The Husband List

by Cindy Kirk

  “Not today,” he said. “If I change my mind, I’ll come back.”

  Cassidy raked her fingers through the dark strands. “You have nice hair. Thick and silky.”

  Mitzi’s lips curved in the slightest of smiles. This time when his gaze met hers, it held and he felt the connection.

  Getting his hair colored didn’t take as long as Keenan had anticipated. Cassidy talked nonstop to both him and Mitzi, while her associate, a waif named Daffodil Prentiss, focused on Mitzi’s hair.

  When they finished, the doctor’s hair was dark with a ribbon of deep blue running through the auburn strands. Cassidy had taken a different approach with his and colored only the tips.

  The good news was one haircut and the color would be gone. The bad news was the tips were an eye-popping electric blue.

  Had he really expected subtlety from Cassidy Kaye?

  “Do you like it?” she asked Mitzi, looking surprisingly anxious.

  “Why are you asking her?” Keenan asked. “It’s my hair.”

  “She’s the one who has to look at it,” Cassidy shot back.

  To his surprise, Mitzi stepped closer and slid her fingers through his hair in a possessive gesture. Keenan wasn’t into female messages, but to him, it clearly said, he’s mine.

  “I like it,” Mitzi declared. “Sexy.”

  Without warning, the heat, the electricity, the intense emotion that filled the air whenever they were close, scorched his blood.

  “Hoo-kay, then.” Cassidy smiled brightly. “Thank you both for coming in.”

  Mitzi opened her purse.

  Keenan reached for his wallet.

  Before they could pull out a credit card or a single bill, Cassidy shook her head firmly. “Doing everyone’s hair is my donation. If you want to give more, add it to the fund.”

  Mitzi dropped the wallet back into her purse. “Thank you, Cassidy.” Her gaze shifted to the blonde. “You, too, Daffy.”

  The girl with the large violet eyes and straight wheat-colored hair smiled shyly. “The color is temporary but it should last about two weeks. It’s a good look for you. If you decide to keep it, stop back. I’ll retouch it.”

  “That goes for you, too, Mr. McGregor.” Cassidy’s booming voice stood in stark contrast to Daffy’s whisper-soft words. “I imagine in a couple of weeks, you’ll be ready to get those ends trimmed.”

  Keenan resisted glancing at Mitzi. “Thanks, Cass.”

  “Thank me by getting more donations,” Cassidy told him. “Now, you two get out of here so Daffy and I can clean up and get the heck out of Dodge.”

  They were on the sidewalk and turning the corner when Keenan took Mitzi’s arm. “That hair of yours is a real turn-on.”

  She laughed. “Everything is a turn-on for you.”

  “Everything about you, anyway,” he admitted. “Let’s head to your place and get out of these clothes.”

  “That’s subtle.”

  “I don’t feel subtle right now.” He slid his palm down her arm. “I wanted you naked a half hour ago.”

  “Was that before or after you laid that kiss on Cassidy?” Though her tone was light, there was an edge to her voice that hadn’t been there seconds earlier.

  Keenan realized he owed her an explanation. If he’d seen her kiss some other guy, no matter how casual, he’d want an explanation. Heck, he’d demand one. “Cass and I, we go way back.”

  Surprise skittered across Mitzi’s face.

  “We were neighbors,” he continued. “I felt like a big brother. But I wasn’t always able to protect her, not like I could Bets.”

  * * *

  All sorts of questions sprang to mind, but Mitzi swallowed them. Sadness had filled Keenan’s eyes and she sensed that any further talk on the subject would kill any possibility of her getting him naked that evening.

  He wasn’t the only one who wanted that, she realized.

  She’d watched him saunter into Clippety Do-Dah and had studied him as if he were a stranger. Tall, broad-shouldered with hair the color of mahogany, he cut an imposing figure in work jeans, boots and a faded T-shirt.

  There was a confidence, a strength to him that was compelling.

  Irritation had surged when she’d watched Cassidy flirt with him. When he’d leaned over and kissed her, Mitzi felt as if someone had taken a scalpel to her heart.

  Mine, she’d almost called out with a possessive fury that surprised her with its intensity. Get your hands off my man.

  Instead, she’d restrained her temper and silently fumed. It was silly, she knew. They were only friends. The trouble was what had blossomed between them no longer felt like simple friendship.

  “Let’s go home.” Impulsively she took his hand and experienced a rush of pleasure when his fingers laced through hers. “I want to be with you. Just you. Just me.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  There was only one thing Mitzi was hungry for when they got to her house...and it wasn’t in the refrigerator. It was found in the man standing before her, his arms now wrapped around her waist.

  The second they’d walked through the front door, she’d been ready to strip and jump him. Before that could happen, he’d pulled her into his arms and simply held her close.

  “I love—” he stopped to nuzzle the sensitive skin behind her ear “—your hair.”

  “Wish I could say the same thing about yours.” Mitzi leaned her head back, reveling in his touch.

  “It’s bold, that’s for sure.” He softly laughed. “I’m not sure anyone but Cass could pull off electric blue.”

  Mitzi slid her fingers through his hair. “I’m glad you didn’t cut it.”

  “Feeling your fingers combing through it is one of my favorite pleasures.” His hazel eyes remained focused on her. “Spending time with you is another.”

  She fought the urge to tell him it was the same for her, that seeing him was the best part of her day. How would he respond if she told him she was falling in love with him?

  Mitzi wasn’t sure why the thought scared her so much, but it did. Enough that she had to put an end to the conversation.

  “I want you, Keenan.”

  His eyes never left her. “I feel the same about you.”

  Once again uneasiness swept over her like a harsh November wind. “In bed.”

  A flicker of his eyelashes was his only response.

  She linked her fingers with his and stepped from his arms. “Now.”

  “I won’t disappoint you, Mitzi,” he said abruptly, his expression intense, almost fierce.

  “You never have.” She offered a reassuring smile. “You and me, we’re the dynamic duo.”

  “Dynamic duo, eh?” His lips twitched. “Okay, tonight I’ll be Superman. You can be Lois Lane.”

  “No way.” Mitzi felt some of the tightness around her heart ease at the lighthearted teasing. “I’m Wonder Woman.”

  “Diana and Bruce?” Keenan thought for a second, flashed a smile. “Batman does have a cool car.”

  “A car doesn’t figure in my fantasies tonight.”

  “No backseat for you? Not even if it was the Batmobile?”

  Her heart stuttered. “I might make an exception for the Batmobile. But tonight I prefer a nice soft bed.”

  “You’re such a traditionalist,” he teased.

  She stepped close and planted a bite on his shoulder hard enough to make him yelp. “Let’s see if you feel that same way after I get through with you.”

  “The way I feel will never change,” he murmured as his lips closed over hers.

  * * *

  The next morning Mitzi found herself more confused than ever. She’d deliberately set out to make their lovemaking erotic and mind-numbing, trying to avoid any emotion.

&nbs
p; But his playful humor, his willingness to embrace whatever game she wanted to play, only endeared him more to her. She had to admit that no matter how hot it got between them, there was something in his touch, in his taste, in the explosion that rocked her world that said this was someone who mattered, someone she could fully trust.

  That was the part that frightened her most, she realized as she lay in bed, listening to the shower run. He’d slipped from the bed at six, cognizant of the fact his coworkers would be arriving within the hour to put the final finishing touches on the home.

  Because she didn’t know what he’d see in her eyes, she kept hers closed and pretended to sleep. She didn’t have any surgeries this morning and her first patient wasn’t scheduled until ten o’clock, so there was no reason to jump right up.

  Still keeping her eyes shut, Mitzi heard Keenan come out of the bathroom and rummage in the bottom dresser drawer where he kept some clothes.

  Mitzi opened her eyes to tiny slits, just wide enough to see him standing at the dresser, his back to her. He had a fine body and a very excellent backside.

  She’d dated handsome, athletic men before, had even slept with some of them. But she realized that she’d never opened her heart to them, never let them get truly close.

  Until she met Keenan, she’d never found anyone she trusted enough to let inside her head. Inside her heart. Only her friend Kate knew her better than Keenan did now.

  The question was—where did they go from here? Because she had no answer, she made sure her eyes were closed and her breathing regular when he turned to her.

  He stood over the bed for a long moment, then leaned over and brushed a light kiss across her forehead. “Later, Wonder Woman.”

  “I love you, Batman,” she whispered softly as the door clicked closed behind him. “And, despite my superpowers, I’m not sure I’m brave enough to do anything about it.”

  * * *

  As the end of the weekend neared, Mitzi still hadn’t come to a decision on how to deal with her growing feelings—okay, her love—for Keenan. When she’d made it clear she was looking for a husband, he’d been equally clear that his goal was to get his footing and start to take back his life. He’d even admitted he wasn’t ready for a serious relationship.

  Although Mitzi wasn’t a worrier, she was concerned how a confession of love might change things between them...especially after she’d continually insisted they were just friends. And he hadn’t argued. Not once.

  Until Keenan, no man had touched her heart. She loved him and the life they’d started to forge together. She, who was easily bored with the predictable, treasured the routines they’d established.

  Routines like “movie night.” She and Keenan had fallen into the Sunday evening habit of going out for pizza then coming home and watching a movie. They’d mark the end of the weekend by cuddling on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn and tall glasses of soda in front of the screen.

  She’d been excited about the comedy they’d picked for tonight. Then, Steve had called. Though Mitzi could tell Keenan was excited about the flight that would take him all the way to the eastern edge of Nebraska, her heart had sunk.

  Not only would Keenan be gone the rest of the day, but he wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. No afternoon hike around Jenny Lake as planned. No pizza and movie this evening. No warm body snuggled against hers when she awoke in the morning. No Keenan.

  When she dropped him off at the boardinghouse so he could pick up his car to go to the airport, she’d surprised them both by wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him tight for several heartbeats.

  “Stay safe,” was all she’d said. All she could manage to say.

  As Mitzi drove away from the airfield, she knew the dark cloud now hanging over her had nothing to do with the weather. Once home, it didn’t help her mood when she tripped running to answer the phone. She fell, rapping her head smartly against the edge of the rustic coffee table. But knowing it could be the hospital calling, Mitzi pulled to her feet and reached it before it went to voice mail. “This is Mitzi Sanchez.”

  “M’ija, it’s Mama.”

  Mitzi closed her eyes for a moment. She took a deep breath, let it out slowly and spoke in Spanish. “How are you?”

  While her mother updated her on her sister, her nieces and the ladies at the church, Mitzi took a gel pack from the freezer and pressed it against her throbbing head. She was washing down several ibuprofen with a cola when her mother mentioned the increased difficulty she was having getting around.

  The complaints weren’t anything new. Back when Mitzi was still in medical school, her mother’s doctor had sent her to an orthopedic surgeon. The specialist had recommended a total knee replacement. Her mother had refused. How could she watch her grandchildren if she had surgery?

  “I’ve got a solution to your problem, Mama.” Mitzi stroked the cat that had jumped onto her lap. “One of my associates, Dr. Benedict Campbell, is a knee specialist. You could have the surgery here then stay and recover at my home.”

  She listened to her mother detail all the reasons why coming to Jackson Hole wasn’t a good idea.

  “Yes, I do work a lot of hours.” Mitzi did her best to keep her tone even. “But I have a housekeeper who could be here when I was gone. She could—”

  When her mother interrupted with more excuses and mentioned Mitzi’s sister thought she simply needed another injection, Mitzi gave up. She tried to massage away a burgeoning headache, and then winced when her fingers touched the bump on her forehead.

  The conversation was drawing to a close—or so Mitzi hoped—when her mother asked if anything was new. Mitzi thought about mentioning the award she’d be receiving but decided why bother.

  In her mother’s eyes, nothing she did was ever good enough or worthy of a word of praise. That had been true when she was a child, and it was true now. And despite Mitzi’s successful career and her sister’s continued screwups, her mother would continue to go to her eldest daughter for advice, rather than her.

  Knowing that didn’t hurt much anymore. Only sometimes. Like now.

  Mitzi said goodbye, determined not to give in to self-pity. She’d eat. Watch a movie. Go to bed.

  She opened the freezer door and scanned the contents. She wrinkled her nose and shut the door. She didn’t want a frozen chicken breast. She wanted pizza.

  Before Keenan had come into the picture, she’d eaten alone plenty of times. There was no reason she couldn’t have dinner at Perfect Pizza then come back and enjoy the movie.

  Just because Keenan wasn’t there didn’t mean she couldn’t have a nice evening. But even as Mitzi changed clothes and headed out the door, she couldn’t deny that being part of a dynamic duo trumped being a lonely single any day of the week.

  It was still early when Mitzi reached the doors of the popular pizza parlor in downtown Jackson. She figured the dinner rush wouldn’t hit for another hour. Before placing her order at the counter, she considered getting the pie to go but decided to enjoy a couple of slices in the restaurant first.

  Once she ordered, Mitzi got her drink and took her salad to a table by the window. Pulling out the latest AAOS Journal, she settled in to read about the “Management of Nonunion Following Surgical Management of Scaphoid Fractures” while she waited for her pizza.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

  Mitzi glanced up from the journal and saw Betsy. Looking Sunday-night casual in jeans and a sage-colored hoodie, Keenan’s sister’s smile was friendly, even as her gaze darted around the dining area.

  Betsy cocked her head. “Where’s Keenan?”

  As Betsy and Ryan hadn’t been at the café this morning when Keenan took the call, it was an understandable question.

  “He flew to Omaha this afternoon. He won’t be back until tomorrow.”

  “Oh,” Betsy said
.

  This time it was Mitzi who glanced around the dining area. “Are Ryan and the baby with you?”

  “They’re home. Nate fell asleep and I was in the mood to get out of the house, so I volunteered to pick up a pizza.”

  “I’m waiting for one, too.” Mitzi gestured to a chair. “Join me. We can kill time together.”

  As soon as Betsy took a seat in the chair opposite her, Mitzi realized this was the chance she’d been waiting for, an opportunity to set things right between them. Mitzi opened her mouth, but Betsy spoke first.

  “It must seem strange not to have Keenan around.” Betsy flushed when Mitzi cocked her head. “I mean, lately you two have been inseparable. Last week we invited him over for Sunday-night dinner, but he told us that’s your ‘movie night.’”

  Mitzi gave a little laugh. “We’ve become like a couple of old people holding to our routines, but he certainly should have accepted your invitation.”

  “Ryan and I love our little routines, too.”

  Mitzi exchanged a smile of understanding with Betsy. But as much as she was enjoying the conversation, she needed to get some business out of the way first.

  “Your brother is a wonderful man.” Mitzi held Betsy’s gaze. “I’m so incredibly sorry about what I said that night. I was wrong. Totally, completely, wrong. And I hope you will forgive me.”

  There was no reason to go into detail on what night she was referring to or what was said; they both remembered. Those stupid, thoughtless words she’d uttered had become the elephant in the room whenever their paths crossed.

  “It sounds like you care about Keenan,” Betsy said slowly, as if having difficulty wrapping her mind around the notion. “Genuinely care.”

  Mitzi cleared her throat, took a sip of her iced tea. “I do.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” Betsy’s eyes darkened with worry. “How is he doing today?”

  Mitzi straightened and concern wrapped tightly around her like a too-small sweater. “He’s fine. Why wouldn’t he be fine?”

  Betsy shifted her gaze out the window for several seconds. “Today is, was,” she corrected, “our mother’s birthday.”