by Lyn Cote
“No,” Amy said firmly. “We will see him soon.”
“When?” Cassie asked, joining her sister in staring at the two adults. And then Bummer turned his gaze on them, too, as if silently asking the same question.
If Amy had been in the mood to be amused, she would have been. However, not now. She didn’t want to start Bummer creating problems for Jake again.
“You’ll see Bummer all the time,” Jake said. “Your mom is going to be working here. Sometimes she can bring you with her, like today. You were no trouble at all. In fact, Sandy told me that you did a lot of good calming my more nervous patients while they were waiting out here.”
Amy looked up at him, speechless at this offer. “Do you mean I can bring the girls with me on Saturdays?” An unexpected boon.
“Sure. As long as they behave as they did today. I told you, I believe in the benefits of humans being with animals. In the past, people and domesticated animals spent their lives side by side. We’ve lost that, lost something both humans and some animals need.” He grimaced. “Sorry. I don’t mean to lecture. I’ve always wanted to—”
“Can girls be vets, too?” Cassie interrupted, tilting her head back to look up at Jake.
“Yes, girls…women can be vets.” Jake stooped to be at eye level with the twins. “Girls and boys who want to be vets must study hard at school, especially in science.”
“Okay!” Rachel and Cassie hugged him. “We will!”
He clumsily patted both small backs. The sight cuddled Amy’s heart. She wanted to throw her arms around him, too. She held herself still, yet wondered what he’d been about to say before the girls interrupted him. I’ve always wanted to…what?
When the twins released him, Amy cleared the croaking frog in her throat. “Say good-night to Bummer, girls. And pick up the kittens and head for the van.” They all moved toward the doorway. The girls obediently scooped up the kittens and ran ahead.
Jake walked beside her and then reached to turn off the lights, accidentally throwing Amy off balance. She stumbled over something at her feet and into his arms. “Oof!” she gasped. She knew she should pull away. She found she couldn’t. She fit into his arms perfectly.
Jake held her close a moment. His wool scarf tickled her nose. His breath warmed her cheek. “Sorry about that. Are you okay?”
“Yes.” Forcing herself, she pushed away from him. “I must have tripped.” She looked down. Bummer grinned up at her—did he plan that maneuver? Oh, boy, my imagination is running away with me. She offered Jake her hand. “Thanks for the job. I’ll do my best for you and the clinic.”
Jake cleared his throat. “I’m sure you will. See you Tuesday morning at eight o’clock.”
“Right.” She moved toward the door and fled into the cold night, her face flaming. She got into the van and slammed the door.
“Did he kiss you good-night?” Rachel piped up.
“What?” Aghast, Amy glanced over her shoulder at the twins.
“That’s what a man does at the end of a date. He kisses the girl good-night,” Rachel explained.
“Yeah, we seen it in lots of movies,” Cassie agreed. “And Aunt Ginnie says that’s what happens.”
Amy started her engine and backed out to the road, fleeing toward home. “It was not a date.” And no kiss. Her lips tingled with…regret. “Dr. Jake just took us out for pizza to celebrate hiring me to work at the clinic. It was not a date,” she repeated. Who was she trying to convince? “And I’m not intending to date Dr. Jake. I’ve got you two to take care of, remember?”
“But Dr. Jake likes us,” Rachel said.
“Yes, he does. But liking us is not the same as dating.” Is never the same. At this thought, her lungs hitched, making it hard to breathe.
“But he could date you—”
“Rachel, Dr. Jake is a good man, but I’m just his office manager. I work for him. That’s all. Dr. Jake and I aren’t dating. If that changes, I’ll let you know.” But it won’t change.
“You’ll let us know right away?” Rachel asked, making sure.
“Yes, you’ll be the first to know. So until then—no comments about Dr. Jake and I kissing and dating. Got that?” She tilted her head to see the girls in the rearview mirror.
“Got it,” they repeated in unison.
Amy wished she felt some satisfaction, having succeeded in getting this knotty issue all sorted out. She didn’t. Kissing Jake sounded very appealing. Don’t go there. Men don’t go for package deals. You found that out the hard way—twice already. Got it?
Got it, she replied glumly.
On Wednesday afternoon, Jake—finally well rested but tense—drove southwest through strong winds toward the airport in Mosinee to pick up his father. Why did some fathers and sons rub each other the wrong way? Somehow his dad knew unfailingly which of Jake’s hot buttons to poke to get maximum reaction. Time for this to change, for Jake to change.
He drew in a deep breath. Even if he’s as critical as always, I will not react negatively to my father.
The strife between them had started years ago when his mom and his brother Tommy had died. That event set this edgy pattern in motion. Would he ever be able to give up the grudge he carried? Help me, God.
Amy’s face suddenly came to mind, as it often had over the past week. No woman had caught his attention like this for a very long time. He imagined her long golden brown hair soft between his fingertips. Stop. My life’s just too busy. And besides, she works for me now.
After the havoc Sheila had caused him, he felt a sharp twinge of caution. Though he tried to put the destructive past out of his heart and mind, his ex-wife had left her poisonous claws lodged within him.
Stretching his tight neck muscles, Jake tried to release his tension over the past, over his dad’s visit. He turned off the interstate at the Central Wisconsin Airport exit. Soon he pulled up to “Arrivals” and glimpsed his dad, waiting with a brown leather overnight bag and a matching suitcase by his side. Jake pulled in front of him at the curb.
His grim-faced father threw his bags in the back of the pickup before Jake could even get out to help. As Dan McClure got in, they exchanged gruff hellos and polite “How was your flight?” chatter. This ended too quickly. Jake headed back onto the interstate. A heavy silence hung in the truck cab till his dad craned his neck around as if searching for something. “Where’s Bummer?”
The question itself wasn’t what twisted Jake’s insides. His dad hadn’t asked a rude or intrusive question. Jake’s hypersensitivity was the culprit, and Bummer’s recent shenanigans sharpened this. There’s no call for me to respond negatively. He made his voice light and neutral. “Bummer decided to stay at the clinic while I came to get you.”
“What’s at the clinic that’s so attractive?”
Amy. Over the past few days Bummer had showed he was as attracted to her as much as he was to the twins. Jake couldn’t blame Bummer. Her soft musical voice drew him also, made him want to sit and talk to her. Hold her hand.
Jake wrenched his mind back to the present, his pulse still skipping. “Bummer’s taken a liking to my new office manager.”
Dan made an almost approving noise. “A nice woman?”
“Nice enough.” Jake passed off the question. He didn’t want to set off any questions about Amy. He couldn’t handle them right now. Especially since his dad had approved of Sheila and blamed Jake for their divorce. That still cinched his gut.
“How long will you be staying?” Jake asked.
“A few weeks. I needed a break.”
Jake had not expected his father to come for an extended stay. He usually just came for three-day weekends, either between teaching at medical conferences and schools, or time spent in the mountains at his cabin near Aspen. “Well, don’t expect much in the way of outdoor time. This winter has been cold and snowy, unusually so.” Jake tried but failed to keep his voice colorless.
“Don’t worry. I won’t get in your way.” Now his dad sounded annoyed.
Jake relented. He hadn’t meant to sound unwelcoming. Maybe his dad’s hypersensitivity matched Jake’s toward him. “It’s not that. You know the house is big enough for the two of us and I’ll be busy working. It’s just been a very severe winter.”
“How’s Old Mike doing?” his dad asked, changing topics to a safe one. “Still keeping house for you?”
“After Christmas, he had a bad bout of bronchitis. Otherwise he’s doing fine.”
The two of them lapsed into silence till they both got out at the farmhouse. His father paused, looking around. “It’s good to be home.”
“You should try it more often.” Jake instantly regretted saying this. Why can’t we just be father and son, not adversaries? “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said—”
“I’m going to be around home more.” His dad turned to look at him. “I may be retiring this year.”
Jake gazed at his father. “Retiring? You’ve never mentioned that before. I didn’t think you’d ever retire.” He shut the garage door.
The two of them hustled toward the house. Inside, they shed their outerwear and hurried into the warm kitchen. Something with cinnamon smelled good. Mike greeted them and shook Jake’s father’s hand. “I made your favorite apple bran muffins, Dan.”
His dad grinned. “Thanks. Nothing to eat on the plane. Not even a bag of peanuts.” He sat down and let Mike serve him a buttered muffin and hot coffee.
Jake slid into a chair, too. “So when did you decide to retire?”
“Haven’t decided really. Just thinking about it. I figured I’d come for a visit and look around, see old friends. Decide whether to retire here or in Colorado. I’m going to visit my old friend Lewis in Madison for a few days later this week. Catch up with a few of my other friends who teach or practice at the university hospital with him.”
He began asking Mike about old friends. But Jake thought his dad’s attitude had altered a bit. Some of the frost had gone out of him. Jake gripped the handle of his heavy coffee mug, wondering what exactly had prompted his dad to come home in the midst of a hard winter just to visit old friends. Why not in summer when they could go golfing and such? What wasn’t his dad telling Mike and him about this visit?
“Did Jake tell you he hired a good-looking single mom with pretty twin girls to run his office?” Mike asked.
Jake would have gladly strangled Mike, who grinned at him, chuckling silently.
“He mentioned that Bummer likes her,” Dan said, assessing his son.
“Smart hound,” Mike said. “Amy’s pretty and sweet, too. I can’t see why some guy hasn’t snapped her up. But then, a lot of guys are blind in one eye and can’t see out of the other.” Mike had the nerve to wink.
His father gave Jake a searching look, not a cheery one.
Jake sipped his coffee. You’ll pay for this, Mike.
On a cold and clear Sunday afternoon, Jake drove up to Amy’s half-finished house on New Neighbor Lane. He hadn’t dreamed his dad would volunteer to come along today and help with construction. Amy’s house sat on the corner lot. Beside it were two empty lots, slated for two more of the three Habitat for Humanity Houses being built on this new street in town.
A few snow-flocked fir trees dotted Amy’s lot. Several familiar cars were already parked along the street. Jake hesitated. How would his dad take to Amy? Dan could be dismissive of those he considered less important than surgeons. I don’t want her feelings hurt.
“Are you sure you want to help?” Jake asked his dad. “You could just come in, look around and then pick me up later.”
“I don’t know how to do much, but what I can do, I will.” Dan pulled his scarf up and climbed out of the truck. Jake dragged out his bag of carpentry tools and jogged after his dad. Had he tagged along just to get a look at Amy? Dan could be condescending when someone didn’t measure up to his standards.
Amid the drifts of snow, Amy’s house consisted of only a shell at present. But last week the doors and windows had been added, so at least it could be heated now.
Over the packed-down path through the snow, they hurried inside and shut the door behind them. Half a dozen people already milled around the large living room/dining/kitchen area. While searching for Amy, Jake recognized Eleanor Washburn, who headed up these three Habitat projects.
She saw him and nodded. “Well, we’re all here now. Let’s get started. We’re putting in the plumbing today and starting to insulate. Bosses, hold up your hands. Workers, attach yourself to a boss and let them tell you what to do.”
People moved around, getting into small groups. Then Jake saw Amy. In fact, the crush of people pushed them up against each other. Jake caught her by the shoulders and the light floral scent from her hair drifted to him. “Great to see so many out to help with your house.” He hoped his words hid his pleasure at having her so near. Didn’t want his dad to pick up on that.
“You didn’t need to come,” she said, blushing.
Rachel and Cassie popped up, one on each side of them. “Hi, Dr. Jake!” they chorused. “Where’s Bummer?”
He couldn’t stop the grin their friendliness sparked. “I didn’t tell Bummer where I was going. No animals needed here. They might get stepped on.”
“Our kitties are home, too,” Cassie said.
“Mom just let us come for a few minutes,” Rachel explained. “Aunt Ginnie—” Rachel pointed at the familiar older woman standing by the door “—is going to take us home. But Mom said we could see the inside of our new house.”
“We’ll like it better when it’s got walls inside,” Cassie said.
“This must be Amy.” Jake’s dad appeared at Amy’s side. “Mike said Jake’s new office manager had twin girls—pretty ones.”
Jake’s blood slowed with dread. What would his dad say?
The twins looked up at his father, brimming with curiosity. “I’m Rachel,” she said, her pigtails bouncing with her.
“I’m Cassie.”
“Since you call Jake Dr. Jake, you can call me Dr. Dan.” He patted each girl on the head. As if they were stray puppies or something.
“Amy, this is my dad, Dr. Dan McClure.” Jake nodded toward Dan. “He’s home for a few weeks.”
Amy gave that shy smile that did things to the back of Jake’s neck. “Dr. McClure, so glad to meet you. You have a great son.” Then she colored. “He’s really a great vet and a great boss.”
Dan studied her, but not with any evident approval. “I’m sure you’re correct.” His voice was cool. “Jake, perhaps we should get started working.”
“Dr. Jake,” Rachel said, suddenly gripping Jake’s lower arm, “will you come to church Saturday night? It’s Winter Carnival. There’ll be games and hot dogs and cake.”
Jake noted the disapproval in his dad’s eyes. No, winter carnivals at church wouldn’t suit Dr. Dan, internationally lauded surgeon.
“Yes!” Cassie agreed. “Please come! It’s to help little children around the world that don’t got enough food.” Cassie’s voice pleaded.
“You come, too, Dr. Dan, okay?” Rachel looked up at him.
Amy tried to shush the children.
“That sounds like a worthy cause. We’ll try to make it,” his father replied dismissively, urging Jake toward two men who had motioned them to come join their twosome.
Glancing over his shoulder, Jake watched Amy take the girls to Ginnie. He knew when the three left because cold air rushed in. Jake tried to focus on the boss of their quartet—he’d never done plumbing. But he found himself keeping track of Amy, speaking to Eleanor in the future kitchen area.
Jake and his dad, with some others, trooped down to the basement. They stood gazing up at the floor joists for a quick lesson in how to glue together plastic pipes, which would weave between and under the joists. Jake began to relax. Dan meeting Amy had gone better than he’d expected. Not good, but not bad, either.
The plumber now explained water pressure and the different shutoff valves where water came into the ho
use from the city system.
Jake and his father were standing very close.
“I didn’t realize that Amy was so pretty,” Dan muttered into Jake’s ear.
Jake steeled himself for what might be coming as he focused on the explanation of pipe compound and the advantages of plastic PVC versus old lead pipes.
“She has a lot of baggage,” Dan continued, under his breath. “The girls look like she’s done a good job with them, but you don’t need to get involved with a single mom of two.”
The uncaring words gripped Jake, twisting, tightening his nerves like a wrench. With a sinking sensation, Jake glimpsed movement from the corner of his eye. Amy. He hadn’t realized that she’d followed them down into the basement. Had she heard what his dad had said?
“That just brings a whole lot of problems you shouldn’t have to deal with,” his dad concluded.
Jake pressed his lips together to hold back the stream of angry words he wanted to spout. He heard footsteps and saw Amy hurrying up the open stairs.
He took a deep breath and said into his father’s ear in a scorching tone, “She’s a wonderful, caring woman, but she’s my office manager. I’m not the kind of boss who hits on his female employees.”
His dad looked startled. “Of course you’re not.”
Then blessedly they had to devote themselves to moving to the section of pipe they would be assembling. Still burning with indignation, Jake wondered if he should say something to Amy, try to think of an excuse for his father’s insensitivity. The twins weren’t “baggage.” They just showed what a great mom Amy was.
On Tuesday morning, Amy had, for the very first time, dreaded coming to work at the clinic. The few words she’d overheard between Jake and his dad at her Habitat house on Sunday kept replaying in her mind—over and over.
So much baggage… Don’t get involved with a single mom… That brings a whole lot of problems you shouldn’t have to deal with.
She chewed her lower lip. I don’t know why it should bother me. Lots of people—most people—think like Jake’s dad. She’d better keep that in mind. Jake occupied the position of her boss, not a potential date. A good thing, a very good thing in light of her past failed relationships.