by Cate Beauman
“It don’t seem like much.”
“Sure it does.”
Jenny shook her head, staring down at the floor. “I ran off. I’m a stranger to my own baby.”
She placed her hand on Jenny’s arm. “You won’t be for long. Before you know it, she’ll forget all about me and Shane.” And the idea hurt her heart.
Jenny licked her lips and looked at Reagan. “I’m feelin’ nervous about headin’ off to Lexington. Terry’s wantin’ to get married.”
She nodded, suppressing a wince. The last thing Jenny needed was marriage on top of everything else. “There’s no rush for you and Faith to leave.”
“We can’t be stayin’ forever.”
She glanced at the GED booklet Shane told her he found on one of the bookshelves in the study. “There’s nothing wrong with staying while you prepare for your future.” She gestured to the book.
“We can’t stay that long. I ain’t smart like you. It’ll be a while yet before I’m ready for my GED.”
She ached for the beautiful young woman with such a hopeless path—a sixteen-year-old mother with poor self-esteem and few chances to strive for more than what she already had. “You’re smart, Jenny. I have little doubt in my mind about that. You just haven’t had a lot of opportunity. There’s a big difference. I can help you prepare for the exam—or Shane.”
She stood, pacing restlessly. “He don’t like me.”
“Yes, he does.” Although he certainly didn’t do much to show it. “He’s very attached to Faith.” She grabbed Jenny’s arm, pulling her down to the bed next to her. “We both want what’s best for you and your baby, and I think the best thing is making sure you have an education.”
Jenny rolled her eyes. “That’s what the teachers say.”
She held back a sigh. Jenny was so young. “They’re right. There’s a huge freedom in knowing I can move anywhere in the world and support myself.”
She laughed humorlessly. “I ain’t gonna be no doctor.”
“You can be anything you want to be.” She lifted Faith, settling her in her arms now that she was calm. “You’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”
“And a baby to raise.”
“I work with several single mothers in the city.”
Some of the hopelessness left Jenny’s eyes. “You do?”
She nodded. “Absolutely. There are single parents all over the place. You’re young, but that doesn’t have to hold you back. If you want something bad enough, you can do anything.” She looked down at the baby finally drifting off. “You’ll be a great role model for your daughter.”
“I guess.”
“It looks like Cute Stuff’s ready for bed.” She stroked her finger down the baby’s soft cheek, missing the time they usually spent together. “If you want to take the pre-test in the booklet Shane gave you I can help you prepare for the test.”
“I probably won’t do so good.”
“I bet you’ll surprise yourself.”
“Okay.”
She smiled, surprised and relieved that they might be getting somewhere. If Jenny got her GED, trade school could be an option. “Great. We can look at your results tonight or tomorrow before I go to work.” She stood and settled Faith in her crib. “Night, Faithy.” Kissing her finger, she touched the baby’s nose.
“Do you like it? Bein’ a doctor?”
She turned, facing Jenny again. “Yes. I love it. Practicing medicine’s a huge responsibility, but I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
“Sometimes I think maybe I might want to be a nurse or somethin’.”
Her excitement grew. There were all kinds of programs she could help Jenny get into. “Nursing’s a great profession. You would certainly be able to provide a comfortable living for you and Faith.”
“Terry says I should be stayin’ home raisin’ babies.”
She bit her tongue instead of vocalizing her thoughts on Terry’s archaic sense of women’s rolls in the twenty-first century. “Is that what you want?”
She shook her head.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a stay-at-home mom, but there’s nothing wrong with being a career mom either.” She leaned against the desk. “I would love to have you come over to the clinic sometime and see what medicine is all about.” She didn’t miss the spark of intrigue. “We can look into Certified Nursing Assistant programs. You could always work your way up to an LPN then an RN if you do a good job. A lot of facilities will pay for training.”
Jenny grabbed the pencil off the pad of paper full of doodles. “I guess I could take the pretest now.”
Reagan grinned. “Take your time and let me know when you’re finished, and we’ll figure out the rest.”
“Okay.”
Reagan stood and started back to her room, changing her direction when she heard the faint strumming of Shane’s guitar.
~~~~
Shane glanced up when the screen door opened. His fingers faltered on the guitar strings as he stared at Doc silhouetted in the light shining from the house. He trailed his gaze up her snug jeans and pale pink bow-back tank, taking in every inch of her sinful body. She looked good. Damn good. “Hey.”
She smiled, stepping outside “Hey.”
“I see you’ve finally pulled yourself away from the computer.” He’d peeked in her room over an hour ago, inviting her to come out for one of their evening chats. She’d answered him with some absent mumble, and he’d realized she was still on the hunt for information. Reagan had sunk her teeth into black lung, and she wasn’t letting go. “How’s the research going?”
She sat next to him on the swing, smelling as amazing as she looked. “Not well. I can’t seem to find any real data on the black lung cases I tracked down here in the state, but I did find two of the three doctors who treated the patients.”
He raised his eyebrows, trying to figure out how that constituted a bad start. “That sounds like a pretty good day to me.”
She wrinkled her nose as she shook her head. “They’re both deceased.”
He sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Being dead definitely puts a wrench in things.”
“Exactly.” She chuckled. “Don’t do that.”
He smiled. “What?”
“Make me laugh when I’m totally frustrated.”
He grinned. “I always thought that was the perfect time to laugh. I like seeing you smile.”
“I don’t want to smile right now. I need to stay in the zone and focus.” She made straight lines with her hands, gesturing tunnel vision.
He fiddled with the guitar strings, quietly playing the first few chords of Kansas’s Dust in the Wind. “You have to be miserable to stay focused?”
“No, but I feel pretty miserable right now.” She sighed, resting her head against the seat. “I guess that’s why I came out here.”
“Because you’re unhappy?”
“Because you’re good for me.” She sat up straight, her eyes growing wide as her gaze whipped to his. “I mean you always know what to say…to make me feel better…and to put things into perspective.”
He bit his cheek, struggling not to smile at the look of absolute horror on her face. He was good for her. It was a damn good feeling to know she recognized that, even if reluctantly. He would let her off the hook and let her admission slide…for now. “Maybe the dearly departed doctors have a colleague or someone who could help you out.”
“Yeah.” She cleared her throat. “Maybe. But I’m on the hunt for the third physician. From what I’ve been able to find, he was about to publish some sort of article on progressive massive fibrosis a few years ago, but he retired instead.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” She expelled a long breath. “I can’t seem to nail down anything, hence the frustration.”
“I can imagine. I take it you haven’t heard back from the mine’s doctor.”
“No. I called again today, but I got his voicemail.” Her shoulders relaxed, and she crossed her l
egs as she usually did, resting her knee against his thigh. “I just want to be able to help Henry.”
“You are.”
She shook her head. “Handing over oxygen isn’t enough.”
“Reagan, he’s dying.”
“And his family’s entitled to compensation. He needs a confirmed case of progressive massive fibrosis to receive the benefits he and Daisy deserve.”
Doc was a hell of a woman. Henry had been a bastard, fighting her tooth and nail, and she refused to give up on helping him. “It’s going to work out. Henry will see Doctor Jacobson in a couple of weeks, and he’ll confirm the black lung thing. You’ll find your vanishing retired expert, learn all you want to know, and all will be right with the world.”
“I hope so.”
“Have a little faith, Doc.”
She smiled. “So I should probably tell you your plan worked.”
He frowned. “What plan?”
“Giving Jenny the GED booklet.”
“Whoa, subject change.”
She grinned. “Yes, subject change. Jenny’s taking the pre-test right now.”
He raised his brows. “No kidding. How’d you talk her into that?”
She tilted her head, frowning this time. “Why do you think I talked her into anything?”
“Because she gave me a go-to-hell look when I handed it to her this afternoon.”
“Ah. Gotta love teenage rebellion.” She chuckled. “Jenny’s young and smarter than she realizes. She hasn’t been exposed to the opportunities you and I have.”
“That’s because there aren’t any—not here, anyway.”
She gave a decisive nod. “Exactly. That’s the problem for the families here in The Gap. That was the entire point of the Appalachia Project—to give the people here a chance.” She brushed at her hair as the breeze blew. “Jenny’s interested in nursing. I was thinking you could keep an eye on Faith a couple days this week so she can come in and see what working in a doctor’s office is all about.”
And she was already back at it—Reagan to the rescue. “Yeah, sure.”
“We can help her, Shane. We can help her give Faith a chance.”
“She’s trying. We have to give her that.”
“I think she’ll try harder if we continue to encourage her. Her confidence is shaken—her self-esteem is poor.”
“Parenting the parent.”
She nodded. “Definitely.”
He studied the beautiful woman with the big heart sitting in the shadows. “How do you do it—0verlook everyone’s flaws and give them what they need?”
She shrugged.
“Jenny and I are still trying to feel each other out, and you’re already over the fact that she up and left her kid.”
She jerked her shoulder for the second time. “She made a mistake. She’s trying to fix it. Not everyone gets that chance.”
He set down his guitar, sensing another one of Reagan’s untold stories. “I imagine we all have a few moments in our lives we wish we could take back.”
She didn’t say anything as she stared ahead.
“I got drunk after my junior prom and puked all over my date while I was trying to smooth talk her into bed.
She laughed. “I guess that didn’t go as planned.”
He shook his head. “Not so much.”
The porch was silent again, except for the crickets singing their songs among the trees. He wanted her to share something, to offer up something of hers for free, but the quiet stretched out for a minute then two then three. “So what about you? What moment do you wish you could take back?”
“I can’t think of anything off the top of my head.”
He raised his brow as she avoided his gaze. “Nothing in twenty-six years?”
“I answered a question wrong on my MCATS. I had my heart set on a perfect score, but I kind of freaked and blanked.”
MCATS. More medical stuff. “Sounds tough.”
“My parents were very disappointed—after all their hard work…”
He swallowed frustration. “I’ve noticed you don’t have much to say about yourself, Doctor Rosner.”
“There’s not much to talk about. What you see is what you get.”
He narrowed his eyes, pressing his lips firm as if speculating. “Mmm, I’m not sure I agree. You’re gorgeous, dedicated, not to mention really damn smart. Then there’s all of these little facets that I find fascinating.”
She stood on a quiet huff, walking to the edge of the porch.
“What?”
She turned, crossing her arms, leaning back against the railing. “Answer me a question.”
He sat where he was, staring at her in the halo of moonlight. “Sure.”
“I’ve always wanted to know why physicalities rate first with men. Why are looks more important than intelligence?”
He stood, certain this had nothing to do with physicalities and everything to do with her reluctance to get personal. “I like beautiful women. I’d be a liar if I said otherwise.”
Shaking her head, she turned away.
He stopped in front of her, shoving his hands in his pockets. “But I prefer the whole package.”
She turned back. “Which is?”
“Brains and beauty.”
“But beauty comes first.”
He considered, wanting to be completely honest. “Not necessarily.”
“When you listed off some of my qualities—in your opinion—you spoke of physical appeal first, then dedication and my brain.”
He stepped closer. “I think you’re stunningly hot.” He brushed her hair back from her temple. “Your body could easily be on any number of billboards or featured in sexy magazines.”
She laughed humorlessly and stepped away.
He caught her by the elbow and blocked her way with his body, trapping her against the pole. “But then there are all of these mysterious pieces that fascinate the hell out of me.” He touched her cheek. “And they have nothing to do with your looks.”
She pressed her hand to his chest. “Shane—”
“I’m attracted to you. I have been since the second I laid eyes on you, but now I know you—or what you’ll let me know of you, and I’m completely intrigued.”
“What am I supposed to do with that?”
He could keep talking or he could do what he’d been wanting to for weeks. Holding her gaze, he trailed his fingers up her neck, pausing on her hammering pulse, then brushed his thumb over her full bottom lip as her trembling breath heated his skin. “Kiss me back.”
She gripped his wrist. “I can’t,” she whispered.
He moved in despite her weak protest, capturing her lips slowly, feeling her slight give of response. Easing back, he caressed her jaw. “Reagan—”
Shaking her head, she clutched his other wrist, her breathing growing ragged. “I can’t,” she whispered again.
He took her hands, settling them at her sides on the rail under his, pushing their bodies closer. “Why don’t I believe you?”
She laced their fingers. “I don’t know.”
Eyes locked, chests heaving, he knew she was lying to them both and came back for more, tenderly coaxing her into following his lead as he cradled her face, tugging and teasing her bottom lip.
Moaning, she surrendered, opening to welcome the slide of his tongue, and his heart kicked into high gear, his fingers diving into her soft hair. He deepened the kiss, intensifying their embrace, hungry for her sweet taste.
She slid her palms up his arms, molding his triceps, clinging, meeting him demand for demand as he wrapped her up tight.
And just as quickly, she froze and pushed back. “We can’t—I’m not doing this.”
Her mouth was swollen from his, her eyes hot with desire, and just like that, it was over. “Why?”
“I—I’m on a break.”
He shook his head, trying to catch up. “A break?”
Swallowing, she nodded. “I’m taking time off from men.”
He
raised his brows. “You’re taking time off?”
She nodded again, her breathing still unsteady. “Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Indefinitely.”
He stepped back, rubbing at his chin, doing his best to shake off Reagan’s curve ball. “Huh. For a few seconds there it kind of felt like the break was over.”
She shook her head. “It’s not.”
“I—”
“Reagan.” Jenny stood in the screen door. “I finished.”
She sidestepped further away from Shane, licking her lips and smoothing her hair. “Finished?”
“The pre-test.”
“Yes. The pre-test,” she said almost desperately. “I’m going to go help Jenny.”
He held her gaze, silently promising her this wasn’t over. “Sure.”
“Goodnight.” She walked inside.
“Night.” He crossed his arms, leaning back against the beam, watching her walk away. So Doc was on hiatus. He flashed back to the way she’d wrapped her gorgeous body around him, whimpering as she clung. “The hell with that.” Reagan assured him her “man break” wasn’t over, but he had every intention of proving her wrong—every chance he g0t.
Chapter Twelve
The house was still quiet when Reagan glanced over her shoulder toward the bedrooms and snuck out the front door, fully aware that rising an hour earlier than usual was a blatant attempt to avoid any possible run-ins with Shane.
Closing the door quietly, she walked down the dirt path and let herself into the clinic, flipping on the lights before she sat at her desk and powered up her laptop, eager to get to work after a restless night of sleep. She typed Doctor Schlibenburg’s name into Google, sighing when Shane’s voice echoed through her mind for the umpteenth time. Kiss me back.
Groaning, she shut her eyes, resting her head against the soft fabric of her chair. She’d done little but think of Shane since he’d cornered her on the porch last night. When she joined him on the swing, she’d wanted light conversation and to share the exciting new Jenny development. Never ever had she planned to make out with Shane Harper.
She narrowed her eyes, recalling how she’d ended up in the predicament in the first place. First, she’d foolishly slipped up and told him he was good for her, then he’d used her admission against her. Shane was a sneaky one, maneuvering with his humor and charm, listening to the things she had to say all the while waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike with words and simple touches that made her pulse pound—as it did now simply remembering. And he could kiss. She’d melted under the teasing pressure of his lips, caught up in the clever slides of his tongue and enticing nips of his teeth, recklessly following him wherever he led.