head. “I was just…taking a walk, trying to get a little exercise, and I think I got myself turned around.” Well, that was a bit of a lie as she knew exactly where she was. “I stopped for a moment to get my bearings and you probably heard me muttering to myself. Bad habit. I do that when I’m nervous.” Better to admit that than to tell him she was engaged in a debate with her unborn child, and her unborn child seemed to be winning the argument at the moment. Muttering made her look eccentric, debating with an unborn baby made her look just plain odd.
“You’re staying up at Laura’s lodge, aren’t you? I thought I saw you there last night.”
Gabby nodded. “It’s up at the top of the hill, isn’t it?” she said, pointing in the direction she knew perfectly well. Was that really her, feigning the helpless woman? Good thing she had pregnancy hormones to blame it on, because there wasn’t anything helpless about her. Her father had raised her well in that aspect, and she took great pride in her independence.
“It’s a pretty long walk, going uphill the whole way. Maybe I could call someone to come get you? A friend, a husband…”
“It’s not so bad,” she said. “Besides, I’m here by myself.”
He glanced at his watch, then at the hospital. “How about I get my car and drive you back? It’ll only take five minutes.”
This would have been such a nice meeting had she not been pregnant, but she was, so this was only about chivalry. He was a pleasant man coming to the rescue of a damsel who didn’t need rescuing. End of story. “Thanks, but I’ll walk.”
“Then maybe you should come inside and sit down for a few minutes before you attempt going back up.” He gestured to the hospital. “Ten minutes. Find a nice, comfortable chair, put your feet up…”
“My doctor thinks I should be a little more active than that. She’s of the opinion that healthy, pregnant women should be active women. But like I said, thanks.”
“Then I’ll walk with you.”
“Because I’m pregnant? Are you one of those people who believes a pregnant woman isn’t capable of doing anything? Because if you are…”
He thrust his palm out to stop her. “Whoa, I was only trying to be polite. Something my mother taught me.”
“Maybe she should have also taught you that pregnant women can take care of themselves just fine.”
He chuckled. Deep, sexy. “Actually, she did. And she’d send me to bed without supper for acting the way I have been.” He took a step backwards and thrust out his hand. “Hello, my name is Neil Ranard. Can we start over?”
Gabby took his hand and nodded. “And I’m Gabrielle Evans. People call me Gabby…even the ones who accost me, then try to lecture me on the street.”
“Then I’ll have to call you Gabrielle so you won’t be reminded of this rather inauspicious first meeting. It’s nice to meet you, Gabrielle.”
Gabrielle…it sounded so nice the way he said it. Sounded almost right and, strangely, she didn’t object. Didn’t object to the twinkle in his eyes either. Sexy, but mischievous. And, yes, even at her rather advanced stage of pregnancy, those thoughts still did pop into her mind. A good-looking man was a good-looking man and even her whacked-out hormones wouldn’t deny that. Neil Ranard was handsome and, like she’d thought yesterday, something about him seemed vaguely familiar. “Do I know you?” she asked. “Have you come to Chicago for any reason lately?” It had to be something in Chicago as until yesterday she hadn’t left the city for nearly two years.
“Actually, I’ve never been to Chicago, outside a layover in the airport, and that was probably five years ago. Maybe six.”
“You’re not famous, are you? I wouldn’t have seen you on television, or in a magazine?” Or on the cover of a romance novel?
“Sorry. I’m only famous in my own mind. And even then, it’s highly overrated, if not totally ignored, except by my mother and her sister.”
“I guess you’ve got one of those faces, then,” she said, still wondering why she couldn’t shake herself of the feeling. “Look, I appreciate you being concerned about me, but I’m fine, and there’s no need to help me get back to the lodge.”
“What if I said that Laura makes the best cheesecake in White Elk Valley, and you’re my excuse to go have a piece?”
“Then I’d say you’re a terrible liar. But I appreciate the gesture.” With that, Gabby turned and started the climb back up the hill to her cabin. She’d only gone ten steps, though, when she stopped and spun back around. He was right on her heels. “Are you following me?”
“Actually, I thought I’d go to the lodge and have a piece of cheesecake. Talking about it made me hungry for it.”
“Liar!” she exclaimed, fighting to control the laugh bubbling up inside her.
He arched playful eyebrows. “I’d never lie about a good piece of cheesecake.”
“But you were looking at your watch just a minute ago, which tells me you’re in a hurry to get back to work. So you really don’t want that cheesecake right now, and you’re using it as a pretty lame excuse to make sure I can get myself back up the hill. Which I can do perfectly well without anybody’s help.”
His face went serious. “I know it’s none of my business, but how long has it been since you’ve seen a doctor, Gabrielle?”
“If I’m not mistaken, I’m looking at one right now.”
“I mean an obstetrician.”
She smiled. “If I’m not mistaken, you’re looking at one right now.”
“No kidding? You’re an obstetrician?”
“No kidding. And if I’m not mistaken, you might be in need of one here for a few weeks. According to Debbi, at Handmade for Baby.”
Obvious surprise blinked across his face. “You’re applying for a job?”
“Not really a full-time job. But I could fill in until your new obstetrician arrives. As it turns out, I left my old position a few weeks ago, so I’ve got the time.”
“I’ve got to admit, you’ve caught me off guard. We were just having a staff meeting, wondering what we were going to do, and here you are, on our front walk.”
As they always said, timing was everything. She hadn’t meant to apply for a position, although she’d thought about it. Hadn’t meant to stay here in White Elk, although she’d thought about that, too. Yes, after Debbi had mentioned that their former obstetrician had just left, the idea of staying awhile had tempted her. Now here she was, making it happen. “Well, I do come with an obvious condition.” She raised her hands to her belly. “Two months to go. But I’m healthy, fit to work, and if you need me for a while…”
“Do we need you? Our obstetrician’s been phasing himself out without phasing someone else in to take his place. We thought he had a while to go before he finally left so we weren’t too worried, then one morning he woke up and just couldn’t do it any more. It was time for him to leave.”
Something
