“That’s right. Anyway, he was a little tense when he saw me talking to her and if you join me in the café, it just might take the edge off his temper.”
“Be still my heart.” She fanned her hand in front of her. It was a flippant gesture, completely useless against the Dev Hart flush heating her skin.
He’d kissed her under the stars until her toes had curled. Now he’d invited her to lunch to keep his friend from being jealous. It suddenly dawned on her that she’d finally gotten him to notice her. Ten years too late and she was less than flattered. Both times the attention had nothing to do with her. But doggone it she couldn’t help admiring his honesty. Even she could see that time had improved her looks. But in spite of her efforts not to let it bother her, she felt a twinge of hurt that he’d noticed her on account of someone else.
“So how about it? Will you have lunch with me?”
As much as she wanted to run far and fast, she couldn’t say no. “Thanks, Dev. I’d love to join you.”
Unfortunately, she found that it was all too true.
He opened the door for her and she preceded him into the café. The interior extended Destiny’s Old West motif. A wooden bar, complete with metal foot rail and spittoons, dominated the room. Red-and-white cloth-covered circular tables surrounded by wooden barrel-back chairs were scattered around. The walls sported rodeo photos and various Texas scenes. Beneath them rested booths with plastic pads on wooden benches.
A pretty auburn-haired young woman walked up to them. “Hi, Dev. Hannah.”
“How do you know who I am?” she asked.
“You’re Polly Morgan’s daughter. You look just like your mom.”
“Should I know you?” Hannah asked, knowing there was probably a more diplomatic way to phrase it. For the life of her she couldn’t think how.
The woman shook her head. “Name’s Bonnie Potts. I moved to Destiny after you left.”
“I’m so glad. Not that you came after I left,” she clarified. “That there’s no reason I should remember you. Because I don’t. Does that make sense?”
“Perfectly. Table or booth?” she asked, looking from Hannah to Dev.
“Booth,” he said.
“Table,” she said.
“A booth it is.” Bonnie laughed as she turned away and led them to a corner booth nearly hidden by the bar.
Dev’s palm tingled when he rested it against Hannah’s lower back to guide her across the room. When she moved away from the contact to slide onto the hunter-green leather seat, he found that he missed touching her.
The café hostess pulled out the menus she carried beneath her arm and handed one to each of them. “What can I get you to drink?”
“Water with lemon,” Hannah answered.
“Sweet tea,” Dev said.
Bonnie nodded. “I’ll give you a few minutes to look over the menu, then I’ll be back to take your orders.”
Hannah linked her slender fingers together and rested them on the table. “Must be nice,” she said.
Her tone was pleasant, but he didn’t let that fool him. There was a zinger somewhere in his near future.
“Okay. I’ll bite. What must be nice?”
“That women do your bidding. I asked for a table, you said booth. And here we are,” she said, holding out her arm to indicate the secluded corner.
“It is nice—when it happens,” he admitted, leaning forward as he rested his forearms against the edge of the table. “But that never seems to be when I want it to or for the important things.”
“Such as?”
“Getting Ben’s mom to stay.”
“Oh, Dev—” She reached out, to put her hand on his. A gesture of comfort? Just in time she stopped herself. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean to remind you of something painful.”
“It’s not me I’m concerned about.” He didn’t hurt anymore, but Ben was another matter. He wouldn’t take a chance on a woman unless the relationship was a sure thing. He wouldn’t risk his son. “I figure a kid’s best chance in this crazy, mixed-up world is to be raised by a mother and father who love him. Ben’s not going to have that.”
“He’s got a father who loves him.”
“But his mom left him behind. Someday that’s gonna make him different.”
“A lot of kids deal with that these days.”
“I don’t want him to be like a lot of kids. I never meant for him to wonder why he wasn’t enough or what he did wrong that made his mom take off the way she did.”
“You’re going to have to be prepared with answers. Reenforce that it’s not about him. It’s what she wanted, and her loss.”
He met her gaze. “Loss?”
“Ben is a sweetheart and she’s missing out on all the precious day-to-day memories. Someday she may want them back. Then it will be too late. But a lot of kids grow up with only one parent and don’t do so bad. Me for instance.”
“Do you miss your dad?”
“Nope.” The shadow that covered her face said otherwise. “And if he walked in that front door right now, I’d go out the back. But that’s my choice. And it will be up to the little guy to decide if he wants a relationship with her.”
“She doesn’t deserve it.”
“That will be Ben’s decision. And something tells me he doesn’t have any trouble making up his own mind.”
He laughed. “You got that right.” He unrolled his eating utensils from the paper napkin and set them on the table. “He missed you this morning.”
“Really?” Her blue eyes sparkled at the words.
He nodded. “He even pretended to be sick so that I’d bring him into Doc’s office so he could see you.”
“You should have. I would have loved that. He would have been a welcome distraction.”
“Busy morning?”
She nodded. “This is the first time I’ve had a chance to sit all day. I saw everything from male pattern baldness to baby colic.”
“The word on the street is that you’re the best thing to come to Destiny since satellite TV.”
“How do you know?”
He met her gaze. “This is Destiny we’re talking about. Small Town, Texas. Any significant news spreads from one end of Main Street to the other by nine-forty-five in the morning.”
“Yeah. I’d forgotten that.” She frowned.
“What?” he asked.
“The people might be happy with me, but Addie Ledbetter thinks I’m a designer doctor from Los Angeles.”
“Give her time.”
She plucked at the red-checkered tablecloth. “I won’t be here long enough for her to change her mind about me.”
“When do you expect to hear on the L.A. jobs?”
“I’m not sure. It could be four to six weeks.” She smiled. “Mom is hoping for six.”
“So you’re going to hang out until you get the word?”
“Unless that’s a problem for you.”
“Nope.”
He liked having her around. Maybe too much. And Ben… He owed Polly. He wouldn’t turn her daughter out because his son had a crush on her. Dev would do his best to prepare him for the fact that Hannah wasn’t staying. And while he was at it, keep himself from slipping under her spell too. As long as he could do that, he wasn’t lying about it not being a problem.
“While I am here, bring Ben into the office any time. He doesn’t have to be sick. That little guy has completely stolen my heart.”
Right back at you, he wanted to say. His son thought she had wings and a halo—even after he’d seen the two of them in the gazebo and she’d confirmed that it hadn’t changed her mind about going back to California.
Boy, that kiss had sure backfired. Ben still had an acute case of puppy love. And Dev couldn’t seem to forget the lady doctor and the powerful punch her lips packed. Not to mention her prickly personality.
She was as changeable as Texas weather. The night he’d kissed her in the gazebo, her response had blown him a
way. He’d never tasted such an intoxicating combination of innocence and passion, sweetness and sin. He hadn’t been able to get the encounter out of his mind. Yet today when he’d asked her to lunch, he could have sworn she was deliberately provoking him so he would back off. Why?
He couldn’t believe she was still stewing about what had happened in high school. She teased him about women doing his bidding. Was she just the tiniest bit jealous? The thought made him want to grin.
Before he could, Bonnie Potts walked over to the booth, order pad in hand. “Sorry. I would have been back sooner, but I’m doubling as waitress today as well as cook. What can I get for you two?”
“I’ll have the burger combo,” Dev said without hesitation.
“You didn’t even look at that menu, did you?” the woman accused.
“Nobody makes a burger like you,” he said with a smile. Then he met Hannah’s gaze. Was there ice in her blue eyes?
“How about for you, Hannah?”
“I’m sorry. I haven’t looked yet.”
Bonnie grinned. “I’m not surprised. With a guy like Dev sitting across the table, reading a menu wouldn’t be my first choice either.”
Hannah’s gaze flicked to him, then back to the woman. “What do you like on the menu?” she asked.
“It would be easier to tell you what I don’t like. And I’ve got the extra padding on my hips to prove it.”
“You’re not carrying an extra ounce of fat,” Hannah observed.
“Thanks.” Bonnie hesitated for a moment. “Oh, hell. I wasn’t going to bother you with this, and my timing stinks, but what the heck. It’s now or never. Nothing ventured and all that.”
“What?” Hannah prompted.
“I’m the President of Destiny’s Women’s Auxiliary. Once a month we have a luncheon to raise money. To lure the ladies into town, we schedule guest speakers who we hope will be of interest.”
“Where does the money go?”
“Into the Sunshine Fund,” she explained. “We squirrel away money and let it accumulate until someone in Destiny needs help. Sometimes it’s a hard luck story, or maybe just the cash someone could use to plant the seeds of their dream. That’s how Maggie Benson came up with part of the capital to start her business.”
Dev folded his arms over his chest. “Once the funds went to the high school band members who marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York. Another time it was a widow with a baby who needed first and last month’s rent on an apartment.”
“What a wonderful idea,” Hannah agreed.
“We have a problem this month,” Bonnie said, tapping her pencil against her order pad.
“Oh?”
“Doc Holloway was supposed to be our speaker. I thought it might be a good idea to have Doc give us some pointers about taking care of our skin during the hot summer months. The topic is ‘Summer sun damage, or how to reduce the signs of aging.”’
Hannah nodded. “That’s important all-year round. Especially around here where so many people work outdoors. And with numerous lakes, water sports and pools, people forget about protecting their skin which just happens to be the body’s largest organ.”
The other woman nodded. “I’m not sure what we’ll do now.”
“Hannah can fill in for the doc,” Dev suggested. “She obviously has the smarts.”
Bonnie hesitated. “I really hate to ask. You’re supposed to be here for a relaxing vacation and already you’re filling in at Doc’s office. I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”
“It’s no bother at all,” Hannah said. “I’d be happy to help out. And actually, I have an idea. What about expanding it into a health fair?”
Thoughtfully, Bonnie tapped her finger against her lips. “Tell me more.”
“I could do simple health screenings for high-blood pressure, glucose levels and vision.”
“What if we do some advertising and pull in more folks, I mean other than the women?”
“That would be wonderful,” Hannah agreed. “I could talk to the lab Doc Holloway is using for testing and see if they could do anything for us. The county health department might donate vaccines for kids’ immunizations.”
“Wow.” Dev was almost dizzy, his head going back and forth between the women. “You two could have planned D Day in half the time.”
“Great minds,” Hannah said. “Give me the date, Bonnie and I’ll put it on my calendar and get to work.”
“It’s the weekend after the high school rodeo championships. And, thank you,” Bonnie said. “That seems so inadequate. I know the other ladies in the auxiliary will be grateful too. And to answer your question, my favorite thing on the menu is the Chinese chicken salad.”
“Then that’s what I’ll have.” Hannah handed her menu to the other woman with a smile.
After Bonnie left, Dev noticed Hannah looking at him. “What?”
She met his gaze with a thoughtful one of her own. “Did you get the feeling that I intimidated her?”
“It’s not a feeling. You’re definitely intimidating.”
Her blue eyes widened. “Me? Why?”
“You’re smart. You’re a hometown girl who made good. You live in L.A. You’re sophisticated.”
“I’m just plain old Hannah Morgan, the girl who doesn’t belong anywhere.”
“You don’t really believe that.”
She nodded. “In high school, I was a brainer geek several years younger than the kids I was in class with. In medical school, friends were hard to make because everyone was older. The professors expected more and gave me grief about looking like a kid. I had to work twice as hard as everyone else to earn a patient’s trust. And now I’m trying to get a position with one of the most prestigious medical practices in the country. I’m smart, and I jumped through all the hoops to get my license. But I know they’re still concerned about my age. I’m not complaining, just stating a fact. I don’t fit in anywhere.” She looked wistfully at the proprietress of the café. “I envy Bonnie.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s comfortable in her skin, in her town, in her activities.”
“Is this because of Addie?” he asked.
“She’s just the most recent reminder.”
He reached across the table and rested his hand over hers. “Just be yourself, Hannah. If you do that, and put in the time, everything else will fall into place.”
“In Destiny?”
He wanted to say “I hope so.” Thank God he stopped himself. Seeing Hannah’s vulnerability was making it easier for her to get under his skin. He’d always thought she had her act together. She was smart and she knew what she wanted. And she didn’t need help from anyone. Now he’d had a glimpse of the scared little girl she’d once been. And maybe still was? He could feel himself being sucked in like debris down the flood control channel. He had to dig in his heels and put a stop to her effect on him.
“You can fit in anywhere you choose. And any pediatric practice in L.A. would be lucky to have you.”
He just hoped putting into words the fact that she was going back to California would be enough to get it through his thick skull. Because he couldn’t shake the feeling that he would be lucky to have her.
Chapter Six
“I don’t know how you talked me into this.”
Hannah was standing in the corral beside Dev and the two horses he’d saddled. She had agreed to go riding with him and the sight of said horses had made her question her sanity, not to mention commonsense.
“It didn’t take a silver-tongued devil,” he answered.
“The devil part is true enough,” she teased. Then she pointed at him, pretending to be stern. “Don’t you say a word about it being as easy as falling off a horse.”
“Perish the thought. All I had to do was point out that it’s your afternoon off. You had nothing better to do. If you had, I wouldn’t have found you aimlessly wandering the house. Be honest. You were bored to tears. It was as easy as being in the right place
at the right time with the right words.”
“It doesn’t make me feel any better that you’re right—about all of the above,” she grumbled. But she had another reason he hadn’t mentioned. Probably because he didn’t know. “I don’t like the feeling that I can’t do something.”
And she didn’t just mean riding a horse. She couldn’t control her feelings for Dev. He had found her wandering the house with nothing to do and had suggested a ride. Fleetingly, she’d wondered if he’d been looking for her, but figured that was nothing more than wishful thinking. And how she wished she hadn’t entertained that wishful thought in the first place. Because it had made her glow inside and out. And she was absolutely the wrong woman for him.
He wanted a homemaker and she was a doctor.
She was a career woman, a healer who would have nightmare hours because children didn’t get sick nine to five. She loved what she did. The best part was the rewards of her hard work would give her mother the life of ease she’d missed out on while Hannah had been growing up. She had a lot to make up to her mom for. And she planned to start as soon as she got the go-ahead on her new job and moved Polly to California.
For now, Hannah stood in the corral with Dev and the two horses. It was time to put up or shut up, she thought.
She glanced at the man beside her. She’d been here on his ranch for three weeks. Except for their single lunch her first day filling in at Doc’s office, Ben’s birthday party and a short time at dinner each night, their schedules hardly intersected at all. Seeing patients and keeping Doc’s practice going in Destiny had kept her running day and night—and sometimes even into the wee hours of the morning. She rarely had an uninterrupted night’s sleep. Dev had his hands full with the ranch and preparations to supply the stock for the high school rodeo championships, now just a week away.
All of the above proved they were completely incompatible. Yet her heart had nearly jumped out of her chest at the sight of him. The world’s tiniest thought that he might have been looking for her still set her pulse to pounding.
“I’m right about something else, too,” he said.
“I know I’m going to be sorry for asking, but what else would that be?” she inquired sweetly.
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