He gave her a blank look. “Wednesday?”
“That’s the day I’m planning to bring my yoga class to soak in your hot spring.”
“Oh, right. How could I forget?”
She had to smile at his mock-gloomy look. Or maybe it was a genuinely gloomy look. Cole was a hard man to read.
“Yes. We’ll be here about five. They’re all very excited. This morning, Archie Peralta said he was looking for his favorite red Speedo. So that should be fun.”
His mouth twitched and she thought for a moment he would smile once more. She found herself waiting for it rather breathlessly but he only tilted his head, an amused light in his eyes that still made her want to sink into his arms again.
“I believe I will find something else to do on the other side of the ranch right around that time.”
“Chicken.”
“Damn straight. Old guys in Speedos scare the living daylights out of me.”
“I’m sure you’ll survive,” she said, managing a laugh, even though some part of her wanted to be back in his arms. “I really do need to go. I’ll see you then.”
Despite the kiss and the subsequent awkwardness of it, she was still smiling as she walked down the shoveled sidewalk and climbed into her car, the windshields clear of snow.
The steering wheel was freezing against her bare hands and the car’s heater blew out only cold air from the engine that hadn’t warmed up as she pulled away from the ranch house and set off down the long, curving drive toward the main road.
She didn’t care about the cold slapping at her. She was almost grateful for it. She needed something to jerk her back to the harsh reality that she had made a huge mistake. She shouldn’t have kissed him.
Now she would only be left wanting more.
* * *
COLE WATCHED DEVIN’S taillights move down the driveway and then disappear as she rounded a curve on her way back to town and her real life.
What the hell had he just done?
That kiss. He closed his eyes, still tasting the sweetness of her on his lips, strawberries and clotted cream and delicious woman.
He had just about lost it back there, had come within a heartbeat of abandoning four years’ worth of hard-fought control. Another moment or two and he would have forgotten the kids, the ranch, the vast gulf between him and the lovely doctor. He had wanted her as he had wanted nothing else, ever.
Those first hellish days of detox in jail, he remembered shaking with the hunger for another drink.
This ache inside him for the lovely doctor beat that hunger all to hell.
It would be worse now. So much worse. He couldn’t unkiss her now, untouch her. The memory of her trembling mouth, her instant response, was bound to drive him crazy.
More enticing even than her kiss had been the sweetness of having someone to lean on. Knowing that she was here with his kids had completely set his mind at ease as he had run errands in Boise.
They were safe with her, his two precious kiddos—maybe even more safe than with him alone. She, at least, knew what to do about a puking kid, while Cole had been frozen, standing by like an idiot as she dealt with the situation.
At the reminder of Ty, he climbed the stairs and cracked open his son’s door. A shaft of moonlight broke through the clouds and burst through the blinds, resting on the boy’s face.
Devin was right. His color was better and he seemed to be sleeping calmly. Cole hoped he would be okay in the morning, able to attend school. Seeing either of his kids suffer for any reason hurt his heart.
Ty made a sound and rolled over in his sleep, a lock of hair falling over his forehead.
What a great kid he was. Cole had loved him from the very beginning, this little creature with the big eyes and the huge heart. Sure, he had his suspicions—by then he knew very well about Sharla’s frequent infidelities—but he would never let those suspicions grow into anything else. They were only pernicious little gnats of thought that buzzed in his ear once in a while, before he could swat them away.
Ty was his. Cole didn’t give a damn about DNA. They had still been married when he was born and Sharla had put his name on the boy’s birth certificate. As far as Cole was concerned, that was the only thing that mattered.
His kids were the best thing he had going. His entire purpose revolved around them. They were the reason he was working so hard to bring the ranch back from near bankruptcy, to give them a legacy they could be proud to claim.
He needed to keep that thought in mind and not lose focus—even if that meant subverting this wildly inconvenient attraction to a woman he could never have.
CHAPTER TWELVE
SOAKING IN EVERGREEN SPRINGS on a December afternoon was even more amazing than Devin had hoped.
The water was the perfect temperature for it and even after just a few moments, she could feel the tension of her crazy workweek slipping away.
“This is the life, eh?” Archie Peralta beamed at her, just his head and shoulders visible above the water’s surface. His thick graying mustache had little crystals of frost in it. Fortunately, he hadn’t worn his Speedo but a pair of board shorts with palm trees on them that had looked almost fashionable before he slipped into the water.
“It is, indeed,” she answered.
She looked around at her yoga class enjoying the water, each looking at least a decade younger as they soaked. They had all needed this, just a brief respite from their worries and burdens. Archie had been devoted to the care of his wife, stricken with Alzheimer’s, until she died a short time ago. Paul Weaver, a retired dairy farmer, had the beginning stages of Parkinson’s. Eppie and Hazel Brewer, sisters a year apart who had married twin brothers, both had arthritis.
Each of the other senior citizens in the water coped with similar age-related ailments.
If she didn’t know them already and hadn’t treated many of them, she never would have guessed. Right now, they were all laughing together, relaxed, happily splashing each other like children on a hot summer day.
Tendrils of mineral-scented steam rose up all around them in wispy columns as they soaked. From what Cole had told her about Evergreen Springs and her study of the history of the local mineral springs, she knew the local waters contained sulfur for skin health, boron for building muscle mass and strengthening bones, magnesium for energy, and potassium, which helped reduce high blood pressure. The sodium level was high in the local waters, which some claimed eased the pain of arthritic symptoms.
In addition to the soothing waters, this particular hot spring was perfectly situated, with a lovely vantage point of Lake Haven and Haven Point. The relaxing view was a form of therapy all its own.
If Cole ever opened it up to the public and charged admission, he could make a mint. She completely understood why he protected it so assiduously, though. Too many people would ruin the secret magic of the place.
She looked over at the smoke coming from the chimney of the humble little hut beside the water and felt a funny ache in her chest again. She had arrived at the ranch not knowing quite what she would find and discovered that not only had Cole plowed the road to the spring but he had also set a fire in the changing hut to warm it for them.
“Iris used to tell me about this place.” Sharon Bybee wore a flowered bathing cap as cheerful as her smile on her steel-gray curls. “She was always inviting me to come and have a soak. I can’t believe I never took her up on the offer. I could have been enjoying this for years.”
“How long can we stay?” Paul asked.
“And when can we come again?” Ronald Brewer, her friend Eppie’s usually quiet husband, asked with more enthusiasm than she’d ever heard.
“It’s probably not safe to soak too long. I’ll have to do a little more research about it but I would say no more than an hour. We’ll start climbing out in
a few moments. As to when we can come again, Cole has agreed to let us use the springs twice. I’m thinking perhaps next week. Perhaps Monday or Tuesday.”
“What about after that?” Hazel asked. “I know I’m going to want to come up here again. I haven’t felt this relaxed in years. My knee isn’t hurting one darn bit. I feel like I could hike to the top of that hill over there.”
She had been afraid of this, that giving them all a taste of how good the waters could make them feel might lead them to want things she couldn’t promise.
“I’m sorry. Our deal was only for a few visits. I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t make any other promises.”
“Ah, well. At least we got to enjoy it today,” Archie said. “You know what they say. Don’t be sorry that it ended. Be glad that it happened.”
“I bet you have that pinned on a Pinterest board somewhere, don’t you?” Edwin Bybee, Sharon’s husband, teased.
Archie didn’t look at all fazed. “Hey, don’t knock it. I get the best recipes there.”
“That quinoa you brought to the last social was delicious,” Barbara Serrano assured him. “Even if it was quinoa.”
Devin listened to their chatter with a smile as she moved her arms back and forth in the water that felt like a warm embrace.
After a few more moments, she gauged it was probably time to start herding them out.
“Looks like the sun is starting to go down. We should probably start working our way out. Ladies first in the dressing hut. You men can soak a few more minutes.”
She helped them all out of the water using the stone steps some previous Barrett had created in the water, then along the short path Cole must have shoveled. The cold air was invigorating after the long soak and she had some idea why people in the northern climates loved their saunas and snow-rolling afterward.
When everyone had changed out of their swimming suits and into dry clothes, they headed toward Archie’s and Ronald’s SUVs.
“Thank you all for coming. I’ll see you tomorrow morning for class and let you know about the next time we can soak.”
“Yes,” Hazel said. “You tell that handsome Cole Barrett when you see him that I’ll gladly make him a Dutch apple pie every time he lets us soak. Make sure he knows my pies are famous from here to the Oregon state line.”
She smiled. “I’ll do that, sweetie. Thanks.”
She waited until they started to drive away before she climbed into the big old pickup truck with the plow she had traded in return for medical care with a patient who had six accident-prone children. It had proved a wise decision. Usually she drove her SUV but on snowy mornings, the plow was invaluable for scraping out her own driveway and a few of her neighbors.
Every muscle and joint felt deliciously loose and relaxed as she started up the rumbling engine and headed down the hill toward the ranch house behind the other SUVs.
She needed to talk to Cole about which day would work for their next visit. While she knew it made all the sense in the world to stop now while she was here, she wasn’t sure she was ready to see him again. That earthshaking kiss seemed to have been seared into her memory and she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Maybe once she saw him again, she would be able to push it away once and for all. She pulled up in front of the house, anticipation zinging through her, both to see the children again and to see Cole.
To her surprise, Leticia Robles answered the doorbell. As always, she looked graceful and lovely, with her high cheekbones and her salt-and-pepper hair coiled into a roll at the back of her neck.
Every time Devin saw her, she felt an echo of old pain. Letty’s husband had been one of her first patients when she finished her internship and returned to the Lake Haven Hospital. She had been working in the emergency department when the ambulance had brought in Mike Robles in full cardiac arrest, with no pulse and no heartbeat. The paramedics had been working without success to resuscitate. She had tried for an hour longer, with every tool at her disposal, until she had finally had to admit defeat and declare him dead.
The professional failure had been devastating, a brutal introduction to small-town medicine, losing the husband of a friend.
Letty had always been kind to her, though, and had never once questioned whether Devin could have done anything differently.
“Letty! Hello.”
“Hello, my dear. Come in where it’s warm. You look like you just stepped out of the shower.”
She gave a wry smile. “We’ve been up at the hot spring. I did my best to keep my hair dry but the ends got a little damp, anyway. I’ve been meaning to call you. When did you start?”
“Today, actually.”
“And how is it going?”
“It’s early days yet, but I know I’m going to like it. It couldn’t be more perfect, actually. I’m free most of the day to be with my mom in the nursing home while the children are in school, then I can come here during the afternoon and evenings to help out with a little cleaning and cooking.”
Oh, what a relief. The minute McKenzie had suggested Letty, Devin had thought she would be ideal for Cole and his children.
“And how are you getting along with everybody?”
“Again, early days, but so far so good. They’re dears, all of them. Ty is so sweet and kind. Jazmyn is a bit of a character but I love her spunk. And though I would never tell him this, Cole needs as much care as the children.”
He would hate hearing her say that, but Devin had to agree.
“I think you’re all perfect for each other.”
“It’s been less than a day, but I’m inclined to agree.” Letty smiled, looking worlds happier than the last time Devin had seen her. Not only had she lost Mike just a few years earlier but at the end of the summer, her daughter’s husband received a job offer in a distant state and they had moved with Letty’s only two grandchildren.
Devin suspected her friend would have moved with them despite the extended family she had living in the Lake Haven area if not for her devotion to her mother.
“I need to speak with Cole. Is he around?”
“He’s down at the barn. I told him I had to leave at six for my library board meeting, so I’m sure he’ll be up by then, if you’d care to wait around.”
“I’ll just go find him down at the barn,” she said, just as a little figure in a Superman cape bounded into the room.
Ty barreled to a stop at the sight of her. “Hi, Dr. Devin!” He beamed that joyful smile that made her heart feel as if it was going to burst with happiness.
“Hey, buddy.” She knelt down and he immediately swooped in and threw his arms around her neck.
“I missed you,” he said.
Her heart cracked open a little more. “I missed you, too.”
He drew away, crinkling up his nose. “You smell funny.”
She laughed and stood up. “I’ve been soaking in the hot spring. I need to go home and have a good shower now to wash the minerals off.”
“We have three showers. You could do it here.”
“Thanks for the offer, kiddo. Maybe next time.”
“Are you coming back to the hot spring? If you do, can I go with you? I love to swim and I can even hold my breath under the water.”
“We’ll have to ask your dad. If he doesn’t mind, I would love to have you and I know my friends would, too. I’m on my way to talk to him right now and I’ll be sure to bring it up.”
He beamed with anticipatory delight, then apparently moved on to another subject.
“Mrs. Robles, may I have another cookie? They are so good.”
Letty smiled, running a hand over the boy’s hair. “You may. Just one, though. Otherwise you won’t want to eat my delicious chicken curry.”
“Ooh. Chicken curry. Yum.”
Letty chuckle
d after the boy as he raced off, then she turned to Devin. “Would you like me to put some in a container for you to take home? There’s plenty.”
“Ooh. Chicken curry. Yum,” she echoed Ty. “But as delicious as that sounds, I’d better pass. I’m having dinner at Kenzie’s place tonight. Ben comes into town again tomorrow to stay through the holidays, which means she’ll be a little distracted from now until after Christmas.”
Letty smiled. “It warms my heart to see her so happy.”
“I know. I never would have thought Ben Kilpatrick would turn out to be the perfect man for her. I guess I’m not as smart as I like to think.”
“You were smart enough to know how perfect this setup would be for me.” Letty hugged her just as Ty had done. “I’m not stupid, you know. I know you did this as much for me as for them.”
“I was hoping everyone would benefit. It’s wonderful to know I was right.”
She only hoped Letty could stay on for a while, she thought after she said her goodbyes. Tricia would need plenty of help with her babies when she brought them back to the ranch, which might keep the older woman from missing her grandchildren so much.
She decided to drive her pickup truck down to the barn so she could leave more quickly from there to head home and shower before dinner. It was an old, graceful building, steeply gambrel roofed with lean-tos along both sides and painted bright red. Cole obviously took great care of the building. The white trim around the doors sparkled in the fading sunlight.
As she parked the truck and headed for the door, her stomach fluttered with nervous anticipation. This was ridiculous, she told herself sternly. So she had kissed the man. What was the big deal? Just because she hadn’t been able to sleep for days without crazy, lust-fueled dreams didn’t mean she couldn’t have a normal, civilized conversation with the man.
What was the etiquette at a barn? she wondered. Should she knock? That seemed silly, for some reason. After dithering for a moment, she finally simply pulled open a small side door. The place was huge inside and smelled of fresh hay, leather and horses.
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