Midnight Remedy (4 page)

“Chatty sales clerk,” he said. “She said your plants weren’t typical of what I’d find in other nurseries.”

A delighted smile lit her face. “Oh, that’s wonderful! That’s exactly what I try for. I can’t compete in volume yet, so I try to make up for it with unusual species.”

Eric smiled, enjoying her enthusiasm. “Apparently you’re succeeding.”

“Well, I hope so. We’re getting near town. Where do you want me to drop you off?”

“The garage, if you don’t mind. Hopefully they’ve got a tow truck for my car. That’s the third time I’ve broken down since I moved here. The garage can’t manage to fix it.”

“Oh, some foreign job? What did you expect in a town the size of a peanut? A Mercedes dealership?”

“Every doctor drives a foreign sports car, right?”

“Some of them drive Cadillacs,” she returned, impudently.

“Well, it is foreign. It’s a seven-year-old Toyota, and believe me, it’s not by any stretch a sports car.” He paused a moment and added, “My ex-wife has the sports car.”

“You’re divorced?”

Why did she sound so surprised? He nodded. “For a couple of years now.” He started to ask her the same question, but she spoke before he could.

“Granville’s Garage,” she said, pulling into a tiny service station on the corner of Main and Piccolo. She waved at the old men sitting out in front of the barbershop across the street, staring at them with interest.

Eric got out of the truck and walked around to rest his forearm on the open window frame. “Thanks for the ride. My nerves thank you for the ride. Do you come into Capistrano often?”

She nodded. “It’s the closest town. If I need something besides staples, I go into Alpine or Fort Davis.”

A stray breeze ruffled her blond hair, making him wonder if it felt as soft as it looked. Her mouth curved in a warm, kissable smile. It struck him that spending time with Piper might be just what he needed. The thought had probably been in the back of his mind since he first set eyes on her, he realized.

Well, why not? Nothing was wrong with asking a pretty woman out, he assured himself. All beautiful women weren’t like his ex-wife, Dawn. A date with Piper didn’t mean he was considering a serious relationship anytime soon. He merely wanted a little female companionship. Besides, he still needed the remedy. Getting to know her better could only help his cause.

“Eric?”

With a start, he realized he’d been staring at her.

“Are you all right? You looked kind of funny for a minute.”

“Sorry. Daydreaming.” If he asked her now, she’d turn him down, suspecting he only wanted the remedy. And while that was true, it wasn’t the only thing he was interested in. He’d do better to wait. “Thanks again,” he said and left her.

Eric reached for the phone,
hesitating once more before he picked it up. A couple of days had passed since his and Piper’s initial meeting. Long enough to make her wonder why he hadn’t called—assuming she’d thought about him at all. He suspected she had. Hoped she had, anyway.

It’s just a date, he thought, picking up the phone and tapping her number. He’d take her out, get to know her a little better, and set her at ease enough to get the formula from her. If they hit it off and something more
 . . .
physical happened between them, then great.

The phone dropped back in the cradle before the connections went through. He rose to pace the length of his office, halting at the window to stare out at the small courtyard. What was his problem? It was a date, nothing more. Just because Piper was a knockout didn’t mean she was another Dawn. Oh, for God’s sake, lighten up, he told himself. He wasn’t thinking about marrying her. Taking her to bed was a whole different subject, though. It had been a long time since he’d been intimate with a woman. And Piper was very tempting.

Eric picked up the phone and dialed her number.

Piper put down the cutting
and glanced out the opened window of the greenhouse, wondering where her son had gone. His bike stood abandoned in the middle of the yard, and Cole was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Jumbo, but then the dog usually went where Cole did. Part of her thoughts were on the trouble her son might be getting into, part on the orchid hybrid she was pruning, but the major portion of them centered on Eric Chambers.

Two days ago he’d walked into her greenhouse and demanded she tell him about her recipe. Concerned for his patient, determined to find out about the remedy, he hadn’t struck her as a man who would give up easily. So why, when she’d refused to give him the list of ingredients, had he accepted her decision and forgotten all about it? And all about her? That was the crux of the problem. He was the first man in ages she’d been the tiniest bit interested in and he hadn’t even called her.

Well, why hadn’t he? Even if she didn’t date often, she knew when a man found her attractive. And Eric had definitely acted interested. In the formula, she reminded herself, not necessarily in her.

Oh, why did she care? Even if he asked her, she wouldn’t go out with him. Piper knew better than to let another charming doctor get to her. She had the scars to prove what a disaster that could be.

The phone rang, interrupting her thoughts. “Yuck,” she said, smearing mud down the side of her face when she picked up the receiver.

“Yuck? Is that a west Texas way to answer the phone?”

“Who is this?” Her heart rate sped up, her stomach tensed with nerves. She’d known who it was the instant she’d heard that smooth, bass voice, but she didn’t want him to know that.

“It’s Eric Chambers.”

“Oh. Hi.” As much to distract herself from the annoying rhythm of her heart rate as to check on her son, Piper craned her neck to look out the window. Still no sight of him.

“Hi. I hear there’s a steakhouse in Alpine with the best food around. Would you like to go with me?”

“Go with you?” she repeated blankly.

“Yes, to dinner. Friday night.”

“You’re just trying to get the formula from me.”

“So untrusting. Do you really think I’d ask you out just to get the formula?”

“Yes.”

He laughed. “You underrate yourself. No formula talk, I swear.”

“You mean, like a date?” Oh, no. She couldn’t do it. Could she?

“Just like a date. Is that a problem?” Though his tone was serious now, she could hear suppressed laughter in his voice.

“Not a problem exactly, but I don’t date
 . . .
often.” Dammit, what was wrong with her? She was doing fine until she added the qualifier.

“I’d really like to take you out.” His deep, sincere voice sent a chill up her spine. And prickles of anticipation surging along her skin.

Sincerity. It weakened her resistance, as if she weren’t having enough trouble already. “Well
 . . .
” Tempted, but still apprehensive, she hesitated. Her gaze drifted back outside. “Hang on a minute,” she told him, abandoning the phone to rush to the window and yell at Cole.

“Sorry,” she said on her return. “They say God made children cute because otherwise we’d kill them. If my son didn’t have cute down to a fine art, he’d be dead by now.”

“What did he do?”

Piper shifted her weight, shoulder to the wall. “He was about thirty seconds away from setting a bonfire.”

“A bonfire? How did he get hold of matches?”

“Half the help on the ranch smoke,” she said defensively. “They leave matches everywhere. Have you ever taken care of a six-year-old boy?”

“Can’t say that I have. Not alone, anyway.”

“Try it sometime. It would be a real education for you.” Cole came barreling down the long aisle, gravel spewing from beneath his tennis shoes. Halting in front of her, he began demanding answers to fifteen different questions.

“I’m sure it would be,” Eric said. “What about Friday?”

Attempting to listen to Eric, Piper glared at her son and held her finger to her mouth. Cole ignored her, starting a litanous chant along the lines of “What’s for dinner? Can I have ice cream?” repeated endlessly.

In her other ear, Eric was still talking, though she missed most of what he was saying. He was the most tenacious man. She wondered what he’d do if she refused again. “Hush,” she mouthed at Cole, considering grounding him for life. Or at least the next half-hour.

Irritated, frustrated by the stubbornness and pure orneriness of men both young and old, she told Eric, “Oh, all right. Friday is fine.”

“Great. I’ll pick you up at six.”

How had that happened?
she asked herself, cradling the receiver. She’d had no intention of dating again. Especially not a slick doctor. It was Cole’s fault, she decided. And that smooth talker, Eric Chambers. If her son hadn’t been driving her to distraction on one side while Eric persevered on the other, she would never have agreed.

Reasoning that she couldn’t
very well wear shorts and a T-shirt to dinner, Piper put on her newest outfit, a soft peach skirt and a blouse of the same color. She still wasn’t sure how she’d let Eric Chambers talk her into going out with him. She wandered into the kitchen to wait for him and heard the door bang shut a few seconds later.

Charlie Stevenson came in, threw his hat in the general direction of the counter and collapsed in a chair. “Damn, that new stallion is something else. If his stud fees weren’t going to bring us some good money, I’d be tempted to sell him.” He looked at Piper hopefully. “Any beer in the fridge?”

Guiltily, she said, “Sorry, Grandpa, I forgot. Look, if he’s so bad let’s just get rid of him.”

“Santana’s the best cutting horse stud I’ve seen in years. We can’t afford to let him go. You know he’s worth a lot more as a stud than he would be if we sold him. And we need the new blood for our line. He’s not that bad, just a little ornery. Your Grandpa’s gettin’ old, honey, that’s all.”

“You’re not old.” To Piper, Charlie had always seemed ageless. “Let the new hand deal with Santana.” Even as she made the suggestion, she knew it was useless.

“Ha! Some help he is. He’s about as much good as a milk bucket under a bull.” Charlie shook his head in disgust.

“So fire him and hire someone else. Lord knows you and Sam could use some more help. Especially during the summer when you’re breeding most of the mares.”

“Easier said than done. I still need to hire another man. If we had a hand who knew something, then we could make do with three of us. The longhorns pretty much take care of themselves, but
 . . .
” He trailed off and his gaze focused on Piper. “Now I see why you didn’t get any beer. Your big date must’ve pushed it out of your mind. Are you sure you know what you’re doing? I thought you didn’t even like this fella. He’s a doctor, isn’t he?”

“Grandpa, I hope I’m not so prejudiced that I dislike all doctors.”

“Wouldn’t be a wonder if you did. After what that sorry son of a—”

Piper interrupted him before he could get too wound up. “I’ve been over him for a long time now.”

Charlie snorted, looking doubtful. “Well, you always did have more guts than you could hang on a fence. Remember when you decided you were gonna break Stomper?” He laughed and shook his head. “Every time that horse threw you, you climbed right back on until you finally showed him who was boss.”

“Had to. You and Sam would never have let me hear the end of it otherwise.”