One Night with the Doctor (9 page)

Chapter Nine

T
he sermon was interesting, but Ben was far too conscious of the beautiful brunette at his side to catch more than a few words. Maybe it was Poppy’s perfume, the same sultry scent she’d worn the night they made love. Perhaps it was the feel of her soft hair brushing against his arm whenever she leaned back in the pew. It didn’t help that her leg was pressed so tightly against him that his heat mingled with hers.

He wanted Poppy. Conversely, he wanted to get as far from her as possible. All or nothing. He’d never been able to figure out another way to live.

When Kristin left him during his last year of residency, he’d eventually concluded the jolt her leaving had given his heart was partially his fault. He’d let her get too close, given too much of himself to her.

The intensity of his attraction to Poppy told him she could be equally dangerous. Yet, she was pregnant with his baby. He couldn’t keep his distance. He needed to get to know the woman who’d be the mother of his son or daughter. He had to stick close.

As he thought of her small apartment, Ben’s lips twisted in a wry smile. He doubted staying close would be an issue.

The organ sounded. They stood for the closing hymn, and Poppy held out the book. His fingers brushed hers. Ben cast a sideways glance to see if she felt the searing heat, but she was already singing. By the time the hymn ended, his hand wasn’t the only part of his body on fire.

Before he could exit the pew and put physical distance between them, Travis was there. Ben had noticed the doctor, his wife and their five little ones seated several pews up when he’d entered the church.

“We’re headed over to The Coffee Pot for breakfast.” Travis rocked back on the heels of his cowboy boots. “Thought you might want to join us. It’s been a while.”

Ben hadn’t thought about eating, only about putting some needed distance between him and Poppy. Still, this would be an opportunity for them to be seen publicly as a couple, which should staunch some of the gossip when news of the baby got out.

He slanted a glance at Poppy and raised a brow.

To Ben’s surprise she turned to the woman seated on the other side of her. “What do you say, Cass? Hungry?”

The hairstylist’s expression brightened. She opened her mouth. Then with apparent reluctance, hesitated. “I’m not sure Dr. Fisher meant to include me.”

“Jeez, Cass,” Travis snorted. “What’s with the Dr. Fisher crap? We went to school together. We used to party together. Of course you’re invited.”

Cassidy’s red lips curved. “Then count me in.”

* * *

Since The Coffee Pot was only a few blocks from the church, Poppy decided she would walk. She hoped a few minutes of fresh air would clear her mind and settle her nerves. Sitting next to Ben for nearly an hour had taken a hard toll.

Unfortunately when she told him she’d meet him at the café, he told her a little fresh air sounded good to him, too. Not surprisingly, the hairstylist opted to join them.

Cassidy chattered nonstop since taking her first step down the sidewalk in those teetering heels. All Ben had done was ask how she’d gotten started in her business and the hairstylist began spilling her life story.

Well, not exactly her
entire
life story, Poppy noted. Because she herself often skipped her years of marriage, she noticed Cassidy said very little about her childhood. It was as if her life had started after she’d graduated from high school.

“The cost for retail space is outrageous in Jackson.” Cassidy heaved a theatrical sigh. “If you don’t have the clientele, you don’t stay in business long.”

“You must be proud to have built such a successful business at such a young age,” Ben said with what appeared to be obvious sincerity.

“Lots of people predicted I’d fail.” Cassidy gazed up at Ben through lowered lashes, an almost flirtatious gesture. “But I’m very good with my hands.”

Poppy’s eyes widened but she said nothing.

Cassidy continued to expand on her “talents,” seeming to enjoy Ben’s interest.

Poppy pretended she was alone. A woman enjoying a stroll on a beautiful April day, the sun warm against her face. With each step, the tension in Poppy’s shoulders melted away.

While admiring a cardinal perched atop a parking meter, Poppy realized Cassidy had fallen silent. She refocused on her two companions, favoring the stylist with a smile. “I’m impressed, Cassidy.”

Cassidy brought a heavily lacquered purple nail to her lips and offered a sheepish smile. “I think I’ve monopolized the conversation.”

“Not at all.” Poppy wished there was a way to tell her former high school classmate to just keep talking. The alternative was having Cassidy watch and analyze her interaction with Ben.

With an audience, Poppy didn’t know how to act, what to say or how much to reveal. And she realized with a sudden jerk, she didn’t know what Ben might say. A chill, cold enough to freeze her breath, swept through her.

Would Ben mention he was moving in with her? It was a possibility. If he did, there would be questions, lots of questions. The baby might come up.

Poppy suddenly felt light-headed. With Cassidy there to hear it all, the news would be all over Jackson Hole before the sun went down.

Though she understood her condition would soon be public knowledge, the thought of everyone looking at her, judging her brought tears to her eyes.
Darn hormones.

“Poppy?” Ben rested a hand on her arm, his tone gentle.

“I need a minute.” Thankfully she’d spoken low enough that only he heard the shakiness in her voice.

“Is something wrong?” Cassidy’s gaze shifted from her to Ben, those blue eyes reminding Poppy of a ferret catching sight of a mouse.

Poppy forced a wan smile. “I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Cassidy, why don’t you go in and let everyone know we’ll be a few minutes.” Ben may have spoken to the stylist but his gray eyes remained focused on Poppy.

“I’ll wait,” Cassidy said.

“Okay. But I have something to discuss with Ben first.” Poppy wrapped her fingers around his arm and pulled him out of Cassidy’s earshot.

His brows drew together as he scanned her face. “Is something wrong?”

“You can’t tell anyone at the table about the baby or about you moving in.” She deliberately kept her tone soft, sensing Cassidy was tuned in to them.

His back went ramrod straight, but when he spoke his voice was conversational and low. “What’s got you worried?”

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I want some time to process all this before everyone starts asking questions.”

“They’ll know soon enough,” he pointed out.

“I realize that.” Poppy kept a tight grip on her temper. Feeling so exposed, so raw, so
guilty,
was her issue, not his. “If it comes out today, Cassidy will have the news spread all the way to Idaho before we finish our eggs. I’m not ready for that yet.”

Ben shot a brief glance at the blonde, who stood pretending to study the menu in the café window. “My lips are sealed.”

“Thanks.” Relief flooded her. Impulsively, she gave him a quick hug. She wasn’t sure which of them was more surprised by the gesture.

When she stepped back, he took her hand. Automatically she started to pull away but he tightened his grip and smiled.

“There will be talk,” he said, his tone barely audible. “It will be less if everyone believes we have a relationship. Even a casual one.”

What he said made sense. Poppy left her hand nestled in his, no longer feeling quite so alone.

When they reached Cassidy, the stylist’s bright lips lifted in a sly smile. “Glad to see you two made up. But what happened to kiss?”

Poppy’s puzzled expression made the stylist laugh.

“Kiss and make up?” Cassidy prompted.

Ben laughed.

Poppy shot him a quelling glance and kept her tone matter-of-fact. “Ben and I hadn’t argued. We had some quick business to discuss.”

“Whatever you say.” Cassidy waved a hand in the air but her tone—and the look in those canny blue eyes—said she didn’t believe a word.

Poppy started to insist there was nothing between her and Ben, but realized when it came out that she was pregnant with his baby that kind of comment would only fuel the gossip mill.

As they entered the café and wove their way through the tables, Ben’s hand rested lightly on her back. It felt as if they were stopped every few feet by townspeople wanting to say hello to Ben.

Warm greetings were also tossed Cassidy’s way. No one called out to Poppy.
It was to be expected, she told herself, brushing the hurt aside. She’d been away from Jackson Hole long enough that the large group of friends and acquaintances she’d once had was now a handful.

When they reached the long table at the back of the restaurant, there were still several seats left. With gentlemanly aplomb, Ben pulled out her chair and then Cassidy’s.

Poppy was thankful to find herself near Lexi. Lexi’s handsome attorney husband, Nick, offered a warm smile of welcome.

“Lexi is home at a more reasonable hour these days and I believe I have you to thank for that change.” Cut stylishly short, Nick’s dark hair provided the perfect foil to his brilliant blue eyes.

“I don’t know about that,” Poppy told him, “but I enjoy my job and love working with your wife.”

She shifted back in her seat and gestured to Cassidy. “Since you both aren’t from here, I’m not sure if you know Cassidy Kaye. She owns the—”

“Clippety Do Dah salon.” Lexi leaned forward and gave Cass a welcoming smile. “My girls won’t get their hair cut anywhere else. I’m happy you joined us this morning.”

As the two were chatting, Joel and Kate Dennes arrived. Poppy discovered Kate and her daughters also went to Cassidy’s salon.

Beneath the table Ben squeezed her hand. “Mission accomplished.”

Poppy cocked her head.

He leaned close, his breath tickling her ear. “You made Cassidy feel welcome.”

The approval in Ben’s voice rolled over her as smooth and easy as warm cream.

“It surprises me to see you this morning, Ben,” Tripp said from across the table, and Ben straightened. “You’re not usually up this early on Sunday.”

“I even made it to church, Randall,” Ben shot back with equanimity, “which is more than I can say for you.”

With his jeans and chambray shirt, Tripp looked more like one of the cowboys who regularly frequented Wally’s Place, a popular watering hole, than the administrator of the local hospital. His blond hair was tousled as if he’d just rolled out of bed and the scruff on his chin looked extra shaggy.

In contrast, his wife, Anna, sat cool and serene wearing a trendy spring dress in mint green with a straw-colored sweater over her shoulders. “It’s my fault.” The midwife spoke in a soft, melodious voice. “I had a delivery that took until three this morning and Tripp insisted on waiting up for me.”

“That’s just the kind of husband I am.” The smirk on Tripp’s lips told everyone that once his wife had arrived home, sleep hadn’t been a priority.

The waitress hurried over just as Travis and Mary Karen slid into the last two spots.

“Sorry.” Mary Karen exhaled heavily, a harried look on her face. “For some reason our son Ben didn’t want us to leave him at Sunday school. He started screaming and would not let up.”

“The boy has the most amazing stamina.” Travis turned over his cup and smiled when the waitress filled it with dark, steaming coffee.

Ben was one of their youngest sets of twins, a whirlwind of a child, who already made his three mischievous older brothers look like angels.

“Clearly it has something to do with the name,” Poppy mused, slanting a glance in Ben’s direction.

“Why, thank you, darlin’.” Ben looped a casual arm around her shoulders. “I wasn’t sure you’d noticed.”

Cassidy whooped.

Heat shot up Poppy’s neck.

Everyone laughed.

“The two of you make such a cute couple,” Mary Karen, a former RN now turned amateur matchmaker, said with a smile.

“What makes you think we’re a couple?” Poppy asked lightly then took a second to order her breakfast.

Mary Karen lifted a hand, her shiny diamond solitaire scattering reflections from the overhead fluorescent light. “Oh, let me count the ways.”

Poppy’s heart sank as Cassidy straightened in her seat. Though Cass’s hands were empty, Poppy could almost see her former classmate pull out a mental pencil and notepad.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

She should have simply ignored Mary Karen’s comment or changed the subject.

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but Poppy will be consulting with my office manager on better ways to reach noncompliant patients,” Ben interrupted smoothly.

Because most at the table dealt in one way or another with patients, the questions started flying. As Poppy improvised, Cassidy sat back, a look of disappointment on her face.

After making sure Cassidy wasn’t looking, Poppy bumped Ben’s shoulder with hers and mouthed her thanks.

When he grinned back, a flood of warmth, soft and sweet, flowed through Poppy’s veins.

The food arrived and the conversation turned to upcoming events in Jackson Hole. Rather than trying to dominate the conversation as her ex would have done, Ben seemed content to listen and only occasionally comment.

When someone asked about Mitzi and the NFL player, Ben simply shrugged and said they’d have to ask her whenever she showed up. Poppy concluded that while Mitzi occasionally came for breakfast, she hadn’t recently.

Poppy got the feeling Cassidy wouldn’t mind lingering and trying to ferret out more information. But most in attendance had to get back to the church to pick up their kids from Sunday school. When those with children rose to leave, so did Poppy and Ben. Reluctantly, so did Cassidy.

“Big day?” the hairstylist asked, her gaze shifting from Ben to Poppy.

“Weekends are always crazy.” Poppy kept her tone offhand. “Grocery shopping, apartment cleaning, all the normal stuff.”

“What about you?” Cassidy focused those shrewd blue eyes on Ben.

“Grocery shopping, apartment cleaning, normal stuff.” He flashed a grin then turned the question back at the stylist. “Is your salon open today?”