It was only awkward because Noah was there, she thought.
“Sleep well?” Theo asked.
“Yes, but I was supposed to be at the clinic hours ago.”
She couldn’t get the knot in her shoelace untied and knew it was because she was nervous. Take a breath, she told herself. You’re an adult. Act like one.
“Mary Ann —”
“Is at the clinic. Noah let her and her friend in. They came here looking for you around eight-thirty.”
She finally got the knot undone and quickly tied the laces. She didn’t hear Theo coming, but suddenly he was standing in front of her. His left shoelace was untied. Without even thinking about it, she reached over, tied it for him, and stood.
Theo wasn’t going to let her ignore him any longer. He nudged her under her chin to get her to look at him, then leaned down and kissed her. He didn’t seem to care that Noah was there. He took his time, and with very little coaxing he got her to cooperate and return the kiss.
Without making a sound, Noah got up and left the room. Theo hugged Michelle and whispered, “Want to fool around?”
“I thought we did that last night.”
“It’s okay. We can do it again. Besides, that was just a warm-up.” She tried to wiggle out of his arms. He tightened his hold. “Michelle, you aren’t embarrassed about last night, are you?”
Her gaze flew to his and she saw how worried he looked. “I’m a physician, Theo. Nothing embarrasses me.”
Then she kissed him and gave it all she had. Her tongue touched his, once, then once again, and when she pulled back, she was pleased to see that I-want-to-get-you-naked look was back in his eyes.
“I have work to do,” she said as she successfully disengaged herself from his embrace.
“Actually, you don’t. Mary Ann told me that she and Cindy — I think that was the other woman’s name — would get the files in order much faster if you stay away. I’m supposed to keep you busy.”
“She did not say —”
“Yeah, she did. She said you’re critical and picky. Those were her words, not mine. Your dad called to tell you John Paul moved your furniture out. He’s going to fix what he can.”
“He couldn’t have carried my desk or my sofa by himself.”
“A guy named Artie helped him. So, nothing embarrasses you?”
“Nothing,” she lied.
“Then why did you look embarrassed when I kissed you good morning?”
She headed for the kitchen with Theo right on her heels. “I was thinking about Noah. I didn’t want him to be embarrassed.”
Theo thought that was hilarious. Noah heard the laughter and poked his head around the door. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” Michelle said as she edged past him to get into the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator to look for a Diet Coke and did a double take. The fridge had been pretty bare the night before, but now it was packed with food and drinks. She found a Diet Coke way in the back, grabbed it, and closed the door. Then she opened the door again to make sure she hadn’t imagined it, spotted the sticks of real butter, and guessed who was responsible.
“Noah doesn’t know how to be embarrassed. Do you?” Theo asked his friend.
“Embarrassed about what?”
“Sex. You know what sex is, don’t you?”
“Sure I do. I read all about it in a book once. I’m thinking about trying it out one of these days.”
They were both having a good old time teasing her. She sat down at the table and only then noticed the triple layer chocolate cake on the counter. Noah grabbed a towel and went to the stove to lift the lid on a large iron kettle. The spicy scent of gumbo immediately filled the kitchen.
“When did you have time to make this?” Noah asked. “It sure smells good.”
She couldn’t remember what her father had told her. Was she supposed to say she baked the cake or made the gumbo? Then Noah asked her if she wanted a slice of home-baked bread. The French loaf was sitting on waxed paper by the sink.
“Is there a card with the gumbo?”
“I didn’t see one,” Noah said.
“Then I made it.” She smiled as she told the lie.
Theo got the milk out of the refrigerator and put it down on the table. “You were a busy woman last night. Did you bake the cake too?”
Feeling like an idiot, she asked, “Is there a card with the cake?”
“No.”
“Then I guess I made that too.”
“And the bread?”
“No card?” she asked, trying to maintain a straight face.
“Didn’t see one.”
“I just love to bake bread in the middle of the night.”
Theo put a box of Frosted Flakes, a box of raisin bran, and a box of Quaker breakfast bars on the table so Michelle would have a choice. Then he got her a spoon.
“So the lady sneaking in the back door with the bread wasn’t fibbing when she said you baked the bread at her house last night and forgot to bring it home?”
Michelle had gone way past feeling foolish. Where were all the stupid cards? Had her father decided to change his game plan and forgotten to mention it to her? What was she supposed to say now? If she told Theo the truth, her father would think she wasn’t cooperating with his sacred cause to keep Theo in Bowen.
Daddy wasn’t going to be able to accuse her of not being a game player. “That’s right,” she said. “Just after you fell asleep, I came downstairs, fixed the gumbo and baked the cake; then I got in the car and drove over to . . .”
She suddenly stopped. Theo hadn’t told her the name of the woman who had dropped the bread off, and Michelle couldn’t remember to whom Daddy had assigned the task. Quickly improvising, she continued, “. . . a friend’s house and baked a couple of loaves of bread.”
“Don’t forget the grocery store.”
“What? Oh, yes, I stopped by the grocery store.”
Theo straddled the chair across from her. Stacking his arms on the back, he said, “So that’s your story, huh?”
She began to smile. “Unless or until you find a couple of ‘Welcome to Bowen’ cards. In that event, my story will change.”
“Tell Jake I said thanks.”
“Thanks for what?” she asked innocently.
“Hey, Mike, you want some gumbo?” Noah asked as he searched through the drawers looking for a ladle.
“For breakfast? I’ll stick with an energy bar.”
“What about you, Theo?”
“Sure,” he said. “You know what goes great with gumbo? Potato chips.”
“Sorry, I don’t have any potato chips. They aren’t good for you, anyway. Too much sodium.”
“It will balance out with the sodium in the gumbo,” Noah told her.
“You do too have potato chips. Two jumbo-size bags, and they’re the real thing. None of that low-fat cardboard stuff. Did you forget you bought them at the grocery store last night?”
“I must have.”
“You know what goes great with gumbo and chips?” Noah asked.
“What’s that?” Theo asked.
“Cold beer.”
“I’m on it.” Theo got up and went to the refrigerator. Michelle shook her head. “Gumbo, potato chips, and beer at ten-thirty in the morning?”
“It’s eleven, and we’ve been up for hours. Don’t frown like that, honey. Let us corrupt you. Join in.”
“Is she a health nut?” Noah asked.
“I think so,” Theo replied. “She lives by the credo ‘If it tastes good, spit it out.’”
“When you boys are having your multiple bypasses, remember this conversation.”
“I talked to Dr. Robinson,” Noah said then. He had found the ladle and was scooping the gumbo into two bowls. Theo already had the sack of chips and was opening it.
“And?” she prodded.
He put the bowls on the table, grabbed two tablespoons, and sat down. “He could only think of two men who gave him real trouble, and I�
�m running a check on both of them. An old guy named George Everett was one difficult patient. Do you know him, Mike?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Everett refused to pay his bill because Robinson didn’t cure him of his indigestion. Everett had a drinking problem, which he also blamed on the doctor. He told Robinson he wouldn’t be drinking himself drunk every night if he weren’t in such terrible pain. Anyway, Robinson turned the account over to a collection agency, and that didn’t sit well with Everett. He got all juiced up and called the doctor and threatened him.”
“What about the other man?” Theo asked.
“The name he gave Robinson was ‘John Thompson,’ but I doubt that’s his real name. He only saw the doctor once, and that was just a day or two before Robinson closed shop and sent his files to Mike. Thompson’s a druggie from New Orleans. He drove all the way to Bowen in hopes that the physicians here would be more lax, I suppose. Anyway, he told Robinson he had this terrible back pain and needed some prescriptions for pain medication. He wanted the heavy stuff and knew just what to ask for. When Robinson refused, he told me the junkie became enraged and threatened him.”
“Did he report Thompson to the police?”
Noah took a swig of beer before answering. “He should have, but he didn’t because he was leaving Bowen, and he didn’t want the hassle. That’s what he told me, anyway.”
“I’ll bet Thompson tried other physicians in St. Claire,” Michelle said.
“That’s what I figured too,” Noah said. “So I checked it out.” He grinned then as he made the comment, “I really love getting doctors out of bed early in the morning. Anyway, if Thompson did go to other doctors, he used a different name. No one remembers treating him.”
“In other words, a dead end.”
“I think it’s time for both of you to close this file,” Michelle said. “And stop worrying. I’m going to clean up my clinic, put stronger locks on the doors and windows, and move on. I suggest you do the same thing.”
Since neither Theo nor Noah argued with her, she assumed they were too stubborn to admit she was right.
“It’s gonna rain.” Theo made the prediction and then took a bite of gumbo.
“The sun’s out,” Noah remarked.
“Yeah, but my knee aches, so it’s gonna rain. My shoulder’s throbbing too.”
Noah laughed. “You two are perfect for each other. A hypochondriac hooking up with a doctor. That’s a match made in heaven.”
“I’m not a doctor,” Theo said dryly.
Noah ignored the smart-ass comment. “Mike, have you ever been to Boston?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“You’ll like it.”
She thought about what he was saying for a couple of seconds, then responded, “I’m sure, if I ever get there for a medical conference or a vacation, I’ll love it.”
Noah glanced back and forth between Theo and Michelle. She’d sounded defensive, but he could see the sadness in her eyes. She was giving up before she’d even gotten started, he decided. Theo’s response was just as interesting. His whole body had tensed.
“So, it’s two ships passing in the night?”
“Something like that,” Michelle said.
“Leave it alone, Noah.”
He nodded, then switched topics. “So tell me, do we still fish Saturday if it rains?”
“Fishing’s better in the rain,” Michelle said.
“Says who?” Noah asked.
“John Paul.”
“Am I ever going to meet your brother?” Theo asked.
“I doubt it. You’re leaving Monday, remember?”
It was like a sore tooth she kept rubbing. He hadn’t pulled the rug out from under her. She’d known he was going to leave. So why was she feeling so devastated?
“You’ll meet her brother at The Swan Friday,” Noah said. “Jake told me John Paul works as a bartender and a bouncer on weekends.”
Michelle shook her head. “Daddy knows John Paul won’t show up this weekend. By now, my brother knows who you both work for, so he’ll stay away.”
“Your brother wouldn’t happen to be a wanted man, would he?” Noah asked.
“No, of course not.”
“What’s he got against the FBI?” Theo asked.
“You’ll have to ask him that question.”
“Which kind of hinges on the fact that I’ll have to meet him so I can ask him the question,” Theo said.
“My brother is a very private person,” she said defensively. “If and when he decides he’d like to meet you, then he’ll find you.” She smiled as she added, “You won’t see him coming. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got work to do.”
She got up from the table, tossed her empty can in the trash, and then began to gather up the dirty dishes. Theo got up to help. He was filling the sink when the doorbell rang. Noah went to answer it.
Michelle put the bowls in the sink, then turned back to the table. Theo caught her around the waist and leaned down to nuzzle her neck.
“What’s going on with you?’’
She wasn’t sophisticated enough to play games or come up with a clever lie, and so she simply told him the truth.
“You’re complicating my life.”
He turned her around to face him. She backed away, but he followed her and pinned her against the sink. “You don’t regret —”
“No,” she whispered. “It was wonderful.”
She couldn’t quite look him in the eyes and focused on his chin instead so she could concentrate on what she wanted to say to him. “We’re both normal adults with healthy urges, and of course it’s . . .”
“Healthy and normal?”
“Don’t tease me. These urges . . .”
“Yeah, I remember the urges,” he said.
“We just can’t keep on giving in to these . . .”
“Urges?” he offered when she suddenly stopped.
She found herself smiling in spite of her frustration. “You’re making fun of me.”
“Yeah, I am.”
She pushed him back. “I’m not going to let you break my heart, Theo. Play your games with the big-city girls back home.”
He laughed right in her face. “Big-city girls?”
“Will you be serious. I’m trying to tell you that we don’t have a future together, so you should just leave me alone.”
He cupped the sides of her face and kissed her passionately, and when he lifted his head, he saw the tears in her eyes.
“Are you going to cry on me?”
“No.” The answer was emphatic.
“Good, ’cause I could have sworn I saw tears just now.”
“I had no idea you could be so mean. I’m trying to tell you to stop . . .”
He slowly shook his head.
Her eyes widened. “No? Why not?”
His mouth brushed over hers again in a quick, no-nonsense kiss. “You’re a smart girl. You figure it out.”
Noah interrupted when he strolled back into the kitchen. He had a large FedEx box tucked under his arm and was carrying a huge metal pan covered with foil.
“Theo, grab the box, will you? I found it propped against the door when I opened it. There was this lady standing there with this Cajun fried chicken. She handed it to me and took off before I could thank her. She was a nervous little thing.”
“Did she tell you her name?”
“Molly Beaumont,” he answered. He set the pan on the table and began to unwrap the foil. “Smells good.”
“Was there a card for Theo with the chicken?”
“No, she said you made the chicken, but the pan’s hers and she wants it back.”
Theo was sitting at the table opening the box. Noah picked up a chicken leg and took a huge bite. Then he nudged Theo. “You know what else Molly said?”
“What’s that?”
“She asked me to tell Coach Buchanan, ‘Hey.’ Did you hear that, Theo? She called you Coach.”
“Yeah, I know. Every
one in Bowen calls me Coach.”
“Okay, so now I’ve got to wonder why,” he said.
Theo wasn’t paying any attention to him. He finally got the box open and let out a low whistle. “Nick came through,” he said. “Playbooks.” He picked one up and thumbed through it.
“Football playbooks?” Noah asked with his mouth full.
“Yeah, I’ll explain later. Michelle, you can ride to the clinic with Noah. He’s spending the day with you.”
“He doesn’t need to waste his time —”
Theo cut her off. “He’s going with you.”
Noah nodded. “While you and your friends are organizing the files, I’ll start the cleanup in your office. If there’s time, I’ll paint the walls.”
“I’d be happy for your help, but —”
“Don’t argue,” Theo said.
“Okay,” she agreed. “I appreciate it, Noah.”
Then she turned to Theo and asked him what he was going to be doing.
“I’ve got a meeting with the Carsons and their attorney at one,” Theo said. “I’ll have to finish it by two-thirty because I promised Conrad I’d show up for practice at three. If you and Noah need a break, drop by.”
“The principal offered Theo a contract,” Michelle said, smiling now. “He hasn’t signed it yet.”
“You’re making that up,” Noah said.
“I think Theo’s holding out for more money.”
Noah was convinced the two of them were pulling his leg and was waiting to hear the punch line. “Okay,” he said. “We’ll stop by. What time is practice over? I’ve promised I’d help tend bar tonight. I should be there by five.”
“I thought you were going to hook up with Mary Ann tonight,” Theo reminded.
“What do you mean, you’re hooking up with Mary Ann?” Michelle asked.
Noah shrugged. “She asked me if I wanted to get together later after her friend’s husband picked her up, and I suggested that she stop by The Swan, and if I’m not busy —”
“She asked you to go out?” she asked, clearly surprised.
“Yes, she did. Why is that so difficult to understand? I’m a nice guy.”
“It isn’t difficult to understand. It’s just that she’s . . . and you’re . . . that is, you’re very . . . ”
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