The Good Doctor (13 page)

His kiss was hard and demanding, and she felt his turmoil as much as her own. What had they done? What had they started? Where were they going to go from here?

“Don't even try to answer the questions tonight,” he ordered. “Maybe we'll get some answers if we just play this by ear.”

Again there was that silence of a thousand words unsaid. Breaking the quiet, she murmured, “I'd better go.” Testing the waters, testing where they were headed, she added, “Clyde and Jessica are having a barbecue tomorrow night. My parents are flying in. Would you like to come?”

When he didn't answer right away, she hurried to say, “You don't have to tell me now. In fact, you don't have to tell me at all. If you find yourself free and you want to come to the ranch—”

“It might be late, but I'll be there, unless I get tied up in an emergency. If that happens, I'll call you.”

When she picked up her purse, he walked her to the door.

She was at a complete loss for words, and it seemed he was too. As she put her hand on the doorknob to leave, she wished he'd stop her. She wished he'd ask her to stay the night. But there was still too much uncertainty about what they both wanted.

He didn't ask her to stay.

So she left Peter Clark's house, her body still thrumming from the way he'd made love to her. Their intimacy had made her feel even more vulnerable. Now that she'd given her body to him, she'd also given her heart.

As she slipped into her car and switched on the ignition, she was more afraid than she'd ever been in her life. She might not be the kind of woman he wanted. If that was true, he might hand her heart right back.

Pulling away from the curb in front of Peter's house, she thought again of Celeste and the decisions she had to make.

When would she be sure she was be making the right ones?

 

Peter couldn't wait to see Violet.

The feeling was so foreign to him that he wasn't sure quite what to do with it.

When he arrived at the Flying Aces, the barbecue was in full swing. Miles welcomed him. Clyde looked him over a few more times. Jessica pointed out her sister, Leslie, and her husband, Marty, who owned a hardware store in town. Then she made the rounds with him, introducing him to Patrick For
tune, Violet's dad, who was sitting at a table with Ryan and Lily, and Savannah and Cruz Perez. Savannah was nine months pregnant and Cruz was positioning a small hay bale for her to prop her feet on.

Jessica explained, “Savannah has to take it easy for the rest of her pregnancy, but she needed to get out and see friends. Cruz isn't letting her move a muscle.”

As she looked over the gathered guests, Jessica finally admitted, “I don't know where Violet is. She was here just a little while ago. Her mother's disappeared, too.”

Just then, a couple came from around the side of the house. When they approached Jessica, Steven and Amy Fortune, Violet's brother and his wife, said their hellos.

“We're surrounded by Fortunes,” Jessica said amiably, as Steven and Peter shook hands.

“You're one now, too,” Amy kidded. “Just like I am.”

“I guess I am,” Jessica responded with a smile. “Everything happened so fast with me and Clyde it still doesn't seem real. Have you seen Violet?”

Steven nodded. “She and Mom were going into the barn. She probably just wants to introduce Mom to the new horse.”

“I can find my way,” Peter told Jessica. “Stay with your guests.”

“Tell Violet we're serving desserts in fifteen minutes. That should get her back here. If you don't know it yet, she has a sweet tooth.”

Peter already suspected sweets tempted Violet from her comments at the restaurant when they'd gone to the Riverwalk. She'd sensually savored every bite of that white chocolate cheesecake. It had driven him crazy.

Before he'd left the hospital, he'd changed into jeans and a western-cut shirt. Now he was glad he had. He'd guessed the barbecue would be casual, and it was.

Familiar with the barn that housed the horses from his night ride with Violet, Peter went to a side door and opened it. Dusk had been taken over by the deeper shadows of night, and the sky was murky with clouds that slid over the crescent moon. Tonight only a few stars were evident, unlike the night he and Violet had taken their ride.

Inside the barn, he headed for the glow of yellow light over the walkway between the stalls. His footsteps were muted by hay as he passed the tack room and heard women's voices.

Violet's was more than recognizable as she said, “I think I need more in my life than work. Maybe that's why I'm having such a tough time getting over Anne Washburn's death and her baby's. I don't have a balance.”

Violet's mother responded, “You've always been so focused. I didn't think you wanted anything else.”

“I didn't, either.”

“You've worked so hard. You've earned such a good reputation. You can't be thinking about giving it all up!”

“Let me ask you something,” Violet said softly. “If you had to choose between making the world a better place, and marrying Dad and having a family, which would you choose?”

“You can't ask me a question like that.”

“Sure, I can. Causes have been your career. What if you could only have one? The family or the work?”

“That's really not a fair question, Violet. I love you, your father and your brothers with all of my heart. But I'm also the type of woman who needs something else.”

Peter knew Lacey Fortune's nonanswer was sending Violet a message.

He'd never meant to eavesdrop and he didn't want to continue doing it. When he approached the two women, Lacey was the first one to see him emerging from the shadows. Her eyebrows rose and she looked to Violet.

Violet's smile for him made him almost forget what he'd heard…almost made him put aside everything he considered an obstacle between them. He experienced a lightness in his heart, along with a racing pulse, as he smiled back.

“You made it!” She was obviously happy to see him.

“I told you I would.” One thing Violet had to learn about him was that he never broke his word.

“Dr. Peter Clark, this is my mother, Lacey Fortune. Mom, Peter is the neurosurgeon who operated on Celeste.”

Lacey was in her late-sixties, about five foot ten with gray-blond hair and green eyes. Even in jeans she was as elegant and beautiful as her daughter.

Peter extended his hand to her and she shook it. “It's good to meet you.”

“It's good to meet
you.
”

Maybe he should have listened in on that conversation a little longer. He wasn't sure what Violet might have revealed about him or their relationship.

“You're the bachelor Miles told me about.” Lacey's eyes twinkled.

“I'll never live down that auction,” he groaned with a shake of his head.

Lacey laughed, then added, “Well, I'm going to head back to the barbecue. Jessica said something about chocolate mousse cake. That sounds too good to turn down.”

“It's almost dark. Would you like me to walk you back?” Peter offered.

“Oh, no. I can find my way. I always have, and I always will.” There was a last, knowing glance at her daughter, then she went through the barn the way Peter had come.

Seconds later Peter heard the barn door close.

Night sounds in the barn—horses moving in their stalls, the
creak of barnwood, a cat jumping atop a stall—danced between them until Violet broke the silence. “While we're alone, I wanted to tell you I had a few private moments with Ryan. He does want me to go to New York, and he's telling Lily that's where we're going. I'll take the opportunity to stop in at my office while we're there and catch up on anything I've missed. I don't need an excuse, and Ryan's relying on the cover of business again.”

“She'll probably believe it if she knows you two are going together. I'll meet you at the airport.”

Violet was standing in front of the stall and now he put one hand on either side of her. “While we're alone, I can think of better things to do than to talk about our flight.”

“Such as?” Violet asked coyly.

“Such as this.”

When his lips covered hers, memories of their union on his sofa came flooding back. Violet's perfume always enticed him. Her soft, silky hair in his hands was a sensual delight. And her mouth… Her lips were responsive to his, and her kiss was everything he'd hoped it would be. He'd missed her, and he didn't understand that, any more than he understood his need for her. The smell of hay, the cool October night, the swishing of horses's tails seemed to belong in another dimension. They kissed as if they'd never kissed before and might never kiss again. As he leaned into her, their lower bodies fit together perfectly, and he groaned when she moved against him.

Could they get away with making love here while the party was going on out there? He'd never even considered doing anything so reckless before.

One of his hands went to the buttons on her blouse and he began unfastening them. Her fingers went to his shirt and
plucked it from his jeans. Then her hand slid against his skin and he sucked in a breath.

“This is insane,” he muttered as she sifted through his chest hair and he could hardly breathe.

He trailed kisses down her neck and his hand cupped her breast. Her moan of approval told him the first vacant stall would have to afford them all the privacy they were going to get.

Violet was getting bolder now and her hand cupped him. They
might
make it to the stall.

Suddenly, the barn door flew open and Miles yelled inside, “Violet! Peter! Savannah's water broke. We need you.”

The same way Peter came instantly awake in the middle of the night when he was paged, now his hands dropped to his side and his gaze met Violet's.

She fought the haze of the passion they'd shared and called to her brother, “We'll be right there.”

“Damn!” Peter muttered as he buttoned his shirt and tucked it into his jeans.

“I second that,” she agreed, righting her clothes, too. Peter knew they had to talk about her conversation with her mother, about how foolish they were being, about what the future held in store for them. But they couldn't do that now.

“It's been a long time since med school and a rotation in obstetrics,” he muttered.

When Violet didn't respond, he could see she'd gone back in time and was revisiting memories. “Is being with Savannah or any pregnant woman hard for you?”

“Not really. Not anymore. I just wonder what would have happened if my pregnancy hadn't been ectopic.”

“Don't do that to yourself.” He put his arm around her and brought her close, holding her next to his chest. “Come on.
Let's go make sure Savannah has a safe delivery, no matter how and where it happens.”

With his arm around Violet, they walked through the barn and out into the night.

V
iolet, Peter and Cruz stood before the nursery's glass window.

Cruz was absolutely beaming. “Just look at her wave her hands. I can't believe she's my daughter.”

“If you don't believe it,” Violet said with a laugh, “just ask Savannah.”

“She was a trouper,” Peter agreed. “I was amazed at how calm she was during the trip to the hospital.”

After Savannah's water had broken at the barbecue, labor pains had begun with vicious intensity. Cruz had insisted on driving his wife to the hospital, but Peter had volunteered to drive while Cruz attended to his wife. Savannah had asked Violet to come along, too.

Within an hour after they'd reached the hospital, little Rose had been born.

“She's got a healthy start on life. Eight pounds, four ounces isn't anything to sneeze at.”

Violet wasn't just watching Cruz's expression, but Peter's, too.

“I'm going to call the family and tell them we have a beautiful baby daughter. Then I'm going to see how Savannah's doing,” Cruz said. “She might be sleeping. I'm sure labor and delivery tired her out. Thanks for coming along with us. That helped a lot.”

“Congratulations again,” Peter said.

Violet gave Cruz a hug. “Tell Savannah I'll be over to visit after she goes home.”

“I'll do that.” After another long look at his baby daughter, Cruz ambled down the hall.

There were five babies in the nursery, and Violet looked from one to the other as a yearning gripped her heart.

Unexpectedly, she felt Peter's arm curve around her shoulders. “What are you thinking?” he asked.

“I'm thinking becoming a mother has to be an awesome experience.”

“And?”

He already knew her so well. “And…I was thinking about the look on your face when you first saw the baby.”

She and Peter had waited in the lounge while Cruz had coached his wife through labor. After the nurse had brought the baby to the nursery, she and Peter had taken their first looks.

“A baby's birth is a miraculous event, but not only infants need nurturing. Every child is precious.”

“Don't you want to peer through the nursery glass someday at your baby?”

“Sure, I do. But if that doesn't happen, I can still be a dad.”

The future was so uncertain. Violet wished she could see around the next corner. She wished she had that crystal ball.
But standing here with Peter, his body close to hers, she knew she wanted him in her life. However, if she returned to New York and took Celeste with her, then what would happen?

 

Traveling in first class on Thursday morning, Violet glanced over at Ryan who was staring out the window. Peter was across the aisle, lost in a medical journal. They hadn't had much time together after the birth of Savannah and Cruz's baby. Peter had been paged while they were still at the hospital, and this morning was the first she had seen him since that night.

She'd visited Celeste before driving to the airport to explain that she and Peter would be away today and tomorrow. The child had looked up at her with worry in her dark brown eyes and asked, “But you'll be back?” Violet had solemnly promised that she and Peter would both be back, but Celeste's little arms had held on tight for a long while.

Now Violet tried to push thoughts of Celeste aside as concern for Ryan overtook everything else. She laid her hand on his. “How are you doing?”

“Holding my own,” he said easily. “Wondering why I let Peter convince me to do this.”

“You want a stab at a longer life.”

“Maybe. But I have to wonder what that stab is going to cost me. If it means I'm going to be miserable and sick while I live longer…”

“You have to talk to the head of the program. Give this a chance, Ryan.”

“I thought you were on
my
side.”

“I am. I'll support you in whatever you choose. But you have to look at every option to make an informed decision, don't you think?”

“You've been hanging around Peter Clark too long,” he muttered as his hand went to his head and he rubbed his temple.

“Headache?”

“Yeah. A constant one.”

“You've got to tell Lily about this.”

“Lily's barely speaking to me right now. I'm not sure why. I don't think I did anything in particular to upset her, but when I walk into a room, she leaves. And she's always busy with something.”

“Have you ever heard of women's intuition?”

Ryan managed to smile. “Sometime over the years somebody might have mentioned it.”

“Don't scoff at it. She knows you're keeping something from her, and she probably has a short list of what she thinks that is. You need to tell her what's going on with you.”

After a weary sigh, he concluded, “All in good time.”

The problem was, Ryan might not have that much time. “Are you sure you don't want to stay at my apartment tonight?”

“So you and Peter can keep an eye on me? I don't think so.”

He fished a piece of paper out of his jeans pocket. “I'll be at this address.”

She glanced at the name. Clancy Flannery. The address was only about ten blocks from her apartment. “A friend?”

“Yeah. An old one. We went to high school together. Clancy worked for Fortune TX, Ltd. way back when, but he always had his eye on the Big Apple, rather than staying in Red Rock. He joined an investment banking firm in New York and did well at it. Now he's retired. He travels quite a bit, but he's at home now. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

“Are you going to tell him why you're here?”

“I might. Clancy knows how to keep his mouth shut. He's another contact in the city in case I decide to have treatment there. Then I won't have to rely just on your parents.”

She knew Ryan didn't want to be a burden on anyone.

Suddenly there was a shout from coach class.

The flight attendant from first class hurried down the aisle as a voice came over the loudspeaker. “If there's a doctor on the plane, please identify yourself immediately. We have an emergency. “

Of one accord, both Violet and Peter rose from their seats and rushed toward the commotion in the rear of the plane. Two flight attendants were giving a man CPR, while a third came rushing from the back with a machine that looked no bigger than a briefcase.

“They have a portable defibrillator, thank God,” Violet murmured. “He must be having a heart attack.”

Seconds later, Peter had explained he was a doctor and so was Violet. He checked the patient's airway, breathing and pulse as Violet opened the box.

After switching on the device, she connected the electrode leads. Peter had the man's shirt opened and his chest was bare. Violet stuck two adhesive pads there containing the electrodes that functioned as ECG sensors to determine whether defibrillation was appropriate.

While Violet studied the digital readout, she saw that it was.

Peter said to everyone around, “Don't touch the patient.” Then he nodded to Violet when he saw everyone was clear.

Without hesitating, she pressed the shock button. After the shock was completed, the device checked the cardiac rhythm and repeated it again.

Afterward, Peter checked the man's pulse. “Got one,” he said with relief.

The patient was breathing again, and Violet looked up at the flight attendant. “How much longer until we land?”

“I'll check with the pilot,” she answered Violet.

Two minutes later she was back. “We've begun our descent, and we'll be on the ground in fifteen minutes. We've already called for an ambulance. Are you going to move him?”

Violet glanced at Peter and he shook his head. Although their position in the aisle was awkward, she answered, “Let's just keep him here. Do you know his name?”

“Sam Crawford. He's in public relations or something, and often takes this flight.”

Peter capped the man's shoulder. “Hold on, Sam.”

After that, time passed in a blur. She and Peter monitored Sam's condition until they were on the ground. All the passengers stayed in their seats as paramedics hooked the man up to an IV line, gave him oxygen and transported him from the plane. Then the other passengers began disembarking.

Once they were inside the terminal, the flight attendant rushed up to them. “A representative from the airline wants to thank you. You saved Mr. Crawford's life.”

Peter exchanged a glance with Violet that told her he didn't want the thanks or the acknowledgment. “Your crew started CPR. That was important. Having the defibrillator on board was what saved his life.”

“Still,” the flight attendant said, “Mr. Rossi wants to thank you personally. Here he comes now. I think that's Catherine Watson with Channel 6 News,” she added in a murmur.

No one was supposed to know that Peter was with Violet and Ryan in New York. All they needed were pictures flashing across the news for Lily and the family to see before Ryan was ready to talk about his condition. And when the reporter learned Violet's name was Fortune…

Ryan had stepped to one side, and now Peter took Violet's hand. “I'm sorry. We can't stay to talk. We have an appointment.”

Before the flight attendant could stop them or warn Rossi they were leaving, Peter, Violet and Ryan got themselves lost in the crowd.

With their carry-on luggage, they made their way to the exit. There was a driver there, holding up a sign for Clark.

Peter said to Ryan, “I thought you'd be more comfortable in a car than in a taxi.”

Five minutes later, they were speeding toward the city. From the front seat, Ryan glanced over his shoulder at them. “You two work well together.”

Peter leaned close to Violet and whispered only loud enough for her to hear, “That's not
all
we do well together.”

The timbre of his voice as well as the intent in his words heated her all over. She thought about tonight and being alone with him in her apartment.

“Mr. Crawford is probably going to want to know who saved his life,” Ryan went on.

“I'll call and see how he's doing when we have a few minutes. The flight attendant gave me the name of the hospital where he was taken.”

Peter asked Ryan, “Are you going straight to your friend's, or do you want to go to dinner with Violet and me?”

“I promised Clancy I'd have dinner with him. He has a personal chef, so we won't even have to go out.”

“Do you want us to pick you up in the morning?”

“No, I'll meet you at the hospital. It's not that I don't want your company,” he said to Violet and Peter with a half smile, “but I'm mulling over lots of stuff—about the ranch, about Fortune TX, Ltd. Away from it, I'm hoping I'll find the answers more easily.”

Her gaze met Peter's, and she saw sympathy there for the decisions Ryan might have to make.

They dropped off Ryan first, and then the driver took them to Violet's apartment building. After Peter paid the driver and collected their suitcases, the doorman opened the door for them. “Good evening, Dr. Fortune.”

“Hi, Ralph. Any excitement while I was gone?”

“Nope. Not around here, anyway.”

Violet's building was in the Upper West side, close to Central Park. She loved the old prewar building, mainly because of its landscaped courtyard. She loved to go out there and sit under a tree.

After they took the elevator to the third floor, Violet unlocked her apartment door, and they went inside.

Peter had been quiet on the drive. Now as he studied her small living room, he looked as if he was trying to learn more about her by doing it. She watched his expression as his gaze passed over the windows that in the daytime let in lots of sunlight, over the blue-and-yellow plaid couch and matching yellow armchair, over the bookshelves, occasional tables and many mementoes scattered about. There was a carved oak table she'd found at a flea market and four chairs in its own cozy area for dining.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

As his eyes passed over framed watercolors on the wall and peered into the tiny kitchen with its peach-and-white ceramic tile floor, he said, “I guess I expected something more luxurious.”

“I didn't need it. I only have one bedroom because I rarely have guests over. If someone does stay over, the sofa pulls out into a sleeper. I've got to admit, I'm not here very much. I had fun furnishing and decorating it, and all of it is just comfortable for me.”

Smiling, he stepped closer to her. “I like it.”

He'd dropped their luggage inside the door. Now he stood about six inches from her, his green eyes glimmering, no doubt with the thoughts that were running through her head, too.

“What do you want to do first?” Her words came out
bumpy and thready. He only had to get this close and she was trembling.

Slipping his hands under her hair, he gently pulled her toward him. “What about a walk?”

It wasn't what she was expecting, and her disappointment must have shown.

He chuckled. “I just wanted to see your reaction,” he teased and tilted her face up to his.

All thoughts of the future were forgotten and she realized she'd just put it on hold. Nothing mattered more right now than Peter's hands on her skin, his body so close to hers.

“I want you,” he growled, and the deep huskiness of his voice, the wonderful, tantalizing sensation of his touch made her mouth too dry to speak. So, instead of speaking, her hands went to his shoulders and she hung on, ready for a ride.

When Peter's tongue slipped along her lips, she responded by opening to him. As he thrust inside, she felt completion, even in this small way, knowing she'd feel even more complete when they truly joined their bodies. With greedy fervor, he stroked her tongue and she became dizzy with the passion between them, overwhelmed by her feelings for him. Yet she knew those feelings, without action, would mean nothing to Peter.