went over to her. She hated to see Kitty cry. And even if what she said was true, Kitty was still her baby sister and Maggie would do anything for her baby sister, including giving up honey because it stressed the bees. “It’s okay, sweetie. Don’t cry. Actually, I’m thinking this is a great opportunity for me to make your life a little easier while we wait for those two sweethearts to be born. I’m happy things have happened this way or I would never have been able to spend this much time with you.” Maggie leaned over and gave Kitty a tight hug. “It was my nerves talking. Clearly, I’m thrilled to have a job. It’s just that I’m apprehensive of the actual duties. I don’t have any real experience that relates. You know how I like being prepared.”
Kitty gently pulled away, drying her eyes on the white hankie she always kept in a pocket for just such an occasion.
“Really?”
Maggie nodded, giving Kitty her warmest smile, thinking that her little sister really was quite beautiful, even with a tear-streaked face. Pregnancy agreed with her.
“Thanks,” Kitty said, getting comfy on the wooden chair, her round belly pushing up against the table. “Don’t you go worrying about a thing. I’ll go in with you all week until you get the hang of it. There are no insurance forms, or a paper trail of any kind. Everything is done on the computer.” Kitty ate a couple of big scoops of yogurt and continued. “I’m telling you, this will be the easiest bull you’ll ever ride. Everybody loves Doc Blake. He’s the best in the West.”
Ever since her sister had moved to Idaho three years ago, her language had taken on an odd country flair. Not that it was bad, but it was certainly different.
“It’s really a fun office. You’ll see,” Kitty said.
Maggie flashed on what Amanda from the doughnut shop had said, about how she was going to get closer to kids or something like that. She had been determined to ask Kitty what that might mean, but at the moment, she didn’t want to upset her again. Any little thing could turn on the waterworks and Maggie simply didn’t want to go there.
Instead, she thought she’d gently find out some information. She poured herself a glass of local spring water and sat across from Kitty at the table.
“I was just wondering what, if anything, you might have told Doctor Granger, or Doc Blake as everyone seems to call him, about me?”
“Well, I knew what a pickle you were in, but if you mean did I tell him you were dating a slug who pretended to be in love with you, when, in fact, he was bonking his secretary who turned out to be a crazy woman who most likely keyed your new BMW, punched out your headlights, was responsible for your losing your six-figure position and is most likely responsible for your willingness to come to Briggs, Idaho, for a job that you’re completely overqualified for? No. I didn’t tell him.”
Maggie let out the breath she’d been holding. She so didn’t want anyone in this thimble of a town to know about her sordid past. It was embarrassing enough that most of her friends had abandoned her over the whole ordeal. She clearly didn’t need her new boss whispering behind her back. Not that he seemed the type, but she couldn’t be sure of anything anymore.
“Thanks.”
“I’m your sister, remember? I’m on your side.”
Now Maggie felt like crying. The whole miserable affair with her ex-fiancé was still raw, and talking about it ripped the scab off the wound.
“And you can forget about Doc Blake as a rebound lover,” Kitty added, scraping the container for the last bites of yogurt. “He’s a died-in-the-wool Briggs resident and wouldn’t leave again if his life depended on it. You’d have to move in permanent-like if you two got together.”
“Relax. I have no intention of anything close to ‘permanent-like’ in Briggs. I don’t intend to date anyone while I’m here, especially not my boss. No offense to you or any of the other women in this town, but I just don’t get what all the fuss is about. Yeah, he’s cute, in that country sort of way, but I’m a rock and roll kind of girl. Coldplay, U2 and Daughtry turn me on, not George Jones.”
“We’ll see. This town grows on you.”
“Maybe on you, little sister, but never on me.”
Kitty smirked as she polished off the yogurt and pushed the empty container aside. “Never is greatly overrated. I’m just sayin’.”
“Always the optimist.”
“It’s all about what messages we send out into the universe. If we’re positive, positivity comes back to us, whereas if we’re negative....” She raised an eyebrow.
“I’m a realist. I know who I am.”
“Maybe, but I’m just sayin’.”
* * *
BY THE TIME Blake pulled his mud-encrusted pickup in front of the family ranch house, the sky had turned a brilliant mix of pink, gold and deep blue against the backdrop of the black mountains. The golden aspens that surrounded this old log house were rustling in the warm breeze reminding him of why he had returned to Idaho. This was his favorite time of year, and he was grateful he wasn’t back in L.A., stuck on a freeway.
It didn’t matter that his day had been consumed with patients. Looking out over this spectacular piece of land nestled in the Teton Valley, Blake knew leaving Los Angeles had been the right decision.
It had been a long day that started off with caffeine, doughnuts and Maggie Daniels. Both the doughnuts and Maggie Daniels were bad for him, but he didn’t seem to care. Maggie was stuck in his head just as sure as come tomorrow morning he’d be stopping by Holey Rollers for a repeat performance.
Maggie had been jumbled up in his thoughts all day. She’d been there while he was giving Chad a pep talk about how great his teeth would look once the braces were off, and how all smart cowboys had their teeth straightened. She was there as he shared coffee with Chad’s mom, Lindsey, giving her advice on how to handle Chad’s situation in the future.
He had thought of her as he descended Lindsey’s front steps and spoke on his cell to Jimmy Ferguson’s mom, who was requesting an emergency extraction for young Jimmy’s loose front tooth. His mom couldn’t possibly inflict pain of any kind on her son, so it was up to Blake to do the deed.
Back in his office, the tooth slid out with barely a budge. Young Jimmy was so into watching Toy Story 3 on the ceiling monitor that he hadn’t noticed his tooth had been extracted.
Blake gave him the offending tooth in a tiny brown pouch so the tooth fairy could bring him a present in the morning. “I want to go home, home, home, Mommy,” Jimmy said. “I need to put this under my pillow right away, just in case the tooth fairy buzzes our house looking for bags of teeth. I don’t want her to miss mine.”
His mom agreed and off they went.
Blake loved the fact that he had patients young enough to believe in tooth fairies and Santa. Kids were easy. Adults were the kicker.
When that was over and he cleaned up, once again his thoughts drifted to Maggie and that salty walk of hers. Then, just as he was getting into a cozy fantasy about her, his phone rang and he agreed to drive over to Angie Barnett’s house. Angie was a first-time mom with a teething baby girl, who was desperate for some sleep.
