problem. I just don’t think he’ll make a pleasant neighbor.”
“I told you Doc’s planning on marrying him off before his four years are up. Are you worried about the women parading in and out of his apartment?” Russ asked with a grin.
Tori had been raised with all her boy cousins. Teasing was nothing new to her. “Not hardly. In fact, please make it clear to all the family that I have no interest in the man.”
“Now, honey, that would be like waving a red flag in front of Uncle Jake’s face. If you’re really not interested in him, you’d better keep that under your hat.”
Russ closed the door to his office, ready to go to work. Tori stood there staring into space. Unfortunately, Russ was right. Uncle Jake wouldn’t rest until he saw all the Randall children married.
So she’d keep her distaste for the doctor secret…as long as her family was around.
But upstairs, Dr. Jon Wilson would feel the brunt of her disdain for a snooty doctor from Chicago.
Chapter Two
Jon left the clinic at noon the next day. He headed to the café in the same block as his apartment and had a quick lunch, keeping his eyes open for the arrival of the rental truck he’d hired. The driver had told him he’d be there at noon.
Over an hour later, he flagged down the driver and directed him to the parking lot behind the building. Jon hoped he’d be able to pay the man a little extra to get him to help carry his belongings upstairs.
“No way, man,” the driver said gruffly when Jon asked him. “I got to return the truck and head for Chicago as soon as I can.” While he was talking, he was unloading Jon’s belongings and setting them down on the gravel of the parking lot. “I could use some help here.”
“But—”
“I’ll hand this out to you,” the man said, ignoring Jon’s attempt to persuade him. In half an hour, Jon stood in the middle of the parking lot, all his belongings around him, watching the truck drive away.
“Great. If I go back to the clinic to ask Doc where I can hire some men, everything will be gone by the time I get back.”
After thinking a couple of minutes, he decided to risk going to the accountants’ office and borrowing their phone.
The blonde, Victoria, was at her desk.
“Uh, may I borrow your phone for a minute?” To his amazement, she slid the phone closer to him without asking any questions.
As he dialed the number to the clinic, Russ Randall came out of his office. “Well, hi, Jon, how are you?”
Since the number he dialed had a busy signal, he hung up the phone. “Frustrated.”
“What’s the problem?”
“All my belongings are sitting in the parking lot. At least they are if they haven’t been stolen. I was calling Doc to see if he knew where I could hire someone to help me, but his line is busy.”
“I should’ve thought to offer. I’ll help. And if you’ll give me a few minutes, I think I can round up some others,” Russ said calmly.
“I can pay—”
“Don’t be silly,” Russ said, and turned to Victoria. “Call Rich. Then try the house. Maybe Toby didn’t ride out today.”
“Sure.” She pulled the phone back toward her and dialed.
Since she wasn’t looking at him, Jon admired her beautiful face. He didn’t know what kind of worker she was, though he was beginning to think she wasn’t like his mother. But he knew for sure she was beautiful.
“Ready?” Russ asked, distracting him.
“Uh, yeah, but I hate to take you away from your work.”
“I can use some exercise,” Russ said, and led the way out of the office.
TORI WATCHED THE TWO MEN go out while she was calling. When Red asked what she needed, she explained the situation. He immediately agreed to find Toby. He also offered one of the chocolate cakes he’d just finished making. When Tori protested, he said he could bake another one before dinner.
She hung up the phone, a smile on her face. Her family was wonderful. They pitched in for everyone.
She started back to work, not thinking about the doctor. She was determined to keep her distance from that man.
An hour later, she answered the phone to discover Doc’s voice on the line.
“Hi, Doc, how’s retirement—”
He interrupted her. “Get Jon. We’ve got a wreck on the highway with multiple injuries. Your mom is on her way. I need him as soon as possible.”
“Right.” She hung up and ran out of the office around to the parking lot. The guys had moved a lot upstairs, but there were still some things in the parking lot.
“Where’s the doctor?” she demanded.
“Just went upstairs with Casey, carrying some boxes. Anything wrong?” Rich asked.
“Multiple accident. Doc needs him,” she called over her shoulder as she raced up the stairs.
She found him in the living room and hurriedly repeated the message.
With a worried frown on his face, he thanked her and ran out of the apartment. She stared after him, revising her opinion of him. At least he seemed intent on his job, even if it was for only four years.
“People are hurt?” Casey asked.
“I guess so. They called Mom in, too.”
Russ, Rich and Toby came up the stairs, the three of them carrying a beaten-up sofa. Russ puffed out some air. “I’m not sure this sofa is worth the effort. What do you think, Tori?”
She grinned. “I’ve seen worse.”
“Where?” Rich asked when he let go of the sofa.
“At college. I’m sure the doctor couldn’t afford expensive furniture at med school. In Caroline’s letters to Aunt B.J. she says she never gets back to her apartment anyway. It sounds like they work them twenty-four hours a day.”
“I’ve seen that on TV, but I wasn’t sure that was the truth,” Toby said. “Elizabeth likes that show, ER.”
“Have you seen a table? For the breakfast area?” she asked, staring at the empty space.
“Nope. He really doesn’t have much. But we still have some boxes of books. Talk about heavy!”
“Maybe we should tell him about the table and chairs Aunt Megan took in last week. She didn’t want to put them in the store. She was hoping to find someone to take them off her hands,” Tori pointed out.
“Hey,
