The Daddy And The Baby Doctor

And, frankly, he had fought more than his share of battles on foreign soil to help keep it that way. He had as much right as anyone to go anywhere he pleased.

Right?

Without a doubt.

So how, then, had he gotten himself into this...this impregnable situation, anyway?

Better yet, how could he get himself out?

Thanks a bunch, Josie, he told himself a moment later, mentally chastising his good friend, Josie Wentworth. If it hadn’t been for the favor she’d asked of him, he would have been at home right this minute, doing chores around his small farm while enjoying the company of his two young children. It was his way of life these days, although sometimes the fact that it was still surprised him.

In truth, he really didn’t mind doing this favor for Josie. He wanted to help the Wentworths all he could. He and Jack Wentworth, Josie’s older brother, had been the best of friends. Now Jack was dead, killed only recently while on an undercover mission for the government. It seemed impossible that it could be true, but it was. And now the Wentworths were looking for a young woman whom they believed was involved with Jack right before his death. But, according to Josie, the woman had literally disappeared. Luckily, Josie had come across a doctor’s statement that suggested the woman might be living in Mason’s Grove. And since he now lived in the small Oklahoma town, Josie had asked him to look into the matter for her.

Clearing his throat, Sam pushed aside the sad thought that his good friend Jack was dead and, like the disciplined soldier he still was, in spite of his retirement, he focused his full attention on accomplishing his mission.

Answers. He wanted answers. For Josie and her family. For Jack. And for himself, too.

Once again, Sam cautiously surveyed the crowded waiting room. From the looks of things he figured he had made a mistake in coming to Amanda Lucas’s medical office without calling for an appointment first. But these days, when it came to matters of business, he was at the mercy of his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Cunningham, who was the only person in Mason’s Grove he had gotten to know well enough to have baby-sit for him. That was, when her back wasn’t giving her trouble. For the most part, he spent his time being a full-time daddy to his girls. His world revolved around them. It was as simple as that.

And as complicated.

The problem was that he had been ill-prepared to assume the responsibility of being a single parent. At the time of his wife’s death, he had known more about disarming a nuclear weapon than he had about the nutritional needs of his kids. He had come a long way in the past months. Suzy Homemaker, he was not. But he was getting there.

Still, despite the fact that he was settling down to a more normal way of life than he had ever dreamed possible for himself, all within a blink of an eye of Josie Wentworth’s phone call, he had felt the same old familiar stirrings of excitement that used to accompany him on every SEABEE mission he had ever gone on. Some things, it seemed, never changed. He was about as far away from that world as he could possibly get, and yet, deep down inside, he really wasn’t that far away at all. Nor would he ever be, he now realized. Once a soldier, always a soldier.

Not that he was expecting this favor he was doing for the Wentworths to be any kind of a challenge. Good grief, he had just come here to ask the good lady-doctor a few questions about one of her patients. Just how difficult could that be?

Squaring his shoulders, Sam started forward, his eyes fixed on the reception area located at the rear of the waiting room. It took him five long strides to reach the counter. In the meantime, he couldn’t help but notice that the decor in the room was leaning toward a very feminine influence. In fact, he was beginning to feel like a bull in a china cabinet. He was almost afraid to move, fearing he would disturb something. Sitting behind the receptionist’s desk was an attractive young brunette. She held a pen in her left hand and was jotting something down on a tablet. Settling back on his heels, Sam took a deep breath and waited for her to finish her task.

Finally, she glanced up and greeted him with a smile. “Hi. Can I help you?”

Sam grinned. It was just as he had hoped. He was going to be in and out of this place in no time at all. Simple. Uncomplicated. Not even a hint of a challenge. In some ways, that was too bad. He had been hoping for a slight adrenaline rush, at least. Oh, well, maybe next time, he told himself. “Yes, as a matter of fact, you most certainly can. I’m here to see the doctor.”

“Doc Lucas?” the receptionist replied, her eyes widening somewhat. “Uh...well...yes...Doc Lucas is in,” she finally stammered. “But she’s with a patient right now. Is this concerning your wife?”

“My wife?” Sam repeated, his eyebrows drawing together. It took him a moment to understand what she meant. Once he did, he deepened his frown. “No—actually, I’m here on business.”

“Oh, I see,” she replied hesitantly. Then she cocked. her head to one side. “You know, don’t you, that Doc Lucas is an OB-GYN physician? All of her patients are women.”

“I’m quite aware of that fact,” Sam replied. “But, like I said, I’m here on business, not for medical advice. Tell me, how long will it be before I can see her?”

“Well, I don’t know. That depends,” the young woman said, glancing down at the appointment book in front of her. She ran her finger down a list of patients who apparently were already scheduled for that day. “Did you call earlier for an appointment, Mar....?”

Sam’s grin dissolved into nothing. “No, I didn’t. But, look, I’ll only take a moment of her time,” he said.

The receptionist began shaking her head slowly. “I’m sorry. But unless it’s an emergency, Doc Lucas sees all her patients by appointment only. Perhaps you could come back on Thursday afternoon. I’ve just had a cancellation.”

“I need to see her today,” Sam argued impatiently.

“I’m sorry,” the receptionist replied. “But unless you have an emergency, Dr. Lucas won’t see you without an appointment. I can write your name down for three o’clock Thursday afternoon. That’s the best I can offer you.”

Already, Sam was shaking his head. “You don’t understand,” he said. “My business with Dr. Lucas is extremely important. I must see her now—today.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “In fact, I’m not leaving here until I do.”

After giving him a thoughtful frown, the young receptionist once again glanced down to study the list of patients she had scheduled for that day. Finally, she gazed up at him and said, “Okay, if it’s that urgent, I’ll see what I can do. What’s your name?”

“Sam Arquette,” he replied.

The young woman nodded. “Have a seat, Mr. Arquette. I’ll have to speak to Doc Lucas about you.” Then she turned and walked away.

Satisfied that he was finally getting somewhere—frankly, it was about time—Sam turned with the idea of taking a seat. But when he noticed that he was still the object of considerable attention—not to mention that since his arrival the delicate-looking chairs in the waiting room hadn’t grown any larger to accommodate his size—Sam decided to remain standing. Once again folding his arms across his chest, he waited for the young receptionist to return.

Within a couple of minutes, she was back. “This must be your lucky day, Mr. Arquette,” she announced. “Doc Lucas has agreed to see you. Follow me. I’ll take you to her office.”

Sam nodded and then fell right in step behind the young woman.

“Wait in here,” she said when they reached the end of a corridor. “Doc Lucas is still with a patient, but she’ll join you shortly.”

“Thanks,” he said.

“Yeah, well, maybe you shouldn’t thank me just yet,” the young receptionist replied.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked, a grin slipping up one side of his face.

The young woman gave him a slight smile. “Well, for one thing, Doc Lucas isn’t in the best of moods today. At first, she looked aggravated when I told her about you. But then, it was as if something suddenly clicked and she changed her mind.”

“What’s so strange about that?”

“You don’t know Doc Lucas, do you?”

Sam shook his head.

“Well, she seldom, if ever, changes her mind about anything,” the receptionist said. “She runs a pretty tight ship and, for the most part, stays right on course, if you know what I mean. She’s just that kind of person.” With that, the young woman turned on her heel and returned to the reception area.

Sam thought he knew exactly what the receptionist meant. He had known women like that in the navy. Dr. Lucas was probably driven—focused—and totally predictable. She probably hated men and treated them like something to be conquered and then done away with. And she probably never allowed herself—or anyone else, for that matter—room for error. A regular drill sergeant. He hadn’t even met her yet, but already he thought he knew her.

Alone in Amanda Lucas’s office, Sam sat down to wait for his meeting with her. Minutes passed. Long, endless minutes. Finally, he picked up the only magazine he saw lying around and began reading an article on breast feeding. He figured that he might as well learn something while he waited.

Suddenly, from somewhere just behind him, he heard someone say, “Mr. Arquette, I presume.”

The voice was definitely female, but it was deep and sultry and immediately sent goose bumps down his spine. There was no doubt in his mind that, under just the right circumstances, a voice like that could have easily enthralled a man—in fact, encompass his whole being. But, of course, Sam reminded himself, this wasn’t the right circumstance.

Thank goodness.

Besides, even if it was, he wasn’t interested. He already had his hands full, raising his two young daughters. Frankly, when the need to burn off that kind of energy hit him, he went for a long, tiring jog. And, so far, so good. It worked.

Shaking himself free of those errant thoughts, Sam sat up straight and then turned in his seat to see a woman with shoulder-length brown hair standing just a few feet inside the doorway. She had a stethoscope around her neck, and she wore a long white lab coat over her street clothes. Sam knew without a doubt that he was looking at Amanda Lucas—in fact, somehow, he had known all along that it was her voice he had heard—and in spite of himself, his heart skipped a very, very necessary beat. To add to his surprise, she didn’t look at all as he had expected. She was... well...good-looking—especially for someone whom he had just recently pictured as a drill sergeant. She had clear blue eyes and a full mouth that, for the moment, at least, lacked the semblance of a smile.

But her voice... It was deep and throaty and incredibly sexy. Not just any woman deserved to have a voice like that.