Shelter from the Storm

“You still need a ride back to Moose Springs?”

Chill, she chided herself. This was Daniel Galvez, the one man in town who shouldn’t rev her motor. She would be better off with a player like Kendall Fox. At least he just annoyed her. Being with Dr. Fox never left her feeling like she had just stood in a wind tunnel for two or three days.

“If it’s not too much trouble.”

“No trouble,” he assured her, though she couldn’t help feeling he wasn’t being completely truthful.

“Just give me a few more moments to wrap things up with Kendall and I should be ready.”

“Here comes the good doctor now.”

She turned and found Kendall walking purposefully down the hallway.

“The sheriff is my ride back to Moose Springs since I came in the ambulance,” she said quickly, hoping to deflect any more flirtation. “Do you mind if I leave my patient in your care?”

“We’ll take good care of her until they can find a bed for her on the medical floor.”

“I’ll be back first thing in the morning to check on her,” she said. “I want a phone call in the night if her condition changes at all. Make sure the nurses know that when they admit her upstairs. Any change at all, I want to hear about it.”

“I’ll take care of her, I promise.” Kendall gave her the full wattage of his lady-killer smile. “I’m on until seven in the morning and I expect doughnuts and some decent coffee out of the deal.”

“Done.”

As her interactions with Dr. Fox went, this one was fairly innocuous. She could only hope she would get through the hour-long drive with Daniel Galvez as painlessly.

Chapter 3

The slushy snow of earlier in the evening had given way to giant, soft flakes as the temperature dropped. Daniel drove away from the U. toward the canyon that would take them back to Moose Springs through the feeder streets along the foothills. Roads here were mostly clear, though he knew the canyon would probably be dicey.

He was painfully aware of Lauren sitting beside him and wondered if they had ever been alone like this. He was so conscious of her that it took all his powers of concentration to keep his attention on driving as he took the exit to I-80 through the canyon.

Still, he was aware of every movement from her side of the SUV. When he caught her covering a yawn, he risked a look at her. “Go ahead and sleep if you need to. I’ve got a pillow in the back.”

“I’m all right. It’s been a rather long day. I imagine you know all about those.”

“This week, I certainly do.” He signaled to change lanes around a car with out-of-state plates going at a crawl through what was just a light layer of snow.

The scanner crackled with static suddenly and he heard radio traffic of somebody in Park City reporting a drunk-and-disorderly patron at one of the popular restaurants on Main Street.

“I’m sure that’s not the first one of those they’ve had this week,” Lauren said.

“Yeah, and it won’t be the last until Sundance is over. The detective I spoke to tonight on the way here sounded just a little frazzled.”

“Things are busy enough in Park City in the winter with all the skiers. Throw in the film festival and it’s a nightmare.”

“Have you been to any screenings this year?”

She shrugged. “I don’t have a lot of free hours to go to movies. You?”

“No. I caught a few screenings last year but I’m afraid this one is going to pass me by. Too much work.”

“We’re pathetic, aren’t we? Sounds like we both need to get a life outside our jobs.”

“I’d love to,” he deadpanned, “but who has the time?”

She laughed out loud at that, the low, musical sound filling all the cold corners of his Tahoe. “We are pathetic. I was thinking the exact same thing. By the time I finish a twelve-hour shift at the clinic, I’m lucky to find the energy to drive home.”

“You need a vacation.” He pushed away the image of her on a white sand beach somewhere, a soft sea breeze ruffling her hair and her muscles loose and relaxed.

“Funny, that seems to be the consensus,” she said. “You’ll be surprised to find, I’m sure, that I’m actually taking one next week. Coralee and Bruce Jenkins are going on a cruise. Rather than hire a temp to be the office manager for a week, I decided to close the whole clinic and just give everyone the time off. My staff needed a break.”

“Good for you!”

“The town got along without any doctor at all for a long time. I’m sure a few days without me will be bearable.”

“What are you doing with yourself?”

“I haven’t decided yet. Mom’s bugging me to come down and visit for a few days. I might. Or I might just stick close to home, try out some new cross-country ski trails, maybe take in a movie or two in Park City.”

“I’m sure Dr. Fox would be happy to take you to a screening if you just said the word.”

He immediately wished he had just kept that little statement to himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lauren’s eyes widen with surprise. Even from here, he could see color flare on her delicate cheekbones. “Kendall? I don’t think so.”

He knew he should let it rest but he just couldn’t seem to make himself shut up. “Why?” he pressed. “He’s good-looking, successful, probably loaded. Seems like a good catch.”

“Maybe you should date him,” she said tartly.

“I’m not the one the good doctor couldn’t take his eyes off.”

“You’re delusional. I’d be happy to refer you to a doctor who can prescribe something for that.”

He laughed, but figured he should probably change the subject before he revealed too much, like the attraction he had done his best to hide for more than a decade. Before he could come up with a conversational detour, she beat him to the punch.

“What about you?” she asked. “I heard rumors of wedding bells a few summers ago when you were dating little Cheryl White.”

“She wasn’t little,” he muttered.

“Not in physical assets, anyway. But wasn’t she barely out of high school?”

He had to admit, he was a little stung by her implication that he might be interested in jailbait. At the same time, he had to wonder why she noticed who he dated. “Cheryl was twenty-one when I started dating her. She didn’t even have to use fake ID to get into Mickey’s.”

“That must have been a relief for you. It probably would have been a little awkward to have to arrest your own girlfriend.”

It must be late, if she could tease him like this. The tension usually simmering between them was nowhere in sight as they drove through the snowy night. He savored the moment, though he was fairly certain it wouldn’t last.

“For the record, Cheryl was never my girlfriend. We only dated a few times and we never discussed wedding bells or anything else matrimony-related. You ought to know better than to listen to the Moose Springs gossips.”

Even without looking at her, he could feel her light mood trickle away like the snow melting on the windshield.