Heart of Texas Vol. 2

  They all rode back in the car to Jane’s house, and her parents left shortly afterward, promising to stop by the health clinic the next morning, before they drove on to Oklahoma.

  “I need to go, too,” Cal said, disappointing Jane. She’d hoped they’d have some time alone together.

  “You can’t stay a few minutes?” she pressed.

  “No.”

  “You’ll phone later?” she asked as she walked him to the door.

  “I’ll try,” he said noncommittally.

  “I’d like to explain what my parents said about me joining my uncle Ken’s medical practice. I apologize for not mentioning it sooner. Nothing’s for sure yet, and—”

  “We’ll talk about that later.”

  “All right,” she mumbled, her heart sinking. His look told her everything. He was angry now, and felt betrayed, and it would be best to let him sort through his feelings before they talked this out. “Thank you for the necklace,” she told him, and despite his being upset with her, kissed him soundly on the lips.

  HE REALLY KNEW HOW TO PICK ’EM, Cal decided, not for the first time. Jennifer, and now Jane. He must have a weakness for deceptive city girls. At least he hadn’t made the mistake this time of asking the woman to marry him.

  From this point forward he was determined to avoid all women whose names started with the letter J.

  Cal sat out on the porch in the moon light and reviewed the evening. He’d been looking forward to meeting Jane’s parents, but it hadn’t taken him long to discover that the elder Dickinsons viewed him and the entire population of Promise as hicks. However, he could live with that. What he couldn’t live with was Jane’s plans to join her uncle’s medical practice. She might have said something herself, and a hell of a lot sooner. He could only assume she’d kept the in formation from him on purpose. She intended to go back to California, just the way he’d claimed; it sounded as though her life was already planned for her. Planned years into the future, with no room for someone like him.

  His forehead pounded with an increasingly painful headache. Cal walked inside and turned on the kitchen light. Obviously he needed to have his head examined. Not because of the headache, but because he was fool enough to make the same mistake twice. Only this time it hurt more.

  This time his heart was fully involved and he’d started to dream again.

  CAL EXPECTED JANE TO SHOW UP the following afternoon and she did. A few minutes before five he heard the familiar sound of her car; fortifying himself, he stepped out of the barn, eager to get this confrontation over with.

  “Hello,” she called, closing her car door. She was dressed in her shirt and jeans and looked as brightly beautiful as a rodeo princess. He wanted to remember her like this.

  “Hi,” he said, keeping all emotion out of his voice.

  “Thanks for being so patient with my parents last night,” she said. “I can’t believe some of the things they said.”

  They stood a few feet apart, a little awkwardly.

  She sighed and glanced sheepishly at him. “I realized I sounded just like them not so long ago.”

  “You’re right, you did.” He wasn’t going to disagree with her.

  “But I came around, with a little help from my friends.”

  He nodded.

  “Mostly from Dovie and you. Ellie, too.”

  He didn’t respond.

  “I’m here for my lesson,” she said as if she needed to remind him.

  “I’m afraid there won’t be one today.”

  Disappointment flashed from her eyes. “Oh.”

  “You should have phoned first.”

  “I…I…” She nodded. “You’re right, I should have. Do you have time for a cup of coffee?”

  His initial thought was to refuse her and hope she’d be smart enough to figure it out for herself. But he suspected it would take more than the cold shoulder for a woman as stubborn as Jane to get the message.

  “All right, I’ll make time for coffee,” he said, although he wasn’t happy about it. He wanted her off his ranch and out of his life now, while he had the strength to let her leave.

  He walked into the house, reheated the coffee and poured them each a mug. He carried the mugs out to the porch; no need to sit inside on an afternoon as pleasant as this.

  “You didn’t mention going into partnership with your uncle when you finished your assignment here,” he said bluntly.

  “No,” she said. “It’s always been accepted by the family that I would and—”

  “It’s all right, Jane, you don’t need to explain it to me.”

  Her relief was obvious. “I should have said something much sooner, I know, but I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

  He stared into the distance, training his eyes on the rolling hills nestled against the horizon. It was either that or look at her, and he didn’t think he could do that and still say what he had to say.

  “You’re a very good doctor,” he began, and the compliment was sincere. “If I hadn’t realized that earlier, you proved it the day we found Richard Weston.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’ll be a valuable asset to your uncle’s practice.”

  “I’m not quite sure that’s what…” She faltered, and he could see she was having a difficult time.

  “Listen, Jane, I’ve been doing some thinking and I believe it’d be best if we suspended our lessons.”

  His words were met with stunned silence. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

  “Very.”

  “Just because I might be joining my uncle’s medical practice? I haven’t even made up my mind about that! I wish you’d hear me out first.”

  “No.” This was important. “Because you belong in California.”

  “Hogwash.”

  “You might adapt to life here in Texas for a while, but it isn’t going to last. The writing’s on the wall.”

  “And just when did you become a handwriting expert?”

  “Last night.”

  She snorted. “Oh, come on, Ca—”

  Cal interrupted her. “I was wrong. You aren’t Dr. Texas, you’re Dr. Big City. Big plans. Big bucks, platinum charge cards, high-powered friends.”

  Jane vaulted to her feet, spilling her coffee on the porch. “Don’t give me that, Phillip Calvin Patterson.”

  He was surprised she knew his full name, but this wasn’t the time to ask how come she did.

  “You know what the real problem is, don’t you?” She dragged in a deep breath, pre paring to answer her own question. “You’re a coward.”

  “I’m not going to trade insults with you, if that’s what you’re looking for,” he said.

  “I’m not stupid.”

  “I didn’t say you were.”

  Hands on her hips, she threw her head back and glared at the sky. “You might as well have said it,” she returned, calmer now. “I love you and I’m fairly certain you feel the same way about me.”

  “You’re taking a lot for granted.”

  “Perhaps, I am,” she agreed, “but if you’re idiotic enough to send me away because you’re afraid…”

  His eyes flared at the word.

  “Afraid,” she repeated, “then you’re a fool, as well.”

  “It might be best if you left,” he said. His head was be ginning to pound again. He wasn’t up to dealing with a tirade.

  “If that’s what you want, I will. And I won’t be back—”

  “That’s what I was hoping,” he said and hated himself for being so cruel.

  “—unless you ask,” she finished as though he hadn’t spoken.

  With her head held high, she walked in the direction of her parked car, then stopped halfway across the yard. For a moment he figured she was planning to argue with him some more, but he was wrong. Instead, she turned toward the corral where Atta Girl stood, her sleek neck stretched over the top rail.

  Jane stroked the mare’s nose and whatever she said apparently met with Atta Girl
’s approval, because the animal nodded and snorted. Climbing onto the bottom fence rail, Jane put her arms around Atta Girl’s neck and hugged her. Then she leaped down, stroked Atta Girl’s nose again and walked over to her car and climbed inside.

  A minute later she was gone. She’d retained her dignity—and his heart.

  CHAPTER 10

  JANE HAD CALLED CAL PATTERSON a coward and a fool, and she’d meant it. Add to that stubborn, unreasonable, infuriating…and worse.

  Dr. Big City. Big plans. Big bucks. Each time his words came to mind she grew more furious. After all the time she’d spent with him how could he know so little about her? That really hurt.

  By Thursday she was exhausted. Sleep eluded her and she’d rarely been so frustrated or out of sorts.

  Ellie stopped by the clinic late Thursday afternoon when the office was technically closed. Jenny led her back to the office, where Jane sat making a desultory attempt to organize the top of her desk.

  “I take it this is a personal visit,” Jane said after Jenny had left.

  “Have you got a few minutes?” Ellie asked.

  Jane nodded. “For you I do, but not if you’re here to talk about Cal.”

  “Fair enough,” Ellie said, entering the room. She sat in the chair across from Jane’s desk.

  “You know what infuriates me most?” Jane blurted, her anger spilling over. “It’s that Cal didn’t have the common decency to talk this over with me. Oh, no, he just assumes I’m returning to California without so much as waiting to hear my side.”

  “Jane, I thought you didn’t want to talk about him.”

  “Forget I said that.” Jane shook her head. “And you know? That’s not the worst of it,” she went on. “Not only doesn’t he hear me out, he sends me away like I’m a child he can order around.”

  “I’ll admit—”

  Jane interrupted her. “He was completely out of line in what he said. If he didn’t want to see me again, fine, but to insult me—that was going too far.”

  “He insulted you?” Ellie sounded appropriately outraged.

  “Tell me, do I look like a big-city doctor to you?” Jane demanded without expecting a response. “I don’t even wear makeup anymore. Well, maybe a little mascara and lipstick, but that’s all. I haven’t washed my car in months. I wear jeans practically all the time.” She took a deep breath. “And when’s the last time you saw a big-city doctor asking some disgruntled rancher to teach her how to ride? A rancher who implies that this supposed big-city doctor is only interested in money, by the way.”

  “He said that?” Ellie was clearly shocked.

  “Sort of. And more—like it was time I left.”

  “Cal suggested you leave Promise?”

  “No, the ranch, which I did, but not before I put in my two cents’ worth.”

  “Good for you!”

  “I told him he was a coward.”

  Ellie’s eyes widened. “You told Cal what?”

  “That he’s a coward, and I said it to his face.”

  “What did he say?”

  Jane paused and tried to remember. “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?”

  “Nothing memorable, anyway.”

  Ellie clapped her hands, apparently enjoying the details of Jane’s final skirmish with Cal. Her outrage, however, only helped so much. “I hope you’re here to tell me how utterly miserable he is.” It would boost Jane’s deflated ego to learn he was pining away for her.

  “Actually,” Ellie said, her gaze warm with sympathy, “I haven’t seen him, so I can’t. But Glen has.”

  “Oh?” Jane’s spirits lifted hope fully.

  “Apparently Cal’s been pretty close mouthed about you.”

  Those same spirits sank again, even lower than before.

  “But Glen did say Cal’s been in a bitch of a mood.”

  Jane couldn’t have held back a smile to save her soul. So…the man was suffering. Good.

  “I don’t mean to be nosy—” Ellie’s gaze shifted uncomfortably to her hands “—but what happened? Everything seemed to be going so nicely.”

  “You tell me!” Jane cried. “My parents arrived as a birthday surprise, and we went to dinner and Cal joined us.”

  “So he’s met your parents.”

  “Yes, but I rue the day. No,” she said, changing her mind, “I’m glad it happened before…” She hesitated. “Actually, it’s too late for that.”

  “You’re falling in love with Cal?” Ellie asked bluntly.

  “I’ve already fallen.” Might as well admit it. “I felt close to him—closer than I have to anyone. For the first time since my college days there was someone in my life who…” She let the rest fade.

  Ellie was silent for a minute. “You weren’t far off, you know.”

  “About what?”

  “Cal being a coward. He is afraid.”

  “Of what? Me moving back to California? Give me a break, Ellie. I’ve been here less than a year and my contract’s for three. Do I need to decide right this minute if I’m going to live in Promise for the rest of my life?”

  “No.”

  Jane ignored the response, too keyed up to stop now. “He’s being more than a little unreasonable, if you ask me.”

  “I agree with you.”

  “I’m not another Jennifer Healy.”

  “I know that. Glen knows that. You know that,” Ellie said.

  “But not Cal.”

  “Not Cal.”

  Jane brushed a stray hair from her face. “I told him I loved him,” she said, revealing the most intimate and embarrassing part of their argument. She’d exposed her heart to him, and he’d not only dismissed her feelings, he’d denied his own.

  “Oh, Jane, just be patient. He’ll figure it out. Eventually.”

  “He might have offered me a reason to stay,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper.

  Ellie sighed expressively. “I don’t know what it is about men in Texas. They’re stubborn as the day is long.”

  “Proud, too,” Jane added. “Way too proud.”

  “Impatient.”

  “Uncommunicative.”

  Ellie nodded, then sighed again. “Wonderful. Loving. Protective and gentle and passionate.”

  Jane closed her eyes, not wanting to confuse the issue with anything positive.

  “Are you going to Caroline and Grady’s wedding on Saturday?” Ellie asked her, abruptly changing the subject.

  “Caroline asked me to cut the cake.”

  “Cal will be there,” Ellie warned.

  “Cal is Grady’s best man.” For half a heart beat Jane toyed with the idea of finding an excuse to skip the wedding, but she refused to let Cal Patterson influence where she went or what she did. “I’d better get used to seeing him around town,” Jane said, more for her own sake than Ellie’s. “We won’t be able to avoid running into each other now and then.”

  A saucy grin appeared on Ellie’s face. “That’s exactly what I was thinking. Cal’s going to see you at the wedding. He’ll see you at the grocery store and the Chili Pepper and bingo. And every time he goes to the post office he’ll drive by the clinic.”

  “Heaven help him if he gets sick,” Jane said.

  “That would be horrible, wouldn’t it?” Ellie said, sounding almost gleeful at the prospect.

  “Absolutely horrible,” Jane agreed.

  Ellie shivered delightedly. “I can hardly wait.”

  Jane laughed for the first time in days. “I can’t wait to give this stubborn Texas rancher a booster shot in places men don’t like to talk about.”

  THE LAST NIGHT of the three-day midweek cruise, Dovie decided to join Mary and Phil Patterson in the lounge for drinks and dancing. Mary had been after her the entire trip to make herself more accessible to the single men on board, but Dovie couldn’t see the point.

  The music was from the forties and fifties, and judging by the crowd on the dance floor, the audience appreciated it. “I’m so glad you decided to
join us,” Mary said, greeting Dovie at the door and leading her to a small table at the back of the room.

  “I couldn’t see spending our last night aboard doing something silly like sleeping,” Dovie teased.

  Mary patted her hand. “I wish you’d enjoyed the cruise more.”

  “But I did,” Dovie assured her friend. It had been the perfect escape. Being away from Frank had given her some perspective on the relationship and on the difficulties she and Frank had encountered.

  A waiter came for her drink order, and Dovie asked for a glass of white wine. Maybe what she needed was a little something to loosen her inhibitions. Actually she felt better than she had in weeks—although she still missed Frank.

  “I couldn’t believe the way you took to the water! I wouldn’t have guessed you were that much of a swimmer.”

  It’d been years since she’d gone swimming, but Dovie’d had no intention of wasting an opportunity like this. For her, the highlight of the cruise had been snorkeling off the Yucatán Peninsula. Viewing the different species of colorful and exotic sea life was an experience she would long remember. She said as much to Mary.

  “But your thoughts were on Frank,” Mary replied.

  Dovie couldn’t deny it. Three days away, and she was dreadfully homesick, feeling more than a little lost and confused. Mostly she was angry with herself for having done something as foolish as putting her home up for sale. Promise was where she belonged, and she wasn’t about to let Frank Hennessey chase her away. Dovie didn’t blame Frank, but herself; she’d simply over reacted to his dating Tammy Lee.

  The music started again and Phil stood, ready to escort his wife onto the dance floor.

  Mary hesitated.

  “Go on, you two,” Dovie urged, her own foot tapping to the music.

  To her surprise, no more than thirty seconds had passed before a distinguished-looking man approached her table. “Would you care to dance?”

  Dovie stared at him as if this was the most complex question she’d ever been asked. “Yes,” she said, deciding suddenly. She stood up and placed her hand in his.