by Ali Olson
The older woman’s grin grew even wider, if that were possible. “I need vaccinations. I’ll be leaving to see the world, and it wouldn’t do to die of malaria as soon as I leave. This is my itinerary,” she said, handing Cassie a couple of folded sheets filled with travel details.
Cassie read through the list of cities, amazed at the variety. It seemed Mrs. Edelman was planning a round-the-world trip that any twenty-year-old nomad would be proud of. “You are quite the adventurer,” she commented.
“Oh, my dear, I’ve never been outside of Texas. I’ve wanted to see the world my entire life, and now I’m going to do it, come hell or high water,” she said, the ferocity in her voice surprising.
“I don’t doubt you will,” Cassie said. “I’ll need to go through this list of places and see what vaccinations you should get, and then I’ll order them. Would you mind coming back for another visit before you leave so I can administer them?”
Mrs. Edelman nodded. “That would be perfectly lovely.”
“Since you’re already here, would you like to have a quick checkup to make sure you’re ready to trek across the globe?” Cassie asked, pulling out a pair of gloves.
“So long as you don’t tell me I should stay home, poke and prod away,” the older woman responded.
Cassie smiled as she pulled out a blood pressure cuff. “I wouldn’t dream of doing that. You seem so determined that I doubt it would do any good if I did, anyway.”
“Well,” Mrs. Edelman said, looking at Cassie thoughtfully, “I should have gone long ago, but I was too busy being a wife and a mother to do what I wanted for myself. If I could go back and change things, I would. I’d have lovely memories of the pyramids and the Taj Mahal, and what’s the worst that could’ve happened? Fred and the kids might’ve needed to cook a dinner or two. It would have done us all some good if I was a bit more selfish back then. But it’s too late to change that now, so I’ll just need to start from here and see what I can while I have any juice left in this old body of mine.”
Cassie shook her head in amazement at her first patient and completed a careful examination, happy to declare that the woman seemed to be in fine health. Mrs. Edelman gathered her purse and scooted off the table. Cassie showed her into the living room as she went in search of the old woman’s ride home, the idea that had been formulating since her conversation with Mrs. Edelman still in the forefront of her mind.
When she saw Emma playing trucks with the boys, she came to a decision. “Emma, Mrs. Edelman is ready whenever you are.”
Emma stood up, stretched, and went to her friend. “Your boys are wonderful, Cassie.”
“I’m glad you think so, because I have a favor to ask,” Cassie said. “Would you take them with you and watch them for a couple of hours? I need them out of the house for a bit.”
Cassie expected her nosy friend to ask what she had planned, but luckily Emma just nodded. “No problem! I don’t need to be at the bakery until two this afternoon. Is it okay if I bring them back about an hour before that?”
Cassie agreed, relieved. “That’s perfect. Thanks. I owe you one.”
Emma pulled up her sleeve to reveal the nearly healed scar from her burn. “Already paid in full. Come on, boys! Your momma says I get to take you home and feed you more delicious sweets!”
The boys jumped up, excited. Emma turned to Cassie, noting the slight frown on her face. “Hey, if you don’t want them eating dessert for lunch, don’t let a baker babysit.”
With that and a laugh, the four of them left the room, and a few minutes later, Cassie was waving goodbye as they disappeared into the distance. As soon as the car was out of sight, she turned back to the house, intending to change out of her scrubs quickly before heading over to Brock’s.
Before she could put a foot onto the porch, however, Cassie paused and listened. It took her a few seconds to realize that what she was hearing was hammering, and it seemed to be coming from behind her house.
Curious, Cassie followed the noise to find Brock working on her paddock, nailing a new piece of lumber into place. Based on the pile of lumber beside him, he’d been at it for quite a while despite how early it was.
Cassie walked up to Brock without him noticing, and when he stopped to examine the board he’d just nailed in place, she said, “Decided to get an early start, huh?”
He jumped slightly and turned to her, giving her a grin that made her weak at the knees. He shrugged. “Yeah, well, I figured I had a readymade metaphor here, so I came over to mend some fences. Metaphorically and—” he gestured at the paddock “—literally.”
Cassie smiled at the terrible pun. “I’m sorry I overreacted last night. I’m still not quite over what happened in Minneapolis, and I let it get to my head,” she told him.
Her heart pounded as she gathered her courage.
Brock shook his head. “You don’t need to apologize—”
Before he could say another word, Cassie pulled him into a kiss.
Brock seemed stunned for a moment, but then his arms wrapped around her and he kissed her back enthusiastically. After a long, long kiss that neither of them seemed willing to break, they finally came up for air. Brock gave Cassie a pained smile and pressed his forehead against hers. “It seems we’re both terrible at controlling ourselves, huh?” he asked.
Cassie shook her head, and moved even closer to him. “I’m done controlling myself,” she said.
Brock moved back just enough to look her straight in the eyes, a surprised look on her face.
“I got some good advice today. If I wait until the boys are grown to do anything for myself, it might be too late, and I don’t want that. It won’t hurt them if I’m a little selfish and impulsive for the next nine days.”
“Nine days,” Brock repeated, though Cassie couldn’t quite tell what emotion he was feeling when he said it.
She nodded resolutely, as much for herself as for him. “Until the rodeo. We can work on the house, and in the small snatches of time when the boys aren’t around, we can do...more grown-up activities.”
Brock smiled. “We better make them a good nine days,” he commented.
Cassie kept talking, anxiety building now that she knew what might come next. “Plus, I need some help if I’m ever going to get over what happened with Hank. It affected me more than I realized. I need to practice being in a relationship again, even if it’s only a short one.”
“So I’m your training wheels?” Brock asked, tipping her head up with a single finger.
“Not exactly,” Cassie backpedaled, trying not to blush.
But Brock said nothing, just leaned in for another kiss.
Chapter Ten
When they separated this time, Brock could hardly think straight. That morning he had woken up expecting little more than to hopefully smooth things out with Cassie and continue working on her ranch while also staying as far from her as possible. Now he was kissing her, touching her, and had even more to look forward to in the future.
Well, for the next nine days.
He didn’t want to waste any of it. “Where are Zach and Carter?” he asked.
“Emma’s watching them,” Cassie said, still breathless. “She’s bringing them back around one.”
Plenty of time. On to the next important question. “Have you eaten yet today?”
“No,” she answered. “I didn’t have time before—where are we going?” she asked as he grabbed her hand and began pulling her away from the paddock.
“We need breakfast,” he replied, not slowing down. “We’re going on a date!”
“Oh!” Cassie exclaimed, and Brock paused and looked back at her.
In the rush to get the most out of every second, he was getting ahead of himself. “Do you want to go on a breakfast date with me?”
“Absolutely,” she answered, so emphatically that it made him grin. Or m
aybe a grin was just permanently plastered on his face after what had happened during the past ten minutes. “I just thought we’d be...”
She looked at the house, and when he realized what she’d been thinking, he needed to take a deep breath to calm himself down. As much as he wanted to, that wasn’t how he did things. “You deserve a delicious breakfast, don’t you think?”
“I should just change,” she said, waving a hand at her scrub and smock.
Brock didn’t think he’d ever seen her in anything so sexy. “If you want to,” he said, “but I think you look just perfect.”
“Two minutes,” she said, running into the house.
Brock paced in front of his truck, which was still parked beside her house, his stomach in knots. He was going on a date with Cassie. And after that, well, he could hardly allow his mind to go there.
Cassie came back out of the house all in a rush, slipping low flats onto her feet as she went. She had changed into a knee-length dress that nearly killed him, made of some shiny brown material that set off the fiery accents in her hair.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a date,” she said breathlessly once she reached him. “I want to be dressed for it.”
He managed to unglue his tongue enough to tell her how beautiful she was and give her another deep kiss before helping her into his truck.
In moments, they were out of her driveway and heading to his favorite little restaurant. “I hope you don’t mind cheesy diners with delicious food,” he told her. “It’s one of my favorite places, and it’s a little ways out of town.”
He wasn’t sure if she wanted to keep everything, even them going to eat together, a secret, but if she did, this was the best location. People in town usually went to one of the two restaurants on the main drag, not fifteen minutes out into the middle of nowhere.
“Sounds perfect,” she answered, and he settled into the drive.
The silence between them felt charged and tense as they went. After a few minutes, Cassie said his name in a serious voice that made him worry she was rethinking her earlier decision.
“You should know, before we go any further,” she started.
He waited for the bomb to drop.
“I’m a mother first. This can be a fun thing, but we need to keep it from affecting my kids in any way,” Cassie finished.
Brock laughed in relief. There was no new information there. “I’d never do anything to hurt Zach and Carter,” he told her truthfully.
Cassie leaned back. “Then let’s go have a date,” she said.
* * *
THE LITTLE RESTAURANT Brock took her to reminded Cassie of diners in movies, complete with a cherry pie under glass and a large pottery cowboy boot painted with desert scenes in dusky reds and yellows. Brock maneuvered her through the place to a small corner booth. “Best spot in the restaurant,” he said.
He didn’t need to tell her that. It was secluded, almost private, and small enough that they were sitting nearly shoulder-to-shoulder. Her heart raced as he waited for her to sit before seating himself. “You are quite the gentleman on a date,” she commented.
He smiled. “My ma raised me right,” he said.
Cassie looked through the menu, but the combination of nerves and the variety of options made it difficult to choose. The diner seemed to serve pretty much everything under the sun.
Finally, she settled on the French toast. Brock ordered a corned beef skillet and a side of dumplings.
“Dumplings?” Cassie asked as soon as the waitress was gone.
“Their dumplings are fantastic,” Brock answered. “You need to try them. If that means you’re eating dumplings before ten, well, then, so be it.”
She was skeptical, but said nothing. Brock seemed so happy to be out with her that she couldn’t spoil any part of it, even if it involved having a pan-fried treat with her French toast.
Luckily, the meal ended up being fantastic, dumplings and all. Almost as good as the conversation and sexual tension.
By the time they’d finished eating, she wanted nothing more than to take Brock home and fulfill a few of her fantasies. So when they were both in his car and he asked, “Do you want to go see a movie or something?” she put her foot down.
“You’re killing me, Brock!” she said, exasperated.
He laughed. “This is how I treat ladies I’m dating,” he said. “Would you rather we just go back to your place?”
“Yes!”
“Thank God,” he said and turned the truck in the direction of her ranch.
The drive felt far too long for Cassie, and she wished they’d gone to eat somewhere in town, despite the chances of gossip and missing out on amazing dumplings. She could feel the time dwindling away, even though she knew they still had a couple of hours before the boys came home.
Brock seemed to be thinking the same thing, because the moment the truck was parked in front of her home, he leaned over and pulled her into a kiss ripe with urgency, as if every moment counted.
That could’ve just been desperate need, though. She felt that, too, as all the pent-up desire from the past few days took over, and she nearly crawled into his lap to get closer. The heat of the day quickly warmed the car to an almost unbearable temperature, and finally they broke apart, gasping. They looked one another in the eye, and as if by silent agreement, they opened their doors and rushed for the house.
Inside the dim, cool house, Brock seemed to feel the need to slow things down. After the door closed behind them, he took her in his arms and ran one hand over her face, moving her hair out of her eyes. She nearly melted from his tender touch.
Just as he leaned in toward her with agonizing slowness, the tinkling music of Cassie’s phone broke through the moment, making her want to scream with frustration. She briefly considered letting the phone go to voice mail, but reminded herself that it could be Emma or a patient and they came first, and she dug it out of her purse.
“Dr. Stanford speaking,” she said, hoping it would be quick.
“Dr. Stanford, my name is Melody. I live in town. Got your card from the bakery.”
Cassie could hear a baby wailing in the background. “Hi, Melody. What can I do for you?” she asked, even though she had a guess, based on the strength of the cries.
“It’s my daughter, Lizzie. She’s sick and won’t stop crying. Is there any way you can see her?”
Cassie could hear the worry in the woman’s voice—one that sounded quite young. She knew that anything between her and Brock would need to wait. “Bring her over as soon as you can. You still have my card with the address?”
“I do. Thank you, Doctor,” Melody replied, and the gratitude in her voice tugged at Cassie’s heartstrings.
After Cassie had hung up, she kept looking at her phone. She didn’t want to see the disappointment in Brock’s face.
“Is there something wrong with Lizzie?” he asked, catching her by surprise.
“How did you know?” she asked.
Brock didn’t look disappointed like she’d expected. Only worried. He said, “Melody had a baby girl six months or so ago. My ma says she’s a sweet little thing. She’s helped Melody out some when she can. Her fiancée up and left when she was a few months pregnant, and she’s been working herself to the bone to provide for Lizzie. She’s Melody’s whole world.”
Cassie put her hand on his arm. “I’ll do everything I can for her. She’ll be here any minute.”
Brock nodded. “How about I work on getting Zach and Carter’s room ready for painting? If you’re still with Lizzie when the boys get here, I’ll keep an eye on them. And if you finish up in time...” he said, brushing his lips against hers in a way that both excited and frustrated her.
He seemed to sense her mood and chuckled. “Hey, worst-case scenario, you can always hide me under your bed until the kids are asleep, and I
can sneak out the window in the middle of the night. Real clandestine secret-affair type stuff.”
She laughed, though she wasn’t completely sure he was kidding. The idea didn’t sound half-bad, either.
Cassie hardly had time to change into her scrubs before the doorbell rang. By the time she got to the door, Brock was there, holding a screaming baby and talking to the anxious-looking mother. She only caught the end of what he was saying, “—will do everything she can to help.”
Melody’s forehead smoothed a little at his words, and Cassie put her hand to her heart at the sentiment. She quickly gathered her wits and walked up to the small group. “Hi, Melody, I’m Dr. Stanford. This is Lizzie?”
Brock handed over the squalling infant. “She’s been sick the past couple of days, but just a runny nose and a little fever. A couple of hours ago, she started screaming. I’ve tried everything,” Melody explained.
The poor woman looked so frazzled and upset, Cassie gently patted her arm. “Let’s go into my office and I’ll examine her.”
She led Melody into her office and set Lizzie down on the examination table. As she started checking the baby head to toe, she asked Melody questions to determine what could have prompted such a quick change of behavior.
Cassie checked the baby’s ears, mouth and nose, listened to her heart and prodded her stomach for lumps. Nothing struck her as a possible cause for the screaming, and she was starting to worry that Melody and Lizzie might need to go to the emergency room. As Cassie checked the child’s legs, though, her eyes landed on Lizzie’s right pinkie toe, and she let out a quiet sigh of relief.
The toe was an angry reddish purple, and when Cassie looked closely, she found the culprit: a single strand of hair had become wound around the toe, cutting off the circulation and causing Lizzie’s distress.
As soon as Cassie removed the hair, Lizzie quieted into sniffly sobs. Cassie held up the hair to the baby’s mother, expecting her to be as relieved as Cassie was.