We're One (The Vicarage Bench Series) by Barbour Mimi

Author:Barbour, Mimi [Barbour, Mimi]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2012-04-17T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“What do you mean, they’re gone? They weren’t scheduled to return Stateside until next week.” Standing on the doorstep, bags by his side, Ashley was blindsided by the latest news.

“Come in, please! Come in.” Dr. Andrews stepped back and threw open the door. His face, wreathed in smiles, exuded a warm welcome. “Ashley, my boy, it’s good to see you.” Extending his hand, he waited for Ash to put down the suitcases again so he could handshake and hug the young fellow he obviously liked.

After greeting their pleasant host, Ash placed his arm around the pretty woman standing quietly next to him and introduced her. “Dr. Andrews, this is my close friend Crystal Davis.”

Like an aging aristocrat the older man bowed over her hand. “Welcome, my dear. It’s lovely to meet you.”

Once they settled into the parlour, Dr. Andrews calmly explained that Carrie had started to feel unwell, but she’d refused to check into hospital while she and Rhett were visiting her grandparents. She’d hidden her symptoms from the two old dears because she didn’t want to scare them.

Desperate and worried, Rhett had given the grands an excuse of unexpected business demanding his attention before he scooped her up and forced her on a flight back home, promising another trip to England in a few months if she’d go quietly.

Dr. Andrews chuckled and added. “Mind you, his promise did come with conditions. She had to agree to see her doctor as soon as she stepped foot on American soil.”

Ashley’s natural complexion faded. Visibly shaken, he asked, “What were her symptoms?”

Dr. Andrews ticked off on his fingers a multitude of various items such as nausea, vomiting, cramps and worst of all a slight fainting spell that became the final straw. Up until the passing out part, Rhett couldn’t sway her. But Carrie lost all her arguments for putting her illness down to a flu bug or a bit of food poisoning, once that happened.

What didn’t compute, and what Crystal picked up on immediately, was the sly glint in the doctor’s eye. Concentrating on his lightly clasped hands, he’d tried to conceal the slight upward slant of his lips until he said, “Ash, don’t worry. I’m positive that when they get her to the doctor they’ll find out she wasn’t deathly ill, not at all, but caught up in a normal malady that many women go through at certain times. In fact, I’d stake my medical career on it.”

The wink, sent Crystal’s way, endeared the man to her like nothing else could have. It also reassured her about Carrie, a woman respected and liked by other Vegas girls. That thick-skinned, world-weary, street-smart pack of females held Carrie Parks in very high esteem.

The doctor’s tone calmed the frightened man more than his words. “You’re sure? Carrie means more to Rhett than anything else in this world. If he lost her, I’d lose him. He’d never get over it—never be the same again.”

Patting the younger man on the shoulder, the doctor stood up to dispense sherry into small glasses, then gestured for the young couple to help themselves.

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