The Doctor's Devotion by Cheryl Wyatt

Author:Cheryl Wyatt [Wyatt, Cheryl]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2012-05-14T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

“Perfect,” Mitch said to Lauren on the Saturday morning of the chili cookout. He enjoyed the graceful way her hands moved as she sprinkled garlic into his stockpot.

“Let’s see.” She passed him a ladle the way she did instruments in surgery. Did she realize how naturally they worked together? “I find this interesting.”

“What?” He stirred the spices in with the peppers stewing in the chunky sauce.

“All this.” She gestured to Mitch’s pot, then across the yard to Lem’s. Her smile wattage could light up the yard.

Mitch turned the heat down and eyed Lem, manning a separate simmering pot. “That we have chili cook-offs?”

“Not that, per se. Just the fact that you’re making it your life’s mission to recreate his recipe when he won’t give it up.”

“True. Lem’s like the ultimate vault when it comes to that recipe.” Mitch smirked playfully.

She aimed a spatula at him the way Lem often did. “Don’t you dare tell me he gave his coveted secret recipe to you, buster.”

Mitch laughed. “Hardly. I’ve tried for years to replicate it, to no avail. No one makes chili better than Lem.”

“You could always try to search his house and steal it.”

That made Mitch laugh. “I hope you’re kidding.” The fiercely determined look on her face made him think she wasn’t.

She tasted a spoonful of Mitch’s chili. “You’re getting close. It nearly tastes like his. Although I need another bite to be sure.” She poured a ladleful into a tin cup then blew on it.

Mitch leaned. “Your sampling will leave none for guests.”

She shrugged and grinned past the tin cup he’d sipped many slop soups from while stationed overseas as a combat surgeon. “Warn me if you plan to fire me as your official taste-tester.”

“Ha! You’d just sneak over there and sample his.” Mitch nodded toward Lem, hovered protectively over his chili pot.

“Probably so.” She giggled, then looked up at Mitch in an admiring way that made his insides feel all warm and bubbly. Like the chili sauce. “Don’t you know any military interrogation techniques we could use on him to uncover the ingredients?”

Mitch laughed. He really liked engaging her in lively conversation, and even the camaraderie of having her at his side. In the operating room and here, in a domestic setting. Domestic.

The word prickled over him. Perhaps they were getting a wee bit too cozy. Or maybe he should just give in to the attraction and court her instead of expending all this energy fleeing from it.

He took a smart step back.

Probably not his most healthy coping mechanism, but that was how things had to be for the time being.

Too risky otherwise. Too much to overcome. For the first time, though, fighting off his growing feelings felt less appealing than contemplating courting her.

He needed a distraction. “Tell me something I might not know about you and Lem.”

“Right. Like that’s possible.” She smirked.

“Seriously. Try me.”

“He started cook-offs in my honor.” A nostalgic look piggybacked Lauren’s words. “Chili was always my favorite meal.”

“Was?” He bumped her shoulder.

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