Discovering the Doctor (Masterson County Book 2)

by Brookes, Calle J.

  Pan and Phoebe looked at him out of identical blue eyes, and sweet faces. They were beautiful young women, that was for sure. As were the twins. When the four of them were standing next to each other, a man had trouble breathing. It just was. And had been from the moment he’d first saw the Tyler sisters .

  At least it was for Matt. And Joel. And Levi. And he suspected , Nate .

  If Nate would ever just admit it .

  They’d lived less than ten miles past his place for their entire lives and he’d never known they’d existed. Until the day he’d answered Pip’s advertisement for some AQH cutting horses, on Levi’s behalf .

  Pip .

  Matt felt a smile curve his lips when he remembered how the sun had shown through her hair, how she had turned to look at him as she climbed off the big gelding that was almost the exact shade of mahogany as her hair. She’d asked which one of them was Matt. She had walked right up to him. Looked right at him like she knew . He’d been damned glad to be Matt that day .

  He’d been captivated by her ever since. Her sisters were beautiful, but Pip was more than that. And he knew why he felt that way. Why he had practically from the beginning .

  “Bowles showed up again at the ranch. He wants Perci in his movie and he’s determined. He’s convinced it was her he saw. And says she’s perfect for some mythical lost fairy character he has. Which is ridiculous.” Pan said, hotly .

  “I know. It was Pip he saw. I saw her ride that night, too. And she did look like a fairy or a pixie.” A thought occurred to him. “He’s not harassing them, is he? I can talk to him .”

  “Thanks, Matt. But we Tylers can handle an idiot like Rowland Bowles,” Pan said. “He’ll get the message eventually, and just go away. Perci’s giving him the runaround as much as possible, too. I think she’s enjoying it. It’s up to Pip if we ever tell him the truth. And she hasn’t decided yet. We talked to Dad about the film crew. He wants to think about it for a while .”

  “Just let me know if Bowles gets to be too annoying. Apparently the town has assigned Bowles to the Mastersons for the time being and my brothers gave him to me. We’re supposed to make him feel welcome, or something .”

  And if Bowles caused Pip one moment of anxiety or upset or embarrassment, Matt would take care of it. He’d warned the man to stay away from the Tylers .

  Apparently, Bowles had trouble listening .

  17

  J ay took his time. The Tyler Ranch was empty for the night; he’d driven along behind them on the highway as they’d pulled into the Masterson Ranch .

  Damned Mastersons had bought up every struggling ranch between their old family homestead and the Tylers’ place. Taking over. Surrounding them .

  No surprise; he’d heard the rumors that at least one of Pip’s sisters was going around with one of the sheriff’s brothers .

  Jay took the opportunity to poke around Pip’s place, see what it was the girl he was going to marry liked. It was easy to figure out which room was hers—the bitch twin had a drawer full of hospital scrubs .

  Pip had serviceable flannel and cotton shirts and jeans. Stuff a real ranch woman needed .

  She’d be a big help to him running his ranch, wouldn’t she? When she wasn’t inside, raising his boys, that was .

  There was a pregnant mare in the barn he’d seen his Pip come out of that afternoon. Jay tried to make friends with the buckskin but she wasn’t the friendly sort. He saw the scars on her side from a whip and knew it had to be the horse that damned Masterson had given her .

  Rumors were easy to hear in Masterson county, after all .

  The entire town was talking about how the vet had just given one of the Tyler sisters a buckskin mare worth quite a bit of cash. Just given the mare to her as a present .

  This had to be her. Jay had to admit she was a beautiful animal and he could see where she would appeal to a small thing like his Pip. He’d have to make room for her in his own barn, wouldn’t he ?

  Her and the foal .

  Because that would make Pip happy .

  That was all Jay wanted, after all .

  18

  M att drove the ten or so miles between his place and the Tyler Ranch probably a bit faster than he should have. Especially as he neared Wreck Road Curve, an area known for the most collisions in the county. He’d learned that one of the wooden crosses perched high above the curve represented Pip’s mother. He hadn’t forgotten that. He forced himself to slow down .

  Horses foaled normally at least ninety percent of the time. Just because Pip had sounded worried and scared when she’d called him didn’t mean something was wrong .

  Or that he had to rush over there like a crazy moron. She’d bred horses since she was sixteen, Phoebe had told him. That was remarkable in itself. She knew what she was doing .

  Still, Pip needed him. He wanted to be right there as quickly as he could. Especially at a quarter after midnight .

  Matt had it bad for that woman and he knew it. The porch light was on when he pulled into the Tyler Ranch. He didn't bother going to the door. For one thing, it was far too late, and he didn't want to wake the kids sleeping inside. For another, he knew exactly where Pip was. He rounded the house and headed to the small barn a hundred yards away from the house. There were two other barns on the property, but Matt knew she had isolated Wind Lover, keeping her away from the stallions and geldings who would have frightened the mare .

  Pip hadn't wanted to stress the new mother as her time had neared. She had the barn door open, and Matt called out softly when he approached. Pip was just as skittish as the horse and he knew it. A man coming up on her unexpectedly in the middle of the night would terrify her .

  "Baby, how is she?" Pip was dressed in a soft pair of pajama pants and a thin little tank top. That hair of hers was down around her shoulders, making a man's fingers curl to touch. But now was not the time. With one look at the horse, he knew that they weren't going anywhere tonight. Wind Lover was foaling, and it was a bit early. At least by his estimation .

  "She's been walking into position. I don't think it'll be long, but she's terribly frightened." Pip brushed the hair out of her eyes quickly, causing the thin dark cotton of her shirt to stretch over her chest. Matt was a total idiot over this woman and he knew it. He should be focused on the horse and not on her. But it was so damned hard to do .

  "Let's take a look; see what we've got going on here ."

  "We usually use Dr. Murphy. But I thought… since it was her… that you needed to be here , too ."

  "Anytime you need me, baby, I'm going to be here. All you have to do is call .”

  * * *

  I t took longer than Pip expected for the foal to make her way into the world. As the hours passed, she found herself sitting next to the man and just talking. About anything. More than she’d spoken with anyone other than her family in a long time .

  Matt was full of stories of horses and animals and vet school. She had her own stories—mostly of her sisters and their misadventures—and Matt actually listened. Cared what she had to say .

  As they relaxed with each other, the horse seemed to calm a little , too .

  Matt shocked her when he started crooning old Country Gospel songs to the mare. Pip smiled as she settled on the old saddle blanket Matt had grabbed and spread over a pile of hay in one corner .

  Matt settled down right next to her; she could feel his warmth pressed up against her. As she listened to him sing, her eyes drifted closed and Pip relaxed. Until sleep finally caught up with her and she snuggled into the strong male arms around her .

  19

  B eing an identical twin meant always having a part of yourself out there somewhere. It wasn’t any different for Perci. Plus, she’d shared a room with her twin from the moment they’d been born. They practically breathed in sync sometimes .

  Pip wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Perci knew that before she even set foot in the house .

  Pip w
as outside. Somewhere .

  There were only a handful of real possibilities—and one was the most likely .

  Knowing Pip, she was in the barn, surrounded by the horses that were her sister’s lifeblood. For her to be out there at four in the morning, though, something had to be wrong .

  When Perci entered the far barn, there was a light glowing near the south end. Wind Lover, the little buckskin Matt had rescued , then .

  It was always those damned Mastersons causing trouble, wasn’t it ?

  Perci’s lip curled when she thought of the altercation she’d had that afternoon with the great Nate. It still burned her almost twelve hours later. If he wasn’t her boss, she’d probably have kicked that devil in the ...

  For a moment when she first saw the long, tall muscled man curled on the hay next to her twin, she thought it was Nate. Thought it was Nate holding Pip so close .

  A weird rush of something not so pleasant went straight through her .

  Until she realized the Masterson holding her sister like he cared was Matt. One of the nice ones. The quietest brother who had a touch of gold with animals of all kinds. Calm, quiet, gentle, kind—he was the brother who kept to himself most of all .

  Figured he’d be the one Pip would feel safe enough to sleep next to .

  That’s when it hit her. After everything that had happened to her sister when they’d been nineteen--an event that still made Perci feel as guilty as hell when she thought about it--Pip felt safe enough to sleep next to a man. Any man .

  That was a real milestone for Pip. One Perci had thought would never happen. It had tears streaming down Perci’s cheeks as she gave a prayer of thanks .

  Fitting that it would be the quiet brother who’d gotten to her sister .

  They looked very pretty together—Pip so small and beautiful, him so strong and rugged .

  Perci started to back away from where they slept. She bumped into someone standing behind her. She turned to see her father. He must have gotten home from his most recent visit to Texas. He held his fingers to his lips and nodded .

  Perci followed him out of the barn. She didn’t speak until they were back inside the house where the rest of her siblings slept. “She trusts him .”

  “On some level, she does.” Her father handed her a piece of freshly baked bread that Pip had most likely made that afternoon, and the jar of jam they’d put up the previous season. “I am both glad of it ...”

  “And worried,” Perci sighed. “Another damned Masterson? All we need is for Pan and one of the other two ...”

  “Pan is still young.” Her father leveled a look at her. “Levi Masterson looks at her when she’s not watching. He’ll make his move one of these days. That in the barn surprises me, though .”

  “Does it? She’s always said horses were the best judge of man. He’s got a way with them. And apparently a way with her.” He’d probably gentled her just like Pip had broken through to that little buckskin outside. The parallels weren’t lost to Perci .

  “But I don’t think she realizes it yet. I figured he’d take more time with her. Not rush her so much .”

  “And that is what has you worried .”

  He leveled a serious look at her. “When a man looks at a woman that way, any father will worry. And Perci...Nate Masterson does some looking of his own. I figured it would be you first. Before Pip. Or Pan for that matter, though with her right over there with Levi, I wonder .”

  “Not going to happen—he’s going to be looking at a dirt clod if he keeps coming at me like he does. He despises me. And that’s all there is to it .”

  “Does he? Let me ask you this; are you prepared for him to be a bigger part of your life than what he is? Because thanks to your sister—and possibly the other two--that doctor of yours is going to be around for the rest of your lives. Better make your peace with him sooner, rather than later. I’m going to bed. Now that I know where the two of you are, and that you are both safe, I can rest now. It’s been a long week. I’m taking a blood sample back to Texas in the morning, for Worthington-Deane to have analyzed. I’m getting too old for all of this traveling. Love you, baby girl. You and your brothers and sisters .”

  Perci had a lot going through her mind--it was a long time before she was able to sleep .

  Nate Masterson was the last man she would ever want in her life. But that was apparently right where he was going to be .

  20

  M att knew the moment she woke. She was almost like a little cat, stretching and snuggling. He stroked a hand down her spine and tried to ignore the feel of small breasts pressing into his ribs, of soft red hair brushing against his cheek. Of the thin leg thrown over his and her warmth pressed against him, almost right where a man wanted it .

  He wanted this woman. Wanted her badly. He lay there for the longest time while watching the horse labor, just thinking about what he wanted from the woman he held .

  A man getting involved with Pip would have to be in it for the long haul .

  But would that be so bad? She was beautiful, smart, talented, kind, loving, and gentle. Loyal and brave. When she smiled at him he felt like a damned hero. Like he could slay her dragons and be her prince. Fanciful of him, and made him feel like a damned idiot. But it was the truth .

  Was this how Joel had felt with Pip’s older sister? It explained a lot. How his brother had met her and practically fell for her right then and there. Joel had taken one look at her and was a goner .

  Much like Matt had with his Pip .

  Her small hand pressed against his chest, right over his heart, as those blue, blue eyes of hers popped open when the sun first shone through the open barn door. He saw the immediate fear and felt like a monster. “Shhh. It’s ok. We just fell asleep. Nothing wrong with that. You’re safe. We still don’t have a foal yet, though .”

  The fear slipped away as clarity settled in. It had Matt wondering. What had happened to her to make her so frightened? And it had. There was a reason. “Why are you so afraid of me, honey? I’m never going to hurt you .”

  * * *

  P ip was silent for a long moment. Was she afraid of Matt? To be honest, that was exactly what she was. Afraid. Of him, of Joel, and Nate, and every man that didn’t share a blood relation with her--and half that did. She didn’t want to be. Not any longer. That wasn’t fair to her or to him. Matt had been nothing but kind to her from the moment they had met. “I’m not afraid. I’m not going to be any more .”

  “Because of Gunderson. He did something to you, didn’t he ?”

  She nodded. Sometimes it felt like her entire adulthood had been shaped by Jay Gunderson. She hadn’t always been quite this afraid, though she’d always been reserved and shy and a bit anxious over things. Her anxiety had just gotten worse after Jay’s attack, and after the night his father had shown up on their doorstep and threatened them all to just keep them quiet about what Jay had tried to do. After the night her mother had first been injured and she’d known before Gunderson had shown up again that Perci was in serious trouble .

  Gunderson hadn’t broken the news of the wreck kindly .

  “Because of him. And what he tried to do. And because after...his father didn’t want me saying anything about it. He showed up one day when it was just my sisters and me at home. We were nineteen, Pan was seventeen, and Phoebe twenty-one. When our mother died, it was Sheriff Gunderson again. And he blamed Phoenix because of me. To show he still had all the power, even though Jay was in jail before then .”

  Before she could say anything else, strong male hands wrapped around her waist. She was pulled over that ridiculously strong chest until her nose was practically touching his. “You did not cause Gunderson’s actions, sweetheart. I don’t want you thinking that. Clive Gunderson has been an asshole since egg met sperm. His boy has been just like him from the time he was created. He targeted your family because he was a bully. Period. If it hadn’t been you he focused on, it would have been some other vulnerable young girl. Some other family his
father could terrorize. Not you. No one could possibly blame you for anything that happened. Anything .”

  His hand buried itself in her hair and he guided her head to rest on his shoulder. Pip just let him. What else could she do? A part of her was saying run. Another part was urging her to cuddle up closer to the first man to touch her since she’d been nineteen .

  Matt would never hurt her. She knew that. Deep inside where it really mattered she knew that. Pip let him hold her for a really long time .

  Until her eyes drifted closed once again .

  21

  R age unlike any other Matt had ever felt threatened to choke him. How long had she been carrying this burden? Blaming herself for circumstances well beyond her control? Matt forced himself to remain as outwardly calm as possible. One wrong move, one wrong word and she would bolt. He wasn’t about to let that happen .

  Not now. He kissed her lightly, just a quick brush against dark red curls. He wondered if she had even felt it. Her breathing even out against his chest and she unconsciously snuggled closer .

  Matt’s fate was sealed in that instant and he knew it. She just fit right exactly where she was. Matt wasn’t about to let her go. Not any time soon. And not until he absolutely had to .

  Matt held Pip, absurdly touched at seeing her small body curled there on the hay. The exhaustion she felt showed beneath her eyes and in the depth of her sleep. He thought about waking her or carrying her inside, putting her in her own bed where she belonged, but when Wind Lover whickered, he knew he couldn’t do that. The two were so bonded the horse needed Pip nearby. And Pip would never forgive him if he took her inside. That left only one option. He pulled the spare blanket from the shelf and tossed it over her .

  There was plenty of room left for him. He took advantage of it, sitting beside the woman and thinking for a very long time .