The Doctor's Choice (9 page)

“Open the door,” he said
, gruffly. “I’m freezing my back-side off.”

She
laughed and opened the door. Shadow sat just inside, his ears on alert. “Were you waiting for me, Shadow?” She bent down to pat his head.

He
removed his jacket and hung it on the rack just inside. He crossed to the fireplace and placed logs and kindling.

She
watched him, knowing she should insist he leave, but not sure she wanted to be alone. She took off her outer wrappings and sank onto the Queen Anne loveseat. Shadow stretched out at her feet.

“
Cami, you seem to have charmed all of the creatures here at the ranch.” Breck stepped over Shadow and settled beside her on the loveseat. The kindling had caught and slender tongues of flame licked hungrily at the logs.

“I’m on my honeymoon here,” she said. “An unknown quantity. I feel like everyone has to try me on.”

“You certainly got checked out tonight. I hardly got to dance with you at all.”

An uncontrollable giggle bubbled out.
“You were dancing to Jenna’s tune. I was glad Frank was there to keep me company.”

“And E.J.,”
he said. “Don’t forget about your other admirer.”

“I couldn’t,” she said. “E.J. also did his best to keep me company while you were otherwise occupied.”

“You’re having fun with this, aren’t you?”

“Maybe.”
She gave him the benefit of her wide grin, complete with dimples. “Okay, I’ll admit, I enjoyed dancing with three attractive men. That hasn’t happened to me before. I went to a few dances in college but, basically I was a bookworm. Then I went into the fierce competition of medical school, followed by a brutal internship. Other than long hours, my residency was a breeze compared to that. And I worked so hard to be awarded the fellowship. So you see, I haven’t had much time to dance the night away.”

His brows drew together in a frown.
“What kind of doctor are you, anyway?”

“Internal Medicine.”

“What does that mean, exactly?”

“One step up from General Practice. I’ve spent more time
studying internal disease processes. I’ve always been curious. I want to know why someone develops a particular illness, how diseases are transmitted and I hope that by going into immunology research I can be a part of the prevention and cure.”

Breck leaned back on one elbow, his
gray eyes assessing her. “You’re not what I expected.”

“What did you expect me to be?”

“A spoiled little rich girl.”

She
cleared her throat. “Silky provided for my education and upkeep after my parents died. It was a costly schooling, but it wasn’t like I was driving a sports car or jetting to Europe.”

“No fril
ls?” Breck raised his eyebrows.

“All the necessities were provided
, but I would have traded it in a heartbeat for one more of my mom’s hugs or to spend five minutes curled up in my dad’s recliner with him reading to me.”

“It sounds like you were
a lonely kid.”

Cami nodded and b
linked as tears stung her eyes.

He
picked up her hand and held it to his cheek. “I’m sorry, Cami. I wish I had known you then.”

A rush of emotion swept over her, rendering her incapa
ble of speech. She turned away.

“Cami.”
His voice held a rough, smoky quality.

She turned back to face him and drew in a breath
when she caught his expression.

He
gathered her into his arms and cradled her head against his shoulder.

She
swallowed hard, feeling like she was sinking in quicksand. A feathery feeling swirled through her chest as he lowered his lips to hers and kissed her gently, his tongue exploring her mouth. A soft moan escaped her throat.

He
pulled back to gaze into her eyes. Something he saw there made him kiss her again. A deep, hungry kiss followed by another. “Cami, I…”

“Don’t!”
She put a finger on his lips. “Please don’t.”

Breck kissed her finger and nodded. “I’d better be going. It’s late and I’m getting way too comfortable.”

She walked with him to the door.

He
shrugged into his jacket and turned to her, but she stepped back. “Cami, don’t be afraid of me. I’m not out to hurt you.”

“You confuse me,” she said. “Be careful out there.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” He stepped out onto the porch. The wind had died down and the moon lent the landscape an ethereal glow. “I’ll come tomorrow morning to take you riding.”

“Thanks, Breck
.” Her voice had gone thick and raspy. “For tonight and for everything.”

He smiled at her and
then crunched through the snow to climb in his truck. He pulled out of the circle drive and left her standing on the porch, staring after him.

She glanced down at her left hand and wondered why there w
asn’t an engagement ring there.

CHAPTER SEVEN

On Saturday morning, Cami leapt out of bed feeling energized and eager to explore. She pulled on her thermals and jeans and robbed Aunt Silky’s closet
of a faded blue plaid flannel shirt.

Grabbing an apple
, she ran out to the stables with Shadow at her heels. She peeked around the corner and made eye contact with the biggest horse she’d ever encountered. Red swished his tail and whinnied softly. He was much larger and stockier than the elegant little Arabs she’d ridden at school.

“Hey, Red,” she said softly
, holding out her hand. “I want to be your friend.” He nuzzled her palm. She stroked his nose, admiring his white and red pattern.

“I brought you a present.”
She took a bite of the juicy red apple and held it out to him. He inspected it and took it from her. She watched him crunch it in his big teeth.

She stepped inside his stall and swiped
a curry brush down his neck. Brushing him was a pleasurable chore. “You’re such a pretty boy.”

“Not as pretty as you.”

Cami jerked her head up and saw Frank grinning at her. “Thanks.” She continued brushing the big horse.

“Do you need any help?”
he asked.

“I just wanted to make friends.”

He grinned. “I think you have a knack for making friends wherever you go.”

“Tell that to the vet
erinarian. If looks could kill, I’d be a dead woman.”

“Jenna’s not so bad,” he said. “She just
doesn’t have as many suitors as you do.”

“I’m engaged,” she protested. “I’m not on the market.”

“If you say so.” Frank tipped his baseball cap and headed out of the stables. “I’m taking hay to the herd in the east pasture.”

Cami watched
him saunter away. She grinned, admiring his departing backside. Frank was quite a hunk. North Texas seemed to be headquarters for great looking men. She reminded herself that her fiancé, Clayton Tremont was planning his future with her by his side.

She
glanced down at her left hand.
No ring. Damn Breckenridge Ryan, anyway
. She was engaged, ring or no ring. She brushed Red’s neck and worked her way down his back.

She
started as she caught sight of Breck leaning against the doorway leading from the stable.

“What a beautiful sight,” he said.

“And what would that be?” she asked.

“A beautiful woman
and a beautiful horse.”

“Are you always so full of it?” She began stroking the brush down Red’s forelegs.

“Full of what?” he asked innocently.

“I think the Irish call it blarney,” she said. “Other people aren’t so polite.”

“How Irish do you think the name Ryan is? But, I’m speaking the truth.”

“In that case, thanks.”
She glanced up at him, surprised by the expression on his face. He was gazing at her with a warm smile. She recalled her first impression of Breck when she’d seen him at the funeral. Maybe she’d been wrong about him.

She
opened another stall and put a bridle on a sorrel mare. He led her into the center of the stable.

“
This is Gypsy. She’s a great little ride.”

Red whinnied and
nodded his head up and down.

“Hey, none of that, big boy. You can fool around later, but I’m taking Cami for
some exercise.” He selected a blanket and saddle, cinching them around Gypsy’s girth.

She
grinned at him. “Which horse are you going to choose?”

“I
brought my own ride,” he said.

Cami stepped out of Red’s stall and returned the brush to its peg. She inspected Gypsy,
stroking her neck.

Red whinnied again.

“I think he’s jealous,” Breck said.

“We just met.” Cami led Gypsy out of the stables and into the drive. She saw that Breck had
towed a horse trailer behind his truck.

He
opened the trailer and led a large saddled horse from its depth. He was entirely black except for a narrow white blaze down his nose and one white stocking on his left foreleg.

“He’s beautiful,”
she said.

“Thanks
.” He gave her the benefit of a wide grin. “This is Cavalier. He was raised from a foal on the Ryan ranch.”

The Ryan ranch seemed to specialize in raisin
g big, dark and handsome males.

She
shivered though the sun was warm on her shoulders. She reached up to grab

Gypsy’s saddle horn and
heaved herself into the saddle.

“I was going to help you mount up,” Breck said.

“Well, now you don’t have to.” She turned her head as the sound of Red whinnying and kicking his stall reached her ears. “I hope I didn’t upset Red when I curried him.”

“I think he liked it too much
.” Breck swung himself up onto Cavalier’s back. “I know I would.”

They rode east, toward the pasture where the largest herd was grazing on winter rye grass and the hay Frank delivered. Cami enjoyed the ride and when they drew
their reins, she could see they were on a little rise overlooking a sheltered pasture. Breck pointed out the boundaries to Silky’s land to the east and where Ryan land began. A rough cedar structure provided some shelter for the cattle in bad weather. Steam rose from a creek running from the Ryan land onto Silky’s.

“There’s an underground spring that feeds the creek.”

“So you and Silky shared a water resource?” she asked.

“I wish you could
start thinking of all this property as being yours. Silky passed it on to you.” He gazed at her, his brows drawn together in a frown. “It’s your land now.”

Cami’s throat felt tight.
“There are so many strings attached. I don’t know if I can be what Aunt Silky wanted me to be. I don’t want to disappoint her.” She turned to face Breck’s accusing eyes. “I had a whole life in Houston, complete with people and obligations and unfulfilled dreams.”

“You are a doct
or, and we need a doctor here.”

“I’m a doctor, but your friend Doc
Parker seems to be taking care of everyone just fine.”

“He’s aching to retire, Cami. The man
must be close to seventy. He’s hoping to pass the reins over to you.”

“I can’t believe you brought me out here to spring this on me.” Cami looked away.

“Sorry.” Breck adjusted his Stetson. “Silky talked to me about you so many times, it’s hard to believe she didn’t mention any of this to you at least once.”

“Hard to believe,” she said under her breath.

“Let’s ride over to the mesa. It’s a part of your property, too.” He nodded his head in the opposite direction.

“I remember that,”
she said. “I’ve ridden there with Aunt Silky when I was younger.”

By the time they’d reached the rocky terrain close to the mesa, Cami was lost in memories. Silky had called this area ‘the mountains’ but it was more like a group of rocky hills, one having a flat top similar to the mesas in nearby New Mexico.
Riding to higher ground, they paused to look over the surrounding scenery.

“What do you think?” Breck asked.

A rush of strong emotion filled her chest, robbed her of thought save the grandeur of the place. “It’s beautiful.” She took a deep breath of clean, cool air. The blue sky was almost cloudless now. Snow was melting and running off the mountains.

“Wait until the wildflo
wers are out. It’ll amaze you.”

She turned to meet Breck’s grinning expression. “You really love it here, don’t you?”