The Doctor's Choice (3 page)

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Early the next morning, Cami was awakened by the insistent ringing of the telephone. Fighting off confusion, she struggled to disentangle herself from the afghan and cat, who gave her an indignant look before jumping to the floor.

“Hello,” she gasped into the receiver.

“Hello, Miss… I mean Dr. Carmichael.” The smile in Breck’s voice made a shiver run down her spine. “I thought I might take you to breakfast before we head to my office.”

“Sure
.” She stifled a yawn. “Give me a few minutes to get dressed.”

“I’ll pick you up in half an hour,” he said.

She showered and dressed in her warmest clothing. When she heard Breck pull up in front, she slipped on her coat and wrapped one of Silky’s scarves around her neck. Stepping outside, she wished she had brought gloves. Breck held the door open for her and handed her up into his truck. She tried to recall if Clay had ever performed this simple deed. She shrugged it off, thinking it was just a country sort of thing. One couldn’t expect a city boy to go through the whole courtly gentleman act.

They
indulged in superficial chat. As they drove along, Breck pointed out landmarks, showing her where his ranch started and Silky’s ended.

He smelled
great, something woodsy and spicy at the same time. It might have been cologne or aftershave or just soap, but it was having a disturbing effect. Cami reminded herself she was a newly-engaged woman and redirected her thoughts to the local sights.

The town looked as though the last new construction had taken place in the early 1950’s. A double feature was listed on the movie theater marquee. Some of the letters were missing but it wasn’t hard to figure out that both features had
come out on DVD recently.

Breck parked in front of Tiny’s Diner.
She kept her seat, allowing him to open her door and offer her a hand.

Cami smiled to herself, thinking that some of her contemporaries would be insulted to be considered so helpless.
Different strokes.

Inside, they found a booth along the side.
She was aware of the gamut of stares she was afforded. The faint odor of cigarettes hung in the air. Apparently the diners hadn’t heard that cigarette smoking might be harmful to your health.

“Good morning,
Crystal,” Breck greeted their waitress.

“Hi, Breckenridge,” she crooned.
Crystal was a size sixteen stuffed into a size ten uniform. The starched turquoise cotton stretched over every part and gaped all the way down the front, displaying her white slip between the straining buttons. She leaned over Breck’s cup to fill it with coffee, allowing him a generous view of her ample cleavage. “The usual?”

“And a menu for Dr. Carmichael, please.” Breck said.

Cami selected a larger than usual breakfast. She was famished. This surprised her because she hadn’t been able to eat much since she had first been informed of Silky’s death.

“Tell me, Breck,” she said
. “Did Aunt Silky still ride every day?”

Breck’s face was suddenly so
mber. “To my knowledge, she did.”

“My aunt w
as an exceptional horsewoman. Did she experience some sort of decline recently?”

“Absolutely not. She rode with me several times a week and regularly beat the pants off me. She loved to ride and she loved to
race me. Why do you ask?” He sent her a penetrating gaze.

Cami experienced a tightening in her chest under his scrutiny. She cleared her throat.
“Frankly, I just can’t imagine her being thrown by any horse, especially Red. She talked about him all the time.”

“My thoughts exactly.
Here’s the man to ask.” Breck raised his hand in greeting to a much older man. “Doc, come on over here.”

The tall, elderly man squinted through his glasses
before crossing the diner to stand beside their booth. His bushy brows knit into a frown as he stared at her. “You’re Silky’s niece,” he said. “I saw you at the funeral. Damned shame.” He pulled up a chair and seated himself at the end of the table.

“Doc
Parker and Silky were old friends,” Breck said.

“I’m
Camryn, Doctor.” She extended her hand. “Was there an autopsy?”

His expression changed from melancholy to
surprise to anger.

She
shrank from his stern glare. “I…I was wondering if there had been an autopsy. I can’t imagine Aunt Silky being thrown by a horse. I guess I was wondering if she suffered a heart attack or stroke before she fell.”

“Cami is a doctor, Doc,” Breck said.

“I know what you meant.” The old man shook his head. “Most people around these parts fight tooth and nail to avoid an autopsy, even in the case of foul play. They object on religious grounds. They object on any grounds they can.”

The weight of disappointment settled on her shoulders.
“So, there wasn’t an autopsy?”

“Didn’t say that. As a matter of fact there
was a post mortem examination.”

“Did you
…?” she began.

“Hell, no!” the doctor spat out. “Silky was
…She was special to me. I couldn’t…“

“I understand,
” she said, though she didn’t.

“
The procedure was performed by the Medical Examiner over at the county seat. I haven’t heard the results, but I’ll check with him.” He scraped his chair back and went to sit at the counter turning his back on them without a word of farewell.

“I didn’t know you were interested in the
autopsy,” Breck said. “I’d have warned you about Doc. He and Silky were sweethearts for decades. He’s taken her death pretty hard.”

“That’s apparent
.” She took a deep breath, giving Breck a sharp glance across the table. “You’re telling me that my Aunt Silky had a boyfriend for longer than I’ve been alive and I didn’t know anything about it?”

He
gave her a one-sided grin in response.

Crystal
brought their steaming plates at that moment, and set a basket of fluffy fat biscuits between them.

Cami
seized on a hot biscuit and buttered it. She bit into the flaky layers, inhaling the fragrance as she closed her eyes.

“Good biscuit
?” he asked.

She opened her eyes, realizing that he was laughing
at her. She colored slightly, but took another bite accompanied by a piece of sausage. “Yes,” she agreed, without pause. “Med school doesn’t allow one to eat regular meals.”

“It doesn’t seem to have done you any harm.
” Once again he seemed to be appraising her. “You do favor Silky in her younger days."

She narrowed her gaze.
“You’re not much older than I. How do you know how she looked in her younger days?”

“Pictures. She’s part of the local history. There are a great many p
hotos of her around here. In fact,” he smiled conspiratorially, “Doc has quite a collection.”

Cami swallowed, giving her
self a chance to consider her great aunt in another light, a woman with a long-time sweetheart. She had to smile when she realized the man sitting across from her had used such an old-fashioned term, not boyfriend, not lover, but sweetheart. Perhaps he wasn’t as cold as she’d first thought.

When they
had finished eating, Breck drove her to his place of business in the next block. The store front office was in a one-story building with a plate glass window. The words,
Breckenridge T. Ryan, Attorney at Law
, were lettered in ornate gold script. A young woman, barely past her teens, sat at an old oak desk that had darkened with age. Her shiny auburn hair had been pulled into a high ponytail. Smiling widely, she bounced to her feet.

“Oh, good morning Mr. Ryan,” she said breathlessly. “Mr.
Kent called and wants you to call him. I opened your mail and put it on your desk.”

“That’s fine. I’ll be meeting with Dr. Carmichael so hold my calls.” He escorted Cami into his private office. A gleaming square mahogany desk dominated the room. His computer was ensconced in an ancient roll-top desk against the wall. A leather chair was turned to the side between the two desks as though unable to decide which matters were most
urgent.

He waved her to one of a pair of leather wing chairs and took his place behind the desk. Making a show of opening the folder containing Aunt Silky’s will, he read it, explaining to Cami that she was the main beneficiary of her aunt’s estate. There were minor bequests to T-Bone and to Frank, and a lump sum to the
local church for the building fund. She gave a piece of her jewelry to each of her three lady friends. Cami also inherited the registered German Shepherd, “Silky’s Shadow” and “Silky’s Silver Moon,” the beautiful Persian.

“Moon! That
’s what Aunt Silky called her.”

He
nodded solemnly.

Cami shivered when he read that she also inherited Silky’s livestock including her beloved paint stallion, “Silky’s Paint the Town Red”. She quickly brushed away the tears spilling down her cheeks
, refusing to allow Breck access to her feelings about the horse that killed her aunt.

“Now comes the difficult part,”
he said, shuffling the papers.

“Difficult?” She stared into eyes so dark she couldn’t see the pupils.

“It seems that Silky was determined that her only living relative should reside on the ranch. Of course, she counted on living to the ripe old age of one hundred and dying in her bed.”

Cami sniffled.
“That’s what I always thought would happen.”

“Unfortunately, her accidental departure may make it difficult for you.”
He set the papers aside and gazed at her, sitting on the edge of the large chair. “It seems there’s a stipulation that you live at the ranch for one year to be able to inherit. If, after that time, you wish to dispose of the property, you are free to do so and may use the proceeds in any way you see fit.”

The weight of his words settled heavily upon her. “That’s impossible. I’m beginning a fellowship in immunology in two weeks.”

“It’s not impossible. You may have to put that off for a while or you inherit nothing.”

“But, Aunt Silky help
ed with my expenses while I finished school.” She rubbed her fingers over the brass nail heads around the leather armrests.

“I was under the impression that you
’d finished with med-school,” he said.

“I was
…I am a licensed physician…Internal Medicine,” she said. “But I want to specialize in the field of immunology. I want to do research.”

She blinked away the tears st
inging her eyes.

“I see.” He spread his hands in a dismissive gesture. “Well, you’ll have to delay that—-if you expec
t to inherit Silky’s property.”

Cami felt as though the breath had been knocked out of her. “What happens if I just go back to
Houston?”

He expelled a long breath as though he had been holding it. “You can, of course, walk away from everything but you would give up all claims to her property. Silky was adamant. She w
anted you to live on the ranch.

“But…but, why?” she wailed.

“She loved you and she loved Moonshadows. She wanted you to love her ranch
and live on it.”

Her
airway seemed to close up. She gasped for air, refusing to give way to tears. “What happens if I don’t stay? Who gets the ranch?”

“I do.”

“What?” Cami rose to her feet, her purse sliding to the floor. “Why that’s, that’s---“

“Perfectly legal. Silky knew that I would never sell out to Eldon Kinkaid. He’s the head of the big mega-ranch
ing corporation that’s been buying up the small ranches around here. Silky and I stood our ground. The combined size of our properties totals almost as much acreage as Kinkaid’s. We encouraged the other ranchers to hold on to their property. Silky wanted to make sure you didn’t sell out her friends and neighbors.”

“But she knew I was going into medicine. Why would she force me to make this kind of choice?”
She sank back into the wing chair, covering her face with her hands.

He
cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I’m certain she didn’t intend to cause you any distress. The fact is, she thought she had lots of time to talk you into it. She and Doc even thought you would take over his practice in time.”

“Here?” Cami looked up at him, feeling as though she had been ambushed. How could Aunt Silky have had such ridiculous expectations? She inhaled deeply and tried to think rationally.

“It’s not such a bad place
.” His voice took on a defensive tone. “Look Miss…Doctor,” he amended. “I know this has been a shock. Why don’t you let me drive you home and you can think it over.”

S
he nodded, gathering her purse. She felt like a zombie as she plodded toward his truck, ignoring the hand he extended to assist her into the cab.