David filed that image away for later. “Hey, Jillian, I was just wondering…” His voice trailed off as he scanned the waiting room. His eyes widened. Penelope Benedict had indeed arrived early for her exam.
As had nearly every one of his newly married or affianced female cousins or soon-to-be cousins.
“Wow. It looks like all of Penelope’s friends and family have come to give her moral support. That’s great. I’ll let you in on a little secret, Jillian. Jessops, Kendalls, and Benedicts certainly know how to make newcomers welcome.” David felt tremendous pride in his family.
“Um, actually, most of these ladies have asked to see
you
, Doctor Jessop. I was just about to call you and let you know they were here. They’ve all only just arrived.”
“They
all
want to see me? Oh, crap, what did I do?”
Jillian chuckled, then pitched her voice low enough he doubted anyone else could hear her. “I’d be glad to refresh your memory about what you did both last night and this morning, if you’ve forgotten. But no, they don’t want to see you together and as far as I know, you’re not in any sort of trouble. They each have asked for an appointment, today if possible. It would appear that Lusty, Texas, is about to experience a baby boom.”
David’s eyes scanned the women who had stopped chattering and were all, instead, staring straight at him, all of them with hopeful smiles on their faces.
Some of these women he’d known all his life, having grown up with them. Some, he’d met only recently.
It made sense, of course, when he thought about it. It seemed that once every twenty to thirty years, there were a whole slew of babies born in Lusty. He and Robert had been born in the middle of the last big population explosion, as had most of his Benedict, Kendall, and Jessop cousins. Of course, tending to the medical needs of pregnant women and delivering babies weren’t the only services he offered as an ob-gyn. Yet one look at the women sitting patiently, and he knew for certain that he’d come home just in time, and that he was going to be a very busy baby doctor for the next year or so.
Still, logical or not, family tradition, or not, he couldn’t help but say, “They’re
all
of them pregnant? No wonder Kate said she was thrilled Robbie and I were going to be pitching in here.”
“Well, I’m not.” Maggie Morrison grinned. “Pregnant, that is. I’m here for moral support—for my niece, of course. But also because Julia’s men made me promise to bring her here today. They both had to be at the base for a meeting with top brass that they couldn’t get out of.”
“Don’t worry, Maggie.” David laughed. “I’ll sit down and have a talk with those titans of yours.” He nodded and gave her his most earnest expression. “Rick will create a spreadsheet and a bullet power point presentation, and you’ll be pregnant in no time.”
“I don’t think my men need any encouragement or help, thank you very much.” Her eyes sparkled with laughter as she tilted her head to one side. “I guess a part of me expected some irreverent comment about how it must have been one hell of a party.”
“He probably would have said just that,” Susan Evans-Magee agreed, “except Grandma Kate would have found out, and then his butt would have been
toast
.”
Kelsey Benedict laughed. “Susie, you and I were in competition to see which one of us could get pregnant first. When I discovered that so many of us were expecting at the same time, that was the exact thought that kept running through my head, too. As did that old song, ‘Wasn’t That a Party.’”
“And I thought y’all were all going to blame me, since I started it.” Penelope blushed as she said that. No question, Penelope’s baby would be the first of many born this year.
“Well boy howdy, Penelope, you said ‘y’all’ just like a
real
Texan. No one would ever guess you’d been born in England,” Ginny Rose said.
“She did, didn’t she?” Susan said. “This is a proud moment for the Benedict family—for all of us, in fact.”
The women laughed. “I never thought you had anything to do with the condition I’m in,” Ginny said, laughing, “as I do recall the occasion, and you were nowhere in sight.”
“I have to say the same thing,” Julia Benedict said. “Though I can’t recall the exact moment, I do know I was the only woman present.”
“I think the only ones not pregnant are Tamara and Tracy,” Kelsey shrugged. “Maybe you could give your lecture to
their
men, David. Doesn’t seem fair the Kendalls don’t have equal representation here.”
“Well, unless Ginny is carrying twins, or triplets.” Julia grinned at the woman in question who’d turned and gaped at her. “Hey, don’t blame me. Multiple births run in all of the families. Every time there’s a baby boom, there’s always at least
one
set of triplets, and several sets of twins.”
David felt as if he was a spectator at a tennis match. He didn’t, however, get a chance to speak to Kelsey’s suggestion. The outside door practically exploded open, and Peter Alvarez-Kendall strode in, carrying a protesting Tracy in his arms. Jordan held the door for his partner and his wife, and then followed Peter into the clinic.
“Peter, I can walk. I’m fine, honest I am, darling. Put me down, please. Look at all my cousins and friends gawking at me. Sheesh. How embarrassing.”
“Be quiet, Blondie. You’ve been exhausted for weeks, now, and today you fainted in the kitchen, passed right out, cold. Don’t tell me there’s nothing wrong with you. Fainting dead away is
not
normal. Look, David’s right here, just as if he was waiting for you. Why don’t we let
him
tell us that you’re fine?”
“Damn straight that’s what we’re going to do. Nothing’s more important to us than you are, Tracy May Alvarez-Kendall. No discussion required. So just save it and let us see to it you’re taken care of.”
“Oh, my. Apparently, I spoke too soon,” Kelsey said. “I think I’d better plan to hire more staff for the restaurant. If I don’t, Michelle and Cora are going to be
very
overworked at
Lusty Appetites
come the fall.”
* * * *
Life took a surreal turn this morning after that spanking, and I think I’ve been in the Texas version of
Alice in Wonderland
ever since.
It amazed Jillian how much her life had changed in just over forty-eight hours. She’d arrived in Lusty, Texas, on Saturday, a solitary woman determined to live her life simply, quietly, and alone. Now here she was, Monday afternoon, her previous plans completely abandoned, and enmeshed in a D/s relationship with two self-proclaimed Doms.
She couldn’t say she regretted the sudden change in the direction her life had taken, exactly. She just sure would be grateful if
somebody
would hand her a road map.
Jillian also wondered when she’d get the chance to learn more about this different kind of relationship that seemed, so far at least, to suit her to a tee. She didn’t have a clue when that would be, because she had the feeling the Drs. Jessop weren’t after leaving her on her own anytime soon.
Jillian grinned. It was kind of hard to work up any resentment over that fact.
Once she’d decided to accept the offer of employment from the Lusty Town Trust, she’d peppered Shirley with dozens of questions. That one visit to town a couple of weeks ago had mostly been spent here, where Shirley had given her a crash course on how things were done at the clinic. The only thing she hadn’t accomplished that day was to meet the younger Drs. Jessop. She hadn’t, in fact, been told there
were
any younger Drs. Jessop.
In every clinic Jillian had ever worked in, the doctors were the real bosses, the authors of procedures and methods one could file under the general heading, “how we do things here.” That wasn’t necessarily less so here in Lusty, but right from the first moment she’d understood how much of a free hand Shirley had been given. The older Drs. Jessop, when she’d met them then, had let her know they expected the same “take-charge” attitude from her. “We’re doctors, not administrators,” Dr. James Jessop had said. “As long as we have what we need to take care of our patients, and can devote our time
to
those patients and not damned pushy sales people or unnecessary paperwork, we’ll be very happy campers.”
They hadn’t said as much yet, but Jillian thought their sons felt the same way.
The door opened, and Jillian’s attention was pulled to the diminutive, white-haired woman who came in, all smiles, and headed straight to her.
“Good afternoon, Jillian. I thought I’d check in and see how your first day is going.”
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Benedict. It’s been a great day, thank you. I was just about to take my break. Would you like some hot tea?”
Kate Benedict waved her hand. “You must call me Grandma Kate, like everyone else does. And I would love a cup of hot tea.”
The small kitchen area in the clinic was well stocked with a single-cup coffeemaker, lots of little coffee pods, and a great selection of tea.
She made Grandma Kate a cup of Darjeeling—apparently her favorite—and made green tea for herself.
She led the way to her office—she’d turned on the doorbell and would hear if anyone came in—and sighed as she sat down.
“How are those two young doctors treating you? Not giving you a hard time, are they?”
Oh, my
. Jillian could do nothing to prevent the way she blushed. She noted the laughter in Kate’s eyes and was temporarily at a loss for words.
Robert’s voice preceded his entrance into her office. “Sweetie, it’s nearly time to lock the doors. We’ll have you all to ourselves so—oh, hi, Grandma Kate.” Robert showed no embarrassment whatsoever. He bent down, kissed the woman’s cheek, and then turned serious eyes on her. “Is this a social call, or do you need one of us?”
“Oh, purely social, dear, and I was going to subtly, of course, grill Jillian as to what she thought of you and David, but all of my questions have just been answered.” She looked at Jillian, then back to Robert. “And may I say I approve?”
Jillian felt completely awkward. Fortunately, Robert stepped in, smiled at Grandma Kate, and said, “I’m glad. Jillian is ours.”
“I see.”
Jillian had the feeling the woman
did
see, and that was fine. She just wished she felt as sure of things herself.
She grinned at Robert, and then said, “In that case, you run along and let me have my tea with this lovely young woman.”
“As you wish, Grandma Kate.” He kissed her again and then looked at Jillian. “We’re going to be at least another half hour before we’re ready to leave.”
“I’d like the opportunity to go over a few things with you before you do.” There were clinic-related items she wanted to discuss. She’d never done anything like this before—carrying on a personal relationship with those she worked for. She thought she might feel better if she could keep the business and the personal completely separate.
“Of course, Jillian. We’ll wait for you in the conference room.” Robert closed the door, leaving them to their conversation.
“Oh my. You know, Robert has always put me in mind of my dear Gerald. Such an intense man was my Gerald.” Kate Benedict sighed.
Jillian didn’t read sadness in that sound at all. Looking at the older woman, Jillian guessed she was visiting very good memories.
“I imagine you miss your husbands.” Jillian had lost her father when she’d been quite young, and her mother as a twenty-one-year-old. Even though she’d been married at the time, and a mother herself, she recalled thinking of herself as an orphan.
“I do, of course. But it’s all a part of life, isn’t it? Loving, and then losing? That’s why I’ve always believed that every moment lived is precious.”
Jillian had never looked at life in quite that way before. “I suppose it is.”
“Well now, I don’t need to try and persuade you to give Robert and David a closer look,” Kate practically giggled. “And I don’t suppose I could get you to discuss the business of what went on here, today. Rumor has it the traffic through those doors was brisk.”
Jillian laughed. “No, sorry. Patient confidentiality is a sacred trust.”
“Well that’s all right, and as it should be, really.” She nodded. “This town earns its name every generation. I do know there are several of my granddaughters and granddaughters-in-law who’re expecting.” Kate Benedict grinned. “Just as losses are inevitable in life, so, too, are births. And with each new baby born, the legacy that was created by two brave and loving families, continues on.”
Jillian had heard the story, of course, of the founding of a town, and a dynasty. She said, “It must be wonderful, to know that you fit into a larger picture. I know a bit of my father’s family history, of course. But next to nothing of my mother’s.”
“I’ve often wondered if those who don’t have a family they can trace back and know over generations well, if they feel
rootless
. I can’t imagine a worse feeling than that. I think, quite honestly, it’s a particular human need, the need to belong, don’t you? Look all what some people, especially teenagers, will sometimes do, just to grab for themselves some of that sense of belonging.” Kate shook her head as her eyes lost their focus.