Hotblooded (27 page)

She picked up the resume and scanned it. Dr. Alex Carter was a young doctor with three years’ experience in family practice in San Antonio at the hospital where Jack worked. Dr. Carter’s resume was perfect for the Honey Creek clinic.

“Looks great,” she commented.

“Great.” With that he turned and headed for the door.

She stared after him, stunned. He’d found a replacement. Just like that. As if all he’d been to her was a supervising physician.

Yes, he’d seen patients. Yes, he’d bought the frickin’ cappuccino machine. Yes, he’d encouraged her to redecorate. But he’d done a hell of a lot more than that. And that was even before she’d gotten in his bed.

He had never acted charitable toward
her
. He had never acted like he felt sorry for her.

He’d certainly never coddled her. There hadn’t been any
Poor baby
from him.

He’d pushed her to let go, be real, to be happy with herself.

He’d invested even more time, patience and energy into Brooke herself than he did the clinic he was now attempting to cover with this new doctor.

That had to mean something.

She started after him, thoughts and emotions swirling. She had one idea about how to find out his real feelings for her.

“So he’s a full replacement?” she asked.

Jack turned. “What do you mean?”

“He can tell enough stupid knock-knock jokes to keep Mr. Willis laughing and can eat enough cookies to keep Thelma happy and can talk with some authority about Sponge Bob with Christopher? Because if not, he’s not the right guy,” she said, watching Jack’s face carefully.

His eyes narrowed. “I’m sure he can do all those things. I’ll be sure to prep him.”

“And don’t forget to tell him that bringing Amy a Dr. Pepper on Monday morning will keep her on his good side.”

“Right. I’ll make a note.”

“And I’m sure you filled him in on all
my
needs.”

Something flared in his eyes. “What are you talking about?” he asked in a near growl.

“Well, you know that there’s more going on here than just a clinic in need of a doctor. I mean you stepped right in. If you really want me taken care of you’ll have to be sure Alex is willing—”

“If Alex so much as gets you a cup of cappuccino, I’ll break his neck.”

Her eyes widened at his fierce reply, even as her heart did a happy flip. “But I thought the idea was to fill in for what I lost with Mike.”

“I know exactly what you lost with Mike Worthington.” He took another step closer and his voice dropped further. “Carter can very adequately replace what your husband did for you. Including sleeping with someone other than you.”

She probably should have flinched at his blunt words, but she actually found the comment amusing. He was right. “So what have
you
been doing all this time? I thought the whole point of all of this was filling in for Mike because you felt sorry for me.”

He seemed actually unsure of what to say for a moment. A rare occurrence indeed.

There had been so many opportunities and reasons for him to leave and very few for him to stay. Unless he had a really good reason.

“You could have given up when I didn’t take the money in the first place,” she went on. “You could have at least washed your hands of it all after patients were coming in and I was more confident or after the clinic was remodeled and I finally took some of your advice.”

His eyes narrowed as he finally said, “I didn’t think of any option other than staying myself.”

“Exactly.” She stepped closer and grasped the front of his shirt in her fist. “There’s just one more thing I need to know.” She went up on tiptoe, put her other hand at the back of his head and pulled him forward to meet her lips.

His arms went around her as he dipped his knees to bring her up more firmly against him. He groaned deep in his throat as she buried both hands in his hair and molded herself to him. As they poured their feelings into the kiss, Brooke ached all over for him and it went so far beyond the physical she couldn’t have put words to it anyway.

When the kiss finally ended, she felt a little dazed. Jack was breathing raggedly, his hands still on her. Neither of them said anything, but she knew what she needed to know.

That was
not
a goodbye kiss.

“If Carter comes to practice here there will be rules,” Jack said. “One, he won’t touch you and two, he won’t buy you anything. The rules if I stay are, I will touch you all the time, even in public and two, I will buy you things—inappropriate, over-the-top things that you’ll love. Pick.”

The door slammed loudly behind him before she could tell him her decision.

But that was okay. She knew she needed to
show
him
.

Even though Brooke had shunned outrageous behavior and over-the-top sentiments for a very long time, that didn’t mean she didn’t recognize when a situation called for them.

So the only question she had was—what would Dixie do?

Jack made himself stay at the diner smiling, chatting and accepting free cups of coffee and two pieces of pie as the town learned of and expressed their happiness over his decision to stay in Honey Creek. He couldn’t tell them his decision lay with Brooke.

He listened to a few friendly suggestions about the clinic, he politely declined an offer to be set up on a blind date with someone’s niece and he happily accepted an invitation to Sunday dinner.

But all the while his heart was screaming at him,
Go get her!

What was Brooke thinking, feeling,
doing
right now? Should he have stayed and convinced her they were supposed to be together? He was a doer by nature. He took charge, made the decisions, told others what was going to happen. But he’d put it all in her hands. And he had to wait.

He forced the last bit of free chocolate-cream pie into his mouth and chewed even as his emotionally knotted stomach protested.

He pushed his plate away a moment later as the group of men he was sitting with burst into laughter. He had missed the entire joke, but was saved from admitting it by the sudden hush that fell over the entire diner.

Along with the rest of the back section of Vi’s, he swiveled to see what was going on.

And he nearly choked on his pie.

Brooke was coming directly for him.

The first impression he had was that she was wearing her hair up—the way he
hated
.

“Jack, I need to talk to you.”

He wanted to gather her into his arms, stiff white lab coat, sticky hairspray and all. But she looked so serious, so damned
professional
, he knew his heart would be in even smaller pieces if he tried to hold her and it was a medical issue or something equally benign that she needed to discuss.

He folded his arms. “Yes?”

“I’ve been thinking and…I want to discuss your rules in more detail.”

He couldn’t seem to get any of the rest of his body to do anything.

She kicked off her black pumps and reached back to unclasp her hair. She shook her head better than any model in any shampoo commercial in history. She began speaking as she opened the top button of the lab coat.

“The thing is,” she said as the second button released. “I not only accept your rules but I understand them. When you touch me and buy me things it’s not to get me to do something for you, it’s because you love me.”

His brain registered her words at the same moment he glimpsed bright pink satin.

Pink.

Satin.

Both concepts sunk in as the third button parted from its hole and the jacket gapped further showing how the pink satin hugged the inside of her right breast then dipped below the lapel.

“But I have a couple of rules of my own that you should probably hear.”

The truth slammed in to him all at once. She had a
pink
bra on under her lab coat. And that was all.

“Rule one, if it’s lingerie, I prefer pink and number two, I intend to touch you a lot too, publicly and privately, and it will be wonderfully inappropriate some of the time. So we should probably get married to avoid any scandal.”

The lab coat fell open and Jack saw nothing but a lot of smooth tan skin and pink silk.

He swallowed hard. She wore pink well. Her shoulders moved and he realized that she was about to shrug out of the jacket.

Unwilling to share the rest of what was about to happen with anyone else, he lunged for her.

He gathered the front of the lab coat in one fist and gently turned her toward the door with his other hand on the back of her neck.

“See y’all later,” he told their audience.

“Wait, just one more thing,” Brooke said, digging her heels in as they approached the door.

“Wha—”

She’d stopped beside the booth where Walter Worthington was sitting with two other men. “Walter,” she said calmly.

Jack’s body tensed, ready to pull her behind him if necessary, but he didn’t stop her.

Walter turned slowly to face them. He was the only person in the diner not already looking at the spectacle she’d created, but Jack knew that the other man was as aware as Jack was of what Brooke said and did. Walter met her gaze directly, unblinkingly, but said nothing.

“There’s something I’ve wanted to say to you for a long time,” she told him.

“I can hardly wait,” he replied.

Brooke took a deep breath and let it out, then said calmly, “Fuck off, Walter.”

A stunned silence followed her words.

Then a spattering of applause erupted from several tables.

A surge of pride and desire for her coursed through Jack and he stood, amazed, when she started for the door again.

“You’re just like your mother,” Walter called after her.

She paused and again Jack tensed. If Walter made her cry, he’d punch the older man without hesitation or regret.

But when she turned she was smiling. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Walter.”

Head high, she left the diner, and Walter Worthington, behind her. Finally.

Jack was two steps slower, but caught up to her quickly. And took over from there.

He put his hand on the back of her neck again and didn’t stop steering her until they were a block from the diner and its huge front window. He ducked around the corner of the hair salon where it threw a shadow on the sidewalk beside it and stopped her, then dropped the handful of jacket.

“Okay, go ahead.”

“Go ahead?” she asked.

“Let’s see what you’ve got for me.” He gestured at the front of her jacket.

He fully intended to enjoy every inch—and the truth that it really was all for him.

She looked like she had something to say but she must have thought better of it because she pulled the lab coat open and then let it fall to the pavement.

His mouth went dry.

The bra and panties were definitely pink—what little there was of them.

“I have to say something before you act on that look on your face,” she said quickly.

“Okay, but hurry up,” he growled.

They definitely had some talking to get done first. But it could be short and sweet.

“I don’t blame you for Mike’s death.”

That enabled him to tear his eyes from her body and focus back on her beautiful, though concerned-looking, face.

“Brooke, I—”

She stepped forward quickly, covering his mouth with her hand. “I understand how you feel. But
I
don’t blame you. If you blame yourself, all I can do is love you and hope that you will eventually be able to forgive yourself too. I’m not saying it’s good Mike died. But people die and the rest of us have to pick up, regrets and all, and go on. And sometimes we get a chance to be happy again.” She took a deep breath. “Or for the first time.”

He couldn’t speak. So he pulled her into his arms, a bit roughly, and held her against the heart that was full, for the first time, because of her.

“I love you, you know,” he said against the top of her head.

“I know,” she said quietly. “I love you too.”

She could almost feel the relief shudder through him.

“And this
isn’t
charity.”

She pulled back to stop him, but he gave her a look that halted her words.

“Let me finish,” he said.

She nodded.

“Charity is giving and sacrificing, and I intend to do that with you. But true charity is not
taking
,” he said, looking directly into her eyes, “and there are some things I definitely intend to get out of this deal—love, time, your secrets, your dreams and mine, your body, your devotion—”

She hugged him tightly, interrupting his words. “It’s all yours, sugar. Everything I’ve got.” She couldn’t believe how great it felt to say that. How
right
.

He squeezed her ass. “Hey, the clinic’s closed, right?”

“Well, yeah.” Since they were both right here rather than there.

“Good. I think those cabinets up front could use a good dusting.”

“You want to bring us full circle, huh? I think your shrink would approve.”

“Yep.” He grinned down at her. “And this time I have no intention of having
any
morals about what happens. Just to warn you.”

She giggled. “Ah, now I know why you bought me that new big,
sturdy
desk.”

“Let’s go see if I got my money’s worth.”

Epilogue

“Amazing.”

Jack turned to look at his brother. David sat in one of the white wooden chairs they’d brought in for the outdoor wedding. He had one foot crossed over his opposite knee and a glass of champagne in hand.

Jack followed David’s gaze and his mouth curled up.

“Which one?”

They were seated on the lawn under the huge white tent that had covered the ceremony and now the dinner and reception. David was looking at the back patio of Brooke’s pink house where she stood with her mom and Carla.

“The house, my wife or her mom?”

All three required at least a second look.

They’d chosen to have the wedding at the house because it had gorgeous grounds, plenty of room—including a kitchen—and allowed Dixie to avoid the town and anyone she didn’t want to see. Jack suspected that Brooke was also accepting the fact that the house was a part of her, for better or worse. He thought it was quickly becoming better. Dixie Donovan-Kotes was also a sight to behold. Dressed in head-to-toe pink, including a huge hat, she was hard to look away from. She was a beautiful woman with an infectious laugh. Jack liked her a lot.