by Leann Harris
“She has all the classic symptoms. If you think I’m way off the mark, then I suggest you drive to Saddle yourself and examine Norma. And if you doubt my skill as a diagnostician, call Dr. Everett Carlin at Ben Taub Hospital. He’ll vouch for me.”
Dr. Shelly straightened his shoulders. “Since I have responsibilities here, I am unable to travel to Saddle. But I’ll be happy to supply you with the tests.”
He stood and walked around his desk. “How many do you need?”
She glanced at Derek. “How many do you think? Norma, her family, your daughter. Is there anyone else?”
Derek rubbed the back of his neck. “Damn. Everyone hangs out around the post office. It’s the social center of the town. Since there is no rural delivery, everyone comes into town for their mail. Sometimes folks can only get in once a week or once every other week. Then they stay and talk, find out what’s been going on.”
The situation in Saddle was looking grimmer and grimmer. The little town in west Texas might make news in medical journals: TB Epidemic In West Texas.
“How many tests do you want?” Dr. Shelly asked again.
They didn’t need to panic yet. First they needed concrete evidence that Norma was infected. She looked at Derek. “Would you say ten tests? That will give me more than I need.”
“Sounds fine to me,” Derek replied.
She turned back to Dr. Shelly. “If Norma comes up positive, you’ll need to send tests for the entire population of the town, as well as someone to administer them and follow up.”
“Oh? Won’t you be there?” Dr. Shelly asked, his nasal tones as annoying as fingernails on a chalkboard.
“Dr. Shelly, as you well know, I am not this town’s doctor. I was driving through Saddle, going home from my vacation, when my car broke down.” She threw a meaningful look at the deputy. “While I waited to have it fixed, I was asked to examine Norma. As soon as my Mustang is fixed, I plan to go home.”
Her words could be interpreted as heartless and uncaring, but she couldn’t help that.
“You will stay the seventy-two hours it takes for this first test to be complete, of course.”
Dr. Shelly’s superior attitude was obnoxious and totally out of line. The man made it sound as if she was the one delinquent in her responsibility. She had no legal obligation here, but unfortunately she couldn’t ignore the moral and ethical obligation. “Yes, I’ll stay to read Norma’s test.”
He nodded and left the room.
“I’m sorry about this,” Derek said.
She shrugged.
“I know Billy didn’t mean for you to have to stay in Saddle for three days.”
She shifted in her chair, turning toward the deputy. “Really? From what I saw of your well-equipped clinic, it appears you were looking for a doctor. One who was going to stay.”
He dropped his gaze to his hands. “I’ll admit that the town council has been searching for a doctor. We’ve tried everything to lure one out here. We’ve gone to medical schools and talked to the graduating students, offering them attractive contracts. We’ve gone to medical conventions, placed ads in medical journals, beat every bush we could. So far, we’ve not had one interested applicant.”
“So Billy just decided to hijack one.”
Derek flushed. “Billy wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too.” And sad and confused. Apparently the part of her soul that cared about others hadn’t completely died. And although she didn’t know if she wanted to continue practicing medicine, she couldn’t walk away from this situation. She prayed that she was wrong about Norma, because if she wasn’t, she could be in a heap of trouble.
* * *
“I want to go by the sheriff’s office and check on a couple of things,” Derek said as they walked out of the doctor’s office.
“Sure,” Alex absently responded, making Derek wonder if she was even aware she’d answered him.
Derek glanced at the beautiful woman by his side. The harsh hospital lights didn’t dim her natural beauty. Derek’s gaze slid down her slender but shapely figure. She might be a good ten inches shorter than him, but he bet that her curves would fit perfectly into the planes of his body.
A small frown had settled between her arched brows and she seemed lost in thought. What was bothering this lady, he wondered, because sure as rattlers have fangs, the doctor was hiding something.
The cool night air rushed around them as they exited the hospital. As they drove downtown to the town square where the sheriff’s office was located, Derek looked at the surrounding mountains and felt that sense of belonging that had brought him back to this land. When he turned off the Jeep’s ignition, Alex threw him a puzzled look. “Why are we stopping?” She glanced around. “And where are we?”
He shook his head and climbed out of the Jeep. “I told you.”
“When?” she called after him, scrambling out of the vehicle.
“When we were at the hospital. I told you I needed to talk to my boss.” Derek held the door to the sheriff’s office and waited for her to enter before him.
The young man seated behind the desk rose to his feet. “May I help you, ma’am?”
“She’s with me, Nick,” Derek answered, strolling to Alex’s side.
The young man’s gaze moved from Alex to Derek.
“Derek, what are you doing here?” he asked.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen your face, Nick, I decided I needed to check and make sure you were as ugly as I remember.”
“If you wanted to see ugly, all you had to do was look in the mirror,” the young man replied. “Are you going to introduce me to the lady?”
“Nick, this is Dr. Alexandra Courtland. Alex, this big gorilla is Nick McFarland.”
“A doc. She’s a doctor? Why, she’s too—”
“Don’t say it, Nick,” Derek warned.
A puzzled expression settled on Nick’s face. “Why? I was just going to say how pretty she is.”
Alex held out her hand. “It’s a pleasure, Deputy McFarland.”
The admiration in the younger man’s eyes shone as his gaze moved over Alex’s face and down her body. “The pleasure is mine,” Nick gushed, shaking her hand.
For an odd moment Derek wanted to knock Nick on the side of the head and tell him to quit salivating. “Is Wes here or has he already gone home?”
“He’s in his office, going over some information the DEA gave him.”
Just then the door on the opposite wall opened and a tall man with a head of silver hair and a salt-and-pepper handlebar mustache emerged. “Derek, you must be psychic. You’re just the man I needed to see.” He stopped and looked at Alex. “I’m Wesley Clayton, ma’am, sheriff of this county. And you’re?”
“Dr. Alexandra Courtland.”
The sheriff stuck out his hand, and Alex’s small hand was swallowed up in his larger, tanned one. “It’s a pleasure, doctor. Are you new in town?”
Alex glanced at Derek. Should I tell him the truth? she asked silently.
He shrugged.
She turned back to the sheriff. “My car broke down just outside of Saddle.”
“And Billy couldn’t fix it?”
“He’s repairing it now.”
“He’ll do a good job.” The sheriff ran his fingers over his mustache, then cleared his throat. “If you’ll excuse us, ma’am, I need to talk to Derek. Nick, why don’t you get Dr. Courtland a cup of coffee or one of those soda drinks you like?” Wes motioned Derek into his office. Once the door was closed behind them, he turned and leaned against the desk. “The DEA guys called me this afternoon. Last night they observed a low-flying plane crossing into the county.” Crossing his arms across his wide chest, Wes rubbed his chin. “This is the third time this month they’ve spotted a plane coming into the county. They lost track of the plane around Split-Tree Rock.”
“That’s not that far from my family’s ranch.”
“That’s why I needed to talk to you. DEA wants
to use your ranch as a base of operation to do some nighttime reconnaissance in that area. They’re going to be looking for a landing strip or any sign of smuggling.”
That’s just what Derek needed at the moment, a smuggling ring operating in his backyard. “When do they want to set up?”
Wes stared down at his boots. “They wanted to drive out there tomorrow.”
The headache developing behind Derek’s eyes was turning out to be a real killer. “Leave it to the feds to want everything yesterday. Now, if you want something from them, it’s another story.”
“Generally, but you’ve got to admit Chuck’s not a bad guy. He’s worked to improve the relationship between the locals and the feds.”
A disgruntled sound erupted from Derek’s throat. “I’ll have to check with my brother, since he and his wife are the ones who will have to put up with those guys, but I don’t think it will be a problem.”
“Good. Now, tell me who Alexandra Courtland is and why you two are here in Alpine if her car played out in Saddle?”
If Derek was facing the medical crisis he thought he was, Wes needed to know the situation. Derek quickly explained.
“TB, damn.” Wes gave a low whistle. “If it turns out to be that, you know I’ll do everything I can to help.”
“Thanks, Wes. I knew I could count on you.”
As Derek pulled open the office door, and he and Wes joined the others, he heard Alex ask, “So your dad was a Texas Ranger?”
Beaming, the young man answered, “Yes, ma’am. He was a captain when he retired last year. I’m the third-generation peace officer in my family. My grandfather was the sheriff of the county.”
Alex turned to Derek. “Is your meeting over?”
“Yes. Why don’t we get something to eat before we start back? Maybe on a full stomach I won’t fall asleep.”
Alex set her can of soda on the desk, stood and smiled at Nick. Why was it the doc managed to smile and be charming with everyone but him? Derek wondered. No—he’d take that back. She hadn’t smiled or charmed Dr. Shelly. Far from it. So he was in the same class as that overinflated toad. That was a comfort, he thought sourly.
“Goodbye, ma’am. It was a real pleasure meeting you,” Nick said, escorting Alex to the door.
“I enjoyed talking with you, Nick.”
After they stepped outside, Derek pointed across the street. “There’s the diner. It’s nothing fancy, but it should meet our needs.”
As Alex trailed behind Derek, the nippy, dry night air washed over her. She stopped, closed her eyes and enjoyed the glorious feeling.
“Are you all right?”
Her eyes snapped open. The darkness hid the tide of red rushing into her cheeks. “Yes. I was appreciating the dry.”
“The dry?”
“The lack of humidity and the clean smell of the air. In Houston the humidity is always high and the pollution...let’s just say this is heaven-sent.”
“If you don’t like Houston, why stay?”
It was the question Alex had been asking herself over and over this past month. But the problem wasn’t Houston. The problem was her—Alexandra Courtland. “My job’s there.”
“Doc, you could get a job anywhere.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but Derek had turned and walked across the street. The sign over the diner door proclaimed it to be the Blue Moon Café. It was a throwback to another time, probably the early forties, and the pink paint on the metal oval structure was peeling. The large windows allowed Alex to see the entire diner and the one waitress and three customers inside.
Derek opened the door and waited for her to precede him. Alex realized she hadn’t had so many doors opened for her since she’d left Midland fifteen years earlier. Of course, old-fashioned manners were still practiced in this part of Texas. In a way it was comforting that some part of this big land remained unchanged.
Several customers called out greetings to Derek and he answered them back before he and Alex slid into a corner booth. Immediately a waitress appeared at the table, two mugs in one hand and a steaming pot of the most heavenly-smelling coffee in the other.
“Hi, Derek.” The woman’s smile held more than just a normal I’m-your-friendly-waitress message. Alex shook her head. Why would she care that there might be something between the deputy and this woman? “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”
“Lynn, how’s your mother doing these days?”
“Her cancer is in remission.” The young woman, maybe in her late twenties, had long black hair and dark brown eyes. Eyes that studied Alex intently.
Introductions were made and dinner ordered. After Lynn departed, Alex reached for her mug and took a swallow. “Mmm, that’s good. I shouldn’t be drinking coffee this late, but—” She shrugged.
Derek grinned. “Blue Moon serves the best coffee in town.” He fingered the handle of the mug in front of him. “I’m sorry about the unscheduled meeting with Wes.”
“Don’t worry about it. Nick kept me occupied.”
“I don’t doubt that. Nick has a certain schoolboy charm, but don’t let that fool you. He’s got a sharp mind and is a good cop. It’s in his blood.”
Lynn reappeared with their hamburgers and fries. Before she left, she smiled again at Derek. The action irritated Alex. Biting into her burger, Alex found herself wondering about Derek’s past love life. He had a daughter, but where was the child’s mother? He didn’t wear a wedding ring, but that didn’t mean much these days.
“Are you married, Derek?” Alex could’ve bitten her tongue the moment the question was out of her mouth. She hadn’t meant to voice the thought, but somehow it slipped out.
Derek put down his coffee mug. “I’m divorced.” The words were said with such ringing finality that Alex knew the subject was closed—permanently.
Alex could well identify with his desire to keep his life private and not reveal his past. And if his ex-wife was off-limits, Alex would respect his wishes. But that didn’t stop her from wondering what the ex-Mrs. Grey had done that brought such a harsh expression to Derek’s eyes.
* * *
Derek rolled his shoulders to ease the tension of the long drive. Anchoring the steering wheel with his right hand, he rolled his left hand to glance at his watch. The illuminated hands indicated it was ten-fifteen.
He liked this inexpensive and uncomplicated timepiece. His ex-wife had given him a fancy digital job with alarms and whistles and more functions than a computer. He’d never worn the darn thing, didn’t even want to be in the same room with it. That gift had signaled the beginning of the end of their marriage. Rhea knew he wasn’t one of those guys who loved new gadgets and the latest computer games. She knew that, yet she had bought him that stupid watch.
Alexandra had fallen asleep shortly after they had begun the return trip to Saddle. Now she shifted in her sleep and murmured. Derek glanced at her. In the glow from the dash light, she looked as young and innocent as a sixteen-year-old. Her ponytail had come loose and her hair covered her cheek and neck. He fought the crazy urge to brush back the golden locks from her smooth cheek, and his grip on the steering wheel hardened. He had no business touching her, no business even thinking about it.
The moment of lust was a welcome break from the worry that had consumed him for the past few hours. What would he do if his little girl had TB? She seemed perfectly well at this moment, and he comforted himself with that knowledge.
Derek smiled when he thought of Sarah. She’d been the only good thing to come out of his marriage. From the instant of her birth twelve years ago, she had become the center of his world. But these past two years, since the divorce, he and Sarah had become buddies. He was still the father, and strict with his rules, but the relationship had broadened from parent-child to friends who spent nights playing Scrabble and gin rummy and eating popcorn. When he’d been a cop in San Antonio, the demands of the job had taken precious time away from his family, and he’d never had time just for play.
Derek’s smile broadened as he remembered the first time Sarah had trounced him in rummy. She’d gloated for days.
Alex moaned, bringing him back to the present. Her head moved from side to side.
“Alex.”
She didn’t respond but continued to thrash her head. “Alexandra.” He touched her arm.
“No,” she shrieked, jerking awake.
Derek pulled the Jeep to the side of the road and stopped. “Alex, what’s wrong?”
Her wide eyes were filled with fright, and her chest rose and fell as if she’d run for miles. She took several deep breaths and appeared calmer. But her fingers shook as she brushed back her hair, tucking the errant strands behind her ear.
“Are you all right?” Derek asked again.
She swallowed. “Fine. I just had a bad dream.” One slender shoulder rose and fell. “It’s nothing.”
The way she held her body, her hands clutched in her lap, her shoulders hunched, head down, belied her story.
“You sure?”
She gave him an overly bright smile. “Yes.”
Something was wrong, yet she wasn’t admitting it. Well, it wasn’t his problem.
Once they were back on the road, Alex reached out and turned on the radio. Static poured from the speakers.
“What stations do you get out here?”
“Nothing on the FM at night. Try AM.”
She flipped the switch and located a station out of San Antonio, but she didn’t care for the sports talk. The radio picked up several other stations from around the state, but it was more of the same. Alex didn’t want to hear basketball discussed, and turned off the radio.
The darkness and silence pressed in on them. Alex leaned against the door and looked up into the night sky. “It’s so beautiful out here. In the city you forget how glorious the night sky is.”
“Do you like city life?” He regretted the question the instant it was out of his mouth. It made him sound nosy like Billy.
She sighed and settled back into the seat. “I never really thought about it. I went to medical school in Dallas, did work at Galveston, then went to work at the hospital in Houston. I liked the work. I never thought about the city.”
