The Surgeon's Christmas Baby

“You’re welcome to use the shower in the house.” She walked off and it took a whole lot more effort than it should have to pull his gaze from her swaying hips. It was a toss-up as to whether he was more excited about getting clean or sharing dinner with a pretty girl.

Chapter Three (#ulink_7e7a4992-5119-5bec-a2bc-b0a77853f950)

This isn’t a date.

No matter how many times the voice in her head repeated the sentence Hannah couldn’t stop feeling a little bit excited about going out to dinner with Alonso. She hadn’t been on a date since she’d returned Seth’s engagement ring two years ago. She’d been so busy with the ranch and chasing after Luke that she hadn’t had the time or the energy to care about her love life.

Sadly, she’d enjoyed the three short months she’d been engaged to Seth—before she’d discovered his motive for marrying her. Seth had been her first serious relationship and he’d spoiled her. He’d taken her dancing, to the movies and brought her flowers for no reason, and she’d soaked up the attention. For a brief while she’d believed she’d found the perfect partner to go through life with. But it hadn’t been real for Seth. He’d led her on and had made a fool of her. The experience had left a bitter taste in her mouth and Hannah wasn’t eager to rush into another relationship. But there was nothing wrong with enjoying an evening with a good-looking man.

It’s not smart to go off alone with a man you barely know.

Gut instinct said Alonso was harmless. He was a surgeon—surgeons healed people; they didn’t hurt them. Besides, she could take care of herself.

She ran a brush through her long hair, then divided the strands into three sections and braided it. After buttoning her Western blouse and pulling on a pair of fresh jeans, she slipped her feet into cowboy boots, then spritzed perfume on her neck and studied her reflection in the mirror. She looked nice but not desperate. Good.

When she entered the kitchen, Luke was eating pizza at the table. “I want to get my car from Connor’s.”

She thought of reminding her brother that the car belonged to her and she only let him borrow it, but she didn’t want to start another fight. “I’ll drive you out there tomorrow.”

“Can I do something later if I can get a friend to pick me up?”

“No.” Was he crazy? “I want you to stay in and go to bed early.” He needed a good night’s sleep, because tomorrow they had to finish cutting the hay and repair the broken fence.

“Where are you and Alonso going to eat?”

“I’m taking him to the Red Bluff Diner.” That Luke gave up arguing with her over going out with his friends was odd, but maybe he was more exhausted than he let on. “Keep your phone handy in case I need to get hold of you.”

The creak of the bathroom door drifted down the hallway, then a moment later Alonso entered the kitchen, wearing clean jeans and cowboy boots—not the hiking boots he’d had on earlier. His tight black T-shirt showed off his muscular chest, and a hint of his tattoo peeked below the hem of his sleeve. And the beard was gone. Now he looked more like a medical doctor—the ones you saw in TV shows and movies. The only real-life doctor she knew was seventy-four-year-old Doc Snyder, who ran the clinic in town.

Hannah took the pen and notepad she kept on the counter and handed it to Alonso. “Would you mind writing down your cell phone number in case we have an emergency?” She ignored Luke’s snort.

“Sure.” He did as she asked, then he removed his wallet from his back pocket. “Keep this business card.” He handed it to Hannah.

Juan Alarez Ranch For Boys.

Alonso grinned at Luke. “If we don’t come back, call that number. Riley Fitzgerald’s been a friend of mine for a long time.”

“I told you my sister thinks you’re a serial killer,” Luke said.

Hannah rolled her eyes. “If you two are finished making fun of me, then—”

Alonso’s cell phone rang and he checked the number. “Speak of the devil... Will you excuse me a minute? I have to take this call.

“Hey, Riley.” Alonso retreated down the hallway and stopped by the front door.

“Didn’t I warn you about ignoring Maria’s phone calls?” Riley chuckled.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.”

“Apparently not too busy. Maria phoned the hospital and they said you’d taken a leave of absence. What’s going on?”

Alonso swallowed a groan. “Everything’s fine. I needed a break from the ER, that’s all.”

“Why don’t you visit the ranch? We could use an extra hand with the boys.”

“Thanks for the invite. I’ll think about it.” With all the bad in the world, Riley’s call reminded Alonso that there were a few good people left who gave a damn about helping the less fortunate.

“Don’t know if Maria told you or not, but we built a new medical clinic at the ranch.”

“Don’t tell me she’s putting Band-Aids on the kids in addition to teaching school.”

“Not anymore. We hired a full-time nurse. As a matter of fact, she’s married to Cruz.”

“Cruz is out—” Alonso glanced down the hallway, making sure he was alone “—of prison?”

“I would have mentioned it sooner, but I thought Cruz might want to be the one to tell you and Victor.”

He wasn’t surprised his friend hadn’t contacted him to let him know he’d been paroled. Alonso had visited Cruz in prison before he’d headed off to college. He was ashamed to admit that he hadn’t thought of Cruz often during the past twelve years—he’d been too wrapped up in his own life and struggles.

“Cruz and Sara married a month ago. He’s mentoring the boys and teaching them rodeo.”

“Sounds as if things are looking up for him.” Alonso wished his life was going as well.

“He’d love to see you.”

Alonso wasn’t so sure about that. He’d only heard about the night Cruz had been arrested, and he still felt guilty that he hadn’t gone along with him and Vic when they’d confronted the gang leader who’d been banging Vic’s sister. Maybe if he had been there, he could have done something to defuse the situation and Cruz wouldn’t have ended up in prison.

“What are you doing now?” Riley asked.

“Sightseeing.” That was the truth. Since leaving Albuquerque he’d seen a lot of rural sights.

“You sure everything’s all right?”

Riley had the uncanny ability to sense when Alonso or one of his friends was lying. “I’m fine.”

“If you say so. Be sure to give Maria a call soon.”

“I will. Tell her I said hello.”

“Will do. Keep in touch.”

Alonso disconnected the call, then returned to the kitchen. “See you later, Luke.” He held the door open for Hannah, then they walked to the pickup. “The days are warm but the nights are growing cooler,” he said.

“I wonder when we’ll get our first dusting of snow?”

That was the extent of their conversation until they reached the highway and curiosity got the best of Alonso. “You and Luke don’t have any other siblings or relatives to help with the ranch?”

“It’s just the two of us.”