“Good morning, ladies! Glorious morning, isn’t it?”
Both Nicolette and Cook turned at the sound of Geraldine’s cheerful voice to see the matriarch of the Sandbur ranch saunter into the kitchen.
She was dressed in slim blue jeans and a starched yellow shirt with a brown bandanna tied at her neck. Coral and silver earrings dangled from her ears, and her silver hair was brushed into a sleek style that swished against her shoulders. Any signs of the bronchitis that had nearly hospitalized her a few weeks ago were now totally gone.
“Well, don’t you look spiffy this morning,” Cook commented as the other woman filled a plate from bowls of food laid out on a buffet table.
“Are you going somewhere, Mother?” Nicolette asked curiously as she watched her mother push the plate of food into a microwave.
Geraldine’s smile was faint and just a bit secretive. “I am. Wolfe is taking me to the horse sale up at Seguin today.”
Nicolette’s mouth popped open. “The horse sale! Cordero says we need to be selling horses not buying more of them.” Then her eyes narrowed with interest as the other part of her mother’s comment connected with her brain. “Wolfe. You mean Wolfe Maddson? The state senator here in Goliad County?”
“That’s right. You met him at Matt and Juliet’s wedding. Tall, good-looking man.”
Geraldine took a seat at the table and began to eat. Nicolette exchanged a curious glance with Cook before she turned to her mother.
“Uh, I thought the senator was married.”
“His wife passed away last year from a lingering disease. I’ve been urging him to get out and do something—other than his work up at the Capital.”
“Hmm, well it sounds like he’s finally taking your advice. I hope you two enjoy the day,” Nicolette said and meant it. Even though she really didn’t know Senator Maddson all that well, she trusted her mother to use common sense in matters of men. After all, Geraldine had chosen a wonderful mate and father to her children. She’d had the good judgment to marry a man capable of loving her deeply, who had stood by her side until his untimely death. Whereas Nicolette had allowed her heart to be carried off by a man who’d been as shallow as the San Antonio River in the middle of a drought. No. She didn’t have to worry about her mother. Geraldine Saddler knew her way around a man. It was her own heart that Nicolette needed to worry about. And after last night she was beginning to wonder if she’d left it with Ridge.
“What about you, honey? How did your supper with Ridge go last night?” Geraldine asked.
Nicolette started to drop the last bite of biscuit onto her plate but, fearing Cook was watching, she tossed it into her mouth and dutifully chewed.
“It was fine. Nice,” she eventually replied.
Picking up her coffee cup, Geraldine tossed her daughter a faintly annoyed look. “That’s all? Nice?”
Nicolette shrugged. “Well, what do you want me to say?”
“I was hoping I’d come in here and find roses on your cheeks.” Reaching over, she caught Nicolette by the chin and angled her face one way and then the other. “Instead, you look pale and drained.”
Pink color swathed Nicolette’s cheeks, but thankfully it came after her mother had removed her hand and turned her attention back to eating.
“I look drained because I had a long day yesterday and I stayed later at Ridge’s than I’d intended.” At least that much was true, she thought. Much later. The clock had been close to striking two when she’d finally crawled into her own bed this morning. It was indecent. But for the first time in her life she felt sexy and wanted.
“What was his home like?” Geraldine persisted.
Nicolette smiled as she scooted forward on her chair. At least this was something she could share with her mother.
“I actually loved it. It’s small and homey and has two long porches with all sorts of furniture and potted plants. A huge pecan tree shades the yard and there’s an old chicken house in the back that Ridge is going to restore. He’s even going to get some laying hens. I told him to get dominickers. They lay the best. Isn’t that right, Cook?”
“That’s right,” Cook answered from her place at the counter. “But what’s he gonna do about coyotes? Does he know it’ll take one coyote about two nights to clear out a chicken house?”
“He has a German shepherd dog named Enoch,” Nicolette answered. “I’m sure he’ll keep the coyotes chased away.”
“Then he really is going to make this area his home,” Geraldine mused aloud.
A faint frown creased Nicolette’s forehead. “That’s been his intention from the start. But he—well, he can’t convince his parents, especially his mother of that. She’s badgering him to return to Houston. And his father will hardly speak to Ridge because he’s here rather than there.” Her voice softened as regret for him filled her heart. “Oh, Mother, he doesn’t say that the estrangement hurts him, but I can tell that it does. I wish his parents would understand what a fine young man he is instead of trying to bend him to their will.”
Geraldine glanced up and, after taking a moment to scan Nicolette’s troubled face, laid a gentle hand over her daughter’s. “It sounds as though you’re beginning to care for Dr. Garroway.”
Did she? After last night she felt foolish to even ask herself that question. From the first night she’d rushed to the hospital and found him treating Dan in such a personal way, she’d cared about him. But now that initial caring seemed to be growing, blossoming into something that made her feel like the world around her was bright and beautiful. She didn’t want to fall in love. That wasn’t in her plans. But her heart didn’t seem to be following her instructions.
Breathing deeply, she wiped her fingers on a napkin and then reached for her coffee. “I do care for him, Mother. But I—don’t want things to get too serious between us. He’s a man I enjoy being with, and that’s where it stops.”
“Why?” Geraldine persisted. “And don’t start in about Bill and all that bull he put you through. Ridge isn’t Bill. He’s far from it.”
“That’s sure saying a mouthful,” Cook spoke up, her voice full of grit. “I’d still like to take Bill out somewhere and scare the hell out of him with my shotgun.”
Ignoring Hattie’s comment, Nicolette said to her mother, “I’m nine years older than Ridge, Mom. That’s eventually bound to cause problems.”
“Not if you don’t let it.”
So Ridge had said, too, Nicolette thought wearily. She might as well forget that argument for the time being. “Okay, put that reason out of your mind and think about this. Ridge is a busy doctor and so am I. We’d never have time for much of a life together. He deserves more than that. He—” She paused as her throat thickened with emotion, and before Geraldine could spot the glaze of tears in her eyes, she turned her gaze to the windows looking out over the back patio and the garden beyond. She swallowed before she finally spoke. “Ridge wants a wife and children.”
“Well, hallelujah. At last. You’ve found a man who wants the same things as you,” Geraldine exclaimed. “I think that’s wonderful.”
Dismally, Nicolette turned back to her mother. “I thought Bill wanted the same things I did. Look what that got me. No, Mom, I’m not ready to put my trust in a man again. I just can’t do it.”
Scooting back her chair, she rose from the table to leave the kitchen. Her mother swiftly caught her by the forearm.
“Honey, you just agreed that Ridge is nothing like your ex-husband. So why can’t you trust him?”
Why couldn’t she, Nicolette asked herself. How could she explain that to her mother when she couldn’t even explain it to herself?
“It doesn’t matter, Mother. Ridge is hardly proposing marriage.” And if he did, she’d have to tell him no. Everything between them would have to end. It was something she couldn’t bear to think about.
Across the room Cook said, “Men are just like horses, Miss Nicci. Some are outlaws and others you can trust with your life. Cordero says a good hors
e can’t be picked by its conformation or whether it has high-toned breeding. It’s that soft look in the horse’s eye that tells him he’s a keeper.” She glanced over her shoulder at Nicolette. “I liked Ridge right off. Not because he’s mighty good to look at. He has that soft eye. And I’m thinkin’ he has it for you.”
Chapter Ten
While Nicolette was making an awkward exit from the Saddler kitchen, Ridge was sitting at his office desk, staring absently at the window instead of the insurance papers lying on his desk.
His lawyer had sent a series of documents for him to sign regarding the malpractice insurance he needed, to protect his medical profession from lawsuit-happy lawyers. Ridge had read them over and had found the cost of the policy to be worse than criminal. He’d wanted to tear the papers into tiny bits. He’d wanted to call the most influential politician he could think of and blast him or her with the problems of rising medical costs and the reasons why. But Ridge had never been a man to hold on to his anger for more than a few short minutes. It was a wasteful emotion. Besides that, he couldn’t think about anything except the woman he’d made love to last night.
With a plaintive sigh, he rose from the desk and walked over to the windows overlooking the parking lot. It had only been a few short hours since he’d driven Nicolette back here to the clinic to pick up her car. He’d practically begged her to stay the remainder of the night with him. He’d wanted to feel her sleeping beside him. He’d wanted to wake and see her head pillowed on his shoulder. He’d wanted her to make that small but first step of commitment. But she’d refused with all sorts of arguments. None of which had been the real crux of her reason to bolt. He could see it plainly. She was afraid of giving in to him and to herself.
But was her fear coming solely from her bad marriage? Or was he falling for another Brittany? Was Nicolette really running from his modest lifestyle and his break from a wealthy inheritance?
No. Ridge didn’t want to think about that just yet. The fact that she’d made love to him had to be enough for now.
Enough. That thought elicited a silent groan within him. The things she’d made him feel last night far exceeded enough. She’d stolen his breath, his very heart and soul. He couldn’t envision his life without her.
He was still in deep contemplation, telling himself he had to get ready for his first patient of the day, when the telephone on his desk rang. Before he picked it up he could see the call was coming from his receptionist’s desk.
“Yes, Saundra.”
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Dr. Garroway, but Saddler is calling from her office. She says it’s important that she talk with you. She’s on line three. Do you want to take the call or shall I tell her to call back later?”
Ridge shoved back his cuff to see he had fifteen minutes before his first appointment. “No. I’ll take the call. Thank you, Saundra.”
Quickly he punched the buttons that would connect him to Nicolette’s call.
“Hello, Nicci.”
“Good morning, Ridge. Sorry to bother you so early. I know you’re getting ready to see patients, but I need to meet with you for a few minutes if I could.”
His brows lifted with surprise while his voice lowered. “Is this about last night?”
A slight pause crossed the line and then she said in a husky tone, “No. But I have been thinking about last night—about you—and all of it has been fairly naughty.”
His body stirred with desire and he drew in a deep breath and quickly pushed it out. “Same here.”
She suddenly cleared her throat. “I have a little patient here I want you to take a look at. But if you don’t have the time, I’ll have my receptionist make an appointment for him with you.”
“I have the time. I’ll be right down.”
He quickly cut the connection, then called his receptionist to tell her he’d be out for a few minutes. Once he’d hung up the phone, he exited the suite of his office suite through a back hallway and hurried across the building to Nicolette’s office.
The moment he stepped into the waiting room a nurse with a thick head of bright-red curls ushered him back to an examining room at the back of the hallway.
Nicolette was inside, along with a thin, young woman who hardly appeared to be out of her teens. A small baby of about three or four months of age was lying on his back in the middle of the examining table. The infant’s thin arms were flailing in the air while his intermittent cries of frustration were causing the young woman to smooth her fingers over the top of his head.
Ridge sensed a thread of urgency as Nicolette quickly introduced him to the mother. “Dr. Garroway, this is Meghan Delaney. She’s David’s mother.”
He shook the woman’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Delaney. Are you having a problem with David?”
Meghan Delaney gave him an anxious nod. “He cries all the time and he’s not gaining weight like he should. I try to feed him more, but he just doesn’t want his bottle or cereal.”
Ridge glanced questioningly at Nicolette who was standing at the head of the examining table. “Do you act as his pediatrician?”
Nicolette gave him a negative shake of her head. “No. Ms. Delaney gave birth to David at home with the help of a midwife. The baby has never seen a doctor until this morning.”
“I see,” Ridge said. But frankly he didn’t. Sometimes it amazed him to hear the reasons some people used to avoid doctors and medical facilities. In Ms. Delaney’s case he figured it was money and misguidance from someone close to her. Her clothes were frayed and wrinkled, her thin brown hair pulled into a ponytail. He didn’t see a wedding ring on her finger and he very much doubted she was married. But it was the dull, lifeless look in her eyes that told of her plight. Ridge wanted only to comfort and reassure her that her world would eventually get better.
“Have you started a chart on him?” he asked Nicolette.
She gestured to the red-headed nurse who was standing in the far corner of the small room. “Jacki, show Dr. Garroway the vital stats you’ve recorded,” she instructed.
The nurse stepped forward and handed Ridge a manila folder with one lone slip of paper inside. He read it over quickly then turned back to the child. The baby had dark eyes, sparse, reddish-brown hair and a complexion that was too pale to be healthy. Yet he had a sweet, cherub face that couldn’t help but make Ridge smile.
“Okay, little guy, let’s see what’s going on here.”
Before he’d left his office, Ridge had stuffed a stethoscope into the pocket of his lab coat. Now he fastened the instrument around his neck and began to warm the round metal end with his hand.
“Dr. Saddler says you mend hearts,” the young girl spoke to Ridge in a worried voice. “Does that mean my little Davey has something wrong with his heart? Is that why she wants you to look at him?”
Ridge smiled gently at her. “Well, let me listen to him first and then we’ll talk about it,” he answered carefully as he bent over the baby.
Sensing that a stranger was drawing near, David began to cry in earnest, making it impossible for Ridge to hear what was going on inside the baby’s chest.
Nicolette was about to gesture for Jacki to pick up the baby and try to quiet him, when Ridge reached down and lifted the tiny boy into his arms.
“Here, now, little fellow,” he crooned to the baby, “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to make you feel better. And then you’ll be too busy growing and playing to cry.”
He rocked the child for a moment and the cries quieted. Finally the three women watched in amazement as Ridge pulled a cell phone from his trouser pocket and handed it to baby. “Here,” he said. “Chew on this.”
As if he understood every word Ridge had said to him, David wrapped his tiny fingers around the folded plastic and took it straight to his mouth. After that Ridge had no problem laying the baby down on the table and listening to his chest and back.
Once he was finished, he cradled the baby back in his arms and looked at the mother.
&n
bsp; “It sounds as though David has a heart murmur. That’s why he’s not gaining weight and crying most of the time. He feels tired because his heart isn’t working right.”
The young woman visibly wilted, and Nicolette quickly put a supportive arm around her shoulders. “Don’t panic, Meghan,” she softly encouraged. “Dr. Garroway will take good care of your son.”
Meghan turned worried, but hopeful eyes on Ridge. “What is a murmur? Can you make him well?”
Ridge glanced down at the baby cradled in the crook of his left arm and wondered what it would feel like to hold his own son. Instinctively his gaze lifted to Nicolette and as she caught the beam of his eyes with hers, the heat of their lovemaking came roaring to the forefront of his mind. If not for her birth control, she could be pregnant with his child right now. It was a soaring thought.
But he wasn’t here to think about loving Nicolette or having a child with her. At the moment, his first priority was little David.
To answer Meghan’s question, he said, “A murmur is a sound that happens when a valve in the heart isn’t working right. Valves have lids and when those lids don’t close or open properly blood leaks out or can’t get through to the place it needs to go.”
The woman looked even more horrified. “That sounds awful! What can you do? Will he ever get well?”
With each question her voice rose to a higher, more frantic pitch. Nicolette patted her shoulder. “It’s okay, Meghan. Don’t get scared. I promised you that Dr. Garroway would take care of David. Your son will grow to be a strong young man. That’s what we all want.”
Ridge handed the baby over to his mother. “David will need to have some extensive tests done. Some of them I can do here in the clinic. Others may have to be done in the hospital. Once I get the results, then we can decide what he needs to make him well. Okay?”
The baby’s mother stared at him in a shell-shocked way. “Doctor, I don’t have insurance or much money. That’s why I brought David to see Dr. Saddler. Someone told me she saw patients for free. I can’t pay for all those things to be done for my baby.”
The Best Catch in Texas Page 13