by Ali Olson
“Sorry,” Amy said to Cassie’s questioning gaze. “I rolled my ankle getting out of the truck earlier today, and it’s pretty painful. I’ll need to get it checked tomorrow. I can’t even make it to the dinner table without help, but I guess that’s what big brothers are for,” she finished with a wave in Brock’s direction.
Jose, who had been lounging against the wall on the other side of the dining room, spoke up. “Amy can climb Mount Fuji without a problem, but getting out of a truck in Spring Valley is apparently a little more than she can handle.”
Cassie didn’t seem to notice Jose—she was too busy staring at Amy’s ankle in concern. It made Brock happy to see how little attention she gave Jose. Even though he knew she wasn’t planning on dating anyone, it was still nice to be sure he wouldn’t need to watch Jose and Cassie become an item.
“Cassie, would you be willing to take a look at it?” Brock asked, sure that her fingers were itching to help.
It was just the kind of person Cassie was.
She nodded and knelt by Amy’s foot. “Do you mind? I’m a doctor.”
“You’re a doctor?” Jose said, clearly surprised.
Brock knew what his brother was thinking: What was a doctor doing buying a ranch in a tiny place like this?
He felt a touch of pride for Cassie and the good work she planned to do in the little town she had decided to call home. “She’s turning the old library in the Wilson place into a doctor’s office. We’ll have a genuine doctor in town, so people won’t need to go all the way to the hospital.”
Brock’s siblings all nodded, clearly seeing the advantages of having Cassie move in. The closest hospital was in the next town over, a pretty long drive. They’d all experienced that interminable trip as children with ear infections or when a cut was so deep that it warranted stitches.
“It’ll just be for checkups and minor injuries. Big problems will still need to be examined at the hospital,” Cassie amended in her casual, humble way that Brock had grown to love. Like.
As friends.
“Spring Valley will be lucky to have a doctor,” Brock told her.
Any town would be lucky to have her, he added silently, glad Cassie couldn’t read his thoughts.
She continued to assess Amy’s ankle, but he saw a light flush creep up her neck and hoped his affection for her hadn’t been blatant. Since her confession, he had resolved to put a little distance between them, both physically and metaphorically, and already it was a difficult promise to keep.
Cassie seemed willing to let the moment pass, though, so he said nothing more. She looked up from Amy’s ankle, but kept her eyes on his sister and didn’t look Brock’s way, for which he was grateful. He was pretty sure any eye contact between them would be send a clear signal about his feelings to his hawk-eyed family.
He couldn’t say what it was, but being with her around his family changed things, somehow. Watching her help Amy, greet his mother with a pie. She just fit.
He took a small step back, as if hoping he could force himself to fade into the background.
“It doesn’t seem to be broken,” she said at last. “But it’s a pretty bad sprain. I’d like to wrap it and put some ice on it to reduce swelling.”
“Beautiful and smart? I may have stayed in Spring Valley if I’d known someone like you would turn up,” Jose commented from his corner.
Before Brock could do more than glare at his brother, Diego stood up. “I’ll go find the first-aid kit for you,” he said to Cassie, heading toward the kitchen. “Jose, you come help me.”
Jose slunk over to his twin and followed him into the next room. Brock was sure Diego was going to give Jose a quick reminder to back off, and he couldn’t pretend to be displeased.
Cassie nodded her thanks to them, then turned back to Amy. “Keep it elevated as much as you can for the next couple of days. I’ll check it again in a day or two to make sure it’s healing, if that’s okay with you.”
Amy nodded. “Thanks. Hopefully it’ll be fine by Tuesday. That’s when I’m flying out.”
As if on cue, Ma walked into the room, her hands on her hips. “Why you need to leave so soon is beyond me, Amy dear. You just got home.”
Amy shrugged. “Sorry, Ma. I need to be in Marrakech by Wednesday.”
Ma harrumphed and walked back into the kitchen, passing a confused Diego as he returned with the kit. Cassie began rummaging around for the necessary bandage while Jose gave her a bag of ice, very clearly avoiding making eye contact with her.
Amy turned back to Cassie. “Sorry about that. Families, you know. And thanks for looking at my ankle.”
Cassie finished wrapping Amy’s ankle with practiced hands and stood. “Any time. I owe your family a pretty large debt, what with Brock helping me fix up the place and Jose and Diego agreeing to buy my bales of hay. Your ankle balances out the scales a little.”
Before anyone could say another word, Zach and Carter walked into the room carrying plates and silverware. “Nana Sarah said for you lazybones to get to work like us,” Carter announced, dropping a handful of cutlery onto the table with a clatter.
“Carter!” Cassie admonished, shaking her head disapprovingly.
Brock tried to hold in the laughter at the look of surprise on Carter’s face. The kid clearly had no idea why his mom was so shocked at him.
Ma peeked her head into the room. “Did you call them lazybones like I said?” she asked Carter.
“Yes, Nana Sarah,” Carter said, still looking slightly distressed.
Ma nodded approvingly. “Well that’s all right, then. And you—” she said, pointing at Brock accusingly. “Stop your snorting over there and get to work. You heard the boy.”
“Yes, Ma,” Brock answered, grinning widely.
Sarah McNeal didn’t pull any punches, that was for sure. He glanced over at Cassie. She turned to him and their eyes met. He shrugged, hoping she would be understanding about his slightly eccentric mother. Cassie laughed. “Get to work, lazybones,” she told him.
Without thinking, Brock laughed, too, threw his arm around her shoulders and kissed her playfully on the cheek.
Brock wasn’t sure if the rest of the house suddenly got silent, or if it was just that he had stopped caring about anything else going on. Cassie looked up at him, and for a second he was sure she was going to lean in and kiss him. His heart stuttered.
Then she looked away. “I’ll go get napkins,” she said, and without another glance in his direction, she walked into the kitchen.
“Smooth,” Amy said, rolling her eyes.
Jose started setting the table. “Oh, like you’re so great at love, Ames. How many years has it been since the last time you were with a guy?”
“That wasn’t cool, Jose,” Amy responded, turning red from either anger or embarrassment.
Brock left the room, ignoring the argument starting between his siblings. Why couldn’t he control himself around Cassie? He knew she was determined to avoid even so much as a brief relationship, and yet he still found he was unable to stop himself.
The living room was much quieter, which suited him just fine. He needed time to think. He sat down on the old couch, an ugly patterned thing that must have dated from the sixties. The springs creaked as they took his weight.
Brock battled with his frustration. There was only one thing he could do, it seemed, to be sure he didn’t attempt to kiss Cassie again: no more trying to be friends. And no more close encounters. He’d go over to her place and work as far away from her as he could.
He wished there was some other way, because he truly enjoyed spending time with her, but it didn’t seem like he had any other option.
That shock of electricity, the pure joy of the moment, didn’t feel like a light, casual nothing to him. It felt like a big, definite, something. It wasn’t a passionate kiss full of lust like the others. It
was...sweet. And loving. And that broke all his rules, too.
Brock sighed and put his head in his hands, wishing things could be different.
After a few seconds of silence, Brock felt a small tap on his shoulder and looked up. Zach was standing there staring at him. He looked nervous.
Brock knew just what had the boy so worried, and couldn’t help but smile despite his other thoughts. “What did Nana Sarah call me?”
“A laggard.”
“All right, I’m coming,” Brock said as he stood up, resolving to act natural when he saw Cassie.
“Brock, what’s a laggard?” Zach asked, almost in a whisper. “Is it a bad word?”
Brock chuckled at the concern in Zach’s voice. “It’s just another word for lazy.”
Zach looked visibly relieved as he ran back to the kitchen shouting, “Nana Sarah! I told him just like you said!”
Back in the dining room, platters of food covered the large table. His ma had apparently made enough to feed a small army. “You might’ve outdone yourself this time, Ma,” he said as he surveyed the steaming chicken fried steak and pile of mashed potatoes.
Sarah looked at the spread with pride. “I wanted our new neighbors to have some good ol’ Southern food. Everybody sit down and tuck in while it’s hot.”
Brock took his usual seat, only to find Cassie seated next to him. A glance at Ma’s face was enough to tell him she had orchestrated the seating arrangements. Brock decided to enjoy these last few minutes this close to her.
“Your ma sure knows how to cook,” Cassie said, though the way she kept her eyes trained away from him belied her relaxed tone.
Brock nodded, unable to bring himself to share in much conversation. As he bit a green bean in half, Amy caught his eye. She was clearly still sore about Jose’s comment, but she raised her eyebrows at him, silently asking if he was okay. Brock gave her a little nod, though he wasn’t sure if that was the truth.
* * *
CASSIE WAS GLAD the food in front of her gave her a reason not to look at Brock, since she wasn’t sure she could do so without making a simpering fool of herself. That kiss on the cheek, though so much tamer than the other kisses they had shared, made her melt in an entirely different way. It was...sweet.
That scared her.
So she kept her head down and ate, glad that the silence of everyone tucking in meant she didn’t need to try to make conversation. And that lasted a short while, at least.
“Cass—Dr. Stanford,” Jose said, in a formal way that struck her as odd. “How are you settling in?”
Everyone’s eyes turned to her as they waited for her answer.
Cassie swallowed and answered honestly, “This town already feels like home.”
She didn’t mention how much Brock’s help had been a part of that.
“So you’re adjusting to small-town life okay? You don’t wish you were working in a big hospital?” Diego asked.
Cassie nodded, thinking of her horses and ranch, and of the cowboy who had become a part of all that so quickly. Small-town life suited her just fine. “I love my little office,” she said. “And I’m going to see my first patient tomorrow morning, actually. This is the kind of doctor I always wanted to be.”
“I bet Brock can’t wait to be examined by you,” Jose said quietly, but not quietly enough.
Diego smacked him on the head, and Howard said a warning, “Jose!” from the other side of the table.
All at once, Jose calling her Dr. Stanford instead of “Cass” made sense. Brock must have told his brother something about what had happened between them, probably to get Jose to back off. Why else would Jose change his behavior toward her so quickly?
And judging by everyone’s reaction, he’d told them, too. They all seemed to believe she and Brock were some kind of an item.
What had he told them, exactly? Did they know about the kisses? About Hank?
A picture of the whole family sitting around dissecting everything she’d said and done with Brock made her stomach churn. And what if it all got around town, twisting and morphing until she couldn’t show her face in Spring Valley?
It was Minneapolis all over again.
“How about we have some pie?” Sarah said, standing from her place at the table.
Cassie felt claustrophobic. She needed to get out of there. She stood as well, grasping for some excuse to leave. “Actually, we need to leave,” she said, hoping she sounded calm. “I didn’t realize how late it was, and Zach and Carter need to go to bed.”
The boys looked up, distressed. “We don’t get dessert?” Carter asked.
“Diego was going to let me wear his cowboy hat after dinner,” Zach added.
Cassie was in no mood to stick around. “Not this time. Go get your shoes on,” she told them, and the two boys left the table without another word.
Before Cassie could rush her children out the door, Brock appeared. He was the last person she wanted to see.
“I’ll walk you home,” Brock offered.
“No,” Cassie almost shouted before regaining control of herself. “We can manage, thanks.”
As Cassie opened the door to let herself out, Sarah came running in from the dining room, a plate of pie in her hands. “I’ll be darned if I’m going to let my unruly children eat all the delicious pie you brought over without your sweethearts getting some,” she insisted, shoving the plate into Cassie’s hands.
Cassie hardly had the sense of mind to thank the older woman before she was out the door, her two boys hurrying to keep up. She wanted to get away from there as fast as she could. Before she could leave the pool of light created by the ranch house’s windows, though, she heard Brock rushing up behind her. “Cassie, wait.”
She turned toward him, her irritation boiling inside her.
“Jose—” he started.
She cut him off before he could say another word. “I don’t want to talk about this. I just...” She trailed off.
I just thought you were different, she wanted to say, but she could feel tears of frustration welling in her eyes. She turned and continued on her way home before she could let them fall.
It was only after Cassie had given Zach and Carter their pie and tucked them into bed—then taken a long bath to try to soothe her muscles and thoughts—that she glanced at her phone as she placed it on her bedside table.
A few minutes after she’d left the McNeal house hours before, Brock had sent her a text. Jose was making a joke at my expense. Because it’s obvious to everyone who knows me how much I like you. I set them all straight and they hope you aren’t too mad. I’m sorry.
Cassie understood her mistake immediately and looked out her window, which faced the McNeal house. The entire place was dark. It was too late to go talk to Brock.
He hadn’t told them anything about her, obviously. Since when had she gotten so suspicious of other people, so ready to see the worst in men?
She knew the answer to that, of course. Since the day she’d learned about Hank’s affairs.
Cassie resolved to go see Brock right after her morning appointment. She needed to apologize, and it needed to be in person. He deserved that much.
She turned off the light, even though she knew it would be a long time until she’d be able to fall asleep. She had a lot to think over.
* * *
SHE AWOKE THE next morning to her alarm beeping at her, and opened her bleary eyes to the sun streaming in through the window. It looked to be another bright, hot day, though at this point in the summer, that came as no surprise.
Cassie turned off the alarm, thankful she’d set one to be sure she didn’t sleep too late. She’d had a nearly sleepless night, and would likely have slept until noon if she could.
Then her two human alarm clocks came running in, reminding her that it’d be a long time until she’d be able to s
leep until noon, regardless of appointments with patients.
“Momma!” Carter called as he and Zach pounced on her. “Are we going to paint our room today?”
Cassie grimaced. The prospect of painting alone was unpleasant, but she’d need to apologize before she could even think about asking Brock to do more work on her house. “Maybe later, honey,” she said. “I have a patient coming this morning, remember? And Brock might not be coming over today.”
Zach looked worried. “Why isn’t Brock coming today? Is it because I called him a laggard? Nana Sarah told me to!”
Cassie’s heart ached at the distress on his face. She gathered her sons into a tight hug. “Brock isn’t mad at you, I promise. You did nothing wrong. I just haven’t asked him if he’ll be around today, yet. I’ll do that right after the appointment”
And eat a little crow, she added silently.
Cassie rose and dressed quickly, throwing a doctor’s smock on over scrubs, and while the boys ate breakfast, she went into her office for one final check before her first patient arrived.
She put the last item into place none too soon, because the doorbell rang as she closed the cupboard. With one last backward glance, Cassie rushed to the door and opened it to find Emma and a friendly-looking old woman on the other side.
Emma gave Cassie a broad smile. “Mrs. Edelman, meet the town’s new resident doctor. Dr. Stanford.”
Despite everything going on with Brock, Cassie’s mood lifted. She’d missed being a doctor and was excited to meet her first patient. The older woman gave her a strong handshake and a huge smile. In her thick Texas drawl, she said, “Oh, dear, am I ever glad to meet you. Spring Valley has needed a doctor. You, honey, are a godsend.”
Cassie blushed. “I’m happy to be of help. Would you like to come into my examination room?” she asked, gesturing Mrs. Edelman through the door to the library-turned-office.
“I have a couple of cuties to feed and entertain,” Emma said, holding up a bag that clearly held treats from her bakery. “You two holler if you need me.”
With that, Emma was gone and her neighbor was settling herself onto the examination table. “What can I help you with today, Mrs. Edelman?” Cassie asked, realizing that in all the rush to get everything ready in time, she’d never asked what exactly her patient wanted to see her about.
