by Cindy Kirk
Surprise skittered across Kate’s face. “Never?”
“Never.”
Kate looped an arm around Mitzi’s shoulders, gave a squeeze. “There’s a first time for everything.”
* * *
With her emotions still in turmoil, bright and early Monday morning, Mitzi headed to the private airstrip, prepared for another long day. She’d filled in once or twice at the satellite orthopedic clinics the group did in small towns across Wyoming and knew what to expect. A quick plane ride. A day of seeing patients. Then back to Jackson Hole before dark.
She’d left home before any of the workmen had arrived. When she turned out of her housing area and onto the highway, she was embarrassed to admit, she’d breathed a sigh of relief. Though Mitzi knew it was cowardly, she didn’t feel up to seeing Keenan this morning.
She would set things right between them. She would apologize. But not today. Her earlier awkward attempt told her it was best she take time to formulate and refine exactly what she wanted to say. If she didn’t, she might make things worse. Though it was hard to imagine how it could be any worse.
Mitzi hadn’t heard from Keenan since he’d left her house Saturday. Bitty missed him. And so did she.
After parking her car in the gravel lot, Mitzi made a beeline for Hangar 4. It wasn’t that she was eager to fly. She simply wanted the day over so she could be alone with her thoughts. Perhaps she’d make a list of things to include in her apology. She smiled, feeling better now that she had a plan.
The five-seater parked outside the hangar looked incredibly small, which made her doubly grateful for the clear skies overhead.
Mitzi loved to fly.
Just not in bad weather.
Especially not in small planes.
The pilot cut a fine sight. At least, she assumed the man bent over performing the last-minute checks to the aircraft was who’d be taking her to Delano today. His well-worn jeans encased long legs and the chambray shirt stretched across broad shoulders.
“Good morning.” She spoke in a voice loud enough to be heard over the planes landing and taking off nearby.
The man straightened and turned. For a split second Mitzi forgot how to breathe.
“Hi, Mitzi.” Keenan’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’ll be your pilot today.”
Mitzi stared. Was this a joke? Then she remembered him telling her he’d gotten his license.
“Dr. Sanchez.” Steve Kowalksi hurried up, a big smile on his face. “I see you’ve met Keenan.”
“I have.” Mitzi cleared her throat. “I thought Ben said Tom Rex would be taking me to Delano today.”
“Tommy called in sick this morning.” Steve offered a look of apology. “His kids had the flu last week. Now he’s got it.”
“Oh,” was all Mitzi said.
Picking up on the tension, Steve glanced between Mitzi and Keenan. “Mr. McGregor is a competent pilot, Dr. Sanchez. But I can understand if you don’t want to fly with someone new.”
Though Keenan stood rigid and his expression gave nothing away, a tiny muscle twitched in his jaw. Mitzi knew what this chance meant to him.
But they would be alone in the plane, with too much time to talk about an incident she wasn’t sure she was ready to discuss.
Would it really be so wrong to reschedule?
Chapter Twelve
Though a hard knot had formed in the pit of his stomach, Keenan forced a calm expression. When Steve had called this morning and asked if he could help out, Keenan hadn’t hesitated. This was the chance he’d been waiting for, an opportunity to show he could do the job, a chance to get back in the air and be paid for doing something he loved.
The fact that the day had been bright and sunny appeared a good omen. Then he’d gotten the paperwork and saw Spring Gulch Orthopedics on the list. His heart had sunk but he’d reassured himself that Mitzi wasn’t the only orthopedic surgeon in the practice.
Though Keenan recalled Ben mentioning that Mitzi would be doing more of these rural clinics, what were the odds she’d be on this flight?
Now, here she stood, hair pulled back in some kind of twist, looking coolly professional in dark pants and a crisp white shirt, staring at him with an inscrutable expression and holding his fate in her hands. While that might seem a bit melodramatic, Steve Kowalski was a businessman. If he got the slightest whiff that patrons of his charter service might not accept Keenan as their pilot, he’d be out.
But he’d be damned if he’d grovel or beg. Keenan met that inscrutable gaze with a challenging one of his own.
“Of course there’s no problem.” Mitzi flashed a bright smile. “I was simply surprised. There’s no one I’d trust more with my life than Mr. McGregor.”
A look of relief skittered across Steve’s face. When he spoke, his booming voice was hearty. “That’s what we like to hear.”
Steve slapped Keenan on the back. “Have a good flight.”
He walked off, leaving Keenan alone with Mitzi.
Keenan automatically held out a hand. “Let me stow your bag.”
Mitzi pulled the bag close to her chest as if it were a shield. “I can handle it.”
Yes, she could handle the bag and whatever got tossed her way. She was tough. It was only one of her many characteristics he admired.
The question was could he handle it? Keenan had done a good job of putting the incident in the kitchen out of his head. Up to this point, he thought he’d been equally efficient in banishing her from his heart.
But now, having her gaze at him with those cool blue eyes, feeling the familiar heat that surged whenever she was near, made him realize he’d been fooling himself. He hadn’t forgotten anything. It was all there, bubbling like a pot of stew, ready to spill over.
But Keenan refused to let his personal life encroach on his workday.
Today was business. All business.
Mitzi obviously understood that, too, because she’d told Steve flying with him wasn’t an issue. He would never admit that at her words, the air had left his lungs and his knees had wobbled at her declaration. His immediate future rode on Steve believing he could keep the clients happy.
That’s why he would bury any irritation and make sure this was a good trip for her. He finished checking out the aircraft then helped Mitzi inside the small plane. After making sure she was settled in and ready, they headed down the runway.
The simple act of rising into the air was such a thrill that Keenan forgot everything else and simply reveled in the moment. This was what he was born to do. Flying was the ultimate freedom. When he was high above the earth, it was as if the world stretched out before him. His for the taking.
“Will it take long to reach Delano?” Mitzi spoke loudly over the engine noise.
“We should be there in forty-five.” More relaxed now, and fully in control of his emotions, Keenan ventured a sideways glance. “Do you have many patients to see?”
“From the list they gave me of appointments, it looks like a full schedule.” She settled back against the leather seat and her hands unclenched. “Makes the trip worth the time.”
The fact that there wasn’t the slightest hint of snippiness in her tone told him she wouldn’t make the trip miserable simply because they’d had a falling out.
“Who are these patients you’ll be seeing?”
“They’ve all been evaluated by their family doc, and some kind of orthopedic surgery is being considered. I’ll examine them, review their records then decide if I believe surgery is indicated.” She met his gaze. “A lot of patients think that because I’m a surgeon, I’ll push to cut. That’s not the case.”
“How did you decide on your specialty?” he asked politely. She was the client, and friendly conversation was part of the service.
“Bones and join
ts always interested me.” She shrugged. “Not a very girly thing, but I love it.”
“You followed your dream,” he said. “You should be proud of yourself.”
“Keenan.”
His stomach clenched at the tremor in her voice. He tightened his fingers on the yoke. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry about what happened the other day.”
Shock held him silent for a second. When he started to speak, she talked over him.
“I know how it appeared.” Her words came out in a rush. “I know what I said, what you thought, but it’s not true.”
Keenan didn’t want to discuss her foolishness in focusing on a man who didn’t have an adventurous bone in his body. Not only that, she’d practically come out and said the guy didn’t turn her on. And if she was thinking of heating up the sheets with him, Keenan had made it clear he wasn’t interested in playing secret lover. What more was there to say? “Let it drop.”
“I won’t.” She rested a hand on his bare forearm, scorching him with her touch. “I can’t.”
“Okay,” he said equitably, his voice calm even as his heart jackhammered against his ribs. “Say what you want to say. Then we’ll drop it.”
“I’m thirty-four years old, Keenan. I’ve achieved all of the goals I’ve set so far. One by one I’ve crossed them off.”
“Next up is finding a husband,” he said, unable to keep the censure from his tone.
She lifted her chin. “That’s right.”
“And you really believe Winn Ferris can make you happy?”
“I don’t,” Mitzi said. “That’s why Winn is off the list.”
Keenan pulled his brows together, not sure he’d heard correctly. “List?”
“Husband list,” she clarified. “I believe in being organized and methodical in my approach to a goal.”
“A list,” he repeated and shook his head.
“It makes sense,” she insisted. “Take Winn for example. The chemistry was definitely not there. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt because he was perfect in so many other ways. I thought it might be me. But—”
“There’s chemistry between us,” Keenan interrupted before she could bring up what had happened in the kitchen. “Where do I rank on your list?”
The question popped out before he could stop it.
“You’re not on it.”
Keenan ignored the sharp pain in his gut and kept his tone conversational. “Why not?”
“You want to have your own plane, your own charter service eventually.”
“True. But what does that have to do with your list?”
“You’ve got the drive and ambition to make that happen. But right now you’re where I was several years ago, working long hours for not a lot of money but with eyes focused firmly on the brass ring. You’re not ready to settle down.” A shadow stole across her face but was gone so quickly he wondered if he’d only imagined it. “I’m looking for a guy who has grabbed hold of his dreams and is ready for a wife and a family. Right now. Not someday.”
“It makes sense,” Keenan said grudgingly.
“Though I meant no harm, I realize now that I was wrong to use you the way I did. I hope you can forgive me.” She tilted her head back, her eyes meeting his. “I hope we can continue to be friends. Your friendship means a lot to me.”
She looked so worried, it took everything he had not to pull her into his arms and comfort. Instead he chuckled. “Does anyone ever stay mad at you?”
“Oh, definitely,” she admitted with a rueful smile. “But I hope not you.”
“I appreciate you telling Steve you trusted me to fly you to Delano.”
“I meant what I said.” A wistful quality filled her voice. “Given the choice, there’s no one I’d rather be with than you.”
* * *
Once she reached the small health center in the center of town, Mitzi was ushered to the back. She quickly discovered the schedule of patients she’d been given had been a “preliminary” one.
“I planned to fly back at three,” Mitzi told the nurse, her brows pulling together at the long list of names.
“We’ll do our best to get you out of here by then, doctor.” The older woman, who wore the starched white uniform reminiscent of a bygone era and a cap, as well, gestured to a door. “The first patient is in exam room two.”
Before entering the room, Mitzi texted Keenan and informed him they might not be ready to leave as early as they’d hoped.
By three o’clock, the waiting room still teemed with patients waiting to be seen, some of whom Mitzi knew had driven several hours for their appointment. When she contacted Keenan to inform him they’d have to delay their flight back, he warned a storm was moving in.
She finished seeing the last patient at five. Outside, the blue skies had turned an ominous gray. When she reached the airstrip, she got the bad news. There were more storms between Delano and Jackson Hole. Though it hadn’t yet started to rain in Delano, because of the wind gusts and lightning, flying wasn’t recommended.
“We’ll have to spend the night.” Keenan glanced around the inside of the small hangar. “I can bunk here. We’ll have to find a place for you.”
Mitzi stared at the concrete floor, wondering just where he planned to sleep. After making several calls, Mitzi discovered the only motel in town was full but found a B and B with one room left.
Keenan walked Mitzi to the Country Dreams B and B, a quaint two-story with lots of gingerbread molding. The yard, surrounded by a white picket fence, held more wildflowers than grass. A path of stepping-stones led to the steps of the wraparound porch.
The proprietor, a stout woman in her early fifties, opened the door before they could knock and greeted them warmly. She pressed a key in Mitzi’s hand, apologized for the need to hurry off and advised tonight she was making dinner for the guests. It would be on the table in thirty minutes.
Keenan turned to leave but Mitzi took his hand and pulled him up the stairs with her. When they reached the room, she motioned him inside.
He smiled. “Let me guess. You need me to make sure there are no monsters hiding under the bed?”
She shoved him none too gently into the room, then shut the door and fixed on a stern look. “Look, we both know it’s going to be miserable for you in that hangar.”
“Have you ever slept in a cell?”
She ignored the comment and gestured to the lovely though decidedly feminine room. To the brass bed topped with a wedding-ring quilt. To the lace doilies and pretty vases with flowers scattered throughout the room. “This would be much more comfortable.”
He quirked a brow. “Why, Dr. Sanchez, are you inviting me to sleep with you?”
“Sleep being the operative word,” Mitzi said drily. “Be sensible, Keenan. Stay. Have a nice dinner. Enjoy a good night’s sleep. We’ll head out in the morning, relaxed and refreshed.”
A crack of thunder punctuated her words. Almost immediately, waves of rain began beating against the windowpanes.
She shifted her gaze back to Keenan and cocked her head.
He smiled, a lazy lifting of the lips that did crazy things to her insides. “I may be many things, but I’m not a fool.”
Capturing her hand, he brought it to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. “I’d be delighted to spend the night with you.”
* * *
Keenan followed Mitzi down the stairs to the dining room and wondered just when he’d lost his mind. Hadn’t he decided it would be best to keep his relationship with Mitzi strictly professional?
Granted, there was that blasted electricity crackling in the air whenever she got within ten feet of him, but she’d been right. He had plans for his life. Before he could even consider becoming involved in a serious relationship, he had goals to p
ursue. And obtain.
But to spend the night with a beautiful woman and not touch...a man would have to be a saint. No one, absolutely no one, had ever accused Keenan McGregor of being a saint.
Still, the room was warm and dry and he’d get two good meals out of the deal. Surely he could keep his hands to himself for one night.
“Keenan is a friend,” Mitzi was telling Mrs. Thompsett, the proprietor, “and an excellent pilot. He flew me here.”
“Isn’t that nice?” Mrs. Thompsett, as round as she was tall, smiled warmly at him before refocusing on Mitzi.
Though Mitzi still wore the black pants and white shirt she’d had on this morning, seeing her without her lab coat made her look less like a doctor and more like a desirable woman.
“My neighbor Mrs. Clara Wilks had been looking forward to her appointment for weeks.” Mrs. Thompsett’s eyes sparkled with interest. “Did you recommend surgery?”
“Everything concerning any patient I see is confidential.” Mitzi made a zipping motion across her mouth. “My lips are sealed.”
Still, Keenan noted she said it with such good nature that Mrs. Thompsett didn’t take offense. Instead the older woman’s eyes twinkled. “I’ll call her after dinner and get the scoop.”
She gestured to a large oval table topped with a lace tablecloth where several people already sat. “Have a seat and get acquainted.”
After introducing themselves, Keenan pulled out Mitzi’s chair then sat beside her. It didn’t take long to learn that one of the couples was in town visiting friends while the other were tourists passing through.
Mitzi chatted easily. Keenan had heard the pretty doctor called a chameleon, a woman who changed to fit her circumstances. He’d observed that firsthand when he’d seen her with Winn after the symphony.
Keenan had to wonder who Mitzi was when she was with him and who she’d be tonight. And which one was the real Mitzi Sanchez.
Dinner ended up being a pleasant affair. The other couples were interesting and the food top-notch. From fresh garden salad accompanied by flaky dinner rolls to beef Wellington, everything was melt-in-your-mouth good.