A chorus of groans followed.
“But Mommy!” Connor protested.
“I want to stay!” Abigail stomped her foot.
“So do I!” Levi yelled, while Rebecca put her thumb in her mouth, disappointed.
“Gosh, that’s too bad, because I have to leave right now, and I was going to give you all piggyback rides to your mommy’s van on the way out,” Gabe said.
The kids all spoke in unison. “Piggyback rides! Whoo-hoo! Let’s go! Me first! No, me!”
“First, say thank you to our friends for having you,” Susannah instructed, while using gentle touches to their shoulders to line them up, tiredest first.
“Thank you,” they all chorused together.
Gabe bent down to take Rebecca. She hopped onto his back, a giant grin on her face. Then did what she rarely did—verbally added her two cents. “You must be strong. Mommy says we’re too heavy for her now.”
“I’m really strong,” Gabe declared with a grin, while Susannah went ahead to open up the back of her van.
And so it went. One after another. The rest of the goodbyes and the short ride home were equally easy. Until they pulled in to the driveway, that was. “I don’t want to go to bed,” Levi complained loudly.
“Me, either!” Abigail concurred.
Gabe looked at Susannah from the passenger seat, where his big body filled up the entire compartment. “More piggyback rides?” he mouthed.
Susannah would have liked to politely decline, but knowing how difficult the chore ahead was likely to be without his help, nodded and said, “Sounds good.”
The kids were thrilled to get another ride up the stairs to their second-floor bedrooms. Susannah helped them get ready for bed, while Gabe entertained them with stories of monkeys and elephants he had seen out in the wild. By the time all five were tucked in, it was quiet once again.
“Night, kiddos,” Gabe said from the hall.
“Night, Doc Gabe,” the kids echoed drowsily. And seconds later, as eyes closed, all five were fast asleep.
Susannah led the way past her bedroom, back down the stairs to the front door. “Thanks for helping out,” she said.
“My pleasure,” Gabe murmured in return.
The next thing she knew she was in his arms. His head was lowering. And Gabe stole a kiss that felt very much like he was staking a claim.
“What was that for?” Susannah asked a little breathlessly when he finally released her.
“No reason.” He rubbed his thumb across her lower lip, the single action making her ache for another kiss. “It just felt right.”
That it had, Susannah thought, as she watched him go.
* * *
“So, how is the summer vacation going?” Lou Ellen Rafferty, Gabe’s boss at PWB, asked over the phone the next morning.
“Great.”
“Not going stir-crazy?”
Crazy for one woman, but that wasn’t the question. “Nope. Feels good to be home for a change,” Gabe said honestly.
“You’re still coming back in September, though?” Lou Ellen prodded.
“Of course. Any idea where I’m going yet?”
“I think this once we’ll let you have your pick of assignments. You can go somewhere for up to two years if you want or go back to the six-week gigs.”
Susannah and the quintuplets came to mind. “I might want to do something even shorter for a change.”
“Well, then, I’ll work on that. And Gabe? I’m glad you’re taking this R & R seriously. You sound better than you have in a long time.”
He felt better, too. “Well, what can I say? I love Texas.”
“Well, don’t get too attached, because we still really need you here, too.”
“Good to know,” Gabe said, ending the call and then heading to the community hospital.
“Hey, good news about Mike,” Gavin Monroe said when he caught sight of Gabe in the hospital’s main lobby.
Millie had told Gabe that all the additional tests had been negative.
“Yeah, I’m waiting for the paperwork to be finalized, then I’m driving Mike and Millie both home.”
“You were really good with them yesterday.”
Gabe had an idea where this was headed. “Next thing I know, you’ll be telling me you all need someone with my congenial bedside manner around,” he joked.
His old pal remained affable but serious. “And an acting head for the diagnostic team while we conduct our search. Not only do you have an infectious disease background, you’ve been all over the world. Seen things that most of our staff has only read about in medical journals.” Gavin shrugged. “Who knows? You might like it and decide to stay. And if not, the hospital would have some coverage over the summer until we do find a permanent fit. Come on, Gabe, think about how glad the residents of Laramie County would be to have you back again as a practicing physician.”
They wouldn’t be so happy if they knew how he’d blown it yesterday with Mike’s diagnosis, at least until it became clear Gabe’s former teacher and coach was having a cardiac event, anyway.
Like it or not, having gone to school and done his medical school residency here, he was equally close to many other people in the area. He couldn’t take a chance on missing it with anyone else. The situation the day before had proved once again he was better off treating patients who were strangers.
Gabe dipped his head in a grateful nod. “Thanks for thinking of me.”
“But?”
“If I were to take the position, even temporarily, it would give my folks false hope that I intend to stay in Texas. I don’t.”
“I understand.” Gavin extended his palm. “If you change your mind...”
If it were just Susannah and the kids under consideration, Gabe might do just that. But it wasn’t. So... He exhaled.
Seeing Mike coming down the hall in a wheelchair, an orderly and Millie right behind him, he waved to let them know he was there, then said, “I’ve got to go.”
As soon as they got Mike home and settled in his favorite lounge chair for a nap, Millie sent Gabe across the street.
“Everything okay?” Susannah asked when she opened the front door.
“Millie wants to make sure you’ve got it covered. Apparently she and Mike come over to help out most mornings when the kids aren’t in preschool. She was wondering how you were faring.”
Not good, from the looks of it. The kids were out of control, and Susannah was so overwrought her hair was practically standing on end.
Calmly, she directed, “Do me a favor and text Millie that things are great. The kids are ready to go down for their nap.”
Gabe watched them run circles around the entire downstairs, whoo-hooing at the tops of their lungs. “Really?” he challenged mildly. “’Cause it doesn’t look like they’re anywhere near ready for sleep.”
“I want her to relax and concentrate on taking care of Mike and herself.”
“Gotcha.” He did as asked while she shut the front door behind Gabe before two of the quints could escape.
“So, what else is going on?” Even when the kids were misbehaving, it wasn’t like her to look so frazzled.
“I promised your mom I would get her a rough sketch of the group puppy portrait today so she could give me some feedback, but the quintuplets aren’t cooperating. At all.”
He saw. “Want some help?”
She brightened. “You really wouldn’t mind?”
Mind? He’d jump at the chance to spend time with all six of them. Thinking she’d accept it better if she thought it was no big deal to him—when in reality being included in her life was a very big deal—he shrugged. “I’m at loose ends, anyway,” he said.
“Okay. Then I accept. First order of business is to get them all to calm down...”
“Will do,” he promised.<
br />
An hour and a dozen stories later, all five were asleep in a puppy pile across the living room sectional, their lovies and blankets cuddled against them.
Susannah still hadn’t managed any work on the portrait, but she had her weekly grocery order typed into the computer and ready for pickup later that day.
“What now?” he asked.
She chuckled. “You really are a glutton for punishment.”
One hand on her waist, he brought her nearer, happier to be there than she knew. “A glutton for you, maybe.”
Chapter Ten
Susannah didn’t know how badly she had been waiting for him to do this again until the moment his lips brushed hers. But that touch told her everything she wanted to know. He cherished his time with her as much as she cherished her time with him. It didn’t matter if this was destined to be short-lived or something that continued intermittently, whenever he was back in Texas. She only knew how right it felt in the moment. How right it felt, period.
Wrapping her arms about his neck, she pressed her breasts to his chest. Dancing him backward, still kissing him, she moved them even farther out of view of the still-sound-asleep kids. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this. But I really want to be completely alone with you again,” she murmured, resting her forehead against his jaw.
He caught her wrist and rubbed the inside of it with his thumb. “As in a date?”
She flushed at his light touch. Another spark lit between them. “Doc. Are you asking me out?”
He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Hell, yeah, princess. Will you go?”
Susannah sucked in a breath. A date would formalize whatever this was that was happening between them even more, she knew. “If it can be something that fits with our lives,” she said finally.
He drew back just far enough to peer into her eyes. “The fact is you have kids to consider. And I don’t. And the fact is that if there is a health crisis anywhere in the world, I could be called to serve on a moment’s notice.”
“I know. I understand. And I don’t expect or even want any of that to change because...despite what I said last night about you being away from Laramie...”
Once again, his hand was on her, this time pressed to the middle of her spine. “And it not necessarily being a good thing?”
She sighed. Continuing even more firmly, “You are who you are, Gabe, and I am who I am, and we’ve made our choices.” She wet her lips. “But, at the same time...”
“Whatever this is that is happening between us...”
“It’s awfully good.” Trying not to notice how good it felt to be hanging out with him again, she rested her palms on his chest and said, “I know I said I would just roll with the outcome, whether we decided to see each other again in that way or not. But I thought about it last night after I came home and I realized, given the choice, I’d rather not just let this go by unrealized.”
“Me, either.” They smiled at each other. “So, when do you want to go out?” he asked.
“If I can get a sitter? How about as soon as the quintuplets are asleep tonight?”
He gazed down at her indulgently. “Where do you want to go? A late movie? Dinner? Dancing...?”
As long as it was going to be up to her... “How about Cade’s place, if he’s still in Dallas?”
* * *
She was ready when he picked her up at nine, and he caught the two teenage babysitters peeking out the window as he opened the passenger door for her. “I think we’re being observed.”
Susannah inclined her head to the house across the street. “By Millie and Mike, too.”
He sent her an ornery grin. “Does that mean we’re news?”
Noticing how handsome he looked fresh out of the shower, his jaw clean-shaven, Susannah met his humorous glance. “I guess we are. Does that bother you?”
“Not at all.”
She caught a whiff of his brisk masculine cologne. “Me, either.”
He squinted at her thoughtfully. “Although you’ve got me wondering, bringing an artist carryall with you, as well as a handbag. Are you planning to work?”
The passenger seat gave her a nice view of his mouthwateringly good physique. Shoulders wide enough to lean on. Arms strong enough to hold her. Ripped abs and trim waist. Lower still, it was easy to see how well he filled out a pair of jeans. Heart skittering in her chest, she admitted, “I was hoping you wouldn’t mind previewing the sketches I’ve done of the pets before I show them to your mom and siblings. I’m a little nervous about getting their reaction.”
“No problem. Although, from what little I’ve seen so far, I’m sure they are going to love it.”
He’d already made the salad and gotten the potatoes ready to go in to bake. While he started the outdoor charcoal grill—they were going old-school tonight—and waited for it to heat, they sat down outside with a glass of wine on one of the cushioned outdoor sofas.
The high wood fence that rimmed the backyard provided privacy, and the night was pleasantly warm. A full moon shone down on them, and stars abounded in the velvety sky. Lights from the patio gave them plenty of illumination.
He draped his arm along the back of the sofa as they settled in. Enjoying the comforting warmth of his body so close to hers, she asked, “So, when is your brother coming home?”
With a shrug, he let his gaze drift over her body before returning to her face. “Actually, I don’t think Cade’s coming back to Laramie any time soon.”
Susannah tilted her head. “Why not?”
He caught her hand and locked eyes with her. “He’s working out with the team trainers, as well as his own private physical therapist there. Apparently, his social life is a lot better in Dallas, too.”
“Cade’s really a city boy, isn’t he?”
A mixture of pique and disappointment lingered on his face. “Certainly, since becoming a major leaguer. I kind of think it feeds his ego, being around all the fans instead of the people who knew him as a kid.”
Susannah could see that.
Noticing the hem of her skirt had ridden up on her thighs, she tugged it lower. “What about you? Weren’t you here to sort of be his support person over the summer? I mean, does this mean you should be in Dallas, too?”
His gaze shifted to her lips. “Well, first, he didn’t ask me to come and stay with him. Here, or anywhere else. I sort of invited myself here, at my parents’ behest.”
She felt herself flushing. “Then you could go back to work?”
He gave her a long look she couldn’t interpret. “It’s already been arranged for me to take the entire summer off.”
There was definitely something he wasn’t saying. “But the plan is still for you to go back to work in September?” Susannah persisted.
Gabe moved away from her. “Yeah, my boss called me today, and we talked about it.” He paused to check the coals.
Ready to give aid if it was needed, Susannah stood, too. “Any idea where or how long?”
Gabe placed marinated chicken breasts onto the grill, then closed the cover. A smoky southwestern scent filled the air. “Depends on what the current need is, and we won’t know until we see what area of the world is in medical crisis.” He checked his watch and returned to sit down.
Aware it was likely going to be a lot harder to say goodbye to him this time than she’d thought, she nodded her understanding. Pushing her feelings aside, she reached for her portfolio with a smile. “On to the sketches I brought with me...”
They reviewed them.
“I love the drawing of my golden retriever, Traveller.”
Interesting that when it came to pets, they had chosen the same breed. “Nothing you’d change?”
Gabe rubbed the flat of his hand beneath his jaw. “He was a little more gangly than what you’ve portrayed. I mean you’ve got the cheerful joie de vivre right.
But...and I hate to say it...he was more goofy than smart. Daisy seems a lot more attuned to what is going on around her.”
“I doubt she would ever have been as adventurous as the way you described Traveller in your initial notes to me.”
“True. There was nowhere on the ranch or in Laramie he was loath to go.”
Susannah typed a couple of notes into her phone. “Okay, I’ll give that another shot and show you what I’ve got tomorrow.”
Gabe got up to turn the chicken. “Want me to take a look at the rest?” he asked over his shoulder.
“Actually, I think I should email what I’ve got on each pet and just let your siblings and your mom tell me what might be missing. Each person is going to know their own dog best. I was just worried over nothing, I guess.”
He caught her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “You don’t need to impress us with your art. You already have.”
“You’ve impressed me, too,” she admitted before she could stop herself. “You’re a real natural with kids. Have you ever thought about having any of your own?”
* * *
That, Gabe thought, was the kind of question he usually received from a gal who had marriage in mind. Not an independent-to-a-fault woman like Susannah.
He supposed an honest question deserved an honest answer. Forcing himself to meet her eyes, he turned toward her. “I’ve never wanted to have kids and not be there.”
Her delicate brow knit together intently. “And you can’t give up your work with Physicians Without Borders?”
Another complicated question. “I haven’t wanted to yet. I guess my ideal woman would understand that working where I’m needed is as much a part of me as the color of my hair or eyes. I need to be needed. To feel I’m making a difference by being where I am.”
For a moment, she went silent. Then she smiled and said softly, “I can understand that. And you’re right. That is exactly who you are and always have been.”
So why, then, did he think that had not been the answer she was looking for?
Luckily for both of them, dinner was delicious, and they finished it off with the triple chocolate torte he’d picked up at the Sugar Buzz bakery in town.
His Plan for the Quintuplets Page 13