Hot-Shot Doc, Secret Dad (Cowboys, Doctors...Daddies)

by Lynne Marshall

  “I stumbled onto a new noninvasive method to replace mitral valves using the same technique as angioplasty.”

  “He’s being humble. He created the method.” Trevor spoke up.

  Julie lifted her head. “You go through the groin artery?”

  Cole nodded, too busy chewing a piece of pot roast to embellish.

  “Yeah, he’s made quite a name for himself,” Trevor said, “and now he spends all his time on planes flying all over the country showing other docs how to do the procedure.”

  “That’s amazing.” Julie meant it, and she noticed a fleeting look in Trevor’s eyes when she did, communicating it was the story of his, Trevor’s, life.

  “The traveling is a pain, but, if it helps more people avoid the more invasive open-heart surgery, I’m glad to do it. And so far the success rate has been great. I can’t complain.”

  “I know the dinner table isn’t any place to talk about surgery, but maybe later you’ll explain to me how you switch out a bad mitral valve for a new one through a space the size of a femoral artery.”

  “I’ll be glad to.”

  Julie glanced at Monty, with a smile on his face. He definitely had two sons to be proud of, but she worried Monty overlooked Trevor’s steady, dependable nature for the brighter star in Cole.

  Immediately after dinner, as they moved away from the table, Cole explained his technique to Julie, and she had to admit it was fascinating. Before dessert, they all agreed they needed time in between the courses, so Trevor handed Julie her full-length coat and invited her out onto the porch for some coffee. Just as they hit the door, a friendly disagreement between Monty and Cole began to heat up in the two-story living room, echoing off the cavernous walls.

  *

  “Come and sit with me outside. I’ll turn on the heating lamps.” Trevor smiled to himself over the shocked look on Julie’s face—that pretty face he’d already gotten used to seeing every day Monday through Friday—as he hadn’t really given her a choice. Sit outside? At night? In forty-degree temperatures? “Come on.” He helped her put the coat on, liking the chance to inhale her light flowery perfume. “You’ll enjoy the fresh air. It’ll help wake you up after Gretchen’s killer pot roast.”

  She gave a reluctant smile, but didn’t fight him as he helped her with first one arm, then the other, into her coat.

  He chose the most comfortable chairs, high-backed rockers with thick cushions that molded to the back and bottom, then flipped on the heating lamps strategically placed around the porch for anyone’s sitting pleasure.

  “So what do you think about my big brother? Pretty awesome guy, huh?”

  “Very. Did he break his neck at some point?”

  The astute and direct question took Trevor aback; Julie’s perceptive assumption about the scars on Cole’s forehead and temples showed she really knew medicine. “Good observation. Yeah, he used to take part in junior rodeo and got thrown from a horse. Mom never wanted him to go into rodeo, but there was no talking Cole out of it. He was damn good at it, too. Then one day, his second year on the junior rodeo circuit, he got thrown for a loop. Just lay there, couldn’t get up. Mom about flipped out. Turns out he’d fractured his cervical spine, needed surgery to put screws into his skull and had to wear the halo brace and plaster jacket for three months. He was fifteen, and Mom treated him like he was one of her fragile teacups the whole time.” Trevor laughed, remembering some of the heated arguments between Cole and Mom back then. “Anyway, that accident is what made Cole decide to become a doctor. He was fascinated with everything that went on in a hospital. So, as bad as the accident was, I guess it was one of those meant-to-be moments that changes a person’s focus in life.”

  Sort of like the day Julie told him he was a father.

  He took a sip of his coffee, enjoying watching the vapors rise from the cup, but enjoying having Julie to himself again even more, which quickly bothered him. What were his intentions with this woman, the mother of a son he’d yet to meet? Damned if he knew, but, like that stupid moth circling the heating lamp, he couldn’t seem to stay away.

  She looked thoughtful as she drank her coffee, holding the cup with both hands, snuggling into her coat and scarf under the heat. The dim porch lighting cast lacy shadows over her face and hair, and the effect was sexy as hell. Ah, now there he went again, getting all tangled up in the wrong intentions.

  “You know, we both have something in common,” she said, matter-of-factly.

  Something in common? Now that was a surprise to him. “Really? How?”

  Beyond creating a kid together, he couldn’t think of a single thing they might have in common. He’d come from privilege and she’d come from, well, he wasn’t even sure, but he had a strong suspicion, by the thoughtful breath she took, she was about to tell him exactly what they had in common.

  “We’ve both been in situations where our dreams were postponed by reality. My getting pregnant. Your father’s failing health making you stay close by while your brother travels the globe and gets all the attention.”

  Her direct observation stunned him. He’d thought he’d finally dealt with the resentment toward his brother, who lived the glamorous life with all the freedom, but her comment released a quick rush of buried animosity. He couldn’t deny it. “If I didn’t know you were right, I might try to argue that wasn’t the case at all. That I chose to come home and take over the town clinic when old Doc Stewart decided to retire before he dropped dead.”

  “That’s the second thing we have in common. Our parents brought us home, whether we wanted to come or not.” She took another sip of her coffee and stared off into the night where, in the distance she could hear the comforting lowing of the cattle settling in for the night.

  Her parents had died in a car accident, his mother had gotten cancer while he was in medical school, changing the course of his plans. He’d wanted to become a surgeon, but had known he’d need to take a residency in a big city to follow that dream. It would have kept him away from home when his mother was in the last stages of the disease, so he’d opted to go into family medicine, a far less prestigious specialty, but a solid one that touched many more lives than a surgeon could ever hope to. And the three-year residency had been in his home state, close enough to get home on a regular basis, so naturally, when Dr. Stewart had planned his retirement the day Trevor had finished his residency, there hadn’t even been a decision to make.

  In the meantime, Cole had been well on his way to making a name for himself in the field of cardiology. But Trevor had gotten to be nearby the last three months of his mother’s life. At the end, he’d taken over her hospice care in the home she’d loved. It might not have been the big dream he’d held on to for Kimberley’s sake, but it had been the right thing to do, and he’d always treasure those last days and weeks with his mother. As he’d come to find out in life, every decision cost something. He’d paid the price of losing the woman he’d thought he’d wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

  Now his father’s failing health held him here.

  “Right on both counts. Running this ranch takes a lot of work beyond what our foreman and crew can take care of. Dad is nowhere near ready to give up the reins, and, though he depends heavily on Jack, he needs my support, too.” Trevor took one last sip of the coffee that had quickly turned tepid from the night air, and thought as he did. “But I think your son may have had more to do with your decision to come back to Cattleman Bluff, right?”

  She nodded. “I’d already looked into military schools in California, but there was no way I could afford them. Then I got word about my parents. Crazy how that happened.”

  They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, but Trevor could tell there was a lot on Julie’s mind. Maybe if he kept still and quiet, she’d open up. Truth was, he wanted to know her better, learn more about the woman who’d raised his son. Alone.

  “Not to go all philosophical on you or anything, but having my baby so early, the baby who derailed my
plans, well, the experience gave me a gift I couldn’t ever imagine on my own. I had to live it, and you know what? I’d never trade that for anything. All the hard work to have a baby, go back to school, jump into the reality of adulthood and raising a son. Nope, I wouldn’t trade in a moment of it for anything.”

  The positive expression she’d so proudly worn the second before melted into something far more somber, and soon dipped into a troubled frown. Without thinking, he reached for her hand and squeezed. Maybe it was his touch, or maybe it was going to happen anyway, but she broke down, as if the weight of the world were suddenly too hard to bear. Not knowing what else to do, he squeezed her hand firmer and kept his mouth shut. Being a doctor had taught him a skill or two in the listening department.

  “I used to doubt my mothering skills, and I admit I was selfish. I didn’t date much because I’d heard so many awful stories about men resenting their girlfriend’s kids. It scared me, you know?”

  He could totally understand her fear. All anyone had to do was read a paper or watch the news to understand what she was talking about. Hell, he’d seen an example or a dozen of that kind of abuse in his own clinic.

  “And James deserved a man who really cared about him. But he got into trouble, and maybe there was a guy out there who could have turned that around.”

  Him? If only he’d had a chance, but Trevor knew there was no way life could be orchestrated. It all worked out the way it did, and all anyone could do was deal with it. He let go of the ribbon of anger threading through his thoughts.

  “I feel guilty, like my parenting skills weren’t enough, that I shouldn’t have robbed him of his father.” For the first time, she looked directly at Trevor. “You. I shouldn’t have kept him a secret. I’m sorry.”

  “Julie. We’re in a crazy situation, but there’s no beating yourself up over this.” Something nagged at the back of his mind. Hadn’t Julie said she’d been seeing someone before she moved back home? “Didn’t you mention a guy who helped pay for that summer camp for James last year?”

  She took a long inhale, and with her free hand put the coffee cup on the nearby table. “Yes. We were dating. That turned out to be a big mistake, too. I finally thought I’d found the right guy. He got along great with James. I thought, maybe, just maybe we’d finally become a family.” She glanced at Trevor, then quickly away. “He even proposed. But I came to find out that Mark, that was his name, had sent James to that camp to get time alone with me, which was fine, but once James got home, he took him aside and told him how things were going to be from then on. Evidently, my son wasn’t a very big part of the picture. James broke down and told me after he’d had to spend the night in juvenile hall—the poor kid was scared to death, and I needed to know what in the world he’d been thinking stealing something that didn’t belong to him. That’s when I realized that once Mark married me he planned to send James away to school so he’d have me all to himself. He’d told James as much. Told him I didn’t want him anymore.”

  Her tears flowed without effort, and she shook her head. “My baby thought I didn’t love him. I messed up by getting involved with a man and my boy got hurt, then he acted out, and now he’s been sent away to school anyway.” She cupped her hands to her forehead, holding her head, and quietly cried.

  Trevor ached to soothe her. And he wanted to deck that Mark guy.

  “Julie, from what I’ve seen and heard, James couldn’t have been any luckier to have a mother like you. You made the right decision about dumping the jerk and moving home. That boy knows he’s loved.”

  She smiled through her tears. “I hope so.”

  “I know so.” Trevor wasn’t used to consoling women; he was used to hanging out for kicks and having sex with them, but not really getting to know them. Not since Kimberley anyway, and sitting here with Julie was almost too reminiscent of that old feeling. He didn’t know if he liked it or not, but he was here with her, and she deserved his full attention. Hell, it had been his idea to invite her out here for dinner to meet his father and brother; he must have had some kind of reason beyond just wanting to see her again.

  Julie’s raw honesty struck like an arrow in his chest. He had thoughts and plans about the son he’d never had a chance to know, and now was as good a time as any to bring them up.

  “I’m just kind of sad, hearing all the tough things the boy has gone through.” He didn’t want to sound angry or resentful about his true feelings, so he tempered his honest reaction. “I regret never having the chance to be a father to him. I wish things had been different. Maybe we can make that up to him. Will you let me do that?”

  Julie lifted her head, wet eyes flashing terror one moment and hope the next. She swallowed hard. “Sunday is family visitation day. Will you come?”

  CHAPTER SIX

  TREVOR HAD INSISTED on driving Sunday morning, and picked up Julie bright and early at eight for the hour-and-a-half drive to Laramie. He looked freshly shaved and had combed his hair more into submission than usual, and the notion he’d done it to make a good impression when meeting James touched her heart.

  After driving thirty minutes on smaller roads, they got onto Interstate 80 for the last seventy-five miles of the journey. Trying her best not to be so aware of Trevor’s presence, his scent, and the way he filled up his side of the car, Julie looked over the day’s schedule. Welcome event at 10:00 a.m., a tour of the dorms after that. She’d have to wait until nearly eleven o’clock to get time alone with her son. She figured she’d introduce James to Trevor after the luncheon, not telling him he was his father, of course, but introducing him as her boss. Then she’d give them some time together to talk horses and ranches and anything else they wanted. Hopefully, James wouldn’t think it weird that his mother had brought a strange man on the first visit, especially after what had happened with Mark, and how he’d told James he wanted him out of the picture.

  “You look worried about something.” Trevor spoke up, ever perceptive—another trait she both liked and loathed about him, because it kept her on her toes.

  She might as well come clean, since the cowboy seemed to be able to see right through her. “I was wondering what James would think about me bringing you for the first visit, that’s all.”

  “You think it’s a mistake? ’Cause if you do, I can wait in Laramie while you—”

  “No! I wouldn’t hear of it. You’re giving me a ride and practically holding my hand through all my angst about putting him there in the first place, not to mention you’re his father—how could I ask you to wait outside?”

  He gave an appreciative smile, and she thought she saw something deeper in those eyes. Oh, man, she couldn’t let herself get wrapped up in Trevor Montgomery’s natural-born charm. Things were complicated enough as it was.

  “I’m not a proponent of lying to a kid, but you could tell him you needed a ride and I offered to drive, if that’s okay?”

  “No, I won’t lie to my son.”

  “Didn’t think so, but I was just trying to be helpful.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate your support, though.”

  “Then that’s the angle we’ll take. You were nervous about the long drive and seeing him after four weeks, and I offered to bring you so you wouldn’t have to navigate the highway. Which is true for the most part. We’ll just leave the father business out of it.”

  She let that angle process for a few moments. If she were driving, her mind would probably be all over the place and she’d probably get lost faster than lightning on a chain-link fence. Funny how the local vernacular kept coming back, now that she was home. “I can deal with that. Okay. And thanks, because overall it’s true. My mind is everywhere right now, not on the road.” Home? Trevor? Would James ever come to think of Cattleman Bluff as home?

  “Glad to be of service.”

  Honestly, sometimes the man seemed like a throwback in time, like a character from an old Western movie, he was so polite. She could practically see him touch the brim of his hat
, if he were wearing it. But it made her smile and think highly of him. She really needed to think in the polite realm of things because the way he drove with one hand, the other’s long fingers resting on his thick, masculine thigh, combined with that nearly noble profile, well…

  “How about you?” It occurred to her that Trevor should be nervous for his own reasons.

  “Is my mind on the road?”

  She appreciated his attempt to lighten the mood by playing dumb. Another plus. He really needed to stop it. “Are you nervous?”

  “To meet a son I never knew about until three weeks ago? Nah.” He exaggerated the nah.

  “You do look cool as a cucumber.”

  “Pure facade.”

  “Do I detect hair product this morning?”

  He unconsciously patted his head and hair. “Too much? I want to make a good impression.”

  “Once you put your hat on, your hair doesn’t stand a chance anyway.” She referred to the dark brown wool felt cowboy hat that sat on the console between them in the car.

  “Yep. Nothing like hat-hair ridge to look authentic. Say, has your boy ever met a cowboy before?”

  “Aren’t too many in the Los Angeles area.”

  Trevor laughed lightly. “Guess not. What if he doesn’t like me?”

  “How could he not?” She liked just about everything about Trevor, which could get her into trouble and ensure more heartache, but then her reasons for liking the man were completely different from her son’s. But what if James didn’t like Trevor because of Mark?

  The tiny knot in her stomach kept growing the closer they got to Laramie.

  They continued on in companionable silence, occasionally opening up with thoughts or questions, but mostly remaining quiet for the rest of the ride to the military school. It didn’t go unnoticed that they had to drive by Wyoming Territorial Park, at the center of which was the prison, to reach the school. Hadn’t the school taken the boys on a field trip there last weekend? Or was it only to Frontier Town? What if James felt as if he was in prison at the school? Oh, her doubts about placing him there just wouldn’t let up, and once again she was glad Trevor drove. Bottom line, she had to stand firm by her decisions for her boy’s sake.