White Wedding for a Southern Belle by Susan Carlisle

Author:Susan Carlisle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin (UK) Ltd
Published: 2016-07-02T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

WHEN THEY ARRIVED at a park area near the river, Kiefer could tell it had been cleaned and groomed recently. Even the shrubbery had been trimmed. The large beach oaks surrounding the area provided shade from the already warm sun.

A few men were busy setting up tables. As they finished, a couple of women came behind them, rolling out plastic tablecloths.

Kiefer carried a large salad bowl. Ashley had requested he transfer the potato salad into one of hers. He placed it on a table already laden with food. He leaned the folding chairs he’d carried over his shoulder against a tree before he and Ashley joined some others.

As they approached, a heavyset woman wearing a bright smile stopped what she was doing and hurried toward them. “Ashley, are you okay, dear?”

“I’m fine. It’s really just a scratch. The doctors...” she glanced at him “...just want me to be careful for a little while.”

“Honey, you need to be more careful not to fall.”

Kiefer looked at Ashley, who gave him a pleading look before she said, “I will. Mrs. Nasboom, I’d like you to meet the new doctor at the clinic, Dr. Bradford.”

Mrs. Nasboom smiled up at him. “Nice to meet you, young man. I’ve heard a number of good things about you.”

He smiled down at Mrs. Nasboom. “That’s always good to hear.”

“What do I need to do to help?” Ashley asked Mrs. Nasboom.

“I think we just need to set up the drinks table. We decided to put it over there.” Mrs. Nasboom pointed toward a spot under one of the trees. There were already a couple of tables leaning against a large oak.

“We’ll see to that,” Ashley said.

When Mrs. Nasboom was out of earshot Kiefer looked Ashley straight in the eyes. “Fall?”

“Hush,” she hissed, “or I’ll tell them you pushed me.” She walked away looking regal, like a queen.

Ashley was something.

As noon approached a crowd started gathering. Almost everyone made a point to come up and speak to Ashley. More than one had been a patient of his in the last few weeks. They often had something to say to him as well. Being an ER doctor, he rarely saw a patient twice. As the Southriver clinic doctor, he not only saw them more than once but had an opportunity to get to know something about his patients. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed that connection until now.

Taking the clinic job had been his way of escaping. He’d needed to get away from Atlanta, from his past, and start over. The plan had turned out to have other benefits as well.

By noon the park was crowded with people talking and laughing. The tables almost groaned from the weight on them. The block party was achieving what Ashley had hoped for, a community coming together.

“Oh, honey, what happened to you?”

Kiefer turned from a conversation he was having with one of the local business owners to see an older woman dressed in a simple shirt and slacks hugging Ashley.

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