The Doctor's Calling

“Oh, thank you, Russ! This makes everything so much more bearable.”

“You’re welcome,” he murmured, but Russ doubted that she’d heard his reply. She’d already pulled away from him and was rushing out the door. He quickly called after her. “Where are you going?”

“To tell Maccoy about this!”

The excitement in her voice filtered back to him, and for a moment Russ stood in the middle of the tiny kitchen and smiled to himself. He hadn’t realized what having a house of her own would mean to her. Nor had he realized what having her in his arms would mean to him.

It was just a thank-you hug, Russ. A brief expression of gratitude. Forget it.

With a little effort, he might be able to forget the sweet pleasure of having her cheek pressed to his. But even if he lived to be an old man, he’d never forget the relief that had poured through him when she’d told him she would be going with him to the Chaparral.

What in heck was this change in job, this move, doing to him?

He wanted to believe his relief stemmed from the fact that she was the best assistant he’d ever worked with, and he didn’t want to lose such a top-notch employee.

But as Russ swiftly strode toward his office, he realized all this relief he was feeling came from the fact that he was still going to have Laurel in his life. Period.

Chapter Three

Even though Maccoy was doing his best to taper off the appointments for the last remaining days of the clinic, it was still late the next evening before Laurel and Russ finished with the last patient and locked up the clinic.

By the time the two of them climbed into Russ’s truck to make the trip to the Chaparral, the winter sun was long gone and darkness had urged the streetlights to flicker on. The weather had made a turn for the worst, with a sheet of snowflakes flying in front of the headlights’ beams.

Russ said, “This doesn’t look like the best weather to make the trip, but waiting for it to get better might take days.” He glanced across the console separating their seats to see that Laurel was bundled in a heavy green sweater with a bright plaid scarf wrapped around her neck. A thick parka lay on her lap, and he realized that during all the time that she’d worked for him, whether they’d had to deal with rain or snow, cold or heat, she always seemed to be prepared and never complained.

“Your truck is four-wheel drive. We’ve made a lot rougher trips in much worse weather,” she remarked. “Remember when old man Nobles called us out to his place to help his mare foal? There must have been two feet of snow on the ground then.”

He nodded. “Yeah. I think we hit the ditch about three or four times before we ever got there.”

A fond smile touched her face. “Yes, but we got there in time and the mare delivered a beautiful little filly. It had a tiny white snip on its nose and one white sock.”

“We’ve delivered hundreds of foals around here. How do you remember that one so well?”

“Because that night I was so afraid we weren’t going to get there in time for you to turn the foal. I guess the fear made everything about that night stick in my mind.”

Surprised by her admission, he glanced at her. In all of their emergency encounters, she’d never panicked or shown a hint of fear. To hear her admit to being afraid back then made him wonder what other sort of emotions she might be masking now. “You never let on that you were afraid,” he said.

“I wouldn’t let myself. I wanted to be the best help I could be. Not a weepy, hand-wringing female.”

No, he thought, even when death was looming, Laurel was strong and dependable, like a steadying handhold on a slippery slope. Funny, but she was the exact opposite of his ex-wife, who’d fallen to pieces over a simple cut on her finger.

But then, Brooke was an entirely different person from Laurel. She was different from him, too. And now, looking back on his courtship and marriage, he wondered what had drawn him to the woman in the first place. Oh, she’d been pretty, all right. Her bobbed brown hair had always been fixed and smooth, her clothes tailored and perfect, her makeup subtle and classic. She wasn’t from a rich, socially active family, but compared to his, her background had certainly been a privileged one. Still, the fact that he’d grown up without a family or wealth hadn’t seemed to bother her. She’d always had the motto that the future was what counted, not the past. And she’d had a big future planned for the both of them. Far too big to suit him.

“I don’t think you could be the weepy, hand-wringing type if you tried,” he said wryly.

Laurel looked away from him and out the passenger window. The snowfall was growing heavier, but she wasn’t really seeing the dancing white flakes. She was seeing Lainey lying in a hospital bed, too weak to lift an arm. Laurel had openly wept at the sight of her sister and had desperately begged the doctors to do something to save her. Yet none of her emotional pleas had helped. Lainey had slipped away. And after her twin’s death, a part of Laurel had frozen. She’d shut most of her feelings away, just as a way to survive, and down through the years she’d kept them locked behind a cautious heart. There had been times she’d been accused of being cold and distant. Especially by the guys she’d tried to date in the past. Laurel had found it too difficult to confide in them or explain why she’d changed from the sweet, loving girl she’d first started out to be. But in the end, that hadn’t mattered. She’d not really wanted to marry any of them anyway.

She said to Russ, “I learned a long time ago that a girl with tears in her eyes can’t see straight.”

When he didn’t make any sort of reply, she turned her head to see he was studying her with a curious eye.

“What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.

“Nothing. Sometimes I just can’t figure you out.”

“You shouldn’t try,” she told him flatly. “You might hurt yourself.”

He grunted with dry amusement, then changed the subject completely. “Let’s stop by Burger Barn on the way out of town and pick up some sandwiches. We can eat them on the way to the ranch. Is that okay with you?” “Sure. I’m starved.”

To reach the Chaparral Ranch one had to travel west of Ruidoso, then turn north off the highway and travel several more miles on a gravel-and-dirt road to finally reach the property. Over the years, Laurel had made the trip many times to visit Alexa and her family. But once the two women had grown into adults, life had taken them in different directions and Laurel’s visits to the ranch had occurred less and less often.

“Have you been out this way lately?” Russ asked as he carefully negotiated the truck around a pile of loose gravel.

They had finished eating their fast-food meal before he’d ever turned off the main highway. Which was a good thing, because recent rains had washed rough spots all over the road, making the drive worse than shaky.

His question made her wonder if he’d been reading her mind. “I’ve not visited the Chaparral since Alexa had her first child. She was living here at the time.”

“Yeah. I remember. Her husband is a Texas Ranger. He’d come to the ranch to figure out who was doing all that cattle rustling.”

Laurel nodded. “It was a scary time. The rustlers kidnapped Alexa, and if it hadn’t been for Jonas they might have killed her.”

“But they didn’t. And all the criminals were caught and are now behind bars. So there isn’t any need for you to worry that something like that might happen again.”

“I’m not worried,” she reasoned. “That thought never crossed my mind.”

“Well, the house where you’ll be living is somewhat secluded and a fair distance from the ranch yard.”

“What about your house? Is it very far from mine?” she couldn’t help but ask.

He thought for a moment. “Maybe a quarter mile. Is that enough distance between us?” he joked.

She laughed, but inside she told herself that she was relieved. At least she wouldn’t be tempted to look out her window at night and wonder if he was home or what he was doing.

“I’m sure you’ll be a good ‘distant’ neighbor,” she told him, then cast him a curious glance. “Do you think we’ll stay very busy? I understand the Chaparral runs a few thousand head of cattle and a large remuda of horses, but I figure the ranch hands take good care of all the livestock. I can’t imagine too many problems cropping up.”

“You know how it is with large animals. They seemed to find a way to get themselves injured. And then we’ll be overseeing all the calving, foaling, vaccinating, dehorning and other routine medical programs throughout the seasons. I don’t think you’ll be spending a lot of time lying around on the couch peeling grapes,” he told her, then cast a glance her way. “Are you feeling any better about this move?”

Moving to the Chaparral had never been the main cause of Laurel’s concern. It was the hopelessness of following him, a man that would never be anything more to her than just a boss. But she could hardly tell him that. She intended for him never to know exactly what he’d come to mean to her and her life. It would ruin their working relationship and ultimately ruin her job. And she’d decided that having that much with Russ was better than having nothing with him at all.

She kept her gaze on the falling snow. “I’m not concerned now.”

“What do you mean, ‘now’?”

She rubbed her palms down the denim covering her thighs. “I was concerned at first, but I’m not now. That’s what I mean.”

“That makes a lot of sense.”

She didn’t know what was bringing about all this talking. Normally, Russ didn’t have much to say about anything. He was usually preoccupied with his work and hardly gave her a second notice, unless she’d done something wrong, and then he would harp forever, like a dog unwilling to part with a bone. But ever since he’d told her about moving to the Chaparral, he’d made an abrupt change and was almost acting human, making Laurel wonder if he’d met a woman. What else could be softening his attitude? Maybe this other woman lived on the ranch and that’s why he’d chosen to move there? That idea unsettled Laurel greatly. But she wasn’t going to let herself dwell on the notion. It would be futile.