“Michelle, take care of Mother,” Whitney clipped.
Her sister did as Whitney said, putting her arm around her mother and pulling her away a few steps. “Mom, back up and let Tanner see about Daddy.”
Tanner knew the answer to the question before he asked but he had to anyway. “Mr. Thomason, are you on any medication?”
“He is. The information is in my purse. I’ll get it,” Mrs. Thomason said. She pulled away from Michelle’s arm and headed for the house.
“Tanner, the EMTs are on the line,” Whitney said from close beside him.
“Good. Tell them the patient is responsive. Three eighty-one-milligram aspirin given.” He waited until Whitney had repeated his words. “Heart rate one hundred and sixty-seven. BP one-eight-four over ninety. Respirations forty-five.” He pressed Mr. Thomason’s index fingernail while she spoke. “Little discoloration of nail.”
Whitney repeated the information.
Her mother returned with the medication list and handed it to him. He reviewed it then passed it along to Whitney. “Let the EMTs know. If you can’t pronounce it, spell it out.”
Tanner did another round of vitals as Whitney read out the medicine names and dosages to the EMTs. Mr. Thomason appeared stable but Tanner still wouldn’t be comfortable until he was at the hospital and some tests were run.
The sound of the siren from the approaching ambulance soon filled the air. Tanner looked up and scanned the concerned family group around him. “I need everyone to move way back. Give the EMTs room to work.” Thankfully everyone did as he asked.
Minutes later he spoke to one of the EMTs then let them do what they were well trained to do. After they had Mr. Thomason in the ambulance, Tanner conferred with the ER doctor who would be accepting his patient at the hospital. Soon Mr. Thomason was on his way. Tanner put his supplies back in his bag and found Whitney with her mother.
“I’m going to drive Mother to the hospital,” Whitney said.
She really had been cool during an emergency. Many people would have fallen apart if a family member had been in trouble. Whitney had followed his directions to the letter without any questions. She was someone he could depend on during a crisis.
“Why don’t I drive you both? We can come back to get my car later,” Tanner offered.
Whitney gave him a grateful look that included something he wasn’t sure he was willing to put a name to.
“Thank you.”
* * *
Three hours later, Whitney was standing in the hospital at the foot of her father’s bed. He had an oxygen cannula under his nose and had an IV in his arm but otherwise looked no worse for the scare he had put his family through. A monitor on a pole nearby continually checked his heart rate.
“I knew you bringing home a doctor was going to be a benefit,” her father said with a wink.
Whitney was just glad Tanner had stepped out to speak to her father’s cardiologist and hadn’t heard that statement.
“I don’t like Tanner because he’s a doctor, Dad. He’s fun to be around, nice, caring and good to me.”
Her father looked at her for a moment. “Sounds like a woman in love to me.”
She was. Deeply. “There’s a lot to love about him.”
Her father grinned as he looked over her shoulder.
Whitney turned to find Tanner standing there. Had he heard what she had said? Would he run now, knowing how she felt? She tried to read Tanner’s face but there was no indication he had heard her. If she did tell him how she felt, would he even give them a chance?
She’d had no doubt that he was a thorough doctor and a compassionate one. With Mr. Wilcox she had seen some of those attributes but today with her father she’d seen firsthand how he could command a difficult situation. He had been magnificent. Someone she could lean on in a time of trouble.
Tanner came to stand beside her. “You’re all set, Mr. Thomason. I’ll be in to check on you in the morning. If you need anything, just ask.”
“Thanks for your help today. I don’t usually make such a scene when my daughter brings home a man for the first time.”
Tanner grinned. “I’m glad to know I’m special.” He looked at Whitney’s mother. “Delores, are you sure you’re going to be okay here tonight? Have everything you need?”
“I’ll be just fine. I wouldn’t sleep if I went home anyway,” her mother assured him, placing a hand on her husband’s arm and looking at him adoringly.
Tanner seemed unnaturally focused on her parents, as if he was watching every detail of their interaction. Did their obvious affection make him feel nervous?
“Then Whitney and I will see you first thing in the morning,” Tanner said.
He really was great. Tanner didn’t have to go with her. She kissed both of her parents. “Call if you need anything.”
As she and Tanner drove through the early evening toward her grandparents’ house Whitney reached over and rested her hand on his thigh. “Thank you for saving my father’s life today.”
“I don’t know that I did that but you’re welcome. I was pretty impressed by the cool head you kept. I’ve had nurses who showed less control in an emergency. If you ever want to give up matchmaking, I recommend you consider nursing or med school.”
Whitney chuckled. “I think you’re giving me too much credit but it’s nice to hear praise.”
Tanner pulled her parents’ car into her grandparents’ drive. He turned to look at her. “You should hear praise all the time. You’re wonderful.”
“You’re pretty wonderful yourself.” Her hand cupped his cheek and she gave him a kiss that held all the love she felt.
When they broke apart he wore a strange expression. Had Tanner sensed what she was offering him? They continued to look at each other. Had something subtly changed between them? Did she dare to hope he felt the love she did?
Tanner broke the spell of the moment with, “I guess we’d better go in and give your grandparents a report.”
An hour later, she was driving her parents’ car back to their house while Tanner followed her. She pulled it in the garage. Whitney had promised to pack her mother some clothes and her father a pair of pajamas and a few personal items. Tanner came inside to wait while she gathered things.
“So how long have your parents been married?” he asked from the living room.
“Thirty-one—no, thirty-two years.” She stuck her head out of her parents’ bedroom. “Why?”
“They just seem so happy together.”
“They are,” Whitney said from inside the bedroom.
“My parents fought all the time. I don’t remember them being able to stay in the same room together over half an hour. They certainly couldn’t stay in a hospital room together. Your parents must really love each other.”
Whitney’s heart filled with optimism. Tanner did recognize love. She stepped out of the room. “Yeah, they do.”
Tanner was standing in front of a picture of her entire family. “No wonder you didn’t understand why I didn’t list that as necessary in my match.”
“It was hard for me to understand at the time. Now that you have told me about your parents I sort of understand. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t have love in your life.” She looked directly at him. “I want what my parents have.”
It took a moment before he said, “I can’t promise that. I’m not even sure I know how to love like that.”
Whitney stepped closer. “Maybe I can help you learn.”
That night they walked hand and hand up the stairs to what was now their bedroom. When Whitney started to undress Tanner pushed her hands away. “Let me.” He slowly removed her clothes, kissing each piece of flesh he exposed. With all her clothes on the floor, he quickly removed his. Tanner took her hand and led her to the bed.
“You are so amaz
ing.” He gently caressed her lips.
Whitney cupped his face with both her hands and kissed him with all the love she felt.
Tanner lifted her to the bed and joined her without breaking the contact. When they broke apart, he lay on his side and looked down at her. As his eyes raked her body, Whitney trembled. Tanner’s look found hers, held.
“I don’t know what you’re doing to me, but I like who I am around you.”
Whitney smiled. She knew what it was. Love.
Tanner kissed her again. When it went deeper Whitney nudged him to his back. She brought her lips to his chest over his heart. He inhaled sharply. Whitney captured his hands and held them at his sides. She kissed the curve of his neck and slowly slid over him. He moaned his pleasure. She continued to work her way up him, enjoying her skin touching his. She placed a kiss on his ear, eyebrow and finally his lips. She released his hands. He brought them to her hips, caressing her. He gently lifted her then slowly lowered her, joining them.
Their movements were deliberate and calm, yet there was an intensity between them they’d not had before. There was nothing of the frenzied coupling Tanner normally preferred. This time it was as if he was marking her as his.
Afterward, they lay in each other’s arms for a long time without either of them speaking. Hope blossomed in Whitney.
* * *
The next few weeks passed much as the others had. For Tanner life was better than it had ever been yet there was something off he couldn’t name.
After their lovemaking the night Whitney’s father had gone into the hospital something had changed between them. The smiles Whitney gave him had an extra brightness to them. She touched him for no reason when she was walking by. She was waiting when he came home no matter what the time. The pleasure he found in bed was pure bliss and went beyond anything he’d ever experienced. Yet something nagged at him. As if he was missing something.
Whitney’s father was home and doing well. He’d only visited with him once since he’d been released but Whitney gave Tanner a report each evening of his progress. When was the last time he had spoken to his father? Five years? Even his mother he only talked to a couple of times a year. The closeness, real caring, he saw in Whitney’s family was a foreign concept for him.
All the attributes he appreciated most in Whitney he could see in some form in her parents. It made him uneasy on a level he didn’t understand. Would Whitney continue to be happy with him? Would she demand more? Start treating him as his mother had his father?
Mr. Wilcox had been discharged the day after Mr. Thomason had been admitted. Mr. Wilcox’s new heart was doing well. A friend had come to pick him up and had promised to see that he made it to his appointments.
“That young lady of ours came by to see me earlier this morning.” Mr. Wilcox climbed into the wheelchair the orderly held for him.
Of course Whitney had.
Even with her father sick she wouldn’t forget about someone else.
“She’s a keeper. She has a big heart. To be loved by someone like that is a special thing. I know. I had it and miss it every day.”
“Whitney is special.” Tanner meant that. The more he was with her the more he found another facet of her personality he liked. It disturbed him that his emotional attachment was growing. He didn’t want to think about that. Emotional attachment was something that he’d never wanted or planned to have.
They had been together almost two months when Tanner said at dinner one night, “We’ve been invited to a cocktail party on Friday evening at Malcolm and Marie’s.”
“We have?” Whitney sounded unsure.
“Will you go?”
“Do you really need me to?”
Hadn’t she gotten past her fear of social situations after their weekend in Napa? “There’ll be questions if you don’t.”
“Those events are just not my thing.”
“But you were great in Napa. You don’t give yourself enough credit. What’s the problem?”
She left the table and walked to the kitchen sink, then confronted him. “The problem is that for over half my life I was made fun of or looked down on for my weight. I wasn’t invited to or included in parties. Now I just plain don’t care to be around those kinds of people. Up until a few years ago no one in that group would have given me the time of day.”
“Why, Whitney Thomason, I had no idea you were such a snob.”
“I am not! What I don’t do is put myself in situations where I know I’ll be made to feel inadequate.”
Tanner turned in his chair to face her. “Did Malcolm and Marie make you feel that way in Napa?”
“Well, no.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Do I make you feel that way?”
She backed up to the counter. “No-o-o... But not all the people are like you and the Jarvises.”
“So you’re going to let others control what you do in life?” Whitney winced. Tanner could tell that shot had hit its mark.
“No, but I don’t have to be around them.”
“I’ll be there with you. Don’t you trust me to support you?”
She came toward him. “I do, but I just think you’d be better off at those events without some insecure woman to worry about.”
He faced her. “Has it occurred to you that I might need your support at the party? That social situations might not be my ‘thing’ either?”
“Why would you need my support? You’re a successful heart surgeon, you’re gorgeous and intelligent—who wouldn’t enjoy your company?”
“Apparently you.” Tanner sounded hurt, which he was. “I’m still trying to get that promotion. Making small talk is a little nerve-racking for me as well.”
Whitney studied him for a minute. “I had no idea you felt that way. You seem to have so much confidence wherever you go.”
“Now you know another one of my secrets.”
She came back to the table and just before she sat he grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap. “So will you go with me?”
“I guess we’re in it together.”
Tanner kissed her. “About that gorgeous and intelligent remark, you really think so?”
She slapped his shoulder. “Now you’re just fishing for compliments.”
He chuckled. “That’s because I like hearing you say them. They sound extra good coming out of your pretty mouth.”
“Maybe for another kiss I could say more.”
“For a kiss you don’t have to say anything.” His mouth found hers.
* * *
Whitney didn’t make a habit of buying new clothes often but she had found that her wardrobe had almost completely changed since she and Tanner had started seeing each other. He liked to see her in clothes that fit her form and she’d taken to wearing less baggy clothes. Even her nightclothes, if she wore any, were flimsy gowns with lace and bows that had little substance. Tanner had slowly seen to it that all her granny gowns went out with the trash. She didn’t mind. In fact, she rather liked the person she was becoming with Tanner.
On her own initiative, she went shopping for a dress for the cocktail party. She found a simply cut black A-line that she felt confident wearing. At home that evening, Tanner only added to her self-assurance when he saw her enter the living room where he was waiting.
He stood and came toward her. Taking her hand, he turned her around and whistled. “If I didn’t need to show up for this party I’d say forget it and spend the rest of the night taking that dress off you.”
“You do have a way of making a girl feel good.” She kissed him. “You look superb yourself.”
He did, dressed in his dark suit with a light blue tie. The man was almost too handsome to look at. It gave her a boost of confidence just being seen with him. But what she liked most about him couldn’t be seen
. Tanner was such a fine person.
An hour later they arrived at the Jarvises’. They were greeted warmly and Whitney was truly glad to see them both. She and Tanner had agreed on the way over that as soon as possible they would own up to their deception in Napa.
“Malcolm, Marie, Whitney and I owe you both an apology. Really me more than Whitney. I convinced her to pretend that she was my girlfriend in Napa when she was actually working as my matchmaker.”
“But you’re both here together now so it must have worked.” Marie smiled broadly.
Tanner put his arm around Whitney’s waist and brought her close. “Yes, it did.”
“Then no harm was done.” Malcolm patted him on the back.
“Did I hear someone say something about a matchmaker?”
Whitney cringed at the sound of Charlotte’s voice. Squaring her shoulders, she turned and faced the woman. “I’m a matchmaker.”
“Who needs a matchmaker?” Charlotte’s voice held disgust.
Malcolm said, “Apparently Marie and I did. We met though a matchmaking service.”
The look on Charlotte’s face was almost comical. “If you’ll excuse me, I think Max is looking for me.”
Charlotte left to the sound of two couples’ laughter. Whitney couldn’t help feeling both vindicated and sorry for her.
Tanner remained close throughout the rest of the evening and Whitney found she was enjoying herself. She liked the new person she was becoming. The one who felt good about her life.
She had excused herself and was in the hallway on the way to the restroom when she overheard some women talking in an alcove.
“I can’t believe that woman Mark is with. She has an unbelievable body.”
“Yeah. He went out and got him a thin one,” another woman said.
“He divorced Mildred after she became so large,” the first woman said. “I heard he said he needed someone who could help his career, not someone he wanted to hide.”
Heat flooded Whitney. At one time that could have been her they were talking about.
A third voice said, “You’re just saying that because he won’t give you a second look.”
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