The Doctor's Choice (27 page)

He nodded. “I heard something about that. Too bad she didn’t get to follow through with her plans.”

“I’m going to allow them to go ahead with the exploration next month. A spelunking group is coming from Austin to teach the kids and ensure their safety. They have all the proper equipment for the Scouts to use without going to a lot of expense.”

“You should ask my dad to go along. In his wildcatting days he learned a lot about the
local caves. He’s somewhat of an expert on Native American artifacts.”

Cami opened her eyes wide. “Really? And I thought his expertise lay in killing
animals.”

E.J. chuckled. “He likes to collect all kinds of trophies.”

#

“I want to go home,” she said.

Panic gripped Breck’s stomach when he heard those words. He covered the receiver for a moment, taking a deep breath he didn’t want her to hear. His throat ached with emotion at the thought she would leave him. When he was able to speak, his voice was all air. “I want you to stay, Cami.”

“I’ve imposed on you and your father long enough. I should go back to Moonshadows. Frank and T-Bone will think I’ve abandoned them.”

Relief flooded him like the Titanic taking on water. Why would his mind immediately leap to the possibility that she’d go running back to Houston? “I understand, baby. But I want to come with you. Someone dangerous is out there and you shouldn’t be alone.”

“I
… Alright. I know you’re right. And Breck, for the record, I like having you around. You make me feel safe.”

A feeling of warmth filled the void inside his gut. “You know I’d do anything for you.”

“I know.” She hung up, promising to be home before dark.

Two hours later,
Breck sat on her porch in one of the rocking chairs, watching her approach in the long, shiny Lincoln. He couldn’t keep from grinning as relief washed through him. Since the fire, he’d had a sense of dread that something evil lurked just around the corner, causing him to be fearful every time Cami was out of his sight.

He went to meet her, opening her door and pulling her out
of the vehicle and into his arms. He carried her up the steps and set her on her feet beside the front door. When she stood smiling up at him, he felt like the luckiest man on earth. Stretching up, she circled his neck with her arms and he lifted her off her feet, crushing her against him and burying his face in her hair.

“Hey, what’s this about?” She dr
ew back, latching onto his gaze. “Is there something going on that I don’t know about?”

He
glanced away. “I’m almost ashamed to admit how much I worry about you when you’re not with me.”

She smiled and drew close again, burrowing her face into the
lambskin lining of his jacket.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m careful.”

“Are you crazy? You’re the one who went running into the burning stables to rescue Red. You take chances all the time. You have no barriers.”

“Breck, I’m a city girl. I
can take care of myself.”

“In the city, maybe you
can, but here you’re wide open and it’s probably my fault.” He ran his fingers through her hair and held her head, cupped in his palm. “I wanted you to stay so much, I never told you about the bad things going on here. Silky called them dirty tricks. She was sure that Kincaid was behind them.”

She jerked back, glaring into his eyes, something fierce burning deep within. “Which Kincaid?”

“Why, Eldon, of course.”

She gave him a speculative glance before turning to unlock the door. “Let’s get inside.
” She preceded him and hung the leather jacket that had been Silky’s on a peg.

He
looped his jacket over an adjoining peg.

Cami fished in the pocket of her jeans and produced a key, holding it up for him to see. “I had this made for you. I don’t want you to have to wait outside and, I wanted to formally ask you if you would, for now, move in with me.”

His fingers closed around hers. “For now?”

“We haven’t even talked about where we’ll live after we’re married.
So, for now, if you’ll stay with me here at Moonshadows it will make things a lot easier just knowing where we’re going to sleep at night.”

He
swallowed hard and ran his fingers through his hair to give himself a chance to think. “You know, Cami, people around here don’t generally cohabit before marriage.”

“I’m sure.” She slanted an amused glance at him. “I’ve never asked anyone to live with me before, so if you’re declining you might just hurt my feelings, especially since you’ve been trying to jump on me
from the day I arrived.”

“Not the first day.”

“The second day,” she said.

He opened her hand and took the key from her fingers. “I want to live with you, Cami, forever and ever.
Not just for now.”

“Me too.” She stood on tiptoe and planted a kiss on his lips. “If you have reservations
on moral grounds I’ll let you sleep on the loveseat. You can be my bodyguard and keep the evil Kincaids away from the door.”

“I prefer to do that from the comfort of your pink
bedroom. I’m sure that’s the door the younger Kincaid would like to breach.”

Cami shivered althoug
h the room was adequately warm.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

She glanced down, biting her lower lip. “It’s probably nothing”

“Tell me.”

“It’s E.J…I think he’s the one who killed Aunt Silky and burned my stables.” She blurted it out all in a rush.

The fine hairs on the back of
his neck stirred. “Tell me.” He drew her over to the love seat and arranged the throw around her shoulders. “Tell me everything.”

Cami told him about the missing jack and about E.J.’s reaction when he
learned of their engagement.

“The lost jack could be coincidence,” he said. “I think it would have to be recovered to be real evidence. And I can understand how he feels
about our engagement. I could have told you that he’d fallen for you.”

She
shook her head. “I thought he was flirting with me because of Eldon’s interest in Silky’s land. I never thought he was serious.”

“Why did you go out with him in the first place?”

“I hoped to learn something about Silky’s death. I’m convinced the Kincaids are involved.”

He
nodded. “Nothing to tie them to it except for the missing tire tool.”

Cami straightened. “Today, E.J. came to the clinic with a burn on his arm. I treated it
and I took pictures of the wounds.”

Breck felt a squeezing sensation in his gut.
“A burn? Something he could have gotten while setting fire to your stables?”

“He gave me some story about spilling a drink on his sleeve and
getting too close to an open flame.”

“Sounds pretty thin. I want you to stay completely away from anyone named Kincaid. Do you understand me?”

She smiled at him. “Ah, that tone of voice sounds like I’m in trouble.”

“Steer clear of them until this is over. Promise me.”

“No problem. But E.J. will go back to the clinic so I can check on the arm. Reba and Loretta will be there. I wouldn’t worry if I were you.”

“You’re not me.”

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Cami unfolded her great-grandmother’s wedding gown. The imported French lace and heavy satin was prettier than anything she’d ever seen. She stroked reverent fingers over the fragile antique, aware of how few ties she had to her past.

Silky had d
one a fine job of preserving the dress.

Milita clasped her hands. “Es muy bonita.”

An ache in her throat tasted like unshed tears. She drew a deep breath and tried to focus on the wedding and not think about her half of
the church that would be empty.

Milita fluffed the fabric in the skirt.
“This French lace is lovely.”

Cami smiled, gazing at her reflection in the antique cheval mirror.
“I think I can get into it, but my great-grandmother must have been very short. Look at this.” Cami held the dress against her body, demonstrating how much leg was visible below the hemline of scalloped lace.

Milita spread the skirt against
her legs. “It’s way short, but maybe we can fix it. I can add something to the bottom part, maybe another tier.”

“There’s a long train that attaches to the shoulders and drags on the floor. There’s a lot of the
same fabric.”

Milita helped
her try on the dress and knelt on the floor to measure the length needed.

“At least it fits me.”

Milita grinned at her. “Your great-grandmother didn’t have your legs, and your torso is longer.” She struggled to rise with a handful of pins. “Let me think about it. I can make a drawing and you can tell me if you like it.”

“I’d love to wear this dress, but I don’t want to ruin it. If I can’t wear it,
maybe I should donate it to a museum. What do you think?”

“No, you should keep it as a memento of your ancestors.”
She smiled, tilting her head to one side. “And your children would like to see this dress.”

A rush of emotion swirled through Cami’s gut.
My children. Our children. Breck’s and mine.
Her breath caught in her throat. “I never knew much about my family before. Reading my great-grandmother’s love letters gave me a sense of being connected to something greater than myself.”

Milita smiled. “I understand. My people, we revere our ancestors and cherish the things they leave behind.
”

“Silky left me this ranch and everything on it, but I have so little of the rest of my family.”

“What about your personal property back in Houston? Do you have a lot of things there?”

“Not a lot.” Cami sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I have a one-bedroom apartment, a lot of books and my closet is filled with scrubs.
My furniture is second-hand. I do have a couple of water colors my mother painted and a photo album from my childhood, vacations and such.”

“You should go and get your stuff. Breck will drive you.”

She shrugged. “I’m sure he would. Since the fire, things are up in the air. Breck is edgy and the men are tense. It’s like they’re looking over their shoulders, expecting more trouble.”

“Breck is a s
trong man and he’s very smart. Let him take care of the trouble. He’s the man.”

Cami met her gaze with a smile. “Oh, yeah. He’s all that.”

#

T
hree days later Cami drove the Lincoln in to the clinic parking lot. She took a moment to gather her things. Turning back, she reached for the door handle just as her door was wrenched open by E.J. Kincaid.

“Oh, my God
!...E.J., you scared me to death.” Her heart pounded against her ribcage.

He held his hand out to
pull her from the depths of the Lincoln. Anger glinted from his eyes.

She wrenched her hand from his grasp.
“What’s the matter with you?”

He let out a guttural snarl. “What’s the matter?” He
waved his still bandaged hand in a series of futile gestures. “Do you know what you put me through?”

Fear roiled through her gut.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She glanced around the deserted parking area. She spied Reba’s truck parked at the other end and presumed that Loretta was inside the clinic, but would they hear her screams?

Hi
s teeth gritted together. “Don’t play that game with me.”

She
winced as he reached for her again.

He drew his hand back abruptly
, a shocked look on his face. “I don’t believe it! You’re really afraid of me.” His smooth brow furrowed into a frown. “Do you really think I would hurt a woman?”

She
pressed her lips together, not allowing herself to voice the accusations screaming in her head.

“Cami, you can’t
honestly think I had anything to do with your aunt’s death. I hardly knew the woman.”

She drew a breath. “Please calm down.”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know that I was arrested and hauled off to Amarillo to be questioned by homicide detectives for the past forty-eight hours.”

They stared into each other’s eyes.

“No,” she said. “I didn’t know.”

“Cami, they grilled me about the missing jack and the burn on my arm.” He raked his fingers through his crop of wavy blonde hair. “No one else knew that the handle to my jack was missing. No one
but you.”

She glanced away.
“I, um…may have mentioned it.”

“And some arson investigator was all over me about a fire at your place. Cami, you didn’t
tell me your barn burned down.” He walked away shaking his head and then paced back to her. “I would never do that.”