full works here at the mayoral plantation,” he said, grinning wide.

It was almost impossible not to return the expression, Zoe found, especially when she realised she was getting the same from Wade. They really were nice guys who just wanted to help her out. She should try harder to be nice back, she supposed, no matter how grumpy and tired she felt.

“Thank you,” she said, taking a deep breath and letting it out slow. “Really, I do appreciate the hospitality.”

“Now, that is somethin’ you’ll get a boatload of in Bluebell, doc,” Wade told her without pause. “’Course, I figure you saw that yesterday, what with the warm welcome you got over at the practice. You know, Lemon Breeland ain’t exactly friendly to just anybody.”

“Lemon, she was the one dressed like a stick of butter, right?” Zoe tried to recall.

Wade sniggered into his own coffee cup. “Never heard it said like that before, but I guess the description fits. She does like a frou-frou dress more than most, and the Belles get real into that whole thing, most especially when Founder’s Day is right around the corner.”

“Hey, we all love to celebrate Founder’s Day,” said Lavon with a look. “Real important time for us folks in Bluebell. You know, it is 308 years this year since Cyrus Lavinius Jeremiah Jones founded our town, and for more than a hundred of those years, we have been celebratin’ with a parade. Now, you arrived here right on time to be a part of this event, Zoe Hart. A week from Saturday, you’re really gonna see Bluebell in all her glory.”

He looked so happy about it, even Zoe managed to raise a genuine smile in response. She had to suppose all mayors were proud of the town they presided over, but there was no way she could imagine anyone more proud than Lavon Hayes, in that moment. Honestly, even when he won all those super bowls and pro bowls, she wasn’t sure he was as proud as now.

“Wow. Well, hopefully, I’ll have settled in and had a little more sleep before then, so that Bluebell can see me in all my glory too... or not, because I didn’t mean that... Shut up!” she told Wade, who was evidently sniggering at her verbal misstep.

“I’m sorry, doc,” he told her, raising his free hand in mock surrender. “Just can’t help the picture you put into my head is all,” he told her, giving her a look that she suspected had melted many a woman’s resistance in the past. “Anyhow, I should get going. Work to do. Screen doors to fix,” he said, giving her a wink, before he downed the last of his coffee, dumped his cup, and after giving Lavon a high five, left the kitchen in a flash.

“He seemed a lot more attractive yesterday.” Zoe hadn’t realised she said it out loud, until she glanced back to Lavon and caught him staring wide-eyed at her. “I’m not taking it back,” she insisted, hoping she wasn’t blushing as she said it. “I’m not blind, and he is charming, or he was yesterday anyway.”

“Wade Kinsella is absolutely one of the most charming guys you’re likely to meet around here.” Lavon nodded knowingly. “He has no problems at all with the ladies, that is for dang sure.”

“Uh-huh.” Zoe nodded too, understanding very well what the mayor meant by that. “I’m guessing the gatehouse door is the revolving kind.”

“I don’t judge,” was all Lavon said in reply, shrugging his broad shoulders.

“Me either.” Zoe did the same, though she had to admit, she was a little disappointed to know that Wade’s flirtatious behaviour was just a way of life for him and in no way due to his specific attraction to her. “So, you said something about breakfast?” she checked with Lavon then. “I should probably eat before I head into town and formally meet with Dr Wilkes. He was all kinds of busy yesterday.”

“It can be that way around here. Some days, nothing seems to happen at all. Other days, it’s everything all at once.”

Zoe didn’t have the heart to tell him that a small town like Bluebell, Alabama wouldn’t know the first thing about ‘everything all at once.’ All her time in the ER at a busy New York hospital, that really was the epitome of ‘everything all at once,’ and then some. She couldn’t imagine anything like that craziness happening in the place she was now, but then, maybe that was a good thing.

As much as the peace and quiet hadn’t thrilled her when she was trying to sleep - her ears constantly straining for the usual hustle and bustle of people and car engines, taxi cab horns and sirens - Zoe supposed it might be nice not to be working flat-out every second. It might lead to her learning to enjoy some downtime and really embrace the art of relaxation. How could it be a bad thing to live without drama in her life for a while?

“Oh, come on, Harley, you can’t just not tell her!

“I do plan on telling her, it’s just... It has to be when the time is right.”

It was such a ridiculous thing to say and he knew it. Harley was well aware of it, long before he saw the look on Emmeline’s face. That being so, he was still sticking with it, because he didn’t know what else to say or do. As much as he wanted Zoe to come work with him at his practice in Bluebell, as thrilled as he was to finally have her there, he had not the first clue how to break the news to her that she was his daughter.

“The poor girl doesn’t even know she has a real father,” he said in a low voice, mindful of being overheard by anyone. “What I mean to say is, as far as she’s concerned, Dr Ethan Hart is her daddy. There’s never been any question about that, as far as I know. How do you think she is going to feel, after uprooting her whole life to come to a strange new place, far removed from what she is used to, to then have the shocking news dropped on her that her father isn’t her father at all? That I am-”

“Dr Wilkes?”

He stopped short at the sound of a voice calling for him, a voice he recognised so well, even though he had heard it so little in his life up to now.

“Zoe,” he whispered, shaking his head at Emmeline. “You know I have to give it time. Please, Emmeline, don’t say a word.”

“You know that I would never do that to you,” she insisted, just as softly, heaving a sigh right after, “but you also know, as well as I do, that lying to her for too long will only make matters worse. By all means, give her a day or two to acclimatise to this place, but then...”

“Then I have to tell her. I know,” he agreed, nodding his head.

“Um, hello?” Zoe called once more, clearly concerned and confused at not getting a response before.

Harley realised he and Emmeline had taken simultaneous deep breaths, before suddenly his receptionist went right for the door and flung it open, the usual bright smile on her face, as she greeted Zoe.

“Good mornin’, Dr Hart. Dr Wilkes is right there in his office, if you wanna go on through now.”

“Oh, thank you,” Harley heard Zoe say, before she finally appeared before him. “Hey, Dr Wilkes.”

“Good morning, Zoe Hart. You don’t mind my calling you Zoe, I hope?”

“Oh, um, no, I guess not. It is my name and we are colleagues,” she said, looking just a little nervous somehow. “Would you prefer that I call you Harley?”

“Well, yes, I believe I would, if that wouldn’t make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine.” She nodded, eyes moving everywhere around the room.

It all had to be so strange for her, Harley was well aware. Bluebell was so far removed from New York and all that she was used to. He really couldn’t just drop the news of her true parentage on her out of the blue, on top of everything else. It would be horribly unfair, just as he had explained to Emmeline.

Of course, part of the reason he didn’t want to share the truth too soon was selfish. He feared that Zoe might be so upset, she would up and leave before he hardly had a chance to get to know her.

“So, we didn’t get much of a chance to talk yesterday,” she said then, practically bouncing in place. “I brought my transcripts for you to look over. I mean, I know it was sort of implied that I just had a job here, but I still think you should look-”

“I’ll take a look, if it would make you feel better,” Harley assured her, taking the papers she proffered at him, “but as you say, I already offered you a job. As far as I’m concerned, just so long as we get along and you feel comfortable with the work on offer, the job is yours.”

At that, she smiled. “That’s great, only... Well, it does seem as if you and your business partner have things pretty well covered. Two exam rooms, two doctors, and not exactly a huge number of people in town that need medical attention.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Harley insisted, trying not to sound too overly enthusiastic. “We have our share of emergencies and such, and there’s always the general day-to-day issues that folks just need a doctor for. Now, as far as there being two doctors here, I can’t say that’s not true, but the thing of it is... well, as you can probably tell to look at me, I’m not the youngest of men, and though Brick is somewhat my junior, he’s not exactly a spring chicken anymore either. Times are that we could both use a day’s rest, but there’s just nobody to hold down the fort. What this practice needs is young blood. That would be where you come in, Zoe.”

He had been practising these speeches off and on for years now, ever since he first offered her a job on the day of her graduation from Johns Hopkins. Even so, the words sounded a little off to Harley’s ears, a little over-rehearsed perhaps. He only hoped that Zoe didn’t take them that way, because for all the other reasons he might want her to come live in Bluebell, those he gave were still true as any others.

“I can’t say that what you’re saying doesn’t make sense,” she said, nodding her head.

He gestured for her to sit then, as he did the same, and they looked at each other across his desk.

“Your partner, Brick, he’s okay with me being here too? I mean, he seemed a little surprised when I showed up yesterday...”

“We’ve discussed bringing in another pair of hands before,” Harley assured her. “Now, I admit, he may have been under the impression that he could perhaps offer a job to his nephew, just as soon as he was done with med school himself, but I have a hunch that this is the last place Jonah Breeland would want to be working. He is what you might call a free spirit,” Harley explained as best he could. “Not entirely made for small town living, now he’s had a taste of the world beyond Bluebell’s bounds.”

“I see.” Zoe nodded. “But you think I’ll fit in here? A woman born and raised in New York City?”

She almost had him with that one, but once again, Harley had been practising his speeches for Zoe for quite a while. He was pretty sure, at this point, he had an answer for almost anything she could ever say, within reason, of course.

“I think perhaps a change of pace is good for everyone, at some point or other in their lives,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Jonah was used to small town living, so the big city was what he needed. Now, you have come from all the hustle and bustle, the hospitals and such, where patients are in and out, without you hardly knowing who they are. I thought perhaps you might enjoy the experience of a smaller, quieter place. The chance to really get to know your patients, develop relationships and rapport and... and perhaps I was wrong.”

He watched Zoe as her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, without any sound coming out. She looked a little confused, perhaps a little awkward. Harley wasn’t sure how to take her expression at all, or what to expect when she finally did speak.

“I’m sorry, it’s just so funny, what you were saying about developing relationships with patients. Comments have been made about my bedside manner before, or more specifically, my lack of one,” she said, wincing as she gave up the information on what may yet prove to be one of just a few faults in her work to-date. “I guess a small town might be a good place to learn to listen to people, take an interest in more than just whatever their symptoms are.”

Harley smiled at that. “I don’t think you could avoid hearing about people’s lives in Bluebell, even if you wanted to. It’s just that kind of a town.”

“Which is fine,” Zoe said, looking as if she were considering carefully, before she added, “I’m just not sure how comfortable I’ll be if they all started digging into my life. Not that I have any skeletons in the closet, at least, not that I’m aware of,” she said, sounding as if she were making a small joke.

Harley swallowed very hard, glad he hadn’t been sipping his coffee or anything when she said that. Oh, if she only knew, and yet, he couldn’t tell her. Even when such an opportunity presented itself, he just couldn’t, not yet.

A tap on the door took his attention then and he called, ‘Come in,’ to whomever was there.

“Sorry to interrupt, Dr Wilkes, but I have Shula Whitaker out here, kinda desperate to see you.”

“You can go ahead and send her right in, Emmeline,” he told her with a smile. “And for any and all patients that are agreeable to it, I’ll be having Dr Hart sit in with me today, alright?”

“No problem to me.” Emmeline assured him, though the look on her face spoke volumes, as ever - she really was not happy about all this secret keeping.

“Is Shula Whitaker a serious case?” asked Zoe, pulling his attention back in a second.

“Not exactly,” Harley told her, rising from his seat, unable to give any further explanation as their patient walked in, with a cheery, ‘Good morning,’ and eagerness to meet the newest doctor in town, that didn’t surprise Harley one little bit.

Chapter Text

Zoe hadn’t expected to be so tired after putting in a few hours of work at the practice. It wasn’t even work, really. She was just sitting in with Harley when he saw his patients and listening to him tell her about Bluebell’s heritage, as well as some of the more serious medical cases he had dealt with in his career thus far. It wasn’t as if she had been doing much other than sitting and absorbing information, but that, in and of itself seemed to be enough to drain her.

Of course, the heat wasn’t helping. It was so much warmer in Alabama than it had ever been in New York, and though Zoe had dressed as appropriately as possible for the weather, in short-shorts and as brief a shirt as she thought was sensible in a professional setting, she was more than glad to take off her jacket and try to catch even the slightest hint of breeze, when she finally stepped outside, at the end of the working day.

The appreciative whistle she received from that simple act made her turn around sharply to see who was there.

“You tryin’ to cause a riot, doc?” Wade asked, strolling up to her with his hands in his pockets. “’Cause you might just, carryin’ on that way.”

“I’m sorry, is this one of those crazy small towns where taking off your jacket in the street is against the rules? Are school dances also banned? Is there an irate preacher I should know about?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call the reverend irate as much as mild-mannered, though he’s one for playing on the Big G card when the mood takes him. You know, how you really oughta do what he’s askin’ of you, ‘cause God told him you should? As for school dances, we know how to get footloose, just the same as everybody else.”

She hadn’t expected him to pick up on her movie reference and couldn’t help but laugh at the fact she had been proven wrong. So much for Southern folks from small towns being slow or unaware of the rest of the country. Wade didn’t seem any less sharp than any guy she ever met in New York, and he was certainly one of the better-looking specimens she had come across in her life.

“You work in a bar, right?” she asked him then.

“Yes, ma’am, I do. In fact I was headed to the Rammer Jammer right now. You lookin’ to get yourself a drink there, doc?”

“I am, actually. You do have wine down here, don’t you?”

At that, it was Wade’s turn to laugh. “You really thought it’d be all moonshine and banjos south of the Mason-Dixon, huh?”

“No. Well, maybe,” Zoe admitted, smiling more than she meant to. “This is a big change for me. Seriously, if you came to live in New York, you would feel just as out of place as I do here.

“Oh, that I don’t doubt for a second.” Wade nodded in agreement. “But as it is, you’re in my town, Zoe Hart, and until you have been to the Rammer Jammer, then you don’t really understand what it is to experience Bluebell. So, why don’t you just walk this way, doc, let me show you what I’m talkin’ about.”

She was too intrigued not to go with him, too desperate for a drink, also, but Zoe didn’t say as much. A nice cold glass of white wine sounded so good, and she couldn’t imagine that this Rammer Jammer would be such a bad place.

“That’s a weird name for a bar,” she noted, as they got within sight of the red neon sign.

“I guess, if you don’t know college ball,” Wade agreed. “Comes from the chant folks have for supporting the Crimson Tide. That’s the football team out of U of A. University of Alabama,” he explained, when Zoe must have looked as bemused as she felt. “As in, ‘Rammer Jammer, Yellowhammer, give ‘em hell, Alabama,’” he added, perhaps a little flatly for a cheer, but then he probably didn’t want to attract the attention of everybody in a fifty-yard radius.

“I guess it’s no stranger than anything else I already heard or saw today,” Zoe considered. “You know, we didn’t treat a lot of snake bites, tic paralysis, or poison oak in the ER up in New York.”

“Poison oak, huh? I’m guessin’ you met the Tark twins today.” Wade grinned, holding open the door of the Rammer Jammer and ushering Zoe inside.

“How did you know that?”

“Those kids seem to do nothin’ but roll around in places they shouldn’t, gettin’ into fights with each other, or just about any other kid that come across.” Wade shook his head. “I swear, their momma does her best, but they are more than a handful.”

Zoe was still listening, kind of, but for a moment or two, when the bliss of the cool, air-conditioned air hit her, it was all she could think about. Then her eyes were moving all around the interior of the Rammer Jammer, which seemed to be as much a restaurant as a bar. It was like nothing she had ever seen before, surprisingly clean and well-kept, she noted, even if the style was kind of rustic.

“So, you just wantin’ a drink, doc, or can we also offer you somethin’ to eat at this fine dining establishment we have here?” Wade asked, swinging himself around behind the bar.

Zoe hopped up onto a stool with no small amount of effort and found he was already holding out a menu card for her to take. She thanked him and began to peruse immediately. While she looked for what she might like to eat, Wade put a glass of chilled white wine on the bar in front of her, and she heard him greeting lots of locals as they came in. It took her a second to realise some of them were saying hello to her too.

“Oh, hi. Hey. Nice to see you again,” she said, to each person that went by her to find a seat or a table. “Wow. I can walk past twice as many people as this in New York and not get so much as a glance from any of them.”

“Even dressed like that?” asked Wade, his eyes drifting down her body just a little.

Zoe was sure she ought to be offended, but she couldn’t quite remember why somehow. “I don’t dress like this in New York,” she said anyway, rolling her eyes. “It is absolutely never this hot there.”

“You’ll get used to the weather, doc. Same as you’ll adjust to havin’ so many folks wanna be friendly to ya. Now, what’ll it be?” he asked, drawing her attention back to the menu.

After she placed her order, Zoe put down the menu and turned on her stool, wine in hand, to look around some more. Everybody seemed so friendly, the atmosphere was quiet but nice. Of course, then she spotted one person in the corner who was staring at her strangely, and all the comfortable she had been feeling started to go away really fast.

It was a young person, female, she realised, as she squinted into the dark corner for a better look, with what was probably her mother. The older woman was quite severe looking and didn’t seem to be talking in a friendly way to her supposed daughter, and every so often, the daughter looked at Zoe in a strange way that made the hair stick up on the back of her neck.

“Hey, doc? You want this chicken salad or not?”

Turning around to face Wade, she accepted the food, but then caught a hold of his wrist before he could move away.

“Those people in the corner, the younger one keeps staring over here. Should I be worried?”

Wade frowned some, then looked over to the corner, before shaking his head. “That’s just Mabel and her momma. Now, don’t get me wrong, Colleen ain’t the nicest person you’ll ever meet, but I don’t see a reason she’d have any problem with you, and Mabel’s a sweet enough kid. Kind of a loner and tied to her momma’s apron strings, mostly against her will, I reckon, but still, she’s harmless enough, far as I know.”

“Right, harmless.” Zoe nodded along, turning to glance back into the corner again.

When she turned back, Wade was gone, serving other patrons at the bar, as was his job, of course. She tried to concentrate on eating her food, drinking her wine, relaxing after a day’s work. Unfortunately, no matter how much effort she put in, the result was still the same. She could feel Mabel watching her, all the time, but managed to resist the urge to turn and look anymore. At least, until she realised Colleen had walked by her to the ladies room. That was when Zoe did look to see if Mabel was still staring, and almost fell completely from her stool when she found the girl was no longer in the corner, but right up close behind her.

“Oh, geez!” Zoe gasped, both hands on the bar to steady herself.

“I’m sorry,” said Mabel, in a voice that much smaller than she was herself. “I didn’t mean to... I just... You’re the new doctor, aren’t you?” she checked.

“I am. Dr Zoe Hart,” she introduced herself, holding out a hand.

“Mabel,” said the girl, shaking that hand. “Can I talk to you about something? It’s kinda personal and, well, I know I should make an appointment, but if Momma knew that I...”

She was squirming terribly in place, eyes constantly flitting to the door of the bathroom, and voice dwindling down to nothing before too long. Zoe couldn’t imagine what the problem was, but she did know she had to help, in any way she could.

“Okay, okay,” she said, reaching into her bag for a pen and grabbing the unused napkin from beside her plate. “Here’s my number. You call me when it’s a good time for you to come see me, and I’ll do my very best to be available, okay?”

“Thank you.” Mabel smiled a wide smile, shoving the napkin deep into the back pocket of her jeans, then rushing to hide in her corner once more.

She was just in time as her mother emerged from the rest room, passing by Zoe without so much as a glance.

“Probably a good thing,” Zoe said to herself, as she refocused on her food.

“You say somethin’, doc?” asked Wade, as he passed by, grabbing a couple of beers for some other customer and popping the caps.

“Nope, nothing,” she assured him, putting on her best smile and holding out her mostly empty glass. “But if you have a second, I’d love a little more wine.”

“Comin’ right up, Zoe Hart.”

It was early the next morning when Zoe received a call from an unknown number, not exactly shocked when she heard Mabel’s voice on the other end of the line, the moment she answered.

“I’m in town square, but if I come by the practice... I don’t trust Dr Breeland.”

“Well, you’re in luck because he’s not here. Dr Wilkes is around, but I told him I need to see someone privately and he was very respectful of that. He’s gone with Mrs H to the Butter Stick, so you can feel free to come on over.”

Two minutes later, Mabel was sat across the desk from Zoe in Harley’s office, looking even more awkward than she had in the bar, somehow. If it was about her weight, Zoe wouldn’t have been all that surprised, but it seemed as if it was likely more significant than that. After all, why would her mother be against her getting help with a diet or similar?

“I need to ask you a question, maybe more than one,” said Mabel eventually. “It’s not somethin’ I could ever ask my momma, and the doctors here have always been all men, so that was never... It’s a woman kind of a thing.”

“Okay.” Zoe nodded. “Anything you need to say, just say it. I promise I won’t be shocked, I won’t laugh, and I will not tell your mother or anybody else, if you don’t want me to.”

Heaving a sigh, Mabel closed her eyes a moment, then opened them again, and finally spat it out.

“My boyfriend, he and I... well, we didn’t yet, but we want to. We both want to,” she explained, turning beet red even as she did so. “Thing of it is, I know about bein’ safe and everythin’, but he just won’t. You know, condoms, they bother him, so if he has to wear one, he says he won’t do it. I don’t wanna lose him, and it ain’t as if I don’t want to do it myself. I really do but...”

“But you’re concerned about the consequences of unprotected sex,” Zoe said for her, understanding completely what the issue was. “Well, Mabel, I have to say, I’m glad that you’re taking this step so seriously. Not everybody does. Now, if you want to ensure you don’t get pregnant or catch any kind of STI, condoms are a good way to do that. On the other hand, there are other ways, most especially when it comes to pregnancy. As to diseases-”

“Oh, I know I got nothin’ to worry about on that so much as the baby part.”

“Okay, well, then I have some options for you, and I promise, none of them are painful or awful.” Zoe put on her best reassuring smile, pleased to get a relieved kind of smile back in return.

If this was what it was like to be a small-town GP, helping people who were worried or out of their depth, then she could well understand why Harley and Brick did it. She got a taste, sitting in on Harley’s appointments, but actually handling a case herself, feeling that warm glow of truly helping a person in need, in a way that wasn’t life-threatening, but still so important to them, in was truly wonderful.

Zoe knew then and there she was going to stay in Bluebell for at least the year, partly for the experience she was aware she so desperately needed, but also, because she was quite sure now that she would feel like a much better person for it too.

Chapter Text

“Honestly, it was such an amazing feeling. I mean, obviously, I can’t talk about the details, patient confidentiality, but just helping people. Being the person that somebody turns to and trusts and, I don’t know, it’s just so different to the work I did in the ER. Don’t get me wrong, those people were glad I saved their lives, or their loved ones lives, and it was fulfilling, but this, really connecting with people, it’s a whole other thing that I never could have expected.”

Harley was in awe of the woman his daughter had become. Not that he expected her to be anything other than wonderful, but she really was an honest to goodness remarkable person. Of course he was biased, he was well aware of that, but it didn’t change the fact she was obviously an excellent doctor and an excellent human being.

He had been told as much by so many of his friends and acquaintances around town, and hearing her now, waxing lyrical about the wonders of being a small-town GP, as discovered in only a week of practice, it made Harley glow with a pride that Zoe could never fully understand.

It was about time he told her the truth. He knew that it was, even when Emmeline wasn’t making a point of reminding him, which she usually was. Staring at her across a table at the Butterstick, Harley knew he just had to tell Zoe the truth, and of course, there was no time like the present.

“Are you okay?” she asked him, alerting him to the fact he must be staring at her oddly. “You look a little... I don’t know, as if something is wrong. Oh, am I talking too much? I do that sometimes when I’m excited or nervous or-”

“You’re not talking too much, Zoe,” he assured her, smiling easily as he reassured her of the fact. “And if I look as if something might be wrong, then I’m sorry. There really is nothing that I could describe as wrong, not really. It’s just...”

The bell over the door rang as somebody came in, another person leaving at the same time. Neighbours smiled and nodded in greeting as they saw Harley, one raised a hand in a wave, another actually came over and asked if he might have an appointment later, because the old trouble seemed to be flaring up again. He was as polite as he could be, advising they drop into the practice and check availability with Emmeline, then looking back at Zoe. She seemed oblivious to the way he was struggling, but then, Harley couldn’t blame her for that. She had no idea about the news he wanted, even needed to share.

“Uh, I’m done here. How ‘bout you?” he asked, noting her plate was empty and her coffee almost gone.

“Sure, I’m done. I guess we should get over there sooner rather than later. Not that I expect too many people to want to see me, personally, but you never know, I guess.”

They got up to leave then, Harley taking a deep breath, preparing to share the big news in the walk across town square. He just had to say the words, get them out there in the open, and maybe he should have arranged for himself and Zoe to be somewhere private, but that was scarcely possible in Bluebell, unless he invited her over to his house. That might be a little strange to a young woman, with no clue that the two of them had any real connection at all.

“Zoe, I... I have something I need to confess.”

“Confess?” she echoed, looking up at him strangely as they came to a halt right by the gazebo. “I don’t understand.”

“I know that you don’t, and I should’ve made all this clear from the very start. You see, the thing of it is, well, I had a little health scare of my own a while back, and when that happened-”

“Mom?”

Harley felt stunned when suddenly Zoe’s exclamation cut into what he had been trying to say. When he turned to follow her gaze and saw Candice standing there, his heartbeat doubled for a few seconds and he had to fight to correct it, breathing deeply, going so far as to lower himself onto the nearest bench. He watched as Zoe and Candice moved to stand a few feet apart, neither looking at all happy.

“I couldn’t believe it when I got back from Europe and found your letter. Zoe, what did you think you were doing?”

“Mom, I’m sorry if you were surprised, and maybe I should’ve called and explained that way, but I knew you would try to talk me out of this. New York isn’t where I need to be, right now. I need a change, and this place is-”

“This place is a backwater hole where you will bury yourself and never escape! And all because he told you the truth, which I have been trying to protect you from for the whole of your life!”

Harley winced when Candice pointed an angry finger his way, but he didn’t say a word. He had no idea how, especially when Zoe turned troubled eyes to him, a frown creasing her brow.

“The truth?” she echoed, shaking her head, even as she looked back at Candice. “Mom...”

“I tried, Zoe. God knows, I tried to give you the kind of life you deserved, the kind of father you deserved. And yes, okay, so Ethan turned out to be a little less stable than I had hoped, and maybe I should have told him from the start that there was a possibility you weren’t his daughter, but whatever lies Harley has filled your head with in the last few days, you have to know that I was trying to do what was best when I-”

“Candice!”

Harley wasn’t entirely aware of how loudly he had spoken, until both women, not to mention a few passersby, all stared at him with wide eyes.

“Oh, this wasn’t how it was supposed to be,” he said then, heaving a sigh, running a hand over his face, then focusing only on Zoe. “I’m so sorry that it happened this way, Zoe. I was trying to find the right way to tell you.”

“To tell me, what?” she checked.

Smart as she was, as obvious as the truth ought to be in that moment, Harley could well understand why she wanted the facts plainly stated. In her shoes, he supposed he would have wanted the same thing, just to be sure.

“Zoe, honey, I met your mother a long time ago, on a cruise ship,” he explained, as gently as he could. “We had, well, I suppose you would call it a love affair. At least, that’s the way I saw it,” he said, glancing briefly at Candice, before returning his eyes to Zoe alone. “As a result of our time together, you were born. Zoe, I, I am your father.”

The world was off its axis. The universe was playing games with her. The only other possibilities that Zoe could come up with for what she just heard was that she was having a seriously weird dream, or somebody put hallucinogenics into the coffee at the Butterstick. One of those things just had to be true. Otherwise, when Harley Wilkes told her he was her father, he had to be telling the truth. It only took one glance at her mother’s face for Zoe to realise there was no mistake here.

“You and, and him?” Zoe stammered out. “And Dad, Ethan, he’s not...?”

She couldn’t process. For one of the first times in her life, Zoe just didn’t have words at all. Her brain was overwhelmed by too many thoughts, the air rushing out of her lungs, as every part of her filled up with confusion and panic and a rushing anxious feeling.

It made sense. A horrible kind of sense. Why her dad stopped wanting to be around her. Why Harley Wilkes wanted her to come work with him. Why her mother was always so against the south in general. It all made sense, and yet, Zoe just couldn’t take it in, just couldn’t deal.

“Zoe, sweetheart...”

When her mother reached out for her, Zoe flinched away. She vaguely thought that Harley said something too, but she didn’t hear it, mostly because she didn’t want to. Right in that moment, she didn’t want to hear anything that either of them had to say.

“No,” she told them both loudly and firmly. “No, I don’t want to know anymore. I need to... I need to be somewhere else,” she decided, turning on her heel and rushing away.

She couldn’t tell if they called after her, not over the rushing in her ears, as her fast walk turned into a stumbling run. High heels were not ideal when a person was making an escape, especially not once the smooth sidewalks of Bluebell’s town square turned into the dirt and gravel tracks that would take her back to the plantation. It had only been a week, but that was long enough for her to know her way home, even in a state of distress. Not that Zoe realised she was actually crying, not until she literally ran into somebody and they drew her attention to it.

“Well, geez, Zoe, what the hell happened to you?” asked Wade, holding her at arm’s length, eyes all over her face. “Somethin’ happen at the practice? Somebody... uh, pass away?” he asked her carefully.

Zoe shook her head and swallowed hard, hoping that when she spoke the words might actually come out right.

“I didn’t get as far as the practice. My mom showed up, and then she and Harley... Oh my God, I can’t even believe what they told me. He’s my father. Dr Harley Wilkes is my real father.”

“Woah, that’s... You serious about that? Okay, you are serious about that,” Wade obviously realised from the look on Zoe’s face. “Uh, come on, let’s get you inside and... yeah, come on.”

He was stunned, not quite as stunned as Zoe herself, of course, but she had to think that the news she just received would be pretty shocking to most of the people in Bluebell. Their trusted town doctor, an older man who seemed so kind and decent and upstanding, had a secret love child, and that secret love child was Zoe herself.

“You just wait right there, I’ll be back,” said Wade, encouraging her to sit down on the end of her own bed.

She was barely aware of the fact he had even guided her home to the carriagehouse, until she looked around and recognised the place. Where he had gone, she had no clue, and her mind was too busy reeling about the whole lying parents thing to really worry about it too much. Either way, Wade came back fast, with some unexpected items in his hands.

“So, I know folks say to take brandy for shock, but this is the best I got,” he told her, showing Zoe the half-bottle of bourbon. “And, uh, I don’t exactly have boxes of tissue around the place either...” he explained, proffering a roll of toilet paper.

At any other time, Zoe might have been a little grossed out, but the hysteria must have been setting in, because all she could do was laugh. The sound was too loud to her own ears, and she was well aware that there were probably more tears buried in there somewhere, but for the next couple of minutes, she covered her face with both hands, doubled-over and laughing until her sides hurt.

“Okay, I don’t... You doin’ okay there, doc?” Wade asked after a while.

She sobered quickly on realising she might actually be scaring him. “No,” she admitted, even as she calmed down, wiping her face with both hands, all too aware that she probably looked terrible, all tear stains and streaked make-up. “Ugh, I think we’re kind of far from me being okay right now. Still, I’ll live, I guess. I’m sorry, Wade. I know you’re just trying to help. Um, there’s real tissue, for faces, on the vanity behind you.”

He looked a little embarrassed when he passed over the box, but Zoe just smiled and held out her hand for the bottle he was still holding onto. “In the absence of brandy, I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

He smiled back at her then, handing over the bottle, then moving to sit down on the couch close by to the bed. Zoe felt him watching her as she removed the cap from the bottle, spent all of a half-second wondering if she should find a glass, before putting the bottle to her lips and taking a long drink. The bourbon burnt her throat so bad, she had to fight not to have a very big coughing fit.

“Wow, that is... intense,” she settled on, trying to breath through the hot pain that still stretched the entire length of her throat then spread out all through her chest for good measure.

“It ain’t meant to be much else, doc,” Wade told her. “I don’t know if it’ll help any.”

“I don’t think it can make me feel worse,” she said, heaving a sigh. “My father isn’t my father,” she said then, more to herself than to Wade, though she didn’t mind that he could hear. “Ethan Hart, the man who raised me, the man whose name I have, he’s just... He’s the guy my mom married, but he’s not really my father. Harley Wilkes is.”

“Gotta say that is a mind-bender,” Wade told her, his words enough to make her turn her head to look at him then. “I mean, obviously, it can’t be as big a shock to me as it is to you, but I’m just sayin’, well, ol’ Harley’s just about the last guy around here I’d ever think would... I mean, it had to be an affair type of a thing, right?”

“Right.” Zoe nodded slowly, then took another pull from the bourbon bottle - it didn’t hurt quite as bad the second time. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, this is absolutely the kind of thing my mom would do. Sleeping with a guy she just met, not even caring if he’s somebody else’s husband or whatever. Not that Harley is married, right?”

“Never has been, from what I know,” Wade confirmed. “But your mom was with your dad, uh, Mr Hart, when she and Harley..?”

“I don’t know. I guess they must’ve been, for her to be able to pass me off as his daughter...”

The tears started building again and Zoe immediately took another drink. She wasn’t stupid. She knew in the long-term it wasn’t really going to help her, but alcohol was pretty great at dulling pain. It had been used for centuries for exactly that purpose, mostly for physical pain and as a make-shift anaesthesia, but she supposed it couldn’t hurt to try it for emotional pain, even if it was just temporary.

Zoe hadn’t realised she said any of that out loud, until suddenly Wade was crouched down in front of her, carefully but firmly taking the bottle from her hands.

“A doctor you may be, Zoe Hart, but I know more about folks tryin’ to drown their trauma and such in booze that you ever could,” he said gently. “It ain’t the way to go, doc. Trust me.”

She was about to ask him exactly what qualifications he had to say such things, if being a bartender somehow made him an expert on every single person’s experience with alcohol. Zoe never said any of that, because there was something in his eyes that suggested he really did know what he was talking about. That something personal and profound was making him talk that way. Maybe she would have asked him about it, but her mind was already wandering elsewhere.

“You’re a good guy, Wade Kinsella,” she told him then. “And you have really nice eyes.” Her hand went straight to her mouth and she giggled. “Wow, did I actually just say that.”

“You actually did,” he told her, smiling widely. “Just the bourbon talkin’, huh?”

Zoe sighed and shook her head. “No, it’s not. I mean, I probably wouldn’t have said it without the alcohol in me, but I was already thinking it.”

Her voice got very soft without her really meaning for it to, and Wade seemed to get a lot closer without moving. Zoe was starting to realise maybe it was her that was leaning in towards him, and for the life of her, she couldn’t imagine why that would be a bad thing. After all, closer was better. His lips close to her lips could only be good.

“Zoe?”

She flung herself away so hard when she heard someone call her name, she almost fell flat on her back on the bed. It was only Wade’s quick reactions, his hands briefly on her knees that kept her upright, as Lavon tapped on the door, then let himself in.

“Hey, Zoe. Uh, I got your momma and Harley out here. They was lookin’ for you. Did I do wrong bringin’ ‘em by?”

Though she opened her mouth, her jaw working up and down, no words came out at first. A quick glance at Wade, which she hoped would help, didn’t really do much to comfort her anymore.

“I should get outta your hair,” he said, very quickly on his feet, one hand running back over his head. “Uh, you need me at all, doc, you just holler,” he advised, tipping her a wink, before rushing out of the carriagehouse, before Zoe could hardly even blink.

Her eyes shifted to Lavon then and she realised he needed an answer. She nodded her head and stood up.

“I guess I really should talk to my mom and to Harley,” she realised aloud, even if she had no idea what she was going to say to either of them, or how she was going to handle any more news they might want to share with her.

It seemed she was just going to have to put on her big girl pants and try.

Chapter Text

It was late when Wade got home from the Rammer Jammer. Zoe was sure he would just want to fall into bed and not listen to her ramble on any more, but she couldn’t help it, she just had to go over. When she knocked on his door, she was already wondering why she felt so compelled to be on his doorstep at two-something in the morning, or what on Earth he might think she wanted when he saw her there, but all of those thoughts rushed completely out of her head when suddenly he was in front of her - without a shirt on.

“Oh. I, uh... I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head, trying to put her eyes anywhere else, but finding it largely impossible.

“What’s up, doc?” he asked her, leaning on the doorjamb, wearing that smirk that probably made every woman in a fifty-mile radius go weak in the knees.

“Not much,” she told him. “I was just... I thought I should bring this back,” she said, thrusting out her arm to hand over the half-bottle of bourbon. “I didn’t drink any more. Honestly, as much as it was tempting, I know better than most people that it wouldn’t really help me.”

Wade nodded his head, smile slipping some as he took the bottle from her hand into his own. “You figure things out with your folks?”

The strange burst of laughter that escape from Zoe’s throat was unintentional on her part, but apt, in a way. After all, the situation was pretty laughable, not to mention crazy.

“That would be a long story,” she admitted, feeling the thudding of a burgeoning headache only getting worse at the very thought of it.

“You wanna talk about it?” he asked her then. “I mean, you don’t have to, obviously, but if you wanted, I listen pretty well. Comes with bein’ a bartender, as much as anything else.”

“Oh, I...” Zoe began to say, but when her eyes managed to drift up from Wade’s bare chest to his eyes, she realised he wasn’t just saying he would listen to be kind, even though it was a nice gesture, he was saying it like he really meant it. “It’s kind of late. Don’t you just want to sleep?”

Wade shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not working again until tonight. I can sleep later, if you need a friendly ear right now.”

There was nobody else to talk to. Not that it was the only reason Zoe nodded her head and slipped into the gatehouse to sit down on Wade’s couch. He had proved to be a good guy in the week or so she had known him. A good tenant to Lavon, a good friend to all who knew him. Sure, he had a rep with the ladies, and Zoe had seen first-hand how he flirted at the Rammer Jammer, how he brought women home to the very house she was sitting in now. She hoped Wade didn’t think that was why she was there. Suddenly, she wondered if she should have walked into the gatehouse at all.

“You know I just came in to talk, right?” she checked, looking over at him as he sat down at the other end of the couch, thankfully now with a shirt on. “I just don’t... Never mind,” she stopped, putting her hand over her face as she shook her head.

“You think when I offered to listen to you talk, what I actually had planned was takin’ you to bed,” said Wade, not a question, but a statement, and not one that Zoe could refute.

“I’m sorry,” Zoe told him, peeking at him from between her fingers - thankfully, Wade didn’t look in the least bit offended.

“Well, hell, doc, I don’t blame you. I’d be a liar if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind,” he admitted openly, looking at her in such a way that Zoe was sure her cheeks were burning, in spite of her best attempts not to react. “But right now, you got problems you need to figure out, and even after only a week or so of knowin’ you, I’m pretty sure I know you’re not the type to make yourself feel better by jumpin’ into bed with the first guy you see.”

Zoe sighed, as relieved as she was defeated by his attitude. “You’re smarter than some people think you are.”

“Yeah, well, maybe, but don’t you go tellin’ ‘em that, okay, doc? That is a secret you can keep for me, on account of my promisin’ you the same. You wanna talk about what happened with your momma and Harley, I won’t go tellin’ anybody else, you got my word on it.”

That brought on a less happy sigh from Zoe. “Thank you for the thought, but honestly, I think a lot of people in town already know a little more than I wanted them to. My mom got kind of loud in town square, Harley too, actually. I guess there’s no point trying to hide it. They had an affair. They met on a cruise, my mom cheated on my dad... on Ethan Hart, who she was already engaged to, and as a result, she and Harley made me.

“I mean, who does that? Seriously, she was engaged! They barely knew each other! What happened to people being responsible? A doctor, for God’s sake. Harley Wilkes is a doctor, and even back then, he was old enough to know better. They both should have known, and after, when mom just started lying her butt off, and Harley let her do it?

“And they’re both saying it was all for my own good, but how? How has it been better for me to live my whole life believing one guy was my dad, when actually it was a whole other person? That’s not right, it’s not fair, and, and I don’t know how to forgive them for this. I just don’t.”

She hadn’t realised she was crying again, not until suddenly Wade’s face was blurry and her hands were damp from the tears falling into her lap.

“I’m sorry, doc,” said Wade softly. “Must be pretty rough, finding all o’ that stuff out, you know, out o’ the blue and everythin’. I can’t even imagine how I’d feel if it happened to me.”

Pulling tissue from her pocket, Zoe blew her nose, then gave him a watery smile. “I’m guessing it won’t ever happen to you, since your parents probably aren’t big fat liars.”

Wade smiled back at her, just for a moment, the expression wavering within a second. “My momma was just this amazin’ person. Don’t reckon she ever told a lie her whole life, but she passed when I was ten years old,” he explained, making Zoe’s heart constrict in her chest, just from the obvious pain in his voice when he spoke about it. “And as for my dad, well, you prob’ly heard tell around town by now, ‘bout Crazy Earl?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ve heard all kinds of stories about... your dad?” she realised too suddenly.

“My dad.” Wade nodded confirmation.

Zoe felt her heart drop into her stomach, which then fell a little further of its own accord. She thought she had it bad, which she supposed she really did, in a way, but there was no denying that Wade had it worse. She felt just horrible knowing that.

“Wow. So that’s why you said what you did about alcohol before,” she realised then. “I’m sorry, Wade,” she said sadly, leaning over and putting her hand on his arm.

Shrugging his shoulders, he moved in much the same way, his hand on top of hers, when he put on his usual nonchalance and said; “It is what it is, doc. We all got our problems, with our parents and otherwise.”

It didn’t work that time. Not like all the other occasions, when she was sure he really was as carefree and light-hearted as he seemed. Now, she saw a side of Wade she never had when there were other people around. Maybe he kept it hidden because it was easier to put on the bright and breezy act. She could understand that. She did something similar herself, showing the world the armour of a tough New Yorker, when sometimes, all she wanted to do was curl up in a corner and cry.

It made Zoe think that maybe everybody did that kind of thing, no matter who they were or where they were from or what their circumstances might be. Everybody showed the world one face, while feeling totally different inside. The whole thing suddenly seemed very stupid.

The other thing that became apparent to Zoe very fast was how close Wade suddenly seemed to be. His face was right there in front of her own, those beautiful eyes and that soft smile, so much more genuine than his usual grin. That same urge she had before came back ten-fold, the one where she really wanted to kiss him, just to see what it was like. Before, she blamed the bourbon, but she was sober as a judge now. After the day she had had, after everything that had made her feel so awful, Zoe couldn’t imagine it would hurt much to do something, anything that would lift her spirits, and maybe Wade’s too.

Pushing forward, she pressed her lips against his own, feeling sure of what she wanted, and yet so uncertain of what his reaction might be. It was as much a relief as a worry when Wade started to kiss her back. Of course, it felt amazing, because she had known before they ever started that he would know exactly what he was doing, but at the same time, Zoe’s mind was racing. What was she doing? How could she do this? It was such a bad idea, wasn’t it? Just when she started to think maybe she should stop, a half-a-second before her brain started to melt from the intensity of his kiss, Zoe was stunned to realise it was Wade who had pulled away instead.

“You sure about what you’re doin’ here, doc?” he asked her softly, meeting her eyes until she finally found her own focus again.

He was giving her a choice, an easy out. The guy who seemed capable of getting just about any woman he wanted into his bed through pure magic and sex appeal was offering Zoe the chance of whatever she wanted, in or out, presumably with no hard feelings regardless of her answer. Maybe there was even more to Wade Kinsella than she ever could have imagined.

“Thank you, Wade,” she said, the whole thing coming out as a sigh as much as words. “I mean it, thank you,” she repeated, leaning in to plant a kiss on his cheek this time.

She didn’t need any more words than that and they both knew it. He just stopped her from doing something she may or may not regret, but still, what he said before held true. She wasn’t in a place to be making smart choices and no matter what else he was, Wade clearly wasn’t the type to take advantage like that.

Getting to her feet, Zoe tried to ignore the fact she was wobbling worse than when she had been drinking. Taking a deep breath, she headed for the door, pausing when she got there, the moment she heard Wade speak again.

“Any time, Zoe Hart,” he told her.

The most delicious shiver ran through her on hearing those words, but Zoe kept on walking. For tonight, at least, she really did have to go home.

Watching her walk out of his door didn’t come easy, but he knew it was probably the smart choice. God only knew why, because Wade sure didn’t. Still, he meant what he said to her before. Zoe Hart was more than welcome in his bed, but knowing what she had been through that day, the emotional trauma or whatever they called it, he just couldn’t take advantage of that.

Maybe a part of it was knowing she was Harley’s daughter. Maybe it had to do with him and Zoe being neighbours and such. Wade couldn’t quite put his finger on what made him such a gentleman tonight. Not that he ever forced a girl into anything, not in all his born days, and he wouldn’t either, but he had to admit, if only to himself, he might have made use of the fact a woman was sad, lonely, and/or three sheets to the wind and such, in the past.

It was just that Zoe seemed different somehow. Wade had spent days enough trying to figure it out, off and on anyhow, and he got no further forward with his wondering. In the end, all he really knew for sure was that he liked her. In fact, he liked her a lot. She was a mystery to him, one of those enigmas wrapped in a riddle, or however that saying went.

Standing by the window, Wade watched the carriagehouse until the lights went out. “Sleep tight, doc,” he whispered in the dark of his own home, then turned towards the bed and flopped down onto it.

The clock on the nightstand told him it was past three a.m. He ought to be tired, but Wade didn’t even feel like closing his eyes. If he did, he knew he would just see Zoe. If he fell asleep, no doubt he would dream about her. About big brown eyes and that amazing smile, the way she walked and the way she talked, and now, the way she kissed too.

Groaning, Wade turned over and buried his face in the pillow. He had a horrible feeling that he was so incredibly screwed.

Chapter Text

“You lied to me.”

“Well, strictly speaking...”

“A lie by omission is still a lie, Harley. God, you made me think you wanted me here because I was such a good doctor-”

“You are a good doctor.”

“But the main reason is because I’m... because you’re... because we’re related.”

Poor Zoe. She looked so defeated by the whole thing, not to mention teary-eyed. Harley hated that. He hated that he hadn’t been honest from the very beginning, but somehow, it had just seemed better to wait, to take things slowly, to ease into the big announcement about him being her natural father. Of course, when Candice showed up, just at the very wrong moment, assuming like she did that Zoe already knew the truth, everything had gone south very fast.

That was all of three days ago now. Three days in which Harley and Candice had both promised to give Zoe the space and time she asked for, after a long talk that didn’t seem to get any of them anywhere at all. In a lot of ways, it had been tougher for Harley to stay away from Zoe in those seventy-two hours than in all the twenty-eight years prior, but he did it because it was what she wanted.

For all her fuss and blather, Candice took Zoe very literally when she asked for space and took herself off back to New York for the foreseeable. It was a funny thing, but seeing her again had at least confirmed to Harley that he had been an old fool to ever think he might have made a life with Zoe’s mother. He had believed himself in love with her once, but as she was now, he was sure he could never feel that way again.

Finally, this morning, when he answered the knock on his door, Zoe had been there on the porch, staring in at him. Of course, Harley welcomed her into his home with literal open arms, though it was no surprise to find she was not amenable to hugs at all. She came in with her own arms folded across her chest, and there they stayed, as she took a seat and all-but glared at him across the sitting room.

He offered her sweet tea, water, coffee, something to eat perhaps, but she gave a short ‘No, thank you,’ to each and every thing. He asked if she had questions, offered further apologies for how things had happened, but she didn’t say a word about any of that. Just when he was starting to run out of ideas, she had exploded with her accusations about lying. His trying to deny it had been foolish and he knew it. Best to just admit as much and try to move forward.

“Zoe, I... I don’t deny that a large part of the reason why I wanted you to come to Bluebell was because I wanted to get to know you better, because you are my biological daughter,” he told her straight, words he had somehow never managed to say when they talked before, not with Candice there, jumping in all the time, not with Zoe so tearful and pained and confused. “But it is also the truth when I tell you that you are a most accomplished doctor and more than qualified for the job I offered to you. I promise you, I would never have hired you through nepotism alone.”

She opened her mouth as if to answer him, as if to argue some more, perhaps, but no words came out. As such, she pressed her lips firmly back together, her eyes darting left and right, before they finally returned to him.

“I am a good doctor,” she agreed, “and I guess I do believe that part of the reason why you hired me is because I’m qualified but, but you came to my med school graduation, more than two years ago. You could’ve told me then who you really were, but you didn’t.”

“Would you have believed me?” Harley asked her, shaking his head, already sure of the answer. “And even if you had suspected I was being honest, how would it have made things any better? Zoe, honey, whenever and however I told you the truth, you were gonna get hurt. Now, I can blame your momma for that, for lying to you all this time, but I guess I am just as much in the wrong. I let her do it. I found out about you long ago and I coulda come and spoke my piece way back then, but I didn’t. Don’t you see, I wanted what was best for you. It seemed like maybe that was the life Candice and Ethan Hart could provide.”

It was Zoe’s turn to shake her head then. “But then, all of a sudden, it was time to tell the truth? What made you think my life was suddenly not so great and that it would be better with you in it?”

Harley sighed. “Because... I knew your momma and her husband got divorced, and I figured you were old enough to handle the truth. And then there’s...” he faltered on the last part, not wanting to confess it yet, feeling like he was only going to make things harder on her if he did.

“What? And then there’s, what?” she prompted, ducking her head a little to try and see his face when he allowed his gaze to drop to the floor. “Harley, come on, no more lies, please.”

He looked back up to meet her eyes then, knowing she was right. Knowing there was no room for even half-truths anymore. From this point forward, he had to be completely open with Zoe if he ever wanted any semblance of a father-daughter relationship, and he surely did.

“Well, the truth is, I, uh... It’s actually what I was trying to tell you that day when Candice showed up and... Well, I had a little health scare. It’s selfish, I know, to become so determined about getting to know you just because, because I got scared that my time might be runnin’ short, but that is the truth of the matter. At least, I thought it might be.”

Zoe sucked in a sharp breath. “Health scare?” she echoed, clearing her throat right after. “Um, what kind of...? Is it...?”

“My heart,” he admitted, unsure what horrors were running through her head, but wanting to put paid to any unnecessary fears as soon as possible. “At first, I thought it was just indigestion, heartburn and such. I had it some before, if I ate the wrong things. When it kept on happening, I did start to suspect... As a doctor, it’s tough not to think of all the possibilities, but I guess, like most folks, I didn’t want it to be anythin’ more serious.”

“But it is,” said Zoe flatly, obviously knowing from the way he was telling the tale that it was true.

“I got some tests run. The results came back and it was all the usual things us doctors tell men of a certain age and a certain weight and everything. I did try to change my diet, get a little more exercise. I’m still tryin’, not that it comes easy in a place where so much of the food is fried or doused in sugar, but I do the best I can. Unfortunately, there’s a limit to what can be undone at my time of life. I only had the one mild attack so far and, God willing, I won’t have another any time soon, but you and I both know, that once these things start...”

He didn’t want her sympathy, not really. It was why he didn’t plan on telling her any of this unless she asked him outright, but then that was exactly what Zoe had done. She had asked him why now, after all this time, and demanded the truth. He had to give it to her. After everything, he definitely owed her that.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry your health is not so good,” she said then, eyes trained on the carpet a while before finally she looked up at him again. “Not that it changes the fact that you lied, you and my mom. I’m still not okay with that.”

“And you have every right to be upset about it, I can’t blame you for that,” he assured her. “I also didn’t tell you about my heart condition just to... well, to get you onside at all, or make you forgive me faster. You asked me a straight question, Zoe, and I think it’s about time I gave you only straight answers, so that is what I did. You know everything now, I promise.”

At that, she heaved a sigh, looking every kind of defeated as she sank down onto the couch behind her. Harley took her cue and sat down into his armchair also, more than glad to do so, truth be told. None of this stress and strain could be good for him, he knew that better than anyone, but he would put himself through anything he had to, if it meant he could get things figured out with Zoe.

“I just don’t... I can’t understand how this is my life now,” she said, shaking her head, looking fit to burst into tears, which did nothing to ease the ache in Harley’s heart.

“I understand it must be a lot to take in,” he said gently, “but if I could just... The way things are right now, how happy you’ve been here this past while, as much as the whole truth has come as a shock to you, does it really have to change things?”

Zoe took in Harley’s question and was sure she looked to him like she was carefully considering the answer. In truth, she had already done that, and almost nothing but that, ever since she got over the initial shock of his being her biological father. She really did love Bluebell. Inside of week, she just fell head over heels with the place and the people and the way of being.

Dr Zoe Hart of New York City never could’ve seen that coming. In fact, when she packed up and moved down to Alabama the way she had, she really expected to find she hated it and leave for back home again within a week or two. Now at least she thought she understood a little of why she felt so comfortable in Bluebell. The place was in her blood, thanks to Harley Wilkes. Apparently, by way of genetics at least, she was as much a Southern Belle as she was a New Yorker.

“It’s crazy. Really, really crazy,” she said, shaking her head. “I feel like I don’t even know myself anymore, and yes, you’re right,” she confirmed to Harley, in the spirit of no more secrets or lies, “I do love being here and I have been happy with my work and the people and, and getting to know you too. I know that doesn’t all change just because you’re my father. If anything, I guess it should make things better, not worse. It’s just all been such a huge shock.”

“I understand that.” Harley nodded his head. “I truly wish I could go back and make things different, Zoe. Make it easier on you, on all of us, truth be told. You don’t know how proud I would’ve been to have had you grow up here with me, my own little girl.”

He smiled in such a way that Zoe couldn’t accuse him of more lies. He meant it. He was genuinely such a nice guy, she was absolutely certain that Harley really did wish he got to be a part of her life when she was growing up. She had no doubt in her mind that he would have been a really great father. It seemed foolish not to let him prove it to her now, even if she was an adult already.

“I don’t know how this is going to work,” she admitted aloud then. “I mean, it’s a big adjustment. I was just getting to know you as a fellow doctor, a mentor, even a friend, and now... It’s a lot. At the same time, I don’t want to leave Bluebell or the practice, and I think... I do want to get to know you as my father. It’s just going to take time, you know?”

“I do understand, Zoe,” Harley assured her, in such a way that she truly believed that he did and wasn’t just saying it to make her feel better. “And I want to make this all just as easy as I can for you. So, whatever you want to do from here on out, that’s how it will be. I’m only glad to know you wanna stay here in Bluebell. My biggest fear was that you would wanna run away.”

“Trust me, my fight or flight has been screaming ‘flight’ from about two seconds after my mom said you were my father,” Zoe admitted, “but it wouldn’t help to run away and I certainly don’t want to fight. I want to stay here and be as happy as I was before I knew the truth. I guess what I’m saying is that I want to try to forgive you and move forward, both as a doctor at the practice and, and as your daughter.”

It felt so strange to say, like a betrayal to the man she had always called dad up to now, almost to the person she had been for the last twenty-eight years. Still, Zoe was determined in her decision. If Harley was her father, and with both him and her mother confirming it, she had no reason to doubt them, then she wanted him to be in her life. She wanted to get to know him, the rest of his family, his background, everything, even more so than before. Of course, she had to wonder what the charming community were going to make of her being the surprise illegitimate daughter of the somewhat elderly town doctor, but that was probably a worry for another day.

At least, she had things figured out with Harley, and also in her own mind, about the way forward. For now, Zoe Hart was sure about staying in Bluebell, and that made her feel surprisingly happy.

Chapter Text

The door slammed hard as Zoe came into the kitchen.

“Well, hey there, sunshine,” Wade greeted her with a grin, going for humour in the hopes of cheering her up, but knowing he failed when she literally growled at him.

“If one more person asks me one more question about myself, I think I’m going to scream!”

Lavon winced on her behalf. “Tough day, Z?”

That particular question was met with another growl, as Zoe took herself a seat on a stool, and literally slammed her head into the counter top.

“Hey, woah there, doc.” Wade was quick to ease her back to sitting upright and hold her shoulders so she wouldn’t do anything else as dumb. “Seriously now, you’re gonna hurt yourself.”

She huffed out a sigh as she looked at him then, as close to tears as he had seen her since that day when she first found out about Dr Wilkes being her daddy. Wade hated that she might start crying again, knowing it would break his heart to see it. Trouble was he hardly knew what to say to make anything better. It just wasn’t what he was good at.

“I’m sorry,” she said eventually, shaking her head a little and inhaling real hard. “I’m being dramatic, I know I am, I just... I just wish everything would go back to how it was before.”

“Before you come here?” asked Wade, dreading the answer.

“No, not that,” Zoe insisted, finding him a small smile, her hand coming up to cover his own at her shoulder where he was holding onto her still. “Before everybody found out who my father really was. I mean, I don’t entirely regret finding out for myself, but then suddenly, everybody knew. I thought it was bad enough last weekend with just about everyone at the Founders Day Parade staring at me like I had two heads, but now, they keep on flooding into the practice, making appointments for every kind of illness and injury, when actually, all they want is the latest gossip.”

“Aww, come on now, Z. It ain’t altogether like that,” said Lavon, leaning down on the counter across from her.

Wade finally realised he should probably let go of her then, so he did, moving to grab a bottle of wine and a glass, pouring out a healthy measure for the harassed looking doctor instead.

“See, folks around here, they’re always in each other’s business,” Lavon explained to Zoe, “but they mean well. They always, always wanna help and be kind. That’s just the way Bluebell is.”

“I know.” She sighed once more, smiling a little more like she meant it when Wade put the wine in her hand. “It’s just a little exhausting, especially since I’m not sleeping so well. I still haven’t gotten used to the quiet around here, and my mom keeps on calling me. Not in the middle of the night or anything, but I’m avoiding her, which I know is not helping, and I start over-thinking so much, I just can’t switch off my brain.” She paused to take a long drink from her glass, before continuing. “I’m just frustrated and so sick and tired of it all.”

“Seems to me you just need to kick back and have a little fun, doc,” Wade suggested, topping up her glass before she could protest. “Maybe get outta town, go someplace else, let your hair down, some night or other.”

“You know, I actually like the sound of that,” she said, smiling some more, before that expression began to swiftly falter. “The problem is I have no idea where I would go, and I don’t really have anyone to go with, or a car to get there, and-”

“Well, I could-,” Lavon tried to cut in, but Wade made sure he was faster.

“Today is your lucky day, Zoe Hart,” he said loudly. “’Cause as it happens, tonight is my night off from working at the Rammer Jammer, and since I had no other plans at all, how ‘bout I take you out some place and show you a good time?”

He was all too aware that Lavon was staring at him like he was a crazy person, but Wade refused to look at his friend and landlord. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on Zoe, watching a whole slew of emotions run across her face, waiting to see which one she decided to go with in the end.

“Wade, that’s... I mean, it’s a sweet offer, I’m just not sure that...” she faltered and fumfered all over the place, her fingers twisting together and parting again. “Um, I’m not really in a place where I want a date right now.”

He wasn’t sure why it hurt to hear her say that. After all, when he offered to take her out, it was supposed to be for fun and to cheer her up some, not to make a move. That was not to say Wade didn’t want to make a move with Zoe. Only a blind and crazy person would not want to, he was pretty damn sure of that, but still, he had no reason to feel like she just dented his ego. Big as it usually was, that would be a tough thing to achieve anyhow.

“Who’s asking you on a date, doc?” he asked her, painting on his best smile, because that was just what Wade Kinsella did in situations like that. “Geez, you’re makin’ such a big deal here, and all I’m offerin’ is to be your transportation and your tour guide, that’s all.”

It wasn’t all. Even as he said the words, he knew he was lying his ass off, but Wade couldn’t seem to help himself. If he admitted he would like to take Zoe out for real, well, she already made plain she didn’t want that anyhow, and besides, then she would feel bad for saying no and he would have all the awkward aftermath of that to deal with. Best just to let her think it was a straight up friendly offer and act accordingly.

“Hey, Lavon can come along too, if he has a mind to,” he said, unsure if he was making things better or worse, and yet, relieved to hear Lavon say he actually couldn’t do that.

“Wish I could,” he said, shaking his head, “but I got a bunch of paperwork to get through. Mayoral duties and all, they never let up any.”

“Oh, well, that sucks,” Zoe sympathised, “but if your offer still stands, Wade, I’d appreciate the transportation-slash-tour guide thing. I’m sorry I misunderstood before.”

“No problem, doc,” he assured her fast, literally waving away her concerns with his hand. “So, you get yourself fixed up to head out and I’ll come by to take you out around eight, alright?”

“Sounds great.”

Zoe was smiling as she watched Wade head on out the door, going so far as to laugh when she realised, he was actually whistling Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. The expression faded a little when she turned and found Lavon frowning.

“What? What’s wrong?” she asked curiously.

“Nothing, no,” he told her, shaking his head as he stood up straight, his expression thoughtful and strange still. “I was just... Nah, it doesn’t matter.”

“Clearly, it does,” Zoe argued, hopping down from her stool and going after him when he started to walk out of the kitchen. “Seriously, Lavon, what is going on?”

He sighed as he turned to look at her, eyes briefly going over her head to the door, before returning to her face.

“I don’t know exactly what is going on with you and Wade, and I’m not asking,” he insisted, hands raised in mock surrender, “but I would hate for either one of you to get yourselves hurt, that’s all.”

“Hurt?” Zoe shook her head, feeling genuinely confused. “How would that even happen? We just agreed, this is not a date, and I would never... Come on, you know I’m not the kind of girl that Wade would usually take out that way. I have seen the girls he dates, okay? I met a couple of them in the past two weeks and we are not the same kind of people at all,” she insisted.

“I know that.” Lavon nodded slowly. “Which is why I’m kinda concerned. Now, don’t get me wrong, Wade’s a good guy. Much as he is what you might call a serial dater, he treats women decently. I know for a fact every woman he brings home comes easy and willing and leaves the same way. Like I said, he’s a good guy.”

“I’m not going to argue with you on that,” Zoe told him, frowning a little at what she saw as the mayor’s strange and almost shifty behaviour. “And since both Wade and I are going into this night out together with our eyes wide open as to what is and is not going to happen, I really don’t see why you look so worried.”

At that, Lavon sighed. “Just ‘cause I care about the both o’ you, that’s all. Wade’s been my friend a long time, and you have become my friend real fast. I know what you say is true, ‘bout you both knowing where you stand and all, but just for my sake, be real careful, okay? Maybe make clear to Wade before you go out that the night ain’t gonna end like he might hope.”

“Okay, if it would make you feel better, I will do that,” Zoe reassured him. “You know that I don’t have feelings for Wade, right?” she checked then.

“Hey, that ain’t my business,” Lavon insisted, hands raised in mock surrender again.

“Maybe it’s not, but I’m still fine with telling you,” said Zoe easily. “Do I find him attractive? Absolutely, because I’m not blind or brain-damaged, but that’s as far as it goes. I know the kind of guy Wade is and I will make doubly sure that he knows what kind of woman I am, just on the off-chance that he’s unclear, so you really have nothing to be concerned about.”

Turning towards the door then, Zoe let herself out, her own smile slipping as she went. She wasn’t sure why it bothered her to have to tell Wade nothing would happen with the two of them tonight, even though she was ninety-nine percent sure it were true.

Yes, he was hot, and sweet, and funny, and she could absolutely understand how it was easy as anything for him to get a different date every night, if he wanted one, but he was also a player, for lack of a better term. Zoe was certainly not the one-night stand type, so absolutely nothing would ever happen with the two of them.

Of course, it almost had the other day, when she was possibly still mildly tipsy on bourbon and so upset and confused about her whole paternity situation. It was still strange to realise it was Wade who had stopped her from making the mistake of falling into bed on a whim like that. Zoe wasn’t sure how that had happened exactly. The way Lavon talked about Wade, it made him sound like he would take anyone who gave him even the slightest hint of encouragement into his bed. Zoe had out and out thrown herself at him and he gave her the chance to back out.

“So what exactly does that mean?” she asked herself, as she headed for the carriagehouse, glancing back over her shoulder at the gatehouse when she finally reached her own door.

Wade was out of view, probably in his bathroom, or maybe even gone into town or to work for a while, before his night off, when he would be taking her out. The smile came back to Zoe’s lips at the very idea of that. Wade was taking her out, not just out to dinner or a movie or whatever he had planned, but out of town, where nobody knew she was Dr Zoe Hart or Harley Wilkes’ daughter. The freedom of anonymity, for the first time since she left New York, actually appealed to Zoe, even if it had only been a couple of weeks, and she had so been enjoying the attention before.

“Just for one night, a little freedom might be nice,” she said quietly, letting herself into the carriagehouse and heading straight for her closet to pick out something to wear for her night out with Wade. “Not a date,” she reminded herself, flipping past this dress and that.

A minute later, she was going right back to those very same outfits. Just because it wasn’t a date, didn’t mean she couldn’t look good. She had promised Lavon, not to mention herself, that she would make certain Wade knew nothing was going to happen between them, the moment he came by to pick her up. So, what harm could a very sexy little black dress really do?

Chapter Text

Wade wasn’t sure what the hell he had been thinking when he offered to spend his night off taking Zoe Hart out on the town. It seemed more stupid than it even was on paper, since they agreed straight off that it wasn’t any kind of date at all. That probably meant the good doctor was expecting some almost girl-friends type of an occasion. Certainly nothing romantic, which was fine, because Wade wasn’t really the type anyway. Sure, he could charm just about any woman he wanted into going home with him, but all that moonlight and roses crap, it just wasn’t him.

Of course, Wade was aware that if anybody could inspire a person to want to get that stupid, it was probably Zoe Hart. He only wished he knew why it was that he liked her as much as he did, but he had no real explanation. Maybe it was just because she was so different to anybody else he ever met, being from up north and a fancy doctor and all. Whatever it was, he knew for certain that dwelling on it wouldn’t do him any good.

Fact of the matter was, he would do better thinking about helping Zoe than worrying about his own feelings. Stressed out as she seemed to be and all, she really did need a good night out, away from all the nosey parkers in town and everything. He knew a great place to take her and show her a real fine time. That was the priority, to have her let her hair down and enjoy a little freedom for a while.

At eight o’clock, Wade came out of the gatehouse and got into his car, pulling it around outside of the carriage house instead and punching the horn that played Dixie good and loud. Zoe may be more of a lady than some he had dated, but they both insisted this was no date, so he figured it was just fine to summon her from her place that way.

When the door opened, he realised he had it right, but it was maybe the only thing he was right on. Wade had expected Zoe to look good when she emerged from the carriagehouse, because honestly, he hardly ever saw her look any other way. He wasn’t exactly set for the sight of her in the little black dress though, his eyes going wide and his jaw slackening as he looked her over through the open driver’s side window.

“Zoe Hart, you are hotter than hell on a Sunday,” he told her loudly and without pause, trying not to grin too much when her cheeks turned pink while she was coming down the porch steps.

“Shut up,” she told him, swatting at his arm just as soon as she was close enough. “It’s just a dress.”

“No, it is not,” he said honestly, shaking his head. “Come on now. The night is young and, for all intents and purposes, so are we. So, let’s get us someplace worth goin’ and have ourselves a good time, alright?”

“Sounds great,” she agreed, moving around to the passenger door and opening it up.

As she slid into the car, Wade tried not to notice how her dress rode up some, but it didn’t come easy. When she was strapped in and ready to go, he made ready to move the car, only to startle when her hand came across and landed on his own atop the gear shift.

“I have to tell you something, before we go.”

She looked so awful serious about it, Wade hardly knew what to think. He only nodded his head, waiting on whatever it was she needed to say.

“This night out, it’s a friends thing, right? We both agreed, not a date, but I also need you to know that, that I’m not that kind of girl,” she said pointedly. “I just need you to understand that, so that we can continue to be friends, without any problems.”

“No problems here, doc,” Wade told her easily, putting on his best smile, just like always.

Of course, it stung, having her hammer home the point that she would absolutely, positively not be sleeping with him any time soon. Wade tried to shrug it off though. So, she wasn’t the one-night stand type. He figured on that already. Besides, wasn’t as if he couldn’t get over his want to bed her, or as if he had never had girls in his life that were just friends and nothing more. He was sure there had been some, at some point. Probably. Maybe. For the life of him, he couldn’t think of a one, right in that moment.

“Wade?” Zoe prompted, letting him know he had been sat thinking and staring too long, when he should’ve been driving.

“Uh, like I said, let’s get to goin’.”

He put the car into gear then and drove them off the plantation, squealing the tyres on the way. Zoe laughed and reached to turn up the radio, clearly already having a good time. Wade tried to focus on that and nothing else. After all, he wanted her to enjoy their night out, for her sake much more than for his own. That concept made him wonder too, but for the time being, he hoped to put it to the back of his head. Seemed safer that way somehow.

Zoe had never been to a roadhouse before. If she had known she was going to one tonight, she probably would have dressed a little differently. Not that she wanted to complain. After all, Wade was trying to do a nice thing, and he was insisting on paying for everything, even though they already established, multiple times, that it was not a date in any way. She knew she had to give the whole evening a real chance, even if she was getting leered at a little too much by certain people.

“Don’t worry on it, doc,” Wade advised, clearly noticing how awkward she looked. “Most folks around here are all hat and no cattle, as they say. They’ll stare at ya, maybe even make a remark or two, but they won’t do anythin’. If they did, believe me, they’d have me to answer to.”

“Thank you,” said Zoe with a smile, “but honestly, I can hold my own against handsy men. Trust me, as a New Yorker, you have to have some knowledge of self-defence, most especially as a woman who rides the subway alone.”

Wade frowned very hard at that. “You tryin’ to tell me you have fellas tryin’ to... in broad daylight?”

“Not exactly broad daylight when you’re riding on an underground train,” she snarked, though the humour felt out of her voice and off of her face when she continued, “but yes, unfortunately, there can be a lot of less-than-gentlemanly behaviour in those kinds of circumstances.”

He didn’t like hearing that, Zoe noted, but then, Wade came from a place where that just wasn’t normal behaviour for anyone. The denizens of Bluebell were good, respectful, kind people. Sure, there were men who probably tried to charm women who weren’t all that interested, Zoe was almost certain that Wade was one of them, but she couldn’t imagine him, or anyone else she had met in the area so far, ever being forceful or truly inappropriate in that way. Not in any way really, truth be told.

“Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin the mood,” she said then, nudging Wade’s elbow with her own as they waited for service at the bar. “I’m sure this place is great. I mean, how can a place called Tricky Ricks not be great?” she asked, rolling her eyes and grinning wide all over again.

“It’s not so much of a dive as some places I coulda taken ya.” Wade shrugged easily. “Not as classy as the Rammer Jammer either, but they play good music, they serve good beer and such, and I never come here and didn’t have a good time.”

“I believe you.” Zoe nodded, even as her eyes moved around the place. “It’s funny, I expected a roadhouse to be... I don’t know, scuzzier, I guess, with a lot more scary dudes hanging around.”

Wade chuckled as he leaned into her a little when he spoke again. “You watched too many Patrick Swayze movies, doc.”

“Ha, that’s what you think,” she countered, “but I can assure you, Wade Kinsella, there is no such thing as too many Patrick Swayze movies.”

That made him laugh all over again, which in turn made Zoe laugh too, and it felt good. All this before they had even gotten any drinks into them. Zoe couldn’t deny that Wade was very good at cheering people up and making a night out go with a swing.

She couldn’t have known at the start of the night that it would get any better as time rolled on. When it came to drinks, she had expected much the same limitations as she found in Bluebell, but apparently, one of the new bartenders at Tricky Ricks was well-versed in cocktails and was keen to show off. In the space of an hour or two, she had tried and enjoyed various Southern cocktails, from Shoo-fly Punch to a French 76, from a Fuzzy Navel to a Spiked Arnold Palmer. However, it seemed to be the Hemingway Daiquiri that was finally going to ‘knock her on her behind’ as the bartender put it.

“Wow. That is...” she didn’t even have words, barely any breath at all, after just one sip. “Wade, you have to try this,” she insisted then, reaching out and trying to put the glass to his lips.

“Come on now, doc. I ain’t altogether the cocktail-drinkin’ kind,” he said, evading her glass at every attempt. “I mean, I can mix ‘em just fine, but I do better with drinkin’ beer and such.”

“Come on!” she whined, the way only somewhat drunk girls could. “Just try it. You never know, you might like it. Besides, it’s not a girly drink. Hemingway drank this. Hemingway!”

She kept on saying that like it mattered a lick. Not that Wade didn’t know who she was talking about, because he did, kind of, anyway, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be drinking a froofy cocktail, even if it was intended for a fella. Of course, one look at her big brown eyes and pouty lip had him doing just exactly what she wanted within a second.

“Fine,” he relented, picking the glass from her hand before she dropped it and downing the remainder of what was in it. “Damn. That ain’t half bad,” he admitted, putting the empty glass back onto the bar. “That being said, I’m startin’ to think maybe you hit your limit, doc. Maybe lay off the drinks for a while, okay?”

“I know my limits, Wade Kinsella,” she said, leaning towards him a little, and then, suddenly, a lot. “Oops!” she exclaimed, giggling like a loon as she all but collapsed against him, not really trying too hard to right herself either.

“See, I reckon if you really knew your limits, you woulda stopped a couple o’ fancy cocktails back,” Wade advised, helping her sit a little more straight. “You maybe want some water to even out the booze a little?”

“I guess.” Zoe sighed, like it was the biggest inconvenience in the world, her arms folded on the bar and her head lolling towards them just a little. “So, this is what you do for fun? Go out, drink, lean on the bar?”

“Sometimes.” Wade nodded. “It’s nice to just relax, talk to folks, maybe dance a little bit.”

“You dance?” she asked, looking all kinds of surprised.

“Well, I don’t know how to waltz or anythin’ fancy, and I sure as hell don’t have any John Travolta Saturday Night Fever moves either, but the kinda dancin’ they do here? Sure, I can do that. Don’t know a self-respectin’ soul from around here that doesn’t.”

Zoe looked a little wobbly yet, but Wade felt better about her state of being once she had a bottle of water in her hands and was drinking plenty of it down. Chances were good she would even out in a little while, maybe faster if he could convince her that dancing was a real good idea. As activities for sweating out booze went, he could only think of one better, and they both agreed that was off the table before this night ever got going.

When he looked back at Zoe then, he realised she had turned away from the bar, her eyes following the folks that were line-dancing up a storm and making a real noise with their boots and such slamming on the ground. She wasn’t so drunk that she couldn’t follow the steps, Wade supposed, and if she wanted to go for a spin, he’d be happy to take her out on the floor. As was the usual way with Zoe Hart, before he had a chance to ask her anything, she took the initiative all on her own.

“So, are we doing this?” she asked, holding out her hand for him to take.

“You serious right now?” he checked, watching as she hesitated just a little, some of that fine liquor already beginning to wear off, he suspected.

“I mean...” she began to say, just as one song ended and another began. “Oh, my God, I actually love this song!” she declared loudly, to the strains of Billy Ray Cyrus’ one and only big hit.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me?!” Wade exclaimed, but he didn’t argue when Zoe grabbed onto his hand and all but pulled him from his stool to the dancefloor.

“Oh my God, I am so hot, and so exhausted, but I had soooo much fun!”

By the time Wade pulled the car up outside of the carriagehouse, Zoe was as giddy as a goat but looking all in at the same time. It had been one hell of a night, no mistake, and by now, Wade suspected it was actually the next morning, but he had no regrets.

He and Zoe had danced and drank and laughed and had the best time out at Tricky Ricks. Honestly, he had never thought to enjoy himself so much with a woman where they both had their clothes on and stayed upright the whole time, but with Zoe, it had happened. He hoped to God he got the chance to let it happen again and again.

“Thank you, Wade,” Zoe told him then, turning in her seat as far as the safety belt would allow, not seeming to realise she could take it off altogether, now they had come to a halt. “I mean, really, thank you. I seriously needed to blow off steam, preferably away from all the nosey people in this charming community,” she said pointedly. “And you helped me out with that. You did, you just... thank you,” she ended with, leaning into him a little, until the safety belt cut her off with a jolt.

“Easy there, doc,” he advised, encouraging her to both sit back and unclip the belt.

Of course, in helping her do both, he ended up leaning a long way into her personal space instead. It would have been so damn easy just to kiss her, just to keep on kissing her, and touching her, and whispering such things into ear that she was likely to give up all pretensions and agree to go to bed with him. He could do all of that, but Wade knew better than to try. She said when this night started that it wasn’t what she wanted. God help him, but he actually liked and respected her too much to go against her wishes that way, even if he might’ve been able to change her mind somehow.

Pulling back fast, he cleared his throat loudly, and fixed his gaze out of the windshield when he said; “You’re more’n welcome, Zoe Hart. Always happy enough to help out a friend with having a good time when they need one.”

When he finally dared to glance her way again, Wade could almost kid himself that he thought he saw a flash of disappointment on Zoe’s face, but it was all in his mind, he was sure on that.

“Okay then,” she said then, putting on a smile. “I should, uh...” she gestured towards the house, then made a big deal of getting out of the car. “Goodnight, Wade,” she called in through the open passenger window, waving a hand at the same time.

“Goodnight, Zoe Hart,” he replied in kind, concentrating on pulling the car around in front of the gatehouse instead.

He didn’t dare look back, but couldn’t seem to help catching sight of her in the rearview as she ascended the steps to the carriagehouse and then disappeared inside. If nobody saw Wade pounding his forehead on the steering wheel in frustration, then did it even really happen?

Chapter Text

As the filing cabinet draw slid back into place with a clang, Zoe winced horribly, but tried to cover. She really didn’t want anyone noticing that she wasn’t a hundred percent today, because doubtless it would lead to questions as to why. That was a conversation she could use not having this morning. Unfortunately, somebody wasn’t going to give her a choice.

“Here, thought you could use these.”

Mrs H was smiling, but just barely as she came into the office, proffering a large bottle of water and a packet of painkillers.

“Oh, I’m not...” Zoe began to protest, before sinking down into the chair with a heavy sigh. “Thank you. I swear, I had so much water last night, after the other drinks, and although dancing induces sweating, which may remove some of the alcohol, it would also be a factor in causing further dehydration...”

“Which is the main cause of your basic hangover,” Mrs H finished for her with a more than knowing look. “Don’t worry on it, Zoe. You’re not the first doctor to not take your own advice, and I promise you won’t be the last.”

The way she said it suggested she meant Harley and Brick as much as anybody else. Zoe let out a little laugh at the very idea of either of them being drunk and consequently hungover. After all, they seemed to be such upright, decent gentlemen. Of course, Harley was only Zoe’s father because he had an ill-advised affair while on vacation, so maybe she wasn’t the best example of what upright and decent really looked like, or maybe it was just that those kinds of people could also be foolish sometimes.

“I’ll take the water, but I’ll skip the pills for now, thanks,” Zoe told Mrs H, reaching for the bottle and gulping down as much as she could in one hit. “Ugh, I think some of the problem is how little sleep I had too, but then, I wasn’t expecting to be working until much later.”

“Well, I wouldn’t have called you ‘cept we had quite the full book today. With Harley on his rounds and Brick calling to say he was having a crisis with his youngest...”

“It’s fine, I really don’t mind,” Zoe assured her. “It was just kind of bad timing is all, but I’m managing okay. I’m really appreciating ten minutes peace right now at least.”

“Sorry to say it’s almost over,” Mrs H told her gently. “I got Cody out there hoping to see you, and I just took a call from Mrs. Peyser. She’s set to worryin’ about little Henry again, and no matter how many times I told her it is normal for a child his age, she is insistin’ on bringing him over.”

“It’s okay, I’ll see them. I’ll see Cody, and then Henry Peyser and his mom, and then whoever else needs me,” said Zoe firmly, rising from her seat and wishing her head wouldn’t protest quite as much as it actually did. “You know why? Because I am a doctor. This is my calling, practically my birthright,” she considered aloud. “So, let’s do this.”

“Whatever you say, doctor,” said Mrs H pointedly, wearing a much more genuine smile than when she walked into the office.

Zoe couldn’t help but but think it was because maybe she sounded a little like Harley or something. Mrs H had made it pretty darn clear since the truth came out that she was thrilled to have Zoe and Harley be making a connection like they were. It seemed she was just about the only other person in town who knew about Zoe’s true parentage before anyone else found out, before even Zoe herself was let in on the secret.

“I’m telling you right now, I have been badgering Harley to be honest with you for months now, prob’ly years, in fact,” she had told Zoe insistently. “I don’t hold with all this secret-keeping, the way some folks do.”

Zoe believed that was true and was glad to hear it. As far as she could tell, Mrs H was very much the type to tell it like it is, even if what she had to say might be something another person didn’t want to hear. It was the way Zoe was herself, at times, and she resected it very much in others. That was why she was confident she could rely on Mrs H and find a real friend in her, as well as a dependable work colleague.

All in all, there was no denying Zoe had made a lot of friends in town very quickly. Though a lot of people were gossiping about her since the truth was revealed, she tried to keep in mind what both Lavon and Wade had told her. That they all meant no harm, that the shocking news would soon be replaced by the next story to share, and that basically, they were all ‘good folks’ at heart.

“Mornin’, doc,” said Cody, when she stepped through into the exam room and found him already sitting on the table. “I kinda got into a scrape in my daddy’s workshop,” he explained, showing her his hand and wrist, all bound up in material that was more red than white.

With a sigh, Zoe pulled on her gloves and got back to work.

“Well, hey, there Dr Wilkes,” said Wade when the doctor came into the Rammer Jammer. “And what can I get for you?”

“I was just hoping to get myself a light lunch and a nice cool drink before I head into the practice,” he explained, pulling himself up onto a stool at the bar with some effort. “I don’t want to take too long either, if you could possibly hurry my order along,” he explained, eyes moving quickly over the menu that Wade immediately put into his hands. “My Zoe has been by herself all morning long while I did my rounds, on account of the trouble Brick has been having up at the school...”

“Yeah, I did hear Miss Magnolia has been up to no good again.” Wade rolled his eyes. “God help us all when she comes of age, ‘cause she seems to be handful enough already at barely thirteen! I mean, seriously, if she ain’t enough to warn a person off ever having a daughter...”

When Harley looked up sharply from his menu then, Wade realised what it was that he had said and bit his tongue.

“Well, what I meant to say was...” he began, one hand going to the back of his neck.

“That’s quite alright, Wade,” Harley assured him with a smile, waving away any concerns he might’ve been having. “I don’t take it personal. Truth to say, I don’t know exactly what my own daughter was like at that age, but I’d like to think she had a little more... well, shall we say class than a certain Miss Magnolia is showing of late.”

“I’d guess she had it then, since she certainly has it now,” said Wade, a nicety that was easy to give since he meant it wholeheartedly. “Now, what’ll it be for this speedy lunch o’ yours?”

Harley duly gave his order and Wade made a point of getting it to him just as quick as he could, as much for Zoe’s sake as anyone elses. It occurred to him that maybe she wasn’t altogether in a fit state to be working after their adventures at Tricky Ricks last night. Even if she was over the worst of the drinking, it was awful late when they got home, and Zoe had told him a while back that she didn’t function too well on a lack of sleep.

“You like my Zoe, don’t you, Wade?” Harley asked him, after thanking him for his lunch.

“Sure, I like her fine,” he agreed easily. “Don’t think you’ll find too many in Bluebell that’d say otherwise. Made herself all kinds of popular without tryin’ too hard. She’s just a likeable kind of a person, I guess.”

The smirk on Harley’s face was of a particular kind that Wade recognised all too well. Sure, it wasn’t there long, disappearing as quickly as Harley put his sandwich to his mouth and took a big bite, but he saw it well enough and he knew what it meant.

The old doc wasn’t asking if Wade liked Zoe as a person, or as a friend maybe, which of course he was willing to admit that he absolutely did. He meant like in that way that mattered a whole lot more. The way men liked women, and not just on the base level of taking them to bed either.

“Whatever you got cookin’ in your head about me and Zoe, doc, I can tell you right now, it ain’t like that,” he said definitely, not even bothering to keep his voice down, since a denial seemed like a safe enough thing to share. “Like I said, I like Zoe just fine, and I’d like to think she’d say the same about me, but that’s all there is to it. We’re neighbours, friends if you want, but I know better than to... You ain’t gotta worry about her with me, alright?”

“Oh, I’m sure of that, Wade Kinsella.” Harley smiled the moment he swallowed down his food. “For one thing, I could tell right away that Zoe was not the kind of woman to... well, we’re both men of the world, I’m sure I don’t have to say it,” he said with a look.

Wade nodded in agreement with that.

“Of course, if a young gentleman had taken a shine to Zoe in a more befitting way, perhaps in such a manner that he might be serious about her, well, I think that would be quite the different matter.”

At that, Wade laughed, having to force it just a little, but hoping Harley wouldn’t notice. After all, with his reputation, nobody in their right mind could really think that Wade would be serious about any woman, much less the new town doctor. It wasn’t the way he was built or a way he ever wanted to be. God knows, even if he had a yen to be the kind of man that Zoe would go for, he knew damn well he was right at the bottom of the list when it came to folks who would be worthy of her.

“Doc, you got a sense o’ humour on you and no mistake,” he said, when he was almost done chucking like his ribs would bust. “You best watch out, folks will be thinkin’ you been self medicatin’ or some such, coming out with ideas like that.”

With that, he turned and walked away, hoping nobody was paying enough attention to notice him wincing a little at his own reaction, his own stupid words. Far as Wade could tell, Zoe just wanted to be his friend. She made it plain enough that, although she did kind of throw herself at him that one time, it wasn’t for real, just the liquor and the upset fuelling her to be so rash.

Last night, she told him outright that she was not the one-night stand type, and Wade knew good and all he wasn’t the kind for anything more. The word ‘unworthy’ ran through his head a few more times, until finally he cleared his throat, took a deep breath and pushed all such foolishness right out of his head. After all, he had a job to do.

With a sigh, Wade put on his best smile and got back to work.

Chapter Text

“This is nice.”

“I’m awful glad you think so.” Harley smiled across the table at Zoe.

It would have been impossible for her not to smile back, given all the effort he had been going to in the last while to make her feel as comfortable as possible with their new dynamic. Besides, she meant what she said about the day and the occasion being nice.

A pancake breakfast, out in the town square, run by the Reverend and his wife. It sounded so small-town and almost cliched, but even the cynical New Yorker that was Zoe Hart had to admit, it seemed like a wonderful idea. The whole community together, eating good food (albeit not the healthiest choice perhaps, given all the sugar and syrup everywhere she turned) and enjoying a pleasantly warm, but not too hot day, so far. There was really nothing at all for her to complain about. Well, maybe one thing.

“That was quite the sigh.”

Harley’s words alerted Zoe to the fact she had even made her annoyance known out loud. It hadn’t been deliberate at all, but now that he knew there was something wrong, she figured she may as well tell him what it was as not. A problem shared was a problem halved, or so people around Bluebell were always saying, amongst a hundred other quaint old sayings. She supposed there was some truth to at least a few of them anyway.

“It’s Wade,” she said, shaking her head as she tried to put her focus back on her pancakes - they really were delicious. “I don’t know if I did something to upset him or... well, no, that really is it. I think I might have upset him, I’m just not sure how.”

Harley frowned. “Last you told me, he had taken you out on the town to let your hair down and all. Sounded to me like you had a real fine time.”

“We did.” Zoe nodded in agreement. “It was great. We had a lot of fun and, like I told you, we were both very clear before we went out that it was not a date, and I’m sure at the end of the night, we parted on friendly terms. I thought we did anyway but...”

“But?” Harley prompted, eyes all full of concern as he prompted her to go on.

Zoe heaved another sigh and put her fork down on her plate with a clatter. “I think he’s avoiding me. I mean, he’s been in the Rammer Jammer a couple of times when I’ve been there, obviously, because he works there, but when I try to talk to him, he barely says two words.

“Lavon said that he always eats breakfast up at the house, except in the last week, he’s hardly been there at all, and again with the fast exits when I walk in. There has to be something wrong, and I did think about going over to his house when I know he’s home to ask him what it is, but then, a part of me thinks, why am I chasing around after him? He’s the one being all weird and stupid!”

The moment the words were out, Zoe noted how foolish they must sound. It was as if she were a child on the school playground, having fallen out with a boy she liked and being all kinds of grumpy about it, just because she could. She wasn’t behaving like an adult at all and she knew it, long before she realised that Harley was stifling a laugh at her expense.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said then, waving a hand dismissively. “Don’t pay no mind to my smiling. I’m just... well, I guess I never thought that, at your age, I’d be helping you with your boy troubles.”

“Oh, no. No, no, no,” Zoe said vehemently, waving both hands in wild cutting motions. “This is not... I already told you, Wade and I are just friends. Trust me, I know his reputation with women, and while I am not one to judge how anybody chooses to live their life, the last thing I want is to be another notch on some guy’s bedpost.”

She felt her cheeks heat up on realising how close she was coming to talking about sex with her father. Zoe shook the embarrassment off fast and moved the conversation right along.

“All I’m saying is, Wade seemed pretty big on being my friend, and that’s what I thought we were. Friends. Good friends. Now, he’s never around, and he seems all weird and grumpy and...”

“Oh my!” Harley’s exclamation and the way his hand went to his forehead drew Zoe’s attention from her own rants and rambles within a second. “The first of the month.”

“The first of the month,” Zoe echoed. “Okay, yes, we did just have the first of the month, but what does that have to do with anything? Wade’s not a werewolf or something, is he? No, that would be the full moon, which moves around all the time,” she considered aloud.

Harley was shaking his head when she refocused her eyes on him then. “How much did Wade tell you about his family?”

“Um, not much,” Zoe considered. “His mother died when he was young, and his father is, uh...”

“Earl,” Harley said for her, clearly realising she didn’t want to say what she really knew his name to be. “Most call him Crazy Earl nowadays. I suspect you heard it said.”

“I did.” Zoe agreed. “Actually, Wade told me himself that his father has a drinking problem.”

“That he does.” It was Harley’s turn to heave a sigh then, carefully placing his own fork down on the side of his plate and folding his hands together as he spoke softly to Zoe. “After his wife, Jacqueline, passed on, Earl struggled to cope. He had just lost the love of his life, had two young boys still to raise, and no matter how hard the community tried to support him, no matter how hard I tried, he just... fell apart. He’s been drinking pretty heavily off-and-on for the last twenty years, but this last while, he has developed a habit of cashing his government cheque on the first of each month, drinking himself into quite the state, and then... and then climbing up onto the roof of Nate’s Hardware and threatening to jump.”

Zoe felt her eyes go comically wide at that revelation, even though there was nothing the least bit funny about what she was being told.

“He... he’s suicidal?”

“No, I don’t actually think that he is,” Harley assured her fast. “I’ve talked to him about it, more than once, and as far as I can tell, he doesn’t have any genuine wish to take his life. Far as I can make out, it’s much more to do with the attention he can get. The people all come out to watch and he is the focal point for just a few minutes. More than that, his son will always climb up on that roof to get him down, and if Earl makes a big enough fuss, he can get Wade to prove the love he so obviously has for him. You familiar with the song Moon River?”

“Sure. Audrey Hepburn sings it in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

“She does.” Harley smiled. “And when Jacqueline Kinsella would sing it, her favourite song in all the world, I promise you there was no sweeter sound, not even from Ms. Hepburn herself in that very movie. If you’re ever in town on the night of the first of the month, you will hear a perhaps less tuneful but nonetheless genuinely heartfelt version from the roof right up there,” Harley explained, gesturing across the street to the hardware store he spoke of before. “Wade and Earl in less-than-perfect harmony, performing for the whole town, before finally son talks father back down to solid ground.”

“Wow.” Zoe didn’t know what to say beyond that particular exclamation.

No wonder Wade hadn’t been in the best mood recently. She was confused as to how she hadn’t heard about Earl on the roof a couple of days before, but when she thought about it, she realised that it wouldn’t exactly be shocking gossip to the town in general. For them, it was a normal event. Nothing worth mentioning at all.

“I had no idea,” she said then, though that was probably more than plain to Harley already.

“No reason why you should have, honey,” he told her gently, taking a sip from his coffee cup, “but now that you do, maybe you’ll think a little more kindly when it comes to Wade’s behaviour of late.”

“I will.” Zoe nodded absently, her mind wandering all over the place for a while, before she finally looked back at Harley, feeling foolish for the tears that seemed to have filled her eyes unbidden. “I’m glad you’re here,” she said, watching confusion furrow his brow. “What I mean is, I’m glad that you sent me those postcards. I’m glad that I came here when I did, and that-, and that you’re here.”

She couldn’t put it any plainer than that, or maybe she could, but trying to do so would make those tears fall and her body shake with sobs. Zoe wasn’t sure how she could be so upset at the idea of losing a father she only just met, and hadn’t even known existed until a short while before, but it was how she felt. Hearing the worst of Earl’s state of mind, being reminded of Wade’s loss of his mother and everything, it made her so grateful for what she had. The opportunity to get to know her natural father, before it was too late.

Harley smiled, reaching across the table to cover Zoe’s hand with his own and give it a little squeeze. “And I’m so happy to have you here, Zoe, but for what it’s worth, I don’t plan on goin’ anywhere any time soon,” he said with a pointed look. “I know I gotta work on my diet and exercise some more, but if it’s in my power to stick around long enough to see you get a sight older yet, I’ll do it.”

She smiled back at him, sniffing hard to keep the tears at bay, now more from the sweetness of his words and looks than from the sadness of what tragedies might have been. Zoe really was so grateful for what she had, perhaps more now than ever before.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself, doc,” said Wade, watching Zoe pull herself up onto a stool at the bar. “You lookin’ to get yourself some lunch?”

“No, thank you,” she told him, shaking her head. “Honestly, I had so many pancakes at the Mayfairs event this morning, I actually don’t know if I’ll ever eat again.”

That made him smile in spite of himself. “Pretty sure you’re in no danger of ruining your figure yet,” he assured her, eyes moving down her body and up again. “But seriously now, you just come here for a drink, on a Sunday no less?”

Zoe sighed. “Well, technically, Sunday doesn’t mean as much to me as most people around here - half-Jewish, remember?” she said, raising her hand when she said it, before lowering it back to the bar top. “But I actually didn’t come here because I wanted anything. I was just... Um, I just wanted to ask how you were doing. So, how are you doing, Wade?”

“Just fine, thanks for asking,” he told her warily, wondering at the odd way she was staring at him, all wide-eyed like Bambi or some such. “You sure that you’re okay?” he checked in turn.

“Me? I’m fine,” she insisted, though she seemed anything but. “Like I said, I just wanted to see how you were, you know, in the circumstances, with it being so early in the month.”

That was when Wade realised what she was getting at, running a hand down his face as he sighed. “Right. Somebody told you about ol’ Earl and his roof climbing habits.”

Zoe nodded her agreement. “Harley filled me in, but only because I told him I was worried about you,” she explained. “You seemed so distant ever since our night out at Tricky Ricks. I was starting to think I did something wrong, but then, Harley explained...”

“What could you ever have done wrong to me?” Wade asked her, shaking his head. “You worry too much, doc, you know that?”

“Maybe,” she agreed, “but I thought we agreed that you and I were friends, Wade. Friends are supposed to worry about each other, or at least care about each other. If you were having a tough time, I would’ve liked the chance to be there for you. It’s really hard to be there for a friend who won’t tell you when they need you.”

The offer made him smile, even as the knife in his heart twisted a little more on every use of the word ‘friend’. Truth to say, they had pretty much agreed that was what they would be, on account of her not being the one-night stand type, and him not being fit for any other kind of relationship with women. That being said, he figured if he was willing to try to be serious about anybody, it might just be her. Not that he was in a place to be talking to her about that kind of thing right now, and even if he was, seemed nobody was going to let him try.

“Zoe Hart, there you are!” declared Lemon loudly, sweeping into the place, Annabeth on one side and Crickett on the other, like the sidekicks they were. “We have just been looking all over for you.”

“I’ve been here, and before that, just around town, at the pancake breakfast.”

“Of course, we did see you at that event,” Lemon noted, “but I was with my daddy and my sister then, and AB and Crickett here had their husbands to look to. However, with all our Sunday duties fully accomplished, both to the Lord and to our families, us ladies have plans to spend some quality time together. We were hoping you might join us.”

“Oh.” Zoe looked ready to start flailing and panicking when she heard that, looking to Wade as if she was hoping for help.

Maybe he should’ve been that good friend he was supposed to be and given her an easy out, but honestly, he wasn’t sure how to go about it. He was working all day at the Rammer Jammer, with no way to get out of it, even if he wanted to, so there was no pretending he had plans with Zoe himself. Besides, awful as it might seem to anybody who knew it, he couldn’t help but be somewhat amused by the look of abject horror on Zoe’s face at the thought of spending her Sunday afternoon with three high-ranking Belles.

“You go on now, doc, and have yourself a good time,” he advised her with a wide grin. “Pretty sure you deserve it after all that hard work you’ve doubtless been puttin’ in at the practice this past week and more.”

“Oh, yes, indeed!” Lemon agreed wholeheartedly. “My daddy tells me he never expected to be so impressed by the skills of a female doctor, and a Northerner to boot. Not that he ever had any intention of booting you, of course,” she said, laughing loudly.

Annabeth and Crickett joined in, just like always, and Wade couldn’t help but do the same. It really was too damn funny.

“Honestly, I was kind of hoping to talk to you about your life in the big city some more,” Annabeth told Zoe then, even as she and Crickett manoeuvred her off the stool and onto her feet between them. “It all seems so fascinating, and you know I’ve never been any place further north than Tennessee.”

“I went to North Carolina once,” said Crickett, grinning too much. “Is that near New York? I figure it must be, since it has North in it.”

“Come along, ladies!” Lemon called them to heel from the exit, and it was all Wade could do not to bust up laughing all over again.

He had his fist in his mouth to prevent an outburst when Zoe looked back at him one last time and, with his free hand, waved her bye-bye for now. When she come in, she had seemed set on cheering him up somehow. Later on, he would be sure to tell her she had accomplished her mission, even if it wasn’t exactly done in a way she intended or even appreciated!

Chapter Text

“Lavon, I need a favour...” Zoe said, the moment she opened the back door that led into the kitchen.

Not that she got any further in telling him what the favour was, she was too distracted by the way both he and Wade had stopped talking and started looking awkward the moment she appeared. Tilting her head, she stared at Lavon and then Wade, but both only smiled and wished her a hearty ‘Good morning.’

“Uh-huh,” she said dubiously, coming over to the counter, still eyeing them suspiciously. “It’s not my birthday, not until February, and even if that were an upcoming event, please know that I don’t celebrate it and I don’t like surprises. Anyway, since that can’t be what you were talking about before I got here, do you want to tell me what was?”

A part of Zoe dreaded hearing the answer to that. After all, she got along well with both Lavon and Wade, she appreciated their friendship and would hate to have any problems occur between them. Yesterday, she and Wade had reconfirmed their friendship, even if he had had a good laugh at her expense, when Lemon and her minions dragged her into their plans, and she was sure Lavon was pleased to have her around the place. She hoped he wasn’t about to tell her she couldn’t stay in the carriagehouse or something, not when she was just starting to really like her new home.

“It’s nothin’ to worry on, Zoe, I promise,” he assured her, though she didn’t immediately feel better. “It was just, you know, guy stuff.”

“Guy stuff?” she checked, immediately shaking her head. “You mean inappropriate comments about women?”

“No, no, no,” Lavon insisted fast. “Nothin’ like that. Just... private guy stuff.”

That made her less worried and more squicked out than anything. Not that she was squeamish about anything medical, in her capacity as a doctor, she couldn’t afford to be, but she didn’t really want to know if one of her friends was suffering in that way, and most especially not over breakfast.

“Oh, well, Harley or Brick are probably your best bet for something like that, but please, whichever one of you it is, do not delay in making an appointment. These things are usually easily solved, but the sooner the better, you know?”

Lavon opened his mouth as if to answer, then closed it again. Wade just squirmed horribly, then plunged his hand into the fruit bowl and retrieved an apple, before leaving very quickly through the back door.

“Oh, great. He’s back to that already,” Zoe muttered, not even bothering to repeat it when Lavon asked her to, since she had bigger things to deal with first. “Actually, I need to ask you for a favour.”

“You said that when you walked in,” he seemed to recall, sitting down on the next stool over from her and pouring out the coffee for them both. “What can I help you with?”

“Well, as mayor of this charming little town, I was wondering, can you ban me from becoming part of a local social group?”

Lavon frowned hard. “Why would I wanna do that?”

“I’m not asking if you want to, I’m asking if you could. If you have that power,” Zoe clarified.

“Maybe, probably.” Lavon shrugged his shoulders. “That kind of thing never came up before, but seriously, Zoe, why are you asking? Why would you wanna be banned from any social group? If you don’t wanna join something, you don’t have to.”

“Except that, apparently, peer pressure is alive and well in the South, and in Bluebell, it takes the form of Lemon Breeland and her wacky sidekicks,” said Zoe pointedly.

It took all of two seconds for the light to dawn in Lavon’s eyes, those same eyes going very wide a couple more seconds after that.

“Nah. Come on now. Those girls tapped you to become a Belle?” he checked, seeming almost as amused as Wade had been when she was dragged off by three sets of matching manicured hands the day before. “You? I mean, no offence, Z, but you ain’t exactly the type, far as I can tell.”

“I’m so not the type,” she confirmed without pause, reaching for the orange juice and filling up a glass for herself, “but apparently, I’m a legacy. Half the women in the Wilkes family were Belles. My Aunt Maureen, who, by the way, I haven’t even met yet, was a very big deal in her day, and Lemon seems determined that I need to become one of them. I swear, every time she used the phrase ‘One of us’ a chill ran down my spine. It was seriously like a horror movie.”

Lavon laughed loudly at that. “Now you’re just exaggerating. I know Lemon can be a little... well, she’s strong-willed and such, as far as I can tell, doesn’t exactly like to take no for an answer or have anybody tell her she can’t have things her way, but you’re from New York, Zoe Hart. Shouldn’t you be tougher than all that?”

“Yes, I should.” Zoe nodded her head, grabbing a pastry and tearing it in two, as if that would prove her point for her - it didn’t seem to work. “I should, but I’m not,” she admitted, her own voice far too whiny to her own ears. “I think the real problem was how nice they were about it. They so want me in their club, you know? They wouldn’t stop talking about all the fun we could have together, and even though ninety percent of the activities and events sounded like torture, it was still... I don’t know, I guess it’s just nice to be wanted, accepted. To have the possibility of girl-friends that are actually volunteering to have my back.”

When she looked at Lavon then, she found him smiling genuinely. “Seems to me you might actually like bein’ a Belle.”

Zoe sighed. “No, I really don’t think so,” she said definitely, taking a bite of her pastry and chewing on it thoughtfully. “You know, when I didn’t say yes immediately,” she continued, right after swallowing, “they started telling me how proud Harley would be to see me ‘join their noble ranks.’” She rolled her eyes when she said it, but still, Zoe realised that Lavon saw through her.

“Uh-huh. That part got to you, didn’t it?”

Slowly, Zoe nodded her head. “You know how long it is since I had a parent be proud of me for anything? My mom really only ranks her own achievements as important. I’m pretty sure I stopped impressing her in around fifth grade or something. Despite being married to a doctor, raising a doctor, and apparently, having an affair on a cruise with a doctor, she’s not really into congratulating anyone in the medical profession for their successes. I swear, sometimes, I think I would’ve gotten more positive attention from her if I’d been a beauty pageant champion or something.

“As for my dad, well, Ethan Hart, he hasn’t been around in years. I guess since he found out I wasn’t really his daughter. And Harley, he says I’m this great doctor, and that, in time, I’ll be even better. It’s nice, but when Lemon talked about him being proud of me for being a Belle, a real Southern tradition that goes back in his family for generations...”

“The idea of some roots and all, that’s what got to you,” said Lavon knowingly.

Zoe smiled across at him. “You’re very smart, Mr Mayor.”

“Prob’ly why they elected me.” He grinned back at her. “Seriously though, Z, there’s nothing wrong with wantin’ to feel connected to something, but I would think real seriously about what you lettin’ yourself in for before you go joining up with the Belles, or cutting them off without a care, for that matter. Those ladies can be your best friends or your worst enemies, from what I know. Prob’ly best you tread careful either way.”

None of what he said really helped in making Zoe feel better about the decision she had to make. He was only confirming what she already suspected. That saying yes would get her friends for life, but saying no was likely to ensure she had enemies aplenty. She just didn’t think she had it in her to put on a big froofy dress and dance around, like she had seen them all do on Founders Day. She wasn’t sure that pink teas and bakes sales were really her scene either.

Of course, Zoe was well aware that small-town living and being a GP in Alabama hadn’t sounded at all suitable for her either, until she tried them out. Six months ago, even six weeks ago, she could never have imagined living on a plantation, dealing with patients suffering from tic paralysis and snake bites, or being friends with either an ex-NFL star or a bartender who had a real rep with the ladies.

Heaving a sigh, she realised she had a lot more thinking to do before she gave Lemon and her associates a decision about the Belles. Also, she felt the need to ask Lavon a couple more questions before they were done with breakfast.

“Wade is okay, right?”

“Far as I know.” He answered too quickly, turning away as he spoke, and clearing his throat right after - that was suspicious. “What makes you ask that?”

“I don’t know, he’s just been different lately. At first, I took it personally, but then Harley told me about Crazy Earl and the whole climbing onto the roof thing, which made sense of why Wade would be kind of distant recently. We totally cleared the air yesterday, at least, I thought we did, but now...”

“Hey, I wouldn’t worry on it, Z,” Lavon told her then, a reassuring smile on his lips. “We all have our off days, off weeks even. Like you just said, Wade’s had stuff on his mind with his daddy and all. He’ll bounce back. Always does.”

Zoe studied his face a moment, but saw nothing that she could think of as suspicious or untrustworthy. So far, Lavon had proved to be an excellent landlord, host, and friend. She didn’t want to go doubting him now. Most especially not if she and Wade were not going to end up being as good friends as she had hoped.

Clearly, he didn’t feel he could talk to her about what was on his mind, which she supposed was fair, given how short a time they had known each other. They had just seemed to be so close so fast, but if he wanted to pull away, put his trust in his other friends who he had known longer, she supposed she could respect that. It seemed as if she was going to have to, like it or not.

“What is the matter with you?” Wade asked his reflection in the mirror.

Not that he got an answer. How could he? There were no such thing as magic mirrors. No such thing as magic at all, which life proved to Wade Kinsella a hundred times over in his time. If there was magic, he would still have his momma around, and Jesse wouldn’t be the asshat he was, and Earl wouldn’t be drunk so much of the time. Also, Wade would be smarter than he was and better at being the kind of man that women wanted to spend more than a night or a weekend with. Maybe he could’ve really been worth something. Enough that a real lady of quality would look to him as more than just a substitute girl-friend.

Wade sighed and turned away from the glass. No use wishing. Never did him any good before, so not much point in thinking it might going forward. Truth was, he liked being friends with Zoe. Meant he didn’t have to try too hard with her. Meant she actually liked him for him and not only for how he could make her feel.

Not that he had any worries on that score. If they ever did take to bed, he knew damn well he could show her a real good time, the kind she most like never had before. Maybe the problem was that she wouldn’t sleep with him, or that maybe she would, but he knew it would just screw up everything if they went down that path.

Up to this point, Wade had only had two kinds of women in his life - those that he genuinely cared about and those that he wanted to sleep with. There never was a one that landed on both sides of the line at the same time. Well, maybe one that almost did once, but that still wasn’t the same as the kinds of feelings he had been getting since Zoe showed up.

He never told Lavon about it, but of course, the mayor was smart enough, he figured it out on his own. Probably didn’t hurt that he lived in close quarters with both himself and Zoe, saw them together over breakfast and at all different times of the day, for various reasons. Made the whole thing kind of obvious, Wade supposed, from the perspective of a guy who had known him so long. If Zoe had any idea how he was feeling, she never made it plain, except for when she insisted their night out at Tricky Ricks before was absolutely not a date.

“Like I’d take her to a place like that if it was,” he muttered to himself, sitting down heavily on the end of the bed and running his hands over his face.

Much as he knew it was stupid, Wade had laid awake more than once, imagining how it would be if he and Zoe really were a couple. Where he could take her for a first date, how well he could treat her, and how happy she might be about it. What it would be like to walk around town, having everybody know she was his girlfriend and he was finally a one-woman man.

The sound of a door closing with a bump got his attention and he got up to look out of the window, just in time to see Zoe leaving the carriagehouse, presumably headed for work. She was beautiful as ever, obviously, and looking all serious and determined about whatever the day had in store for her. It made him smile as easily as it made his heart ache. No matter how encouraging Lavon had tried to be, Wade knew well enough that women like that were not for guys like him. He really was just going to have to get over her already.

Chapter Text

“I feel like all I’ve heard about for a week is gumbo, and honestly, until this whole competition thing came up, I wasn’t even sure what was in gumbo.”

Mrs H smiled indulgently at Zoe from across the reception desk. “Down here, that is practically a crime, so don’t you go sayin’ it too loud now.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry anymore. I know exactly what it is now. I honestly don’t think Harley or Brick have talked about anything else for days. I should be a gumbo expert. A gumbo connoisseur, since I’ve tried so many samples!”

That made Mrs H laugh, which in turn started Zoe off. It really was kind of crazy, and she did mean what she said about learning more about gumbo than she ever thought possible. Were her fellow doctors driving her nuts? Absolutely, but at the same time, it didn’t suck to have so much attention or to feel like a real part of something.

“You know, you seem to fit in here a whole lot better than some folks thought you would,” said Mrs H then. “I know even Harley had his worries and doubts, given where and how you were raised and all. Not me though. I don’t know exactly what it was, maybe God himself spoke to me, but I took one look at you that first day and I thought, ‘Yes, she is goin’ to be exactly what this town needs.’ I don’t think I was wrong, do you?”

Zoe shook her head, fighting the urge to blush at the same time. “I don’t know that I’m exactly what Bluebell needs,” she said modestly, “but I’m pretty sure it’s what I need, at least for right now. Don’t get me wrong, life in New York is nothing to be sneezed at, but the way things are here, the people and the community and everything, it is a surprisingly nice change of pace, I don’t mind admitting.”

Mrs H smiled even as she said; “You shoulda tried tellin’ your face that when Lemon Breeland and her pals were so set on you joining the Belles a few days back.”

“Oh my God, do not remind me!” Zoe gasped. “I had no idea what I was going to do about that. I mean, back home in New York, if someone had invited me to join their club or group or whatever, I would just have said, ‘No, thanks,’ and that would have been it, not least because I had the perfect excuse of working crazy hours and even crazier shifts at the hospital. Down here, it’s all so... Like I said, it’s the people and the community, not to mention the whole roots thing, with most of the women in Wilkes family having been Belles before. The last thing I wanted to do was upset Harley.”

“I know you wouldn’t want to do that,” Mrs H agreed easily, “and thankfully, you didn’t.”

“Nope, he was very understanding that I’m just not the Belle type. After he and I had a conference with Brick, it was pretty easy to get out of.”

“Just about the only person in town who can convince Lemon to let go of whatever idea is stuck in her head is her daddy. Not that Brick wins through every time, but he’s usually your best bet in getting his eldest to see reason.”

“Plus, if I was always in Belle meetings and at Belle events, that would only leave Brick and Harley to the cover the practice,” Zoe reminded her. “I think part of my appeal - if not so much for Harley, then certainly for Brick - is that I can cover when he wants to be elsewhere.”

There was no chance for Mrs H to remark on that, as the phone rang and she needed to answer it. Zoe busied herself flipping through the medical files she had piled on the reception desk. With Harley and Brick both seeing patients, she didn’t really have any place else to be. She didn’t actually need to be at the practice at all, but she liked being around, just in case she was needed, and both guys would let her sit on appointments too, if the patients were willing, which they usually were. It just so happened that Brick had an awkward and, in his words, ornery patient to see to right now, and Harley had certain man-related things to discuss with his patient, who was unwilling to say what had to be said in front of a woman. That left Zoe out in the cold, so to speak, not that she was feeling at all chilly.

“Startin’ to feel that heat again?” Mrs H remarked.

Apparently, she was done with her call, though Zoe hadn’t noticed. She also hadn’t realised she was flapping her hand around in front of her face, not until it was pointed out to her.

“I thought I was at least starting to adjust,” she said, shaking her head and immediately regretting it as beads of sweat flew from her forehead onto the page below.

“It is a might warmer today than it has been of late,” her friend noted, turning to check the thermometer on the wall. “I don’t know if it’s gonna get to be a real heatwave, but you will surely know about it if it does.”

“How hot does it get exactly?” asked Zoe warily.

“Last one we had hit 104 in the shade.”

That stopped Zoe breathing much faster than any amount of heat ever had before. “Yikes,” she gasped out, the moment she remembered to inhale. “That cannot be good for people’s health. This place must be crazy busy when that happens.”

Mrs H shrugged her shoulders. “Ain’t so bad for those of us born to it, I guess. We don’t get too much by way of heat stroke or sun burn, just ‘cause most folks know better how to act than some. Any trouble we have here comes from people acting foolish, on account o’ bein’ able to blame it on the weather. Also, those folks with what they call underlying conditions and such, it’s always that much tougher on them.”

“You mean people like Harley?”

Zoe wasn’t sure why she said it exactly. She wondered if she had imagined Mrs H’s eyes drifting to her father’s office door when she talked about people with underlying conditions, or if maybe that only happened because she got the phrasing from him. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know, but it was a little too late for that, once she asked her question.

“Harley is... Well, he’s obviously told you ‘bout his health scare a while back,” she said in a low voice, even though there was no-one else around to hear, “but he’s handling it okay, far as I know. No reason he shouldn’t go on for years enough yet, so long as he minds his diet and gets regular exercise. Least that’s what he told me, and I don’t have a reason to doubt him.”

“I don’t either.” Zoe shook her head. “Still, I have to admit, I worry sometimes. There are these moments when he, he just looks so much older than some other times, kind of frail, and I can’t help-”

“I am telling you, John, you have never had gumbo until you’ve had my recipe, and this year, I have made it better than ever! It’ll knock your socks off, that much I can promise, and if I don’t win a prize this year, well, I’ll eat my stethoscope!”

Harley’s patient laughed heartily, shaking the doctor’s hand, a hand-shake he returned with gusto. After John was gone, Harley came all but bounding over to the desk, a big grin on his face as he asked if everything was okay.

“Just fine, far as I know,” Mrs H told him, side-eyeing Zoe just a little.

“No problems here,” she agreed, smiling back at her father.

Honestly, when he looked so well and happy, what problem could there be?

Wade wasn’t all that surprised at getting wolf-whistled while he hung the gumbo competition sign at the Rammer Jammer. What had his eyes wide was stepping down off his step-stool and turning around to see Zoe Hart standing there behind him.

“That was you?” he asked, knowing he was right from the way her cheeks coloured up more than anything else.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, trying too hard not to smile. “Your sign isn’t straight,” she added, nodding up at the banner that was decidedly cattywampus, Wade had to admit.

“Yeah, well, as much as I know it’s said that a bad workman blames his tools, this here stool is the real problem,” he noted, showing her what he meant. “I may be taller than some folks I could mention,” he told her, smirking same as she had been, “but the ceiling is a long way up when your stepladder went missin’. All I got is this thing,” he said of the stool, giving it a kick for good measure. “Kind of have to stretch some to reach even that high, which you obviously noticed.”

He side-eyed her a bit, but Zoe seemed to be deliberately keeping her own gaze on his less-than-straight banner. Wade would lay good money she absolutely was the one who whistled, most like because his T-shirt wouldn’t stay anywhere close to his jeans when he was reaching up that way. Not that he minded her admiring the view at all, it was only that it was a sad reminder that she wouldn’t act on it.

“We have a stepladder at the practice you could use,” she said then, daring to look at him at last. “I mean, you would have to carry it up here, but it’s not exactly a long walk, and you’re... I’m sure you’d manage just fine.”

That time she was definitely staring at his arms and presumably the muscles that showed on them. She was also really quick to look away again, asking random questions about how busy or slow business had been for him so far, if they had any chilled white wine, what the special was on the menu tonight.

Wade wanted to ask her why. Honestly, he would really like to know why she felt as if paying him a compliment was some kind of crime. Of course, he knew he wouldn’t. For one thing, he had an idea he knew the answer already. She may feel a little tempted by what she saw when she looked at him (which made him want to preen a little, even if that was wrong) but Zoe was the kind to not want to be tempted. Besides, if she made too much of a big deal about the obvious attraction between the two of them, he might ask why they weren’t acting on it already, and that seemed to be a conversation she didn’t want to have twice. It was why he let the subject go and answered her questions instead, letting her know that business had been fair to middling, that there was always chilled white wine for her, and that the special was supposed to be shrimp.

“Supposed to be?”

“All the shrimp that Sal had to hand got bought up by folks making gumbo for the big competition tomorrow.” Wade rolled his eyes, returning to his spot behind the bar and locating a glass and a bottle of wine, to get Zoe her drink. “That’s how come the special ain’t so special anymore. Just straight up catfish, doc.”

She made a face, just as he expected her to, while pulling herself up onto a stool. Picking up her wine, she took a long drink, then sighed happily.

“I needed that,” she admitted. “It’s been kind of a long day, even though I didn’t spend all of it working. I was reading a lot of patient files and, honestly, Harley and Brick could both stand to improve their penmanship. The number of times I had to ask Mrs H what certain words were. A lot of their records look like a spider ran through some ink and then right across the page,” she explained, making crawling motions were the fingers on her free hand.

“You got a way with words, doc,” he told her, chuckling at the imagery.

“Ha. Says the guy who once found me in a bad mood and asked, ‘Who peed in your cornflakes?’” she said, putting on what was obviously supposed to be an imitation of Wade’s voice.

“Wow. That is just... Okay, for starters, if my voice was pitched that high, I’d have some serious worries about myself,” he told her, counting off points on his fingers. “And second, you need to work on your accent, girl. That is just bad.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said, laughing herself by then. “Strangely, Yale didn’t offer a course on talking like an Alabamian? Alabaman? Seriously, I don’t even know which is the right word for your people.”

“Makin’ us sound like an alien race there, doc,” Wade noted, glad to find her amusing rather than insulting, since he knew damn well she wouldn’t ever be trying to offend. “You seem to be forgottin’, your blood is as much from ‘Bama as it is from New York. So, whatever name you wanna apply to us fine folks of the Yellowhammer State, best you remember, you’re one of us too.”

That brought a real quizzical look to Zoe’s face, but Wade didn’t have much time to think on it. His cell ringing loud in his pocket made him startle, not least because he usually had the thing on silent when he was working. Pulling it out, his eyes went all the wider when he saw the name on the Caller ID. Since there was no-one much around needed serving for a while, he accepted the call.

“Tucker!” he greeted his friend with a grin, even though George couldn’t see it. “Long time, no talk, man. How’re you doin’?”

Zoe had been thinking pretty hard about what Wade said, how she was at least half Alabama person (she really didn’t know what the right word was for that) when suddenly he was taking a call from someone named George Tucker. It took her a second or two to realise who that was. Not that she ever met the guy, but she heard a lot about him over the few weeks she had been in Bluebell. He was around the same age as her and Wade, not to mention Lemon Breeland, to whom he had been engaged.

Zoe was a little fuzzy on the exact status of that romantic relationship now, since all the people she heard gossip and talk from seemed to be in the same boat. She had even asked Mrs H and Harley if they knew what the deal was, but neither was sure, and absolutely no-one was prepared to ask Brick or Lemon herself.

When finally, his call was over, after a lot of comments that seemed like inside jokes and a lot of laughter too, Wade put his cell back into his pocket, then reached for the bottle of wine to refill Zoe’s dwindling glass.

“That was your buddy, George Tucker?” she asked, even though it had been obvious enough.

“It was that, doc. I told you he was in New York, right?”

“You did,” she agreed, nodding her thanks for the wine. “When I first moved here, you made a joke about trading him for me.”

“I don’t remember a joke about that,” he told her, shaking his head as he replaced the bottle of wine in the refrigerator. “I do recall a compliment I paid, about us gettin’ the better end of the deal.”

The way he looked at her when he said that made a delicious shiver run through Zoe’s whole body. She tried to blame the cool, refreshing wine she just took a sip of, but of course, she knew better than to believe it. The whole thing with her and Wade, the attraction she felt towards him, and the same he clearly had to her, it was so stupid. They couldn’t act on it, she knew that, because it would ruin everything. He was a really good friend and she needed that. It would all go away if she allowed herself to be his next conquest, and certainly, he was not the kind of guy who would actually want to date her for real.

“Uh, so, he’s okay?” she forced out at last, shaking her head free of less-than-wholesome thoughts. “George, I mean. Everything is good in New York?”

“Far as I know.” Wade nodded. “He just called to check in, see how I was doin’, what was goin’ on in town. He does that from time to time. Reckon it all has to do with him gettin’ homesick and such.”

“If he misses Bluebell so much, why doesn’t he just come back here?” she asked, shrugging her shoulders like it was no big deal.

Wade sighed. “Couldn’t say for sure, doc, but you should know better than me. That’s some fine city you come from, right? All fanciful and full of opportunities and everything, at least for folks with the brains and the means. Seems to me that Tucker can do better work there than he can around here, so that’s where he stays.”

Before Zoe could make any more comments or ask any more questions, Wade excused himself to go serve a new group of patrons who just showed up at the bar. As he walked away, Zoe found herself replaying his words in her mind. There really were a lot more opportunities, career-wise and otherwise, in New York City, and yet, the more time she spent in Bluebell, the more she wondered why anybody would want to leave it. She also wondered if perhaps even she would be able to stand the idea of tearing herself away when a year had passed.

Chapter Text

“And when the sheriff came, I swear we had never run so fast in all our born days!”

Zoe laughed along with Harley as he finished yet another story of his childhood. There were so many good ones, all full of adventures and fun with his siblings, even when they did almost get themselves into trouble for their antics. At their hearts, it was evident that the Wilkes were good kids who really loved each other, which made her wonder where all these people were now.

“You make me a little jealous,” she admitted as they continued walking towards the plantation, the early afternoon sun glinting off the 2nd place medal around Harley’s neck. “I mean, there are advantages to being an only child, but I sometimes think maybe just one brother or sister might’ve been nice.”

She felt foolish just saying it. After all, Zoe knew now she was the product of an affair between Harley and Candice. Best case scenario, she would have had a half-sibling, from her mom and Ethan, but even so, she couldn’t help but think she may have been better off for it.

“Oh, trust me, Zoe, honey, there were times enough when I felt I would happily have been an only child,” said Harley, shaking his head, “but I guess, in the end, we all have to be grateful for the family we’re given. I know I am.”

“Are they grateful for you?” Zoe asked, biting her lip when she saw the confused expression on his face. “I just meant, well, since I got here, you’ve told me so many stories about your family, but I haven’t met any of them yet. I understand your parents already passed, but what about your brothers and sisters? I assume at least some of them are still around, and that they maybe have partners and kids?”

Harley stopped walking then, looking up at the sky more than at Zoe, as he took his handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his brow a little. He looked okay health-wise at least, she thought, as she peered up at him. When they left the Rammer Jammer, she hadn’t expected him to want to walk all the way home with her, but when she offered him the chance to see her carriagehouse, he had said he thought the exercise would do him good. It wasn’t exactly a crazy distance and there were more clouds in the sky than on some other days, keeping the sun from getting too unbearable.

“As you know from my stories, I have two brothers and two sisters,” he said then, putting away his handkerchief and looking down at Zoe with a soft smile. “I’m happy to say that three of them are still with us, and all but one does indeed have a sprawling branch of family tree to call their own. I guess the only reason you never met any of them is, well, I was afraid of overwhelming you all over again.”

Zoe sighed, taking a hold of Harley’s arm and finding him a smile. “Thank you for being so considerate, but I think, at this point, it might be nice to meet some of the people I’ve been hearing so much about in your stories,” she told him, as they slowly began walking together again, her arm very firmly linked through his own. “That is assuming that they want to meet me.”

The little throat-clearing sound from Harley gave her pause for thought, but Zoe didn’t have much time to dwell on it before he started speaking again.

“The eldest of us, Jacob, he passed some time ago, and Maureen, she moved up to Liberty a while back. Truth to say, she never did much care for all the traditions and shall we say eccentricities of Bluebell. As for Winifred, she’s real close by, but due to some bad experiences with folks from up north, I’m afraid she might be a little too fast to make judgements about a young lady raised in New York.”

It was tough for Zoe to hear all of what she was being told, that perhaps there was going to be an excuse for her not getting to meet any of her aunts and uncles, until finally, Harley reached the final name on his list.

“Now, my younger brother, Brando, he lives real close and, in actual fact, was asking me just the other day when he might get the chance to meet his long-lost niece, as he puts it.”

Zoe smiled on hearing that. “Brando?” she checked. “That’s his real name?”

“No, no, his real name is Vernon,” Harley explained, “but he was never all that keen on it, and he does do a passable impression of Marlon Brando, so the nickname sort of stuck after a while. Truth be told, he made sure that it did,” he added in a lower voice, making Zoe laugh.

“Okay. If he wants to meet me, I would love to meet him.”

When she glanced up at Harley then he was beaming almost as bright as the sun ever had. “I will be more than happy to introduce you, Zoe, to your Uncle Brando and your Aunt Margaret-May too,” he said happily. “They have kids, you know, and grandchildren. Now that I think on it, I suspect the grandkids would be closer to your age than anyone...” he considered, free hand coming up to scratch the back of his head a moment. “Guess I was what they call a late bloomer when it comes to having a child of my own.”

“And I wasn’t exactly planned either,” Zoe noted, immediately wincing at the sound of her own words. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that as an insult or-”

“I didn’t take it as such,” Harley assured her, giving her arm a light squeeze. “Much as I wondered afterwards if I had been a fool on that cruise all those years ago, I never could really regret what your mother and I did. Most especially not once I knew we had made a miracle on that trip,” he said, smiling once more.

Zoe wished she could do something about the tears that were trying to build in her eyes, but she really couldn’t. It was almost a relief when she realised they were now at the plantation, and that she could change the subject to more normal, mundane things like her house that she wanted to show to Harley.

“I share a generator with Wade, which can be a pain sometimes,” she explained as they drew closer to the carriagehouse. “If he plugs in his amp right when I plug in my new coffee maker, then the fuse box kind of goes kablang!” she explained, demonstrating what she meant with her two hands flying apart in front of her. “But don’t worry, Wade always fixes it, and Lavon has promised we will be getting a new fuse box very soon. It’s really not as dangerous as it sounds,” she assured him, turning around in front of the carriagehouse and presenting it to him like a prize on a gameshow. “What do you think?”

“It’s a fine little house, Zoe.” Harley smiled as he looked it over. “Is it as well kept-up on the inside as the outside?”

“Yes and no,” she admitted, squirming just a little. “Lavon and Wade have been great with getting the screen door and the porch fixed and helping me clean-up out here and everything, but I just, I don’t know, I feel weird about doing too much with the interior...”

She led the way up the porch steps and in through the front door then. Hurrying ahead, she pushed a few pieces of clothing out of sight into her bed, taking great pains that her father should most definitely not see the bra she abandoned on the bed post last night. Thankfully, he was at least three paces behind her and seemed to be looking more at the walls and ceiling than anything else anyway.

“It’s certainly a cosy little place,” he said thoughtfully. “Could probably stand a lick of paint though. You know, I’m sure Lavon wouldn’t mind if you wanted to decorate a little, and if you needed some help with paying for supplies, I’d be more than happy to-”

“Oh, that’s really sweet,” Zoe cut in, shifting awkwardly in place by the foot of her bed. “And it’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer. I’m sure you’re right about Lavon too, it’s just... I think I’d feel kind of weird asking if I could personalise the place too much. After all, this may not be a permanent arrangement.”

She hated that she said it, but Zoe knew she had to be honest. She had insisted on her father telling her the whole truth from now on, and she was sure he was complying with her wishes, at every turn. It would be so wrong of her to not grant him the same courtesy, but she did so hate to hurt a man who had been nothing but nice to her, that was trying so hard to be there for her and everything.

“Oh. Well, I can understand that I suppose,” he said, smiling all over again.

That came as a surprise to Zoe, but she didn’t say as much. After all, so long as he was neither upset nor mad at her, that was a win in her book. She was pretty sure she had made it clear when she first arrived in Bluebell, perhaps even before she left New York, that she only really intended to stay for a year. Even now, as she started to wonder if her plans might change as the weeks rolled by, she never said as much to anybody else. At least, not yet anyway.

“But if you do change your mind,” Harley said then, “I think this place could look even nicer with some new paint. Just give it a little spruce, you know?”

“I’ll think about it.” Zoe nodded her agreement, returning his smile at the same time. “Um, would you like some coffee? Like I said, I have this new machine. I’m really into this creme brulee flavour right now...” she explained, crossing to the dresser where said coffee maker stood.

Harley chuckled. “Can’t imagine wanting to drink coffee that tastes like dessert that way,” he admitted, “but I guess I’m brave enough to give it a try at least once.”

When she looked his way then, he was quite obviously waiting to be asked to sit. Zoe almost face-palmed at her stupidity for not realising it sooner and gestured towards the couch, encouraging him to take a seat. It was only after she had got two coffees all prepared and moved to join him that she realised Harley was looking a little pale and sweaty.

“Are you okay?” she checked, putting the cups down on the table and automatically bringing her hand to his forehead.

“I’m just fine,” he assured her, though the words came out a little breathlessly. “Maybe this length of walk was a little ambitious. Probably should’ve built up to it.”

Every three words or so, he seemed to need to stop and breathe, which couldn’t be good. Zoe was on her feet in a second, fetching a cool glass of water, that would doubtless be better for Harley than a creme brulee flavoured coffee. She also brought a cold, damp washcloth and encouraged him to open the top button of his shirt too.

“Honestly, Zoe, you’re very sweet to worry, but I will be fine in just a minute or two,” he assured her, sipping at the glass of water, even as he applied the washcloth to the back of his neck.

It was hard not to worry. Zoe knew very little of Harley’s medical history, only what he told her about a mild heart attack a while ago and his own concerns for his general health as a result. He had told her he planned to go on for a long time yet, and she would like to think he would. Unfortunately, as a doctor herself, and especially as one who had been studying to be a cardio-thoracic surgeon, she knew all too well that wishing and hoping alone did not fix heart health issues.

“You know, you really have to start taking better care of yourself,” she said, her own voice too soft to her own ears. “I say this as a doctor, but also, also as your daughter.”

She knew before he ever looked at her that way that what she was saying was hugely significant. Zoe never said it outright before, the fact that she was Harley’s daughter. Of course, she had known for a while now, and he had told her about their shared family, both past and present, on many occasions. Still, there had never been any talk of her calling him ‘Dad’ or changing her name to Wilkes or anything like that. It had been far too much to think about in the beginning, and even now, seemed like huge steps that Zoe was not yet prepared to take. That being said, the facts were what they were. She was Harley Wilkes daughter and she absolutely did not want him going away, not just when she was finally getting to know him.

Suddenly, Zoe felt Harley’s hand wrap around her own and squeeze tightly. “I couldn’t be more proud of you as a doctor or my daughter,” he promised her, “and I swear, I will do better with taking good care of myself. I honestly will.”

“I believe you,” she told him, nodding her head and finding him the best brave smile she could manage. “Now, small sips of water, and deep, even breaths,” she advised, feeling maybe doctor-mode was safer than daughter-mode for the time being.

The last thing this situation needed was a crying jag on top of everything else.

After an early start at the Rammer Jammer and a busy morning with all the town excitement over the gumbo competition, Wade was more than ready to get some rest, before he worked another shift in the bar tonight. Of course, when he got out of his car right outside of the gatehouse and heard Zoe yell his name, he turned right around to see what was up. If she needed something, anything, that came ahead of his need for some downtime or whatever.

“Hey, Wade,” she said, her smile not quite so genuine looking as she arrived in front of him.

“Hey, yourself, doc,” he replied, looking her over. “You seem kinda strange right now. What happened? You didn’t blow up the fuse box all by yourself, did ya?”

“No, of course not,” she told him, rolling her eyes for good measure. “I was just wondering, could I maybe borrow your car, please?”

“My car?” Wade shook his head, not to say no to her so much as in confusion over the request. “You got some emergency patient?”

“Kind of,” she said, before shaking her head. “Well, no, not really a patient, as such. It’s just... Harley walked over with me, to see the carriagehouse, and everything was fine, but then, he had a sort of medical incident. Nothing to worry about, trust me, he is fine, or he will be. He’s doing much better than he was a couple of hours ago, it’s just I don’t really want him walking all the way back to his house from here, and I don’t have my own car, so-”

“I’ll drive him,” Wade cut in before she could ramble any more than she already was. “Now, you can come along too, if it pleases you, or you can stay put. I’m easy either way, but no offence, doc, this car means a lot to me, I don’t really let anybody else drive her.”

“Since you’re doing me a huge favour, I’m going to let it slide, just this once, that you call your car ‘her’,” she said, with a look. “Seriously though, thank you, Wade,” she added then, reaching up to quickly kiss his cheek, before darting back around the lake to the carriagehouse to fetch Harley, no doubt.

Wade watched her go and heaved out an enormous sigh. Try as he might, it seemed there was just no getting over that woman. He sometimes wondered why he was even bothering to try.

Chapter Text

“Zoe?”

The sound of her real name coming out of Wade’s mouth startled her back to reality and she turned to stare at him wide-eyed for a second or two. He always called her ‘doc’ as a rule, when he wasn’t accidentally slipping into the same usual supposed-niceties he used for all the other women in his life, like sweetheart or baby. He usually smiled a lot too, very rarely looking so serious about anything. Not that Zoe was sure she could blame him. She felt kind of serious herself right now.

“You doin’ okay?” he asked, head tilting a little as he stared at her.

“I think so,” she told him. “I mean, he seemed fine when we left him, right?” she said of Harley who they just dropped off at his house. “He seemed normal.”

“Maybe a little tired around the edges,” Wade considered, “but I figure that is normal for most folks his age after day of excitement. He did win second prize for his gumbo after all,” he reminded her, smiling when he said it, evidentially trying to cheer her up.

Zoe couldn’t seem to help but smile back, just a little. “Thank you, Wade,” she said, leaning her head against the head rest, but never taking her eyes off him. “You were great today. I can’t even begin to count the number of favours I owe you...”

“Hey, come on now. Friends don’t keep score on stuff like that,” he assured her. “’Sides, you do me favours enough yourself anyhow.”

“I do?” she checked, feeling her brow furrow into a frown. “What do I do?”

The smirk on Wade’s face only made her more concerned somehow.

“Ain’t a hardship for a man to get up in the mornin’ to the sight o’ you in those shorty-shorts you like so much,” he said, eyes dipping down her body and up again. “Trust me, they do all kinds of favours for me.”

“Oh my God!” she gasped with shock, sure he was at least half-joking, but seriously only half.

Swatting at him, Zoe couldn’t actually sustain being mad and found herself laughing loudly, as Wade did the same. It was nice to laugh. After all the worry over Harley and everything, it was what she needed. The longer she knew Wade, the more she realised he was very good at supplying just exactly what she needed actually, whether it was a friendly favour, a friendly ear, or even a night out on the town with no strings attached. He really was a great guy and she only hoped he knew how grateful she was for all he did for her.

Unfortunately, Zoe knew she had to be at least a little bit wary about how much she pushed the point of her gratitude. After all, she had promised both Lavon and Harley that she wouldn’t lead Wade on or give him any kind of false hope. She was well aware it wouldn’t be at all fair to do that.

“Seriously, Wade, you are an amazing friend,” she told him, meeting his eyes, her hand clasped on his forearm yet. “Everybody in town was so quick to tell me what an amazing bartender you are, and how you’re a real Mr Fix-It, and even how great you are with women, but they’re missing the real point. You are, Wade, you’re just really, really good at being a friend.”

“Well, you’re welcome for anythin’ and everythin’ I did to make you say as much, doc,” he told her, as close to serious as he ever seemed willing to come, “but right now, I gotta get myself inside and grab some shut-eye while I got the chance. Think you can go a few hours without a friend to hold ya hand?” he teased her.

“I’ll manage somehow,” she deadpanned, rolling her eyes for good measure.

They both exited the car then, Zoe heading over to the carriagehouse, assuming that Wade was going into the gatehouse already. She was startled as she reached her own front door to hear him yelling across the pond at her.

“See ya later, Zoe Hart!”

“Right back at you, Wade Kinsella!” she yelled right back, through cupped hands that mimicked his own.

She was smiling so wide her cheeks ached when she went inside, right up until her eyes fell on the spot where Harley had been sitting before, the empty water glass and washcloth still there on the table where he left them. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t stop worrying about him. Maybe that was just how it was with daughters and their real fathers.

“Wade? You hearin’ me at all?”

Strangely, that was the one thing he did hear Lavon say to him, but he had to admit to his landlord and buddy that most of what had come before passed by his ears unchecked. That wasn’t cool, no matter what Lavon had been trying to tell him, but it made it worse that there were tasks the mayor needed doing around the place and Wade wasn’t paying any mind at all to what they were. It was his duty after all, given the huge reduction he got on his rent and everything.

“I’m real sorry, man,” he apologised, running a hand down his face. “I guess I am kinda distracted.”

“And I’m guessing the reason is our Miss Zoe?” Lavon checked, leaning forward with his elbows on his mayoral desk.

“Sort of,” Wade admitted, then shook his head one more time. “Honestly, it’s as much her daddy as her right now. Ol’ Dr Wilkes wasn’t looking too good yesterday when I drove him home from here. Seemed he walked up with Zoe to see the carriagehouse and all, then had himself some kind of episode or whatever. I mean, we all know he had that heart thing a while back, and I guess that stuff doesn’t just fix itself, but with him bein’ a doctor... I don’t know, I just figured on him doin’ whatever had to be done that he’d be alright.”

“I guess we all figured that.” Lavon nodded, suddenly looking as concerned as Wade was feeling, which didn’t actually help any.

It just made it all the clearer to Wade that he probably did have something to worry about in the first place. He had no real medical knowledge as such, but even he knew that heart trouble wasn’t an easy fix. Also, it was all too simple for it to signal the end for a person, just as fast as a snapping of fingers sometimes.

“From what was said, he’s gonna be just fine,” he said then, looking to Lavon once more, “and with him bein’ a doctor, like I said, I figure he knows more than most. That bein’ so, Zoe is a doctor too, and she was real shook up, Lavon. I mean, seriously, I don’t ever wanna have to see that look on her face again in all my days.”

“We none of us wanna see Zoe sufferin’, nor Harley either,” Lavon agreed, offering no further comfort, because Wade supposed there wasn’t really any to be had.

If two doctors couldn’t fix a medical problem, a mayor and a bartender sure as heck weren’t going to make it any better. All they could do was hope and pray or whatever it was normal folks usually tried when help beyond the scope of man was needed. Wade sighed heavily just thinking about it.

“Somethin’ more than just that on your mind?” Lavon checked, looking more curious than worried by now, which was fair.

“Maybe,” Wade admitted, shifting forward on the couch, his elbows propped on his knees. “I’ve just been thinkin’ a lot on what you said to me before, when you said I should tell Zoe that... well, how much I like her and all. You were all full of mayoral advice about steppin’ up and tryin’ to be the kinda man she would actually want to go out with, maybe make a relationship with or some such. Never thought I wanted that for myself, not until I met her, but now... Well, the upshot is, I still think you’re crazy for thinking I could ever be the guy for Zoe, but I’m willin’ to admit, you had me considerin’ the possibility. Now, with her so worried about Harley and all, last thing she’d be looking for is somebody she looks to as a real good friend tellin’ her he wants things to change and be all complicated.”

Lavon had a real serious look on his face by then. “Maybe so,” he agreed, “but that doesn’t have to mean that-”

A sharp knock on the door stopped him mid-sentence, he and Wade both looking up as Zoe poked her head in.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt if it was an important meeting.”

“Nothin’ that won’t keep,” Lavon assured her, waving her in. “Somethin’ on your mind, Z?”

“Yes, but in a good way now,” she said, wearing something much closer to her usual bright smile that Wade loved so much. “I’m guessing you probably heard what happened with Harley yesterday,” she checked with Lavon.

“Wade made mention, but only ‘cause he-”

“It’s fine.” Zoe made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “It wasn’t a secret and, of course, it would come up in conversation. I don’t mind admitting, I was very freaked out about it all at the time, but I have spent a few hours with my medical books and journals, not to mention some very trustworthy websites,” she told them both. “And now, I have a plan. I am going to help Harley, so that he can live a long, happy life, with me right here at his side,” she said definitely, smiling yet. “God, I can’t tell you how good it feels to have a plan, you know? I function so much better with a good, solid plan.”

“Sounds good, Z,” Lavon told her, returning her smile.

“I think so too.” She grinned at him, every inch the proudest daughter the world ever saw, at least until she looked at Wade and her smile started to falter. “Are you okay?” she asked, as a frown began to crinkle her forehead. “Wade?”

He opened his mouth to answer her, but all the words seem to have flown right out of his head. Some stammering sounds escaped before he managed to say he was fine, and then, all Wade could think to do was get up and get out. He moved around Zoe fast as lightning and right out of the door, pulling it almost closed behind him. He stopped short of clicking it shut when he heard Zoe and Lavon talking about his swift exit.

“I don’t understand. Why would he...? Oh, I’ll bet I know what that was about.” Zoe audibly snapped her fingers. “Wade’s own father has problems too. He’s probably tried so hard to help him, but from what I hear around town, it’s never really worked. That has to be it, right?”

Lavon cleared his throat loudly before he replied. “Yeah, that’s probably it.”

Harley sat back in his chair, completely in awe of his wonderful, intelligent, beautiful daughter. She really was a marvel and he couldn’t love her more if he tried. The hours she must have put into her research, the many options she had for him, regarding diet, exercise, home remedies, as well as potentially useful ideas for tweaks to his prescribed medication that he could discuss with his own doctor, it was incredible. What perhaps was more overwhelming than her medical knowledge and dedication, was how deeply she clearly cared about him now. That was enough to take any man’s breath away, Harley was sure. He hardly knew how to tell her what it meant to him.

“Obviously, if you feel like I’ve gone too far, you know, if I’m overstepping or something, getting too personal-”

“Now, how could my own daughter be getting to personal?” he said gently, reaching out to take her hand and hold it tight. “Zoe, my darlin’ girl, you are... Even if you weren’t my daughter, I couldn’t fail to be impressed by you, but as it is, knowing you did all of this, not just ‘cause you’re dedicated to your life’s work and the people you help, but because you... Well, thank you, Zoe. I don’t know if you’ll ever be able to fully understand what this all means to me. Maybe someday, if and when you have a child of your own.”

At that, she laughed an almost nervous kind of a laugh. “I’m not exactly sure I’m the motherly type. No offence to your taste in women, but look at the example I had!”

“Candice did the best she could, I’m sure,” Harley told her, even if he wasn’t wholly convinced it was true - he hoped rather than believed it could be. “And Zoe, you know, you’re not her. You’re not me either, nor Ethan Hart besides. Each one of us might make up a part of who you’re becoming, through nature and nurture both, but you are your own person. You’ll do things your own way, just as you always have, but what I do know for sure is, whatever you do, I, I will never not be proud of you. I could never not love you.”

He wondered if he was going too far, saying such things as love to her. Still, he wasn’t taking it back nor even apologising for it. Harley Wilkes was well aware, now more than ever, that life was a fragile thing and time was far from infinite. Last thing he wanted to do was waste another second of the life he had left. He would hate to leave the world without Zoe hearing from him, at least once, that he loved her to the moon and back.

It didn’t even matter that she didn’t automatically say it back. The tears in her eyes and the way she leaned down to hug him real tight told Harley everything he needed to know. At this point, he was pretty sure that if the good Lord should choose to take him at any moment, he was going to leave the world a happy and contented man.

Chapter Text

“So, I was thinkin’ that maybe... Well, I know you had your heart set on us just bein’ friends, and I respect that, I do. Ya are a good friend, Zoe Hart, and I have tried to be that for you, which you said I was, so I guess... Zoe, here’s how it is. I like you. Truth is I probably more than like you...”

Wade’s hand slammed against the wall, as he cussed himself for being so damn stupid. He must’ve started over on this speech of his at least a dozen times, but no matter which way he began or how he tried to put it, every way sounded as dumb as the last, maybe even more so.

So much for Lavon telling him he should just be honest with Zoe, try to put his woman-chasing ways behind him, act like a grown-up and have a real relationship. As simple as his friend made all of that sound, Wade knew better. Sure, he could be faithful to one woman if he wanted to, it was only that he never really had a reason to want to before. For Zoe, he had a feeling it would come easy enough to stick to her and her alone, but in order for that to happen, first he had to tell her how he felt, and then, she had to feel the same.

Maybe it was that last part that was screwing him up so much. Wade was good with words in his own way, better with actions, but still, he could talk his way into and out of any situation he wanted, up to now. Telling Zoe he liked her enough to want to be the one-woman-man type didn’t ought to be so tough, except that it was, because there was every chance she would laugh in his face, or perhaps not so much that as just get all awkward on him, telling him she just didn’t see him that way and didn’t want any part of what he was offering.

“See, this is what you get, livin’ the life you have, Kinsella,” he told himself crossly. “All this time not caring ‘bout anythin’, now it’s comin’ back to bite ya good and hard, ‘cause the one person you really care about most like won’t ever care about you. Not the way you want, anyhow.”

“Well, I’m sure I never heard such a defeatist attitude from you, Wade Kinsella.”

He spun around fast on hearing her voice, realising he had the very last company he might have expected in the store room of the Rammer Jammer. Lemon eyed him suspiciously from the half-open door that Wade could’ve sworn he locked before he ever started all this damn stupid speechifying practice. Honestly, if she was a man, he was pretty sure he woulda wiped some look or other off her face long ago.

“What you doin’ back here, Lemon?” he asked, pulling the door open further and staring her down. “Thought fine ladies like yourself wouldn’t be seen dead on the wrong side of a bar, much less out back where the heavy liftin’ and such happens.”

Lemon rolled her perfectly made-up eyes and folded her arms just so. “Honestly, Wade, anybody would think we hadn’t known each other our whole lives, nor ever been friends at all.”

He couldn’t deny she was right in what she said. There was no part of his life where he didn’t have memories of Lemon Breeland, and it was true enough that they had been something akin to friends, not early on, but certainly in high school, when she started dating George Tucker. Of course, when school was out, and just about everybody but Wade went off to college then moved on to better things in their lives, he kind of got left behind.

“You actually want somethin’ or you just snoopin’ for kicks?” he asked, not willing to get into the dim and distant past with her right now.

“I was actually lookin’ for Wally, to finalise some details for a Belle event on the premises,” Lemon told him, eyeing him strangely yet, “but as I was passing by, I heard that little speech you were practicing, and I’m afraid I was just too intrigued to keep from listening in some more. Whoever thought our pretty little lady doctor would have such magical powers as to inspire Wade Kinsella, of all people, to give up his wanderin’ ways?”

Wade shook his head. “I ain’t givin’ up anything yet,” he told her smartly.

“Oh, but you’re obviously going to,” Lemon countered, just as smartly. “At least, if Dr Hart decides to react favourably to your overtures,” the way she said the last word, which Wade barely understood anyhow, made it seem like she was just this side of disgusted at the very idea.

Not that Wade had a clue as to why she should be, but that didn’t matter much. If she was going to throw stones, he could do the same, and how.

“What’s the matter, Lemon? You reckon everybody from New York is to blame, just ‘cause you lost your fella to some fancy law firm up there?”

“I reckon on no such thing, Wade Kinsella,” she snapped at him, eyes flashing fire. “And you know as well as anyone that I have not lost George. Not entirely. Not exactly.”

She squirmed horribly even as she said it, in a way that let Wade know she wasn’t just uncomfortable at his jibe about George, but maybe actually genuinely hurt. That wasn’t what he had been aiming to cause. He really hadn’t banked on things being properly broken up between her and Tucker.

“Hey, I never meant to really hit a nerve like that,” he told her, one hand going to the back of his neck as he felt himself shifting awkwardly in place. “Last I talked to George, he asked after ya, so he still cares or whatever.”

Lemon sniffed once then painted her most perfect smile back into place, the one that Wade learned long ago was not real at all, even though it would sure look as if it might be to any stranger passing by.

“Yes, well, maybe George does care for me, but he clearly does not love me like I thought he did else... well, things would be very different, if that were the case. Now, I’m gonna take myself off to the office, see if I can’t find Wally, just like I came here for.”

She turned to walk away then, but before she had gone more than two steps, she was suddenly facing Wade one more time, her smile looking just a touch more genuine when she said; “What I said before... Don’t always pay too much mind to what I say, Wade Kinsella. You may be a lot of distasteful things sometimes, but underneath it all, I know better than most, you have a heart o’ gold. If Zoe Hart turns you away on hearin’ how you really feel about her, then educated doctor or not, she’ll be a fool.”

At that point, she actually did walk away, and Wade stared after her, probably for a little too long. He just couldn’t help but wonder how it was that a woman could be the way Lemon was a not small part of the time, and yet still have that same heart of gold she talked about him having himself.

The knock on Zoe’s door startled her a little, and when she heard Wade calling her name, she made fast work of pulling her top down over her head, covering everything that should not be seen, just in time. She turned around just as her friend got to the inner door that was left ajar, knocking one more time then peeking in at her.

“Come in, Wade,” she told him with a smile. “And thank you for remembering to knock this time. Twice,” she noted, almost laughing about it.

There had been a few occasions when she first moved in that Wade would just walk right into the carriagehouse without so much as a by-your-leave. After asking him if he was raised in a barn, and cursing at him once when he really did startle her, then finally warning that if he didn’t learn some manners there were going to be consequences, she seemed to have gotten through to him.

“Uh, you got a sec, doc? I was kinda hopin’ to talk to you.”

He looked a little more serious than he usually did, which made Zoe all the more regretful of the fact she had to disappoint him.

“I’m sorry, but I really have to leave in... wow, two minutes ago,” she realised on checking her watch. “Harley is waiting for me. I’m meeting my Uncle Brando and Aunt Margaret-May for the first time today,” she explained, with a nervous smile that she couldn’t seem to help.

“Oh, right. Sure, well, uh, then I won’t hold ya up any,” said Wade, shaking his head, looking almost as awkward as she felt herself.

“Are you sure it can wait?” she asked, knowing she shouldn’t hang around, but also not willing to abandon him if he really needed her for something important.

“It can wait,” he assured her, looking a little more like he meant it that time.

“Okay then,” she said, pushing her feet into her shoes, then turning to grab her purse. “Well, wish me luck,” she urged him.

“Good luck, doc, not that you’ll need it. I’ve met Brando and his wife, they’re good folks. I’m certain you’ll get along real well.”

“Thank you,” she told him, wearing her brightest smile, because he deserved no less. “And you do think I look okay, right?” she checked, just to be sure. “I changed my clothes at least six times, and strangely, ended up in the first outfit I picked out anyway!”

Wade chuckled at that, yet still looked genuine and serious when he finally told her; “You always look amazing, doc, but for what it’s worth, yes, you look more’n fine for making a good first impression on your family. As if you could do any less anyhow.”

He really was the sweetest person sometimes, even though Zoe would never say as much, knowing as she did that a guy like Wade would absolutely not appreciate the sentiment. As she walked by him, she reached out and squeezed his arm.

“So, we’ll talk later, okay?”

“Sure, later is good,” he assured her. “Go have a good time now.”

“I hope to!” she called over her shoulder, rushing as much as she dare in her heels, since Harley, as well as Brando and Margaret-May, were probably starting to wonder where on Earth she had gotten to!

“That was an awful big sigh,” Harley noted, as he and Zoe descended the porch steps form his brother’s home. “You really so relieved to be outta there?”

“Oh, no, not at all,” Zoe assured him fast, hating that he would even think that was why she had reacted that way. “I promise, the only relief I’m feeling is because I know now that they like me. I mean, I hoped they would. I really wanted today to go so well, but I have to admit, I was worried.”

“Zoe, how could they not love you?” he asked her with a look.

“Because, not everybody automatically does,” she replied, even as she put her arm through his and walked with him down the street to his car. “I know how much I mean to you, and I know how much your brother means to you too, but there was no guarantee we would get along. That’s not something anybody can predict.”

“But Brando loves you, that much was plain to see, and Margaret-May too.”

“Yes, and I really, really like them, I promise, I do,” Zoe assured him. “Like I said, the sigh was relief that it went so well. I think maybe next time I meet more of our family members, I won’t be so nervous. Probably. Not definitely,” she admitted, laughing lightly and glad to hear Harley do the same. “You know, I’m also happy and not much less relieved that you seem so much better now. You are feeling better than you were last week, right?”

“Zoe, honey, if I were any higher, I’d be flyin’,” he told her with a wide smile, patting her hand before they let go of each other beside the car. “You make a big difference in my life, darlin’. I couldn’t be happier that you’re here, and that you know the truth, and, well, what can I say about your health plan? It’s working wonders already, after only seven days. I swear, I feel ten years younger than I did before.”

Zoe wasn’t sure she quite believed in ten years younger, but she was genuinely thrilled to see him smiling, see the colour in his cheeks and the spring in his step. He really did seem an awful lot better, and if any part of that was down to her at all, she was glad to know it.

They got into the car then and started for home. When they hit Bluebell, she told Harley she was fine with him heading straight to the practice, since she knew he was due to relieve Brick for a while. She was happy enough to walk from town to the plantation.

“It’s not so hot today and I need my exercise too, you know?” she said with a smile.

Harely didn’t argue with her, and they parted happily, her planting a quick kiss on his cheek, and him telling her he would see her tomorrow.

With a spring in her step too, Zoe set off for home, feeling light as a feather and about ready to burst with joy. It had been such a great day, spending time with Harley, meeting more of the Wilkes family, and hearing a hundred more stories about those that had gone before and others she might yet meet in the future. She had family here, real roots and connections. She kind of loved that actually.

Unfortunately, about halfway home, her smile started to turn into a frown as she thought too much about the future. For now, she was happy with being a GP alongside Harley and Brick, making family ties, enjoying the small-town community of Bluebell, but when she thought about it being long-term, her whole life being this town and these people, and nothing more, something in her middle started to squirm.

Zoe had always planned to be a cardio-thoracic surgeon, largely because of Ethan Hart, the man she had supposed to be her father. Just because that wasn’t true, and her real father was a small-town GP, Zoe had to wonder if that would ever really be enough for her. A part of her wished it could be, but when she really considered the idea of never again being in the rush of the ER, or the anxious-yet-exhilarating atmosphere of the operating theatre, she wasn’t sure she could bear it. When she considered all the people like Harley with heart conditions and such, the lives she might go on to save that might otherwise be lost if she didn’t go back, Zoe’s own heart seemed to sink down to her high-heeled shoes and her happy, bouncing steps became a sad, awkward trudge as she made her way through the grounds of the plantation at last.

Rounding the corner, she was surprised to see Wade sat out on his porch. Remembering how eager he had been to talk to her before, she went right on over, painting her smile back on as she made her approach.

“Hey,” she called, getting his attention. “Want some company?”

“Sure thing, doc,” he told her with a smile, taking his feet out of the second chair and dusting it off so she could use it. “How’d it go with the Wilkes?”

“It went very well, thank you for asking,” she told him, her smile more genuine by then as she recalled an afternoon well spent with people who were both her blood relations and who seemed to love her dearly already. “Honestly, Brando is just the sweetest, and so, so funny. I mean, I’ll be honest, maybe he actually doesn’t do the best Marlon Brando impression I ever heard, but I don’t think there’s a mean bone in his whole body, and Margaret-May is the sweetest. Oh, and she bakes the best oatmeal cookies! I swear, I don’t even like oatmeal cookies all that much, but these were like Heaven! I should’ve brought you some back.”

“Don’t worry on it, doc. I believe you without the proof,” Wade assured her, with a smile.

“Well, you can believe me, because it is so true. They’re just the nicest people, Wade. All of them, Harley included. Everybody here is so nice, it’s just... well, it’s going to make it so hard when the time comes. I mean, as much as I sometimes think I could live here forever, it’s not practical. After a year, I’m going to have to go back to New York. There’s no other choice,” she told him with a sigh. “Bluebell is amazing, but there aren’t too many opportunities here for someone who wants to specialise in cardio-thoracics, you know?”

There was a strange expression on Wade’s face when she looked at him then, reminding Zoe all over again that he had wanted to talk to her before she left to meet with her family. It had to be something pretty serious, giving the look he was wearing, which almost made Zoe feel bad.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, sitting forward some in her seat. “You wanted to talk before and I had to go, but hey, I’m here now. So, what’s on your mind, friend?” she asked, reaching out to put her hand on his own.

Wade retracted his fingers before she barely made contact, sitting up very straight in his chair, and looking anywhere but at her.

“It was nothin’,” he said, clearing his throat as he went so far as to stand up, surprising Zoe more than a little bit as she peered up at him. “Seriously, doc, don’t worry your head. It was... it was just nothin’.”

“It seemed like something,” she countered, rising from her own chair and trying desperately to meet his eyes. “Wade, please. If you need to talk...”

“I told ya already, Zoe. I don’t need to talk anymore. It was just somethin’ dumb and I’m over it now. Honestly.”

He said it like he meant it, finally looking her in the eye and seeming pretty sincere. Even then, Zoe doubted him, even though she knew she shouldn’t. Something just wasn’t quite right, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what, and apparently, pushing Wade to say whatever it was would only result in a fight they could both live without.

“Okay.” She nodded her head, reaching to pick up her purse from the table. “Then I should probably go. But if you change your mind, about talking, I mean, or if anything else comes up, anything at all...”

“I know where to find you,” he finished for her, smiling more genuinely than she had seen him all afternoon. “You know, you talk a lot about what a good friend I am to you, doc. Ain’t half bad in that capacity yourself.”

She smiled back at him, mostly for the compliment he paid her, true or not, then went up on tip-toe to kiss his cheek.

“Take care of yourself, Wade Kinsella,” she told him softly. “That’s doctor’s orders.”

With that she turned and walked away towards the carriagehouse. About halfway there, she turned around to see if he was still out on the porch, anticipating some smart alec comment, a cat call, just something, but when she looked back, Wade had already gone into the gatehouse, the door clanging shut in his wake.

Chapter Text

“I still feel weird about this,” Zoe admitted, shifting awkwardly on her black high-heels, looking more at them and the linoleum than Lavon. “I didn’t even know the guy, and I’m not really a Christian. Should I even be going to a church for his funeral? I mean, yes, I have gone to some services before with Harley, but still, this is different, isn’t it?”

“I don’t think it matters much what your denomination is or isn’t, Z,” her friend assured her. “It’s about what he believed, not any of us. As for not knowing him, well, he was part of the Bluebell community, same as you are now. We all tend to turn out for things like that, especially in these kinds of unexpected circumstances. I honestly think it would help those left behind to see a lot of people at the service, but I can understand if you don’t wanna-”

“No, I’ll go,” Zoe decided, nodding her head. “God, how selfish would I be if I didn’t?”

“Pretty sure you don’t have a selfish bone in that cute little body o’ yours, doc,” said Wade, entering the kitchen through the back door, as usual.

Maybe his comment wasn’t entirely appropriate for the occasion, but Zoe didn’t bother to admonish him. Honestly, she was a little too busy trying to keep her tongue from falling out of her mouth at the sight of Wade Kinsella in a suit and tie. The words, ‘You clean up nicely,’ just didn’t cover how good he looked, leading to thoughts in her head that were far more inappropriate than anything he might’ve said about her figure when he first walked in.

“So, we headin’ out to this thing or what?” he asked, looking from Lavon to Zoe and back again. “Can’t say as I’m the biggest fan of funerals at the best o’ times, and with this one not even havin’ a body to bury...”

“Ain’t about that,” Lavon reminded him sharply. “Leon Mercy’s body may have been lost to the sea, but it’s his spirit we’re commending to God. Even if you don’t hold with that notion,” he said, looking pointedly at Wade, as if daring him to be anti-religious, today of all days, “we are headed out to this service for the sake of a woman who lost her husband, and a child who will never know his daddy, not to mention a mother and brother who are mourning too. If that ain’t reason enough to make an effort, then I don’t know what is.”

Zoe felt suitable chastened, even though Lavon hadn’t exactly been talking to her, and Wade looked so much like a kid just told off by his father, it might have been amusing on any other occasion. Of course, there was absolutely nothing funny about today. It was the day when they all needed to be the grown-ups they were, to be supportive of those left behind, following the supposed death of one Leon Frederick Mercy.

It was almost a month ago when Harley mentioned to Zoe that one of Bluebell’s own, a self-employed fisherman, had gone missing at sea. His wife, Debbie, had tried to be strong, but it was tough on her, especially with an infant son to think of. Just last week, the news had come that Leon was to be declared dead, in spite of the fact a body could not be found. The ocean had taken him away, just like that. It made Zoe think about a lot of things she wished she didn’t have to.

“Hey, doc?” Wade’s voice was as soft as his hand at her shoulder.

When she looked up at him, Zoe was surprised to find he looked blurry to her, the first indication she had that tears were filling her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s the matter with me,” she said, trying to laugh through it, failing miserably as she swiped under her eyes, determined her make-up should not be ruined when they had someplace so important to be.

“That kinda day, I guess,” said Wade, patting her shoulder comfortingly. “Come on now, we gotta go.”

She nodded her head and went with him, following Lavon out to the car. The whole way into town, she was fighting the urge to cry. On seeing Harley, she actually felt more pain, but did her best to put a brave face on it. Standing alongside her father and her friends, she listened as the reverend spoke about Leon, her eyes on the poor man’s wife and baby all the time.

“Leon will always be remembered as one of Bluebell’s most selfless and heroic residents. As I’m sure you all recall, back on July 4th of this very year, he rescued the entire Rivenbark family from a horrific house fire.”

At that point, Debbie started to cry and, clearly reacting to his mother’s sadness, little Ethan did the same. Zoe swallowed so hard, trying not to join them in tears. After all, she didn’t know Leon Mercy or his family. It was only the reality of somebody losing a person they loved, so suddenly, so tragically, it brought home to her how much a loss like that could really hurt.

It was something she had never experienced herself and gave her new respect for relatives of former patients who passed away. For anyone who had dealt with a loss like that and not completely broken beyond repair. Zoe’s eyes drifted to Wade and she realised he was one of those people. At ten years old, he lost his mother to cancer, and then, his father to alcohol, because even though Earl was still alive, it had been made very plain to her, by Harley and by others, that he wasn’t half the man he used to be.

Clearly feeling her staring, Wade glanced her way then, looking curiously at her. Zoe didn’t know how to react, so just looked away again, concentrating on the reverend’s speech, struggling with her order of service when everyone was asked to sing the next hymn. Honestly, she just wanted the whole thing to be over, and even then, Zoe knew, she wasn’t going to be able to carry on with her day like normal. Why should she, when so many around her couldn’t possibly?

It was late in the day, but for once, Wade didn’t have work to go to. A rare night off would usually have been spent catching up on sleep, or more likely going out and looking for some fun. This particular night, Wade wasn’t up for either of those things. His mind was too busy to sleep and the only woman he had on his mind lived right across the lake from him.

Zoe was home. He knew she had to go into the practise for a while in the afternoon, but he saw her come back to the carriagehouse at least an hour ago. The lights were on in her place and nobody else had come calling. Not that Wade was exactly spying. More that he had been staring at her house trying to find the nerve to go on over. Not so much that even as go over and say what he had been meaning to say for a while now.

Maybe it was Leon’s passing. Maybe it was seeing his wife and child cry for his loss. Maybe it was the huge reminder of how easy it was for folks to just be gone, like his momma, all those years ago.

Life and death, those were things that a man had to think about sometimes, and when he did, Wade figured it ought to make a difference. He had found excuse upon excuse over the last few weeks to not tell Zoe how he really felt about her. Because he wasn’t certain he could be good enough for her. Because her daddy was sick. Because she was always telling him how she just wanted to be friends. Because there was every chance that, after a year in Bluebell, she would head back to New York, never to be seen again.

“No more excuses,” he told himself, at last, taking a deep breath, opening up the gatehouse door, and marching himself around the lake and right to Zoe’s porch.

He hesitated just for a second, before going on up and knocking loudly on her door. This time Wade was ready, he was certain that he was, until Zoe appeared in front of him, all tear-stained and under-dressed. Maybe it was a bad time to have come calling, he thought, before the voice in the back of his head, that scarily sounded a lot like Lemon, told him to man up already and just say what needed to be said.

“Hey, Wade,” said Zoe, raising a smile just for him. “I’m sorry, I’m a little...” she gestured to the sweats she had on. “I don’t know why it matters. You see me first thing in the morning so...,” she noted, rolling her eyes.

“And you always look beautiful, even then. Even now,” he told her, feeling foolish all over again when she batted at him with her hands and laughed as if he was kidding.

“You don’t have to do that with me,” she told him, gesturing for him to come in as she went back inside. “Whatever you need, you can just ask. I don’t need all the flattery.”

“It ain’t flattery,” he told her, feeling just a little hurt. “You think I just say that stuff to you without really meaning it? ‘Cause I don’t, Zoe.”

She looked startled then, maybe because he snapped a little, maybe because he actually used her name for once. He was well aware he didn’t do it much, usually preferring to call her ‘doc’, but this was a serious conversation they needed to have. At this point, he hoped she might finally have realised that.

“I’m sorry,” she said, pushing her hair from her face, staring up at him almost as if she never saw him before. “Wade, is, is something wrong? Is this about the funeral? I can’t imagine how hard that was on you. When I think about what you went through, and even I was struggling, and I never even-”

“Zoe, please,” he cut in, feeling a little desperate. “I, I didn’t come here to talk about that, or maybe I did, in a roundabout way, but...” he trailed off, one hand on the back of his neck as he took in her confused expression. “Okay. So, the thing of it is, I need to talk to you, to tell you some things that I, I’ve been putting off for a while now. You think maybe we could sit down?”

“Oh, sure.” Zoe nodded, leading the way to the couch where they sat down next to each other. “What’s on your mind, Wade?” she asked him then, giving her rapt attention.

Wade honestly wasn’t sure if that made it easier or harder, but he was determined to plough on regardless. It was the only way. No more time wasting, no more excuses, and no more delays.

“Okay. So, this whole thing with Leon Mercy and everything, it got me thinking a lot, although the truth is, ever since you got here, you’ve been on my mind more than you haven’t. See, I never met anybody like you before, Zoe Hart. Not anybody in my whole life that made me wanna...” he trailed off then, all the words going away when he looked at her and saw the strange look on her face.

Swallowing hard, Wade forced himself to keep on going, just say what he felt, like a part of him had been wanting to for too many weeks now.

“Zoe, I like you. I mean, I really, really like you, and I know you like to say that all we can ever be is friends, and I respect that, I do, but I can’t keep going along not telling you about this. I guess I’m just hoping that if I explain it to you, maybe we could figure something out. That maybe you would wanna give whatever this thing is between us a chance, because honestly, Zoe, if you tell me right now you don’t have any feelins for me at all-”

“I do,” she cut in, as much of a relief as a surprise to Wade as he met her gaze. “Of course, I have feelings for you, Wade. If nothing else, like you said, we’re friends, and obviously, that means I feel friendship for you, but I can’t lie and say that’s all it is,” she admitted, taking a deep breath and letting it out slow. “You’re not blind, Wade, and neither am I. Obviously, I’m attracted to you,” she admitted, glancing away the moment she confessed it, the blush in her cheeks proving it was more out of embarrassment than shame, he was pleased to note. “I just can’t... I mean, I told you before, I’m just not that kind of girl. No matter how much I wish I could be sometimes, I’m not.”

“And I ain’t askin’ you to be,” Wade told her fast, reaching out to put his hand on hers on the couch between them. “Zoe, I am tryin’ to tell you - and makin’ a damn fool o’ myself into the bargain, I know - is that I have been feelin’ things for you that I never felt for anybody else before. I’m sayin’ that I wanna take you out on a real date, and if that works out, I wanna take you on some more dates. And I’m not gonna lie and say that, at some point, I don’t wanna take you to bed, because believe me, I do. I really do, but I get that there is more to what is happenin’ here than that. Seriously, Zoe, am I goin’ crazy, because I really thought-”

“You’re not crazy, Wade.” She smiled when she said it, though the tears in her eyes at the same time made him worry some. “Wow. It’s so weird that you came here today and said all this, or maybe it’s not, in the circumstances. You know, what happened with Leon Mercy, it made me think a lot too. Firstly, about Harley, and how lucky I am that he’s here, and how much it would hurt if he wasn’t anymore, but then... Well, I started to think about my life and what I was doing with it, and then, you’ll probably be happy to know, I started to think about you.

“You know, you’re not really like anyone I ever met in my whole life either, Wade Kinsella. A year ago, I can’t imagine how I would’ve reacted to a guy like you asking me out, but everything has changed so much. I’m changing, every day, it feels like, but I don’t mind. I like the changes I’m making. I like living in Bluebell, and getting to know Harley, and being a small-town GP, and the truth is, I really, really like you too.”

It was a huge relief to hear her say as much, putting a hope in Wade’s heart he had hardly dare to let himself feel until that moment. Of course, he was still kind of holding his breath until she was actually done talking, which it was clear so far she was not.

“I guess I just thought that, well, with your reputation with women and everything, I couldn’t imagine you wanting to be in a real relationship, and I really don’t think I’m made for casual myself. But now you’re saying you like me enough to really change... I can’t believe you care about me that much.”

She shook her head, even as she kept on smiling, looking all kinds of confused. It was as adorable as it was crazy to Wade.

“How could anybody not care about you that much?” he asked, his own voice too soft somehow, but he couldn’t seem to do a damn thing about it. “For what it’s worth, Zoe, I have never been in what you would call a real relationship, and I have no doubt I will screw up all over the place at the start, but if you like me as much as I like you, and you just seemed to say that you did, then we gotta give this a shot,” he insisted, squeezing her hand. “Come on, if today proves anything to anyone, shouldn’t it be that life is too short to go wastin’ it on ifs, buts, and maybes?”

“Yes,” she said then, nodding her head once as her other hand came to rest on top of their already joined hands. “Yes, it would be stupid to waste time, and yes, Wade, I would like to go out with you. I’d honestly like to see where this thing between us could go.”

Wade was smiling so wide at the sound of those words, his face actually ached from the pressure, but he didn’t care. He just got himself a date with Zoe Hart, a real bona fide date, and a chance to be with her, in every way possible, as time rolled on.

“So, I don’t know exactly how all o’ this works, but do I seriously have to wait on kissin’ you again until after the date?”

“Well, I’m really not an expert in these things either, but no, I don’t think that you do,” said Zoe, shaking her head and leaning in a whole lot closer.

It took hardly any movement at all on Wade’s part to press his lips against her own. Despite the fact they had kissed before, it still seemed like a big deal, like a long time coming, and like the start of something pretty damn important, no doubt about that.

Chapter Text

“I’m going out on a date with Wade Kinsella.”

Harley got a real surprise when he looked up from his desk at his daughter and that was the very first thing she said. No greeting, no preamble, just the fact she was going out on a date with the Kinsella boy.

“After all your talk, and his besides, of how that was never going to happen, I have to admit, that is quite the unexpected revelation,” he declared, putting down his pen and leaning back in his chair.

“I know,” Zoe agreed, sitting down herself, “but it’s what we both want, and also, you should know that this would be a real date and potentially a real relationship. Wade told me yesterday that he likes me a lot, and that if I wanted to go out with him, well, he wouldn’t be seeing anybody else, like he has up to now.”

She looked so nervous about it, it took Harley a second or two to realise it wasn’t the prospect of the actual date that was making her so. The way she was staring at him, all hopeful yet jittery, she was looking for his approval, he was sure on it.

“Oh, Zoe, honey, you know, you’re not a child. If you want to go out on a date with Wade Kinsella, or anybody else, for that matter, it’s no business of mine.”

It hurt his heart to realise maybe that was the wrong thing to say, her expression dropping in an instant.

“Oh, well, I just thought... I mean, yeah, obviously, I don’t need permission to date anyone, I get that, but I guess I just hoped that maybe, well, maybe you wouldn’t hate the idea, that’s all.”

Harley smiled, reaching to take a hold of her hand across the desk and squeezing it. “I don’t hate the idea of Wade taking you out and treating you like the lady that you are,” he promised her. “Just so long as that is what he does.”

“He will.” Zoe smiled genuinely. “I don’t know why exactly, but I seem to inspire the gentleman in him, at least, most of the time.”

The slight blush in her cheeks as she looked away then told Harley he really didn’t need to hear any more about that. He really didn’t even want to think about it, not for one single second.

“Zoe, just know that as long as you are happy, I’m happy too,” he told her definitely, giving her hand one last squeeze before letting go, “but for now, we really need to be getting along and seeing some patients.”

“Yes, right, work. Very important,” she said, trying for serious, but still her pretty smile shone through, bright as the sun.

It really did do Harley’s heart good to see her so happy, no matter the reason.

Zoe was aware she had a bounce in her step when she came out of the office into reception. Of course, she felt kind of embarrassed about it when she realised somebody was staring at her.

“Hey, Mrs H,” she said, forcing her smile to stay in place.

“Hey, yourself,” she replied, shaking her head. “You are just full o’ beans today, Dr Hart, but then I guess most women are when they realise they turned a man’s head.”

“I could be happy about something else,” said Zoe defensively, dumping the folders from her arms onto the counter, and then, off Mrs H’s sceptical look, she sighed. “Fine, so I am happy because of a guy.”

“Because of Wade Kinsella, from what I hear. Word is he poured his heart out to you, asked you out on a date, and promised to give up his wanderin’ ways. That true?”

“It is true.” Zoe nodded, aware that she was still grinning, but unable to stop, no matter how she tried. “Do you think I’m crazy?”

“Now, why would you ask me that?” Mrs H shook her head. “You know, it’s none of my business who you date in the first place, and even if it were, well, I got nothing bad to say about Wade. Sure, I know he has a reputation, a well-earned reputation, from what I can tell, but that boy has had a rough ride. People react to loss in different ways, and it’s my guess that is what made him the way he is about women and commitment and all.”

“Losing his mother.” Zoe nodded.

“And his father,” said Mrs H pointedly. “Crazy Earl may still be alive an’ kickin’, but he stopped bein’ a daddy to those boys the day their momma passed. It was up to the rest o’ this town to try their best to raise Wade up between them. We all pitched in, young and old alike, and I don’t think we did a half bad job but...”

Zoe jumped a little on realising they suddenly had company, Delma Warner coming in through the door, ready for her appointment in five minutes time. Just as soon as she was settled into a seat with a magazine, Zoe leaned way over the reception desk and prompted Mrs H to finish what she was saying.

“Wade may be a ladies man, I don’t deny it, but I always figured once he found the right woman, he’d settle down, and he and that woman would be just as happy as his folks were when they were startin’ out.”

She gave Zoe such a pointed look when she spoke that way, and then she just went about her business, answering calls and updating records on the computer. It was tough not to take her words as they seemed to be meant, that maybe Zoe was the woman Wade had been waiting for all his life. That could put a lot of pressure on their first date, but then Zoe considered, it didn’t really have to. After all, it was just one person’s opinion. Besides, she was living in the moment, not worrying about the past or the future. Life could be stupid short and Zoe Hart was determined not to waste a second of hers, not anymore.

“Thanks for this, Lavon,” said Wade gratefully, tying the tie around his neck.

He did know how. His momma had shown him long ago when he was little, and the lesson had stuck, even after so much time. It was more that his hands seemed to be shaking that had him screwing up so bad.

“Here, come on now,” said his friend, knocking his hands away and completing the knot for him. “I swear, I never seen you so nervous about a date before, Wade m’boy.”

“Ain’t exactly been on too many that matter this much,” he confessed, feeling foolish for both that and the tie thing within a second. “Come on, Lavon, you know what Zoe means to me. How I been havin’ all these feelins for her and all.”

“I know.” Lavon nodded, barely containing a wide grin as he finished off Wade’s tie and stepped back to admire his own handiwork. “Truth to say, I couldn’t be happier that you finally told Zoe how you feel, and that she agreed to a real date with you too. Fact is you are two of my favourite people in this town, and if you can make each other happy for the long-haul, there is no bad in that.”

“Long-haul?” Wade echoed, swallowing hard. “Yeah, well, maybe. Let us just have this first date to start off with, okay, Mr Mayor? Before you start marryin’ us off or some such.”

Lavon chuckled at that. “I’m sorry,” he said, waving a hand to dismiss that whole topic, thankfully. “So, you obviously takin’ our Miss Zoe someplace fancy.”

“I called up George Tucker, got a recommendation for someplace kinda special, but not too close to home,” Wade explained, checking his tie looked as it should, and that he had everything he needed in his pockets too - money, keys, cell phone, and such. “The gossips in this town...”

“I hear that.” Lavon nodded his agreement. “So, is Z meetin’ you here...”

“No, out front o’ her place,” Wade explained, looking to the door and taking himself a deep breath. “Any second now, I guess.”

“Then don’t leave the lady waitin’,” his friend advised, giving him a friendly shove. “And good luck for tonight, I mean that. I want this to work for you two, I honestly do.”

“Thanks, man,” Wade said genuinely, finding a smile before he headed out the door at last.

He didn’t mean to be so nervous, even though he knew precisely why he was. No other woman could possibly compare to Zoe, and his feelings for her were nothing like any he ever had for anybody else. She was beautiful and smart and funny and just different in all kinds of ways that he didn’t even have the words for. Also, he was falling for her, so hard. God only knew how Wade Kinsella was going to fare with a real relationship, but for Zoe, he wanted to try so much.

“Damn,” he said, probably too loudly, as he caught sight of her at last, standing on her front porch, shining like a beacon in the darkness. “Zoe Hart, you look... well, you look so damn beautiful, I don’t think there’s a word good enough to cover it.”

She was blushing a pretty pink when he got to the bottom of the steps and smiled up at her, glad to see she was also smiling back at him.

“Well, you don’t clean up so badly yourself, Wade Kinsella,” she said, gazing down at him.

Remembering his gentlemanly manners, also instilled in him by his dear departed mother, long ago now, Wade moved up the steps to offer Zoe his arm and escort her down to his car. Her black dress sparkled as she moved and she smelled like fruits that Wade couldn’t name, her hair pinned up all fancy and a light in her eyes that had him hypnotised already.

“Wade?” she prompted when they were finally on solid ground. “Um, are we getting into the car, or do you have some kind of voodoo magic that’s going to just teleport us to the restaurant?” she asked with a look.

Wade shook his head, finally snapping out of his daze. “The car, right,” he said aloud, moving to open the door for her.

“Are you feeling okay?” she asked as she moved by him, ever the doctor, apparently. “Because if you’re sick or something, we can just-”

“Zoe Hart,” he said, cutting her off with both his voice and his eyes as he stared at her. “I would not rearrange this date for anything in the world. Even if I was sick, or dying, or had to walk through fire and crawl over broken glass, I would wanna be here, taking you out tonight. That is how serious I am about this date.”

For a second, he actually thought she was going to cry or something, but then, she smiled just a little and nodded that she understood, before slipping into the car. It was only when he had gone around to the driver’s side and got in beside her, the both of them with their seat-belts on, that she finally said; “Me too.”

If anything was going to calm Wade’s nerves at all, it might just be knowing that Zoe might actually be as invested in this night as he was.

Zoe had a feeling that her first date with Wade was not at all going according to his plan. He didn’t have to say it, she could just tell. After all, he had pitched the venue to her as a classy restaurant outside of town, where they could be away from prying eyes and have a chance to talk and everything. As it turned out, the place was a little less candlelight, roses, and soft music, a little more neon, fried chicken, and country rock.

Of course, she told him it was fine. Driving around to find another place to eat would have been a pain, and besides, she didn’t want Wade to feel bad about something that was evidently not his fault. It really shouldn’t matter if the atmosphere wasn’t overtly romantic, she figured they could still have a good time, even if they were a little over-dressed. What mattered was that they were together and out on a real date at last. She had told Wade exactly that, at least a half a dozen times already, and still he didn’t seem happy or comfortable, as they worked their way through a huge pile of fries to the soundtrack of a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band.

“I’m so sorry about this, Zoe,” he said again, shaking his head sadly. “I know you were expecting better, and you deserve it, but when I asked George Tucker for a restaurant idea, well, I guess this did used to be a fancier place, ‘til the new management and all. Thing of it is, he’s been gone away in New York so long...”

“Wade, I already told you, this place is fine,” she insisted one more time. “Honestly, I love that you want tonight to be special, but I don’t need a super fancy restaurant. I’m not a princess or anything, I’m just me.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, doc,” he told her, having to yell some to be heard over the general ruckus in the place. “You’re plenty special just bein’ yourself.”

Zoe grinned at that, hoping he couldn’t see her blushing again. Given how warm it was in the lively eatery, she would guess she was probably kind of flushed anyway.

“Thank you, but what I mean is, you don’t have to go all out and take me to the most expensive place you can find,” she told him, also having to raise her voice some as the drummer got a little carried away. “Last time we went out, it was to Tricky Ricks, for Southern cocktails and line-dancing. That was so fun.”

“Yeah, but that was just a regular night out, when we were just bein’ friends,” Wade told her. “Now, things are supposed to be different and, well, this just ain’t what I wanted for you.”

“Well, if it helps you at all, it’s what I want for me, for us,” she said seriously, reaching for his hand across the table. “Please don’t try to change for me, Wade. I really don’t want that. I mean, yes, obviously, you need to change in the sense of being monogamous from here on out. You do know what monogamous means, right?”

At that he smirked and rolled his eyes too. “Yes, Zoe, I do know what it means.”

“Right, sorry,” she said, waving it away with her free hand. “Anyway, apart from that, you don’t need to change anything else about yourself for me. I like you for you, Wade Kinsella. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

The smile that put on his face was worth every word she said, not that it was tough to do. Zoe meant what she told him. She really did like him just exactly the way he was. If he could be faithful to whatever relationship they built together, that was all she really needed to know. Everything else, she was happy with it staying just as it had been before between them.

“Well, alright then.” Wade nodded then, seemingly happy to get back to his food now they cleared all that up.

Zoe let out a little sigh of relief and did the same, finding herself bouncing along to the rhythm of ‘Saturday Night Special’, and genuinely having the time of her life.

“Okay, folks. Let’s all put our hands together and give our thanks to Nuthin’ Fancy, and now, as they clear the stage, I invite you all to pick up those song books and make your selections, ‘cause as we all know, Thursday night is Karaoke Night here at The Bountiful Bayou.”

“Seriously now?”

Wade could hardly believe what he was hearing. When the Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band was finally done with their set, around the time that dessert was delivered to his and Zoe’s table, he actually thought maybe they could have some kind of romantic quiet time on their date.

Not that the music had been bad, and they had managed some conversation around the songs, plus the food was pretty kick-ass too. Still, Wade really had wanted this to be a special night for Zoe, and as much as she said it was all fine with her, just so long as they were there together, he couldn’t help but feel bad for bringing her to such a place.

“Oh, wow,” she said, looking up at the stage, then down at the table where one of the wait staff just laid down a song book. “Karaoke too, huh?” she said, flipping the pages and looking all kinds of weirded out.

“Zoe, I am so sor-”

“If you apologise once more, Wade Kinsella, I’m going to... pour this drink over your head!” she declared at last, picking up her glass with her free hand and waving it in his face for a second or two, before replacing it on the table. “Please, stop thinking that everything you’re doing is wrong. It’s not, and even if it was, I’m not sure I would know. I’m not exactly a relationship expert, or a first date expert, or any of that stuff. This is almost as new to me as it is to you.”

At that, Wade sighed. “I guess this whole thing prob’ly would go a little smoother if I could relax some.”

“I’m sure that it would,” Zoe insisted. “So, you just be you, and I’ll be me, and we’ll both stop feeling like we have to put so much pressure on this whole thing, because we really don’t.”

Wade nodded in agreement, hardly able to keep from grinning like a fool when Zoe smiled at him and gestured that he should get along with eating his dessert already. She was soon doing the same, though her eyes were all the while drifting to the open song book beside her dish. After she turned a couple of pages and kept on studying the choices, Wade couldn’t help but call her on it, the second he was done swallowing his mouthful.

“You’re not seriously considering that, are you?”

“Maybe,” said Zoe, looking up at him with a smile on her face that was part smirk and part challenge. “Come on, it could be fun. I already know you can sing. You must be able to, you’re in a band.”

“I write songs and play guitar, doc, but I don’t sing much,” he told her. “Mostly just back-up, to be honest with you.”

“Oh.” Zoe looked surprisingly disappointed, heaving a sigh as she reached out to start closing the song book. “Well, if you really don’t want to, you don’t have to, obviously.”

She was side-eyeing him the whole time, making a big deal of closing the book super-slow, on the off chance that he changed his mind, he was sure. As if Wade was ever going to deny her something she really wanted, after all the fuss he had been making about giving her this amazing first date and all.

“So much for no pressure, huh?” he said, hardly able to keep from laughing as she grinned across at him. “Come on now, let’s see what we have here,” he added, making a ‘gimme’ gesture until Zoe passed the song book to him.

“I was thinking, number fourteen?” she suggested, as his eyes moved down the page and then widened some when they hit the song title in question.

“You serious right now?” he checked.

“If you wanted to,” she said, nodding her head, “but seriously, no pressure.”

Wade had to admit, he was kind of surprised she wanted to sing, and even more so the particular song she had chosen. That said, he was awful curious to see what would happen if he said yes, and it wasn’t as if he was exactly the nervous type in front of a crowd.

“Hell, you think you can pull that off, Zoe Hart, I am more than willing to give it a shot myself,” he declared, handing the book back to her.

The smile on her face only grew on hearing those words and he was more than glad to see it. Maybe this first date of theirs wasn’t turning out so bad after all.

Chapter Text

It was late when they got home, later than Wade had expected it to be, but he wasn’t complaining at all and was only too happy to realise that Zoe wasn’t either. The restaurant may not have been the type that he planned, and he sure as hell never saw the evening including karaoke at all, but in the end, he had to admit, he had a real good time. More important than that, Zoe seemed to have a real good time. She was still talking about how fun it had all been as he pulled the car up outside the carriagehouse and killed the engine.

“And okay, so we didn’t win the prize or anything, but I personally think he were the best singers there. I mean, if not the best technically, we certainly gave it more passion that anybody else. Didn’t you feel it?”

Wade opened his mouth to answer her then closed it fast. Sure, he felt some passion around Zoe, all the damn time, but she wasn’t asking him about that. He shook his head a little to clear out his thoughts, then he gave her a proper answer at last.

“All I know, doc, is when I first met you, I never could’ve imagined seein’ you up on stage singin’ a Dolly Parton classic to a whole restaurant full o’ people, but you did it, and honestly, you did it damn well.”

“Thank you,” she said, blushing just a little, “but you were great too. You make a mean Kenny Rogers, Wade Kinsella.”

“I will try to take that as a compliment, I guess,” he said, chuckling as much at her own enthusiasm as anything else. “It really was a great night, huh?”

“It really was,” Zoe agreed immediately. “I’m almost sorry it has to end.”

Her voice got so quiet, he never would’ve heard that last part if not for how close they were in the silence of the car. She also looked like she wouldn’t exactly hate it if he kissed her, and damn it, but Wade had been waiting to do that just about all night long. He figured after hours on end of being as gentlemanly as he could, a goodnight kiss was probably alright, so he leaned on in and pressed his lips against Zoe’s own.

Zoe Hart wasn’t sure what she was doing, or maybe she knew exactly and that was what was scaring her so much. Kissing Wade Kinsella was no bad thing, she had known that long before they went out on their first official date tonight. She kissed him before, even if she had been a little drunk and a lot emotional at the time. Also, he had kissed her, just a few days ago, when they finally decided they were going to go out together. It was good, really good, but it was, in the end, only ever going to be kissing.

This had potential for so much more. After a great night out, which she had thoroughly enjoyed, thanks in no small part to Wade being an amazing guy, she had really meant what she said about not wanting it to end. Of course, she was aware that any continuation of the evening was really only going to go one way. It was the only hesitation that Zoe had, since she had made such a big deal out of not being that kind of girl, but when Wade started to kiss her like that, she kind of fell into the moment and wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to get out of it.

Not that it was easy, getting close in the confines of the car. Even after they got their seat belts off and he more or less pulled her into his lap, the space wasn’t really large enough for them to get too far. Of course, by then, it was very evident to Zoe that Wade was more than up for the task at hand if she wanted to, which meant she really should say something before it was too late.

“Wade.” His name came out with a gasp as she sucked in much needed oxygen and shifted away as much as the car would allow. “It’s not that I’m not tempted, because believe me, I really, really am,” she told him definitely. “I just... I can’t. Not like this, and... well, not yet.”

She expected him to be disappointed, so it was no surprise to see that particular expression on his face. Of course, she also kind of thought he would try to convince her, either through pretty words or more heated kisses, but he didn’t do it. Zoe might actually have been just a little disappointed herself, as he carefully assisted her back into the passenger seat, except she realised fast that if he had tried that, it would only prove he wanted her just for one thing. Surely, his being so decent about the whole situation only proved how much he really liked her, didn’t it?

“We’re okay, right?” she checked, just to be on the safe side.

She glanced across at Wade then, glad to see him smiling, his eyes as soft as that smile, when he reached out to straighten out her presumably mussed up hair, and then gaze at her fondly.

“If you didn’t figure it out already, Zoe Hart,” he told her then, “I got a notion you are more than worth any waitin’ I have to do.” He leaned over to plant a kiss on her forehead, then withdrew, hand and all, to his side of the car. “Go on now,” he said, gesturing for her to do just that. “‘fore I forget I am supposed to be a gentleman when I’m with you.”

Zoe smiled at the semi-joke, then let herself out of his car. After closing the door, she turned back around and leaned in through the open window.

“Not too much of a gentleman,” she told him, trying not to turn pink as she continued, “and not for too long, I promise.”

She pretty much ran away the moment the words were said, not daring to see or hear any reaction Wade might have to her confession. Honestly, she felt like a giddy teenager as she let herself into the house and put her back against the door, her heart pounding a mile a minute and her breath coming in gasps. Still, she was smiling, wider than she had in a while, and it was all thanks to Wade Kinsella.

Of course, Zoe knew the smart thing to do would be take herself straight to bed and get plenty of sleep. After all, she had to work tomorrow, and if the clock on her nightstand was to be believed, it already was tomorrow, the figures showing 1:07 and giving her a surprise.

Heading for the bathroom, she discarded her dress on the way, planning to take a shower, change into her pyjamas and go right to bed. Unfortunately, instead of lulling her to sleep, the shower seemed to wake her up all the more, and thoughts of Wade and their night out, not to mention what happened in the car just now, did nothing to calm her down either.

An hour after she first walked into the house, Zoe was back staring at her clock, this time from under her covers, but she knew very well that she wasn’t going to sleep. Hopping out of bed, she went to the front window and peered out across the pond. Though the coloured strings of lights were on, the rest of the gatehouse was dark now.

Doubtless Wade was asleep. Guys could do that, Zoe thought, just go to sleep without pause, no matter what. Maybe it was unfair of her to generalise like that, but it was her experience. With that in mind, Zoe figured it wouldn’t hurt if she went up to the house to get a snack. Lavon was probably sound asleep too, so much so she wouldn’t disturb him, or on the off chance that he was awake, it might be nice to have somebody to tell about her date. Then perhaps Zoe would calm down enough to go to sleep already.

Throwing on a robe and some shoes, Zoe crept out of the carriagehouse and hurried carefully to the main house, slipping in through the back door with no problems at all. In silence, she went over to the refrigerator, trying to find what it was that she was hungry for. As a doctor, she was well-aware that she was probably more thirsty than hungry, or maybe even just using food to fill a space made by frustration and boredom, but she still wanted to eat something. Zoe never quite managed to make a choice, since the overhead light suddenly came on, startling her into letting the fridge door close and making her turn around very fast.

“Hey, Lavon,” she greeted him with a smile, feeling just a little bad that he looked kind of pissed. “I’m sorry, did I wake you? I swear, I tried not to.”

“It’s no problem,” he said, waving away her worries with one hand.

He then put down the ‘weapon’ he had been holding aloft in the other hand, presumably just in case she was a burglar. Zoe wasn’t sure how effective the ornate lamp would have been as a cosh, but she chose not to say anything.

“You okay, Z?” he asked then, padding over in his very smart, monogrammed PJs and sitting down on a stool.

“I’m fine,” she assured him, wondering why he was looking at her like he didn’t believe that. “Really, seriously, absolutely fine.”

“Uh-huh.” He nodded. “Your date with Wade, that went okay? ‘Cause you bein’ over here in the middle o’ the night makes me wonder...”

“Oh, no, no, it went okay. More than okay,” she assured him fast, leaning across the counter and grinning at him, possibly in a scary way, but Zoe couldn’t seem to help it. “I was just a little nervous before, you know, with Wade’s reputation and everything, but when I talked to Mrs H, she seemed pretty sure that, for the right woman, Wade could be monogamous, and I thought so too. Of course, I wasn’t sure what his idea of a real date would be like, but he took me to this great restaurant, which was not at all what he thought it would be, and yet, we still had such a good time. He was so great, Lavon. So, so great.”

“No, no, no!”

Zoe was bemused when suddenly Lavon was on his feet, seemingly torn between waving his hands in a ‘stop it’ gesture and wanting to cover his ears in case she said something else he didn’t want to hear. She was about to ask what was wrong, when he elaborated a little.

“I can’t hear about that. You and me, we can be best friends, but when it comes to you and guys and that, I just can’t.”

“Lavon, I wasn’t talking about that,” Zoe insisted, unsure how she felt about his thinking she and Wade had sex on the first date - she thought she made it pretty clear, she wasn’t that kind of girl. “I meant that Wade was great as a person on a date. He treated me really well, and like I said, we had a great time. Admittedly, there was a goodnight kiss that got to be a little more than just a kiss, but that was all,” she said fast, when his face started to screw up into a freaked-out expression again. “Nothing else happened, and I promise, when it does, I will not give you the details.”

It took a second or two for Lavon’s expression to go back to normal and for him to retake his seat, but Zoe sighed with relief when both those things finally happened.

“Alright then. I would take that as a kindness,” he told her, settling back down. “So, if you had such a good time, why you here and not sleeping in your bed, having sweet dreams about your perfect date and all?”

“I don’t know.” Zoe shrugged, as she thought about it some more. “I guess mostly I’m just too awake to sleep. Too wired, too energised, too... happy? Can a person even be too happy?” she checked, finding it a strange concept.

“Prob’ly not,” Lavon considered. “For what it’s worth, you do look real happy, and I like to see it. You and Wade, you’re both good people, and I gotta say, I think maybe Mrs H had a good point in what she said about him. For the right woman, Wade will settle down just fine, I’m sure of it, and since he seems to think you’re that right woman and you like him too, then... Well, hey, hold on a second. What’s that all about? Where’d the smile go?”

Zoe hadn’t realised until he said it that her face must have fallen, but she did know why. There was no way to tell him she didn’t, because she absolutely did.

“Come on now, a second ago, you was the happiest clam in the ocean,” said Lavon, looking pained. “What happened? What did I say to make you sad all of a sudden?”

“I’m not sad.” Zoe shook her head, even as her face surely betrayed her. “I’m just...” she trailed off, unsure how to explain but trying to find a way, while she moved around the counter and pulled herself up onto the stool next to Lavon’s own. “You said that Wade could settle down for the right woman, which is great. I love knowing that he likes me that much, that he cares about me and... Wade’s a great guy. I keep saying it because I believe it, I really do. I like him so much, way more than I ever could’ve guessed I might, especially this fast. I also like Bluebell, and being here with Harley, and Mrs H, and you, and so many people... but every time I think, ‘Why not just stay forever?’ I remember that I can’t, not really.”

“Why not?” asked Lavon, frowning hard.

“Because, as great as Bluebell is - and it is, in so many ways - I can’t have the career that I always dreamed of here. You really think there are a whole lot of cardio-thoracic surgeon positions in this town, or even in this county? Because I don’t.”

Lavon sighed at that. “No, I guess you’re right, and Zoe, for what it’s worth, I get what your career means to you. A doctor does all that studyin’ and everything, of course, you don’t wanna let that go to waste. Hell, if I could go back in my life, as much as I missed Bluebell when I was gone, I wouldn’t give up the career I had either. I loved football too much for that. ‘Course, that being said, there’s an awful lot of reasons to wanna be around people that love you and that you love too. After all, you never know how long you’re gonna have those folks in your life.”

Zoe stared at him a moment and wondered what exactly he meant by that, whether he was being specific, because of Harley’s heart issues, or just more general. After all, Wade had lost his mother when he was so young. Plenty of people just slipped out of the lives of others, be it by choice or not, and it always hurt to lose people you cared about.

“Zoe?”

“I’m fine,” she said fast, shaking her head. “Honestly, I am,” she confirmed, when her friend looked sceptical still. “I think I just have a lot to think about is all.”

“I hope I didn’t bring you down, you know, about your date and everything. Like I said, Wade’s a good guy and-”

“I know,” Zoe cut in fast. “Seriously, Lavon, I know how great he is, and how great you are,” she said pointedly. “I honestly couldn’t ask for better friends or family than what I’ve found in Bluebell, and I promise, as much as I’m not sure what the future holds for me right now, I have no regrets at all about my time here so far.”

She reached out to hug him then, very glad when he hugged her back tightly and gave her a smile as they parted.

“You’re good people, Z. I couldn’t be more happy to have you around. Kinda like the little sister I never had.”

“Thank you,” she said, genuinely happy to hear it, as she hopped down from her stool and headed for the door.

“Hey, I thought you wanted a snack or somethin’,” Lavon noted, calling her attention back.

“Yeah, I thought I did too, but actually, I think I’m ready to go get some sleep now,” Zoe realised, giving him a brief wave and then heading back home.

On the porch of the carriagehouse, she looked across at the gatehouse and thought of Wade sleeping inside. Selfish or not, she hoped he might be dreaming about her. Honestly, she couldn’t imagine her own dreams would be about anything but him tonight, which only made her want to get to sleep all the faster!

Chapter Text

“Yes, Mom, I heard you, and as I already told you, three times now, I will think about it and then I will get back to you. Yes, Mom. Yes, Mom. I have to go now. Because I have to work. Bye, Mom!”

“Was that an actual growl that just came out of you, Dr Hart?” asked Brick, equal parts baffled and amused, as far as Harley could tell.

Quite honestly, he felt much the same himself at hearing such a noise from his daughter’s throat. He had heard her come into the practice - it would have been awfully hard not to given the volume at which she was talking on her cell phone, quite evidently to Candice - but he hadn’t exactly been expecting growling from her.

“It’s my mother,” she said crossly, arms folded tight across her chest. “You know, I got up this morning with a really good feeling about today, and then she calls me on my way to work, and now...”

The sound that emanated from Zoe then was still sort of growly but mostly just loud and annoyed, then she stormed into the office and slammed the door behind her. Harley shared a look with Brick, his colleague’s expression seeming to say ‘Rather you than me,’ before he slipped off into his own office without another word spoken.

“Don’t look at me,” said Emmeline, the moment she and Harley were alone on either side of the reception desk. “Last I heard, she was on her way for a date with Wade Kinsella, and Lord knows what we were all supposed to expect from that,” she said with a look.

Harley shook his head and spoke softly, so Zoe wouldn’t overhear anything from the next room. “I don’t believe he caused any of her upset. After all, she said she woke up with a good feeling. It seems only her mother’s call is causing the problem.”

“From what I’ve heard about her mother, and the little bit I saw when she came visitin’, I’m not altogether sure that surprises me,” Emmeline declared, straightening up some files on the desk, then heading out back to put them away, most likely.

Harley took a deep breath and let it out slow. It seemed he was on his own in dealing with his daughter’s bad mood this morning, but then, who else ought to be more qualified for that than her own father? He didn’t feel all that confident, given his lack of experience, but Harley knew his duty and he wanted to do it too. One more deep breath, and then, he was headed into the office to help Zoe with whatever the problem was, the way a good father should. He was more than a little relieved when his entrance didn’t spark any more growling, and very glad to note there were no tears in her eyes either.

“I’m sorry,” she said, the moment he walked in, turning from the window and offering him a half-smile. “I shouldn’t yell and growl and be all crazy at the practice. It’s not fair on you or Brick or Mrs H, and it certainly wouldn’t be fair to the patients.”

“Well, for my part of it, you’re more than forgiven, sweetheart,” he told her kindly, heading around to sit down at his desk and gesturing that she should take the other chair. “Come on now. Why don’t you tell me what it is that’s on your mind, and I’ll see if I can’t help at all. We have at least fifteen minutes before any patients ought to be arriving, and if that’s not long enough-”

“Oh, it will be,” she cut in fast, all but throwing herself down into the chair with a sigh. “It’s really nothing big, just Mom being Mom. She called to tell me she expects me home for Thanksgiving. Expects me,” she repeated, sounding mad all over again, and just when she had started to calm down too. “I mean, maybe if I was still a kid she could expect things. Maybe even with me being an adult, she could expect things, if she hadn’t lied to me for the first almost three decades of my life. I’m sorry, but after that, I don’t think she gets to expect anything at all.”

“I can’t deny that she wasn’t as honest with you as she should have been,” Harley said, as diplomatic as he could possibly be, “but you know, I wasn’t either, and you don’t get this mad at me when I ask anything of you.”

“But you don’t ask anything of me.” Zoe shook her head. “Or if you do, then the point is that you ask,” she emphasised pointedly. “My mom never asks. She tells. She expects. Well, I told her, I am probably not going back to New York for Thanksgiving. After all, it’ll just be me and her at some restaurant or other, which I admit I used to love, but now... I don’t know, I kind of like the idea of Thanksgiving the way it is in the movies, you know? A family around a table, with the turkey and all the trimmings, everybody saying what they’re thankful for, the whole nine yards.”

“Oh, well, yes, that does sound wonderful.” Harley nodded along, before clearing his throat pretty hard. “But you see, Zoe, here in Bluebell, we have our own traditions. That is, we don’t exactly celebrate Thanksgiving, at least, not in the way you might think.”

The frown that put on her face was not encouraging and Harley felt himself squirming under her gaze, at least until their conversation was interrupted by Zoe’s cell buzzing on the desk. She quickly retrieved it, muttering apologies, when suddenly a large smile broke out across her face. Harley had to admit he liked to see that much better than the expression she was wearing before, though he was also curious as to what had caused the sudden change.

“Good news?” he asked, as casually as he could.

There was a blush in Zoe’s cheeks as she looked up at him and shook her head.

“Not exactly. It’s just Wade.”

“I see. Then I have to assume you had a fairly successful date together last night.”

Now it was Zoe’s turn to squirm, which perhaps Harley ought to have expected. After all, a daughter was probably always going to be uncomfortable sharing dating stories with her father, but ever more so when they didn’t know each other quite as well as some might.

“We had a good time,” Zoe told him, looking more at the desk and her cell still than at Harley at all. “In fact, it was amazing. Wade really is a great guy, and since he seems pretty serious about only seeing me, and not the usual string of charming young ladies he was seeing before,” she said, with no lack of sarcasm in her tone on a few of those words, “I really can’t be anything but happy about things, I suppose.”

“You suppose?” Harley checked, finding that particular wording a little strange, in the circumstances. “Seems like maybe you’re a little doubtful there, Zoe.”

“No, I’m not.” She shook her head immediately. “At least, I don’t think I am. I don’t know, it’s just very new and a little strange. Not because Wade is strange or because he did anything wrong, because I promise, he didn’t.”

“I guessed not, since you’re smiling so much on getting a message from him,” said Harley with a smile of his own. “Doesn’t seem much like the behaviour of a woman getting unwanted attention or anything of that kind.”

“Not at all unwanted,” she confirmed, sighing right after. “Like I said, it’s just a new thing for me, and for Wade, and it’ll take time to feel totally normal, but that’s okay. In the meantime, we have work to do, right?”

“Right.” Harley nodded once. “Uh, but before the first appointment arrives,” he said fast, checking his watch to ensure he at least had time to get out the few sentences he felt necessary, only to realise that he probably didn’t. “Ah, well, just as soon as we get a lull in the battle so to speak, remind me to explain to you about Planksgiving.”

“Thanksgiving?” Zoe sort of echoed, shaking her head. “You did say Thanksgiving, right? Because for a second it sounded a lot like Planksgiving,” she said, with laughter in her voice.

Harley tried not to wince. He really didn’t want to cause any more growling in his daughter than he had already heard directed at her mother today.

“Yeah, well, as it turned out, Zoe loved the place, even if it wasn’t as fanciful as we thought. So, for what it’s worth, thanks again, man, and be glad it turned out so well, so I don’t have to come up there to New York and kick your butt for ruining my big chance with the good doctor.”

Wade was laughing along with Geoge Tucker when he realised he really should get off the phone. The Rammer Jammer had been pretty quiet when he decided he could probably get away with a real fast call to his buddy, but now customers were starting to arrive in ones and twos, the early signs of the incoming lunch rush. He told George as much and ended the call, only realising, as he shoved his cell back into the pocket of his jeans, that he was being stared at by one strange looking Lemon Breeland.

“Who were you talking to?” she asked, eyes wide and brow furrowed.

“That any of your business?” Wade checked, head tilted as he stared at her.

“In any other circumstances, no, it would not be, but it seemed to me that I heard you say ‘Tucker’ just as I was comin’ in through the door. If that’s so, then I have to assume it was George Tucker you were in conversation with, and of course, that would absolutely be my business. So, was it George? My George?”

The way she was talking made Wade want to squirm on her behalf. Lemon had been high strung for some years now, the wild, fun girl from their high school days long gone, but Wade wasn’t sure he ever saw her quite like this before. She was jittery and strange, seeming almost desperate for him to tell her anything at all about George. That was just weird.

“You come in here for lunch or an interrogation?” he asked, watching her closely still.

“Wade Kinsella, stop bein’ so pedantic and answer the question,” she snapped at him, seeming to realise just a little too late that she was being loud and attracting attention. “I mean,” she went on, at a more reasonable level then, “I would very much like to know if it was my George you were talkin’ to on the phone, so if you could please be a sweetheart and tell me...”

“Yes, Lemon,” Wade gave in and admitted it then. “Territorial as it sounds when you’re saying ‘My George,’ like that, it was Tucker that I was talking to.”

When she heaved a sigh, he was hardly sure what to think. She sounded equal parts annoyed and relieved, a combination Wade hadn’t thought was altogether possible until then.

“Territorial,” she muttered, shaking her head. “Honestly, I don’t know how I could manage such a thing right now. Truth is, I don’t know that George has been exactly mine for a very long time. How can he be? He’s so far away, we never see each other at all, and when we talk - if we talk, because it happens so little - it almost always ends in a fight.”

Wade felt his eyes widen and jaw slacken as he took in the state of Lemon, the way she was rambling on, and all the confessions she was making, to him, of all people. It wasn’t like her. She did composed and poised like nobody’s business. Sure, he had seen her fall apart once or twice, and suspected he was one of only a few that could say so, but it didn’t happen often and he would prefer it didn’t happen right now either.

“Hey, come on now,” he said, leaning down on the bar towards her. “This is you and Tucker we’re talkin’ about. I get that it’s rough, you two bein’ so far apart and all, but you’ll handle it. You guys always handle everything.”

“That was before,” Lemon sniffled, pulling a handkerchief from her purse swiping at her eyes and dabbing at her nose before she went on. “It’s been such a long time, Wade. Coming on for two years, and still, still I can’t convince him to come home. When I try, he just starts on sayin’ I should go see what Manhattan is like, but I, I can’t do it. I just want things to be how they were and, and...” she trailed off, blowing her nose none too daintily that time.

Wade felt himself starting to flounder. He really only knew how to make sad women feel better with sex, and that was a pretty horrifying thought when it came to Lemon. It wasn’t just that she was George’s girl, and pretty much always had been, but also because even when he and Lemon were closer, they really had more of love-to-hate-you, brother-and-sister thing going on than anything else.

Running a hand back over his head, Wade looked around and suddenly hit upon an idea. Pouring Lemon a large, strong drink, he put it down in front of her and told her it was on the house.

“Now, you drink that, no arguments, and you take yourself a deep breath, and just, well, quit bein’ a snivelling little girl, alright? See, the Lemon Breeland I know, the one I grew up alongside, she was not the type to fall to pieces over somethin’ and nothing’. You know as well as I do that George Tucker loves the bones o’ you. Last I heard, you was engaged when he left here, and far as I know, that ain’t changed. You two have been together since we were fifteen years old. Isn’t that long enough to prove something? To be sure of what you have? Ain’t exactly my area o’ expertise, but I’d say it oughta to be.”

Lemon stared up at Wade almost as if she had never seen him before, but to her credit, she didn’t argue. She also did as she was told, picking up her shot of bourbon and downing it in one, even if she did make a face right after.

“Oh. It is a good while since I last did that,” she noted, placing the glass back on the bar, “but thank you, Wade Kinsella,” she said then, finding him a smile, albeit of the watery kind. “You know, I forget sometimes what a good friend you can be.”

“Yeah, well.” He shrugged it off, because it was just easier that way.

“Which reminds me that I should probably work harder on bein’ a good friend myself. How was your much-talked-of date with Zoe Hart last night?”

“Pretty damn good, you want the truth of it,” he said, unsure why he felt the need to add, “even if it did end up with us each alone in our own beds.”

Lemon looked surprised, but not quite as amused as he thought she might.

“Well, my, my,” she said, shaking her head just so. “Maybe you really are growing as a person after all. I myself was startin’ to wonder if it were even possible.”

She was at least half-joking. He knew because he recognised that sparkle in her eyes, and Wade was more glad to see that than he would admit. When she was being all tearful and jittery about George and all, truth to say, she had scared him just a little bit.

“You know, Lemon, if you ever need to talk...”

It was as far as Wade got, when suddenly Crickett was calling out to Lemon, her and Annabeth rushing over in a flurry of skirts and clicking heels. In a second, Lemon Breeland was holding court with her Belle friends and all was right with the world. Wade didn’t mind much that his services were no longer needed, most especially not when he realised that the next person walking on into the Rammer Jammer was his favourite of all Bluebell’s current residents.

“Well, hey there, doc. Fancy seein’ you here, and I do.”

She smiled and ducked her head at his compliments, then hopped up on a stool closer to the door. Wade spared Lemon one more glance before he wandered over, satisfied his work there was done anyhow. Putting all his focus on Zoe came as no hardship then. It was all he wanted to do anyway.

“Glass o’ wine?”

“Yes, please,” she told him, nodding her head, adding on her lunch order that he sent straight to the kitchen. “I have had the craziest morning. First, my mom was on the phone going on and on and on about whether or not I would be going home for Thanksgiving, and then, when I mention that to Harley, he goes ahead and tells me that you guys don’t even do Thanksgiving here!”

“Ah, you finally heard the old tale of Planksgiving, huh?” Wade grinned at her, unable to help it, given her weirded out expression. “Yeah, see, it’s not weird when you grew up with it, but from what I’ve seen on the TV, the way almost everybody else celebrates and everythin’, I can see how pirate tales and a fish fry in town square might come as kind of a shock to the system.”

“Kind of a shock?” Zoe shook her head. “I was stunned. I’m still stunned. It’s just so weird. I can’t even imagine having Thanksgiving that way, you know, without turkey and cranberry sauce and... What?”

Wade wasn’t sure what she meant, until he realised his face must have fallen at the idea of her not being around for Planksgiving. Of course, if she wanted a real Thanksgiving with her mom, he supposed he could understand that, but it didn’t mean he had to like it.

“Nothin’,” he said, shaking his head. “I was just thinkin’, you know, about last night.”

“Oh.” Zoe smiled big when she heard that, the expression falling within a second. “Hold on, thinking about our date makes you look like you wanna throw up?”

“No, obviously not,” Wade told her fast. “I was just thinkin’ that, well, if we wanted to do it again, I don’t know when that would be. Nights are kinda rough for me, workin’ in a bar and all, and with you doin’ all your shifts and bein’ on-call for emergencies.”

“Yeah, it’s not going to be easy,” Zoe considered, “but I always think that if a person is properly motivated to want to do something, they will find away.”

“You feel real motivated about a second date, doc?” he asked, putting on his best smile, hoping to cover the nerves he felt deep inside as he leaned across the bar into her personal space.

“I do,” she admitted. “Don’t you?”

“Hell, yes,” he said without pause, stealing a quick kiss from her lips.

Zoe didn’t seem to mind one little bit, though she looked a little flustered after the fact. “So, um, nights are tricky for you and days can be tricky for me...”

“How ‘bout this Sunday?” Wade suggested then, giving it a little thought. “I got the whole day free. Not the night, but the day for sure.”

“Oh, well, that should be okay, except where would we go?” Zoe frowned a little at the thought, even as her lunch arrived in front of her on the bar courtesy of a smiling waitress. “I mean, in New York, it would be no problem, but down here? Nothing is open on a Sunday except the church, at least until the evening, and like you just said, that’s when you’ll be working.”

Wade grinned across at her. “Well, Zoe Hart, not all places a person can go out to for a good time have to opened or closed by folks.”

Zoe looked even more confused at that and Wade fought the urge to laugh at her adorably baffled expression as he stole a fry from her plate.

“How ‘bout I pack us up a lunch and we have ourselves a picnic this Sunday?”

“A picnic? Really?” she checked, smiling when he nodded his head. “Yeah, that sounds nice. Oh, but I kind of have a standing arrangement where I go to church with Harley on a Sunday morning now...”

“We can meet up after, have our picnic lunch, hang out a while, and come on back to town before I have to be here. That work for you?”

Zoe looked just about as happy as a clam when she agreed to his idea, but before she decided to start tucking into her lunch, she gestured him closer, checked nobody was looking, and kissed him pretty hard on the lips. “You’re kind of amazing, Wade Kinsella,” she told him, before letting him go.

It wasn’t the first time a woman told him as much, that was for sure, but it was maybe the first time when it had meant a damn thing to Wade to hear such words. There was certainly a spring in his step when he had to walk away then and serve the other patrons of the Rammer Jammer. Also, Wade couldn’t have been looking forward to Sunday any more if he tried.

Chapter Text

“I’m so sorry about lunch. If I had any idea you and Uncle Brando were hoping to make it a family occasion...”

“Now, that’s alright, Zoe,” Harley assured her, patting the hand of her arm that was looped through his own, while they walked away from church together. “If I had known you had plans of your own, I never would’ve... Well, it doesn’t matter now. We can have our family meal another Sunday. There are plenty of them, you know, and as the years roll by, I find the weeks just fly faster and faster. It’ll be next Sunday before you know it.”

Zoe smiled at that. “In the meantime, I think I’d like to go and enjoy this Sunday. Thank you for understanding,” she said, reaching up to kiss his cheek.

“No problem, honey. Have a good time now!” he called behind her, raising a hand to wave when she glanced back at him.

She looked quite ready to take off at a run, and yet also like she was trying not to do exactly that. It made Harley keep on smiling, even as she began to disappear from his view. Seeing Zoe happy put a warm glow inside of his heart. For all of his efforts with diet and exercise, and all her help in the same areas, to improve his heart health, Harley Wilkes would not be at all surprised if his problems were being healed entirely just by having his daughter close at hand and happy as a clam in both her work and social life.

“How’re you doin’, Harley?” said a voice then.

The doctor turned to find the mayor was holding out a hand to him, which he immediately took a hold of and shook. “I’m doing just fine, thank you, Lavon. You know, I was just marvelling at the way my Zoe has turned out. Thanks in no real part to me, of course, but she truly is a wonderful young woman.”

“You’re not gonna hear any arguments out of me on that,” Lavon agreed easily. “It was just the other day when I was telling her, I love to have her around the plantation. Honestly, she’s like the little sister I never had myself. If she ever ups and leaves, I honestly think I’d feel as if I lost my throwing arm.”

“I know exactly what you mean.” Harley nodded in agreement, not particularly sorry to realise then that Lavon had been called on by somebody else and was walking away.

It was no good letting others see his smile fade, as he knew it was. Harley didn’t like to think about the possibility of Zoe leaving town, but it was an almost ever-present thought in his mind, some days. She was a wonderful person and also a very talented doctor. She could do a lot in Bluebell with her skills, not to mention her kindness, but he was well aware of what she had given up by leaving New York.

When she first came to Alabama, she talked about staying for a year. Ever since the revelation that she was actually of Southern blood, at least of her father’s side, Harley had never once heard her talk about her future plans, but he worried that they might not have changed as much as he wished they might.

Of course, he was glad to think that Zoe and Wade might be forming a real close relationship. Surely, he would be one more on a growing list of reasons for Zoe to stay in Bluebell, but Harley was just as aware that the Kinsella boy could easily follow Zoe back to New York, if he had a mind to. Their relationship didn’t guarantee Zoe’s staying. Harley didn’t like to be happy about their getting together based solely on that, in any case.

“You are a foolish old man, Harley Wilkes,” he said to himself, shaking his head and beginning the walk towards home.

It was Brick’s turn to cover any urgent appointments or emergencies this particular Sunday, which gave Harley the time to go see his brother and his sister-in-law, as he had originally hoped to do. No doubt Brando and Margaret-May would distract him well enough that he could stop worrying about the maybes and what-ifs the future may bring. It never did a body any good to dwell on such things anyhow. A doctor knew that better than anyone.

“I’d say this is kind of a come down after dinner in a fancy restaurant, but honestly, for myself, I think I’d rather be out here in the fresh air and the sunshine than any other place, for the most part.”

Wade figured that when it came to Zoe, he could be as honest as he wanted, at this point. After their first date, in what should’ve been a nicer eatery than it actually turned out to be, he knew that the high-class tastes she seemed to have were not the only things she enjoyed. Hell, maybe he ought to have realised that when she had such a good time on their night out a Tricky Ricks a while back. Of course, that had just been a night out as friends. Wade never supposed he could get away with that kind of thing when it came to real dating with a woman like Zoe. Apparently, he was wrong.

“Wade, this is... It’s just gorgeous out here. I mean really, so beautiful. Look at that view!” she enthused, looking out over the greens and browns and blues of it all.

She wasn’t faking any, he was sure on that. She really was as pleased as punch to be out in the world, taking in lungfuls of good clean air, watching the birds soar overhead and the fish jump in and out of the water on the lake. He hadn’t been a hundred percent sure that she was exactly the outdoors type, but so far, so good.

“I’m lookin’ at a beautiful view myself, but it ain’t out that way,” he told Zoe, staring down at only her until he finally got her attention.

“Wow, cheesy line,” she said, swatting at his arm.

“Hey, that was heartfelt!” he complained, though he laughed along with her, since he supposed it did sound kind of lame after all. “Come on now, you know I ain’t lyin’ when I say you look good. You always do,” he said definitely, as he grabbed her hand and led the way safely down the other side of the hill they had been standing on, admiring the view.

“Well, thank you for that,” she said, seemingly meaning both his compliment and his help in steadying her as they descended, “and it’s not as if you don’t know you look good too, because you do,” she told him, smiling too much in the saying of it. “God, how stupid are we right now?” she asked, laughing and covering her face a little with her free hand. “Like the mutual appreciation society or something.”

“Nothin’ wrong with two people appreciatin’ each other. Wait until later on and I can appreciate you in some other ways, if you’re willin’.”

“I might be,” Zoe told him, giggling when he kissed her cheek and playfully shoving him away.

They walked a little further, down to the edge of some shady trees where the sun wouldn’t be too harsh. That was where Wade spread out the blanket and laid out all the food he had prepared for their picnic. Once again, Zoe seemed genuinely amazed by the effort he had gone to. It made him wonder how she could be surprised at all that she made him want to try so hard. He only wished he had the right words to better tell her how much she really meant to him. The feelings he had for her seemed to get stronger every day and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it either.

“Can I ask you a personal question?” she asked, eyes fixed on the sandwich she was picking her way around.

“Shoot,” he told her, even as he wondered what area of ‘personal’ they were headed for.

“Do you believe in God?”

Wade felt that one hit him like a smack in the face. Honestly, of all the personal questions he figured she might ask, that just wasn’t one of them. Something about his dating history maybe, how many women he had taken to bed, or maybe even something about his family perhaps. On no level had he been expecting something religious.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said fast, looking like she regretted the asking now. “I didn’t mean to... I take it back, I swear. You do not have to answer.”

She made big cutting motions with her hands and reached quickly for her glass of wine, almost spilling it in her rush to take a big mouthful.

Wade shook his head. “I got no problem answering the question, doc,” he promised her, looking at her until she finally met his gaze. “Seriously, Zoe, it’s fine. You just caught me unawares is all, but yes, if you want an honest answer - and I know you well enough to know that you do - I do believe in God.”

“Huh.” She looked so thoughtful, he just knew another question would be hot on the heels of the first. “But you never go to church. I mean, for Leon Mercy’s funeral, but not on a Sunday for the service or anything, like most people do.”

Okay, so not a question, but it might as well have been. “No, I do not, but not, as you seem to have been wonderin’ about, because I don’t believe anymore. I do. I don’t think I can imagine ever not, somehow. Don’t get me wrong, I was mad as hell at the guy for a while, taking my momma the way he did...”

“I think that’s understandable, I mean, for anyone, but especially for a kid. It must have been so awful.”

“It was awful, and it ain’t somethin’ I like to talk about much, but that should not make you feel guilty at all, okay? The thing is, well, when we did go to church, it used to be as a family, all together, and when Momma passed, old Earl, he had a, a plaque...”

Zoe’s gasp made Wade look up fast, wondering what was wrong. She swallowed awful hard before she spoke up. “Jacqueline Kinsella. I’ve seen her name, on the end of the row in church.”

“Yeah, I guess you would have. See, that’s a part o’ the reason why I don’t like to go in there. Seein’ her name, rememberin’ how things were before, and how it all changed... I don’t know, it’s just easier not to. Besides, the way I’ve been livin’ my life, I half expect to burst into flames the second I step over the threshold of the house o’ God nowadays.”

“I’m half-Jewish and I always come out completely unsinged.” Zoe regretted the semi-joke the moment she made it, because there really was nothing at all funny about anything Wade had said in the last few minutes - he looked so sad. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” he asked her, shaking his head. “You didn’t do anythin’ wrong, Zoe,” he promised her, reaching out to squeeze her hand, “but hey, if you wanna help at all, let’s just talk about somethin’ else a while, okay?”

“Okay.” She nodded once, then nearly scrambled her brain entirely trying to think of a new topic. “How about that Tide, huh?” she tried after a while, the two of them busting up laughing at how stupid that sounded coming out of her mouth.

It certainly broke the tension, and then, conversation started to flow more naturally again, as they ate their food and enjoyed the view and the weather and everything. Zoe was pretty sure she never felt so relaxed in her whole life as she did, laying out on a blanket, in the dappled shade, just swapping stories with Wade Kinsella. He told happier stories from his childhood, and she even had a few from her own to share. They pondered on how things might have been if Zoe had grown up knowing Harley, and if she and Wade had met as kids. They compared awkward teenage years and high school tales, and somewhere in there, as they got to how it might have been if they had met and dated at that age, the kissing had started. The kissing that hit full make-out very fast, and honestly, Zoe had no reason to want to stop at all, except for one.

“Wade, this is... It’s great,” she told him between fevered kisses, “but I just... What I mean is... I don’t want-”

At those words, he stopped very quickly, rolling away from her and landing on his back beside her on the blankets. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be trying to breathe deeply, presumably looking for some calm after how far they had gotten in being very not-calm. Zoe didn’t like to think about it any more closely than that, since she was trying to get back to normal breathing and heart-rate too. It did not come easy.

“Okay,” she said after a while, pushing to sit up.

She waited for Wade to do the same but it didn’t happen.

“I’m sorry, Zoe,” he told her then, taking her by surprise.

She watched him closely, until he finally opened his eyes and peered up at her.

“Sorry for what?” she asked, shaking her head in confusion.

“I didn’t mean to...” he trailed off, looking so awkward and sounding much the same. “I don’t want you to think I was trying to push you into anything. I know you don’t want to-”

“Oh, Wade, no,” she said fast, laying back down beside him, propping herself up on her elbow. “I wasn’t trying to stop things because I didn’t want to. I just didn’t want to here,” she explained. “I mean, this is a great spot for a picnic, but I’m not about to get naked in the middle of a public place.”

His eyes widened a little at the implication. “You, uh, you think that if we was someplace else, you would haved wanted to, you know, get naked?”

She giggled at the question, feeling a little too much like the teenager she had been talking about not long before, and certain she was blushing terribly too.

“I don’t know, maybe,” she admitted. “I guess since we’re not someplace else, we’ll never know. That’s okay, right?”

“Sure, Zoe. It’s more than okay,” he promised, reaching out for her.

She went willingly into another deep kiss, but Zoe knew better than to get lost in the moment a second time. She had stopped their liaison with a view to not going too far where they might be seen, or where they may end up rolling into a patch of nettles or something, but she also knew there was a part of her that wanted Wade so bad, she almost didn’t care about any of that stuff. Zoe was almost certain she was going to end up in bed with Wade Kinsella before much longer - the temptation was getting too strong to resist.

“Maybe we should head back now,” she suggested, pulling away a little, her hands on Wade’s chest and her chin on her hands. “A gentleman should walk a lady home after a picnic, right?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed, smirking terribly, before they both laughed.

It was nice to laugh, to feel so able to relax and just enjoy some fun. Somehow, Zoe never seemed to have time for that in New York, not really, not like she did in Bluebell. Whether it was the place or the people or just the new version of herself that had come to be since she moved to the small town in the South, Zoe couldn’t be sure, but she liked it. Most of the time, it was tough to find anything she didn’t like about her new life.

“So, I guess you get to spend the rest of your day havin’ a fine time of doin’ whatever you please, while the rest of us have work to get to,” said Wade as they walked back to the plantation, swinging their joined hands back and forth like a pair of kids.

“I actually don’t have any plans for the rest of the day,” Zoe confirmed, “but I also thought you didn’t have to work until later?”

“My shift starts at seven, but I usually get in early, help Wally out with the stock room if he needs me for the heavy liftin’. Poor guy’s not gettin’ any younger and his back has been kinda troublesome for a while now.”

Zoe checked her watch. “Well, it’s only three now. How early do you normally go to work?”

“Depends what else I have goin’ on.” Wade shrugged.

Zoe looked away fast when she heard that, a plan in her mind that she hardly knew how to voice, but she so wanted to. By that time, they were in sight of both the carriagehouse and the gatehouse. This was where they parted ways, if they wanted to, but only if they really wanted to.

Pulling Wade to a halt, Zoe barely gave him a chance to register what was happening before she reached out to take his face in her hands and pulled him into a searing kiss. The picnic basket dropped to the ground as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her impossibly close, clearly getting the idea that he shouldn’t waste such a chance. Zoe was more than glad to have his attention, especially in that way.

“Zoe,” he gasped, pulling away after a minute or so. “Not that I’m complainin’ any, but this mean what I think it means? ‘Cause of all things in this world, I do not wanna screw up with you on somethin’ so important.”

“I’m pretty sure it means what you think it means,” she told him breathlessly, locking gazes with him and licking her lips. “That’s okay, right?”

“Are you kidding me right now?” he asked, eyes wild and tone incredulous. “Zoe, if you don’t know by now how much I like you and how much I want you...”

“Show me,” she said, getting braver all the time. “Come inside and show me, please?”

Wade clearly didn’t need asking twice, kissing her one more time, before they began stumbling together towards the carriagehouse. They were practically to the porch steps when suddenly Zoe heard ringing in her ears and a strange shiver ran through her. These were things she would’ve loved to pass off as reactions to the heat of the moment, but she knew better, especially when Wade pulled back, reaching for his cell phone as she did the same. Her call was from the practice and she quickly accepted it, barely hearing Mrs H begin talking, before she looked up fast, noting that Wade was now talking to Harley. It took her brain just a second to catch up, as well as hear what she was being told. There was a medical emergency. It was Earl.

Chapter Text

Wade was pacing the floor of the practice’s reception area, saying any and all prayers he could think of, until finally Zoe emerged from the next room again. The small smile on her face seemed encouraging, but honestly, Wade was afraid to presume anything too much until she told him what was going on.

“He’s okay,” she confirmed immediately, leading him to the seats and encouraging him to sit down with her. “I know what you saw looked bad, with the blood and everything, but the wounds are actually fairly minor. Now, we have his leg all cleaned up and we’ve checked him for breaks and internal injuries. So far, so good,” she said, smiling more genuinely.

It did make him feel better, partly because Zoe was holding onto his hand as she told him everything would be fine, but mostly just knowing that old Earl wasn’t too badly hurt after everything, that was what he needed to hear.

Wade let out a breath he hardly knew he had been holding, yet it felt as if it had been stuck in his lungs for a while now, right back to the plantation where he and Zoe had been stumbling their way into her place, already to take to bed, when suddenly the calls came to say there was an emergency going on.

“I can’t believe we were... And Earl was...” he rambled some, running his free hand down his face. “Geez, Zoe, I feel like such an ass right now.”

“How is any of this your fault?” she asked, shaking her head at him. “Wade, people have accidents, and seriously, drunk people have even more. It happens. It’s not your fault.”

“’Cept that it is,” he insisted, realising a little too late that he had snapped at her unfairly. “I’m sorry, I know you’re tryin’ to make me feel better, but you gotta let me take the blame that’s mine, Zoe,” he told her firmly. “Sure, it’s on Earl that he drinks the way he does, and maybe he woulda been better off if he let the doctor who was here see him, ‘stead of making Mrs H run around to find Harley and all to tend to his injuries, but those boards in the porch that gave way right under him and left him all banged up and everything? That part is on me,” he said sadly. “I knew they needed fixin’. Known for a while and kept on promisin’ to fix ‘em. Worst of it is, I had told Earl I’d go over on Sunday to do the job.”

“Sunday. Today,” Zoe realised, looking as guilty as he felt. “You didn’t go because we went out on our picnic instead.”

“Yeah.” Wade nodded his agreement. “Not that you should feel bad about that. I swear, I do not want you to,” he insisted, squeezing her hand until she would look at him again. “Zoe, you had no idea I shoulda been someplace else, and on so many levels, I have no regrets about the time we spent today, alright? Just wish to God I had enough sense to take better care of my old man before now, that’s all.”

Zoe sighed, looking down at the floor once again, holding onto his hand with both of hers then. “You can say it’s all on you, but Wade, it’s really not. Not to sound big-headed, but I have obviously been a huge distraction to you lately. If you had more time and focus for your dad-”

“Hey,” Wade cut in, reaching out to raise her chin on his finger and bring her eyes up to meet his own one more time. “You are a real welcome distraction, Zoe Hart,” he told her definitely, “and more than that, you are... you’re just...”

He never did find the words, when suddenly the door to the exam room opened. Zoe flew away from Wade like she was spring-loaded, and he got up fast from his seat when he realised Harley was headed out to talk with them both.

“How’s he doin’, doc?”

“Not so bad,” Harley told him with a smile. “I’m sure Zoe told you, it all seems fairly superficial. Couple of deeper wounds on his leg, but they should heal just fine, if they’re kept clean and dry. Other than that, just scrapes and bruises. I’ll be honest with you, Wade, the amount of alcohol in his system probably helped matters more than hindered them. Inebriation does tend to stop folks from doing themselves quite so much damage in accidents of this kind.”

Zoe nodded like that meant a lot to her, even if it was going over Wade’s head a little. She must have noticed, because she quickly explained.

“When drunk people fall, they don’t have the same reactions as sober people. Because they don’t tense up or try to save themselves at all, it’s rare for them to get any major injuries, like broken bones.”

“So, Earl’s state of bein’ drunk most o’ the time actually did him some good today?” Wade rolled his eyes. “If anybody could make that kinda thing work in their favour, I guess it’d be dear ol’ dad.”

Harley smiled at that, though he seemed as if maybe he felt like he shouldn’t.

“You can go on in and see your father now, Wade. I’d like to keep him here for another hour or two, just on the off chance of any other symptoms presenting, but all being well, you’ll be able to take him home then.”

“I’ll be out here,” said Zoe, looking awkward as all get out. “I mean, unless you want me to...” she gestured into the room, shaking her head as if to answer her own question.

She was adorable when she was nervous like that, just one more thing to love about her, Wade supposed. Reaching to take her hand again, he smiled at her.

“If you wanna come in, doc, I’d like the chance to make some real introductions.”

She smiled back at him and slowly nodded her head. “Okay.”

Maybe it wasn’t the traditional way for folks to meet for the first time, but Wade figured it didn’t matter much. Seemed to him if he and Zoe were going to be serious about each other - and he had never been more serious about a woman than he was about her - it was only right and fitting that she and Earl have some kind of official introduction or some such.

“Hey, Dad,” he said, going over to the bed and laying his hand on Earl’s shoulder. “You doin’ okay?”

“Just fine, son,” he insisted, even if he did seem a little woozy yet - probably more from the leftover booze in his system than the accident. “Dr Wilkes did a fine job on my leg. Says the rest o’ me’ll prob’ly be all good too, in a couple o’ days.”

“Well, that’s good then.” Wade smiled as much as he could manage. “And I promise, I will get onto fixin’ your porch, today. I swear, I meant to do it before but-”

“Hey, don’t worry on it, son,” his father told him, patting his hand. “It’s not your fault. Nobody’s blamin’ you, I swear.”

Swallowing hard, Wade nodded that he understood, then pulled on Zoe’s hand to bring her a little closer.

“Uh, I know you kinda met already, what with her helping out Harley with your wounds and all, but Dad, I would like you to meet Zoe Hart, you know, officially or whatever, since she and I are... well, we’re...”

“We’re dating,” said Zoe for him, reaching out her free hand towards Earl. “Hello, Mr Kinsella. It’s nice to officially meet you, you know, as Wade’s dad and not just a patient.”

Watching the two of them smile at each other made something in Wade’s heart shift, Earl insisting that Zoe call him by his given name and not be so formal, since they were probably going to be family some day. That part caused a look of surprise on Zoe’s face and a catch in Wade’s throat that had him coughing for a second or two. Not that he minded the idea so much of he and Zoe being real close in the future, but maybe it was a little soon for anyone to be saying it outloud.

“You know, we should all have dinner together sometime soon,” said Earl, struggling to sit up on the exam table, until Wade leant a hand. “You too, doc,” he called over their heads to Harley, as he came back into the room. “All four of us, a real nice family dinner.”

“Dad, you can’t just...” Wade began to say, but Zoe shook her head at him.

“Wade, it’s fine,” she insisted. “Earl, I am sure I would love to have dinner with you and Wade.”

“And I can’t imagine a nicer occasion myself, if that invitation is serious,” said Harley, stepping up beside her. “In fact, if you don’t mind, Earl, I wish you’d let me do the honours. Zoe and I have been working on my diet for a little while now and I’ve been hoping to try out some new recipes I’ve been learning on a real audience. How about you and Wade and Zoe be my guests, say, next Sunday?”

Wade hardly knew what to think as he watched his dad and Zoe’s father make a deal and shake on it when it came to next Sunday’s lunch. He looked to Zoe and nodded his agreement when she gave him a questioning look. After all, how was he going to argue with something like that anyhow?

As the fathers continued chatting away, comparing menu ideas, it seemed, Wade took a hold of Zoe’s hand and pulled her aside to speak softly to her.

“You feel as weird about this as I do? I mean, my dad and your dad and us all havin’ dinner and everything.”

“Oh, do you not want to?” she asked, looking kind of sad in a way that made Wade instantly feel like a heel.

“It ain’t so much I don’t want to, I just... Oh, hell, I guess it could work out okay,” he considered then. “You know, just so long as your dad remembers not to put booze in the food or serve it at the table either,” he said quietly.

“I’m sure he would think of that himself, but I will be sure to remind him, I promise,” she said with a smile, reaching up to pick some lint from his shoulder, then letting her hand linger there. “So, this day really hasn’t gone the way I thought it was going to.”

The look in her eyes was somewhat inappropriate, given they were within spitting distance of both their fathers, but Wade well understood her meaning. After all, if not for Earl’s accident, there was every chance he and Zoe would be in her bed right about now.

“You think maybe there’ll be some other time that might turn out better, sometime soon?” asked Wade, feeling more like a stupid teenager on a first date than he ever had before in his whole life.

Zoe smiled for a second or two, then looked awkwardly over her shoulder at Harley and Earl.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I have a feeling you’re going to want to spend time at your dad’s place for a few days, and I know I should be paying more attention to Harley.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right on that.” Wade sighed, knowing for sure it was true.

“Don’t worry,” Zoe told him then, checking once more over her shoulder that no-one was watching, before stealing a quick kiss from his lips. “I’m sure we’ll find some time to be alone at some point, and when we do, I’m pretty sure it’ll turn out to have been worth the wait.”

“Oh, I got no doubts about that whatsoever, Zoe Hart,” he promised her, returning the favour and kissing her this time.

A second later, his dad called for his attention and Wade gladly gave it to him immediately. It was the least he could do, in the circumstances.

Chapter Text

“Look at you, doc. Little more formal than the last time I saw you but, you know, you did make one real hot little pirate.”

Zoe laughed, she could hardly help herself, allowing Wade to pull her into his arms right there on the porch and kiss her like he meant it. She kissed back, she really couldn’t help herself on that score either. In fact, they were headed pretty fast into more than kissing territory when she caught herself and pulled away.

“Okay, um, not the time or place,” she reminded herself as much as him when they parted. “Lunch with our parents.”

“Lunch with our parents.” Wade nodded once, looking immediately sober at the thought. “Don’t take this the wrong way, doc, ‘cause you know more than most how much I love my dad and how I got all kinds o’ respect for Harley, but lunch with those two is not exactly how I would like to be spendin’ my Sunday.”

She knew what he meant. Zoe was sure she would have to be a huge fool if she didn’t know exactly. She also felt much the same, in some ways at least. A week ago, she and Wade had come as close as they could have to getting a serious kind of close. To tell the truth, she had quite decided that was the day when she was finally going to have sex with him. Of course, that had been derailed by Earl’s accident, and then, there just seemed to be one event or person after another that got between her and Wade and a bed.

He had been spending a lot of time making up to Earl for not being there when he needed him, and Zoe had certainly felt she should do the same with Harley, worried as she was for his health, in a different way. Then Planksgiving had been a major part of keeping Zoe and Wade apart. There was just so much going on, so many people around all the time. Even when they had tried to slip away during the festivities on Thursday, things hadn’t worked out. First Lavon had needed Wade and then Lemon had commandeered Zoe, and before they knew it, there was neither the time nor the energy in either of them to make anything happen.

Between work and family and friends and all, they just kept missing each other. Finally, Sunday had rolled around, but still there would be no alone time for Zoe and Wade. They were headed over to Earl’s place to pick him up and take him with them to Harley’s house, where the four of them were going to have lunch.

“Just so you know, I did remind Harley no alcohol,” she told Wade as they descended the porch steps to the car.

“And I did remind Earl that to show up to eat at a doctor’s house already drunk would not be smart,” Wade told Zoe in turn. “’Course, if he gets nervous at all...”

“Why would he be nervous?” Zoe shook her head, slipping into the car through the door he just opened for her. “What’s so scary about me and Harley?”

“You ain’t scary, doc, not either of ya,” Wade assured her, closing the door and running around to get in on the driver’s side. “But old Earl, he just gets all het up about stuff. You know, he has been going on and on non-stop this past week about you and how great it is that we’re dating and what the future will be like, him having a doctor for a daughter-in-law and all, not to mention ol’ Harley becoming family too.”

Zoe hadn’t realised her eyes were wide or that her mouth had dropped open until Wade called her on it.

“And that just really freaked you out.”

“No,” she answered fast. “I mean, yes and no. I mean... Wow. He really thinks this is...?” she trailed off, unsure how to even articulate what she meant. “Not that I’m not taking this seriously. You know, you and me. Because I am, it’s just-”

“It’s just ol’ Earl has jumped the gun, like he always does,” Wade confirmed easily. “Don’t worry your pretty little head, doc. Not that I don’t think seriously about you and what we’re doing here too, because you know I do,” he said, looking across at her with as serious a look in his eyes as she had ever seen. “You do know that, right, Zoe?”

“I do,” she promised, feeling strange about it in the very next moment, given they had just been referring, albeit vaguely, to them maybe being married someday.

“Well, then, that’s good, but I don’t want you worrying that I’m gonna be on one knee for you before we even get to dessert today. That ain’t happening. My dad, I don’t know, I guess he just assumes every couple is like him and Momma, or maybe he just thinks I’m destined to have the same kind of romance they did. You know, he always said he knew from the first moment he saw her that she was his true love.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet.” Zoe smiled, meaning every word. “Did your mom feel the same?”

“She said as much, more than once.” Wade nodded, his voice softer than she had ever heard it before. “I never knew two people as in love as they were. I guess that’s why... well, can’t exactly expect Earl to handle it well when she was taken from us. She was everything to him. To me too.”

Zoe’s heart ached to see him so sad. Wade was usually so happy, or at least he was able to put on a good front of happiness, even when he wasn’t in the best mood. Talk of his mother’s passing seemed to be the one thing guaranteed to bring him down. That was understandable, of course, but it didn’t mean Zoe wanted that for him.

“I like to think your momma would’ve liked me if she got a chance to meet me,” she said, reaching across to take a hold of his hand and squeeze it. “You think she would, or would she have preferred you to be dating a hometown girl?”

“Doc, I keep on tellin’ you, since you’re Harley’s daughter, you are a hometown girl,” he reminded her with a smile she was more than glad to see. “You may be half New Yorker on your momma’s side, but you are also half Alabama, half Bluebell, in fact, thanks to Harley. Now, that’s not to say that Momma woulda cared much if you were all Northerner either. I know she woulda liked you fine, just ‘cause I do. She wanted me to be happy, and you make me real happy, doc. You oughta know that by now.”

Zoe had to take a really deep breath before she could answer, since his lovely words, as well as the intense look in his eyes as he met her own gaze knocked every last bit of air out of her.

“You make me happy too,” she assured him. “Really, you do.”

When he leaned in to kiss her then, she went willingly. It was an awkward manoeuvre over the gear-shift, but then, Zoe considered, that was probably a good thing. After all, it was another wrong time and place for that kind of thing anyway.

“And I’m pretty sure we’re going to be late for lunch,” she said, backing up fast. “Earl will start to think we’re not coming for him, and then, Harley will think nobody is going to show up...”

“So, we better get to going,” Wade realised, pulling on his safety belt as Zoe did the same. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

“Best meal I had since, well, since my Jackie passed,” said Earl, clearing his throat real hard right after.

“Remembering as I do what a fine cook she was, I take that as a real compliment,” said Harley, his hand briefly at Earl’s shoulder. “Will you have some more pie?”

“I honestly think I might bust if I did,” the other man said with a smile that Wade was glad to see.

The last thing their hybrid-family meal needed was any maudlin thoughts, most especially when they might lead to drinking later on, on his father’s part.

“It’s hard to believe that pie is low-fat and protein-rich.” Zoe shook her head. “You know, too many people think eating heart-healthy means plain, boring meals. It’s so not true. Actually, I was reading this research paper just yesterday...”

“Zoe, honey,” Harley cut in, shaking his head at her, but smiling none the less. “Maybe let’s save the medical talk for when we don’t have guests.”

“Oops. Sorry.” Zoe ducked her head and made a point of wiping at her face with her napkin, not because she needed to, as far as Wade could tell, just because she could use everybody not staring at her. “I get a little carried away sometimes.”

“Doesn’t mean you gotta be so embarrassed about it,” Wade assured her. “Hell, I got no idea what you’re talking about half the time with your medical jargon, but it’s cool that you know so much and that it all means something to you. I never had that myself.”

“But you’re so good at what you do too,” she insisted, shaking her head at him. “Come on, Wade, nobody can mix cocktails the way you can, or keep order in the bar when things get crazy. I have seen you in action at the Rammer Jammer, so many times. You handle everything like a real professional.”

“That’s just bar stuff,” he told her, literally waving it away as nothing.

“But where would Wally be without you to run that place as well as you do?” asked Harley, clearing plates away as he continued talking. “Lord knows, he has made that place what it is for the past almost thirty years, but I know as well as anybody, he leaves you to mind it more often than he doesn’t.”

“Well, yeah, I guess I do more than my share sometimes,” Wade admitted, feeling himself squirming in his seat as much as Zoe had been a moment before, “but still...”

“I’m sure you do a real good job, son,” said Earl, with a smile as proud as any ever seen on a father’s face before. “Wally would hardly keep you on and leave you in charge so much if he didn’t think you was capable.”

“He is very capable,” Zoe pitched in. “Honestly, I think Wade could so easily run his own bar. Wow, can you actually imagine that? Wade’s Place. How cool would that be?”

She looked so stupidly excited at the prospect of some imaginary bar for him that Wade actually laughed out loud. It was such a stupid idea, him being in charge of his own place like that, actually being a business owner and all. He opened his mouth to tell them all they were crazy as all get out for thinking that was even a possibility. He didn’t have the money or the where-with-all or the experience for something like that. Of course, the words died on his tongue before he even began to say them. The money part might be true enough, but after all his years of experience, at least a decade or more by now, he probably did have the smarts and the on-the-job learning to do just as Zoe suggested. Not that he wanted to. Unless maybe he did. Wade just hadn’t altogether given it much thought before.

“Zoe, you wanna grab this coffee for our guests?” Harley called from the kitchen.

“Be right there,” Zoe yelled back, hopping up from her seat and rushing off to help her daddy.

That left Wade with way too many thoughts in his head, and Earl in his ear.

“You know, you’re gonna have to have a way to support the young lady when you wed her. Your own bar mightn’t be such a bad idea,” said his father, nudging at his arm.

“Seriously now? You’re telling me my own bar is a good idea,” said Wade with a look, immediately regretting how judgemental and snappy he probably sounded when he saw old Earl’s face fall. “Hey, I’m sorry, alright? I didn’t mean it. I just... I don’t know,” he admitted, one hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck. “Never thought much about my own business before. Guess I could do it, ‘cept I’m pretty happy as I am, at the Rammer Jammer and all. ‘Sides, you gotta stop talking about me and Zoe getting married. If that ever were gonna happen, it ain’t gonna be any time soon, so just hush up, would ya? Please, Dad,” he urged him more firmly, in as low a voice as he could manage, since it seemed a fair bet that Zoe and/or Harley would be back any second.

Earl was nodding and making zip-his-lip gestures, just as the two doctors walked in, Zoe carrying a tray with cups of coffee and such, and Harley looked just a might wobbly, truth be told.

“You been overdoin’ it there, doc?” Wade asked him carefully. “Don’t want you comin’ over sick on account o’ us.”

“I’m just fine, Wade, I promise,” Harley told him, retaking his seat and popping open his top button at the same time. “Just got a little warm in the kitchen is all it is.”

“Just to be on the safe side, he has taken his medication,” said Zoe, casting a look at her father. “He knows better, as a doctor and a man of good common sense, than to leave things to chance.”

“Yes, ma’am, I do,” Harley dutifully answered, “and consider me properly chastened for suggesting otherwise before. Honestly, Earl, you ever sometimes feel we’re the kids and they’re the adults?” he asked, shaking his head.

“More often than I should, I reckon,” Earl agreed, “but trust me, knowing you got somebody to take care when things are rough, that’s no bad thing either.”

“Believe me, I know it,” Harley agreed, looking to Zoe with the softest smile on his lips.

Wade had been so shocked when he heard that the old doctor had a daughter out in the world, and more so when he met the fine young lady that was Dr Zoe Hart. To see the two of them now, it was almost as if they had known each other their whole lives, just like a daddy and his little girl should. Sometimes, Wade could even see that they kind of looked alike, in a strange way.

“What?” she asked, catching him staring. “You don’t want coffee?”

“No, I’ll take the coffee, thanks,” he said, shaking his head clear and lifting the cup from her hands. “If I was starin’ at all, it was only ‘cause I keep on wondering how I got so lucky as to get you to go out with me in the first place,” he told her, only half-joking and hoping she knew it.

The way she smiled and rolled her eyes at the same time let him know Zoe knew exactly.

“Just drink your coffee,” she told him, retaking her seat, her cheeks turning just a little pink around the edges.

“Yes, ma’am.” Wade dutifully agreed, doing exactly that.