The Husband List

by Cindy Kirk

  They may have started out in similar situations but they were in far different places now. Not that it mattered. They were simply friends.

  After checking in, Keenan took a seat in the waiting area and picked up a magazine.

  “Mr. McGregor.” The receptionist, a cool and composed woman, with streaks of gray in her brown hair and steely blue eyes, motioned to him. “Dr. Campbell can see you now.”

  As expected, the exam was over quickly. Afterward he and Ben talked for several minutes, catching up. The doctor mentioned he’d married one of Keenan’s classmates and they’d recently had a son.

  “Because of my family, I like to stick close to home,” Ben confided as they strolled to the lobby. “I used to fly myself to the rural clinics, which was a good opportunity to get in some air time. Going forward, Dr. Sanchez will be making those trips. We’ve contracted with Grand Teton to provide the plane and the pilot.”

  Keenan’s ear perked up. Grand Teton was the firm Bill’s brother, Steve Kowalski, owned. Keenan had high hopes that once he got his license, Steve would hire him to fill in as needed.

  “Ben, are you busy?”

  From the back of the medical office building, a feminine voice called out.

  Keenan recognized the sultry lilt immediately. His heart lurched. Mitzi.

  “In the lobby,” Ben called out.

  “I stopped in to see Mrs. Roth while I was at the hospital and—”

  Surprise skittered across Mitzi’s face. She wore a white lab coat over a dress of vivid blue. Her hair was pulled back in some kind of twist. While her heels were incredibly sexy, simply looking at the high arch made Keenan’s feet ache. A stethoscope peeked out from one pocket. “Keenan. What are you doing here?”

  Before he could respond, she flushed. “I’m sorry. Not my business.”

  Ben’s gaze shifted from Mitzi to Keenan. “You two know each other?”

  “I work for Joel Dennes,” Keenan spoke easily. “His company is building Dr. Sanchez’s new home.”

  Puzzlement filled Mitzi’s eyes. He could see her trying to decide if he was simply answering the question or deliberately distancing himself from her.

  “I’ve been pleased with the results.” Mitzi’s gaze shifted from Keenan’s legs to his arms. Worry filled her eyes and the look of puzzlement returned. “Okay, it’s not my business, but...did you injure yourself?”

  “Nothing that exciting.” Keenan chuckled. “Aviation exam.”

  “Oh. Good.” She expelled a breath, her fingers fluttering to her hair.

  “I need to run.” Ben extended his hand. “It was great seeing you again, Keenan.”

  Ben turned to Mitzi. “Mrs. Roth?”

  “Nothing urgent. I can update you in the morning.”

  “Sounds good.” Ben glanced at the door. “You’re the last one here.”

  “I’ll lock up,” she told him.

  When Keenan started to walk out after Ben, Mitzi grabbed his arm. “May I speak with you a minute?”

  “Sure.”

  Silence descended as the door clicked shut. The past few days Keenan had found himself hoping their paths would cross. He’d missed seeing her, talking to her, laughing with her. Now, she stood less than a foot away and he was as tongue-tied as a sixteen-year-old.

  Mitzi cleared her throat. Obviously he wasn’t the only one having difficulty finding a voice. “I want to thank you for watching out for Itty Bitty.”

  Keenan grimaced. “That’s what you decided to call her?”

  He conveniently disregarded the fact that he and Bill had taken to calling the gray puff of fur “Miss Kitty,” which wasn’t much better.

  Mitzi looked amused. “You don’t approve?”

  “Seems a little...lame.”

  “This from a man who had a cat named Mr. Tubs?”

  “I was a kid when I came up with that name.” Then he thought of “Miss Kitty” and surrendered. “Itty Bitty is as good of a name as any. And there’s no need to thank me since I haven’t done anything.”

  “I beg to differ.” She took a step closer and a familiar sizzle sparked in his belly. “When I get home, her litter box has been cleaned and she has fresh water. She’s smart but I doubt she’s handling those tasks herself.”

  He simply grinned.

  “Well.” She expelled a breath. “Thank you.”

  Keenan jammed his hands into his pockets. “Are you happy you kept her?”

  He prayed she’d say yes. He wasn’t sure where he’d start if he had to search for a new home. Keenan hadn’t been lying when he’d told her neither he nor his sister could take the kitten. But he wouldn’t let Miss Kitty, er, Itty Bitty, become one of many at an overcrowded shelter.

  Mitzi’s eyes warmed. “I like having her waiting for me at the end of the day.”

  “You work long hours.”

  “Tell me about it.” She raked a hand through her hair, and he saw weariness edging those beautiful blue eyes.

  “It’s important to have balance.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir. It’s just that lately I haven’t been able to fit in the fun.”

  Not a problem. When an idea popped into his head, he smiled. He’d always been a master at seizing the moment. “Ever windsurfed?”

  Mitzi shook her head. “Never tried it.”

  “Jackson Lake is close.” Keenan kept his tone offhand. “There’s enough daylight left for me to give you a brief introduction to the sport. You’ll love it.”

  “It’s warm outside,” she said slowly, as if genuinely considering the invitation. “But won’t the water be cold?”

  “That’s what wetsuits are for.” Keenan smiled winningly. “C’mon, Mitzi, you know you want to do it.”

  “You’re right. It sounds like great fun.” Mitzi looped her arm through his and grinned. “And just what this doctor needs after a long day.”

  * * *

  Mitzi fought to the water’s surface and gulped air. Though windsurfing might look easy, sound easy, she’d discovered the sport was darn hard. Even for someone in good shape.

  She worked out regularly. Not only because she liked having a tight and toned body but because endurance was essential for long surgeries. Her tight core made standing on the board and finding her balance easy. Pulling the sail out of the water using the uphaul proved more...difficult. Maneuvering that sail to capture the wind while keeping her balance demanded concentration and skill.

  “Weight in harness, front foot in.” She repeated the mantra to herself during what she suspected would be her final chance.

  This last time, she’d gotten it right. The board had skimmed the water until she’d gotten close to shore and gone over. A keen sense of accomplishment mixed with exhilaration.

  Keenan appeared beside her, treading water, a grin on her lips. “You looked like a pro out there.”

  Though his words pleased her, pro was stretching it...by a mile.

  “You’re the one who’s good. I’m guessing you’ve done this a few times.”

  “Let’s just say that fun—” he shot her a wink “—used to be my life.”

  Mitzi rested her hand on the floating board. “I want to do it again.”

  “Another time.” He swam closer. “It’s getting dark. We’ll take a breather then haul these out.”

  “I don’t need a breath—”

  “Hands on my shoulders,” he ordered.

  Shocked at the command in his tone, she obeyed.

  “Wrap your legs around my waist.”

  When she did, Keenan leaned back slightly and floated, easily holding them both up.

  His water-slicked suit was hot, warmed by the once-bright sun. Mahogany hair glistened in the light. Hazel eyes, fringed with dark lashes, met hers.
/>   Mitzi’s heart thumped nosily against her ribs. The familiar pull had her bringing fingers to the silky hair at the nape of his neck.

  “This is fun, too,” she murmured.

  He watched her speculatively for a moment. “I hope you like this, too.”

  Keenan leaned in and pressed warm lips against hers. Though the kiss was light and sweet, it made her tremble.

  “We shouldn’t do this,” she said.

  “Why not?” If he had any doubts, it didn’t show. There was a spark of mischief in his hazel eyes. “We’re friends. Friends kiss.”

  He was right, of course. There was no need to make such a big deal out of something as innocuous as two mouths coming together.

  She twined her fingers in his hair, desire curling in her belly. “You know how some people can stop at just one potato chip?”

  He cocked his head, his gaze quizzical.

  “I’ve never been that kind of gal,” she said and closed her mouth over his for one more kiss.

  Chapter Nine

  It was almost one by the time Keenan settled under a large shade tree in Mitzi’s lawn to eat his lunch. He opened the brown bag just as a car pulled into the driveway. By the time his sister got out and unstrapped his nephew from his safety seat, he’d reached the vehicle.

  Nate squealed when he saw him, his mouth open in a wide baby smile as his chubby legs chewed up the short distance between them.

  In one fluid movement, Keenan scooped the child up and swung him around.

  “Not too high,” Betsy warned. “He ate less than an hour ago.”

  Sufficiently warned, Keenan settled for placing the boy on his shoulders. He shifted his gaze to his sister. In her gold jeans and multicolored shirt, Betsy reminded him of a stylish butterfly.

  But it was the look of contentment in her eyes that had his heart stuttering with relief. After everything she’d been through, Betsy was happy.

  He took the oversize bag from her shoulder and motioned her into the shade of the oak tree he’d been sitting under only moments before. Though it wasn’t particularly hot for September, the sun was high and bright in the cloudless sky. “What brings you out this way?”

  Though many of their friends lived close, Betsy and Ryan lived in Jackson. She’d inherited their Aunt Agatha’s cottage, and they’d spent the better part of the past year remodeling the place.

  “I only work half days on Friday, so I picked up Nate and we had lunch with Anna at the hospital.”

  Anna, Keenan knew, was Betsy’s BFF, a popular nurse midwife in Jackson Hole and wife of Mayor Tripp Randall.

  “How is Adrianna?” The pretty brunette had been Betsy’s friend since childhood.

  “Happy.” His sister’s lips curved. “She and Tripp are pregnant. They just found out.”

  “I’ll have to offer my congratulations next time I see them.” Keenan struggled to grasp the reality that another of his friends was not only married, but a soon-to-be father.

  Sometimes he felt as if he’d been caught in a time warp. During the period he’d spent “finding himself,” his friends had somehow made the leap from impetuous boys to solid-citizens-married-with-kids. Keenan pushed the disturbing thought aside. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

  “Nate isn’t a great sleeper.” Betsy yawned hugely, covering her mouth with the tips of her fingers. Apparently the little boy wasn’t the only one up at night. “He fell asleep in the car on the way home from lunch. If I take him straight to the house, he wakes up. I never get him back down. So I took a drive. We ended up here.”

  Betsy’s gaze settled on the beautiful house faced with stone and brick. “A lot of home for a single woman.”

  Something in his sister’s tone put Keenan on alert. He was aware Betsy’s husband had once dated Mitzi. Though from the rumors he’d heard it hadn’t been much of a relationship, more of a brief infatuation on Ryan’s part. Though Betsy was cordial to Mitzi, there was a chasm between the two women, which he found disturbing.

  He considered Mitzi a friend and wished Betsy could, too.

  “It’s got a great floor plan,” he said, when he realized his sister expected a response.

  “I was shocked when I heard Mitzi had sold her condo.” Betsy took one of her son’s chubby hands in hers and jiggled it. “She had a big housewarming party last year when she moved in.”

  Keenan simply shrugged, the up-and-down motion making Nate, who still rested on his shoulders, giggle.

  “I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised,” Betsy said in a casual tone that he guessed was anything but casual. “That seems to be Mitzi’s M.O.”

  Keenan cocked his head.

  “She wants something,” Betsy continued. “Gets it. Grows tired of it. Moves on to the next thing.”

  “You make these assumptions simply because Mitzi purchased a condo, decided it was a mistake then sold it to build a house?”

  Betsy’s widening eyes told him she’d caught the challenge in his tone.

  “Not just that.” His sister absently fingered a leaf on a low-hanging branch of the tree shading them. “She’s like that with men, too.”

  “Is she?”

  Betsy nodded jerkily, two bright spots of pink dotting her cheeks. “When she first came to town, she and Benedict Campbell became an item. They lasted longer than most expected. They were on and off. More off than on.”

  Keenan liked Ben, but it was obvious to him why he and Mitzi had split. While Ben was a nice guy, even he could see that Mitzi needed a more adventurous man. “If they didn’t get along, it was good they didn’t stay together.”

  “She and Ryan went out a few times.”

  Keenan’s gaze met his sister’s. “Before you and he got together.”

  “That’s right,” Betsy acknowledged. “Only a handful of times. Then she moved back to Ben for a while then on to Kelvin Reid.”

  “The NFL player.” Keenan had seen the guy on television escorting an actress to some premier. Slick and charming were his impressions before he flipped the channel.

  “Kelvin went out of his way to come to Jackson to see her,” Betsy added. “He was even there at her condo housewarming.”

  “He cheated on her.” Keenan’s voice went flat. “She dumped him. Smart move on her part.”

  “Some think she’s got her sights set on Winn Ferris now.” Betsy’s tone took on a strange urgency as a gust of wind swept up, fluttering the leaves and making Nate chortle.

  He tightened his hold on the boy’s chubby legs but kept his gaze firmly on his sister.

  “I can’t see them together,” Betsy said with some reluctance. “But that’s the rumor.”

  “Why are you telling me all this, Bets? You know I’ve never been one for gossip.”

  The flush on his sister’s cheeks deepened. Still, she met his steady gaze with one of her own. “I see how you look at her when you think no one is watching.”

  Keenan kept his expression impassive. He’d had a lot of practice keeping his emotions under wraps. It troubled him to think his sister—and perhaps others—could read him so easily. “Tell me. How do I look at her?”

  She kicked at the dirt with the toe of her shoe. “Like you want to eat her up.”

  “She’s beautiful and charming.” He kept his tone light. “What red-blooded male wouldn’t?”

  “But you’re not in her league. That’s what she thinks anyway.”

  He stilled and the air between them dipped twenty degrees.

  Picking up on the tension in the air, the little boy began to whimper.

  Betsy reached up her arms, scooped her son down from Keenan’s neck. “It’s okay, Nate.” She set him on the ground, pulled a small ball from the oversize bag at her feet and gave it a toss. “Go get it.”

&n
bsp; The boy scrambled after the rolling ball, a wide grin on his face.

  “Why do you think she’s out of my league?” Keenan asked in a conversational tone.

  “For goodness’ sake, isn’t it obvious?” Betsy flung up her hands. Frustration snapped in her voice. “Mitzi isn’t like us, Keenan. She’s a doctor.”

  He wanted to tell Betsy that if she knew Mitzi better, she’d understand the pretty doctor wasn’t that different from them. Mitzi had faced similar challenges growing up. Instead he decided to focus on the obvious. “Your husband is a lawyer.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  The blood in Keenan’s veins froze. Anger and hurt warred in his gut.

  “Because I’m an ex-con?” His voice was dangerously soft, flat. “Is that what you’re saying?”

  “I’m saying you’re too good for her. You’re a wonderful, caring man.” Misery flooded his sister’s face. “I love you so much. It would break my heart to see you hurt. After everything you’ve been through, you deserve only good things in your life. Only happiness.”

  The anger that had begun to form like a dark storm inside him dissipated as suddenly as it had begun. He gathered his sister close for a quick hug.

  “Don’t worry, Bets. I know the score.” He kissed the top of her head before releasing her. “I’ve always known the score.”

  * * *

  On Friday afternoon, Mitzi drove slowly home, exhaustion seeping from every pore. She’d had to tell a working man that an amputation was necessary due to cancer spread and a twenty-year-old college sophomore that recovery from a sports injury would likely keep her from playing volleyball until next season.

  On her way out the door, she was reminded she’d be handling the out-of-town clinics for the rest of the year. The first trip was scheduled next week. Mitzi loved to fly but not in small planes. Still, there was no choice. The communities they served were too far to drive.

  But she refused to let something that couldn’t be changed ruin what was left of the day. This evening, complete and total relaxation was the only thing on her schedule. Windsurfing with Keenan yesterday had wiped her out physically. The memory of his kisses had wiped her out emotionally.