Mistletoe Mistake by Caroline Clemmons

Author:Caroline Clemmons [Clemmons, Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-09-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

On Friday evening, the blizzard blew in. Shannon hurried to feed and water Plato. She found a horse blanket and covered him then gave him an extra measure of hay and feed.

She watched the snow from her parlor window. At first the sight was beautiful but then the snow increased until she couldn’t see the carriage house. The wind increased and rattled the windows.

She was grateful she had a warm place to take refuge. She worried about others in town who might not be as well off as she. Thank goodness, Mrs. Zimmerman was still staying with the Frasers to offer them her counsel.

Not a soul came to her door and she didn’t venture out except to feed Plato. She realized the true purpose of the line she’d believed to be a clothesline from the back door to the stable. Without it, she couldn’t have found her way to and from the carriage house.

On Tuesday, Riley came to check on her. Once he was inside, she started coffee while he took off his coat, hat, and gloves. He’d carried Sylvester with him.

“Did you carry him all the way here?”

“No, just after he got tired. He enjoyed jumping into the snow for a couple of blocks, but then he was through. I was afraid the pads of his feet would get too cold.”

Shannon patted a spot on the floor. “Look, Sylvester. I found this blanket especially for you.” She set a bowl of water and a dish of chopped meat down.

The dog wolfed down the food and drank half the water. Then, he rearranged the blanket and lay down.

Riley smiled at his pet. “He’s happy now. Pretty good treatment, eh, boy?”

“In case you’re jealous, I baked a pie. I didn’t have dried peaches, but I had canned ones.”

He rubbed his hands together. “Sounds great. Carrying Sylvester whipped up my appetite.”

She cut him a slice of the pie she’d baked in hopes he’d come by tonight. “Lucky for my waistline you’re here. I love to bake in cold weather. I’ve made two kinds of cookies during the storm.”

Good heavens, she had to control herself. She acted like a schoolgirl with her first beau. At least, she hoped Riley qualified as a beau.

Just because he’d kissed her didn’t mean he thought of her that way. Men put less importance on kisses than did women. Or so she’d heard. As much as she knew clinically about the human body, she hadn’t much romantic experience.

Face facts, she had no personal knowledge of dealing with men as anything other than patients. While technically Riley was one of her patients, that definitely was not how she pictured him now. Since she was the only doctor in the county, she wondered about the ethics of having a relationship with a patient.

As if anyone here would care. Mistletoe was a world away from most of the rules she learned in New York. How could she encourage Riley without seeming obvious—as if baking his favorite pie wasn’t evidence enough.

He took a bite of pie and closed his eyes.

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