Instant Gratification

“Okay.” He nodded. “I get that in your world, you can back up that badass city girl thing you’ve got going on, but things are different here.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” she responded. “People around here tend to get all up in other people’s business, for one.” She shot him a meaningful look.

He smiled. “It’s called caring.”

“Oh. I thought it was called nosy.”

He shook his head. “You’re stubborn. You get that from him. He means something to me, Emma,” he said softly, with steel underlying every syllable. “Maybe you could cut him some slack.”

She wanted to promise him that she would, but that stubbornness reared its ugly head and she bit her tongue.

He looked at her for a long moment, then when she didn’t speak, nodded his thanks at the casseroles in his arms and turned and walked away.

Chapter 10

Stone let out a low breath which diluted his odd and disconcerting lust for Emma not one little iota, and handed off the casserole dishes to Doc.

“Thanks.” Doc got the door, then moved through his kitchen to the refrigerator, rustling through it for something to drink. As Stone had personally taken out all the caffeine, he knew Doc wasn’t going to find what he was looking for-which was his beloved Pepsi.

“The kids?”

“The sun’s peeking out. They’re lying on the rocks,” Stone said. “Why didn’t you tell her?”

He was still rummaging for Pepsi. “Tell her what?”

Stone reached out, grabbed a bottle of water, and handed it to him. “Oh, I don’t know, that you didn’t ignore her on purpose when she was growing up. That you could have hired another doctor for your place but you wanted to see her. That you had a major heart attack not a minor one…pick one.”

“Oh.” Doc leaned back and stared at the bottle of water in his hand. “I think she knows.”

“Really? Then why does she seem to blame you for the lack of relationship between you two?”

“Because her mother, well-meaning as she was, was a little distant. Her stepfather even more distant. In Emma’s book, my actions-or lack of-put me in the same category as them. Emotionally, she raised herself. In doing so, she learned a painful lesson-that she could trust no one with her heart.”

“That’s a sucky lesson.”

“Yes, and I take responsibility for that.” Shaking his head at himself, he opened the water bottle and took a long drink. “We all know that I was the adult, that I should have tried harder. That I should have gotten over my broken heart and fought for my child. And she’s right.”

“So what now?”

Doc turned the water in his hands, as if he could turn it into the Pepsi he wanted. “If she asks me to, I’m going to sell the clinic.”

“What?”

“Yeah.” Doc nodded, looking unusually solemn. “I just wanted you to hear it from me before you catch wind of it.”

“I don’t understand.”

“She isn’t going to stay, Stone,” he said very gently. “I can’t make her admit that she belongs here-”

“She does belong here.” Where the hell that came from, he had no idea.

“I can’t keep the Urgent Care going by myself, we both know that. I can either hire doctors on a rotating schedule, or sell. If I sell, at least it isn’t a burden to her, and maybe I can get into the rotation. A day a week would be right up my alley.”

Stone stared at him. “You’re sounding like you’re okay with this idea already.”

“Are you kidding? I hate it.” Doc sighed. “If I thought anything or anyone could change her mind…”

Stone looked at Doc and saw the small light of hope. “Don’t look at me,” he said quickly. “She wouldn’t listen to me even if I tried. She has a bit of an attitude, in case you haven’t noticed.”

Doc laughed softly. “You’re falling for her.”

He was falling for her. “This is your deal.”

“I’m just saying, if it came up…”

“Doc.” Stone shook his head. “Listen, we’ve been through this. You need to talk to her yourself. You need to fight for her, as her father.”

But Doc was shaking his head no. “Fighting for her, forcing her to divide herself between the west and east coast would be far more damaging than letting her go. I have to let go, Stone. I have to let her be. That’s guilt speaking. I won’t bring her any emotional strain. She’s had enough.”

Stone sighed. “You did the best you could.”

Doc shoved back his unruly hair and smiled sadly. “You’re making excuses for me. It’s about accountability, which unfortunately I didn’t learn until two months ago on an ER table. The truth is, I’ve been every bit as selfish as her mother. Emma knows it, and so do I.” He opened the fridge one more time and sighed as he stared at the contents. “What I wouldn’t give for a damn Pepsi.”

“Accountability,” Stone said dryly. “You needed a lifestyle change, which includes eating healthier, exercising more than lifting a fishing pole, and here’s a new one-living until you’ve seen your grandchildren.”

Doc’s eyes, kind and sharp as they came, met his. “You should have been a doctor. You’re a natural caretaker.”

“As I’d have passed out at the first sight of a needle, I think it’s fair to say I made a good choice.”

“You’re still taking care of people.”

“Playing for a living,” Stone corrected.

Doc smiled. “Now see, that’s what makes you who you are, Stone. Modesty. Because unlike myself, you’ve never acted selfishly in your life.”

“Stop it.”

“No, I mean it. You managed Cam when he was a world champion at such a young age. You helped TJ through his tragedy-”

“Both of those things were a long time ago.”

“Yeah, and you’re still there for them, keeping your family a unit. You invested Cam’s pro earnings for him wisely, and now he’s rich as sin. You helped TJ realize his dream by building that lodge. You keep both your brothers’ dreams alive by running Wilder Adventures even though we both know you’d rather be wearing a tool belt and working with your hands. Face it, Stone. You’re always, in one form or another, taking care of someone you care about, including trying to get between me and Emma to keep us both happy.”

Uncomfortable with that, Stone turned away, looking out the window and automatically counting teenage heads to make sure they were all still out there. Last week two of the little geniuses had decided to take off on their own to smoke some weed. Today they were back at the lodge with Annie, cleaning toilets. His own unique form of punishment. “You make me sound like some sort of a saint.”

“No.” Doc tossed back more of his water. “A saint would have slipped me a soda.”

Spencer had met a few doctors from South Shore and the next day was off with them for the day playing on Lake Tahoe. Emma didn’t go because she had the clinic. In the hottest day of the year so far, she saw a total of four patients. She got one casserole, one IOU, and two checks.

Progress.

She treated a sprained elbow, two sore throats and one migraine. She’d say this-she was getting used to the lack of drama in her day.

Actually, it did make breathing easier. Not that she was ready to admit such a thing. Near closing time, Annie showed up. “Sorry to bother you,” she said, holding Chuck in her arms. “But our vet is climbing Echo Summit.” She