A Randall Returns (9 page)

A few minutes later, Mike returned, another dazed expression on his face.

Jon said something to him, but Caroline didn’t pay attention. She was too busy trying not to laugh. The younger deputy had chosen to let her do his exam, and she was making bets with herself about how long he could go without breathing and letting out his gut. His endurance was impressing her.

“Now take a deep breath and hold it,” she ordered softly.

He gave her a surprised look and took a small breath, still sucking in his stomach.

Mike, obviously paying close attention, walked by and ordered, “Breathe, you idiot!”

The man turned bright red.

“Don’t pay him any heed,” Caroline said gently. “You’re doing fine.”

This time the man actually relaxed, and she quickly repeated her examination. She and Jon each did two more exams, including Willie, who had been released from the hospital with a clean bill of health, but was still sure he would die if he did any exercise.

As they were finishing, Caroline said, “Each of you will lose some weight if you do the exercises regularly. It might be a good idea to weigh in once a week and keep a chart.”

Mike answered, “Good idea, Doctor. Willie, you can make the chart today. You’ll start your schedule of exercises tomorrow, only doing half of your suggested program for the time being. We want to ease you into it.”

Willie didn’t look pleased, but at least he didn’t outright refuse.

“Did your meeting go well?” Jon asked Mike.

Mike shook his head, and Caroline was amazed at how much she’d hoped he would be pleased with her family’s efforts.

“It’s just so much more than I expected. I was hoping they’d buy us another treadmill and maybe a better set of weights. But they’re planning on building us an incredible facility.” He looked at Jon. “Can you believe it? They want to put in showers, a sauna and a dressing room, in addition to the new equipment. I’m stunned. Jake said last night they’d take care of everything, but I had no idea what he intended.”

Caroline was tired of being in the doghouse. She leaned closer and said, “All the Randall men are stand-up guys.” Then she closed her bag and walked out of the office.

Jon didn’t follow. “You and Caroline get cross with each other?”

“Not exactly.”

“That doesn’t tell me much,” Jon pointed out.

“Well, I found out her problem, but…I think that’s privileged information, even though I’d like your opinion. If she tells you, maybe we can talk.”

Jon frowned, suddenly worried. “It has to do with health?”

“Sort of.”

Mike regretted his words immediately. The worry in Jon’s eyes showed he wouldn’t let it alone. Mike understood his concern. Before Caroline had explained her problem, he’d thought she might have a terminal illness. He’d wanted to grab her up, hide her in a cave and keep her all to himself for as long as they had.

Instead, he had to walk away from the most wonderful woman he’d ever met. He had to try to forget the incredible sex they’d shared. And he had to stop falling in love. So far he was doing a hell of a poor job of that particular item.

He had to put those thoughts away as Nick came back in with a sketch for the building project. Mike was afraid the Randalls would build the Taj Mahal if he didn’t restrain them. Nick explained why they needed three showerheads, a dressing area and a sauna in addition to the weight room and the equipment to go in it.

“Nick, it isn’t that I wouldn’t like it. But don’t you think it’s going to be twice as expensive as what I asked for? How can I face everyone if I demand such a setup?”

“Open it up for the citizenry. You’ll be the most popular sheriff in the world. Then I could come over here every morning and work out, have a cup of coffee, catch up on the news, all in one trip.”

“Are you kidding?” Mike questioned.

“Nope.”

“That’s a deal, Nick. You and anyone else. There will be certain times of the day that my men will have to have first preference so they can meet their schedules, but otherwise, it’ll be open to the citizens of Rawhide.”

“That’s great. I’ve gone to the high school gym before, but this will be more convenient. And a lot nicer. Gyms always have that smell.”

Mike laughed.

“By the way,” Nick said, “you and Caroline okay? You have an argument?”

“Why would you ask that?” Mike didn’t meet Nick’s gaze.

“Jake asked me. I told him I’d ask you.”

“There’s no problem,” Mike assured him.

After Nick went back out to join the other Randalls and the cowboys, Mike tried to tell himself that. He and Caroline had no problems. Everything was fine.

He was actually coming to believe himself until the phone rang about two o’clock.

“Sheriff’s Office,” he said briskly.

A voice he recognized at once demanded fiercely, “What the hell did you tell Jon?”

Mike drew a deep breath. “I told him I knew why you wouldn’t marry.”

“You told him?” Caroline demanded, her voice going up an octave.

“I didn’t tell him the problem. I told him I knew what the problem was. Isn’t that true?”

“Yes, but I expected you to keep quiet about it!”

“That’s not easy, because one of your family questions me about our relationship every hour on the hour!” He was losing his temper. Taking a calming breath, he asked, “What did Jon say to you?”

“He wanted to give me a physical, and that’s not necessary! There’s nothing wrong with me!”

“I told you that!” Mike replied, his level of emotion rising again.

“Fine!”

“Fine!” In the silence that fell, he fought for control. “Caro, I want us to be together. Can’t we try again?”

Silence.

Finally, she said, “I don’t know. I need some time.”

“Yeah, well, let me know.”

C
AROLINE KEPT HER HAND
on the receiver after she’d hung up. What was she going to do?

“Caro, have you forgiven me?”

She looked up to see Jon standing in the doorway of her office. “I’m sorry I lost my temper. I didn’t expect Mike to tell anyone.” She cleared her throat. “The fact is that I can’t have children. It makes me reluctant to commit to marriage. It’s my experience that most men, even if they say they don’t want children, eventually choose to have them.”

“How do you know you can’t have children?”

With a deep sigh, Caroline again recited the medical facts.

“But they may have changed. Four years is a long time.”

Then she explained about Don.

“I’d still like to check.”

“No, Jon. When I’m sick, you’ll be the first one I’ll call. But I’m not sick.”

“Caro, can I tell Tori? We don’t keep many secrets from each other.”

Caroline covered her face. She hadn’t wanted anyone to know, and now it appeared everyone would. Damn Mike! “Yes, of course.”

Once Jon had left, Caroline spent a few minutes with her head on her desk, her eyes closed. She needed to think. Living without Mike seemed like a great sacrifice. She felt alive when she was with him. She felt safe when he held her. She—damn it! It hit her like the proverbial ton of bricks. She was in love. As she’d never been in love before.

And she wasn’t sure Mike would even speak to her again.

She finally put her personal problems aside and got to the work that had carried her through everything. Her next patient was an elderly woman who complained that she couldn’t move as fast as she used to. Caroline assured her that was normal for her age.

The lady slapped her hands away as Caroline tried to listen to her heart. “What’s wrong with you, girl? I’m talking about being fast making Christmas presents. If I don’t finish them before the twenty-fifth, my grandchildren will be disappointed!”

Christmas? Between dealing with the move and with Mike, Caroline had forgotten all about it. She hadn’t bought one single Christmas present.

When the feisty old lady departed, Caroline called the ranch. Red answered the phone. “Hi, there, Caro. You coming out to see us?”

“I can’t right now, Red. I’m between patients. But I haven’t done anything for Christmas. I’ve got to talk to Mom and get busy.”

“Aw, Caroline, just having you home is a good enough present.”

“Thank you, Red. Tell Mom I’ll call her tonight,” she hastily said as her nurse signaled an emergency.

Caroline hurried around her desk and followed the nurse into an exam room. But she heard her patient before she got there. His screams of protest to his mother were deafening.

Gathering herself, Caroline entered the room, where the child’s cries topped the decibel charts.

A towheaded boy of about seven sat in the corner, knees up, arms stretched in front of him, palms out. A woman Caroline assumed was his mother squatted by him, no doubt trying to coax him out. She looked frantic, but it was obvious the boy wanted none of her cajoling.

“Get away from me!” he screamed at Caroline. “I wanna go home!”

She leaned a hip on the exam table, keeping her distance from the child, who was flushed—whether from crying or a fever, she didn’t know. In a soothing voice, she reassured him, “I’m not going to do anything to you that you don’t want.”

The child stopped screaming, and his mother turned to look at her. “I’m so sorry. Zach just hates coming to the doctor.”

“Hey, Zach,” Caroline called, “would you like to examine
me
for a change? I’ll even let you use my stethoscope.”

The boy gave her a skeptical look, taking his time as he clearly pondered the offer. “You’re not just trying to get me up there, are you?”

Caroline laughed. “No. I mean it.” She flashed him a bright smile and extended her hand. “Come on. You may never get such a good offer again.”

Zach looked at his mom, who nodded, then he got up and cautiously made his way to the table. He wiped his tears with the sleeve of his shirt and puffed up his chest. “Hop on up there, ma’am,” he said in his best doctorly voice.

Choking back a chuckle, Caroline did as she was instructed.

Zach grabbed a throat swab from a jar on the cabinet and leaned in close to her mouth. “Now open wide so I can stick this Popsicle stick down your throat.”

“No, Zach!” His mother screamed and lunged for him.

Caroline signaled for her to stay back. “You know, Zach, maybe I should show you how to do this properly. I know you don’t want to hurt me.” When he said okay, she had him open his mouth, and she gently, quickly wiped his throat with a sterile swab as she gave him verbal instructions. Then, though she questioned the wisdom in it, she let him do the same to her.

Surprisingly, the boy was just as gentle. He presented her with the stick. “You know, Doc,” he said with a grin, “I know why you did that. You just wanted to get into my throat. But that’s okay. It was worth it.” His grin turned into a full-blown smile.

Nonplussed, Caroline just looked at him, her mouth agape. Bested by a grade-schooler.

“I’m so sorry, Doctor,” the mother said, halfway between tears of embarrassment and of laughter. “Zach’s quite a handful. From the day he was born he’s been giving me and his daddy fits. There are days when I just can’t win with him, but then there are those times when he does something so sweet…well, then I know he loves us.” She cast a glance at him and smiled lovingly, her eyes glistening with tears. “His daddy and I wouldn’t trade him for the world.” She laughed. “Now I know what to get him for Christmas—”

“A doctor kit!” the two women said simultaneously. Caroline smiled and went outside to give the swab to the nurse.

Zach’s mom clearly had her hands full. But the boy was a charmer. Caroline thought about what the woman had said. Nobody could change what life had dealt them, could they? Even in frustrating or heartbreaking situations there was always that proverbial silver lining.

Even in my life?
she thought. Where was her silver lining?

Minutes later she walked back in to the exam room and saw Zach on his mommy’s lap, his little arms wrapped around her, hugging her tightly. And Caroline had her answer.

She’d been so focused on her woes, her fears, her shortcomings that she’d almost lost track of what was important in life. The people who loved her.

Had she stayed in Chicago all those years because she didn’t have the courage to face them? This woman had no choice—she faced each day with her precocious son, never knowing how it was going to go, whether she’d pull her hair out in frustration or get one of these heart-squeezing hugs. But she woke up each day eager to see the outcome.

Caroline could have shaken herself for her weakness. She’d given up so much time with her family. She’d rejected an honest, good man who stirred her more than anyone she’d ever known. And she’d almost let the best holiday of the year pass by without a celebration. Not a celebration of material things, but a celebration of the richness of life.

This year she wanted a Christmas as raucous and joyful as the holiday would be at Zach’s house.

She gave Zach’s mom the good news of his negative
strep test and wished them both a Merry Christmas. Then she invited Zach to come by the clinic anytime he wanted to lend his medical expertise.

“Dr. Randall, your mother is on the line.” The nurse intercepted her as she left the room, and Caroline rushed to the phone in her office.

“Caroline, it’s Mom. Red said you called. Is everything all right, dear?”

Was everything all right? It had never been better. “Yes, Mom. I just wanted to tell you that I’m glad to be home, so glad you didn’t give up on me. And I’m sorry I didn’t appreciate what you and Dad have given me.”

“Sweetheart, what brought this on?”

“Let’s just say a little boy helped me wise up.” Her mother didn’t even question the cryptic reply. “I need to do some quick Christmas shopping, Mom. I haven’t bought a single gift yet.”

“Well, we’ve taken to drawing names the past couple of years because there are so many of us. Everyone gets Red and Mildred something, of course. And immediate families exchange gifts.”

“I haven’t done any of that for four years. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be silly. I did it for you. Everything is just fine. Saturday, if you’re off, we can drive to Casper and do a lot of damage.”

“I’d love to, Mom.” She wrote it in her calendar. “And, Mom, you and Dad like Mike, don’t you?”

“Of course we do, darling. Why do you ask?”

“I’m attracted to him.” It amazed her how easily she
admitted the feeling. “And he doesn’t seem to mind my… problem. I’d like to bring him to the ranch for Christmas—if he’ll come.”

“Of course. We were going to invite him, anyway.”

“Can you keep Dad from insisting he marry me at once? That may not be what comes of our getting together.”

“I’ll try, but you know your father.”

“Yes,” she said with a laugh. “And that’s what worries me.”

“Caroline?” her mother said before hanging up.

“Yes, Mom?”

“Welcome home.”

Patients needed to be seen, so her next call would have to wait. It wasn’t until hours later that Caroline had a spare moment. She dialed his cell phone, but only reached his voice mail.

Sadly, she hung up the phone. Had she missed her chance? Her memories of falling asleep in his embrace, giving herself to him, were brief. She was greedy. She wanted more. But she wasn’t going to feel sorry for herself. She had too much to do. Like shopping.

She put on her coat and headed for the general store. Nick’s and Gabe’s wives’ emporium would make for a good start on her Christmas shopping. Besides, she hadn’t seen Sarah and Jennifer Randall at all since she’d come home.

Caroline felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She had much to be grateful for. And now she was going shopping for her first Christmas in Rawhide in too many years.

“Caro?”

She found herself face-to-face with Tori. Jon’s wife hugged her and Caroline felt a special urgency in the woman’s embrace. “Uh-oh, Jon told you my problem, didn’t he?”

“I’m so sorry.”

Caroline smiled ruefully. “Don’t feel bad, Tori. I’ve finally stopped feeling sorry for myself. And I want you to know I’m happy about your pregnancy.” She lowered her gaze. “I’m just glad my family hasn’t given up on me.”

“What are you talking about? We would never do that!”

Caroline hugged her again. “I know. That’s what I’m thankful for.”

“I’m so glad you’re feeling better about everything.”

“Me, too. Someone told me I needed to get over it. And he was right. I’m off to do some Christmas shopping at the general store. Want to go?”

“Oh, I can’t. I have to get home to—I mean, I need to—”

“It’s okay, Tori. I know you have a baby. And I know you take good care of him.” She cleared her throat. “Thanks for the support.”

She walked briskly down Main Street, greeting residents as she went. Suddenly she was filled with the vibrancy of life.

In the store, she looked for gifts for her mother and father, Red and Mildred. The special people in her life. When she bumped into a tall, denim-clad cowboy, she was surprised to recognize Harry.

“Are you Christmas shopping, too?” she asked the deputy.

“Hi, Caroline,” he said with a smile, but his gaze continued moving over the store. “Uh, yeah.”

“Need any help? I’m an expert on what women like.”

His cheeks turned bright red. “Nah, I can—do you know that nurse? Susan?”

“Susan McAfee? Yes, I do. Pretty, isn’t she?” she teased.

“Yeah, I—I gotta go,” he suddenly said, his voice hardening. He moved swiftly toward the exit.

Caroline frowned, watching him as he stepped in front of a man hurrying to the front door. She wasn’t close enough to hear what Harry said, but she recognized his technique as he spun the man around and put him in cuffs. Mike Davis had clearly taught his deputy well.

Sudden movement behind her caught Caroline’s attention, and she swiveled around as Harry called to someone. Another young deputy in civilian clothes was struggling with a shopper. That deputy wasn’t as quick as Harry. The man got free and pulled a gun. Caroline immediately yelled, “Gun!” and ducked down between some shelves. Harry didn’t hide. He flew to his partner’s assistance, getting there just in time to draw fire away from the other deputy. Caroline grabbed a vase from the shelf and sneaked up behind the man as he pointed his weapon again. She cracked the vase over his head and he fell to the floor. The deputy cuffed him.

She saw the manager of the store at the front door,
holding on to the other cuffed man, who was trying to get out the door. Caroline rushed to the phone, called the Sheriff’s Office for help, and Jon, too. Then she hurried to Harry’s side.

“Hold still, Harry. Let me take a look at you.”

“Caroline,” he whispered. “Mike’s going to be upset.”

“Mike will be proud of you, as I am.” She made a pad with a white towel she pulled off a shelf, and tried to slow the flow of blood.

Beside her the other deputy demanded to know if Harry would be all right. Then he kept muttering, “Sheriff is gonna kill me!”