by Linda Turner
“So did I,” he rasped, slipping an arm around her shoulders to draw her against him. “I’ve never been so afraid for anyone in my life. I didn’t think I’d get here in time—”
“Don’t,” she choked. “When she went after you with the knife, I thought—”
“What?” he asked huskily when she hesitated. “Tell me.”
She shouldn’t have—he was going to break her heart and telling him would only make it more painful—but he only had to take her hand in his to pull the words from her. “I was afraid I’d lost you,” she said softly, lifting her gaze to his. “Not that you were ever mine to lose,” she added with a wry grimace. “I know I blew that—”
“Rachel—”
“It’s okay,” she cut in. “I know what I did—”
“You don’t have to do this. If you’d just—”
“Yes, I do. I don’t know what I was thinking. I just wanted a baby so badly….”
He understood—and had long since come to terms with her desperate, crazy decision to have a child at any cost—but she wouldn’t let him get a word in edgewise. Frustrated, he did the only thing he could to shut her up. He kissed her.
He tasted her surprise…and sudden, unexpected shyness. And just that easily, she melted his heart. “I thought I’d lost you, too,” he murmured, kissing her softly, once, twice, then again. “When I saw Laureen with that knife, slashing at you, I felt as if she was ripping my heart out. All I could think was how much I loved you.”
Stunned, she looked up at him with eyes that were suddenly swimming in tears. “You love me?”
“I’ve been fighting it ever since I met you,” he admitted huskily. “I was just starting my practice. I’d already decided that I wouldn’t get serious about anyone for at least a couple of years. Then there you were—this major distraction living right next door. I couldn’t keep my eyes—or my hands—off you.”
“I didn’t think you were serious.”
“I wouldn’t even let myself consider the possibility that I was falling in love with you. I thought I had a handle on it. Then you didn’t call, and everything changed.”
Just thinking about how close he’d come to losing her still shook him to the core. With a murmur of need, he tightened his arms around her and pulled her close, kissing her with a tenderness that nearly destroyed both of them.
Tears pooled in her eyes and spilled over her lashes. “I love you, too,” she said softly. “When I realized I was falling in love with you, I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to love you. I didn’t want to love anyone.”
“After what Jason did to you, sweetheart, I wouldn’t blame you if you never trusted a man again in your life.”
How could she have found a man who was so understanding? Blinking back tears, she said, “I was just so afraid of getting hurt again.”
“I know, sweetheart. But I can assure you I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not your ex.”
“I know. But I want a baby,” she said again. “And you’re not ready to settle down. You said yourself the clinic takes a lot of your time. We’re on two different paths, Turk. How—”
“Shhh.” Not the least bit worried, he kissed her fiercely. “I’m not worried about the clinic, okay? We’re doing great—everyone in town’s welcomed us with open arms.”
“But you said—”
“That I wasn’t going to even think about getting married for a couple of years,” he finished for her. “If I’ve learned anything today, sweetheart, it’s that you can’t plan life. I didn’t plan Laureen. And I didn’t plan falling in love with you any more than you planned falling in love with me, but it happened. Do you honestly think I’m going to walk away from that?”
A smile curled the corners of her mouth. “I was hoping you wouldn’t.”
“You’re damn straight I’m not,” he said with gratifying promptness. “When we met, all you wanted was a baby—or so you thought. I wanted more time—or so I thought. What we found instead was each other. How can that be wrong?”
With her heart pounding, he made her believe that anything was possible. But there was still one thing they had left to discuss. “I still want a baby,” she told him quietly. “I’m going to be thirty-six next month. If I wait two years to try to get pregnant, I’m afraid I never will.”
“Okay.”
“Okay? What does that mean? I need to know if you’re ready to have a baby.”
“Sweetheart, I love you. You’re the one with the biological clock. This is your call. Whatever you decide is fine with me. But you have to decide now.”
Surprised, she blinked. “Now? Why now?”
“Because I’m taking you to bed right now.” And rising to his feet, he swept her up into his arms and started down the hall to her bedroom. Grinning when she looped her arms around his neck, he cocked a wicked brow at her. “Well? What’s it going to be? You’ve got about twenty seconds to make up your mind.”
“Twenty seconds, huh?” she chuckled.
“Eighteen,” he retorted as he carried her into her bedroom. “Seventeen.”
She’d have sworn she wanted a baby more than she wanted or needed her next breath, but in that instant, as he laid her on her bed and followed her down, she knew what was right for both of them. Without ever taking her eyes from him, she reached into the drawer of her nightstand and pulled out a condom. “I believe you’re going to need this,” she said huskily.
Surprised, he lifted a dark brow at her. “Are you sure?”
“I had a lot of time to think after we fought about my crazy plan to get pregnant,” she admitted, “and I realized that it wasn’t fair to me or a baby or my baby’s father to rush into getting pregnant just because I’m afraid of running out of time. Three lives will be affected, and the timing has to be right for all of us. So I went out and bought a six-month supply of condoms.”
“For me?”
“Of course for you! I love you! And I hoped…”
When she hesitated, he grinned at her sudden shyness and reached for the buttons of her blouse. “I hoped, too. So what happens at the end of six months?”
Her own fingers busy with his shirt, she smiled into his eyes. “I thought we could let nature take its course. Whatever happens…happens. If,” she added with a flash of dimples, “that’s okay with you.”
“Hmm. I think I like the sound of that. Six months of condoms,” he added with a grin. “Life doesn’t get any better than that.”
“Turk!”
Laughing, he kissed her fiercely. “Just kidding, sweetheart. Did I mention that I love you?”
“Yeah, right,” she sniffed, fighting a grin. “You wouldn’t know it by me. There’s a whole box of condoms just sitting there, waiting to be used—”
“Really? Sounds like a throw down to me,” he growled…and covered her mouth with his. Her laugh was swallowed by his kiss; there was no more time for talking.
Epilogue
Eight months later
Standing side by side at the kitchen sink, Rachel washed and rinsed the dinner dishes while Turk dried and put them away. He’d moved into her house the same day Laureen had tried to kill them both, but they no longer had to worry about her. She’d been convicted of stalking, assault and attempted murder. It would be years before she saw the light of day again without looking through bars.
Rachel seldom gave her a thought anymore. She and Turk had gone on with their lives, and she’d never been happier. Laureen was the past. They’d gotten married on Thanksgiving Day, and they couldn’t have picked a more perfect day to begin their marriage. They had so much to be thankful for. Their love had only grown stronger over the past eight months, Turk’s clinic was doing fantastic, and the bakery was open again and business was booming. Rachel couldn’t remember ever being so happy.
“You’re awfully quiet tonight,” Turk said as he dried a plate and returned it to its place in the cabinet. “Something wrong?”
“Oh, no!” she said, flashing him a bright smile.
“I was just thinking about our wedding and everything.”
“Oh, yeah? Our wedding or our wedding night?”
“Both,” she laughed, nudging him with her hip. “Have I told you today that I love you?”
“It seems to me you mentioned it this morning,” he said with a grin. “But you can tell me again. I love you, too.”
“I know.” Her smile soft, she turned to give him a kiss. “So how was your day?”
“Busy. The flu’s going around.” Grimacing, he suddenly focused on her glowing face. “You must have had a good day. You went with Evelyn to the doctor, didn’t you? How is she?”
“Fine,” she assured him. “Her blood pressure and cholesterol are both down, and she’s strong as a horse.”
“Good. Anything else happen?”
“Not much,” she said easily. Her eyes trained on the skillet she was washing, she bit back a smile. “Oh, I forgot…there’s a bun in the oven.”
“No problem,” he replied, and stepped over to the stove and pulled down the oven door. At the sight of the empty oven, he frowned. “No, there’s not. You must have got it out already.”
She giggled, only to quickly stifle the sound with her hand. “Sorry—I didn’t. I couldn’t.”
“Why not? The oven’s been off for an hour. It’s not hot—”
Confused, he glanced up, right into her sparkling eyes. And just that quickly, understanding hit him right between the eyes. “You’re pregnant.”
Grinning, her eyes suddenly swimming in tears, she nodded. “I was afraid to hope. Turk! What are you doing?”
“Carrying you to bed,” he growled as he swept her up into his arms. “Are you sure? Are you feeling all right? Have you been to the doctor?”
“I went to the doctor today, silly,” she chuckled as he laid her on their bed and followed her down. “With Gran. I didn’t want to tell you until I was sure. And I’m feeling wonderful! What about you? Are you okay with this?”
Okay? he wondered wildly. He’d just found out he was going to be a father. Okay didn’t begin to describe the emotions churning inside him. Then his hand settled on her still flat stomach, his eyes met hers, and suddenly he couldn’t stop smiling.
“Oh, yeah,” he murmured, leaning down to give her a whisper-soft kiss that had the tears in her eyes spilling down her cheeks, “I’m more than okay, sweetheart. I’m going to be a father. Why didn’t you tell me I’d feel this way? We could have done this eight months ago!”
Laughing, her eyes shining with love, she pulled him close for a fierce hug. “Then I guess we’ll just have to do it again as soon as this little sweetheart is born. Did I tell you twins run in my family?”
Stunned, he gaped at her like a man who’d just been hit with a brick. “Oh, God!”
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1131-5
MISSION: M.D.
Copyright © 2007 by Linda Turner
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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*The Wild West
†The Lone Star Social Club
**Those Marrying McBrides!
††Turning Points
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
