by Liz Isaacson
She reached for a plate with the chocolate cream pie, and he noticed her nails were blue today. “New nails already?”
“I got them done for Charlie.” She set the pie on his tray and looked at her hand. “He’s the sweetest baby. Gets more personality every day.”
Liam sure liked the softness in Rose’s voice. “Do you have any kids?”
She blinked at him, and he busied himself with getting a piece of lemon meringue pie and a piece of cherry.
She laughed, a light, high sound that wasn’t really made of happiness. “No,” she said. “I don’t have kids. Never been married. Not dating anyone.”
Their eyes met, and so many things were said in those few moments. Sparks practically manifested in the air between them, and Liam wasn’t so far removed from his hormones and his love life—or lack thereof—that he couldn’t recognize attraction when he felt it.
“Same,” he said. “On all counts.”
A smile tugged at her lips, and Liam’s attention dropped there for a moment. He felt like he might combust at any moment, so he turned away from the pie and asked, “Milk? Do we need milk to go with our pie?” His voice was only slightly screechy, and he covered it with a cough.
“No milk,” she said. “I’m not exactly lactose intolerant, but it doesn’t agree with me too well.”
“I’m sure the chocolate pie has milk in it.”
“It’s worth the risk.” She flashed him a smile and picked up a bottle of water. He chose lemonade, and they moved to the line to pay. He gave the girl a twenty, got his change, and steered them to a table in the corner.
He wasn’t sure if this was a date or not, but he didn’t care. He was with Rose, a woman he’d been thinking about for seven straight days and never thought he’d see again.
“So who’s your sister?” he asked.
“Lily Whittaker?” she said as if she wasn’t sure. “Do you know the Whittakers?”
“Sure,” he said. “I mean, we’re not like best buds or anything. I think the youngest is close to my age.” He leaned forward as if he was going to tell her a secret. “I only spent summers in Coral Canyon.”
“Beau is the youngest,” she said. “He’s Lily’s husband.” Rose took her pie and picked up a fork.
“Right, Beau.” Liam didn’t know him well, but he could probably pick the Whittakers out of a line-up. “And that was another sister at the airport with you?”
“Yes, Violet.” She watched him again. For what, he wasn’t sure.
“I gotta say,” he said, digging into his cherry pie. “It looked like you were signing something there. People waiting for you. All that kind of stuff.” He looked at her, his bite of pie perfectly poised for consumption. “You must be famous or something.”
She watched him slide the bite of cherries and crust into his mouth. “Or something,” she said, dropping her gaze to her chocolate concoction.
“What do you do?”
“I’m a country music artist,” she said. “The Everett Sisters?” She met his eye, and when he didn’t exclaim he knew them, she added, “We have eight albums. All platinum. I guess you could say we’re famous.” She shrugged again, and then took off her winter coat to reveal a pretty blue sweater.
“I feel like I should explain,” he said. “I’ve lived overseas for ten years. Before that I was in medical school. And I don’t listen to a lot of country music.”
“Shocking,” she said. “You grew up in Wyoming and aren’t a die-hard country music fan?” The teasing quality of her voice sent shivers through Liam’s muscles.
He chuckled with her and took another bite of pie.
“What were you doing overseas?” she asked. “We’ve been to Australia, but not many other places. Those Aussies, they like their country music.”
“I bet they do.” He took a deep breath. “I mostly worked in Africa, and a bit in South America, for the Doctors Without Borders program.”
“Ah,” she said, nodding. “That’s why you can speak Spanish and Swahili. And what was the other one?”
“Portuguese,” they said together.
Their eyes met again, and if Liam hadn’t recognized the current between them earlier, he wouldn’t be able to deny it now.
“There you are, Doctor Murphy.”
The moment broke with the intrusion of Veronica Tally. A tall brunette, she was the Director of Community Events in Coral Canyon. Liam had also been avoiding her calls and texts for three straight days now.
He sighed. “Hello, Veronica.” He indicated Rose. “Have you met Rose Everett?”
Veronica flicked her eyes at Rose and looked back at Liam. “Nice to—” She swung her focus back to Rose. “Rose Everett?” Her dark eyes widened and surprise emanated from her. “All the Everett Sisters are in town? Oh, you three need to do a concert!” She pulled out the chair beside Rose and flopped into it. “You really do. I’ve asked Vi about it so many times.” Her excitement made Liam grin, because for once it wasn’t directed at him.
“I see now that I didn’t give you the proper reaction when you told me who you were,” he said.
Rose shook her head, her lips pressed together into a straight line. She turned to Veronica, and wow, the woman could exude charm when she had to. Her voice was pleasant and firm when she said, “I’m so sorry, Veronica. Lily just had her baby, and he’s here in the NICU. So we can’t do a concert right now.”
Veronica’s face fell, but she rebounded quickly. “Maybe for Christmas!”
“Well, I don’t know if I’ll be around at Christmas.” Rose gave Liam a look, but he couldn’t tell if it was something like Save me, or What do you think of me not being here at Christmas?
He started praying she would be, that was what he thought. He’d spent a lot of time on his knees while he worked in difficult and dire circumstances in Africa, and while this certainly wasn’t as devastating as dealing with someone who had the Ebola virus, he felt like if Rose left town, she’d take all the oxygen with her.
“We should still—”
“Did you need me, Veronica?” Liam asked, interrupting her and throwing his napkin on top of his second piece of pie. “Because I’m afraid I have to get going.” He stood as if he’d leave right now, without Rose’s phone number.
“Yes,” she said, standing and regaining her professional demeanor. “It’s about the Valentine’s Day bachelor auction, as I’ve texted you several times.”
Liam waited, already knowing what she was going to ask him.
“We need you, Doctor Murphy. You’d be a huge draw, being new in town and so handsome….” She let her words hang there as she ran her gaze down to his toes and back. She cleared her throat. “All the money goes to community programs for the youth, and some is even going to the hospital fund.”
Liam looked at Rose, who watched him with delight in her eyes and a smile on her face. Would she bid on him if he did the auction? Would she even be in town come Valentine’s Day?
“When is the auction?” she asked.
“We do it on February twelfth,” Veronica said. “That way, all the single women have a date on Valentine’s Day. They’re happy. We’ve raised money. The bachelor auction helps a lot of people.” She had a distinct pleading note in her voice. “Please, Doctor Murphy.”
Rose giggled and said, “She said please.”
He couldn’t ask her if she’d be there. But if she was…Liam wanted to be too. “Fine,” he said with a sigh, like he’d just committed to having his hands cut off. “I’ll do it.”
Veronica squealed and clapped her hands. “Great. I’ll send you the forms we need you to sign. Then you just show up.” She grinned at both of them and clicked away in her high heels.
Liam looked at Rose again. He wanted to ask her on a real date, not a walk to get hospital pie from the cafeteria. He wanted to ask her if she’d be at the bachelor auction. He wanted her phone number.
“So,” he said, deciding to go for the easiest option, the one that could get him the other two. “What are t
he chances I can get your phone number?”
She held out her palm and said, “Give me your phone.”
He complied, the brief moment where his fingers touched hers causing a riot inside his chest. She swiped and tapped and handed his device back. “There you go.” She picked up the pace now. “Thanks for the pie, Doctor Murphy. See you later.”
He paused and let her go ahead of him, watching until she rounded the corner. Then he opened his phone to see if she’d really put in her number. She had, and a smile as wide as the River Niger crossed his face.
Everything about being in Coral Canyon had just gotten better, and Liam’s prompting to come back to this town where he hadn’t been in twenty years felt confirmed.
“Thank you, Lord,” he whispered to the empty hallway. Leaving Doctors Without Borders had been very difficult for him. Coming home had too.
But maybe the Lord had a reason for pushing Liam in that direction, and the reason was Rose Everett.
Chapter Five
“Day seventeen,” Rose said to Lily. She sat at the kitchen counter in the lodge, already ready to go down to the hospital. Her sister looked tired, and she wasn’t dressed yet. She wore a baggy purple robe over her pajama pants and her hair seemed like it hadn’t been washed in a few days.
Rose couldn’t even imagine how hard it was for Lily to leave Charlie every night.
“Yeah.” She sighed as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “It’s killing me we can’t bring him home yet.”
“We will soon,” Beau said as he entered the kitchen behind her.
Lily looked like she might cry, but she nodded, sipped her coffee, and set it on the counter. “I’m going to go shower. Then we can go.” She left Rose alone with Beau in the kitchen.
“What are we going to do for her?” Rose asked, this sense of helplessness inside her almost too painful. Too deep. She felt like she was drowning, and Charlie wasn’t even her baby.
“She’s doing okay,” Beau said.
“Beau,” Rose said, putting on her bossy voice. “She is not okay.”
“Charlie is doing so much better,” Beau said, almost a note of panic in his voice. “He’s pinking up, and he’s almost off the oxygen. He’s gaining weight.” He turned from the coffee maker, but he hadn’t even gotten down a mug from the cupboard. “I can feel it. He’s going to come home soon.”
Rose realized this was really hard for Beau too. He’d just been better at hiding it. “We still need to do something.”
“Like what, Rose?”
Rose told herself he didn’t mean to snap at her. That she had no idea what her sister and brother-in-law were going through. “I think I should take her this afternoon. Go get our nails done or go to a movie. Get out of the hospital for a little bit.”
“She won’t go.”
Rose slid off the barstool. “I’ll talk to her.”
Beau frowned as Rose marched out of the kitchen, and she knew he didn’t like the way Lily sometimes relied on her and Vi. But at this point, she didn’t care. She, Vi, and Lily had been through so much as sisters, and singers, and all of it.
She rapped lightly on Lily’s bedroom door, which was right across from the nursery that still hadn’t been used. “Lils?” she said as she entered. “It’s just me, Rose.”
From the bathroom, Lily said, “I’m not dressed, Rose.”
“Okay.” She closed the door behind her and pressed her back into it. “Look, we need to go do something this afternoon. Just me, and you, and Vi.” She hadn’t talked to Vi yet, but she didn’t have a job—unless training her boyfriend’s dog counted, and Rose didn’t think it did. Vi could spare a few hours.
She pulled out her phone as she continued to talk. “I’m thinking nails. Or a massage. Or a movie.”
“I can’t get a massage,” Lily said, her voice carrying a heaviness Rose didn’t like. “I can’t lie on my stomach, and I can’t get on and off the table.” The water started to run in the sink, and Rose sent a quick text to Vi about her availability that afternoon.
“A movie then,” Rose called. “You love the movie theater popcorn.”
“I don’t want to leave Charlie.” The water turned off, and Rose realized she was facing a bigger hill than she’d originally thought.
“Vi’s in,” Rose said as she read Vi’s response. She took a few steps toward the bathroom. “Lils, it’s really not healthy for you to spend all day and all evening over there. It’s just a few hours. Beau will be there. He said he’d take care of Charlie.”
Rose had seen them both holding their son, pulling back their collars so Charlie could be skin-to-skin with them, so they could bond. Rose had felt the love revolving around them, and she wanted it for herself.
Liam’s handsome face filled her mind, but she pushed against him. She needed to focus on her sister, not her could-be boyfriend who’d only texted her a handful of times. He hadn’t asked her out yet, and he’d never once asked if she’d be at the Valentine’s Day bachelor auction.
But Rose had it on her calendar, and she was planning on being there. She wasn’t sure what kind of money the other single women in town were willing to spend on a gorgeous doctor, but Rose was betting she could out-bid them.
She hoped she could, because if Liam wasn’t going to ask her out, she’d win his date in the auction and then he’d have no choice but to go out with her.
If only February twelfth wasn’t still eleven days away.
Lily appeared in the bathroom doorway, dressed and her hair damp. “Okay, Rose,” she said. “A couple of hours at the theater. And you’re buying the popcorn.” She flashed a smile, but it wasn’t anywhere near as brilliant as Rose knew Lily could do.
“Deal,” she said, moving forward to wrap her sister in a hug. “He’s going to come home soon, sis.”
“Let’s go find out,” Lily said, combing her fingers through her hair and gathering it all into a ponytail.
Rose’s phone went off again, and both she and Lily looked at it. “Who’s Liam Murphy?” Lily asked.
“No one,” Rose said quickly, shoving her phone in her back pocket. The need to read his message burned through her, but she didn’t have a way to know what he was. Yet.
“Rose,” Lily said in a warning voice, her face brightening. “Do you have a secret boyfriend?”
“What?” She scoffed. “No, of course not.”
“Knock, knock,” Beau said, and Lily rounded toward him.
“Do you know a Liam Murphy?” She tossed Rose a playful glare, and this was more like the Lily that she knew.
“Liam Murphy?” Beau repeated. “I—that name is a bit familiar, but I’m not sure I know him.”
Rose threw Lily a triumphant smile. “And he knows everyone in town.”
“Wait. Isn’t he the doctor doing that emergency clinic?”
“Ooh, a doctor. Did you meet him at the hospital?” Lily asked in a singsong voice.
“No,” Rose said flatly. “He was actually on my flight here a couple of weeks ago.”
“And he’s opening the clinic here?” Lily’s teasing faded into pure glee. “It’s fate!”
“It’s not fate,” Rose said, rolling her eyes and stepped toward Lily and Beau. “Come on. Charlie needs us.”
Rose drove herself down the canyon, because she didn’t stay as long as Lily and Beau, and she liked having a car to go grab food or just to get away. How her sister had stayed so long each day spoke of her love and dedication to her newborn son.
So she didn’t allow herself to read Liam’s message until she’d parked at the hospital. Sorry I’ve been so busy. Wondering if you’d like to grab dinner sometime?
He’d texted again a moment later. Or lunch.
Or breakfast.
Or coffee.
Or pie.
Basically, I want to eat and I want to do it with you.
By the end of his text string, Rose was laughing. “Finally,” she whispered as she tapped out her response.
I eat. And I could
see you again. You seem busier than me. Tell me when, and I’ll consult my schedule.
She wondered if it was a mistake to get involved with Liam. After all, he was making a life and career for himself here in Coral Canyon, and while Rose didn’t have plans to leave town anytime soon, she did not live here.
And the last doctor she’d dated never had time for her either. He was always too busy. And this doctor was opening a brand new clinic and could barely text her.
“Maybe he just doesn’t like texting,” she told herself as she turned off the vehicle and prepared to enter the freezing temperatures outside. As she hurried through the chilly morning to the entrance she’d seen Lily and Beau go through a few minutes ago, she listed all the things about Liam she knew.
He liked to talk to people on the plane. He was smart. Dashing. Charming. Busy. Didn’t get ruffled by confrontation. Enjoyed cherry pie—and that was a black mark against him. Rose didn’t think fruit should be forced into pies, but she’d managed to keep her opinion to herself during their pie binge a couple of weeks ago.
She half-expected to run into Liam on her way up to the NICU, but she didn’t. Lily had Charlie cuddled against her chest, humming to him as she rocked him. He really was the most beautiful baby. He was pink, and he had the most beautiful blond hair that wisped around his head.
Rose ran her fingers lightly along his head and grinned down at her sister. “Liam finally asked me out.”
Lily smiled back and paused her melody. “So he is your secret boyfriend.”
“I mean, not really.” Rose sighed happily. “But he’s in the Valentine’s Day auction, and I’m going to win him.”
“Oh, boy,” Lily said. “Listen to yourself, Rose. He’s not a prize.”
“I know that.”
“But sometimes you forget,” Lily said. “I have to go to the bathroom again. Beau is talking to the nurses. Can you take Charlie?”
“Of course.” Rose got some time with Charlie everyday, and it really was the highlight of her time in Coral Canyon. She cradled the baby in her arms, her whole heart melting as he groaned and grunted while he settled.
Lily left and Rose took her place in the rocking chair, whispering to the baby, “Oh, you’re the best boy in the world, aren’t you?” She stroked his cheek and pulled down her own collar so Charlie could snuggle into her skin too. He was warm and wonderful, and Rose loved him so, so much.
