Courting the Doctor's Daughter (22 page)

Mary understood those struggles. Something tightened within. The old fear claiming her.

“But you taught me what love is. You’ve shown me what a family is.” He pulled her to her feet and hugged her to him. “I’m not running anymore. I’m in love with you, Mary.”

Her breath caught and held. Oh, how she wanted to return those words. But did she dare? Unable to meet his penetrating gaze, she rose and crossed to the window. “I’ve heard those words before. I’m scared.”

He stepped behind her, laid a gentle palm on her shoulder. “I’m not Sam. I won’t let you down.”

She believed that. But once he really knew her, would he be disillusioned? Feel cheated? Want out? Or worse, remain yet turn away from her?

“It’s me I have no confidence in, not you.” She swiveled to him. “All of my life, I’ve wondered why I wasn’t good enough for my mother to keep. She didn’t care enough to even verify if I lived. Or if I turned out all right.”

“Oh, Mary—”

“No, let me say this.” She swallowed hard, barely able to squeeze out the words, “Why wasn’t I good enough for
Sam to stop drinking?” She held up her hands, begging for an answer. “Tell me, Luke. Why?”

Luke tenderly cradled her chin. “What you’re really asking is ‘Am I good enough to love?’ You taught me the answer to that.” A smile crossed his face. “If God can love me, then you, my sweet, amazing Mary, are definitely worthy of His love.”

She let his words have time to permeate the shell she’d built around her heart. That shell kept Luke out. But it also locked her in. She’d built that shell because she didn’t trust her own judgment, her ability to perceive whether a man would stay. But, at the core of it, she felt unworthy of love.

With God’s help, she could tear down that barrier. And she would. “How did you get so wise?”

“I had a great teacher.” Luke leaned close. “Whatever you make up your mind to do, you can do, Mary. And that includes loving me.”

Loving him wasn’t the problem. Loving herself had been. She took his hand, giving it a squeeze. “I love you, Luke Jacobs, with all my being.”

He hugged her to him. “I was afraid Sloan might have won your heart.” He reared back. “Where is he anyway?”

“I don’t love Frank. I told him so this morning. He left town soon after.”

Luke gave a triumphant shout and then twirled her about the small room, both laughing with the sheer joy of their love.

“Oh, you’re making me dizzy.”

He lowered her to her feet, then dipped his head, his chocolate brown eyes gentle and soft with yearning. “Marry me. I want to spend my life with you.”

“Marry you?” Her heart fluttered. Imagine spending every day with Luke. But first she had to know with certainty. “What about my plan to attend medical school?”

“Doc and I can handle the practice. I’ll be there at night to help the boys with homework and get them tucked into bed. I’ll send for my housekeeper. She’ll be great with the boys. Can keep an eye on them after school, or when you can’t get home and I’m on a house call.”

Her jaw dropped. A housekeeper? A husband who’d support her? She felt like she was walking in a dream. “You’d do all that? For me?”

“I’d do anything for you, lovely lady.” He toyed with a tendril of hair. “Any more concerns?”

“I can’t think of another thing to say.”

He grinned. “Say yes.”

Her full heart brimmed over, spilling love into every wounded part of her, filling her with hope. “Yes, yes, yes, Luke! I’ll marry you.”

His lips met hers, and Mary leaned into him, returning his kiss with the fervor of a woman starving for closeness to the man she loved. Beneath her palms, his heart thumped wildly, matching the beat of her own galloping heart. He tightened his arms around her, trapping her hands between them on his chest, deepening the kiss until she could barely stand, could barely breathe.

A noise in the hall made them leap apart. Her father and all three boys stood in the doorway grinning like Cheshire cats. Mary knelt and threw her arms wide. Ben dove into them, almost knocking her off her feet. She buried her nose in his neck, drank in his sweet smell and wept tears of joy.

Luke tugged Mary to her feet. Michael and Philip crowded around the three of them. “Boys, I asked your mother to be my wife, and she said yes. Is that all right with you?”

“Luke’s going to be our daddy too!” Philip pumped his thin arms into the air. The grin on Michael’s face said it all.

“Will that be okay with you, Ben?” Luke said, ruffling the boy’s hair.

“Yep! Can we live in the same house now?”

“Soon, Ben. Our wedding can’t happen fast enough to suit me.”

Her father clapped Luke on the back then kissed Mary’s cheek. “’Bout time you two figured it out.”

Laughing with joy, Michael and Philip grabbed their brother, and all three of them danced around the backroom, crowing with delight. Mary didn’t need to worry about the boys accepting Luke into the family. He’d captured their hearts, as he had hers.

Recalling Mrs. Whitehall’s claim that a remedy for every ache and pain existed in this office, Mary knew she’d found hers. “You know, Doctor, I have a cure of my own for you.”

He cupped her jaw, his touch a caress, and raised her gaze to his.

“Oh, you do?”

“Take one Mary Graves, make her your wife. Mix in three little boys, best taken on a full stomach. Then add a cup of faith.” She smiled. “A daily dose will fix what ails you, guaranteed. And all for the bargain price of…”

Eyes twinkling, he cocked his head. “Three dollars a bottle?”

“Oh, no, Dr. Jacobs, that’s far too cheap. This remedy will cost you a lifetime of love.”

“Sold!” His dimple winked at her. “Loving you for a lifetime will be my greatest pleasure, Mary Lynn Graves.”

Then he pulled her close, holding her in a tight grip—as if he never wanted to let her go. His lips captured hers. With every fiber of her being and all the love she’d hidden inside, she kissed him back, thankful for this man, the Great Physician’s remedy for her life.

1. In the opening of the book, why did Mary react to Luke’s remedy the way she did? Do you feel she over-reacted or was justified?
   
 

2. As a young man, Luke lived a wild life. How did his brother’s death turn Luke’s life around? What other times in the book did unhappy events bring about good? Have you seen this in your own life?
   
 

3. Why does Luke keep his fatherhood a secret? What were the positives and negatives in his decision? Was this a wise decision?
   
 

4. Though Mary is a faithful Christian, she’s a worrier unable to release her concerns to God. How did this affect her life? What lesson did she learn?
   
 

5. Mary is torn between her desire to become a doctor and a concern that her sons will pay a price for her goal. Yet she ignores deeper issues that might be harming her sons. Why?
   
 

6. Mary had a happy childhood and knows God loves her. Yet her abandonment as a baby and her deceased husband’s inability to give up drinking for her and their sons shape her sense of worth. How is she able to change that view?
   
 

7. Luke and Mary both kept secrets. Why? Do you understand their decisions? What events brought their
   secrets into the open? Were the consequences as dreadful as they feared?
   
 

8. How does Ben help build a bridge between his father and grandparents?
   
 

9. Throughout the book, Luke’s remedy is a symbol to him. What does it represent? And how does his view of his remedy change? Who helps Luke find peace about his goal to find a cure for epilepsy?
   
 

10. Why is Luke able to see through the facade of a perfect family Mary built and struggled to maintain?
    
 

11. Throughout the book, several people impact Luke and Mary, either intentionally or unintentionally. Can you name them and the lessons they taught?
    
 

12. How did Mary avoid dealing with the issues bothering her? At what cost to her?
    
 

13. In the end of the story, Mary gave Luke her remedy for a happy life. What ingredient is essential to their happy ending?
    
 

ISBN: 978-1-4268-3313-7

COURTING THE DOCTOR’S DAUGHTER

Copyright © 2009 by Janet Dean

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