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“Why lucky? Aside from the fact that if he throws us, you’ll go first to cushion my fall.”
“Because you can’t get down unless I do. And I don’t plan on it until I know you’re not going to give up on this.”
“I don’t understand why that’s so important to you.”
He shrugged, beyond trying to come up with a reasonable answer, even for himself. To her he said, “Because it’s a damn shame that a girl born and raised in Destiny, Texas, is afraid of a horse. You’ll give the town a bad name.”
“If it’s any consolation, I wasn’t raised here very long. I left for college when I was sixteen.”
“Doesn’t matter. You’ve got Texas in your blood. And the least you can do is take a spin around this corral before you head for the hills. Humor me.”
“Okay.” They sat there for a few moments before she asked, “How do I make him go?”
“Gentle pressure with your knees. It wouldn’t hurt to talk to him.”
She nodded. “Go, Trouble,” she said hesitantly at the same time as she followed his instructions. The horse moved forward slowly and began to walk around the corral. “It worked.”
“Don’t sound so surprised. I’m a good teacher.”
“And humble too.”
After several turns around the enclosure, he felt her begin to loosen up. It was time for her to go it alone, but that meant he had to get off. Everything inside him balked at the thought.
But before he could decide what to do, he heard his son calling. “Daddy. Hannah.”
Instantly, Dev covered both of Hannah’s hands with his own, helping her bring the horse to a standstill. Then he slid off Trouble’s rump. He reached up and lifted her down before walking to the fence. Ben got there at the same time, huffing and puffing from running.
“Daddy, hurry.”
“What’s wrong? How are you feeling?”
“Polly said my tem-pitcher’s better. But you gotta come quick. Hannah, too. She’s a doctor. She’ll know what to do.” Then he turned and raced away, in the direction of the house.
Hannah instantly went into doctor mode. Was there something wrong with her mother? In two seconds she was at the gate opening it.
“Mom,” was the only word she could get out when she looked at Dev.
He nodded. “I’m right behind you.”
Hannah hadn’t known she could move that fast. She’d handled emergencies during her training, but it had never involved a family member. She loved her mother so much. The woman had made more sacrifices for her than she could count. Hannah was almost where she’d worked so hard to be—almost in a position to give Polly the easy life. If anything happened to her…
It seemed to take forever, but several minutes later she burst through the kitchen door. “Mom?”
“Here, honey,” the familiar voice said. “In the utility room.”
Hannah raced past the island to the hallway and the door on her left. Her mother smiled at her, then down at Ben who was crouched by a box. Relief flooded her that there was nothing wrong with Polly. Then she inspected the box more closely and saw the cat in it. A moment later, she realized what was happening.
With a wide-eyed, worried expression, Ben looked up at her. “Callie’s havin’ babies. She needs a doctor.”
Hannah nodded solemnly. He was too young to understand that the cat would probably do fine on her own. If not, she needed a vet. But she said, “I’ll get my medical bag.”
She hurried into the family room and retrieved the bag from where she’d left it after examining the boy earlier. When she returned, there was a new arrival. Dev was crouched beside his son, staring at the newest tiny bundle of slick fur.
“Where’s Mom?” she asked.
“She said she had things to do and since reinforcements had arrived, she went upstairs.”
Hannah nodded, then took a paper-wrapped package of disposable gloves from her kit and put them on. Then she knelt on Ben’s other side. Reaching in, she carefully picked up the brand-new kitten then nestled it where Callie could reach if she wanted to clean it up.
A few minutes later, there was another teeny-weeny furball, and she put it beside the first. After about forty-five minutes, three more little ones had arrived.
Hannah rubbed a hand over the mother cat’s side. “I think that’s the last one,” she said.
Ben’s brown eyes were bright as he looked at her. “Wow, five babies. You’re the best doctor in the whole world.”
“I didn’t do anything,” she said truthfully. “Callie did all the work.”
The little boy shook his head as he stood. He threw himself into her arms. “I want you to stay here forever, Hannah.”
Chapter Three
Still squatting beside the mother cat’s birthing box, Hannah steadied herself from Ben’s enthusiastic embrace. Over the boy’s head, Hannah met Dev’s gaze. He was so close she could see flecks of gold that made his brown eyes almost hazel. Or maybe it was the fear she saw that made them seem different. In her line of work, all too often she saw parental anxiety and recognized it in Dev now. And she thought she knew the reason for his apprehension.
“Wow,” she said, rubbing the boy’s sturdy little back. Gently, she pulled his arms from around her neck. “Forever is a really long time, pal.”
Dev was still hunkered down beside her. He put his big hand on the boy’s shoulder and protectively tugged him back between his jeans-clad thighs. Then he pulled Ben just a little closer until the child’s back rested against his wide chest and wrapped his forearms around the boy’s middle. “Hannah lives in California, son.”
Bingo. Dev was worried, about his son pinning any hopes on her staying. She’d taken an oath to help, not hurt people, and that included little boys with big crushes. She needed to set him straight.
She nodded. “Your dad’s right, Ben. I just came to Texas for a visit.”
“Does visit mean you can’t move here?”
She looked into the little guy’s sweet, earnest face, then the father’s tight, tense features. Oh, boy. She’d been there less than twenty-four hours and she felt like she was dodging two Texas tornadoes—father and son.
She shook her head. “No, but visit means that I’m only here for a short time and then I have to go back home.”
Trustingly, Ben patted his father’s big hand where it rested against his abdomen. “So you can move here,” he said, his four-year-old logic simplifying everything.
“It’s not that easy, son.”
“Why?” The little guy turned puppy dog eyes on his dad.
“Because Hannah’s things are there and—”
The boy half turned and put an arm around his father’s neck. “I know what. How ’bout if we help? We’ll put all her stuff in your truck and bring it here.”
“Oh, sweetie—” His words squeezed Hannah’s heart. This pint-sized cowboy could grow on her without half trying.
Dev met her gaze and along with his fear she saw the tiniest bit of humor. “I should get out the map and show him how far it is. But somehow I still don’t think he would get it.”
She smiled. “Yeah, kids are pretty literal.”
“I do get it, Daddy. I want Hannah to stay and we should help her.”
Dev curved one hand around the boy’s small shoulders and turned him so they were face to face. “Hannah is a busy lady, an important doctor. She lives in California and her job is there.”
“Makin’ people better?”
“That’s right.” Dev nodded encouragingly.
“Kids get sick here, too,” the child pointed out sagely.
Oh, boy, she thought. Ben Hart, almost four—and pretty precocious for his age—could rip her heart out with one chubby little fist and walk away with it in his back pocket.
“Yes, they do,” she said. “And then you go to see Doc Holloway. He was my doctor when I was a little girl.”
Dev glanced at her, then back to his son. “You know how I work hard to make the ranch grow?” When the child nodded, he continued, “Hannah has worked hard like that to join a practice in California.”
“But she’s already a doctor. Why does she hafta practice?”
She caught her top lip between her teeth to stop the laugh that threatened. “A practice is a doctor’s business, like raising horses and cattle is your daddy’s job,” she explained.
“So bring your business here,” Ben said.
“Oh, sweetie. I can’t.” She searched desperately for the words to make him understand. “Could your daddy move his ranch somewhere else?”
From the safe circle of his father’s arms, the child half turned toward her and she could almost see the wheels turning in his mind. Finally, he shook his head. “Nope.”
“It’s the same way with my business. My patients are a long way away. If I live here in Texas, they can’t come see me to make them better. I have to stay there.”
“But I’m here,” he said, pointing a finger at his small chest.
Oh, mercy, she thought. “Yes, you are here. And I’m going to be very sad when I have to leave you.”
“Don’t leave,” the boy said, as if that settled everything. “Then Daddy and I can make you happy.”
Dev coughed uncomfortably. “Her dreams aren’t here, son.”
The boy’s brow furrowed as he thought that one over. “How come, Daddy? When I have a bad dream it’s here too.”
“I’m not talking about nightmares,” Dev explained patiently. “I’m talking about what Hannah wants in her life. And she doesn’t want a life here. A man can’t make a woman happy if her dreams don’t include him.”
Hannah saw the faraway look in his eyes and the flash of pain. Was he talking about his ex-wife, Ben’s mother? Again she wondered what had split them up. What was his story?
Ben concentrated on his father’s words for a while, then said, “I know. We hafta change Hannah’s dream to ’clude us, Daddy.”
Dev’s mouth curved up at the corners and again she couldn’t help wondering what his lips would feel like against her own. Heat started in her breasts and radiated north and south. If the warmth showed pink in her cheeks, she hoped he would chalk it up to their time outdoors. In a way that was true although not because of the sun. Sitting so close to him on that horse had given her trouble of the man/woman kind.
“One person can’t change another person’s dreams, son,” Dev explained patiently. “Hannah has already made up her own mind what she wants to do.”
“You hafta change her mind.” It was as if his father hadn’t spoken.
Hannah wondered if the child had inherited that stubborn, single-minded determination from his father. If so, and Dev turned the force of it on her, there could be hell to pay. But that wasn’t likely. This was history repeating itself. She’d noticed him, but he wouldn’t give her a tumble.
“I can’t change her mind,” Dev said.
More like he didn’t want to, Hannah realized. That was a relief. But the thought rang just a bit hollow.
“Sure you can, Daddy. You tell me all the time I can do anything if I just try. You gotta try.” His eyes, the same shade as his father’s, lit up. “I know what you can do.”
“I know I’m going to regret this,” Dev said to Hannah. Then he looked at Ben. “What can I do?”
“Kiss Hannah.” The child nodded emphatically.
The heat that had just receded returned to Hannah’s cheeks. “Sweetie, I don’t think your dad wants to do that.”
“Sure he does. He kissed Cassie Gordon once and he did it good because I heard him tell Polly that she wouldn’t leave him alone afterward.”
Her mouth twitched at the look on Dev’s face. He was still wearing his hat. The shadow it cast prevented her from seeing if he blushed, but he was definitely squirming. Chalk one up for the offspring.
“Is this true?” she asked.
“Well—”
“So you’re still the Pied Piper of Destiny’s female population?”
“Not even close.”
“But what about poor Cassie Gordon?”
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head over her,” Dev said wryly. “She’s a barracuda in sheep’s clothing.”
“That’s a mixed metaphor.”
“Since when is English grammar your specialty?”
She shrugged. “I’m an all-around gifted gal.”
Ben put his little hands on his father’s face and turned it toward him. “Daddy, you hafta kiss Hannah. You can change her dream. It works in the movies.”
“What are you letting this child watch?” she asked.
He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “That’s a good question.”
“I saw it in Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White— all of ’em. Polly said they’re okay.”
“You’re going to have your hands full with him, Dev. He’s a bright one. If anyone knows what a double-edged sword that can be, it’s me.”
