The Doctor's Choice~Badlands (Contemporary Western Romantic Suspense)

by J. D. Faver

  “You went out with E.J. Kincaid?” He made a growling noise in the back of his throat. “Why?”

  “Why not?” she countered. “He was charming and acted like a gentleman. He didn’t even try to kiss me.”

  He snorted. “I guess you’re telling me I didn’t behave like a gentleman?”

  She ducked her head. Recalling Breck’s kisses, it would be a major prevarication to say she hadn’t enjoyed them. “What time does the service start?” she asked.

  He glanced at his watch. “We’d better hurry.”

  When they parked in front of the church, other people were still arriving.

  Breck held her arm as they walked inside. He hung his Stetson on a rack at the back of the church and held her hand as they made their way down the aisle. He stopped beside a pew and she entered, seating herself midway down. Break sat beside her and stretched his arm along the back of the wooden pew.

  It seemed to Cami that everyone inside turned to look at her. Breck smiled and nodded to various people, but she was the subject of whispers and openly inquisitive stares.

  “Did I forget to put on my clothes?” she whispered.

  Breck grinned and looked at her. “If you had, we wouldn’t have left the house.”

  “Why are they staring?”

  “They’re curious about Silky’s niece.” He gave her an appreciative grin. “Maybe they’re just looking at a pretty woman.” He slipped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

  The organist played a chord. Cami looked up to see Cora Lee Ferguson pumping the pedals of the organ. A door opened behind the pulpit and a man with a thick head of white hair entered, striding to the center of the dais. The congregation stood and the oddly assorted choir led them through the first hymn.

  Cami stood, but didn’t attempt singing. She noted Breck’s baritone was right on key and he knew all the words without the hymnal.

  The service was blessedly short and an hour later she was making her way to a community room with Breck holding her arm as a rudder, steering her in the right direction.

  “I’m not going to cut and run,” she whispered.

  “One never knows with you.” He grinned, but lightened his grip.

  “Hello, dear.” Alma Jo Tooley waved her hand, smiling broadly. “Didn’t the pastor preach a powerful sermon today?”

  “Um, yes.” Cami searched her memory but couldn’t recall a single word of the message. She glanced up at Breck who gave her a nod.

  Jenna Lewis watched from the sidelines. She leaned against the wall beside the long table set up with a shiny coffee urn and trays of cookies. Her gaze could best be described as frosty.

  An attractive dark-haired woman spoke to Breck and he introduced her as a local school teacher named Celeste Pigeon. She looked at Cami and gave her a little tight smile before turning her attention back to Breck. She asked his opinion about a legal matter as Cami turned to observe the rest of the crowd.

  She glanced back at Jenna whose expression remained openly hostile. Cami did a mental eye roll and met her gaze head on. “Hello, Jenna.” Cami took a few steps in her direction.

  Jenna’s lips twitched. “It’s Tammy, isn’t it?”

  So that’s the way it’s going to be. “Camryn. Or you can just call me Doctor if you forget. You work on animals, right?”

  Spots of color appeared high on Jenna’s cheeks. “I’m proud to be a veterinarian.”

  “Good for you.” Cami poured coffee from the urn into two Styrofoam cups and turned to find Breck. “See you, Jenny,” she called over her shoulder. I tried. She took a sip of her coffee. But not very hard. She admitted that she had no patience with silly feminine games of one-upmanship.

  Breck grinned as he accepted the coffee. The warmth reflected in his eyes could melt the Styrofoam.

  He continued introducing her around and when they left, he drove her to the Mexican restaurant. “I hope you’re in the mood for something spicy after the sermon.”

  Cami shook her head. “That was not the most riveting spiritual message I’ve ever heard. And I can eat Mexican food three times a day.”

  “Good,” he said. “Me too.” He escorted her inside and Milita handed them menus at the door. They chose a booth in the back. The restaurant had very few empty tables and the waitresses were swirling out of the kitchens double doors with trays of aromatic food.

  They shared a fajita dinner for two and lingered over large cups of coffee. The crowd thinned out and Milita handed the check to Breck.

  “How was your meal?” she asked.

  “Everything was delicious,” Cami said. “Who grilled the fajitas?”

  “My pop,” Milita said. “He insists on doing all the grilling and smoking himself.”

  “Please tell him how much I enjoyed it,” she said.

  Breck took her home and followed her inside. He paused to stroke Shadow’s head.

  “He doesn’t bark at you,” she observed.

  He grinned. “What can I say? Dogs are very good judges of character.”

  The telephone sounded. Cami picked up the receiver. “Clay! How nice to hear from you.” She glanced at Breck and took the phone into the kitchen.

  “I’ve been very busy, dear one.” He yawned.

  “Clayton, are you still in bed?”

  “Guilty,” he said. “I had a late night last night.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Bachelor party. Some of the guys took Cliff out for his last night as a free man.”

  “Oh,” she said.

  “So, how are you doing there in your domain? Are the deer and the antelope playing?”

  “No,” she said. “It’s snowing and cold.”

  “Is that a discouraging word?” He chuckled, sleepily.

  Cami considered her feelings. She could hardly complain about Clay going out with the boys when she’d had several encounters of the close and personal kind with persons of the opposite sex. But, somehow, it rubbed her the wrong way that he was going out on the town in her absence. Not that they’d gone out that much when she was in Houston. Her work schedule had kept her busy, so it was likely that Clay would have gone out with his friends anyway.

  “Clay, did you intend to buy me an engagement ring?”

  A silence followed. “Why? Do you want one?”

  “That didn’t answer my question,” she said.

  “If you want one, I’ll purchase one for you. I just didn’t think a doctor would want to be wearing anything besides a simple gold band. You know, washing your hands so many times each day?”

  “Um-huh.” She let the silence linger.

  “Cami are you there?”

  “Yes, I’m right here,” she said. “I have to go now.” She disconnected, thinking that he didn’t tell her he loved her or that he missed her. But then, she hadn’t told him either.

  It seemed the only man she knew who wasn’t ardently pursuing her, was the one she left in Houston.

  CHAPTER NINE

  She placed the receiver in its cradle and returned to the front room.

  Breck had started a cozy fire in the fireplace.“Trouble in Paradise?”

  “Don’t look so hopeful,” she said.

  He chuckled. “Your face is very expressive. I like that about you.”

  “Why?” She threw herself onto the brocade loveseat and wrapped her arms around her body against the chill of the large room. She felt peevish and wasn’t in the mood to share her feelings.

  “I don’t have to wonder where I stand with you. Your expression tells me everything.” He unfolded a chenille throw and spread it around her shoulders.

  “Does it now?” She issued a frosty smile. It was a good thing he couldn’t read her as well as he thought.

  “Yep, you’re an open book.” His lips twitched with a poorly concealed smile as he sat down beside her.

  Cami made a noise in the back of her throat.

  “You don’t think so?”

  She cast a cool glance at him, finding his e
xpression full of mischief. She made an elaborate eye-roll when she realized she was being teased by an expert.

  “Seriously, Cami,” he said. “I do like that you’re open and honest. Those are great qualities.”

  “I think I need to learn to dissemble. It’s safer to wear some sort of mask.”

  “You can always be real with me.”

  “Breck, I haven’t made up my mind about you.” She didn’t draw away when he picked up her hand. “I just met you, yet you presume to know more about me than I know myself.”

  “You may have just met me but I’ve known you for years.” He kissed her fingers, a not altogether unpleasant experience.

  “And how could you have known me?”

  “Because Silky talked about you all the time. She showed me pictures you sent and read me your letters.”

  Cami sat up straight, jerking her hand away. “No, she did not!”

  “Sure she did. She wanted me to know you. You forget that we rode together most every day.”

  “She shared my letters?” She drew away in alarm.

  “Sometimes. She was always excited when you wrote her. She’d read your letters aloud and I wish you could have seen her face. She was so proud of you.” He reached out to stroke the side of her cheek with his fingertips.

  Cami felt the threat of tears and blinked them away. “I tried to write her every week.”

  “I know,” he said. “I thought you must be a nice person to care so deeply for her. It’s not as easy as sending an e-mail or making a call.”

  “She didn’t have e-mail and I couldn’t afford the calls. Sometimes I jotted a note between classes or later between cases. Occasionally, I was so tired I knew it didn’t make sense.”

  “It didn’t matter,” he said. “Your scribbles meant the world to Silky.”

  “And she read them to you?” She turned to glare at him.

  “You forget that I was Silky’s best friend.”

  Cami started laughing. She leaned back against the brocade sofa and laughed, her shoulders shaking and her breath coming in gasps. She wiped tears away, glad to have an excuse to shed them.

  “That’s funny?” he asked.

  “That’s funny,” she insisted. “You and three little old ladies are duking it out, each claiming to be my aunt’s best friend.”

  “Okay, I see what you mean. Her long-time lady friends knew her from girlhood, but I actually spent time with her almost every day.”

  She wiped the tears with the back of her hands. “I’m glad she had you,” Cami said.

  “Thank you for being a part of her life.”

  “I wish I’d been part of your life,” he said. “It sounds like you were lonely growing up.”

  “I had a great childhood until my parents died. After that, I lived at boarding school during the year and I came here for the summers until college. Then, I took summer classes and earned my undergraduate degree in three years.”

  “Having you in her life gave Silky the ersatz daughter she always wanted.”

  “I still can’t imagine why she would read my letters to you.”

  “She thought you and I would make a good pair. She hoped we’d get together when you came here to set up your practice.”

  Shocked, she stared at Breck, all thoughts of laughter completely forgotten. “I don’t understand how she could have entertained this fantasy. Better yet, how could you?”

  “She seemed to believe it. Who was I to doubt her?”

  “What do you mean, make a good pair?”

  “You know, happily ever after, marriage and the patter of little feet.”

  A choking sensation closed up her throat. She gasped in a gulp of air. “You’ve got to be kidding! I can’t believe you’d tell me this now.”

  “Why not?” he asked. “I thought you might want to let old Clay down easy.” He was grinning openly.

  “You!” She pointed her finger at him. “You need to stop. I don’t know what you and Aunt Silky cooked up, but you’re the one who needs to come down easy.”

  “The sooner you face the inevitable, the sooner we can get on with our lives.”

  “Enough!” She folded her arms across her chest. “This is no longer funny.”

  “Aw, you’re hurting my feelings. You’re making me think you don’t find me attractive.” He stood up abruptly.

  “Well…Well…” She stared up at him, sputtering.

  He pulled her to him by the chenille throw still wrapped around her shoulders. “Because we both know you find me attractive.” He leaned toward her and planted a tender kiss on her lips.

  She pulled away in protest. “No! No I don’t at all!”

  “Don’t be silly, Cami. We were made for each other.” He kissed her again and she felt herself melting against him. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. The kiss deepened and he lifted her off her feet. His hands, exploring her body set off a suffocating, breathless experience that swept through her chest. She couldn’t recall ever feeling this way before.

  Breck expelled a long sigh and set her gently on her feet. “I’d love to know how you’d kiss me if you did find me attractive.”

  She pushed him away roughly. “It would have been a lot better than that.”

  “I can hardly wait.”

  “You need to leave, Mister,” she said.

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  She shivered as his gray eyes twinkled.

  “I’ll see you soon,” he whispered. “I enjoyed spending time with you.”

  Cami ducked her chin. A smothering sensation rose in her chest. “I…I enjoyed being with you, too.”

  “We can go riding again tomorrow. I’ll be here after work, if you’re available.”

  She nodded, keeping her gaze averted. She held onto a thin thread of control. “See you tomorrow.”

  “Cami, honey,” he said. “Won’t you at least look at me? I had no intention of making you mad.”

  “I’m not mad,” she said. “Please leave now.”

  His expression betrayed his concern. “I’m leaving, but please tell me everything’s okay.”

  She took a deep breath. “It’s a lot to take in. You’re telling me that my Aunt Silky shared all my private thoughts that I meant for her, with you, a complete stranger. And then you tell me she was match-making. I’m a little blown away.”

  “I shouldn’t have told you,” he said. “I always took it as a compliment that she thought enough of me to want me to fall in love with her beloved niece.”

  She swallowed hard. Fall in love with… She raised her gaze to meet Breck’s, surprised by the unguarded yearning she saw there.

  “I’ll go now, Cami, but you have to know that I’d never do anything to hurt you.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  When he had gone, she sank onto the loveseat in front of the fire he’d built for her. Who was this man and why did her aunt think they were destined to be together?

  #

  The next morning, the sun shone brightly, turning snow into brown slush. Cami slogged out to the stable to take an apple to Red and met Frank along the way.

  “I can saddle him for you, if you want,” he said.

  She looked at him questioningly and back at the big horse. “I thought he was too much horse for me.”

  “Nah,” Frank said. “Silky was much smaller than you and she handled him alright.”

  “Silky was a much better horsewoman than I.” Cami looked back at Red. He chomped his apple and swished his tail.

  “He needs exercise,” Frank said. “I can go with you. We can take a couple of laps around the outbuildings.”

  A shiver of fear mixed with excitement ran down her spine. “Well, if you’re sure.” She realized that she and this big horse were attracted to each other. If he were a man she’d call it flirtation.

  Frank handed her the bridle and she slipped it over Red’s head. He seemed to be eager. He accepted the bit in his mouth and she fastened the b
ridle, leading him out into the open area of the stable.

  Frank put a red woven blanket on his back and lifted a beautifully carved saddle into place.

  “Is…is that Silky’s saddle?”

  “Yep, she had it hand made in New Mexico.”

  “It’s beautiful.” Cami ran her hand over the hand-tooled design. “This looks like cactus.”

  Frank grinned at her as he cinched the saddle. “Cactus and the flowers are there, too. Silky loved to see the cactus flowers blooming in the spring.” He adjusted the stirrups for Cami’s longer legs.

  Frank saddled Smokey, a big Appaloosa gelding, the horse he usually rode for work. He helped Cami onto Red’s back.

  She sat for a few minutes, feeling small.

  “Ready?” Frank asked.

  She nodded, grinning with excitement building inside her. Red was dancing a little. It appeared that he was as excited as she was.

  “Hold him,” Frank instructed.

  She could feel Red’s excitement. Drawing the reins taut, she kept him from taking his head. Together, she and Frank headed out of the stables. Red tossed his head, letting her know he didn’t like to be reined in; that he wanted to take the lead.

  Frank glanced at her, grinning. “Hold on,” he said, and urged Smokey on.

  Red wasn’t willing to let another horse get ahead of him. She felt the thrill of the race as the big horse took the lead. He let her guide him, but he was determined to be first. She laughed as they rode. She saw Frank grinning as he fell in just behind her. They rode for almost a half hour before they pulled up in a draw beside a stream. The horses drank from the narrow rivulet. She leaned down to pat Red’s neck.

  “You sure look good on that horse, Cami,” Frank said.

  “It was a wonderful ride,” she said. “I’ve never been on such a big, strong horse.”

  “He likes you, too.”

  Cami and Frank chatted while the horses rested and then started back.

  When they got close to the house, she saw Breck’s truck in the circle drive. He wasn’t supposed to be there until after work.

  As they drew near, Breck got out of the truck and stood scowling as they approached.