A Randall Returns (2 page)

“What are you talking about?”

“Scar tissue built up and the doctor said it would be almost impossible for me to get pregnant.”

Her mother took her in her arms. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry. But that’s no reason to not come home.”

“Isn’t it, Mom? Rawhide, headquarters of the happy Randalls, where matchmaking is rampant, followed immediately by lots of babies.” She drew a deep breath. “Except for poor Caroline. She’s barren, poor thing.”

Her mother said nothing. Caroline continued, “In Chicago, I stayed busy. No one thought it strange that a pediatrician didn’t have an armful of babies. I had my
career and I was damn good at it. But here…here it’s different. I don’t want people to pity me!”

B.J. held her close. “I don’t want you to leave. I love you so much. But because I love you, I’ll understand if you want to go back to Chicago. Your father and I will come see you there.”

Caroline pulled away from her mother. “Dad won’t feel that way. I’ve disappointed him.”

“Caro, your father loves you more than anything in the world. No, he won’t want you to go. But like me, he’ll tell you to go rather than see you miserable.”

“It’s too late now. I left my job and my—well, Don is with someone else now.”

“He is? But I thought you two—”

“Would marry and live happily ever after?” Caroline gave a bitter laugh. “No. It seems he had a nurse on the side. When she turned up pregnant, he married her.”

“Oh, dear.” B.J. Randall held her only daughter close. “A mother always dreams of a wonderful future for her children. But, Caroline, you’ve
got
a wonderful future. There’s more to life than having babies. You’re a doctor now, able to save lives. If you want children, there are plenty who have no mother. You don’t have to bear them yourself.”

Caroline wiped the tears away. Her mother was telling her what she’d told herself millions of times. But coming home reopened the wounds, made the pain fresh again.

“Thanks, Mom. But—but it’s so hard here.”

“I know. That’s why your father and I won’t oppose your returning to Chicago.”

Caroline tried to stop her tears. “Return to what? I
don’t belong there, either. I might as well be here, with the ones I love.”

“Did you and Don use—I mean, I assume you and he—”

“Slept together? Yes, Mom, we did. I’m thirty years old, you know, not some sheltered virgin. And no, we didn’t use birth control. And nothing happened, Mom. I never got pregnant.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. Have you been to a fertility specialist?”

“No. I read my charts, though. And I know the prognosis.”

“I meant what I said. We don’t love you because you’re a possible producer of grandchildren. We love you because of you. I only asked those questions because I want you to be happy.”

“I know, Mom.” Caroline pressed her lips tightly together. “I’m okay. I—I dreaded telling you about it. And because I was upset, I took revenge on the new sheriff. I apologized, of course, but I embarrassed Dad, too. I’m so sorry.”

Her mom hugged her again. “I’m just glad you’re home. Now tell me the truth,” she said with a forced smile. “Do you really like the house?”

“I love it. The living room is comfortable and bright, and my office is wonderful! And it’s all done in classic decor. No frills. You remembered.” She gave her mother a shaky smile.

“How could I forget? I did your bedroom in pink ruffles, and there you were—five years old and screaming because you wanted a tailored blue.”

“I guess I wasn’t an easy child,” Caroline said softly.

“I didn’t want a doll to dress up, sweetheart. I had the best gift of all, a strong, determined person who knew what she wanted. You’ve never disappointed me.”

“Oh, Mom!” Caroline buried her face on her mother’s shoulder and finally released all those tears she’d been holding back.

W
HEN
B.J.
EXPLAINED
their daughter’s behavior, Jake turned away from his wife. “We should’ve sued those people who crashed into her! Had them arrested!” His voice was angry. “We let them get off scot-free!”

“That wouldn’t have helped Caroline then or now, Jake. And she didn’t want to sue.”

“I know, B.J., but it’s my job to protect her, and I didn’t!” he raged, shame mixing with his anger.

B.J. put her arms around her beloved husband. “Jake, you do everything humanly possible to protect your family. Caroline knows that you’ll always be there for her.”

“I suggested she be thrown in jail today. She may never forgive me!”

“Honey, she knows she was at fault.”

“Yeah, but I should’ve—”

B.J. covered his lips with her hand. “Honey, there’s nothing we can do, except love her. I told her if she wanted to go back to Chicago, we’d be all right with that.”

“No! I can’t— Is she going to go?”

“No. That doctor she was seeing—Don—was two-timing her with a nurse who got pregnant.”

Jake looked even more outraged. “I’ll kill him!” B.J. held on to him, expecting his reaction. Her husband was a man of action. When he had a target, he’d take aim.

“Jake, there’s nothing you can do. Even if you could convince the man to come back to Caroline, would you want her married to a jerk like that?”

“No. But I could redecorate his face so he might remember his stupid mistake!”

“And I know you’d enjoy it,” she said with a rueful smile. “But Caroline would not be happy, and it would be terrible if you were put in jail in Chicago.”

“But the man deserves it!”

“I agree, but I don’t want you in trouble. You have to stay home and take care of your family. Especially now that they’re all home.” Toby and his wife and kids were living in the big house, Josh had just graduated from college and come back to the ranch, and now Caroline had returned to Rawhide.

“Yeah. You think she’ll stay?”

“I think she’s going to give it a try. She dreaded telling us the truth. But she’s done that. She loves the house, and I think she’ll love the work.”

“So there’s nothing I can do?” B.J. gave her husband a smile. “Well, you do have a specialty that might come in handy.”

“What’s that?”

“Matchmaking,” she said with a big smile.

Both her parents drove Caroline back to her house that evening after dinner. Red, who’d quickly whipped up her favorite chocolate cake, sent a big piece of it home with her in case she got hungry. She’d been kissed and hugged by every member of the Randall family. Her cousins Rich, Russ and their wives and children had come over, as had Uncle Griff and Aunt Camille. Caroline had even met cousins Nick and Gabe and their wives for the first time.

“Wow, there sure are a lot of Randalls now,” she exclaimed.

“Yeah,” her dad agreed.

“And lots of babies,” said her mother.

At that her father seemed to blanch, as if horrified by what his wife had said.

Caroline stared straight ahead and allowed no reaction to show on her face.

“So you see,” her mom continued, “we’ve got grandkids. Two from Toby. So do all of Dad’s brothers. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Okay, Mom, I get your point.”

“Your mom and I would like you to stay six months
or a year before you make up your mind about whether you’ll settle here. Is that asking too much?”

Just like her father to get right to the point, she thought. “No, Dad. But I’m not making any promises. We’ll see how it goes.”

“Fine. You sure you’ll be all right in that house by yourself?”

“Yes. I managed to live alone in Chicago. I think I can handle Rawhide.”

“You call me if you need anything, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy.” She kissed his cheek. Then she slid out of the truck after her mother. She gave her a hug and took the piece of chocolate cake B.J. had been holding. “Tell Red thanks again.”

“I will, darling. And welcome home.”

“Thank you, Mom. You and Dad are the best.”

“Let’s just hope Don doesn’t decide to come visit you here in Rawhide. We don’t want your father to be arrested.” She kissed her daughter’s cheek before she got back in the truck.

Caroline stood there waving until the truck was out of sight. Then she unlocked the door and went inside. It really was a beautiful little house. Done in primary colors, the living room boasted a red sofa, a big blue chair, and had yellow and green throw pillows scattered all around. There wasn’t one fussy ruffle to be seen in the entire house.

She headed toward the kitchen with the wrapped-up piece of cake. There was no way she could eat it after Mildred’s delicious dinner. Caroline supposed she could save it for another day….

But as she entered the kitchen, a sudden thought struck her. She stepped to the phone and dialed the Sheriff’s Office.

“Is Sheriff Davis there?”

“Yes, ma’am, he is,” the man answering the phone said. “Just a minute.”

“Wait! I don’t want to—”

“Sheriff Davis.” The deep voice was one she recognized.

“Sheriff, it’s Caroline Randall.”

“Ah. Dr. Randall.”

She remembered how she’d told him her title. Regret surged through her now. “Look, I wanted to bring you something. I can—”

“I’ll be at your place in about two minutes.”

“No, wait!” Before she could continue, the line went dead.

Now she had the sheriff calling on her late at night. By morning half the town would know and she’d have yet another apology to make. This time to his wife.

A knock on the front door drew her attention. He’d made the trip in under two minutes. After letting him in, she closed the door and turned to him.

She hadn’t noticed this morning what a big man he was. Like her daddy. There wasn’t a spare ounce on him, but he had to be at least six foot four. Since she was five-eight, his size didn’t intimidate her.

“You misunderstood, Sheriff. I didn’t want you to come visit me.”

One eyebrow slid up. “Why not?”

She shot him a disbelieving look. “How long have you been here in Rawhide?”

“Two weeks.”

She gave him a superior smile. “Well, for your information, half the people in town will know about your late call. Now I’ll have to contact your wife and apologize to her, too.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Either I do that or all of them will be calling me a whore for trying to make a pass at a married man!” she snapped. “I grew up here, Sheriff. I know how this town works.”

He put his hands on his hips. “Maybe you do, ma’am. I won’t argue with you. But I don’t happen to have a wife, so apologizing to her would be kind of hard.”

Blindsided by his remark, Caroline scoured her brain for a response, but all she could manage was a pathetic “Oh.”

“Now, why did you call?”

Caroline realized she’d overreacted again. He was going to think she was an idiot. “I was going to offer you a piece of Red’s chocolate cake as an apology for this morning.”

He waved his hand to dismiss her words. “Not necessary. You’ve already apologized.”

Caroline sighed. “We both know I wasn’t sincere. I—I was upset and I took it out on you. I really am sorry.”

He gave her a warm, approving smile. “Now, that apology I’ll gladly accept, ma’am.” He tipped his hat, a mannerism she’d seen her father use many a time.

She turned and picked up the piece of cake. “I wish you’d take this along with the apology.”

“I don’t want to take it back to the office. If I do I’ll soon be flooded with cakes and pies from every unmarried woman in town.”

“Well, you’re a little full of yourself, aren’t you?” She regretted her words as soon as they were out. His friendly smile disappeared.

He tipped his hat again. “Yes, ma’am.” Then he turned and headed for the front door.

She wanted to stop him. She wanted to force him to eat the chocolate cake. She wanted to turn back time to that morning and change her behavior. But none of that was possible. So she stood silently and watched him go out of her house, closing the door behind him.

But he didn’t leave.

“Please lock up, Dr. Randall,” he said from outside her door. He waited for her to obey him.

Not to do so would make her appear stupid, as well as rude. She hurried to the door and turned the lock. Then she crossed her arms over her chest and said briskly, “Done, Sheriff.”

“Good night.” She heard his footsteps fade away.

So much for her attempt to mend bridges. Mike Davis had made it clear he had no interest in how she behaved as long as it didn’t affect him.

“Fine!” she snapped, knowing he couldn’t hear her. But to spite him, she sailed into the kitchen, sat down and ate every last crumb of the chocolate cake. That would show him!

M
UCH TO
C
AROLINE’S
surprise, she stayed busy all week. A number of her patients didn’t need much health care; they were willing to pay her fee just to satisfy their curiosity about her.

Unfortunately, the sheriff figured in many of the probing conversations.

Caroline didn’t see him at all, which seemed hard to manage in Rawhide unless it was intentional.

But that changed Friday night.

She stayed late, working on files and reviewing the week. After all, she had no plans, other than an invitation to the Randall homestead. She figured she might go out tomorrow evening instead.

Her mind wandered, lost in thoughts about her future. The work had been satisfying, but, in addition to queries about her and the sheriff, folks had discussed her having a family. She’d simply met their deeply personal questions with a smile and moved on.

A banging on the front door and the hurried footsteps of Alice, the nurse on duty, told her they had a late customer. Caroline checked her watch and was shocked to discover it was after nine o’clock.

“Doctor?” Alice called.

Caroline stepped into the hall to see the nurse and a deputy helping Mike Davis onto a gurney. Blood seemed to be everywhere.

Tamping down any kind of personal reaction, Caroline pulled on a pair of scrubs and stepped to the patient’s side. “What happened?”

“Knife fight,” Mike muttered. He was obviously in pain.

Alice wheeled the gurney into the operating room while Caroline did a quick but thorough scrub. By the time she entered the sterile room Alice had removed Mike’s sheepskin coat and cut away his shirt. Caroline stared at the nasty, bleeding gash across several ribs.

She cleaned the wound and anesthetized the skin. Then she began stitching it. Her patient lay perfectly still, but his eyes never wavered from her.

“You’re not feeling any pain now, are you?” she asked, glancing at him in concern.

“No. But I’m wondering if you’ve had any experience taking care of fight wounds. I thought you worked with children.”

“Are you trying to tell me men who fight with knives are adults?”

Much to her surprise, he grinned. “Maybe you’ve got a point. Those two tonight didn’t exhibit much adult behavior.”

“If you weren’t the one fighting, how did you get this wound?” she asked.

“Trying to stop it.”

“Oh. I think I’d ask for a raise.”

He frowned. “It’s not that bad, is it? Just a couple of stitches and I’ll be good to go, right?”

Caroline rolled her eyes at Alice. “Men! That stiff-upper-lip stuff doesn’t work on me. You lost a lot of blood. How long did it take you to get here?”

“We came right away, as soon as we locked up both fighters.”

“You didn’t have someone else who could do that?”

“They pay me to do my job.”

“Ah, stubborn as well as macho.”

She finished her stitching and clipped the thread. “Okay, Alice, get his blood type. We’re going to need to give him some blood. And we’ll be keeping him overnight.”

“Overnight?” Mike yelped. “You’ve got to be kidding!”

Caroline shook her head. “I’m not kidding. You
have
lost a lot of blood.” She removed and discarded her gloves. “Rawhide will just have to survive without you tonight, Sheriff.”

With that, she left him in Alice’s capable hands and went to her office, where she changed out of the soiled scrubs. Too bad it wasn’t as easy to divest herself of her thoughts of Sheriff Davis. He reminded her so much of the men in her family. Stubborn, determined, refusing to be cosseted. He didn’t look like them, though. He wasn’t as rangy in build but muscular and broad. She felt herself flush just thinking about his body. She had to admit the man was sexy.

The ladies in Rawhide would work themselves into a frenzy to catch his attention. With a chuckle, she imagined the shameless efforts to attract him that would no doubt be expended by even the most timid bachelorette.

Alice tapped lightly on the open door.

“Come in, Alice. Is our patient settled?”

She grinned. “That he is. He’s a charmer, too. He made it clear he didn’t want to be here, but he still flashed me one of those killer smiles of his.” She patted her chest. “Be still my heart.”

“Alice, shame on you. You’re a married lady!” Caroline teased.

“I can still look. But what’s wrong with you? You’re not married.”

“Don’t start, Alice. I have enough of that from my family.”

“I guess you do at that. Your dad is a whiz at matchmaking.”

“He thinks he is. I think he just does some persuading in situations that are already there. But I figure if I stay away from all men, he won’t have a chance.”

Alice stared at Caroline. “That may be true, Doctor, but won’t you get lonesome?”

Caroline shook her head, but in truth, she was already feeling as if she were in exile from her life in Chicago. “Of course not,” she replied briskly, hoping to disguise any loneliness she was already feeling. “I’ll check on the sheriff now. Then I’m going home. You have my number if you have any concerns. Don’t hesitate to call me.”

“All right, Doctor.”

“Alice, when it’s just us, call me Caroline. After all, we’ve known each other all our lives.”

“I didn’t want to overstep,” the nurse said with a grin.

Caroline smiled and shook her head. “That couldn’t happen.”

“All right, Caroline. See you in the morning.” Alice returned to the nurse’s station, where she could monitor the patient’s condition without too much effort.

Caroline straightened her desk, making sure every
thing was in its place for immediate action in the morning. Back in Chicago she’d done two rotations in the ER and she knew life didn’t wait for methodical preparation. If she wanted to save lives, she had to be ready at a moment’s notice.

Not that tonight’s emergency had been life threatening. If the sheriff had come at once, he would be home in his bed by now. But by postponing care, he had lost a lot of blood.

“Maybe he has to learn the hard way,” she muttered as she gathered her medical bag and her coat and headed for the patient’s room.

The night-light there illuminated his large form in the bed, covered by a sheet and blankets. She checked the IV drip before touching his wrist to take his pulse.

“Afraid I might die on you?” he murmured, barely opening his eyes.

She was surprised he’d responded at all, since Alice should have given him a mild sedative. “You’re awake?”

“Unless I’m dreaming about a beautiful angel of mercy.”

“Didn’t the nurse give you a sedative?” Caroline asked sharply, ignoring the tingle of pleasure she felt at his compliment.

“I believe she did offer one,” he said. Caroline guessed he hadn’t taken the medicine, hiding that fact from Alice. She hit the call button.

“It’s not her fault,” the sheriff hastily said. “And it’s nothing to be concerned about. I’m in charge of the town, so I have to be alert. I’ll get enough sleep on my own.”

Caroline looked down her nose at him. “I expect my orders to be obeyed, Sheriff Davis.”

“Then you’re bound to be disappointed in life, aren’t you?”

She couldn’t believe the sheriff was teasing her. Fortunately, Alice entered at that moment.

“Yes, Doctor?”

“Alice, it appears the sheriff did not take his sedative.”

“But I watched him!” she assured her.

“I’m sure you did. Could you bring another pill, please?”

Alice left at once to carry out the order.

The sheriff tried arguing his point again. “It really isn’t necessary, you know. I don’t need a lot of sleep.” He looked at her stubbornly, an expression she instantly recognized.

“Your body needs restorative time to recover from the loss of blood, Sheriff Davis. You have no choice.”