by Lori Wilde
Bennett’s stomach pitched as he imagined telling Great-Gramma that Frank Sinatra had expired. What if the negative news was too much to take and the elderly lady suffered a heart attack, too?
Lacy would be devastated.
What to do?
He had no choice but to dispose of the carcass.
Bending, he scooped the deceased goat into his arms. Where could he hide the body until he had time to ease Great-Gramma into the notion that she would never see Old Blues Eyes again?
Lugging the heavy animal, he pivoted on one heel. To the right lay the house, to the left the road, behind him the barn.
Think, Sheridan, think.
Goat hair tickled his nostrils.
He sneezed.
Bennett realized he looked totally ridiculous. How had he, a surgical thoracic resident from Boston, come to find himself nearly naked in the backyard of a Texas farmhouse, a dead goat in his arms, his half-consumed blue jeans lying on the lawn?
It was preposterous. Laughable.
He sneezed again.
Great. Super. Stupendous.
Then he thought of a line from his favorite Mel Brooks movie, Young Frankenstein.
Could be worse. Could be raining.
It wasn’t raining.
But something else unexpected happened.
The goat stirred.
Bennett was so startled, he stumbled backward into the picnic table.
The goat lifted his head, stared Bennett straight in the eyes, and bleated long and loud.
Bennett yelled.
The goat kicked.
They both fell to the ground in a tangled heap of hands and hooves.
Quickly, Frank Sinatra recovered, springing to his feet and trotting away.
Bennett stared at the sky, feeling like the biggest idiot on the face of the earth.
“Bennett! Are you okay?”
He looked over to see Lacy hobbling toward him, her eyes wide with concern, her blond hair tumbling about her shoulders.
“I heard you hollering and came running as fast as I could.”
He considered the situation and then started to laugh. So much for a clean, painless getaway.
“What’s so funny?” Lacy cocked her head quizzically.
Bennett propped himself on his elbows and waved a hand at the goat. “Frank Sinatra was eating my blue jeans. I yelled at him, and he keeled over. I thought I’d killed him. I thought he was dead. I didn’t know how to break the news to your grandmother, so I picked him up to hide the body.” He waved at the goat, who was in the corner of the yard giving Bennett the evil eye. “As you can see, he’s fine.”
Lacy slapped a palm over her mouth. “Oh, Bennett, I’m so sorry. I forgot to tell you that Frank is a Tennessee fainting goat. They pass out when they feel threatened.”
“No kidding.”
Their eyes met. Lacy dropped her hand and grinned at him.
“You’re a city boy through and through.”
“Tell me about it,” he said, getting to his feet and dusting himself off.
“That was sweet of you to try and protect my grandmother.”
“Hey, I didn’t want to have to tell her that I’d killed her favorite pet.”
Lacy’s giggle gave his heart wings. “You poor thing. You must have been terrified when Frank woke up in your arms.”
“Shocked is more like it,” he said, not willing to admit how much the goat had disconcerted him. He was a doctor. How could he not have noticed the goat wasn’t dead?
How? Well, it wasn’t as if he’d performed a postmortem on the darned thing, but mostly it was because his mind had been filled with sensuous thoughts of Lacy. Thoughts that hit him like the A-bomb whenever he dared look at her. Thoughts that could lead them both into serious trouble.
Lacy limped closer and reached up to pluck a piece of straw from his hair. She swayed on her good leg. Bennett put an arm around her waist to brace her.
“Where are your crutches?” he asked, erotic sensations flooding his body at her nearness.
“I was in such a hurry to check on you, I forgot them in the barn.”
Her lips were close. Too close. He recalled the flavor of those lips, so recently savored. She had tasted like peaches. Like summer and sunshine. Rich, ripe, expansive. Full of life and energy and love.
He peered into those incredible eyes. She stared at him with such trust, such admiration, Bennett’s heart stuttered. His feelings were rushing him down a dangerous path. A path that threatened to ruin all his plans.
But he couldn’t seem to help himself. As inexplicably as a child drawn to a magician, he cupped her smooth cheek in his palm.
She smiled at him, her emotions shining clearly in her face—pleasure, joy, happiness.
The panic that had overwhelmed him earlier returned with a vengeance. He was going to have to hurt her. Despite all his precautions, he was going to break her heart.
There was no way they could have a happy ending.
At that moment the cell phone in his bathrobe pocket rang.
12
“That was Dr. Laramie.” Bennett disconnected the call and turned to face Lacy, who hovered beside his elbow. “Mr. Marshall is getting his heart transplant. They’re flying the organ in from Minnesota as we speak. I’ve got about three hours to get to Houston and scrub in. Unfortunately, I don’t have time to wait for your brother to repair your car. Does West have a ride service?”
She shook her head. “No, but surely I can find someone to drive you to Waco to catch the plane.”
“All right.” Bennett nodded.
Lacy rested her hands on her hips and eyed him. “Since Frank Sinatra made mincemeat of your blue jeans, you’re going to need a new pair of pants. We’ll borrow from my brothers. What size do you wear?”
“Thirty-two waist, thirty-six length.”
She made a face. “You’re taller than anyone in the family. Dylan wears a thirty-two-inch waist, but they’ll be short on you.”
“Anything will do.” His apprehension built. He was anxious to get on his way.
“I’ll get your shirt off the clothesline and fetch a pair of Dylan’s jeans.”
Just then, Grandmother Nony’s car turned into the driveway. “Hey, kids,” she greeted them as she got out. “I came back for more apple preserves. I sold out already.” She stopped chattering and stared at them. “Is something the matter?”
“Bennett needs to get back to Houston right away to assist in an emergency heart transplant. With my car out of commission, we need someone to drive him to the airport in Waco. Can you take him?”
Grandmother Nony bared her teeth and sucked in her breath. “Oh dear. I tried to tell your great-gramma that this was a bad idea.”
“What was a bad idea?” Lacy’s voice went up a notch. Bennett looked from Lacy to her grandmother and back again.
“Taking the cables off your car battery.”
“What!”
“I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t know it would cause this kind of trouble. Your great gramma insisted you and Bennett had to stay here until he was struck by the thunderbolt. She asked me to disable your car.”
“You disabled my car!”
Grandmother Nony winced and nodded.
“I take it the gravy spill wasn’t accidental, either.” Lacy looked mad enough to spit bullets.
“Well, Great-Gramma said you were pretty mad at her. She wanted to make sure you didn’t get away,” Grandmother Nony explained.
“The clothes dryer isn’t really broken, either, is it?” Lacy asked.
“No,” Grandmother Nony admitted.
Lacy smacked her palm with her forehead. “I don’t believe this family.”
“What’s going on? What does this mean?” Bennett asked. “What am I missing?”
“It means”—Lacy gave her grandmother an icy glance— “that my family has been playing meddlesome matchmakers. You’re free to leave, Bennett. All we have to do is reattach the cables to the battery, and yo
u can be on your way.”
Lacy took a deep breath in a vain attempt to calm herself. She’d known from the minute she’d brought him home that she would have to explain her family and their kooky beliefs toward love, marriage, and happily ever after. She also knew that in all likelihood he would not understand. Would in fact, be disgusted with her.
She stood beside Bennett while he replaced the cables. He looked ridiculous in Dylan’s much-too-short blue jeans. If the mood between them had been jovial, she would have joked about his being prepared for a flood.
“Explain this thunderbolt thing to me again.” He turned his head and angled her a chiding look. “Help me to understand what would make a sweet little grandmother tear apart your car to keep you home.”
“It’s the funniest thing,” she began, purposely keeping her eyes moving so she wouldn’t have to meet his gaze. She stared at the oil stains on the underside of the hood. “You’re going to laugh, it’s so silly.”
Bennett straightened, put down the wrench, and wiped his hands on a rag. “That’s great. I could use a good laugh.”
Her palms were sweaty. Her heart raced. “Well, uh, it’s like this.”
“Yes?” he prompted.
Lacy studied her feet.
Bennett reached out a hand, cupped her chin in his palm, and forced her to look at him. His eyes drilled a hole straight through her. “Talk.”
Lacy tried to stall. She hemmed and hawed, but Bennett was having none of her diversionary tactics.
“Stop beating around the bush and talk to me. I don’t bite.”
No, but you’ll take a powder.
Lacy sighed. Patience and tolerance were reflected at her from the depth of Bennett’s chocolate-brown eyes. There was nothing left to do but tell him the truth and hope against hope that he didn’t find her strange or manipulative or foolhardy.
“It’s kinda hard to explain.”
“You’re a bright, articulate woman.” He wrapped a hand around her upper arm. “Give it a shot.”
“Do you believe in predestination?” Her voice rose on a hopeful note.
“Do you mean do I believe in the concept that we have no free will? That our destinies are mapped out for us even before our births?”
“Well, yeah.”
“No. Absolutely not.” He shook his head.
“You don’t think it’s at least possible that you were put here on earth to be a doctor and that even if your life had turned out differently you would eventually find your way to being a physician?”
“I’m not following you.”
Lacy wet her lips. “Do you believe in predestined love? That there is one right person for everyone, and when you find that person, you’ll know who they are, and they’ll know who you are without any doubts?”
“One right person in a planet that houses almost eight billion people? Come on, Lacy, that’s a bit far-fetched, don’t you think?”
“No,” she whispered. “I don’t.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’ve deceived you, Bennett. I led you to believe that I wanted nothing more than to have a fling with you, but that’s not true. My family believes in the power of the thunderbolt and I was raised to believe it too.”
Then, in excruciating detail, she told him all about the family thunderbolt legend and how Great-Gramma had fabricated her chest pains in order to get Bennett to bring her to West.
She sneaked peeks at him as she spoke and watched the emotions flit across his face—confusion, irritation, disbelief, and finally disappointment.
“I can’t believe your family manipulated me into coming here,” Bennett said. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you even orchestrated that sprained ankle.”
“It’s not like that. I had no idea what Great-Gramma was cooking up until we got here.”
“But you didn’t bother to tell me the truth once you did discover that she was playing matchmaker.”
Lacy couldn’t look him in the eye. “That’s right.”
“Why not?” He folded his arms across his chest.
“Because I did believe in predestined love. From the minute you popped into the operating suite, I thought you were the man I’d been waiting a lifetime for. Call me a fool, but I know you feel something for me, too, Bennett, but I also know your career is important to you. I foolishly believed that if I gave the thunderbolt some time, then you would realize I’m the one you’re supposed to be with. But I was wrong. The thunderbolt is nothing but a stupid legend. You can’t force someone to love you.”
The silence lengthened between them.
Trembling from head to toe, Lacy raised her chin and met his calm, unreadable gaze.
“Today, I allowed myself to be swept away by my passion for you. And make no mistake, it is a powerful attraction. But that’s what frightens me. Something that flames this hot is bound to bum out. I will not commit the same mistake my parents made. I’m so sorry if I’ve hurt you in any way. You’re a truly wonderful person, and I know that someday you’ll find this thunderbolt you’re looking for. But it simply isn’t me.”
Lacy bit her bottom lip and blinked furiously to keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks.
Janet was right. Love at first sight was nothing but a Cinderella fairy tale. Her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother had simply been lucky in love, and in turn, they had dubbed that luck the thunderbolt.
But honestly, it was delusional.
For too many years, she had listened to their useless advice. Listened and dreamed dreams she had no business dreaming. She’d envisioned a fantasy man who could not, did not, exist.
“Lacy,” Bennett repeated. “I am sorry. If I’d known... If you’d only told me you really believed in this thunderbolt thing, I would never have had sex with you. I know it’s going to be hard...”
Lacy raised a hand. “Don’t. Please, just don’t. Okay? I’ll be all right.”
She had taken a chance. It hadn’t worked out. So there was no such thing as the thunderbolt, after all. She would survive. She was stronger than she suspected. One good thing had come out of this. She’d gotten over her shyness. She’d even made love with a man she loved, even if he didn’t love her back.
At the memory of their tender lovemaking, her stomach roiled. Oh, God, she loved him so very much.
“Cupcake,” he whispered.
“It’s okay.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder, but Lacy shrugged him off. “Let’s talk about this some more,” he said. “I can’t promise you anything, but I do care about you. We had a great time. Maybe, someday, when I’ve finished my residency and opened my practice, we could see how we feel then and...”
She whirled on him, sudden anger blooming inside her. She would not be ashamed of or embarrassed by her feelings. She’d made a gigantic blooper in loving him, but she couldn’t regret having taken a chance.
She’d learned a lot and she decided that she wasn’t going to spend the rest of her life hiding under a rock, waiting for Prince Charming to come kick it over. She was tired of playing Sleeping Beauty. Yes, her lesson was a painful one, but she’d learned it well.
“No, Bennett. If you don’t love me now, then you’ll never feel it. I can accept that.” She pivoted on her good heel, then hurried to the house as fast as she could hobble.
Bennett sat in the commuter airplane, wearing the ridiculous high-water blue jeans that belonged to Lacy’s brother, wishing with all his heart that things could have been different between them.
Lacy was so sweet, so lovable. He hated to think he’d hurt her. Damn. It was the last thing on earth he wanted.
He should have known better. He should have realized she was in love with him. He should never have kissed her that first time at the nightclub.
What he hadn’t expected was this hollow, aching sensation in the region of his heart. Had he fallen in love with her, too?
But how could he be in love with her? He barely knew her. Sure, they’d worked si
de by side for hours a day for the last five weeks. Worked in tandem like a well-trained team of trick ponies. Sure, she was one of the cutest, sweetest women he’d ever known. Sure, she aroused him to heights he’d never before experienced. Sure, whenever he caught sight of her, his stomach contracted, and his heart flipped.
But that wasn’t love.
What he felt for Lacy was simply animal attraction. Love took time.
A lot of time.
There was no such thing as predestined love. It was a precariously romantic concept that led people to do very dumb things.
But still, it hurt to know that he was the cause of Lacy’s pain. It was all his fault. He should never have allowed things to go this far.
He liked so many things about her. She was good-hearted, warm, and generous. Her playfulness lightened his seriousness. Before he even knew what was going on inside himself, Lacy perceived his feelings, his insecurities. His best qualities emerged whenever he was around her.
He loved the way her voice resonated in his head, so soft and modulated. It was the kind of voice a man could hear for a thousand years and never grow tired of. He adored her aroma of roses and soap. A cozy scent that could revive a man’s heart no matter how often he smelled it. He cherished the sugary taste of her lips that reminded him of home-cooked meals and cold winter nights spent curled by the fire.
How could anyone not ache to spend a lifetime tasting such lips? Any man would be lucky to have her.
But he wasn’t the man for her. No matter what she might believe about thunderbolts and soul mates and love at first sight. He didn’t buy into any of that.
Relationships were built over a long period of time. They were based on honesty, communication, and friendship, not hot passion, intense hormonal rushes, or wayward emotions. Fireworks worked fine for great sex but made for lousy long-term unions.
Besides, how could anything so effortless as his feelings for Lacy be trusted? Yes, they got along like hot chocolate and marshmallows, but that very fact gave him pause. He’d spent his life struggling to become a doctor. It took hard work, long hours, and a lot of money. He appreciated the fact that nothing worth having came easily, and that included falling in love.
