Image by juan grullon from Pixabay
A free read.
Introducing the hero, Sam Morgan.
Here's a link to Chapter One.
I'm thinking of self publishing.
Chapter Two
Sam Morgan stood at the opened gate
of the corral, staring at the activity around him. Cowboys of every shape and
size, older men with wisp of gray hair flying around their ears and younger men
with old cowboy hats crammed a top their heads raced around the area. Excited
young horses leaped up onto their hind legs and backed away from the
approaching men, relaxing easily when one of the cowboys reached for their
dangling reins. One beautiful black and white stallion stood like royalty in
the center of the pen, ignoring the yelling voices around him. The animal
firmed up as one of the younger cowboy's moved carefully toward him, and then
side-stepped a few feet before the man snatched the trailing reins and led him
into the barn.
Winterwind was a credit to his
linage.
Even if the stallion did belong to
the Hunters.
"He's beautiful."
His sister’s familiar voice broke
through his studious attitude.
"Is that Dusty Cloud's
baby?"
He nodded at Kay. "And Pale Moon's."
"I haven't forgotten. Jessie
told me yesterday one of the other mares is pregnant by him."
Sam wriggled his eyebrows.
"Still going strong, is he? What a stud!"
His sister didn’t respond to his
comment. "Hey, Kay, are you okay? I just said something stupid, and you
didn’t roll your eyes like you usually do.”
She wandered toward his left side and
half stepped up the fence, looking out toward the stallion. Standing on the
third from the bottom rail put her eye-to-eye with the magnificent animal.
Small and petite, nothing like him or Jessie, and only vaguely like Dad. Every
time he looked at her, he saw her long-gone mother.
"A couple of the scheduled
patients cancelled their appointments when they found out Larry went
fishing."
Her comment broke through his
rambling thoughts. He'd been thinking way too much about family lately.
"Cancelled, really?"
"Yeah." She settled her
bottom on the top rail and looked toward him. "I think it upset All… Dr.
Anderson."
Sam shrugged. "Well, what did
you expect? The townspeople to welcome her back with open arms?"
"Last week they did," she
said. "Or at least the men and younger folks did. Nothing's changed since
then."
He leaped up on the top rail and
flicked his sister's upper arm. She didn't respond. "You, okay?"
She shrugged. "I don't
understand why people cancelled their appointments."
Obviously, Kay hadn't heard the
rumors going on about the town's new doctor. Sam didn't want to believe it, but
it made a kind of weird sense. She did arrive with only a little girl, and no
husband. She still didn't have a husband. That didn't mean she'd lied to Old
Doc Sanders about being married, though.
"She's nothing like Liz, Megan,
or Mark."
Kay's quiet statement stopped his
internal argument. "What do you mean, Kay? Everyone says she looks a lot
like Liz."
"Well, yeah, she looks like her,
but…" Shaking her head, she jumped from the fence into the corral.
"Oh, never mind. I just thought she'd be easier to get to know. Like her brother
and sisters."
"She's not?"
His sister shook her head.
"So, I guess some of the rumors
are true." He got off the fence and followed her through the passageway
between the fairground bleachers into the cooler barn. A horse whinnied while a
man shouted orders to one of the green horns, arguing male voices yelled at the
other end of the grounds. Normal sounds finishing up a normal day. He stopped
at his office door and waved his sister through it. "People I've talked to
told me she's a bitch."
Her back straightened as she jerked
around. "Who told you that?"
Sam lifted his hands and backed away.
"I don't remember exactly. It's just what I heard around the fairground
today."
"She's not a bitch," Kay
said adamantly. "Sure, she can be a bit proper at times and I don't think
she even owns a pair of jeans. But I wouldn't say she was bitchy."
"I'm sorry I said it."
"Maybe you shouldn’t repeat
rumors until you actually met her."
Sam wandered toward his desk and
switched on the light. Brightness moved the shadows of the room away. He looked
at his sister as he sank down into the big chair and leaned back. The old chair
groaned under his bulky weight. Kayla didn't say a word. She fell lightly onto
an ancient sofa in front of the only window in the room and pulled her legs up
under her, wrapping her arms around her knees. Her tension eased a bit as she
relaxed into the rough cushion.
"I feel so uneasy around
her," Kay finally said. "I mean, I'm second guessing myself on everything
I do there. Even when it comes to drawing blood, and I've been doing that for
years."
"The lady doc makes you feel
insecure?"
She nodded but didn't look up at him.
"I'm not even sure what to call her."
"Her name is Allison,
right?" Sam leaned forward in his chair and placed his arms flat on the
desk. "Doesn't her family clan call her Allie?"
"Yes,” she whispered. “Calling
her that doesn’t seem right, somehow.
She seems so…different from me.”
Sam didn't know what to tell her.
"I did call her by her first
name today, though," Kay said in a soft way. "She looked so
startled."
A knock sounded on the edge of his
opened door. He looked up and frowned. Shit, this woman was the last person he
wanted to see now, or ever. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm helping Kay and the rest of
the ladies with the Memorial Day dance."
His sister jerked her head up at the
older woman's harsh tone. He saw the right side of her mouth rise before she
turned toward him. Her brows arched as her eyes sparked in a wicked way.
"Oh, didn't I mention I asked Renee to help me with the party? I thought I
told you, Sam."
If he'd known this obsessive woman
was going to be around today, he would've found somewhere else to be. Sure, the
Memorial Day rodeo and dance was one of the biggest events happening in
Hendersonville, but he had plenty of time and help to get it all finished.
He scowled at his smirking sister.
"Cute."
"I thought so."
Renee stepped into the small office
and stopped at the side of his desk. "It's good to see you, Sam."
He wished he could say the same.
"Kay told me you didn't have a
date to the dance yet?"
She leaned over the desk, allowing
her loose tee shirt to flop open at the top. Sweet mounds of tasty flesh peeked
out from her too tight bra, leaving him with a major problem. His hands itched
to feel the firm, warm skin yet he knew it would be a big blunder, one he wasn't
going to allow to happen again. He'd made that mistake when he'd first accepted
her sexy offer a few years ago. The vague memory of the last time they'd been
together at his uncle's old house outside town forced his glance away from the
temptation.
Yeah, he liked sex as much as the
next guy. Yet that morning was just too homely. Sam may not remember the sex,
but he still remembered the rest of it. Even after two months, he could still hear
her hints about marriage.
"I don't have a date either,"
Renee said. "I thought we might go together, for old time's sake."
He glared at his still smirking
sister. "Sorry, but my sister's wrong. I do have a date."
Disbelief widened Kay's eyes.
"You're such a liar."
"I just met her," he said,
"a couple of weeks ago."
Renee straightened up as a hard frown
formed on her mouth. "Is it that bitch doctor?"
Oh, shit.
"No, it's not the new doctor."
The older woman glared at him for a
long moment, then jerked around and left the office.
"Oh, Sam, you've just put your
foot in it."
He stood up hard from the chair.
"This is not funny."
"Yes, it is."
His sister unfolded easily from the
sofa and stepped toward him. She swallowed down her laughter long enough to
place her hand on his bicep. "You know she's going to harass Allie now,
don't you?"
He sighed in frustration. "I
haven't even met the lady doc yet, and I'm already causing her problems."
"Well, there's a way to remedy
that, big brother."
Sam leaned into the wall. "Yeah,
I guess I'll have to go and say hello."
"I would say sooner rather than
later." Kay slapped his arm and grinned. "I guess she should meet the
man she's accused of stealing before Renee starts in on her."
Shit.
"And you are Hendersonville's
only EMT," Kay added. "About time you introduced yourself to the new
doctor.
****
Sam could still hear his sister's laughter
when he pulled into the small parking lot of the clinic fifteen minutes later. Experience
told him Larry would ignore the pounding on the front entrance door at this
time of night, without first being notified of an emergency, so he didn't even
bother stopping there. Instead, he raced around the house toward the warm block
of light coming from the kitchen. He placed his fist against the window portion
of the door and froze at the sound of a low, breathy voice. Larry's harsher
tone answered back, causing warm laughter to flow unchecked toward his stilled
body.
Shit.
Did the sexy laugh belong to the new
doctor?
Didn’t sound at all bitchy?
Sam shook his head and pressed the
buzzer. The laughter stopped as soft footsteps wandered to the door. The
curtain at the window fluttered open. All he could see of the face was smooth
skin and the tip of an ear, brushed by long, soft-looking strands of hair.He swallowed down his usual greeting.
"Well, who is it?"
The half-hidden face was replaced by a
craggy, lined one. "Sam?" The door swung open, and the older man
waved him into the cheery kitchen. "What are you doing standing out there?
When did you get here?"
"Only a few minutes ago," he
said. His gaze flashed over the woman. Tall and slim, with light-brown hair
falling halfway down her back, she didn't look anything like he'd imagined. The
wavy strands of silk-like material wiped around her as she turned and stepped
out of the room. "Was it something I did?"
"Well, you were gawking at
her," Larry said, with a lop-sided grin. "Allie just made some fresh
coffee. Want some?"
He pulled his gaze off the woman’s
disappearing back and moved into the house, slamming the door behind him. He
stepped toward the table and hooked his foot on the leg of the nearest chair.
"Here you go, Sam."
He straddled the seat and threw his
cowboy hat in the center of the table. Grabbing the cup from the doctor, he
leaned his arms over the back of the chair. "Thanks."
Larry sat in his usual seat at the
head of the table. "So, what brings you to the clinic this late? I thought
Kayla told me you were working on the Memorial Day rodeo."
"Renee showed up." He spoke
to the older doctor but didn't take his eyes off the kitchen doorway. "Kay
played a dirty trick on me and asked her to help with the dance."
"Oh?" Bushy eyebrows rose
and fell as he leaned forward. "Why should that bother you? The two of you
were an item at one time, right?"
"Not anymore." Clasping the
hot cup between both hands, he glanced toward the back door. "The last
time we had sex—" He stopped the harsh word. "I mean, when we were
together last, she started hinting about…things."
Larry sipped at his coffee.
"Things?"
"You know," he mumbled,
staring down at the hot liquid, "about marriage, and starting a family.
You know…things."
"Oh?"
"I'm not ready to settle down
yet," he said, glancing hard at the doctor. "I'm not ready for
someone to call me 'daddy'."
Larry didn't say anything, just sat
and stared at him, sipping his coffee.
"You need to stop doing that,
Doc."
"Doing what?"
He slammed his cup on the table.
Drops of dark brown liquid burned his fingers. He ignored the sting. "You
know what, Larry? My dad's been giving me the same look the last few years."
"You are forty-two," Larry
said simply. "Don't you think it's time you started acting like it?"
Sam glared at the old man. "Just
because I don't want to settle down with Renee doesn't mean I'm not acting my
age. Some day I'll find the right woman. She's not Renee."
The older man investigated his coffee
cup for a long moment. Something close to sadness glistened in his eyes. Sam
understood the reason for the man's quietness. He'd heard the story of his lost
love so many times he could repeat it word for word. Old Doc Sanders' one and
only love had been killed in a car crash on her way to his graduation from
medical school. They'd planned to be married the following September.
"I know she isn't the right
woman for you, Sam." His strong voice wavered. "If she was, you
would've married her years ago."
"You've got it right."
"I always knew Wilma would be
the only woman for me," he said, looking at something Sam couldn't see.
"I can still remember the first time I set eyes on her. She was so beautiful
with all that long, flowing bright red hair falling out of her scarf. I think I
fell in love with her at first sight."
Sam glanced over at the door leading
to the living room. The new doctor's hair was long and flowing too, but not bright
red. More like a light sienna color, with hints of darker brown weaved into the
silky strands. A familiar itch burned the palm of his hand as a sudden need to
run his fingers though the softness rushed into him.
Man, it hasn't been that long since he
touched a woman.
Sam tore his gaze off the doorway and
looked at his friend. "Could I ask you a personal question?"
Larry closed his eyes for a moment,
then focused them on him. "You can ask, yes, but it doesn't mean I'll
answer."
"Fair enough." He glanced
at the living room door one last time. "You remember your lady's flowing
red hair, right?"
Larry sighed out a yes. "I'll
never forget it."
"Do you remember what you were
thinking when you first saw her? Did you want to run your fingers through it,
maybe?"
Silence lingered in the kitchen as
the older man studied him. Then his eyes narrowed and cut hard toward the
living room door before refocusing on him. "I can still remember how it
felt."
"But did you have the urge to
feel it that day?"
His eyes looked toward the door again
as he snorted out a rough laugh. "You know what, Wilma raced out of the
room a few seconds after I'd entered it too."
Shit.
Image by B Snuffleupagus from Pixabay
Kitchen table
Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay
