LITMIR.BIZ

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an idiot who found himself on the wrong end of a sharp stick,” a man’s voice interjected. “And who might just find himself even worse off if he doesn’t stop flirting with my wife.”

      He looked toward the sound, then winced at the pain in his head from the abrupt movement. Jake Dalton, Pine Gulch’s only doctor, stood in the doorway, giving him a mock glower.

      “Hey, Doc. Long time.”

      Jake stepped into the room and scrubbed his hands at the sink. “Yeah, I think the last time was when you toilet-papered my pickup truck once when I came home from college.”

      He supposed it was a good thing Jake was a dedicated doctor who wouldn’t let Cisco’s assorted past sins keep him from providing quality medical care.

      But then, he didn’t know the half of them.

      “He belongs in a hospital, doesn’t he?”

      Jake’s blue Dalton eyes narrowed and he pursed his lips. “Let’s just say I’m not admitting him at this time,” he answered carefully.

      “That’s not an answer.”

      “East, you know I can’t say anything more because of privacy laws. It’s the best I can do. I’m sorry.”

      She made a face. As much as she liked Jake Dalton personally, she hated all he represented. Doctors, hospitals, that distinctive smell of antiseptic and illness that lingered, no matter how one tried to wash it away.

      Loss.

      Seemed like every time she had any dealings with the medical community, she ended up losing someone, starting with her parents’ accident when she was a silly, giddy sixteen-year-old who thought she had total control of her universe.

      Her father had died instantly that stormy January night when their car had slid head-on into an oncoming semi.

      Her mother had survived the accident—barely—and had been airlifted to the hospital in Idaho Falls. Easton’s aunt and uncle had rushed her there to be at her mother’s side, but Janet Springhill had died on the operating table.

      Then had come Guff’s heart attack. She had been the one to find him collapsed on the barn floor, clutching his chest. She had performed CPR while waiting for the paramedics to get there and had been able to get a pulse, but he had died on the way to the hospital in Idaho Falls. Easton, following behind the ambulance, had arrived in time for the grim news in the E.R.

      Jo had been treated at the same hospital for the cancer that eventually claimed her life eighteen months ago. Whenever Easton had walked through the doors of that place to take her to chemotherapy or for an appointment with her oncologist, her stomach would churn in a conditioned reflex.

      In another hospital room in another city hundreds of miles away, she had endured the most painful hours of her life. She couldn’t even think about that time without her breath catching in her throat.

      So much pain and loss.

      She knew hospitals also brought forth life. She had been there when Mimi’s sweet little Abby came into the world. And she imagined some hospital in South America had contributed to the birth of the little girl who was currently babbling on her lap.

      “He insists he won’t go to a hospital. I agreed to follow his recovery here as long as he’s got someone to keep an eye on him.”

      She supposed that meant her. “What sort of care will he need at home?”

      “He mostly needs someone who can make sure he takes things easy and doesn’t overdo.”

      “That’s a great plan in theory,” she muttered. “I have a feeling it won’t be so easy to implement.”

      “Do what you can. Rest is the best thing for him to fight the infection and heal. And I need to know immediately if his fever spikes again.”

      “Okay.”

      Jake gave her a careful look, his handsome features concerned. She had seen that expression before. One of the things she loved about Pine Gulch’s only doctor was his concern not only for his patient, but also for those charged with their care at home.

      “I could give the same advice to you,” he said in that calm, reassuring voice of his. “Don’t overdo, East. I’m sure we could find somebody in town willing to come out and help you with the little one there.”

      The suggestion made sense. Heaven knew, she had enough to do at the ranch without throwing in the complication of caring for a needy baby and a recalcitrant patient.

      On the other hand, Cisco had come to her for help. Right now he needed her, when he had made a point of not needing anyone for the last decade or so. She wasn’t about to surrender that to someone else.

      “I’m sure I can manage for a few days. I’ve talked to Burt and he and the boys can pick up the slack for me for a while.”

      “Are you sure?”

      “Stop worrying about me, Dr. Dalton. I’m not your patient.” She smiled to let him know she still appreciated his concern and was warmed when he pulled her into a quick hug, baby and all.

      During Jo’s long illness, Jake had been a rock, always willing to come out to the ranch to oversee her care.

      If not for him and the hospice nurse, Tess Claybourne—now Southerland who had married Easton’s foster brother and distant cousin Quinn—Easton wasn’t sure she would have found the strength to make it through those last difficult days of Jo’s life.

      “You take care of yourself, Easton. You have a bad habit of worrying about everyone else but yourself.”

      She snorted. “Yeah and I’m the only one in this room with that particular shortcoming, aren’t I, Dr. Dalton?”

      “Smarty. Just make sure he takes his medicine and promise you’ll let me know if his condition changes or if you have any questions.”

      “I will.”

      “He should be out in a minute.”

      “Thanks, Jake.”

      He smiled in response, then left the waiting room to return to the treatment rooms. Life as a small-town doctor probably rarely offered him a quiet moment, especially with Jake’s passion for his patients.

      “He’s a nice man, Belle. That’s the kind of guy you should look for when you grow up. Someone kind and loving and dependable.”

      The baby beamed in response to her observation and squealed with approval before she turned back to sucking on a key from the plastic toy ring Easton had found in the diaper bag Cisco had provided.

      Easton smiled at her, even as a cautious part of her warned her to steel her heart. She feared she was already dangerously close to falling hard for this little girl with the sunny disposition and the cheerful smile.

      And wouldn’t that be foolish? Belle would only be here for a few more days before her aunt came for her. Easton certainly didn’t need more loss in her world.

      She was still worrying about that when the outside doors to the clinic opened and a tough, rugged-looking man in the brown twill uniform shirt of the Pine Gulch Police Department walked through.

      His green eyes lit up when he saw her.

      “Easton! This is a surprise!” Trace Bowman exclaimed as he strode toward her.

      He leaned in to kiss her cheek, his slight dark stubble a tiny rasp against her skin. He always smelled so good, like laundry soap and starch and some sexy but understated aftershave. It was one of the things she had noticed first when they started dating a month ago.

      “What’s going on? Are you sick? And who’s this little sweetheart?”

      Belle gazed at him in fascination, then giggled when he made a funny face at her.

      “Um, it’s

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