Christy Jeffries - From Dare To Due Date

Hmm. It sounded to Garrett as if Cooper wanted his wife’s former mother-in-law out of his hair and had dumped her into his lap. He’d met her a couple of times when she’d brought her grandson to visit Cooper at Shadowview and had an idea that she was used to getting what she wanted. But he was new in Sugar Falls and, as much as he prided himself on his independence, it couldn’t hurt to have an established and well-connected member of the community give him her bedazzled seal of approval.

Plus, he was about to ask for a favor himself, so keeping Cessy Walker busy would make the chief of police indebted to him.

It had been over eight weeks since that night in the hotel, and he hadn’t been able to get the woman from the bar out of his mind. He’d tried everything he could think of to look for her—everything from calling the hotel the following day to try to find the guest who’d been staying in room 804 to researching dance performances in Boise hoping to come across her picture. He’d even spent a few evenings sitting in the hotel bar the following week, closely watching every brunette that walked through the door—but always ended up at a dead end. The more time that went by, the colder her trail would get. It was time to call in the big guns.

“All right, well I appreciate your helping me out just for the next couple of days.” He purposely paused to emphasize that her receptionist skills—or lack thereof—would only be temporary. “My first patient is a referral from a friend and she’s coming in an hour. Have her fill out these forms and get copies of her insurance card. Technically we’re not open for business yet, and I don’t expect many calls in the next few days, but if you could answer the phone and take down messages for me, that’d be great.”

“No problem, Doc. And keep in mind that I can only volunteer for the next two weeks. I go on my sabbatical after that.”

He couldn’t imagine what a woman like Cessy Walker needed a sabbatical from. But he wasn’t going to ask because he had a feeling she’d tell him.

He took a seat behind the battered desk he’d found online. Garrett wasn’t in the habit of using money he hadn’t earned himself, and he’d already dipped into his trust fund account to finance the building and splurge on his top-of-the-line medical equipment. While he wanted to make his patients comfortable, he didn’t really see the need for wasting money on decorations or frivolous extras when it was surgical equipment and state-of-the-art radiology machines that he needed most. But hiring a full-time professional staff just jumped to the top of his to-do list.

He probably should’ve made a telephone call, but he didn’t want his new “receptionist” to overhear his very personal conversation. So he fired off an email to Cooper, listing as much information as he could think of about the mystery woman from the hotel. He told himself that if she wanted to be found, she would’ve left her contact information. But the more time he spent recalling every little detail about that night, the more obsessed he became with locating her and seeing her again.

Maybe he was romanticizing it. Or maybe he didn’t like the lingering feeling of rejection. Although he’d grown up a pampered rich kid, it wasn’t as if he was some spoiled brat who only wanted things he couldn’t have. Most likely, it had been a one-time experience and, if he met her again in person, none of that sizzling spark would be there anymore.

But what if it was?

He clicked Send and then slammed his laptop closed. This whole search was probably the most futile endeavor he’d ever embarked upon. And it would probably only give Cooper extra ammunition for busting his chops. Garrett needed to focus and get back to work.

He was putting away supplies and arranging one of his exam rooms when he heard his first patient arrive. She was early and he wasn’t quite ready. Besides, he didn’t want to look too eager—as if he had nothing more important or doctoral to do with his time.

Cessy Walker’s voice carried back to him as she greeted the patient. “Mia, you’re going to just adore Dr. McCormick. He’s a family friend and is known to be the best orthopedic specialist in the state. He’ll have your knee all fixed up in no time.”

Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but his suddenly fragile ego could use the boost. Also, technically, he was a friend of the new husband to Cessy’s former daughter-in-law, but in a small town such as this, he figured everyone had some kind of connection with everyone else. The woman might not be experienced as a receptionist, but perhaps she’d been right in declaring herself an asset to his growing practice.

He looked at his stainless steel watch. It would probably take a few more minutes for the patient to complete the insurance paperwork, so he went back to puttering.

After about ten minutes, he heard murmuring, and then Ms. Walker’s voice again. “Great. Follow me on back to the exam room.”

Garrett was shoving his left arm into the sleeve of his white lab coat when his receptionist walked in and handed the file to him.

“Doctor, Mia Palinski is here to see you,” Cessy said then walked out, leaving Garrett face-to-face with his first patient.

But instead of sticking out his hand to introduce himself, he froze when he recognized the midnight-black hair, the pale blue eyes and the graceful body he could never forget.

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