can pick whichever one you want and take it with you.”
Cindy looked over at her mother. The woman nodded encouragingly, “Go ahead, honey.”
Dr. Sawyer’s little patient chose a yellow cat and held it up to her mom with a grin.
With a last look at Cindy, Jed picked up his lab coat and tossed it over his arm. “Hopefully, the antibiotic will do the trick. But if she isn’t better in three days, call us.” He patted Cindy on the head. “I’ll try to make these visits as painless as possible.”
Before he turned away from the child, Brianne saw a flash of something in his eyes—something sad and tearing and deep. Then it vanished. He exited the room, leaving her questioning whether she’d seen anything at all.
After the mother and child left, Brianne picked up charts for the next three patients and went to the waiting room to fetch the first one.
Throughout the morning, she thought she and Dr. Sawyer worked with amazing efficiency, considering they’d never worked together before. Nevertheless, far too often she caught herself staring at him. Her whole body set off warning bells whenever she got near him, and her reaction to Jed Sawyer bothered her. She wasn’t in the market for a high-voltage involvement. Being kept in the dark until she was fourteen about the fact that she was adopted, as well as having the people she loved leave her, had left her cautious in more ways than one.
It was midafternoon when the receptionist, Janie Dutton, passed Brianne in the hall. Stopping, she asked, “Are you being asked as many questions about Dr. Sawyer as I am? One woman wanted to know if he was married or eligible before she made her appointment!”
Brianne didn’t know whether to be annoyed or to laugh. “I’m getting questions, but since I don’t know anything about him, I don’t have answers.”
“What kind of answers do you need?” Jed asked as he stepped out of his office.
Brianne glanced at Janie, who was obviously as embarrassed as she was.
“I hear the phone ringing,” Janie remarked, and hurried off.
“Brianne?” the new doctor asked in a deep voice that told her he wanted an honest answer.
“Dr. Sawyer, I…”
“It’s Jed.”
“Jed,” she murmured. “We’re getting questions about you from patients.”
“Like…?” he prodded.
Taking a deep breath, she plunged in. “Whether you’re married, where you held your last position, how old you are….”
“That’s it?” he asked, amusement evident in his tone.
“For starters.”
At that he laughed, and the deep richness of it seemed to ripple through Brianne. Shaking his head, he responded, “Since I’m from Sawyer Springs, I know the grapevine is several miles long. So here are the basics. I’m almost forty and worked in Deep River, Alaska, for the past three years.” More seriously, he added, “And I’m divorced. If anyone needs to know more than that, tell them to ask me directly. Now I think we have a patient waiting in exam room 3.” He nodded toward the door.
Flustered by her reaction to him, Brianne headed for the room at the same time he did. Their shoulders bumped, and his arm went around her to steady her.
Her breath whooshed from her chest. His arm was strong, his woodsy cologne intoxicating. When she gazed up at him, time once again seemed to stand still. There were sparks in his eyes that caused a crazy, wild sensation in her tummy.
As he released her, she tried to regain her composure, warning herself to deny the attraction she felt. He’s too experienced, too masculine, too confident…too everything, her common sense told her.
Neither of them said a word as Jed stepped into the exam room and she followed.
At the end of the day, Jed told Dr. Olsen he would take the last patient, who was a walk-in, if Brianne didn’t mind staying. She didn’t mind. Besides, she wanted to show her new boss that her tardiness this morning wasn’t a sign of lack of dedication to her profession.
Around six-thirty, they’d finally finished with the patient, who’d cut his arm and needed stitches. Switching off the computer printer, Brianne watched the man’s wife lead him outside.
When Jed stepped into the front office, he was wearing his suit coat and looked distinguished and handsome. Brianne felt her stomach skitter again, and decided she was simply hungry.
She lifted her coat from a hook on the wall. “This has been a long first day for you.”
“I was sometimes on duty forty-eight hours at a time in Deep River.”
“You were short on staff?”
With a wry smile, he took her coat from her. “Staff consisted of me and a nurse. There were only ninety-nine residents in the village.”
As he held her coat for her, she slid her arms into the sleeves, then turned around. “Did you enjoy your work there?” she asked. They were mere inches apart. She could see the small lines around his eyes and mouth, the few strands of silver at his temples.
His gaze found hers and stayed for a few moments. “Practicing there was challenging.” He cleared his throat. “All the supplies had to be flown in.”
Realizing he’d evaded her question, she had the feeling he didn’t want to talk about anything personal. Even though he’d given her the basics earlier, he didn’t seem to want to divulge more than that. “I can see how practicing in a remote village would be challenging.”
The atmosphere in the office was thick with tension as they stood there. Brianne stepped away from him so she could think straight. She wanted to apologize once more for this morning. “I’m sorry about my lateness today. I don’t have a good excuse. I have a digital alarm and I mistakenly set it for p.m. instead of a.m. On top of that, I didn’t sleep well and I was late awakening. Lily and Megan usually make enough noise to—”
“Why didn’t you sleep well?” he interrupted.
Though he apparently didn’t like answering personal questions, he didn’t mind asking them. She might as well tell him the truth. “I was anxious about today. Working with a new doctor and all.”
“From your performance, I don’t see why you were anxious. You’re good with the patients and more than competent in the exam room.”
The compliment blindsided her and she felt her cheeks grow warm. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m sorry I was gruff this morning. I didn’t sleep well, either, last night. My father has insomnia and rattles around in the kitchen at 2:00 a.m.”
“He should try chamomile tea,” she suggested impulsively.
Warm humor lit up Jed’s eyes. “He’s set in his ways and doesn’t take advice well. But I’ll mention the tea.” As she crossed to the doorway, he offered, “If you’re on the way out, I’ll walk you to your car.”
“Oh,
