Unexpectedly Expecting!

by Susan Mallery

  “I’m not sure. Just over a hundred, I think.”

  He asked several more questions and copied down the answers. “I’ll go see her right away,” he promised the woman. “I suspect it’s not that serious, but it sounds like, at the very least, she’s dehydrated.”

  “Could you phone the shop afterward and let us know that she’s okay?” Jill asked. She rose to her feet and pulled a business card out of her jeans pocket. “I’m working until eight tonight, so whenever it’s convenient.”

  “No problem.”

  Stephen was surprised to find himself feeling edgy as he collected supplies and explained the situation to Nurse Rosie. It was more than the concern he always felt for his ill patients, but he didn’t stop to examine the emotions or figure out what they meant.

  “Go away,” Nora said from behind her still-closed door. “I don’t want to see you.”

  Stephen stifled the urge to swear at her. Why was he surprised that she was being difficult? “You’re sick, I’m a doctor. It’s a natural match. Now, let me in. Your friends are worried about you. Based on the symptoms they’ve described to me, you’ve had a stomach virus, but I want to rule out anything more dangerous. I’m guessing you haven’t been eating or drinking, so you’re dehydrated. That’s why you feel so lousy and light-headed. I’m coming in, Nora. You can make it easy on both of us, or you can make it difficult, but the end result is going to be the same.”

  There was a long moment of silence. “Don’t you sound all macho,” she finally grumbled. He heard the sound of a lock being unlatched.

  “I look terrible,” she warned. “Try not to visibly blanch.” She opened the door and glared at him. “I mean it.”

  He took in her too-pale face and the dark circles under her eyes. Her normally full, curly hair had been pulled back into a thick braid. She wore a T-shirt and sweats, and her feet were bare.

  He gave her a quick once-over and shrugged. “Okay, I didn’t turn to stone. Now, let me in.”

  She mumbled something under her breath, but backed up to give him room to enter the house. He had a brief impression of color and comfortable furniture before she turned and started down the hall. As she walked, she braced one hand against the wall.

  “I know it’s not done in the best circles,” she said, “but I can’t stay standing very long. I’ll have to entertain you in my bedroom.” She paused but didn’t turn around. “I really hate how that sounded. Don’t you dare take it wrong. I’m too sick to personally do you any damage, but I have brothers very happy to defend my honor.”

  “I wasn’t going to say a word.”

  He followed her into a spacious bedroom brightened by the light pouring in from several windows. He saw lace and too many throw pillows. Nora crawled back into the queen-size bed and pulled the covers up to her chest. Immediately her eyes drifted closed.

  “Go away,” she said. “I prefer to die alone.”

  “You’re not going to die,” he told her, pulling up the padded chair in the corner and setting his bag on the floor. “I’m here to prevent that.” He pulled out a stethoscope and a thermometer. “When did the symptoms first start?”

  She opened one eye. “You’re not my doctor. You can’t examine me.”

  “Actually I can. I have a degree and everything. That’s why people call me Doctor Remington. Pretty cool, huh?”

  Both eyes opened as she glared at him. “Number one—I don’t think you’re funny. Number two—we kissed. Therefore there’s an ethical issue, isn’t there? Besides, I have a perfectly good doctor, who is a woman, I might add. I’d rather see her.”

  “You can’t make the drive and she’s unlikely to drive sixty miles for a house call. I’m here, I’m qualified, and as far as the kiss is concerned, while I’m acting as your physician, it never happened. I swear, I’ll think only professional doctor thoughts.”

  She eyed him warily. Her lips were pale and dry and her skin lacked its usual glow. His humor faded. “Nora, I think the worst of this is over, virus-wise, but I can’t be sure unless I examine you. You’re obviously dehydrated. I want to put you on an IV for a day or so to hydrate you, but I have to rule out other causes first. Now, quit acting like a brat and let me do my job.”

  Her eyes closed. “And if I tell you that I don’t like you very much?”

  “I’d file the information away for later. It’s not relevant to our current discussion.”

  She sighed heavily. “Okay. Examine away.”

  Twenty minutes later he settled back on his chair and looked at her. “Your fever is almost gone,” he said, reviewing the chart he’d started. “Based on your symptoms, the length of your illness and your recovery, it’s what I thought. A particularly nasty stomach virus. What you have to do now is give yourself a few days to heal. Unfortunately, you’re dangerously dehydrated. My first thought is to put you in the hospital for a couple of days.”

  He’d been expecting a reaction to his statement and Nora didn’t disappoint him.

  “What? Are you crazy? The hospital? Now? Where were you with your brilliant suggestions when I was barfing my guts out? Isn’t this a little like closing the barn door after the horse is gone? What good will that do?”

  “I want to put in an IV to hydrate you and I don’t want you alone until it comes out. Can you have someone stay with you for the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours?”

  “Sure. My mom will drive into town just as soon as I call her.”

  “Then I guess you can stay here.”

  He set up the portable IV pole he’d brought with him and started her on the saline drip. He made a quick list of supplies, then called Hattie Darby and explained the situation. Nora’s mother promised to leave the ranch within the half hour. She would stop at the store for the needed items and then make her way to Nora’s. Stephen told her there was no rush. He was done for the day and would be happy to wait with Nora until Hattie arrived.

  When he hung up the phone, Nora turned away, as if she hadn’t been listening to everything he said.

  “You’ll start to feel better in a few hours,” he said. “Once you start hydrating, your energy level will increase.” He paused to look at her. “You had to know you were pretty sick. Why didn’t you call or come by the office?”

  She shifted on her bed, pressed her lips together, then stared fixedly out the window. “I was busy.”

  He didn’t respond.

  She sighed. “I just felt weird about it, okay? I mean, we were…” She made a vague gesture with her free hand. “After that it would have been too strange. I’ve never kissed a doctor before.”

  “What with our knowledge of anatomy, I’m sure we do it much better than untrained individuals.”

  She whipped her head around to glare at him. “Obviously your ego knows no boundaries at all.”

  “Probably not,” he said cheerfully. “It’s part of my charm.”

  “You’re not the least bit charming.”

  “I’ll ignore that, because we both know it’s not true.” He rose to his feet. “I’m going to fix you some weak tea. You can drink that until your mom arrives with the supplies.” He started out of the room, and then paused. “I have to say, finding you like this has made me feel a lot better.”

  Her expression tightened. “What? You enjoy knowing I’ve been sick?”

  “No, but I am pleased that the reason you didn’t return my calls wasn’t because you were avoiding me but because you were too ill to phone.”

  She reached behind her for a pillow. “You’re a beast,” she yelled as she tossed it toward him. “Go make my tea.”

  Chapter Six

  N ora listened to Stephen rustling around in her kitchen. She told herself she should be furious with him, but she couldn’t help a smile from tugging on the corners of her mouth. The man was annoying, difficult and, she hated to admit, completely charming. And handsome. His sandy-haired good looks were growing on her. She liked how his hazel eyes could look right through her facade. And the way his lean
body moved. He had great hands and was a fabulous kisser. Worse—she wanted him.

  Despite nearly a week of tossing her cookies every few hours, running a fever and generally feeling like something the cat had thrown up, she still felt a tingle of awareness just being around him. His examination had been completely professional and not the least bit intimate. Still, she’d felt herself melting. Of course the act of sticking the IV needle into her had squelched any romantic thoughts, she thought humorously. She looked at the bag of fluid slowly dripping into her system. She couldn’t actually feel the liquid, although the needle wasn’t the most comfortable sensation in the world. Still, it was both necessary and temporary. And it distracted her from thinking about Stephen, which was a good thing.

  The last time they’d been together, he’d proposed an affair. A very adult relationship based on friendship and mutual attraction with no plan for anything lasting. Was he still interested in that, and if he was, what did she want? Her body ached for him—no question about that. But what about the rest of her? Could she disconnect her heart? She wasn’t interested in falling in love with anyone, least of all him.

  “Weak tea,” Stephen announced as he walked back into her bedroom.

  He set a mug on the nightstand. Next to it he settled a small plate with a single piece of dry toast. He nodded at the latter.

  “Do the best you can with the toast,” he said. “You don’t have to eat yet if you’re not ready, but I thought you might like to try.”

  She eyed the unappetizing square of bread. Her stomach felt hollow but she wasn’t anxious to start throwing up again. “Maybe,” she said doubtfully.

  Stephen bent over her and collected pillows from the far side of the bed. Then he put one arm around her shoulders and drew her toward him. He shoved the extra pillows behind her, so she was more sitting than lying, then eased her back into place. Finally he handed her the mug.

  “Drink,” he ordered.

  “Aren’t you bossy,” she complained before she took a sip.

  He’d sweetened the dark liquid with honey. The taste was actually pleasant. She drank a bit more before resting the mug on her lap.

  Stephen took the seat beside the bed and studied her. Nora shifted uneasily. “I’m not at my best,” she said, stating the obvious.

  “You’re fine.”

  Oh. Fine. A word every woman longed to hear. “Darling, you look just fine.” Except he hadn’t said the darling part. Not that she wanted him to, she reminded herself. She wasn’t interested in him or any man. She didn’t get involved or do relationships.

  She glanced at the gray slacks and dark blue shirt he wore under his white coat. “So did you abandon a waiting room full of patients to come see me?” she asked.

  “No. I was finished for the day. Actually I was catching up on my journal reading. I was involved in a fascinating article on advances in the treatment of Lyme disease when I found out you were near death.”

  “I’m not near death. That was a couple of days ago.” She paused. “Doesn’t Lyme disease come from deer ticks?”

  “Yes.”

  She shuddered. “Yuck. Who thinks this stuff up? I don’t want to get ticks from deer. The idea of it makes me want to stay indoors for the rest of my life.”

  “But you’re a Texan, Lord knows how many generations’ worth. You grew up on a ranch. You should love being outside.”

  She looked at him over the rim of her mug. “You’ve been watching too much television. There’s a reason I left the ranch when I turned eighteen. I love my family and I enjoy visiting on a regular basis, but I have no desire to live there again. Do you have any idea of the smells one encounters when working on a ranch?”

  “I can’t say I do.”

  “You’re lucky.”

  He chuckled and leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs, resting one ankle on the opposite knee. “So you’re not a barrel racer like your mother?”

  Nora finished her tea and put the mug on the nightstand. She eyed the toast, but decided to wait for a bit before risking actual food in her stomach. “I did the junior rodeo thing when I was growing up. A lot of us did. But I never liked it very much. My mom wasn’t one to push. After I tried for a couple of years, she let me stop. I always preferred getting dressed up to sprawling in the dirt.”

  “Did you always want to be a hairdresser?”

  She glared at him, searching his expression to see if he was being sarcastic. “I know that setting someone’s hair doesn’t compare to saving a life, but it’s what I do. I’m good at it.”

  He shook his head. “How about letting me mess up before you jump all over me. Quit assuming that I’m thinking the worst about you. Fair enough?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Nora, you make me crazy.” He sighed. “Tell me about your career. Is it what you always wanted to do? I’m asking because I’m interested.”

  She didn’t exactly doubt his words, it was just that most men weren’t entranced by what she did for a living. Snip’n Clip was a foreign world to men and that frightened them.

  “Yes, I always wanted to be a hairdresser. I started cutting my brothers’ and sisters’ hair when I was about twelve. I gave all my friends perms and highlights. I wasn’t interested in college. I started beauty school when I was seventeen. It was a snap for me. When I graduated, I went to work in the Snip ’n Clip. I saved my money and eventually bought the place. I had a mortgage, but when they found oil on the ranch, Mom and Jack gifted everyone with a chunk of money. I used mine to pay off the bank. So the business is mine, free and clear.”

  “Not bad for someone who isn’t even thirty.”

  She hadn’t thought of it that way. “I guess you’re right. I’m doing something I like, that makes people happy.” She tilted her head and looked at him. “What about you? Are you sure you want to be a small-town doctor? Aren’t you getting bored living here?”

  He grinned. “Never. The longer I’m here, the more I know that this is where I belong. Lone Star Canyon is exactly the kind of place I was looking for.”

  She found herself wanting to believe that was true. But she couldn’t imagine a man like him being happy here. “You said you spent the first few years practicing in an emergency room in Boston. Why did you change?”

  A shadow drifted across his eyes, making her think that there were secrets in his past. Of course, everyone had secrets, although she couldn’t think of any she had at the moment. Stephen already knew about David Fitzgerald dumping her practically the day before the wedding, and that was about as bad as it got in her world. But what about in Stephen’s?

  “I woke up one morning and realized I didn’t want to go to work,” he said quietly. “I didn’t want to see twenty or thirty patients I would never treat again. I didn’t mind the challenge of the different kinds of cases, but I hated that it was impersonal.”

  She sensed there was more, but she didn’t ask. For one thing, it wasn’t her place. For another, she was getting more and more tired. She tugged one of the pillows free so she was reclining on the bed.

  “Did you always want to be a doctor?” she asked.

  “From the time I was ten.” He smiled at her. “It all started with my best friend, Jeff. He got cancer and had to go into the hospital. I visited him a lot. The medical staff was terrific, especially the doctors. They answered all our questions, even though we were just kids. Jeff got better and never wanted to see the inside of a hospital again, but I’d been hooked by the possibilities. I wanted to do for others what they had done for him.”

  Her eyelids felt impossibly heavy. “I might have to go to sleep now,” she said, her voice sounding slightly slurred.

  “It’s the best thing for you.”

  “But my mom’s not here yet.”

  “I’ll let her in when she arrives.”

  “But you can’t sit here while I sleep.”

  “Why not?”

  She didn’t have a good answer for that, but then she didn’t have a good answer for mu
ch of anything right now. Her brain was mushy and thick.

  Stephen shifted so that he was hovering over her. He touched her forehead. “Your fever seems to be almost gone. I’m guessing the fluids are helping.”

  “It was the tea,” she murmured, letting her eyelids sink all the way closed. “The best tea I’ve ever had.”

  “Thanks.”

  She turned on her side, toward him. “You’re very nice.”

  “I try.”

  “Don’t you want to kiss me good-night?”

  He chuckled. “In your condition, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “Because I look horrible?”

  There was a pause. “You don’t look horrible, Nora. You couldn’t. You’re an incredibly attractive, sexy woman. And you dress like a tease.”

  She smiled without opening her eyes. “I know. Isn’t it fun?”

  “Yes, and so are you.”

  Something warm brushed against her cheek. He’d kissed her, she thought in contentment. And then the world went dark.

  By Friday Nora was back at work. Mrs. Arnold settled into the chair and smiled at her in the mirror.

  “I heard that the good doctor made several house calls, making sure you were getting back on your feet.”

  Nora held back a sigh. It was barely ten-fifteen in the morning on her first day in the shop in nearly a week and the gossip was already starting. She shouldn’t be surprised. It was one of the disadvantages of living in a small town. Little happened without an audience.

  She reached for a brush and began smoothing the elderly woman’s white hair. “Dr. Remington was very kind,” Nora said calmly. “I can’t believe I didn’t think I was sick enough to go see him on my own. If Jill hadn’t insisted he make a house call, I don’t know what would have happened.”

  She gave her co-worker a quick glance. Jill grinned. They were experts at diverting the attention of their “attentive” clientele.

  She took a deep breath and continued before Mrs. Arnold could comment. “I think we often don’t take the flu seriously enough. Didn’t your sister end up in the hospital with pneumonia one year?” she asked.