Baby, Don't Go (7 page)

“I’m behind a desk more than I’d like,” he said, his voice suddenly weary.

“I guess starting your own town takes a lot of organization.”

His nod told her that was an understatement of gigantic proportions.

“What happens if the Department of Energy inspector doesn’t like what he sees here at the diner?”

He looked thoughtful. “It’s more of an inspection of the entire town, although last time around the diner was the weak link. And this is just an interim inspection leading up to the final inspection six months from now. In order to receive our final funding and to maintain ownership of the property that makes up the city limits, the D.O.E. has to be satisfied we’re covering the basic needs of the townspeople in a way that’s good for the environment.”

“Your carbon footprint and all of that stuff?” she asked, playing dumb.

He seemed to check himself. “Right.” Then he looked back to the screen.

She felt a pang of disappointment because for a few seconds there, Marcus Armstrong seemed like a different man. But obviously he didn’t want to share too much…because something strange was going on in Sweetness?

“You must’ve had trouble getting people to come here,” she said. “A couple of the women told me they answered a newspaper ad?”

He frowned. “Not my idea.”

“You didn’t want to run the ad?”

His mouth tightened. “That’s right.”

Alicia gave him a little smile. “Someone told me you don’t like women.”

He jerked upright, then pain flashed across his rugged face…and didn’t subside. A guttural groan escaped him, and Alicia could tell from the way he was frozen that it was bad. She stood and reached for him, but he lifted his hand.

“Don’t touch me.”

She frowned. “I’m just trying to help.”

“Give me a minute,” he said, gasping.

“Here, sit down,” she said, rolling the desk chair until it was positioned behind him.

Gingerly he lowered himself, then cursed when his back caught again. He fell into the chair heavily.

“You need to see a doctor,” she said. “Otherwise, your back is only going to get worse.”

He gritted his teeth, his face a mask of agony. After a few seconds, though, he nodded in concession, a testament, she realized, to how much pain he was in.

But when he tried to stand, it was apparent he wasn’t going to be able to reach a vertical position…or walk if he somehow even managed to get up.

“I’ll call the clinic and have them send an ambulance,” she said.

“Clinic…doesn’t have…ambulance,” he ground out.

“Surely they have someone who can bring a stretcher.”

“I can make it,” he insisted, which was laughable.

Alicia assessed the situation. He was sitting in a sturdy chair…with wheels…and the sidewalks between here and the clinic were new. She made a split-second decision and stepped behind the chair.

“What are you doing?” He was still gasping.

“Taking you to the clinic,” she said, then gave the chair a push and guided it toward the door.

“You’re crazy!” he muttered.

“Hang on, boss.”

10

M
arcus was incredulous. It was broad daylight and the sidewalks of Sweetness were relatively crowded with Saturday foot traffic.

And Alicia Waters was wheeling him toward the clinic in an office chair at breakneck speed.

“Excuse us!” she shouted. “Out of the way! Injured man coming through!”

People and pets were jumping aside, then cheering them on.

“Hey, that looks fun!” one kid shouted.

He was thoroughly appalled. If he hadn’t been in so much agony, he would’ve thrown himself from the damn chair. But at this speed, he was afraid he’d injure his back further. So he hung on to the arm-rests for dear life, biting back curses.

Damn the fool woman and her endless shenanigans. Alicia Waters was going to be the death of him.

Literally.

“Slow down!” he bellowed.

“I can’t,” she shouted in his ear. “Besides, we’re almost there,” she added as the sign for the clinic came into view.

He was holding his body rigid to withstand the jostling, and bracing himself for the grief he was sure to get from his brothers when they heard about this stunt.

Thank goodness the clinic had automatic sliding doors, or she might’ve sent him sailing through the plate glass. They rolled into the lobby of the clinic where patients waited to see the two doctors and to pick up prescriptions from the pharmacy. No surprise, everyone turned to stare. The first person Marcus saw was Porter, who was undoubtedly there to see Nikki.

Great.

Porter gaped as Alicia pushed Marcus past him, banking on two wheels before coming to a stop at the reception desk where Susan Sosa sat.

“Hi,” Alicia said.

“Hello,” Susan said, casting a wary glance at the couple.

“His back is hurt,” Alicia said. “He needs to see a doctor right away.”

“I can speak for myself,” Marcus bit out.

Both women turned to look at him.

He sighed. “My back is hurt. I need to see a doctor…right away.”

Susan picked up the phone. “I’ll see who’s available. On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain?”

“Twelve,”
Marcus managed between clenched teeth.

By that time, Porter had walked over, his mouth stretched into a grin. “What’s this?”

“Go away,” Marcus said, glaring.

“His back got worse,” Alicia said, as if she were his spokesperson. “He couldn’t stand or walk.”

Porter pulled on his chin, obviously amused. “So you rolled him down here all the way from the diner?”

“Shut up,” Marcus said to Porter.

“Yes, I did,” Alicia supplied.

Marcus grunted. “If you tell Kendall, you’re finished.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Porter said. “I’m not going to tell him.” He held up his phone. A
click
sounded, followed by a flash. “A picture is worth a thousand words.” He was grinning as he hit a few buttons, most certainly sending the impromptu photo of Marcus in the chair to Kendall.

Marcus felt murderous.

“Dr. Salinger said to come on back,” Susan announced, setting down the phone receiver. She gestured to the chair. “Do you need a push or something?”

“Just point me in the right direction,” Alicia said. Susan pointed.

“Think I’ll come, too,” Porter sang.

If Marcus could’ve gotten out of the chair, he would’ve boxed his brother’s ears. But at this point, he just wanted to be out of pain.

As far as the woman pushing him…

Marcus remembered how his body had reacted to their close encounters at the diner, how his hands had fairly trembled when he’d shown her how to use the fire extinguisher, how good her hair smelled when he leaned over her in the office, and the enticing view of her cleavage from that angle.

Not that he had to use his imagination there, he reminded himself wryly. Before the vision of her bathing in the creek could once again take root in his mind, he shook himself. Which made his back spasm. He sucked in a sharp breath against the pain and irritation ballooned in his chest. It was her fault he was in this damn chair in the first place.

Marcus seethed. He was starting to wish he’d never set eyes on Alicia Waters—naked or otherwise.

Alicia could feel the anger rolling off Marcus as she pushed the chair down a hallway toward a woman wearing a white lab coat. Stubborn man—what else could she have done?

When the doctor saw the chair, her eyes flew wide, but she bit back a smile. “Bring him in here. Porter, I’ll need your help to get him on a table.”

Porter took over for Alicia as chair operator. The doctor looked at Alicia and smiled. “Hello. I’m Dr. Nikki Salinger.”

“Alicia R— Er, Waters,” she said, then coughed to cover her gaffe. “I manage the diner.”

“Nice to meet you. What happened?”

“He slipped and fell in the diner earlier today. He kept lifting and working and it got worse, until he couldn’t stand or walk.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my mouth,” Marcus grumbled from the chair.

Nikki gave a little laugh. “I can see that. What caused your fall, Marcus?”

His mouth tightened. “Fire extinguisher foam.”

Alicia’s cheeks warmed. “It was sort of my fault,” she whispered to the doctor. “I feel terrible.”

Nikki gave her a sympathetic look. “It’s good that you made him come in.”

“She didn’t make me,” Marcus snapped, then winced.

“I made him,” Alicia confirmed.

“You can leave now,” Marcus said.

“Won’t you need a ride back?” Alicia asked.

Porter guffawed.

“Not in this chair,”
Marcus said, his tone low and lethal.

“I’ll take him wherever he needs to go,” Porter assured her.

Alicia nodded. “Then I’ll at least wait and take the chair back with me.”

“Marcus,” Nikki said, “do you think you can stand if we help you?”

He nodded.

Alicia held the chair while Porter and Dr. Salinger helped him to his feet a few painful inches at a time. Getting to the table was another exercise in grunts and gasps. At last his big, long body was settled on an exam table. A sheen of sweat covered his face that was red from exertion. He was taking shallow breaths in an attempt to remain as still as possible. Guilt spurred Alicia forward—she was supposed to be trying to get close to this man, after all. She stepped to his side and lifted the edge of the apron she still wore to press it against his forehead and cheek. Even with the thin layer of fabric between them, touching him was electric.

He seemed as startled as she. “I said you could leave now.” But his voice wasn’t as gruff as his expression.

“You’re welcome,” she said pointedly.

“Thanks…for putting me here!”

She smiled. Having him hate her was better than having him ignore her. “See you later, boss.”

She looked up to find Porter and Nikki staring at her. She addressed the doctor. “Anything else I can do?”

“Um…no,” Dr. Salinger said. “I need to get a syringe, so I’ll step out in the hall with you.”

Alicia pushed the empty chair through the door and into the hallway. Dr. Salinger followed her, then indicated she was going in the opposite direction.

“Alicia, I assume you’re staying at the boardinghouse?”

“That’s right.”

“Would you like to join a group of us for dinner tonight in the rear great room?”

Alicia nodded, happy for the chance to talk to more people. “What time, and can I bring something?”

“Seven, and not this time.”

“Okay, thanks. See you then.” Alicia’s instinct was to like the woman, but she had to wonder what would bring a young female doctor to such a rural town. Her general impression of the women living in Sweetness was that they’d come because they had few options.

This certainly wouldn’t be a place she’d choose to live.

She rolled the chair back to the lobby. Susan Sosa looked up from her desk. “Is everything okay, Alicia?”

“I hope so,” Alicia said cheerfully. She and Susan had spoken just this morning in the diner, but work had kept her from getting much information out of the woman other than the fact that she was in the diner hoping to run into a certain gentleman.

“Did your fellow show this morning?”

“Kenny?” Susan looked disappointed and shook her head. “Maybe tomorrow.”

Alicia felt a pang for the woman. “Does this Kenny know you’re interested?”

Susan shrugged. “I’ve dropped enough hints.”

“How long have you known him?”

“I met him when I was working for Dr. Salinger before the clinic was built. The workers didn’t cotton to seeing a lady doc, so Porter paid some of the men to come with made up ailments, and Kenny was one of them.” She looked dreamy. “He had an ingrown toenail. I thought he was so cute.”

Alicia pursed her mouth. “Sounds…appealing. The Armstrongs had to pay men to see a female doctor?”

“Yeah. But it all worked out. And now Dr. Salinger and Porter are a couple.”

Ah. “But they’re not married?”

“Right.”

The phone rang and Susan excused herself to answer it. Alicia started to turn away when something on the desk caught her eye.

Among the selection of magazines for patients to read while they were waiting was the current copy of
Feminine Power
.

Her heart jumped to her throat. Who in this podunk town read
Feminine Power?
She casually picked up the magazine. The name on the subscription label read “Rachel Hutchins.” She hadn’t met the woman, but she would need to be on her guard. She didn’t want to be recognized and her cover blown before she got her story.

Big, sexy Marcus Armstrong had reacted so violently to her comment that he didn’t like women, he’d thrown out his back.

No, she wasn’t ready to leave Sweetness just yet.

She looked all around to make sure no one was watching her, then rolled up the magazine and stuck it under her arm. Then she wheeled the chair out the door into the intense heat and turned in the direction of the diner. Along the way, people grinned and gave her a thumbs up. Apparently word had spread about her wheeling Marcus Armstrong down the street.

And apparently, it had been high entertainment.

This place really was like an alternate universe. Maybe she could get another blog entry to Nina before dinner…

“This is good stuff,” Nina said. “Sweetness sounds like something out of a time warp.”

“It is,” Alicia agreed. “It’s a strange dichotomy because their agenda seems progressive and the town is technologically connected to the rest of the world, yet everyone seems content to exist in relative isolation.”

“They have a pet deer named Cupid living in the boardinghouse?”

“That’s right. She’s housebroken and named in honor of their mass matchmaking experiment.”

“And has the matchmaking been successful?”

“I’m still trying to get my hands around it. I need to talk to more women who came here from Broadway. With the living arrangements the way they are, it’s hard to tell how many couples there actually are.”

“Do you get the sense that it’s some kind of religious cult?”

“Not that I can tell. They don’t even have a church. But I’m going to a worship service in the morning. Maybe I’ll learn something there.”

“Your boss didn’t really throw out his back when you asked him if he liked women?”

“Yes.” But she felt obligated to add, “He aggravated an earlier injury…that I might’ve caused.”

“Did it have anything to do with a fire?” Nina asked dryly.

“It didn’t even set off the smoke alarm,” Alicia said in her own defense. “He overreacted.”

“Uh-huh. And this thing about wheeling your boss to the clinic in a chair—is that true?”

“Nina, I told you—I can’t make up this stuff.”

Her boss laughed. “How is your boss man?”

“Miffed, the last time I saw him. I hope I have a job when I go in on Monday.”

“So you get tomorrow off?”

“Almost everything here is closed on Sunday.”

“Right…you are in the Bible belt. What are you going to do all day?”

“I don’t know what to expect. The entertainment around here is a little…unvaried, but I’d like to get some exercise.” She glanced at her watch. “I have to run, Nina. I was invited to join a few women for dinner. I’m hoping to widen my circle of acquaintances.”

“Okay. Keep the entries coming. I’ll be feeding your blogs to the syndication group to see if they like the direction of the piece.”

Alicia frowned. “But they won’t publish them now, right?”

“No, they don’t want to blow your undercover status. This is just to whet their appetite.”

“Okay. I’ll try to send you an entry every evening starting tomorrow.”

She disconnected the call, then surveyed her outfit in a mirror. Her mother’s pink cotton dress was a little sweet for her tastes, but it would have to do. For makeup she used loose powder in an effort to combat the seemingly constant shine on her face since she’d arrived, plus mascara and lip gloss. She’d decided to leave her hair down.

She tucked a small notebook into her purse, along with her mini tape recorder. She didn’t intend to use them during dinner, but she might be able to slip away to a restroom if she needed privacy to make a few notes.

As she descended the stairs to the first floor, Alicia thought back to the previous Saturday when she and friends had taken in a multi-course dinner at a four-star restaurant at the chef’s table.

“What a difference a week makes,” she murmured to herself as she made her way to the great room that was crowded with people and raucous with noise. Children ran between tables. Country music played in the background. She glanced around the room that during the day doubled as a media center, and saw Nikki’s hand go up to wave her over.

Alicia smiled as she approached, but faltered when she reached the table. Marcus Armstrong sat there with his two brothers, Nikki and another woman, and a teenage boy. Marcus didn’t look pleased to see her. Was she crashing some sort of family gathering?

“Alicia, it’s good to see you,” Nikki said, then introduced her to Amy Bradshaw and her son, Tony, who bore an unmistakable likeness to Kendall Armstrong. Tony, she learned, was one of the busboys starting Monday at the diner. Porter and Kendall said hello, but their older brother maintained a stony silence.