Opposites Attract: His Country Doctor (The Journal of Medical Romances Book 1)

by Lucy McConnell

  “You can bring her back in, but if I have your dog, you have to at least come outside,” Amy teased.

  I laughed. “Fine. Five minutes,” I promised.

  “You might want to bring her water bowl.” Amy grabbed Astrid’s leash off the hook by the door as the little conspirator wagged her tail.

  Amy led Astrid outside, and I went to get ready. I stared at my closet as the butterflies in my stomach took flight at the thought of seeing Andrew again. Amy hadn’t brought him up, but she didn’t have to. He was the main reason I wanted to both go and stay safely tucked into my little house for all of time.

  I glared at the neatly stacked pairs of pants and shorts and the tee shirts hanging nearby. I wanted to leave a good impression, but I didn’t want to look like I was high maintenance. Andrew was a corn farmer. Not simple by any means, but he’d worn jeans and tee shirts each time I’d seen him.

  In the end, I decided on a baseball cut tee shirt like Amy’s but with blue sleeves and a white front, a pair of jeans so I could slide if necessary, and old tennis shoes. I threw on a baseball cap, pulled my hair back into a ponytail at the base of my neck, and applied minimal makeup.

  I’m probably just going to sweat this off in the heat.

  Well, it wasn’t like Andrew hadn’t seen me sweaty before. But I was hoping to avoid that being his only impression of me.

  I looked myself over in the mirror. Did the team need a professional bench sitter? I could totally make that work.

  I found my hiking backpack in the closet and went to the kitchen, where I filled up my and Astrid’s water bottles and packed a few snacks. I needed to keep my blood pressure level if I was going to exercise today. Moving was encouraged with my heart condition, and regular exercise was a must. But I couldn’t ignore the heat, and I needed some salty treats if I was going to last the day.

  By the time I was done, my five minutes had expired five minutes ago. Glancing out the front window, I found a large green Chevy truck in the driveway. It reminded me of Andrew’s blue Ford, only newer. Did everyone around here drive trucks?

  It was now or never. I swung the door open and muttered, “Let’s see what Keokuk does for fun.”

  I made my way over to the truck and climbed into the extended cab. Nathan and Amy were in the front seat, and Astrid was tucked away in her crate in the bed of the truck. I kept it on the porch, and Nate must have grabbed it.

  “Hope you’re okay with Astrid riding in the crate,” Amy said. “Nathan doesn’t like dogs in the cab. It’s his baby.” She said the last part dramatically as she ran her hand over the dash.

  Nathan sat behind the wheel. “Don’t give me a hard time just because I appreciate a nice set of wheels. And hello, Dr. Cahill, it’s good to see you again.” He reached back and shook my hand.

  “Nice to see you too,” I replied as I sat back and buckled in. “Astrid will do great back there.”

  “I hope you’re ready for a good time, Doc. This is my favorite event in Keokuk.” Nathan shifted in his seat, sitting up higher and leaning slightly over the steering wheel like a kid waiting for his first sighting of the Disney gates.

  I couldn’t help but laugh at his enthusiasm, which helped lighten my indignation about being dragged out of the house.

  He took us out to Main Street and headed toward the ball fields. They weren’t that far away.

  “What’s the best part?” I asked, curious for an insider’s perspective.

  “Well, we missed the parade already because Amy said she wanted to ‘sleep in,’” Nathan said, making quotation marks with his fingers. “So now we need to go check in for the softball tournament, and then we can see our game schedule and make a plan after that. The tournament is definitely the best part of the weekend.”

  Amy jumped in and talked about all the other things to do at the celebration, like bob for apples, drop the mayor into a dunk tank, play on the blowup slides and bouncy houses—even adults were allowed—and participate in the Dutch oven competition.

  I half listened as they tried to outdo one another listing the benefits of town days. The closer we got, the more focused my thoughts became on one thing: Andrew. I prayed that I wouldn’t humiliate myself in front of him again. I don’t think I could explain why I was so drawn to him or why his opinion mattered more than unpacking, but it did.

  Arriving at the park, I unloaded Astrid and snapped on her leash, and we all walked over to the baseball diamonds.

  There were 3 fields—one with lights. People warmed up, calling out hellos and razzing one another good-naturedly. A spirit of community permeated the very ground we walked on. I’d been to tournaments before, and they were filled with a level of competitiveness that bordered on road rage. This was so different. A love for the game permeated the air as much as the smell of fresh cinnamon rolls from the Dutch oven breakfast cook off.

  Registration was at the small building that sat where the three fields met. It was surrounded by concrete and had a small snack shack on one side that sold snow cones as fast as they could make them. The temperature was a humid 80 degrees, but it was early yet. The weatherman was predicting over 90 by the end of the day. Things were definitely going to be hot and sticky. But the clear blue skies overhead stretched on as far as the eye could see … there was no sign of rain.

  Today would be a good game day.

  “Our team is the Bulldozers,” Nathan said excitedly as they walked up to registration. “We’re going to bulldoze the competition,” he said, pumping his arm.

  Amy rolled her eyes. “He came up with that name and is awfully proud of himself … He works for an excavation company.”

  I chuckled. “He’s like a little kid.”

  “To him, it’s better than Christmas.” Amy shook her head. “Seriously, he wasn’t this excited about the new skill saw I bought him last year.”

  Nathan grinned and pulled her to his side. “I love my saw, babe.” He kissed her cheek and then leaned over the registration table to look for his name on the team roster.

  I glanced away for a moment. The display of love, so easily given and so easily received, was tender and fun and spoke to a part of me that I usually kept shushed. I glanced behind, wondering if Andrew was that kind of a boyfriend, and then scolded myself. I didn’t have time for romance—nor did I have the life of someone who could feed a relationship and keep it healthy.

  “You’re up.” Amy handed me a waiver and a pen.

  I brought my thoughts away from handsome country boys and kisses and focused on the words in front of me, wondering sarcastically who would check me out if I got a concussion.

  We signed the paperwork and got our schedule. Our first game started at 9:30, on field three. Which didn’t give us a lot of time to warm up. I suddenly felt guilty for putting on makeup. Nathan really was a good guy for not saying anything to me about how long it took to get ready.

  The tournament was single elimination, each game going seven innings or 60 minutes max, whichever came first. I was surprised to see how many teams had entered. “This many people like softball?” I asked as my eyes roamed over the sheets and sheets of teams.

  Nathan ran ahead to meet up with his bros.

  “Well, it is more like the town social,” Amy explained as we made our way over to field three. “Not everyone plays softball well, but we all have fun doing it. Most larger businesses in town will enter a team. Even people that have moved away will come back for this weekend. It is basically our version of town days.”

  I found myself scanning the area, looking for a tall, dark, and handsome farmer. I held up my hand to block the sun before digging my sunglasses out of my backpack

  “I haven’t seen him yet,” Amy said with a wicked grin.

  I feigned ignorance with a lift of my chin. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

  Amy scoffed, and I smiled, knowing I hadn’t fooled anyone.

  I hooked my arm through hers. “I’m glad you ignored me when I said no.”

 
She beamed. “I’m glad you’re here. It’s nice to have someone to hang out with.”

  I hadn’t thought about that. Maybe she’d been pushy because she was lonely for a friend too. Nathan joked around with a bunch of his friends from work, and Amy was the lone woman in the group. Well, she would have been if I wasn’t here. I felt better and better about my decision to come.

  We put our bags by the third-base dugout. I got a cable out of my backpack for Astrid and tied her to a nearby tree with lots of shade. I filled the water dish and set it next to the trunk, where Astrid was less likely to knock it over. Astrid loved to play ball. Hopefully, she wouldn’t spend all day barking at the players and annoying everyone in town.

  Amy threw me a mitt, and we started tossing a ball back and forth. As I settled into a steady rhythm, the rust slowly wore off my skills. Amy threw one a little high, and I jumped to catch it, landing in a throwing stance and firing it back.

  Amy grinned as she snagged the ball out of the air. “You little liar! You’ve played ball before.”

  I ducked my head, feeling sheepish for getting caught fibbing. “It’s been a long time, and I didn’t want to set any expectations.”

  “What position did you play?”

  “First base,” I admitted.

  “Perfect!” Amy answered. “I catch.”

  “What about Nathan?” I pointed my mitt in his direction.

  “He thinks he pitches.” Amy winked. “But his real skill is at the plate.”

  We continued talking as they threw. Amy told me all about the other players and where they fit in on the field. Game time drew near, and the coaches of each team gathered around the plate with the umpire.

  I kept an eye on them and fielded grounders when a familiar, deep voice said, “Hello, Astrid. You look better not covered in mud, girl. What are you doing at the park today? Where is your mom?”

  My body froze. He was here. And I had on a ball hat and old sneakers.

  I sucked in, concentrating hard enough to hear Astrid whine a response. I turned slightly, trying to see Andrew talk to my dog, when the ball suddenly hit me in the chest with a hollow sound. I grunted as the air whooshed out of my lungs. I rubbed right between my breasts. Ouch.

  I glanced around. No one knew about my heart condition, but people jumped to the conclusion that a hit like that would cause problems. I didn’t need anyone making a big deal. I could take a hit. Standing in one place for hours? That was another thing all together.

  Thankfully, I could still catch my breath, but dang! Amy had some heat on that ball. I did a mental self-check for cracked bones and bruising.

  A sexy laugh broke through my concentration and made my whole body feel like it was full of helium. “I could be wrong, but I think you are supposed to catch this,” Andrew teased as he tossed the ball I’d missed into the air and caught it again.

  My cheeks burned. My biggest fear was being humiliated—again!—in front of Andrew, and it looked like I was facing my fears right from the get-go.

  I rubbed my sternum.

  Andrew’s eyes dipped that direction, and then the tips of his ears went red and he looked quickly away.

  I dropped my hand. Great. Now I’d embarrassed him too. At this rate, he’d be avoiding me by lunchtime.

  Chapter Eleven

  Andrew

  I had been in a rush to get to the ball field for the softball tournament. There were a thousand other things I should be doing today instead of playing ball, and the growing list had put me in a grumpy state of mind. “How do I always get roped into this?” I’d muttered as I’d run out to my truck with a protein shake in my hand.

  My mood improved greatly, however, when I found Astrid underneath the tree by field three. If Astrid was here, that meant her mom couldn’t be far off.

  I scanned the field from under the brim of my ball hat, trying not to let her know I was looking for her. Though I wasn’t sure why I was trying to hide my interest. Maybe because I wasn’t ready to admit just how interested I’d become in the beautiful doctor.

  I found her warming up with Amy. Right as I was about to call out a greeting, she took a ball to the chest. I felt the thump and cringed.

  She glanced my way and turned the cutest shade of pink.

  I snagged the ball and made my way over, tossing it lightly. “I could be wrong, but I think you are supposed to catch this.” I tossed the ball to Amy.

  “I suppose that is one of the goals of the game,” Doc said as she turned to face me.

  Amy jogged over and gave her a knowing nod. “I’m going to go over with Nathan to the coin toss. Then we’ll get started. I’ll meet you at the dugout, okay?”

  I waited until Amy was out of hearing distance, then casually said, “I didn’t know you would be here today. Do you play softball?” I hoped she did. I didn’t really care if a woman couldn’t play; it wasn’t a deal killer for me. But if she did …? If she did, she’d be the perfect woman.

  “Kind of,” Doc replied, leaving her response open to interpretation.

  “Well, Doc, I’m glad you came out to support the town. Maybe we’ll get to play each other later.” I winked. “Don’t worry, we will try to go easy on ya.” I don’t know why I wanted to give her a hard time. In a way, I almost felt like I was in first grade again, where the only way to get a cute girl’s attention was to pull her pigtails. What am I doing? I scolded myself.

  Luckily, Doc took my ribbing in stride and fake punched me in the stomach. I flexed his abs to meet her knuckles. Maybe I was showing off a bit, but it was okay, as long as she was flirting back.

  Wait, flirting? I wasn’t flirting. I was trash-talking. There was a difference. Although the warmth filling my chest told me I was ignoring the obvious.

  “Don’t worry about going easy on us,” Doc fired back. “We’ll pound you into the dirt and won’t feel bad about it.”

  I lightly shoved her shoulder, and an electric shock went through my body, just like it had when we’d ridden together on the tractor. It reached for my heart like a magnet, and right then, I wanted to have Doc on my team. I wanted to sit next to her in the dugout and share a hot dog and a bag of chips.

  The umpire called out the coin toss.

  I glanced up to see my team on the other field. Two guys motioned for me to hustle.

  “All right, Doc, game on,” I said with a grin. “My team is over on field two. I’ll plan on seeing you later; just try not to get eliminated.” I winked and then trotted away. I really hoped her team did well. According to the brackets, it would take almost all day for us to meet up again.

  Summer days never seemed so long.

  I got to field two and scanned to see who was on my team this year. I’d gotten lucky to end up on the Christiansen family team. They had a variety of players old to young who had played ball their whole lives. They always made it to the top four. This is going to be good.

  One of the grandsons came running out of the dugout to meet me. “You’re on our team this year!” six-year-old Jason yelled excitedly. “Will you help me with my swing?”

  Back in the day, I had the best batting average on the high school team. The reputation followed me, and all the little kids wanted me to help hone their skills.

  “Of course,” I replied. “I’ll be the batting coach for today. How does that sound?” I leaned over so I could look the boy in the eyes.

  Jason hopped up and down. “Let me go tell the others!” He sprinted off to the dugout. I jogged behind him, smiling. Oh, to be young again without so many worries.

  The day passed quickly, and I loved every minute of it. The Christiansens were a fun family and made me feel like one of their own. It didn’t hurt that they won their games and that I’d hit three home runs.

  But even with the busy game schedule, I managed to keep an eye on Dr. Cahill’s team. She played first base … and she wasn’t half bad. She actually had a lot of talent, even if she didn’t seem overly confident.

  I’d caught her watching me on
ce and flashed her an I’m-coming-for-you grin. Instead of firing one back, she’d blushed and glanced away, making me wonder if I’d sent the wrong signal.

  I liked it when her cheeks turned that pretty rose color. I also liked that she’d been looking for me. Maybe she was a little interested just like I was a little interested. I contemplated getting our interests together.

  During a break in games, I studied the brackets. To my delight, we were matched against the Bulldozers—Doc’s team—in the finals. The game couldn’t start fast enough for me.

  The Bulldozers lost the coin toss and ended up starting on the field. Doc grabbed her mitt and took up her position on first base. My draw to her was too strong to put off all game. I had to be close. I turned to Grandpa Christiansen, who was the designated head coach, and quickly said. “I’ve been in the dugout all day. If it’s okay with you, I am going to coach first base on this one.”

  Before Mr. Christiansen could even reply, I was jogging out of the dugout and over to Harper.

  “I thought you said you just played okay,” I teased as I got to first base. Grandpa Christiansen chuckled deeply somewhere behind me. Though I wasn’t looking at him, I could see the shake of his head and the satisfied set to his shoulders every male got when one of their own was after a prize.

  “I can hold my own,” Doc said with feigned confidence as she smacked her fist into her mitt. “I thought you were the batting coach?”

  “You noticed, huh?” I grinned. She must have been watching me as closely as I was watching her. “I decided to change things up and coach first base.” I lifted my shoulder as if it wasn’t a big deal; at the same time, I tried not to think of the ribbing I was going to get when I headed back to the team.

  As predicted, it had been a hot and humid day, but as I stood by Harper, all I could smell was the grass. Just like the cornfield smelled right after a good rainstorm. My mind drifted from the game, and all I could think about was how to ask Dr. Cahill out on a date.