Hearts Afire

by Marta Perry

  “They love to turn the crank.” And they’d left her where she didn’t want to be, alone with Jake. “Shall we go and join them?”

  She took a step, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm.

  “Your mother said you’d show me around,” he said. “Why don’t we start with the barn?”

  That made it impossible for her to refuse, and he knew it. “It’s just a barn,” she tried feebly.

  “I’m a city boy. Humor me.”

  She managed a smile that was probably more of a grimace and started toward the barn. Well, if he wanted a tour, she’d give him one.

  “Nolie says the barn was built in the early eighteen hundreds, and not much has been done to it since then except for basic repair. The style is typical of Pennsylvania German barns. You’ll see them all over the county. People know about the Amish in this area, but plenty of the other early settlers were German, too.”

  “I take it they built to last.” He actually sounded interested.

  “Seems that way. You really ought to talk to Nolie about it. She’s the expert. Her family came over from Germany on William Penn’s heels, from the sound of it.”

  She pushed the heavy door open. Gabe had probably closed it to keep the little ones out. She stepped inside, eyes adjusting gradually to the dim light. The lofty interior was cool after the bright sunshine outside.

  “Just a barn,” she said, swinging her hand in a gesture meant to take in the stalls, the loft, the stacked hay bales, even the ginger barn cat that leaped softly from a manger, as if to ask what they were doing there.

  Jake brushed past her, approaching the chestnut quarter horse that stood in the closest stall. “Why isn’t this handsome fellow out in the paddock today?”

  She moved reluctantly to join him, and Eagle came over to have his face scratched. “Tact on Nolie’s part, I imagine. If Eagle were out where the kids could see him, they’d want to ride him, and most of them are too small. She’s just started giving lessons to Shawna, and she probably doesn’t want to start a fight over who’s big enough.”

  “Tactful,” he agreed, patting Eagle’s shining neck. “Now suppose you stop being tactful and tell me why you’re upset with me.”

  That startled her into looking up at him. His face was grave and attentive, as if he really cared how she felt.

  That was certainly unlikely. He’d never shown much consideration for her feelings before.

  “If you must know, I didn’t like being made to feel as if my family were somehow odd because we like to spend time together. I’m sure it’s more fashionable to dismiss your parents as irrelevant, but we happen to appreciate ours.”

  His hand stilled on the horse’s neck. “You’re right.”

  “You mean you were being condescending.”

  His lips tightened. “Stop putting words in my mouth, Terry. No, I mean you’re right to appreciate your parents. If I had parents like yours, I hope I’d feel the same way.”

  “Oh.” He’d taken the wind out of her sails. “Well, I didn’t expect—”

  “You didn’t expect anything but the worst from me.” He swung to face her, close against the rough wood of the stall. “I know we’ve had our differences, but I thought we’d agreed to put that behind us. Still, you constantly put the worst interpretation on everything I say. Like the situation with your frequent flyer the other day.”

  Well, she was on solid ground there, whether he agreed or not. “We had to bring her to the E.R. It’s not like she did any harm by being there, whether she needed medical care or not.”

  “Maybe so, but I’d just endured a lecture from the hospital administrator on cutting costs. If he has his way, the E.R. budget will be cut, and someone who really needs care could be turned away.”

  “Morley.” The man’s penny-pinching was notorious. “I’m sorry, but what else could I have done? I couldn’t walk away and leave her in that stifling apartment.” Surely he could see that.

  “No. I guess you couldn’t.” He was looking at her so intently that she felt as if she were under a microscope. “You have a warm heart, and after meeting your family, I understand it.” He put his hand over hers on the stall bar, and she seemed to feel his touch shimmering across her skin.

  “There’s—” Her breath got tangled up, and she had to start again. “There’s nothing wrong with having a warm heart, is there?”

  “Not a thing. Not a single thing.”

  He was so close that his breath touched her cheek, so close that she could see the tiny dust motes flickering in the shaft of sunlight that surrounded them. Eagle moved slightly in his stall, his hoofbeat muffled against the straw.

  Jake leaned closer, and for an insane moment she thought he was going to kiss her. Then a shout from Gabe startled them and they pulled apart.

  “Terry, Jake, the ice cream is ready. You better come before it’s all gone.”

  “Be right there,” she called back. She swung toward the door. “We’d better go. They’ll eat it in no time flat.”

  She would not look back at Jake. She wouldn’t wonder if he was annoyed at her brother’s bad timing.

  Maybe it wasn’t bad timing at all. Maybe Gabe’s interruption had been right on target to keep her from making a fool of herself.

  Chapter Six

  Jake took the bowl Gabe handed him automatically and stared at creamy vanilla ice cream studded with chunks of peaches. What had just happened to him, aside from the fact that these people expected him to eat a bowlful of cholesterol and calories?

  He’d let his guard down far too much with Terry, practically coming right out and saying that he envied her for the family life she’d been blessed with. The opposite, obviously, was that he hadn’t.

  He put a spoonful in his mouth, and the rich flavor exploded on his tongue. Not good for him, of course, but very good to the taste. Like Terry.

  The children were jumping up and down next to him, demanding seconds from the metal ice-cream bucket, nestled in its tub of ice. He took a few steps away from the melee, moving deeper into the shade of the huge oak tree.

  Terry wouldn’t understand his attitude toward his family. How could she? She only knew what everyone at Philadelphia General had known—just what people had always thought about Jacob Landsdowne III.

  Born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The golden boy who had everything going for him, ready to step right into his father’s prestigious practice. The guy who really had it made, not like the poor jerks who had to fight every step up the medical ladder and still ended up with a crushing load of debt they’d probably never be able to pay off.

  The thing was, those people had never known what the payback was for everything he’d been given—the equally crushing load of obligation, the necessity of being perfect. He didn’t want them to know. After all, he had a little pride left.

  Across the lawn, Joe Flanagan was laughing, clapping Seth on the back over something. One of the children ran to him, and he caught her up and tossed her into the air, catching her in a bear hug.

  No, with a father like hers, Terry wouldn’t understand. She probably wouldn’t believe that a father could turn his back on his only son for the sin of being imperfect.

  Well, enough self-pity. He’d wallowed in that long enough during those weeks in the hospital when he’d come back from Africa. He was finished with that.

  This job was his last chance to reestablish himself as a doctor, and he couldn’t let anything stand in his way. He had to succeed. And success meant not only proving himself as a doctor but also performing that delicate balancing act between good medicine and hospital profits, between Morley and his balanced books and Pastor Brendan and his good works.

  So this picnic wasn’t about the excellent food and certainly not about moments alone with Terry. He backed quickly away from the memory of standing so close to her in the barn, sunlight tangling in her red curls, her face tilted up to his.

  Last chance. The words echoed in his mind. He had to focus on his goal,
eliminating every distraction, especially ones with red hair and a stubborn streak a mile wide.

  Pastor Brendan sat at the table, alone for the moment. Carrying the ice cream, he walked over and sat down across from him. “Not indulging in ice cream today, Pastor?”

  “Brendan, remember?” Brendan patted his stomach. “I already had a serving of my wife’s chocolate soufflé, and I’m stuffed. Claire is teaching herself to cook by working her way through a French cookbook.”

  “Lucky man.”

  “I am that.” Brendan smiled, his gaze moving to the slim, dark-haired woman who was helping to clear the table. His gaze lingered there for a moment and then came back to Jake. “So, tell me how the clinic is working out. Are you managing to juggle that with your other responsibilities?”

  “I’ve decided to give up sleeping.” At the other man’s look of concern, he shook his head, forcing an amused expression to his face. “No, just kidding. Terry has her volunteers so well organized that things are running very smoothly.”

  Except for such problems as Terry’s unauthorized visit to the migrant housing, but he didn’t think he’d mention that. If she hadn’t told her family, he wasn’t going to.

  “I’m not surprised.” Brendan glanced at Terry, who was pushing a small nephew on the swing tied to one of the oak’s branches while she carried on a conversation with Seth’s wife. “Terry’s always been superb at running her various crusades.”

  “You mean she does this all the time?” It sounded as if Brendan could give him some valuable insight into what made Terry tick.

  “From the time she was a kid, Terry’s always been a crusader.” He smiled, shaking his head a little. “Oh, maybe some of them were tilting at windmills, but her heart was always in the right place. It still is.”

  “Yes,” he said softly, watching her without intending to. Terry’s laugh looked as lighthearted as that of her nephew. “I can see that.”

  “She used to drag us into her battles, willing or not. Save the whales, save the park, provide Thanksgiving dinner for the hungry…whatever it was, Terry gave it her all.”

  “I guess the fact that she became a paramedic was a foregone conclusion, then. She wants to save people.”

  Brendan nodded. “Don’t get me wrong, she was a good firefighter, still is. But she’s never been content with just putting a fire out. She wants to fix things for people.”

  “Sort of like her cousin Brendan, then,” he said.

  Brendan chuckled. “Maybe you have a point there. My church was moving in the direction of helping the migrants already, but Terry just pushed us a little faster. And once I saw what those people are dealing with—” He nodded toward Mary Kate’s little redheads, chasing each other around the table with apparently boundless energy. “I’m thankful our little ones don’t have to live like that, so that obligates me to help.”

  “I take it you know Matthew Dixon pretty well, since he attends your church.”

  “Attends? Not very often. But the Dixons have belonged to Grace Church since it was founded.”

  Jake chose his words carefully. “I’m concerned that we not start any problems with him through the clinic. He seemed rather short-tempered on the subject the one time I saw him.”

  “I don’t think you have to worry much about that. At least not about Matthew coming around looking for problems. He hasn’t been well for the past year or so, and Andrew’s really the one who’s handling everything.”

  “Poor old fellow.” Siobhan slid onto the bench next to him, abruptly joining the conversation. “He knows he’s slipping. It must be terrible to feel you have to depend on your children that much.”

  “Don’t worry, Mom.” Terry came up behind her and slung her arm around her mother’s shoulders in a quick hug. “When you start losing it, I’ll still be there to help.”

  “Not if I get there first,” Brendan said, smiling at his aunt.

  Siobhan waved her hand as if waving them off. “The one I keep thinking about is that young girl, Manuela. She seems so bright and hardworking. It’s a shame she can’t even consider a career in medicine.”

  So Terry had told her family about Manuela’s dreams. He watched her as she slid onto the bench next to him. Did that mean she’d also told them about her unauthorized visit?

  Brendan nodded, glancing at the children who were gathering on a blanket in the shade, apparently to listen to a story Nolie was telling. “I’d hate to think any of our crew wouldn’t feel they could be anything they wanted to be, if they worked hard enough.”

  “Wait for it,” Terry murmured as Gabe and Seth came over to join the conversation. “You’re about to see the Flanagan juggernaut in action.”

  He turned toward her, grateful to see a friendly smile. Whatever had almost happened in the barn, Terry either hadn’t noticed or was willing to ignore. As he should. “Juggernaut?”

  “They tease me about my crusades, but they’re just as bad. Listen to them.”

  Terry was right. The conversation had become general, with people throwing in ideas about how they could help the Ortiz family, and Manuela in particular.

  “Are they always like that?” he said softly, just for the pleasure of seeing Terry smile, seeing her gaze go soft with affection for her family.

  “Always. Trust me, they’re born meddlers, all of them.”

  A shaft of sunlight, filtered through the leaves of the oak tree, touched Terry’s skin, highlighting her freckles and making her green eyes almost golden. He ought to look away—

  “So, can we count on you, Jake?” Brendan’s question brought him back to earth with a bump.

  What had he missed while he was thinking about the color of Terry’s eyes? Obviously the question implied that they wanted something from him. “Well, um, what exactly would you want me to do?”

  “Just take the opportunity to talk with the girl, that’s all. See how serious she is about medicine, what the possibilities are for her. Once we know that, we’ll know better if we can do anything to help her.”

  The last thing he needed was further involvement with the Flanagans and their causes. “Why doesn’t Terry talk to her?”

  “You’re the doctor,” Terry said quickly. “Haven’t you seen the awe in her face when she looks at you?”

  Siobhan was nodding eagerly. “I’ve tried, but she won’t open up to me. I’m sure you’re the right person for the job, Jake.”

  He didn’t want to. He didn’t have time to. But clearly, he had to agree.

  “I’ll give it a try, but I’m not promising anything.”

  Brendan clapped him on the shoulder as if he were a hero, and the others chimed in, talking eagerly about what they might do.

  “Juggernaut,” Terry murmured. “I told you.”

  He looked at her, an unwilling smile tugging at his lips. For just a moment understanding flowed between them, strong as the August sun.

  He looked away quickly. What had happened to his resolve to stay focused on the job?

  Terry grasped the gurney, helping Jeff push through the E.R. doors as the patient continued to protest.

  “I’m perfectly all right.” The woman clasped her handbag to her chest and glared at Terry. “Just felt a little dizzy, that’s all. There’s no need for all this fuss.”

  “Just let the doctor check you out,” Terry soothed. “It won’t take long.” Unless it was the heart attack she suspected, despite the patient’s protestations.

  Harriet and a nurse joined them the moment they rolled through the doors. She’d already spoken to Harriet on the radio, so the team was ready for their arrival.

  “Female, fifty-seven.” Terry kept her voice calm for the patient’s sake, but instinct told her this was the real thing. She gave the stats quickly. “Experienced shortness of breath, cold sweat and dizziness on her way to work.”

  “I’ve just been tired lately, that’s all. I haven’t been sleeping well. It’s nothing.”

  “Maybe so, but we’d like to be sure of that
,” Harriet said.

  Her gaze met Terry’s, and she knew Harriet was thinking the same thing she was—possible heart attack. Too many women didn’t realize that their symptoms weren’t necessarily the same as a man’s. The patient was in good hands with Harriet.

  She watched as they headed into the treatment room. Harriet mouthed “good call” over her shoulder as they pushed through the door.

  Jeff grinned at her. “Nice job convincing her, Ter. For a while there I thought she was going to hit you with her bag.”

  “I saw you stayed out of the line of fire,” she retorted, hoping Jeff didn’t notice the fact that she was glancing around uneasily, hoping not to spot Jake. “You restock while I do the paperwork.”

  “In a hurry?” He lifted an eyebrow. So he had noticed. They’d been partners since she joined the department, her self-confidence battered by what had happened in Philedelphia. Jeff, with that deceptively laid-back manner and the calm, sure way he had of assuming she knew exactly what to do, had played a big part in helping her bounce back. She’d have adopted him as an older brother, if she didn’t already have too many of those.

  “Never mind.” She grabbed the run report. “Just get us out of here in five minutes, and I’ll treat you to coffee.”

  “Done.” Grinning, he headed for the supply room.

  Terry leaned on the counter and started filling out the paperwork automatically. She must have been too obvious, if Jeff noticed it. She’d better be more careful.

  In the three days since the picnic, she’d managed, through a bit of evasive action, to avoid encountering Jake at all. She just wasn’t all that confident of her ability to see him without thinking back to those moments in the barn—moments when she’d been convinced he was going to kiss her.

  Well, he hadn’t. And she’d behaved perfectly normally for the rest of the picnic, so he couldn’t possibly know how embarrassed she’d been.

  She smiled and moved a step away as a white-haired hospital auxiliary member set a vase of yellow mums on the counter. Like it or not, she couldn’t keep on avoiding Jake forever. She had to get control of her feelings.