Baby, Drive South by Bond Stephanie

Author:Bond, Stephanie [Bond, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance
Publisher: Mira
Published: 2011-07-03T05:00:00+00:00

18

Porter tensed as Marcus paced their office behind his desk. Kendall sat next to Porter, looking straight ahead, apparently prepared to take whatever Marcus was going to dish out regarding the two enormous truckloads of stuff he’d escorted back from Atlanta. Porter somehow knew, even though he hadn’t been part of that outing, he was going to get lumped into the tongue lashing that was to come.

Instead of calming down, Marcus seemed to become more irate, like a penned bull. His face grew redder, his hands fisted. Finally, he stopped and planted his hands on his desk. Steam was practically streaming out of his nose. “I don’t even know where to start.”

Kendall threw up his hands. “Just say whatever high and mighty thing you have to say so we can get back to work.”

Porter glanced at his brother, surprised. Kendall rarely provoked Marcus. Come to think of it, Kendall had been uncharacteristically irritable since the women had arrived, as if he were…disappointed.

Porter pulled on his chin. He and Kendall had both underestimated the amount of work it would take simply to convince the women to stay in Sweetness.

Marcus’s eyes bulged. “Get back to work? You mean unpacking knickknacks for the ladies, don’t you? Because from where I stand, there’s not much real work getting done around here!”

“We’re making good headway on the clinic,” Porter added.

But wished he hadn’t, because it only shifted Marcus’s focus onto him.

“Fat lotta good that’s gonna do us with no doctor to run it!”

“She’s still here, isn’t she?”

“But has she signed the contract?”

“Not yet,” Porter muttered.

“Our application for an RHC won’t even be considered if we don’t have a physician on staff. We’ve put this clinic in motion, we can’t stop now.”

He didn’t want to mention that Nikki had put out feelers to find a replacement— He wasn’t giving up on having the homestead land. “I just need some more time to convince the little lady doc, that’s all.”

“So you’re going to continue to hold her hostage and lie about the van?” Kendall asked.

“Absolutely. By the way, I told her you were supposed to bring a new fuel pump back from Atlanta, so if she asks you about it, play dumb.”

Kendall frowned. “That’s your role. I heard you paid some of the men to make up reasons to go see her?”

Marcus rolled his eyes.

“They all had legitimate conditions,” Porter argued. “Small…things.”

“And how’d that work out?” Kendall asked.

Porter frowned. “Not as well as I’d hoped.”

Marcus pointed to Kendall. “You talk to Dr. Salinger about staying.” Then he pointed to Porter. “You stay away from her.”

Porter drew back. “What about our deal?”

Marcus gave a wave. “Kendall and I were going to give you the homestead anyway, Porter.”

He looked back and forth between his brothers. “You were?”

Kendall nodded. “So why don’t you let me work on Dr. Salinger. She might respond to sanity.”

Porter’s momentary pleasure about the land deed was strangely overshadowed by the knowledge that he no longer had an excuse to be with Nikki. “But I’m the

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