The Daddy And The Baby Doctor

by Kristin Morgan

  Thank goodness.

  Besides, even if it was, he wasn’t interested. He already had his hands full, raising his two young daughters. Frankly, when the need to burn off that kind of energy hit him, he went for a long, tiring jog. And, so far, so good. It worked.

  Shaking himself free of those errant thoughts, Sam sat up straight and then turned in his seat to see a woman with shoulder-length brown hair standing just a few feet inside the doorway. She had a stethoscope around her neck, and she wore a long white lab coat over her street clothes. Sam knew without a doubt that he was looking at Amanda Lucas—in fact, somehow, he had known all along that it was her voice he had heard—and in spite of himself, his heart skipped a very, very necessary beat. To add to his surprise, she didn’t look at all as he had expected. She was... well...good-looking—especially for someone whom he had just recently pictured as a drill sergeant. She had clear blue eyes and a full mouth that, for the moment, at least, lacked the semblance of a smile.

  But her voice... It was deep and throaty and incredibly sexy. Not just any woman deserved to have a voice like that.

  Taking a deep, steadying breath, Sam stood up and quickly offered her his hand. “And you must be Dr. Lucas,” he said evenly, in spite of all the weird thoughts running wild through his head. Get a grip, he told himself. He hadn’t thought—nor wanted to think—of a woman in quite this way since... well, since forever, it seemed. And, truthfully, he was shaken to the core.

  Amanda Lucas was shaken, too. The tall, muscular man standing before her was extremely good-looking, and for some reason that bothered her. She folded her arms across her chest and peered down at the hand he was offering her. He had strong, capable-looking hands. Still, Amanda was contemplating whether or not to shake hands. So far her impression of Sam Arquette was that he was impulsive and arrogant. Not only that, but she was almost certain he was the same person who had been going around town earlier in the day, asking questions about her. Several of her patients had told her about him. But, finally, she resigned herself to the inevitable and slipped her hand into his, only to discover his palm was surprisingly warm for a man who was a snoop. Ending the handshake as quickly as possible, she straightened her shoulders. “My receptionist tells me that you practically insisted on seeing me this afternoon. I’m a very busy person, Mr. Arquette. I have patients waiting who need my attention. What, may I ask, is so urgent that you had to see me about it today?”

  Silence followed. Clearly the man hadn’t heard a word she’d uttered.

  “Mr. Arquette,” she said rather impatiently, once again folding her arms across her chest. She was ready to get this man out of her office. Something about him was making it difficult for her to breathe normally. Perhaps, it was because she had concluded that he was single. The look in his eyes was too aware—too aggressive—for those of a married man.

  In any case, for some strange reason, her blood was pulsing through her veins at an exaggerated speed. She knew it was necessary to be firm with someone that aggressive. But every time she tried looking into his brown eyes for any length of time, she was mesmerized by their intensity. They were the color of deep, dark chocolate. “Mr. Arquette,” she said again, adding a hint of frustration to her tone just to let him know she was growing impatient with him. “I’m waiting for your answer.”

  “Look, I need to ask you some questions about one of your patients,” he finally said.

  Amanda frowned. “Is that why you were snooping around town today, asking questions about me?” she demanded, her eyes never wavering from his.

  “You know about that?” Sam asked, an incredulous look spreading across his face.

  “Of course, I know,” she replied with a smirk. “Mason’s Grove is a small town, Mr. Arquette. News travels fast here.”

  He frowned. “What gave me away?”

  Amanda almost laughed out loud on that one. Almost, but not quite. “Your looks,” she replied. Not to mention your arrogance, she thought to herself . “Someone told me that a tall, dark-haired man was snooping around town asking questions regarding my practice, and then a couple of hours later you show up here.”

  “I can explain,” Sam said, moving a step closer to her.

  He looked menacing in a sort of nonthreatening way. If that was possible. Still, she couldn’t be sure. She was determined to hold her ground.

  “Good,” she said, unconsciously inspecting him from head to toe and, unfortunately, finding herself enthralled with the man she saw. She chose to ignore the way something had pulled deep and hard inside of her as her eyes had traveled up and down his muscular body. “Because I feel I’m owed an explanation.” Then she watched as Sam drew in a slow, deep breath.

  “First off,” he began, “allow me to clear up something. I’m not some weirdo, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Amanda lifted her eyebrows in a way that suggested that was exactly what she was thinking. “And I wasn’t snooping,” he added gruffly—almost forcefully. “I was just trying to find out some information about you.”

  Amanda couldn’t help herself. She wasn’t about to let this man off the hook that easily. After all, he was the one who had pushed his way into her office. She was aggravated now. She wanted answers. “Then why go to my friends and neighbors? Why not come straight to me?”

  “Good point,” he replied evenly. “I’ll remember that next time.”

  “Indeed,” she said, giving him a hard glare. Still, her heart was beating wildly. Too wildly. She dropped her eyes from his as soon as she could. Then, drawing in a deep breath, she walked right past him to her desk. “Let me explain something to you, Mr. Arquette,” she said, turning around to face him. “Any information I have concerning my patients is strictly confidential between them and me.”

  “I understand how you must feel about that, but—”

  “When it comes to matters of this nature, Mr. Arquette, there are no buts,” Amanda said, interrupting him. Frankly, she wanted to put an end to this conversation as soon as possible. She needed oxygen and there simply wasn’t enough in her office right now for the two of them. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a busy schedule. I’ll have my receptionist show you out.” With that, she headed straight past him for the door.

  “Now wait a minute,” he said, suddenly reaching out to stop her. In truth, he wanted to stop her for more reasons than he cared to think about. In fact, he would have liked nothing better in that moment than to chisel away her icy persona. So he had gotten off to a wrong start with the woman. Did she have to be such an iceberg about it? Where was the compassion that all doctors, male or female, were supposed to have? He was used to tangling with international spies and war criminals. Surely he could handle one small-town female doctor. Of course, the protocol in dealing with her as opposed to some war criminal was quite different. Right now, he was on his best behavior. While in the navy, not every situation required that of him.

  “The least you can do is hear me out,” he said meaningfully.

  Immediately, her eyes dropped to where he held her arm. “Obviously, you don’t understand, Mr. Arquette,” Amanda said. “It’s a matter of ethics. My patients trust me not to repeat our conversations.” She gazed up at him, her blue eyes sparkling with indignation. “Now, if you would be so kind as to let go of my arm.”

  The sound of her voice swept through him like a warm, balmy breeze in springtime. Only it wasn’t springtime. It was November, and the winds outside were as chilly as the glare she was giving him. Frankly, he didn’t want to let her arm go. He wanted to pull her against him and kiss those pouty lips of hers. Then again, he was trying to be on his best behavior. Dammit.

  “Sure thing, Doc,” he said, releasing her a moment later.

  Taking a deep breath, Amanda turned immediately to leave the room.

  “But you’re making a mistake,” Sam said in her wake, in a last-ditch effort to stop her without making a scene. He was experiencing an adrenaline rush, and he knew it had to do with her somehow. With the way sh
e had turned her back on him. He wasn’t used to that kind of treatment. He was used to giving it. “It’s you, Doc, who doesn’t understand the seriousness of the situation. This could be a matter of life and death.”

  A moment passed while Amanda paused in the doorway. Finally, she spun on her heels to face him, although her expression clearly stated that she was angry at herself for giving in. She gazed at him furiously. “Okay, Mr. Arquette. You’ve got my undivided attention. But this had better be damned good.”

  Sam smirked. In spite of everything, he truly admired her spunk.

  Not to mention the fact that he was in love with her voice.

  He placed his hands on his hips. “Have you ever heard of the Wentworth family of Freemont Springs?” he asked.

  Amanda Lucas narrowed her eyes. “Of course. Everyone in Oklahoma knows of them. Their contributions to local charities are legendary.”

  “So, you’re aware of their reputation. Then you’re also aware that they’re good, honest people.”

  “I know that they’re extremely generous with their money. But I don’t know any of them personally,” Amanda replied.

  “Well, I do. They’re close friends of mine—in fact, I’m here on their behalf. They’re looking for someone. A woman by the name of Sabrina Jensen. They have reason to believe you know her. Do you?”

  Of course, Amanda knew her. Sabrina Jensen was one of her OB patients. Only Sabrina had missed her last appointment and Amanda’s receptionist had been unable to reach the woman to reschedule. Amanda had thought that rather odd, and had even tried to follow up on it herself, but to no avail. Now, to have this stranger asking questions about her...

  “Why are the Wentworths looking for her?” Amanda asked evenly. The last thing she wanted was to give away the fact that she knew Sabrina as a patient. To her way of thinking, she saw nothing in Sam Arquette that made that information any of his business.

  “Look, all I need to know is her whereabouts.”

  Amanda frowned. “Is she in some kind of trouble?”

  “To be honest with you,” Sam said, running his fingers through his hair, “the Wentworths don’t know. That’s why they’re trying to find her.”

  “But I don’t understand,” Amanda said. “Why are they having such a problem finding her in the first place?”

  Sam frowned to himself. He wasn’t accustomed to being questioned like this. As a soldier, he had been the interrogator. Now, suddenly, he found himself at the other end of the spectrum, and, frankly, it wasn’t any fun. In fact, his patience with the good doctor was wearing awfully thin. “It seems,” he said, “she’s disappeared.”

  “I see. What do they think happened to her?” Amanda asked warily.

  He shrugged. “That’s just it. They don’t know. But I can tell you this much—the Wentworths are truly concerned about her.”

  “Well, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you with this matter.”

  “You can’t—or you won’t?” Sam replied, gazing at her intently.

  Amanda had turned to leave the room, but she stopped short. She’d had about all she was going to take from this...this imposing man. Just who did he think he was? Wasn’t it enough that he had her guts all tied up in knots to the point where she doubted if they would ever relax again? “Look, Mr. Arquette,” she said, giving him another one of her hard glares. “Even if I knew where the woman was—which I don’t—but even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

  “So, in essence,” Sam began cockily, “you would deliberately hide her whereabouts from me even if you knew them.”

  Determined to keep her cool, Amanda breathed deeply. “In essence, yes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Arquette, I have nothing more to say to you.”

  Frustrated that he wasn’t getting anywhere with her, Sam felt his temper flare. More than anything in that moment he wanted to shake some sense into her. For heaven’s sake, couldn’t she see he was only trying to help out a friend?

  Sexy voice or not, Amanda Lucas had pushed him just about as far as he wanted to go. Her icy manner was becoming nothing but a pain in the behind. Frankly, it stunk. She was an iceberg, all right, through and through. He had thought he could thaw her without much effort, but he had been wrong. No doubt, one glance from her could have sunk the Titanic. In fact, nothing in that moment—short of kissing her senseless—would have given him greater pleasure than to have found a way to melt her down to size. His size. And then maybe she wouldn’t have been so sassy.

  Except for her voice. Heaven help him, but he didn’t want to change a thing about her voice. It was sexy and alluring and the only thing about her that sizzled hot. In many ways, it was more than enough. He was completely and utterly enthralled with it—with the woman he suspected was hiding somewhere in that deep freeze surrounding her. But, dammit, he hated having to admit it.

  “Look,” he said. “The Wentworths are good people. I hope that once you think this over, you’ll reconsider giving me the information they need.”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Arquette, but I won’t be changing my mind. Now if you’ll excuse me...”

  Despite Amanda’s best intentions to just turn and march away, she found herself practically standing toe-to-toe with the source of her irritation. The audacity of the man. Just who did he think he was, anyway, coming into her office like this and disrupting her day? Making her feel breathless. She wasn’t obligated to help him, even though he seemed to think she was.

  Actually, it didn’t surprise her at all that she was already at odds with him. From the moment her eyes had locked with his, she had known that he was going to be trouble. Big-time trouble. The kind of trouble she had purposely avoided for years now. Handsome. Intelligent. Cocky. He had the makings of a good old-fashioned heartbreaker. Thanks, but no thanks. Once in a lifetime was more than plenty for her. She had a purpose in life now...a reason for being. She had her patients and they needed her. And she needed them. They were her joy, her life. Perhaps, she would never totally come to terms with the way her life had turned out. Undoubtedly, she would never forget the hurt she had suffered at the hands of her ex-fiancé. But there were some things she simply had to accept.

  Suddenly, Amanda realized what she was doing to herself and returned her attention to the present. “I have to get back to my patients now, Mr. Arquette. Good day.”

  Then she made a mental note to look into the matter of Sabrina Jensen once again. If, indeed, Sabrina was hiding out, then she was probably alone and frightened. She might even be in need of food and medical attention. But no matter the difficulties Sabrina was having to endure, Amanda would have gladly traded places with her. It had to be a wonderful feeling to be carrying the baby of the man you loved. Unfortunately, she would never know.

  Once again, Amanda turned to leave the room. Just as she did, she came face-to-face with her receptionist. The young woman looked frantic. “What is it, Kathy?” Amanda asked.

  “Doc Lucas,” she said excitedly. “You’d better come quick. It’s Lucy Foreman. She says her baby is coming—and I think she’s right.”

  “Is she on the phone?”

  “No, she’s in the waiting room.”

  Oh, good Lord, Amanda thought. Just what she needed right now. An emergency delivery—and at her office, no less.

  She hurried down the hall toward the waiting room. “Is her husband with her?”

  “No,” Kathy said, following alongside her. “She’s alone.”

  “Great,” Amanda muttered.

  Stopping short, Amanda spun around and glared at Sam Arquette who had been following behind at a distance. “Don’t leave just yet, Mr. Arquette,” she said. “I may be needing your assistance. More than likely, someone is going to have to help me move my patient to an examining room.”

  “You’re joking, right?” he replied, halting in his tracks to gape at her.

  “No,” Amanda said. “I’m afraid not.”

  Sam frowned. “I presume I have a choice in this matter.”

  “Of cour
se,” she answered, squaring her shoulders as if to say, if that was how he felt, she didn’t really need him, after all.

  But Sam figured it was costing her a lot to ask him for his help. If there was one thing he had already come to realize about Dr. Amanda Lucas, she wasn’t a woman who liked having to depend on a man for anything. Well, hey, that wasn’t his problem.

  “Okay, Doc,” he said. “I’m in.”

  In a heartbeat, Amanda turned and rushed down the hallway toward her patient.

  As Sam followed at her heels, he couldn’t help but wonder what he was getting himself into.

  Chapter Two

  Now that Amanda had a moment to think over what she had just done, she had no idea what had made her decide to get him involved. Stupidity, she supposed. Initially, she had thought that, under the circumstances, Sam could have come in handy. But even if that did turn out to be the case, it didn’t excuse the fact that he was arrogant and demanding, and that any woman with a lick of sense could have easily seen that about him, first and foremost, before noticing how handy he might have been. But was she looking at him with a lick of sense?

  Uh-uh. Oh, no, not her. From the moment she had laid eyes on him, she had yet to use an ounce of her brain power.

  Which told her one thing. She had better get a grip on herself—and quick. She didn’t have time to be toying around with thoughts of Sam Arquette. At this very moment, she had an emergency on her hands.

  Still, Amanda found that her heart was pounding like crazy at the idea that Sam Arquette was following close on her heels and that if she so much as paused, even for a second, he would be right on top of her.

  Needless to say, she didn’t pause, not even as she swung open the door leading from the back part of her office into the waiting room area. The last thing she wanted was to have Sam Arquette on top of her. In fact, the very thought of it left her feeling breathless.