“I HAVE TO TAKE THIS,” she whispered. “Police business.”
Steve nodded as she walked to a secluded corner of the restaurant. Merton was talking, but Peggy wasn’t listening. She was thinking about marrying Steve.
It wasn’t as if they hadn’t talked about it before, but it was always in a random-futuristic sort of fashion. This was different. There was a change in his tone. The resolution to their immediate problem with her family made the subject more threatening.
Threatening?
She wasn’t sure how she felt about getting married again. There were the practical aspects of their lives, such as their homes, Steve’s business, and her family. But all of that flew through her mind, ending up with just one idea—he wanted to marry her.
Steve was a wonderful man who had changed her life and made her feel that there was more than work. But was she ready to marry again?
“Peggy? Are you there? I can’t remember how many times it’s polite to ask before assuming a cell phone has lost service,” Merton rambled. “I don’t want to tell a stranger about my findings. I guess we’ll need some kind of code to let me know it’s you, now that our connection has been compromised.”
Dragged away from her visions of what a fifty-something widow wore to her second wedding, Peggy realized she’d ignored her friend. “I’m sorry, Merton. You were saying?”
“Is that you, Peggy?”
“Of course it’s me.” Her tone was a little sharp, she realized. She had a lot on her mind. “It’s me. What did you find about the yew seeds?”
“Good enough! I don’t think I mentioned yew to begin with, just seeds. You must be Peggy.”
“And?”
“I couldn’t find a match for any of the seeds with the samples you brought me. Are there any more branches?”
“Hundreds more.” She glanced back at Steve, then looked away quickly, before he saw her. “I don’t know if I can get samples from
all
the bushes out there.”
“No one said forensic botany was
easy
, Dr. Lee,” her friend chided her. “Did you tag the bushes you got samples from the first time?”
“Yes.” She sighed. “All right. I’ll go out and get more samples. Although it doesn’t really seem to matter, since Mrs. Mullis’s death has been ruled an accident.”
“You know the ME will want to cross all the Ts and dot all the Is. If you don’t know that already, let me assure you of it. Everything has to be neatly tucked away in a file cabinet somewhere. When do you think you can get those samples?”
“I’m not sure.”
“I’m going out of town Saturday night, and I won’t be back until Monday.”
“Okay, I get it. I’ll go out tonight and find some more.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. I’m not salaried, you know. I get paid by the days I work. No work tomorrow? No pay.”
“That’s fine, Merton. I’ll cut more branches before I go home. It’s not a big deal. Thanks for calling.” Peggy closed her phone and panicked, wondering if she could sneak out of the restaurant without Steve noticing. It seemed unlikely. Even if he didn’t see her leave, he would probably come and find her. One way or another, they were going to have the conversation. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and marched back to the table and her cold seitan.
But Steve was getting to his feet before she reached him. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “One of my patients has swallowed something she wasn’t supposed to. I’ll have to check on her.”
Peggy smiled, her heart pounding. “That’s perfectly fine. You have to tend to your patients. I completely understand.”
“That’s very generous of you. It doesn’t have anything to do with the ‘M’ word being tossed around over dinner, does it?”
“Of course not. I’m sorry you have to go so we can’t discuss it right
now
.”
“We came together in my Saturn, remember?” He wrapped his warm hand around her cooler arm. “It’ll just take a minute. You can come in, if you like.”
“Maybe you could drop me off at the house.” She went for the least amount of time for them to talk about marriage. “I need to go out to Lake Whitley again and collect more yew samples.”
“It’s going to be dark soon. With everything going on out there, maybe I should go with you.” He smiled at her as they stepped into the cool night air. “I’ll feel safer that way. You can see me in action and I can watch you collect yew. And we’ll have plenty of time for you to feel uncomfortable about the idea of getting married again.”
Peggy was trapped. She knew there was no way out. She was going to have to take Steve out to the lake with her. And talk about marriage. She wished she knew what to say. “That’s really great!”
They got in the Saturn and started down Steele Creek Road. Peggy kept the conversation away from marriage by talking about anything and everything she could think of. She ran out of words by the time they’d reached Steve’s patient’s home.
He turned off the engine after pulling in the driveway and looked at her. “If you don’t want to get married yet, that’s okay. We don’t have to pretend it’s not there. I don’t want to rush you into anything. Well, I
do
. But I won’t.”
Peggy blinked, and tried to think of something light-hearted to say. All she could come up with was “Thanks. It’s not that I don’t want to . . .”
“I understand . . . I think.” He reached behind the seat for his medical bag. “It’s a long ride out to the lake. Maybe you can explain while we’re driving.”
Great!
Peggy pushed a bobby pin back into her hair too hard and bit her lip when it hurt. He was right. It was half an hour from here to the lake. She’d better think fast.
It wasn’t that she
wouldn’t
marry Steve, if she were going to marry anyone. It wasn’t that she had meant to lead him in this direction, although she had known this time would come. Steve was a good man with slightly old-fashioned values that would dictate that they should get married. Not that she was exactly comfortable with the idea of sleeping with him without the benefit of clergy. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have such a hard time telling her family and the rest of the world. She still didn’t want her snoopy neighbor, Clarice, knowing about it. She supposed that spoke volumes. Who was she to call Steve old-fashioned?
A petite, dark-haired woman opened the door as they approached the small frame house. “I’m so glad to see you, Dr. Steve. Alma is so sick. I don’t know what she’s eaten this time. I hope you can help her.”
The woman put her hand on Steve’s arm and looked invitingly into his face. Peggy smirked. She was flirting with him! Maybe her pet wasn’t sick at all. Steve was an attractive man, and Peggy didn’t blame the woman for thinking about him that way. She didn’t
like
it, but there wasn’t much she could do to prevent it from happening, short of tying him up in her basement.
The woman looked past him and smiled. “Oh, you brought your mother with you. How nice!”
That was a little unsettling. Peggy raised her chin and held out her hand to the other woman. “I’m Dr. Margaret Lee. I’m Steve’s fiancée. Nice to meet you.”
Steve glanced at her with a raised brow, but didn’t say anything. The woman congratulated them, then led Steve to her pet. She looked a little disappointed, but Peggy decided she could get over it. It was bad enough she was flirting with Steve, but then she had the nerve to suggest Peggy was his mother. That was too much!
Peggy glanced into a mirror as they walked behind the woman. The fiery red hair that had plagued her so much as she was growing up wasn’t there anymore. No one would be likely to call her “Carrot Top” now. Her face didn’t look that bad, but maybe she needed to think about dyeing her hair. Steve wouldn’t want everyone thinking he was going out with someone old enough to be his mother. Maybe that was what she was afraid of from the beginning. Steve was eight years younger than her, and good-looking besides. Someday she might look like his grandmother!
“Alma!” The woman searched for her pet in the great room. “Come out! Dr. Steve is here to see you.”
They were standing in the center of the room waiting for Alma when a large iguana finally waddled toward them.
“There you are, you bad girl!” The woman picked up the large lizard, which was difficult for her to hold. “She’s been like this all day, Dr. Steve. I think she ate another pencil or something.”
Steve put down his bag and took the iguana from her. He sat down in a chair to examine the creature while Peggy sat down across from him to watch.
“I think you’re right, Mrs. Bishop. Alma probably ate something bad again. Has she been spitting?”
“No, not today. She’s pooped a lot, though. Do you think she’ll need surgery?”
“Probably not.” Steve carefully felt the lizard’s round belly. “She’ll probably pass whatever it is. Even though she’s not spitting, if she’s going to the bathroom, she’s still okay. Give me a call in the morning and let me know how she’s doing. Any idea what she ate?”
“My son’s hamster is missing. Do you think Alma could’ve eaten it?”
“No. She’s a vegetarian. She should be fine, but we’ll see how she is tomorrow.”
“Thank you so much for coming.” Mrs. Bishop took Alma from him. “She’s bad, but she’s my baby. I don’t know what I’d do without her. You’re the best vet in the city, Dr. Steve.”
“Thanks.” He smiled and wiped his hands with a towelette from his bag. “Alma is one of my best patients.”
“I suppose you have a lot of patients.” She stroked the iguana as she spoke, but her eyes were on Steve. “I remember when I first met you. You were new in town and didn’t know anyone. We almost made it out for dinner one night.”
Peggy was surprised to see a blush rise on Steve’s face before he responded. “We did. I appreciate you still bringing Alma to me. I hope you find the hamster. Good night, Mrs. Bishop.”
Steve and Peggy didn’t speak again until they were in the VUE. “I hope you aren’t taking all of that in and getting ready to throw it back at me,” he said.
“I wouldn’t have guessed your patient was an iguana.” She skirted a bed of purple pansies that seemed to be doing better than average. The Bishop lawn was a healthy, suspect shade of green, too. They were obviously watering.
She couldn’t mention the wisecrack about her being his mother. It might be stupid, but she felt vulnerable about the age difference between them. Steve would only reassure her that it didn’t matter, and then she’d feel worse. “I didn’t realize you could treat so many different species. Dogs. Horses. Lizards.”
He started the engine. “Don’t blow me off, Peggy. You know what I’m talking about.”
“I’m guessing you met her before you met me. That doesn’t bother me. You’re an attractive, single man. Why
wouldn’t
she want to go out with you?”
“Fine.” He turned back away from town, toward the lake. “We won’t talk about Mrs. Bishop. Let’s talk about getting married.”
“I thought you said you wouldn’t push.”
“You were fast enough to claim me in front of Mrs. Bishop. Why throw me away now?”
“I don’t know what made me say that. I guess I didn’t want her to go on about me being your mother, which is biologically impossible.”
“I’m sure it was biology that made you tell her we’re engaged. In the animal kingdom, unlike plants, we tend to want to claim our mates so that other animals stay away from them. You were just marking your territory, so to speak.”
“Not a pleasant thought.”
He laughed. “No matter how much you love plants, Sweetie, you can’t be one. You’re an animal like the rest of us, with certain needs and desires that have to be satisfied. I hope that’s where I come in. At least I
thought
that was where I came in, until your parents moved up here and made me your girlfriend.”
“I’m not sure what you mean by ‘girlfriend.’ My parents, and Paul, are just concerned about me. They don’t want me to make a mistake.”
“No. Paul doesn’t want you to forget his father. Your mom and dad want you to be their little girl again. You can have a girlfriend who hangs around and talks trash with you, but you can’t have a man friend who spends the night.”
“Steve—”
“Peggy, you have to tell them, or we can’t go on. If it would make it easier, you can say we’re going to be married. We could be engaged for awhile.”
“How long is ‘awhile’?”
He shrugged as he turned onto a less traveled road where there were no streetlights. “I guess as long as you want it that way. I’m okay with that as long as everyone realizes we’re a couple and we share a bed. I don’t have to move in full-time, but I don’t want to keep lying to Paul. I’m not good at playing games with people.”
Peggy considered his words. Maybe he was right. She might not be ready to marry again . . . just yet . . . but if she ever was, she’d want it to be Steve. “I love the way you are. I wouldn’t want you to be any different. Maybe we should do the engagement thing for awhile.”
“That works for me.” Steve took her hand and kissed it. “You know that I have absolutely no feelings for you as my mother whatsoever, right?”
“I certainly hope not.” She squeezed his hand. “I don’t think of you as a son.”
“Then we’re good to go! When do you want to announce our engagement?”
“How about Tuesday night at dinner? Everyone will be there. It seems like the perfect time.”
“Tuesday it is.” He brought the SUV to a stop. “I think we’re here. Where’s the lake?”
Peggy got out and turned on the miniflashlight she always carried in her purse. Its tiny beam didn’t do much to alleviate the darkness. A bigger flashlight beam bounced around the area from the back of the SUV.
“Good thing I brought these along.” Steve took another big flashlight from a dirty duffel bag. “That tiny little thing isn’t made for this kind of terrain.”
Peggy recognized the bag. “I saw this in your closet the other day, and wondered why it was full of muddy clothes.”
“You were in my closet?”