The Doctor Wears A Stetson (Contemporary Western Romance) (23 page)

Something he'd thrown in her face, by the
way. More than just spurning him, but keeping him from something he
wanted much more than children. He wanted
her
.

Either way, either choice she made, she
would end up disappointing him.

Bumping along the dirt road in her old
pickup truck, these thoughts circled inside Jessie's head. When she
rounded the stand of mesquite trees guarding the house, she stomped
on the brakes and screeched to a halt.
What in the
world
?

The front porch looked like Gussie
Ferguson's Florist Shop. Vases of all shapes and sizes covered
every inch of her porch each overflowing with dark red roses.

Katnip and Sherlock emerged from the midst
of the bower and came forward to greet Jessie.

She climbed out of the truck and slammed the
door behind her. As if in a dream, she walked up the stone path,
stopped at the porch step and just stared at the bounty of roses
nestled together making the old porch a beautiful sight to
behold.

Tears formed in her eyes and she swallowed a
lump in her throat. She stepped up onto the porch and sat down
amongst the flowers. She counted seventeen arrangements of the most
gorgeous long-stemmed roses she'd ever seen. Or maybe they were
gorgeous because she'd never received many flowers in her life. Or
maybe it was because they were from the man she loved.

She knew they were from Cameron. Who else?
Searching every bouquet and spray of roses, Jessie finally found a
card and plucked it from the vase closest to where she sat. With
trembling fingers she opened the small envelope and read the bold
handwriting.

To Jess, the woman who holds my heart. Please
accept these small tokens of my affection, one for every year we've
wasted not being together. My love stands true. My heart belongs to
you. Know you are in my thoughts every second of every day. I love
you, Cameron.

Jessie held the card to her heart and closed
her eyes. The sweet subtle fragrance of the roses wafted around
her, lulling her, whispering to her, battling the defenses she'd
worked so hard to erect around her heart.

She stood, weak-kneed and a little wobbly,
and slowly entered the house. She read the love note again, knowing
a chink of her self-imposed armor had been chiseled loose.

Be strong, Jess. Be strong.

****

Monday morning, Jessie was late for work.
She'd spent the weekend tossing and turning, getting little rest
and less sleep. When she did manage to sleep, she dreamed of the
roses and Cameron McCade. His smile, his eyes, his lovemaking. How
he'd given up his life in Houston and returned to Salt Fork. How
he'd said he loved her and wanted to spend his life with her.

When she wasn't sleeping, Jessie lay in bed
staring at the ceiling thinking about what she'd let slip through
her fingers. What could have been such a happy life with
Cameron.

If only . . .

She'd moved the roses inside the house.
Every time she walked to the kitchen to make soup or tea, seventeen
vases of lovely roses reminded her of what she'd given up.

Pulling up behind the garage, Jessie parked
her truck and immediately made her way to the office. Sam hollered
a greeting from under the sedan he was working on. Since she wasn't
in the mood to be around people, she hoped Sam would work in the
garage most of the day. She had a ton of paper work to plow
through.

When Jessie jerked opened the door to the
office, her hand froze on the metal handle. A rainbow of color
bombarded her--on top of the desk, the file cabinet and even on the
ancient swivel chair. Baskets and baskets full of carnations.
Seventeen. She knew without counting.

The bell on the door jingled and Sam came
in. "Seems like you've got an admirer. McCade sure seems
determined. I bet he's going to ask you to marry him.
Congratulations, Jessie."

Jessie's stomach rolled over and she
suddenly felt sick. Sicker than she'd felt all weekend. And dizzy.
So dizzy, she sank down into the straight-backed chair in front of
the desk before she could faint right then and there.

Sam rushed over and stood in front of her, a
frown creasing his black brows. "Are you sure you should have come
in to work? Maybe you're not over that stomach virus. You should
have stayed home another day. Maybe you should go to the clinic and
see the doctor--"

"No!" Jessie shook her head. Good lord, she
didn't want to see Cameron. It would hurt too much. "I'm fine. I'm
still recovering, but I'm well enough to work. I'll take it easy
and stay in here, catch up on the accounts receivable and let you
take care of the repairs." She took a deep breath and conjured up a
smile. "Could you help move the flowers to the floor, so I can get
to the computer?"

"Sure thing. You just sit there and rest.
Want some water or something?"

"Water would be nice."

Jessie sipped her bottle of cold water while
Sam cleared the desk and chair.

"There's a card in this basket," he said and
handed it to her. "Yeah, McCade is one determined man. I'll get
back to the transmission I'm working on. If you need anything, just
holler."

Jessie gingerly rose from the chair and
rounded the desk, sinking into the swivel chair. For a minute, she
sat there staring at the card in her hand, afraid to open it.

With a huge breath, she berated herself for
being a coward and quickly slit open the envelope.

These flowers can't begin to express the love
I feel for you. I need you like I need air to breathe and sunshine
to live. Seventeen years ago, I made a wrong turn. Help me find the
way back, Jess. I love you, Cameron.

Jessie stared at the card. Seventeen years
ago, Cameron had asked her to the prom and her life had
miraculously changed. She remembered how surprised and shocked
she'd been when he'd shown up at the garage one week before the big
event. She couldn't believe he'd asked her to be his date.

Jessie looked at the baskets of carnations
surrounding her on the floor of the office. Yes, she'd lost her
heart to Cameron McCade seventeen years ago. And when he'd kissed
her up on Lover's Point that night, her world had tilted and it had
never been the same since.

He'd been like Prince Charming, awakening
her to love and desire. Then he'd left her high and dry.

Cameron had called her stubborn, but if she
hadn't had that stubborn streak, Jessie would never have survived
when he went off to college and left her. She'd never have survived
the ordeal of taking care of her sick father. Or losing her mother
at such a tender age. Or watching TR die, knowing she hadn't loved
him as she should have.

Jessie knew she was capable of living
without Cameron, but she wanted to cry when she thought of the
bleak empty future stretching before her.

It wouldn't be easy. Lord, it had never been
easy. And it was different now. Cameron wasn't far away
anymore.

No, the man she loved was back in Salt Fork.
And he loved her and wanted to marry her. She would see him around
town, run into him, constantly be aware of his presence over at the
clinic or in his house in the middle of town.

Jessie looked at the flowers surrounding
her. He obviously wasn't going to make it easy for her either. He
seemed to be laying siege to her heart, deliberately battling down
her defenses.

She sighed. Hadn't she always wished she
could be part of his plans? That wish had finally come true.

Jessie felt her resolve slipping. She
brushed her fingers over the petals of a yellow carnation. The
flowers lit up the office like Cameron lit up her life. He'd told
her he wanted her more than he wanted kids. Could she believe
him?

How would she survive, living in the same
town as Cameron, knowing she'd disappointed him by not marrying
him? How could she marry him, unable to give him a child?

She'd been over the argument again and
again. No wonder she was dizzy.

Jessie booted up the computer. Thank God,
she now had the resources and money to pay most of the bills. She
couldn't have lived with herself if she'd screwed up and lost the
garage on top of everything else.

And that was another thing.

Dallas McCade was angry about her leasing
the oil rights on his ranch. As far as she knew, he still wasn't
talking to Cameron. He certainly wasn't talking to her. Which
wasn't such a bad thing, considering he only hounded her about
selling the mineral rights when he did speak to her.

Always a silver lining somewhere in there,
right?

That's stretching it a bit, Jess.

She pulled up the accounts receivable and
set to work. She'd lose herself in the dreary columns of numbers
for now and let the future take care of itself.

****

At five o'clock, Cameron hung his lab coat
on the hook behind his office door, grabbed his Stetson and the
gaily-wrapped gift from his desk and headed out the clinic door.
Sheila would lock up as she always did.

They'd settled into a nice routine--he
opened the clinic in the morning; she closed at night. It worked
out great for both of them. Cameron whistled a happy tune as he
drove down the road toward the café.

He wondered how Jessie had reacted to all
the flowers he'd sent. And the notes he'd written, agonizing over
every word. He'd realized Jessie had never really dated, had never
been courted or wooed, to use the old-fashioned terms.

She'd always been more of a tomboy, working
in the garage with her father. She'd never worn frilly, girlie
outfits when she'd been a kid. She still preferred jeans, but once
in a while when she wore something like that powder-blue dress that
drove him crazy, there was no doubt that she was one sexy
woman.

He turned into the café parking lot, eased
the car into a slot and cut the engine. Jessie wasn't beautiful in
the classical sense. She was more cute than pretty. But she was
beautiful to Cameron. It didn't matter what she had on. And
naturally, he liked her best with nothing on at all.

He gripped the steering wheel. If she didn't
respond to his overtures of wooing, he didn't know what he would
do. He couldn't imagine continuing to live in Salt Fork without
Jessie by his side.

As usual, the café was crowded at this time
of day. Cameron found a seat at the counter, laid the package in
front of him and waited for Sarah Sue to come by with his water and
menu.

"Well, hey there, sugar!" Sarah Sue said,
hurrying over. "Haven't seen you in quite a while. Been busy
getting settled at the clinic? How's the new house coming along?
I've always admired the old Peterson house. You are one lucky man
that it came on the market when it did and Jessie was able to put
down your money for you. By the way, when are you and Jessie going
to make up? She's moping around like I don't know what. And when
are you going to stop dragging your feet and ask that girl to marry
you?"

Cameron smoothed the ribbon on the package.
He hated to admit anything to anybody, but maybe Sarah Sue could
help him out. She and Jessie were close friends. But from the sound
of it, Jessie hadn't told Sarah Sue the recent developments in
their relationship. A relationship he felt slipping from him with
every passing minute.

"I guess you haven't talked to Jessie
lately," he said. "She hasn't told you--"

"Hey, Sarah Sue! Can I get some service over
here?" someone called from the corner.

"Hold your horses, Shorty. I'm coming."
Sarah Sue bent to retrieve menus from behind the counter. "Don't
you move, Cameron McCade. I want to know what's going on. Jessie's
been feeling mighty poorly lately and she's been closed as an
oyster about everything. Figure out what you want to eat, while I
take care of a few customers."

She shoved a menu in Cameron's hands and
whisked away. Five minutes ago, he'd been hungry as a bear. Now, he
couldn't think about eating.

Before he even opened the menu, Sarah Sue
was back, standing beside him instead of behind the counter. She
whipped the menu from his grasp. "Let's go, darlin'."

"Where to?"

"My office." She grabbed his hand and pulled
him out of his seat. He barely had time to pick up the wrapped
package from the counter. "We need to discuss this in private," she
said, dragging him along. "I may like to gossip, but not about
Jessie's private life."

Cameron followed her through the swinging
doors leading to the kitchen, past the stoves and super-sized
refrigerator, into a tiny room in the corner of the building.

She closed the door and pointed to a chair.
"Sit."

Cameron had to smile. Sarah Sue wasn't
actually old enough to be his mother, but she sure sounded like a
mom. "Yes'm," he said, sliding into the straight-backed chair
facing the old metal desk.

Sarah Sue hitched a hip on the desk, crossed
her arms over her meager bosom and glared at him. "Okay, I'm all
ears. Tell me everything. I should have known Jessie would screw
things up. If ever I saw such a stubborn person . . . well, I
haven't, and that's the truth. So spill it, sugar."

Cameron set the package on the desktop and
Sarah Sue eyed it with a gleam in her eyes. He took off his Stetson
and settled more comfortably in the hard chair, not knowing how
much to tell. He wasn't used to revealing things about himself to
anyone.

"Honey, I'm on your side and Jessie's, of
course. I take it from what you almost told me out there that
you've already asked her to marry you?"

"Yes, on Valentine's Day."

"And she refused you?"

He nodded.

Sarah Sue let out a huge exasperated sigh.
"That girl. What in the world is going on in her stubborn little
head? She's been in love with you since prom night. Did you know
that?"

Cameron shook his head. "I knew she had a
crush on me, but--"