Doctors in the Wedding

by Gina Wilkins

  “Okay, see you down—” The elevator doors closed behind Madison before Hannah could finish the sentence.

  Moving robotically, Madison walked to her door and shoved the key into the slot. She muttered a curse beneath her breath when she realized she’d inserted the card upside down. Turning it over, she tried again, then shoved the door open.

  Wouldn’t you know, she thought wistfully, closing the door behind her, that the one man who’d brought out the reckless fun in her since…well, almost longer than she could remember…was the one man who was totally off-limits this weekend?

  It wasn’t as if she’d expected anything serious to come of her flirtation with Jason, anyway, she assured herself, heading for the shower.

  But, oh, it could have been a fun three days.

  Two buses had been secured for transporting the guests to the dude ranch some twenty miles from the hotel. BiBi and Carl had invited the entire wedding party, several of their family members and a few miscellaneous others to attend, for a total of about forty people, as far as Madison could determine. BiBi insisted that the men should load into one vehicle and the women into the other—and again, no one argued with her. She was practically giddy with excitement about the entertainment she had arranged for her guests. Apparently the ranch specialized in hosting wedding parties, family and class reunions, company retreats and other such gatherings, and had offered a long list of activities for BiBi and Carl to select from.

  Madison had dressed for the day in a three-quarter-sleeved, scoop-neck green T-shirt with jeans. The temperature was predicted to climb into the high seventies, and it was already too warm for a jacket, so she had tucked a thin sweater into her tote bag in case she needed it that evening. She didn’t own a cowboy hat, but she’d worn a pair of brown leather boots that were vaguely Western in style. It had been a few years since she’d been on horseback; she only hoped she’d remembered enough of the basics so she didn’t embarrass herself.

  She’d arranged her honey-blond hair into a tidy French braid to keep it out of her face during the day’s activities. Maybe she’d spent a bit more time than usual with her makeup—trying for a casual, but flattering look—but that was only because she knew BiBi’s crowd wouldn’t be caught dead without mascara and blusher. She certainly hadn’t primped with anyone particular in mind, she assured herself sanctimoniously.

  When she saw the other women, she was glad she’d made the effort, whatever her motivation. Texas women were fussy about their hair and makeup, BiBi had always said, and that was in evidence today. Though jeans and Ts or button-up cotton shirts were the primary garments of choice, she saw a few shiny Western shirts festooned with rhinestones and appliqués, and enough new pairs of pointy-toed boots that she didn’t doubt some of the guests would be limping a bit through the next day’s events.

  The bus seats were plush and roomy, but still rather cramped for the very pregnant woman who sat next to Madison. Madison remembered seeing her at the party last night, though they had not actually met.

  “I’m Madison Baker,” she said with a smile, raising her voice just enough to be heard over the excited chattering around them.

  The other woman, a strawberry blonde with a face that was probably round even when she wasn’t in the last stages of pregnancy and green eyes that were friendly despite the faint shadows beneath, introduced herself in return. “I’m Lila Polanski. My husband, Tommy, is an old friend of Carl’s. He’s serving as an usher Sunday. Are you one of the bridesmaids? Sorry, I should know that, probably, but I don’t know BiBi or her friends very well.”

  “Yes, I’m a bridesmaid. I’ve known BiBi since college. Do you live here in Dallas?”

  “No, Tommy grew up here, but I’m originally from Wisconsin. We moved to Houston a couple years ago for Tommy’s job. We drove up for the wedding. Tommy thought a day at a dude ranch sounded kind of cheesy,” she added in a stage whisper, glancing around to make sure BiBi wasn’t within hearing range. “But I think it will be fun. Not that I can participate much.”

  She patted her protruding tummy with a mixture of pride and impatience.

  Madison chuckled. “When is your baby due?”

  “Next month. Our first. A boy.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you. Do you live in Dallas?”

  Madison explained that she, too, had traveled for the wedding weekend, and they passed the remainder of the ride chatting congenially. Lila was a talker who tended to share a bit too much information quite freely with strangers. Madison liked her, though, and enjoyed the conversation. Madison’s job never came up, and she saw no need to mention that she was a doctor. ob-gyn was not her specialty, and she wasn’t prepared to answer a string of medical questions from the eager mommy-to-be. Better just to be another wedding guest, she thought.

  She didn’t know whose idea it had been for the men to stand around the bus door and help the women descend the steps onto the graveled ranch parking lot. It seemed to be taking the back-to-the-Old-West theme a bit too far, with the strapping cowboys offering assistance to the fragile ladies, but she told herself not to take it so seriously. Today was all in fun. Maybe she’d gotten a little too sensitive about gender issues in medical school, where there were still a few deeply ingrained biases toward male doctors, even though women made up nearly half of modern medical school classes. When two men rushed forward to assist Lila Polanski, Madison told herself that it really was sort of nice that Southern gallantry still existed, despite the old-fashioned gender implications.

  A man in a well-worn brown hat, a denim shirt rolled back on the forearms, jeans and boots that were definitely not new stepped up when she moved into the bus door. He held out a hand to her, tilting his head back so she could see his face beneath the brim of his hat. Her breath caught hard.

  She’d been absolutely correct earlier. Jason D’Alessandro looked damned good in Western wear.

  Realizing she was holding up the women waiting behind her to get off the bus, Madison placed her hand in Jason’s. It would have been rude to ignore his friendly offer of assistance, especially with other people watching. Among them, she realized, BiBi and Corinna, who stood nearby chatting with other guests, but still surreptitiously watching Jason.

  She was glad the sparks that flew when her bare palm pressed against Jason’s existed only in her own overactive imagination. Or was he aware of them, too? She thought she heard his breath catch when his fingers closed around hers, but maybe that, too, was just something she imagined. Reminding herself that he was off-limits, she withdrew her hand quickly, meeting just a little resistance when she pulled away, as if he had been reluctant to release her.

  BiBi rushed forward, almost dragging a tall, lanky cowboy with her. The man wore neatly pressed dark jeans over tooled leather boots, a tan denim shirt with colorful floral embroidery up the front and across the back yoke, a bolo tie and a battered hat with a feathered band. Madison figured he was so stereotypically dressed that he must be an employee of the dude ranch.

  BiBi proved the guess to be correct. “Everyone, this is Buck. He’s our ranch host for today, so if anyone has any problems or questions, he’s the man to ask. Right, Buck?”

  He agreed congenially, then made a short welcoming speech outlining the activities planned for the day and urging everyone to feel free to ask any ranch employee for assistance as needed.

  “And now let’s all load up on the wagons,” he said, indicating three large open wooden wagons, each with a driver holding the reins to a pair of sturdy-looking horses. “We’re about to head back in time to a real Old West ranch experience.”

  Madison heard a few muted snorts from some of the men in the party—probably men who had either grown up on real ranches or had at least some familiarity with them. BiBi had insisted she knew this was basically an amusement-park version of ranch life, but she didn’t
care. It was going to be fun, she’d said. And fun was what her wedding weekend was all about. She’d also admitted to her girlfriends that she was looking forward to seeing her citified lawyer fiancé on horseback. Just because Carl had grown up in Dallas didn’t make him a cowboy, she had added with a laugh. And since several of her wedding guests were from out of state, like Madison, BiBi wanted them to have a true Texas experience.

  Once again the men stepped up to help the ladies onto the wagons. Again, it took two—her husband and another volunteer—to get Lila onto a bench. Madison privately wondered if it had been a good idea for Lila to attend this outing, but Lila seemed so genuinely excited to be here that she supposed no one had the heart to suggest she stay behind.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jason moving in her direction, but another man stepped between them. “There you are, Madison. You slipped away from the party so quickly last night that I didn’t have a chance to say good-night. It’s good to see you again today.”

  She forced a smile. “Hello, Allen. Nice to see you again, too.”

  Carl’s cousin had dressed as enthusiastically for a ranch visit as he had for the costume party. His hat, boots, tooled-leather belt and embroidered red shirt all looked new, though his jeans looked to have had some use. “I see you’re still a red shirt,” she commented.

  He laughed. “So I am. Last night I wore the colors of the losing army and now this. If I were appearing on an episode of Star Trek, I’d probably be killed off today. That’s an old trope,” he added in explanation. “The usually unnamed crew members who appeared in the background of the episodes wearing red shirts were always the ones killed in battle scenes.”

  Probably he wasn’t trying to sound patronizing. Certainly he didn’t know she came from a family of sci-fi nuts. She nodded and spoke lightly. “Yes, I know. Perhaps you’d better be extra careful today.”

  “I’ll do that. Ready to climb into one of these wagons? I see a couple of empty seats on the nearest one here. Let me help you in.”

  She really wanted to ignore his proffered hand and climb into the wagon on her own, but BiBi stood nearby, nodding encouragement and smiling indulgently, so she sighed and conceded. No sparks flew when she took Allen’s hand to step up into the conveyance. She released him immediately when she was safely aboard. As she took a seat on a bench, she saw Jason helping an older woman—Carl’s aunt, Madison believed—onto another wagon, and then he, too, boarded that one while Allen slid onto the bench next to Madison.

  BiBi and Carl sat across from them. Corinna and Hannah took the next bench. The wagon jolted into motion, traversing a well-worn dirt path through woods that were already thinning a little for the approaching change of season. It was an absolutely beautiful morning, clear, nearly cloudless, with a pine-scented breeze to cool them during the bumpy ride. It was almost as if nature itself was loath to displease BiBi today.

  The passengers chattered during the short trip, with BiBi cheerfully dominating the conversation in their wagon. Madison didn’t mind that. BiBi deserved her time in the spotlight; besides, it kept Madison from having to constantly respond to Allen’s flirting. The guy seemed nice enough, but was spreading on the Western charm a little too thick.

  Funny how she hadn’t minded Jason’s teasing flirting while Allen’s only vaguely irritated her, she mused with a slight frown. She really wished she’d learned sooner that Jason was the man Corinna was interested in. Again, it wasn’t that she had expected anything to come of the flirtation, but she couldn’t help but be disappointed that it was over. It had been pleasant. Fun.

  She would have to find a way to make it clear to him that there would be no more stolen kisses. Maybe he’d get the message if she just kept her distance today, smiling breezily when they crossed paths, very polite and impersonal. Maybe he’d wonder why she’d stopped teasing with him so suddenly, but she doubted he would persist in pursuing her. He hardly knew her, after all. She wasn’t so full of herself that she thought he’d actually fallen for her in the space of a few hours, despite their instant chemistry.

  Technically, she knew he was free to flirt with whomever he wanted. From what everyone had said, including Corinna, he’d made it clear there was no commitment there, not even a chance for a future relationship. But remembering how wistful Corinna had sounded when speaking of Jason, and how fervently BiBi had wanted to secure her little sister’s happiness, Madison knew she had to step out of this particular picture.

  Her first loyalty was to BiBi, and indirectly to Corinna. She didn’t even know Jason, really. Hadn’t that been part of her attraction to him? The sexy stranger angle? Well, that part was over now, inevitably so. Time to focus on her purpose for being here, supporting her longtime friend and doing her part to make sure the wedding weekend was as idyllic as BiBi dreamed it would be. All of which came back around to keeping her distance from Jason D’Alessandro.

  The wagons drew up side by side at the center of the ranch, and Madison just happened to meet Jason’s gaze when she glanced that way. He smiled and her heart stuttered.

  Okay, maybe it wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d hoped to put him out of her mind.

  Chapter Four

  Jason couldn’t figure out what was going on with Madison. Both last night and this morning in the pool, she’d been so open and approachable. He’d been certain the attraction between them was mutual, that she was amenable to spending time with him this weekend, getting to know each other better, even if only for these few days. But something had changed since they’d parted in the pool room. She seemed to be going out of her way not to meet his eyes, and when their gazes did clash, she looked quickly in the other direction. She returned his smiles, but only with the same pleasant courtesy she showed everyone else.

  Maybe that was it, he mused as he accompanied the group to the first activity area, a large arena where three ranch employees waited to greet them. Maybe Madison was just being more discreet now that they were in a smaller group of people. That made sense. He wasn’t particularly eager to be the topic of wedding gossip, himself. Having attended plenty of weddings among his cousins, friends and his one married sister, he knew how quickly wedding drama could become exaggerated.

  He could be discreet. For that matter, he was always discreet. Last night had been so far out of character for him that he’d hardly recognized himself. He would bide his time until he had a chance to flirt with Madison in private again—at least he hoped he would have that chance. Or was she subtly letting him know that it had been fun while it lasted, but now it was time to end it?

  His sisters had accused him of occasionally being oblivious when it came to women. They teased him about being a compulsive gentleman, polite and considerate to a fault, but often missing the feminine cues directed toward him. He wasn’t a game player, tended to speak his mind clearly and directly and expected others to do the same. Subtlety, his sister Carly had pronounced, was completely lost on him.

  Madison hadn’t been at all subtle last night. She’d made her attraction to him clear, keeping it no secret that she enjoyed their teasing and flirting. He had appreciated her directness. If she was changing her style now, he just hoped he could follow the message.

  As the guests all gathered in the arena, he positioned himself where he could watch Madison as surreptitiously as possible. He noticed with a frown that Allen Burleson had managed to attach himself to her side again. Madison chatted with Allen, but she seemed to be holding back a little, treating him the same as she did everyone else around them. Jason couldn’t tell that she was particularly interested in Allen—or was that just wishful thinking on his part, hoping that the connection between himself and Madison had been unique?

  Madison turned to laugh in response to something BiBi had said to her. The morning sun gleamed in her honey-blond hair and glittered from her laughing blue eyes. She sparkled, Jason thought,
a little self-conscious at this latest flight into fantasy. It was as if everyone around her was just a little muted in comparison. The way he usually felt. Mr. Responsibility. Mr. Ordinary. But for those few hours with Madison, he’d felt different. More interesting just for being noticed by her.

  Sheepishly, he told himself he was being ridiculous. Maybe it was best if he and Madison spent a little time apart now, before he made a complete fool out of himself in front of his longtime friends.

  A pretty young cowgirl in tight jeans, an embroidered satin shirt and a Western hat and boots stepped to the middle of the arena, twirling a lariat around her as she introduced herself in a slightly exaggerated Texas drawl. “I’m Gayla. It’s great to have you all here today, and we’re going to make sure you have a great time, whether you grew up on a ranch or this is your first visit to one.

  “Needless to say, no visit to a ranch would be complete without horses. We’ll have some riding lessons first, then we’ll take a trail ride during which we’ll have an old-fashioned chuck wagon lunch. Those of you who choose not to get on a horse will be treated to a wagon ride,” she added with a glance at Tommy Polanski’s very pregnant wife, who nodded in resignation.

  “Okay, then.” Gayla motioned forward three ranch employees who’d been hovering behind her. “Shane and Mickey and Laura are going to help us get started.”

  With practiced efficiency, Gayla and her assistants separated the guests into levels of proficiency, from those who’d never sat in a saddle before to the ones who had grown up with horses, and all the levels in between. The least experienced were mounted first to begin instruction on how to sit in the saddle, hold the reins and guide their mounts. Jason noted that the horses assigned to the greenhorns were placid and tolerant, looking more likely to fall asleep in midstride than to misbehave.

  The laughter and teasing that ensued were good-natured, and Jason was pleased to see that both the ranch hands and the more experienced guests made a point to put the new riders at ease. While the newbies were having their lesson, the others were assigned mounts according to their preferences.