The Husband List

by Cindy Kirk

  “Go Blue for a Cure?” Anna pulled her brows together, her emerald eyes puzzled.

  “Cassidy mentioned it at the last Jackson After-Hours event,” Lexi, a pretty social worker with a dark chin-length bob, interjected. “She mentioned it again when the girls and I stopped by her salon a few days ago for haircuts.”

  “I’m as clueless as Adrianna,” Winn said, shooting the nurse midwife a charming smile.

  Mitzi had been relieved that Winn had taken a seat at the other end of the table. Apparently she wasn’t the only one who realized they weren’t a good fit.

  “It’s a fund-raiser,” Mitzi said, when no one jumped in to answer. The purpose was near and dear to an orthopedic surgeon’s heart. “The majority of the money will go to fund osteogenic sarcoma research. A portion will go to Ariela Svehla’s parents to help with her medical expenses.”

  Last month Mitzi had been forced to amputate the girl’s left leg midthigh in an attempt to eradicate the cancer that threatened her young life.

  “Ariela’s father is a bricklayer with Stone Craft.” Sympathy filled Keenan’s eyes. “Nice guy.”

  “The way it works is participants get people—sponsors—to donate money,” Mitzi continued. “For those donations, participants are required to color or highlight their hair some shade of blue.”

  “An excuse to be wild and crazy.” Tripp grinned. “Count me in.”

  “How often do we get the opportunity as adults to do something like this?” Lexi’s husband, Nick, was a prominent attorney with a large family law practice in both Jackson Hole and Dallas. In recent years, he and Lexi spent more time in Jackson Hole, with him commuting whenever necessary.

  “Don’t tell me you’re going to dye your hair blue, Delacourt.” Winn sounded shocked. “Your high-profile clients will hardly appreciate seeing the man they chose to represent them looking like some punk rocker.”

  Nick laughed good-naturedly. “They’ll understand, once I tell them the reason. I might even get more sponsors.”

  Obviously sensing Nick had made up his mind, Winn turned to Mitzi. “You’re going to do it?”

  “Absolutely,” Mitzi responded without hesitation.

  “Well, count me out.” Winn straightened his Hermès tie. “I am, however, willing to make a sizable donation to the cause.”

  Mitzi reached down, grabbed a sponsor sheet from her purse and shoved it in front of him. “Put your money where your mouth is, Ferris.”

  Looking pained, Winn pulled out his Montblanc.

  Once the breakfast ended, those who didn’t have to run to the church to pick up kids stood talking outside the café. It was as if, Mitzi thought, they were reluctant to leave behind the friendship and camaraderie they’d enjoyed inside.

  Winn rushed off, mentioning an important conference call. Mitzi wondered if it was an excuse. Perhaps he thought she’d attempt to convince him that blue was his color. Her lips curved up in a smile. The guy really needed to loosen up.

  “What kind of person sets up a conference call for Sunday morning?” someone asked.

  “I’m thinking he was afraid.” Mitzi tossed her head, a sly smile on her lips. “Afraid I’d convince him to go blue.”

  “You’ve got to give the guy credit.” Keenan chuckled and rubbed his chin. “He recognizes the power of Mitzi.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Since they’d parked in the same vicinity, it seemed natural for Mitzi to fall into step beside Keenan when the group dispersed.

  “Got big plans for the day?” She kept her tone conversational, one friend to another.

  “Thought I’d head over to Yellowstone. We won’t get many more days like this.” His gaze lifted to the clear blue sky before dropping to fix on her. “Ryan mentioned last week I could borrow his kayak. With Nate sick, he and Betsy won’t be using it today.”

  He reached around her and opened the car door she’d just unlocked. “You should come with me.”

  Mitzi started to say no, but stopped herself. A friend had invited her to do something she enjoyed on her day off. Why was she hesitating? If their friendship stood any chance of flourishing, she had to quit being so hypervigilant. And there was no better time to start than now.

  Hours later, when the bright afternoon sun had begun to droop, Mitzi helped Keenan load the kayak back on the top of the ancient Explorer they’d borrowed from Ryan and Betsy.

  Accepting the invitation had been the right decision. They were just two buds enjoying the great outdoors. Laughing. Talking. Splashing. Simple pleasures.

  Mitzi took a long sip of water as her “buddy” secured the last strap around the bright orange boat. From the smile on Keenan’s lips, he’d enjoyed the day, too.

  After spending most of her life needing to be the one in charge, it had been surprisingly pleasant to sit back and let Keenan steer them expertly around boulders and a few heart-thumping logjams.

  “I never thought anything named Bitch Creek could be so beautiful,” she said, thinking of the breathtaking basalt canyon they’d floated through this afternoon.

  “I’m glad the route worked out.” Keenan raked a hand through damp hair, reminding her how he looked when he’d stepped out of the shower at the B and B. Ruggedly handsome. All male. “Normally at this time of year it’s too shallow to negotiate. The creek is fed by runoff.”

  “You know your way around a kayak.” Mitzi cast him an admiring glance before taking another long pull from the water bottle.

  When she noticed him watching her, she thrust the bottle in his direction. “Be my guest.”

  Keenan drained the rest in one gulp. When he caught her staring, he grinned sheepishly. “I was thirsty.”

  “I’d never have guessed.” Even as Mitzi spoke, her gaze dropped back to his mouth. All afternoon she’d done her best to keep her focus off those talented lips. Now she couldn’t seem to tear her gaze away.

  His smile faded. An arousing intensity replaced the teasing glint in his eyes.

  Keep it light, Mitzi told herself. “I was wondering if you’d mind stopping at the store when we get back into town.”

  He blinked. “Store?”

  “The market.” “She would.not.look.at.his.lips. “I need to pick up a few things for the coming week.”

  “Sure.” He rocked back on his heels. “No problem.”

  After stowing the Explorer and the kayak back in his sister’s garage, they dropped his Impala off in front of the boardinghouse. The spark of pleasure in his eyes when she tossed him the keys to the BMW made Mitzi glad she’d made the gesture.

  * * *

  On the edge of town, Keenan pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store he’d frequented as a kid. Though he hadn’t been interested in going to the market, neither had he been ready for this day with Mitzi to end.

  When they’d dropped off his car and she’d tossed him the keys to hers, he knew she was inviting him to spend the night. Since he’d be working tomorrow at her place, he didn’t need his vehicle.

  “This shouldn’t take long,” Mitzi told him as the automatic doors at the front of the store slid open.

  “I’m in no hurry.” It felt natural to walk beside her, to stroll up and down the aisles with her while she grabbed milk, yogurt and a carton of eggs. Natural to talk and joke with the older woman standing behind them as they waited in the checkout lane. Natural to simply be with Mitzi.

  Twenty minutes later, Keenan walked out into the warm evening air, a sack of groceries in one arm and the most beautiful woman in Jackson Hole at his side. Life didn’t get much better.

  “Dr. Sanchez?”

  The feminine voice had them both turning. Keenan didn’t recognize the middle-aged woman with the tightly curled hair and silver-rimmed glasses, but Mitzi’s smile widened. She greeted the woman by name.


  After Mitzi performed introductions, Keenan stepped back, listening while the woman updated the doctor on her husband’s “amazing” postsurgical progress.

  Before the woman interrupted, Keenan had found himself thinking how easily he could get used to this being his life—doing fun activities with Mitzi as well as enjoying the day-to-day. But it was just a pipe dream.

  Mitzi had made it very clear—and had continued to make it clear—what she wanted and didn’t want in a man, what she expected and didn’t expect from him specifically. His focus needed to be on his own future. Until he reached the goals he’d set, he had little to offer the successful doctor.

  Nothing...except his heart.

  And he’d learned long ago, that wasn’t worth much.

  * * *

  “Got it. Five-thirty. Clippety Do-Dah,” Mitzi said into the phone, a lilt lifting her voice. “See you then.”

  Ben looked up from the file of the patient they’d been discussing until Mitzi had silenced him with a wave of one hand to answer her phone. He raised a brow. “That was your important call?”

  She grinned. “Keenan and I are getting our hair dyed blue on Thursday.”

  Her colleague shook his head, a bemused look on his face. “You’re really going through with it?”

  “I have over a thousand dollars in pledges riding on going through with it.” Mitzi waved a hand. “No backing out now. Actually, I’m jazzed about the opportunity to go crazy with color and support a good cause at the same time.”

  “What about Keenan?”

  “Last I knew he hadn’t hit a thousand yet.” Mitzi pulled her brows together, tried to recall his last update. “More like seven hundred fifty.”

  Ben opened his mouth. Shut it. He glanced down at the file and focused on the patient. Ten minutes of discussion later, Mitzi rose to leave.

  “One more thing.” Ben motioned her back. “I noticed you and Keenan have been spending a lot of time together.”

  “We’re friends.” Mitzi spoke cautiously, wondering just where Ben was headed. Normally he gave her personal life a wide berth.

  “I’ve also noticed you’ve been in a much better mood since he became your ‘friend.’”

  Was that really a teasing gleam in her colleague’s eyes? Couldn’t be. Ben wasn’t the teasing type. He was serious. Too serious. Too cerebral.

  “Keenan knows how to enjoy life.” She thought of the rock climbing he’d urged her to try. “He’s very physical.”

  When Ben’s grin widened, she gave his arm a punch. “I meant Keenan likes physical activities—”

  Though Mitzi didn’t believe it was possible, Ben’s grin inched even wider.

  “Kayaking, windsurfing, horseback riding.” She ticked them off her fingers one by one.

  “I’m just saying the guy has been good for you,” Ben said equitably.

  Mitzi shifted, uncomfortable at the direction of the conversation. Ben wasn’t the first to assume she and Keenan were a couple. Considering they spent so much time together, she supposed it was understandable.

  Heck, they’d even gone to church together the past two Sundays. And she couldn’t immediately recall the last time she’d slept alone. Still, she’d made sure to mention numerous times what his friendship meant to her. Each time, he’d smile and call her “buddy.”

  She had to admit she kind of liked the way the word sounded on his tongue.

  “It’s important to have friends you feel comfortable with, whose company you enjoy.” Ben met her gaze. “You and I, we were never really friends.”

  Mitzi pushed back from the office chair and stood. She and Ben had never discussed what had gone wrong between them. The way she recalled it, they’d simply argued one too many times and neither cared enough to try to repair the damage of the angry words.

  Though they shared a love of practicing medicine, they’d taken vastly different routes to arrive at where they were now. Ben could no more understand what drove her than she could understand what drove him.

  “Even from the beginning there was this ease, this comfort, with Poppy.” Ben’s eyes darkened with emotion. “It was never easy between us.”

  “You always were master of the understatement, Benedict.” Mitzi stifled a snort. “It was like riding a roller coaster. A few wild peaks. A whole lot of valleys.”

  “Poppy and I enjoy quiet evenings together.” Ben rubbed his chin. “You had to always go out.”

  Mitzi started to deny it then realized he spoke the truth. The thought of spending an evening alone with Ben watching a movie and sharing a bowl of popcorn had never held any appeal.

  The fact that he’d been willing to escort her to all the social events in Jackson Hole—and she’d discovered since moving here there was always something to do—had probably prolonged their relationship long after it should have come to an end.

  “I’ve actually discovered I can stay home and enjoy watching movies.” Mitzi thought of the scary horror flick she and Keenan had seen the other night. She’d even had to close her eyes at one point. Keenan had laughed. But when he’d wrapped his arms around her, she hadn’t been scared anymore. “In moderate doses, even cards and charades can be fun.”

  “Charades?”

  Mitzi smiled at the shock Ben infused in that single word.

  “I’m glad we didn’t attempt to hang on to something that wasn’t working,” Ben said. “I think we’ve both found something far better.”

  * * *

  “Are you seeing your friend tonight?” Bill asked Keenan, before turning to load some tools into the back of his pickup.

  Keenan wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. “As a matter of fact I’m going to a quinceañera with Mitzi this evening.”

  Bill rested his back against his red pickup that gleamed in the sunlight and tilted his head. “A what?”

  “I asked the same thing,” Keenan admitted. “It’s a party thrown when a girl turns fifteen.”

  Bill lifted a brow. “Like a birthday party?”

  “I guess.” Keenan shrugged. “But a bigger deal.”

  “Who’s it for? Anyone I know?”

  “Mitzi’s housekeeper, Consuela Herrera. The party is for her daughter.”

  “You’re moving up in the world, boy.” Bill slapped Keenan on the back. “From the slammer to escorting one of the most eligible doctors in Jackson Hole to fancy parties in the span of a few short months.”

  Teasing or not, Bill’s words served as a reminder just how far apart his and Mitzi’s lives were and reinforced the importance of not getting too comfortable. Even if it sometimes felt like a whole lot more, he and Mitzi were simply friends. She reminded him of that fact constantly. Only a fool wouldn’t take the warning to heart.

  “Mitzi and I are just friends,” he told Bill for what felt like the thousandth time.

  “Look at these lines.” Bill pointed to his drooping face. “Proof I wasn’t born yesterday. I’ve seen the way you look at her. And how she looks at you.”

  Keenan opened his mouth but Bill cut him off with a swipe of hand through the air.

  “If I learned anything during my almost sixty years on this planet, it’s that love don’t come ’round all that often. When it does, you have to grab hold of it and not let go.” Bill paused, gazed speculatively at Keenan. “You didn’t survive those years in the Big House by being lily-livered. Be bold. Be brave. You know what you need to do.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Mitzi had told Keenan he needed to dress up for the quinceañera but wasn’t sure what he’d show up wearing until he knocked and she opened the door.

  Her heart stumbled. “Wow. You look terrific.”

  “Back at you.” Keenan gazed admiringly at the simple navy dress she’d paired with a strand of pearls. She�
�d pulled her hair up and caught it in a glittery broach. “Too bad your hair isn’t blue yet. Would have gone well with the dress.”

  “I thought that, too.” Mitzi gave a little laugh before she ushered him inside, her fingers lingering on the fine fabric of his charcoal-gray suit. “This is nice.”

  “It’s Ryan’s,” Keenan confessed. “When I told Bets I was going to this thing and needed to dress up, she gave me one of his to wear. He tossed in a shirt, tie and even the shoes.”

  “That was nice of him.” Though Mitzi had never been physically attracted to Ryan, she considered him a friend. It was a shame she and Betsy had gotten off on the wrong foot. Maybe it was time to reach out to Keenan’s sister.

  “We better get going.” She picked up the clutch on top of the sofa next to where the kitten now slept. She gave the soft top of Bitty’s head a scratch. “Later, little one.”

  “She’s content,” Keenan observed.

  “Why wouldn’t she be?” Mitzi chuckled. Though she’d initially worried about taking on a pet because of the responsibility, Bitty had ended up being a nice addition to her household. “I give her everything she wants. That kitten has me wrapped around her little paw.”

  “You’re a good person, Mitzi,” Keenan said, surprising her. “Warm. Loving. Kind.”

  Heat stole up her neck and pleasure flowed like warm honey through her veins. She couldn’t recall ever getting such a nice compliment. “One of my old boyfriends called me ‘The Ice Queen.’”

  “He must not have known you at all.” Keenan opened the door for her and she inhaled the familiar soap and woodsy smell she’d come to associate with him.

  “We can take my car tonight.” Mitzi tossed him the keys.

  “Second time in a week.” He snagged the ring of keys midair. “What’s the occasion?”

  “It’s muggy this evening.”

  “Just because Bertha’s AC is on the fritz...” Keenan gave the Impala’s fender a tap as he walked past. “She can’t help it. She’s old and ugly. Now, this baby...”

  Keenan’s gaze landed on Mitzi’s BMW and he smiled. “Beautiful.”