The Doctor's Bride by Patty Smith Hall

Author:Patty Smith Hall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Josh balled up the sheet of paper and flung it into the fire, his fifth attempt at making a list of supplies and equipment since coming back to the Clarks’. He’d been relieved when Katie had stayed behind to talk to her friend Ursula. He needed time to think, to sort through the mess he’d created since arriving in Hillsdale. But his thoughts always strayed back to Katie.

He stood; the restless irritation he’d been feeling since leaving the boardinghouse seemed to build up inside him. Walking over to the fireplace, he rested his hands on the mantel, his boot perched on the hearth as he stared down in the glowing embers. The nerve of Miss Whipple! The dressing-down that woman had given Katie with just a glance had set his teeth on edge. How dare she lecture Katie about being an acceptable role model for respectable young ladies! Didn’t she realize what Katie had accomplished, not only for herself, but for every lady with a dream of attending college, of going into a profession? Why, the principal should be championing Katie’s cause, not condemning her. And why all the fuss over a friendly little kiss?

Only there hadn’t been anything friendly about it.

His gut tightened. He’d expected her to laugh, maybe even give him a playful punch on the shoulder like she used to whenever his teasing got out of hand. But when she’d tilted her head back, exposing the graceful line of her jaw, the tiny wisps of curls that framed her face, the thick lashes that outlined those lovely coffee-colored eyes of hers, his brain had muddled. This was Katie, his Katie. In that moment, from one heartbeat to the next, he’d realized how dangerously close he was to falling in love with her.

But what about the plans I’ve made, Lord? Where does Katie fit into all those?

Pushing away from the fireplace, Josh walked back over to the secretary and sat down, stretching his legs out in front of him, arms crossed over his chest. Did it really matter anyway? Kate had already informed him in that impossibly blunt way of hers that she wouldn’t marry him.

But if he was on the path God had planned for him, why did Josh feel this restlessness, this uncertainty in his soul?

There was a knock on the door. “Dr. McClain?”

Josh straightened, picking up the scattered papers on the desk and stacking them into a neat little pile. “What is it, Ada?”

“Dr. Clark would like to speak with you.”

Katie was home? He hadn’t heard her come in. But then, Katie wouldn’t have thought anything of disturbing him in her own parlor. “You mean the older Dr. Clark.”

The woman looked confused for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Josh stood, hooking his suit coat off the back of his chair, then throwing it back down. No sense putting it on when he needed to check the man’s wound. “Is he in distress?”

She shook her head. “No, just said he needed to talk to you without Dr.

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