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“I don’t think it’s broken, but I’ll know for sure after I look at the X-ray.”
“The garage is really busy right now so I’m holding you to that not-broken thing.”
Ben hadn’t expected to start the week treating anyone in his family, but he had been wrong. Sydney McKnight sat on the paper-covered exam table cradling her right hand. His little sister was a pretty, brown-eyed brunette who loved fixing cars as much as he liked fixing people. As a little girl she’d followed their father around McKnight’s Automotive and learned from the best mechanic in Montana.
“You know,” he said, “if you wanted some big brother time, we could have done lunch. It would have been a lot less painful for you.”
“Not if you made me buy.” She winced as he probed the swelling. “In my opinion, what this clinic really needs is a neurologist. You need to have your head examined, find out why it’s so big.”
“Seriously, Syd. This is nasty. What happened?”
“An accident at the garage.” She shrugged. “There was a wrench involved. My hand slipped. Occupational hazard.”
“And aren’t you lucky big brother the doctor is back to take care of you?”
“We’ve done all right.”
Without you, he thought. Ben knew she hadn’t meant to make him feel guilty for leaving, but he did anyway. His father had encouraged him to do what was necessary for his future the same way he’d nurtured Sydney’s love affair with cars. Eventually Ben had gone, but now he was back. Where he wanted to be.
The exam room door opened and nurse Ginny Irwin walked in. She was in her late fifties and had blue eyes that missed nothing. Her silver hair was cut in a short, nofuss style. It suited her no-nonsense attitude.
“Hey, Syd,” she said.
“Hi, Ginny.” His sister started to lift her hand in greeting, then winced and lowered it.
“I’ve emailed the X-rays to the radiologist at the hospital and it will be a while before we get the report. But here are the films, Ben.” Ginny had known him since he was a kid and didn’t feel the need to address him as Doctor.
He liked that. Adding Doctor to his name didn’t make him a better medical practitioner. No polite protocols or assembly-line medicine, just solid personal care to, sometimes literally, get people back on their feet.
“Let’s take a look.” He put the films on the lighted view box. He wasn’t a radiologist, but in his expert opinion there was no break, although he took his time studying all the small bones, just to be sure.
“Don’t keep me in suspense,” Syd said.
“I have to look at the full range of densities. It can go from white to black and I need to evaluate the contrast ratio for a diagnosis.”
“Please don’t go all medical techno-speak on me,” Sydney begged.
“It’s not broken.”
“Good.” Ginny almost smiled, then looked sternly at the patient. “I don’t want to see you back in here, Sydney Marie.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’d salute, but this Pillsbury Doughboy hand would just punish me.”
“In so many ways. Take care,” Ginny said, just before slipping out the door.
“She scares me,” his sister said. “So I’ll ask you. Can I go back to work?”
“Really?” He folded his arms over his chest. “I’m the weak link? Do we need to get Ginny back in here to keep you in line, Sydney Marie?”
“I’m happy to stay in line if you’ll just tell me what I have to do so I can get back to work.”
“Take the rest of the day off. Use ice and over-the-counter pain meds. When the swelling goes down you can work.”
“That’s it? You’re not going to do anything? No quick fix? What kind of doctor are you?”
“The kind who replaces hips and fixes broken bones, sometimes with surgery. I have a piece of paper that says it’s okay for me to do that.”
“Just asking. I guess you’ll come in handy for water-and snow-skiing seasons.” She settled her injured hand on her thigh. “Speaking of that…how do you like living at Blackwater Lake Lodge?”
The mention of his living arrangement turned his thoughts to the lady who was in charge of the place where he lived. This wasn’t the first time she’d crossed his mind and every time it happened, the thought was followed by a vague regret that she wouldn’t be around very long.
“Did I say something wrong?” Syd’s eyes narrowed.
“What? No. Why?”
“You look funny.”
“Define funny,” he said.
“I don’t know. Sort of goofy. Sappy. Like you walked down the hall at Blackwater Lake High and saw the girl you had a crush on.”
“Interesting diagnosis, Doctor.”
“Am I right about a woman being involved?” she persisted.
“Yes.”
“I’d clap my hands in excitement, but…” She looked ruefully at the puffy extremity. “Who is she? Anyone I know?”
“Do you know Camille Halliday?”
“Everyone knows her.” Syd’s expression said it wasn’t in a good way. “She’s the hotel heiress.”
“I know. Met her Saturday.” And he’d seen her again at dinner last night. He wondered if she was having another bad day.
“Are you aware that she has a certain reputation?”
“What kind of rep?”
“Partying. Hanging with a wild crowd. Name always in the paper and not for sending mosquito nets to Africa to wipe out malaria. She even went to jail. Although they let her out early.”
“Good behavior?”
“Overcrowding,” Syd answered. “You didn’t know about this stuff?”
“No.”
“Have you been living under a rock?”
Sort of. “Las Vegas is surrounded by rocky mountains and rocks are frequently used for landscaping, what with water being scarce in the desert. But none of that qualifies as living under one.”
Unless you counted working too hard to think about anything else. Now he had time to wonder about Camille Halliday. What his sister just said didn’t fit the ambitious, hardworking woman he’d met. “Was this jail thing recent?”
“No. She was in her teens.”
Ah. “And where did you get all this unimpeachable information?”
“The tabloids.” Syd grinned shamelessly. “I love to read them. A guilty pleasure.”
“Then here’s a headline for you. Don’t believe everything you read.” He slid his fingers into the pockets of his white lab coat. “I found Cam to be bright, funny, focused and a serious businesswoman. Sexy, too.”
His sister’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have the hots for her?”
No. Maybe. Irrelevant. “She’s got her sights set on bigger and better things. Blackwater Lake Lodge is where she’s proving herself. She can’t wait to move up the career ladder, preferably to a city with a more impressive population.”
Syd’s dark eyes gleamed with plans he knew he wouldn’t like. “That’s a relief.”
“Why?”
“Here’s the thing. You’re not getting any younger, Ben.”
“Yeah. I think they taught us that in med school,” he said dryly.
“No. Seriously. You should think about settling down.”
“I’m building a house. Doesn’t that count?”
“Good start.” She shifted her tush on the table and the disposable paper rustled. “You should think about a woman to go along with it. And I just happen to have some suggestions.”
His sister and every other female in this town had ideas. There’d been matchmaking vibes since he’d touched down. Even Cam had noticed women giving him their phone numbers. “Why am I not surprised?”
Syd ignored his sarcasm. “Annie Higgins is pretty and fun.”
“Isn’t she divorced with three kids?”
“So?” His sister obviously saw the negative in his expression because she moved on. “Okay. Darlene Litsey has never been married. She has a great personality.”
“Personality? Isn’t that code for a deal-breaking flaw?”
“Maybe she’s a little controlling,” Syd admitted. “Okay. I’ve got the perfect woman for you.”
A vision of Cam Halliday flashed into his mind. Specifically her expression when he’d eaten the sinfully good cake. He’d have sworn it was a look of pure lust, but that could just be wishful thinking.
“Are you paying attention?” Syd demanded.
“I’m all ears.”
She eyed him critically. “They are a little big. I wasn’t going to say anything…but you’re a doctor. Surely there’s something you can do to fix them.”
“Very funny. Now that I think about it, what woman would want to go out with Dumbo?”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You’ve got a lot to offer.” She did that critical appraisal thing again. “Handsome, in spite of the ears. Funny, except to me. And you’re a doctor.”
Cam had said almost the same thing last night. “So?”
“A woman wants to be taken care of. Goes back to caveman days. Picking the biggest, strongest Neanderthal/ Cro-Magnon who can hunt, gather and beat the crap out of anyone who tries to take what’s his.”
“None of that pertains to me,” he protested.
“Sure it does. Modern man just pays people to do all of the above and you can pay better than most. I happen to know you got a couple of bucks when you sold your practice in Las Vegas.”
“You could say that.”
When he finished medical training, Ben had researched areas of the country for a place to practice medicine. Las Vegas was booming and there was a scarcity of doctors in his field. He set up an office, built a solid reputation all over the valley, hired more doctors to make the business end of it more lucrative, then sold it to the partners. The deal made him a millionaire and wise investments had more than doubled his net worth. He never had to work again if he didn’t want to.
Except he loved what he did. Long hours and hard work had earned him the freedom to use his knowledge to help people without having to practice cookie-cutter medicine. He could take his time and give patients the personal attention he wanted to.
“Ben, Emily Decatur is really nice.”
“I remember her from high school. She works at the Lodge.”
“Right. And you live there. It’s a sign. It’s convenient.”
Cam Halliday worked where he lived, too, and somehow that seemed more convenient to him. “I’m sure Emily is great, but there’s no spark.”
“Three strikes and you’re out. I just provided you with a list of perfectly lovely women and you found something wrong with every one.” Syd’s frustration was showing. “If you don’t want a woman, why did you come home?”
“I’m not sure those two statements actually go together.”
“They do in my mind. Las Vegas has a bigger dating pool than Blackwater Lake, so why are you here?”
“Believe it or not, dating isn’t my reason for coming back.”
“I get it.” She was angry and frustrated in equal parts. “You’re not looking at all. This is about Judy Coulter, isn’t it?”
“My main squeeze in high school and college.” After that not so much.
“Yeah. The same one who strung you along for years then married some ski bum she’d only known a month. And moved back East with.”
All of that was true and it hurt at the time. But he’d gotten over her a long time ago. “She did me a favor, Syd.”
“She broke your heart. How is that a good thing?”
“She didn’t break my heart. When I started med school there were no distractions. I put all my energy into school and becoming the best doctor possible.”
“You are pretty good,” she grudgingly admitted.
“I thank Judy for that.”
