was a daughterly hug, nothing more,” she reassured him.
He regarded her warily. “You sure about that?”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay, then. Sit down here and tell me what you’ve been up to. Don’t leave out any of the juicy stuff, either. Have you found yourself a man yet?”
She should have known it wouldn’t take long to get to the subject nearest and dearest to his heart. “Daddy, not every woman needs a man in her life,” she explained for the thousandth time, even though she knew she was wasting her breath.
“Don’t give me that feminist hogwash. How’re you going to give me any grandbabies if you don’t find a man?”
“Maybe I’ll just have them on my own,” she taunted because she knew it would irritate him. Clearly, he was well enough to argue. He was probably well enough to be out of bed, too. His wife Janet had hinted that he was playing invalid just to entice his baby to stay around a little longer. If his doctor confirmed that, Lizzy was going to drag him out of bed by force and put him on a regimen of exercise that would have him pleading for mercy.
She shot him a deliberately innocent look and added, “I think I’d make a terrific single mom, don’t you?”
“Over my dead body!” he shouted.
“You keep losing your cool like that, and you will be dead,” she informed him mildly.
His gaze narrowed. “You said that on purpose, didn’t you?”
Lizzy grinned. “Yep.”
“Daggone it, girl. You know my heart’s weak.”
“I don’t know that,” she reminded him plaintively. “You won’t let me check it.”
He scowled at her, then said casually, “Cody saw Hank Robbins the other day.”
“Really?” Getting that word out without betraying any emotion was harder than tangling with her daddy over the state of his health.
“He said Hank was asking about you.”
Lizzy’s heart did a little tap dance of its own. “Oh? How is he?”
“Getting along right good,” Harlan said. He shot her a sly look. “Cody says he’s thinking of getting married and settling down.”
This time her heart plummeted straight to her toes. “Married?”
“You sound surprised. Ranch life’s a whole lot easier if there’s a woman you love by your side. Besides, he’s not getting any younger. I’m sure he wants kids.”
“I suppose,” she said as her heart thudded dully. “Who’s he marrying?”
“I didn’t say he had anyone special in mind, just that he was thinking of it.”
Lizzy stared at her father’s innocent expression and chuckled. She should have known he was up to something. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
He grinned. “Yep. Worked, too.” His expression sobered. “Why don’t you just break down and see the man, Lizzy my girl? You know you want to. You were always crazy about him. For a few years there, you were thick as thieves. It made me hope that you’d settle down right next door. I never did figure out what happened between the two of you.”
“Nothing happened.” Which, of course, was the whole point. She stood up and leaned down to kiss her father’s weathered cheek. “Stop manipulating, Daddy. I’d already planned to see Hank while I’m here.”
His expression brightened. “Whooee! It’s about time you showed some sense.”
“Daddy! Don’t make too much of this.”
“Okay, okay. You going to see him today?”
“I don’t know when I’m going to see him.”
“Don’t waste too much time. Spring break’s short.” He regarded her wistfully. “Or were you thinking of sticking around?”
“Daddy,” she pleaded.
“Okay, okay,” he said again. “I’m an old man. I’m allowed to indulge in a little wishful thinking.”
“Don’t pull that old-man garbage with me. You’re going to outlive all of us. You’re too ornery not to.”
“Sooner or later, age catches up with all of us.” He caught her hand in his and clung to it “Don’t let life pass you by, Lizzy. I know you love medicine, but I know something else, too. You’ve always had a soft spot in your heart for that man up the road; Don’t pretend you don’t, not with me. I’m just saying whatever you do, don’t wake up one day with regrets.”
“I told you I was going to see him, didn’t I?”
“No need to get defensive, darling girl. I can’t help doing a little prodding. It’s my nature.”
Lizzy sighed. “It surely is.” She leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead. “Now, get some rest and leave Hank Robbins to me.”
Harlan Adams grinned, the color in his cheeks getting better every second. “Something tells me the poor man doesn’t stand a chance.”
“Maybe you’re overestimating my charm. Hank didn’t have a bit of trouble saying goodbye when I went off to Austin to college or down to Miami for med school.”
“Maybe he was just wise enough to let you go after what you wanted. That’s not the kind of thing you should blame a man for. In fact, maybe you ought to take a good hard look at what it cost him to let you leave.”
Lizzy touched a finger to his lips to silence him. “You’re overselling, Daddy. I already know what a paragon of virtue Hank Robbins is. I fell for the man when I was sixteen years old and he bought the old Simmons place. Nothing’s changed in the eight years since.”
“Then what are you waiting for, girl? Go find him and tell him straight-out what you want.”
“I suppose you know what that is, too,” she said, wishing she had so few doubts. Loving Hank had been complex enough years ago. Now, with medical school convincing her that she’d chosen exactly the right career for herself, loving him had gotten a whole lot more complicated.
“You want a husband and babies,” her father said without hesitation.
“If only it were that simple,” Lizzy murmured.
“What was that?”
“You left out medicine, Daddy. I want to be a doctor, too.”
“So? You won’t be the first doctor to get married and have babies.”
“You seem to forget that I have to finish medical school, an internship and my residency. Do you think Hank’s going to wait all that time? You’ve already said he’s
