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Visiting the Nettles had gone well. The pizza they bought scented the truck with the wonderful fragrance of warm bread and melted cheese. Marian called to reassure Chelsea that Rand was bringing her home and they were having dinner at the cabin.Marian opened the front door, and Rand followed, carrying the pizza. On the table was a chocolate cake, a tall pitcher of iced tea, and an unlit candle. A small note read, “Have Fun.”Rand put the pizza on the counter, and Marian stuck the tea in the fridge.They looked at each other. She wet her lips, and Rand’s eyes darkened.“I suppose we must be civilized and eat first. The pizza is hot. But then I’m not very hungry.” He walked toward her. “What do you think?” he asked as he reached her. “Shall we start with dessert?” His fingers undid her first button. “Perhaps if we took care of this other hunger first, we might be more ready to eat.”Rising on her tiptoes, Marian brushed her lips across his sensual mouth. Her breasts touched his hard ch
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The office phone rang. “Dr. Brodie’s office,” Marian said.“You sound so professional. Look, I’m feeling good. So I thought we’d go to Wagon Wheel for the rest of the afternoon. It’s bigger than Frontier City. They have a movie theater.”“We can have a real girl’s day out. I’ll be through here in about thirty minutes.”“I’ll pick you up.”Rand had walked up behind her. She sensed anytime he was close.“Are you going out with Chelsea? Remember, tonight I’m paying you with a fancy dinner.”“Yes, we’re going to Wagon Wheel. It’ll be fun. I don’t know when we’ll get back. You don’t have to pay me with dinner. I was teasing.”“I insist. If not tonight, then tomorrow. Thanks for all your help this week. I don’t keep the office open on the weekend, but can you fill in next week, too? Eloise hopefully will be back after that.”He’d treated her like an employee all week since the night he’d left her cabin. He was pleasant, smiled, and was appreciative of her work, but nothing personal slipped
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Chelsea left Marian at the cabin. “Sure you don’t want to join us later?” “Thanks, but I’m tired. See you tomorrow.”Marian had barely put on her lights when the phone rang. “Hello.”“You’re back.” Rand’s deep voice vibrated from her ear down her body. “I wondered if you were too tired to go for a ride. Unless you’d rather do a late dinner tonight.”“I’d like the ride.”“I’ll be right there.” The phone went dead.She rushed to shower and changed into casual slacks and a white sweater. She’d save the gold one for the dance. The truck door slammed as she finished combing her hair out. A spritz of perfume and she was ready at his knock.Her mind told her she was a fool. But her body didn’t listen.When she opened the door, Rand stepped inside and pulled her to him. He kissed her mouth like a thirsty man taking his first drink in a long time. His tongue tangled with hers as his fingers slid through her hair.He pull
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“You’ve found two good parcels of land,” Rand’s mom said as he drove her home. “My only concern is, have you been on the job long enough to know for certain it will be your life’s work? I love having you close, but doctoring in the country is difficult and challenging. You don’t need the money. Your inheritance has grown, as all of ours have, thanks to Clay. Still, you’d make much more in a big city.”“Mom, I’m sure.”She studied him for a minute. “You were always that way. Once you made up your mind you didn’t change it. You have an innate way of knowing what’s best for you. Well, except for women. I’m not sure what you were thinking when you proposed to Anna. A nice lady but not the right one for you.”“You weren’t sorry I ended the engagement?” Rand grinned at her. “Not one iota. Choose more carefully the next time.”“Dad said he fell in love with you the first time you smiled at him.”She smiled and patted his arm. “He did, and I did.
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Music spilled out of the barn into the night. Rand and Andy got out of the truck and joined the crowd headed inside. All the local people were arriving in droves. Many of them stopped to say hello to Rand and to meet the new doctor they’d heard about from this week’s patients. Andy had an easy way about him and had charmed most of the townspeople.When they got inside, Rand glanced around the crowded room to look for Marian, trying not to be obvious. Andy had agreed Rand had done the best for both of them by cooling it. But the office didn’t seem the same without her, and Rand’s body ached for her touch.“There she is.” Andy nodded his head toward the dance floor. “She’s with a tall, blond man.”“Tom, he owns a large ranch to the north of town. Inherited it from his parents. They got killed in a car wreck about a year ago.” Rand never thought he was the jealous type, but he wanted to walk across the dance floor and pull her out of Tom’s arms. They seemed t
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Rand and Andy had split up the afternoon home calls, which also gave them time to go by the hospital first before heading out. Rand had checked on his three inpatients and gone to his car. He drove back through the downtown area. His first patient lived about fifteen miles away in that direction. When he saw Chelsea waving, he pulled over and parked.“What’s up?”“Marian called and said she’d meet me here fifteen minutes ago. The druggist and Abby at the cash register said she never came in.”“It’s a small town. Did you check around? She may have decided to go in one of the other shops.”“Marian’s reliable. If she did, she’d never leave me waiting this long.” He glanced down both sides of the street. “Where did she call from?”“Your office, I think. She said she was going to leave toys she’d bought there and go to the drugstore to get magazines to bring in tomorrow.”“I can’t imagine what would hold her up this long at the office
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“You are certain this is what you want to do?” Chelsea asked for the umpteenth time. “And you’re not even going to let him know?”Marian took her eyes off the passing scenery. Chelsea had agreed to drive her to the airport.“We’ve gone over this. If I tell him, he’ll convince me to stay. But he’s too uncertain of his feelings. I don’t blame him. He just ended his engagement, he has a new job, there’s a lot on his mind.“We met at the wrong time. I want permanence. He wants his freedom and to have fun. Neither is wrong, if both the people involved want the same thing.”“I’m going to miss you. You cut your visit short, and I have an idea you won’t be back for a long time.”“You know I’ll come when the babies are born. I can’t wait to meet them.You’ll need help then, too.”Chelsea pulled into a parking space. “You promise?”“I do. Don’t get out. I can take care of my bags. The one has wheels, and the ot
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Marian had given her two-week notice at work. She took another week to pack up and move her and her stuff home to North Carolina.Mom welcomed her with open arms. Her father kissed her cheek and said he’d missed her. Neither asked questions. Which was a relief. She didn’t think she could talk about Rand without crying.She puttered around the house, helped her mother paint a bedroom, worked in the flower gardens, and visited all her siblings. Her nieces and nephews ran to her, grabbed her legs, and begged for games. It was good to be cuddled inside the loving arms of her family.Rand hadn’t responded to her letter. If he even read it. She didn’t expect to hear from him. But deep inside, a tiny flame of hope refused to go out.Her mom called out, “The phone’s for you, Marian. Mike has an offer.” Puzzled, Marian picked up the extension. “Hi, Mike. What’s up?”“My receptionist is sick. Can you fill in for the day or until she returns? I’d ap
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