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A Wife For Dr. Sam
Phyllis Halldorson
HOW TO MARRY A DOCTOR…The gossip around town was that Dr. Sam Lawford would rather swallow his stethoscope than marry, but woman after woman faked sore throats and got stung by bumblebees just to have Sam's hands on their bodies! So what was an honest woman in love with Dr. Sam to do?When his fiancée ran off with a married man, Sam Lawford vowed he's never be betrayed by the fairer sex again. The folks of Cooper Canyon could buzz all they wanted to about him and newcomer Kirsten Reinhold–he'd never propose marriage, not in a million years.So how had a woman who believed in a church wedding, a white gown and forever gotten Dr. Sam down that aisle?
Table of Contents
Cover Page (#u1e67175c-c4ef-50a0-905d-cf77621b5c07)
Excerpt (#u9619ebf1-622e-5d4b-b103-72b0b79134d0)
Dear Reader (#ulink_d147d1f2-f84a-5ef6-b821-1c7684622dfc)
Title Page (#ud9ac3a8e-2680-5b41-b40c-e86066265605)
Dedication (#u69a77317-46d3-596a-ab09-b43295aa7014)
About the Author (#ua890bbce-a46b-55bd-809a-09b1073756f6)
Chapter One (#uf4cb4c76-1b08-5c85-b853-a5693a028fd5)
Chapter Two (#u5c6cea83-7f2b-54b7-923a-68d7b03dba63)
Chapter Three (#ud27590e0-8c67-5e6c-ac92-ecb960f34e24)
Chapter Four (#u8fa3f613-faa1-53a6-a9be-f34f0903a1f5)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
It was becoming more and more obvious by the moment that he could never have a superficial romance with Kirsten Reinhold.
He wasn’t sure what it was about her that attracted him so, but he meant to put a stop to it before things got out of control.
He should have let well enough alone right from the beginning and stayed away from her. But no, he had to play with fire and pursue her.
He’d known that the feelings she aroused in him were dangerous, but instead of facing that fact and beating a hasty retreat he’d denied it. He’d told himself she was a sexy lady and he was single and available. If they lit sparks off one another, fine. If not, there was no harm done.
No harm? Ha! He’d vastly overestimated his ability to casually light a fuse without setting off a bomb.
Dear Reader (#ulink_7444c182-336a-5fe8-b59b-1fe1996314e4),
This April, let Silhouette Romance shower you with treats. We’ve got must-read miniseries, bestselling authors and tons of happy endings!
The nonstop excitement begins with Marie Ferrarella’s contribution to BUNDLES OF JOY. A single dad finds himself falling for his live-in nanny—who’s got a baby of her own. So when a cry interrupts a midnight kiss, the question sure to be asked is Your Baby or Mine?
TWINS ON THE DOORSTEP, a miniseries about babies who bring love to the most unsuspecting couples, begins with The Sheriff’s Son. Beloved author Stella Bagwell weaves a magical tale of secrets and second chances.
Also set to march down the aisle this month is the second member of THE SINGLE DADDY CLUB. Donna Clayton, winner of the prestigious Holt Medallion, brings you the story of a desperate daddy and the pampered debutante who becomes a Nanny in the Nick of Time.
SURPRISE BRIDES, a series about unexpected weddings, continues with Laura Anthony’s Look-Alike Bride. This classic amnesia plot line has a new twist: Everyone believes a plain Jane is really a Hollywood starlet— including the actress’s exfiancé!
Rounding out the month is the heartwarming A Wife for Doctor Sam by Phyllis Halldorson, the story of a small town doctor who’s vowed never to fall in love again. And Sally Carleen’s Porcupine Ranch, about a housekeeper who knows nothing about keeping house, but knows exactly how to keep her sexy boss happy!
Enjoy!
Melissa Senate
Senior Editor
Silhouette Romance
Please address questions and book requests to:
Silhouette Reader Service
U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269
Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3
A Wife for Dr. Sam
Phyllis Halldorson
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
For all you talented writers and teachers who have been in critique groups with me over the years, and have given so unstintingly of your time and expertise to set me on the right track and keep me there. I won’t attempt to name you, but I know who you are and I am grateful beyond words.
PHYLLIS HALLDORSON
met her real-life Prince Charming at the age of sixteen. She married him a year later, and they settled down to raise a family. A compulsive reader, Phyllis dreamed of someday finding the time to write stories of her own. That time came when her two youngest children reached adolescence. When she was introduced to romance novels, she knew she had found her long-delayed vocation. After all, how could she write anything else after living all those years with her very own Silhouette hero?
Chapter One (#ulink_e7e2145d-89b3-5c4d-a960-9a3af1265e32)
The road sign on the outskirts of Grangeville, Idaho, read: Copper Canyon, 10 Miles, and Kirsten Reinhold’s excitement mounted. According to the directions Coralie had sent, the Buckley family farm was five miles on the other side of the small town of Copper Canyon so that meant she would arrive at her destination in about twenty minutes.
She pressed her foot harder on the gas pedal. This was the day she’d looked forward to for more than two months. She would see her best friend, Coralie Dixon, and finally meet Coralie’s new husband, Jim Buckley.
A loud roar of static interrupted the country-music program on the car radio and startled Kirsten. There were no other cars on the road, and she slowed down to look at the dashboard for the off knob when a sudden impact jolted her forward and sent her car skidding across to the opposite side of the road. She was too surprised and shaken to do anything but clench the steering wheel and hope the car would stop before going into the ditch.
It did, just barely, but her mind had gone blank and her fingers seemed to be frozen around the steering wheel. Badly shaken, she rested her forehead against the rim and tried to pull herself together. That was why she didn’t see the man jump out of the automobile she’d hit to rush across the empty road and open her door.
“Are you hurt, miss?” he asked anxiously.
Slowly she straightened up and looked at him. He was fairly young, mid-thirties, with short, curly brown hair and troubled brown eyes flecked with green. “N-no, I don’t think so. What…what happened?”
The concern in his expression turned to a frown of annoyance. “You ran a four-way stop and smashed into my brand-new car,” he grumbled. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going?”
She blinked in confusion and looked beyond him to see a white BMW crosswise in the middle of the highway, with a dent in the fender on the passenger side. “But there were no other cars around, and I just glanced down to turn off the radio.”
“Then you didn’t look closely enough,” he scolded. “I was driving on the side road. I saw you coming, but I expected you to stop at the sign.” His anger was heating up.
“I didn’t see the sign,” she wailed. “I had no idea—”
“If you don’t start paying more attention to your driving instead of fiddling with the damn radio, you’re going to have a real smashup one of these days.” His tone was gruff. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine,” she said, although she knew that wasn’t altogether true. She wasn’t injured, but she was shaking so badly that she doubted if she could stand.
Then a frightening thought occurred to her. She carried only the minimum amount of car insurance required by law in California where she lived. She doubted it would fully cover any large bills. “How about you? Were you hurt?” she asked, growing concerned.
“No,” he snapped. “But if you’d been going just a little faster we both could have been. Step out of the car, please.”
“Out of the car? But why?” She didn’t really want to try to stand up yet. She was afraid her quaking knees wouldn’t hold her.
“Because I need to make sure you have enough wits about you to drive without plowing into any more vehicles,” he said angrily.
Kirsten knew she was at fault, but he didn’t need to be so cranky. “Of course I’m okay to drive,” she insisted. “We didn’t collide very hard.”
To prove her point she turned in her seat and put her feet on the ground, then pulled herself up by hanging on to the open door. Her legs were rubbery and she felt a little light-headed, but she wasn’t about to admit it. The quicker she could get rid of this man and be on her way, the better. So far she hadn’t seen any other cars go by.
He looked at his watch, muttered something impatiently, then stepped back several feet along the road and called to her. “Walk over here to me.”
This man was getting to be a real pain, she thought. “I told you, I’m just fine. You don’t need to worry about me,” she called huffily.
“Maybe so,” he answered, “but please do as I say. I have important appointments to keep.”
There was a no-nonsense quality to his tone that indicated he was used to having his orders obeyed, and she was sure it would just be a waste of time to argue.
Taking a deep breath she put one foot in front of the other, then let loose of the door and started toward him. The road surface was rough and her dizziness increased, but she continued to concentrate on not stumbling.
She was almost there when she stepped into a pothole and was thrown off balance. Gasping, she threw out her arms as the man caught her and held her close against him. Her flailing arms circled his neck and she buried her face in his shoulder and clung.
He was strong and muscular, and there was a faint woodsy aroma about him. She wasn’t sure if it was shaving lotion or just the natural scent of the mountain forest.
She was still trembling, but didn’t know if it was shock from the collision or pleasure aroused by the protectiveness of his embrace.
But it wasn’t an embrace. He was simply holding her up to keep her from falling flat on her face. What on earth was the matter with her anyway? It wasn’t as though she’d never been held by a man before.
He didn’t seem in any hurry to let her go, but that was probably because he wasn’t sure what to do with her.
Reluctantly, she raised her head, unwound her arms and pushed gently away from him. Her dizziness had receded, but still the man kept one arm around her waist as they walked back to her car.
“I…I just stumbled,” she assured him. “I really am okay, but thanks for your concern. By the way, shouldn’t we exchange names and addresses? My insurance will pay for the damages to your BMW.”
As soon as she uttered the words she knew she’d spoken unwisely. She shouldn’t have admitted to being at fault until she talked to her insurer.
They reached her four-year-old navy blue Mustang, and he withdrew his arm from around her and reached in his inside coat pocket. “I’m in a hurry,” he said as he withdrew a business card and handed it to her. “If you’ll just write down your name, address and the name of your insurance company I’ll get back to you later. You do live around here, don’t you?”
She unzipped her purse and tossed his card inside, then rummaged around until she found a note tablet and pencil. “No, I don’t,” she answered, “but I’m visiting here for the next few weeks. I’ll give you that address, too.”
She scribbled the information on a sheet of the tablet, tore it off and folded it, then handed it to him. He shoved it in his pocket then helped her into the car and shut the door. “Start the engine,” he said.
She turned the key and the motor purred.
“Looks like it will run okay,” he observed. “You go on ahead. I’ll stay behind you until we get to Copper Canyon to make sure it doesn’t stall.” He backed away from the vehicle. “I’ll be in touch, and for God’s sake watch where you’re going.”
True to his word he followed behind her until they came to the pretty little village, almost hidden from the road by huge old evergreen and shade trees. Then he turned off on one of the side streets while she kept going on the main artery through the town and beyond.
A few miles later she saw the rural mailbox labeled Buckley and turned onto the long driveway that led to the white two-story farmhouse surrounded by trees. There were several outbuildings, including a big red barn. Everything looked just as Coralie had described it in her letters and phone calls.
Kirsten parked beside the house and got out, but as she came around the back of the car she heard a screen door open and close and Coralie came bouncing down the front steps, a welcome smile on her face and her arms out-stretched. The two friends hugged, then leaned back to look at each other.
Kirsten had never seen Coralie look so happy. She positively glowed, and there was no need to ask if her marriage was all she’d expected it to be. It obviously was. Her straight blond hair was still shoulder length and parted in the middle, but now she had it tied back with a scarf, and her deep blue eyes sparkled with happiness.
“You’re positively radiant,” Kirsten told her. “I guess your pen-pal farmer turned out to be Prince Charming in disguise.”
Coralie laughed with delight. “You better believe it,” she agreed. “Just wait till you meet him. I’ve got the perfect man for you, too.”
“Oh, no,” Kirsten said with a grin. “If you’re talking about your husband’s best friend, Dr. Sam, whom you’ve written so much about, you can forget it. I’m not looking to be fixed up with a groom, either homegrown or mail-order. I’m content to bask in your happiness.”
“That’s nonsense,” Coralie said, “and you know it. Happiness isn’t contagious, it can’t be caught. You have to experience your own, and as I’ve told you, Sam Lawford is an ideal candidate for a husband. He’s almost as handsome as my Jim, plus since he’s one of only two physicians in town his financial future is assured. Even more important, he’s one of the nicest, most considerate men I’ve ever met. Next to Jim, of course.”
Kirsten opened her mouth to protest, but Coralie’s chatter didn’t skip a beat. “Besides, everything’s all set up. I’ve invited him for supper tonight so you two can meet. You’ve only got a month to get to know each other,” she added. “There’s no time to waste.”
Kirsten could see that she might as well accept the inevitable. After all, Coralie was her hostess, so she couldn’t very well be rude and refuse to go along with her plans.
“All right,” she said, striving for a light tone. “But I work with physicians all the time. Couldn’t you have fixed me up with someone different? Maybe a plumber or a banker?”
They both laughed, but Kirsten quickly sobered. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but please, don’t push this matchmaking bit If there’s a special man out there for me I’ll find him without anyone’s help.”
Coralie apparently caught the wariness in Kirsten’s voice, and her radiance faded a bit as her gaze roamed more inquiringly over her friend. “You’ve lost weight,” she observed with a frown. “And you didn’t have any to lose. You look pale, Kirsten, and tired. I can see why your doctor wouldn’t let you go back to work for another month. Do you still have that last spot of pneumonia on your lung?”
Kirsten grimaced. She didn’t like being reminded that she’d been seriously ill during the past two months. “You never forget that you’re a nurse, do you?” she grumbled affectionately. “Well, I’m a nurse, too, so please accept the fact I know what I’m talking about when I tell you the virus has been wiped out, the pneumonia is all cleared up and the asthma attacks are under control. The only reason I can’t return to work at the hospital right now is because my immune system has been weakened and the doctor doesn’t want me exposed to all the germs that float around a medical facility.”
“Yeah, well…” Coralie sounded unconvinced. “I’m going to see to it that you get plenty of rest and healthy meals during the month you’ll be here. Right now, though, come meet my two beautiful stepdaughters.”
