Youve come back. Its about time, dont you think?
About time? Dr. Brett Elliot hadnt expected his hometown to stage a welcome parade to celebrate his return. But he also hadnt expected to be accosted by a beautiful woman hed never met. Ms.
You dont know who I am?
Youre not?
Something about her amber eyes triggered recognition. He brushed back her auburn curls, exposing a thin scar. Shed fallen from a tree when she was five, and hed been convinced at ten he was grown up enough to take care of her. That was when hed decided to become a doctor.
Rebecca. Little Rebecca, all grown up.
People do, you know. Did you think nothing in Bedford Creek would change while you were gone, that we were all just waiting for your return?
Rebecca had been a quiet little tomboy, all skinny legs and sharp elbows. The woman who stood in front of him now was beautiful.
I guess things have changed, Brett said, lifting an eyebrow.
MARTA PERRY
began writing childrens stories for Sunday school take-home papers when she was a church education director. From that beginning she branched into writing magazine fiction and then book-length fiction. Shes grateful for the opportunity to write the books of her heart for Steeple Hill.
Marta lives in rural Pennsylvania with her husband of thirty-eight years. They have three grown children scattered around the globe whom they enjoy visiting. In addition to writing and travel, Marta loves hearing from readers and responding to their letters. You can write to her at Steeple Hill Books, 300 East 42nd St., New York, NY 10017.
The Doctor Next Door
Marta Perry
www.millsandboon.co.uk
For we are Gods workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10
This book is dedicated to the dear writing friends
and critique partners who kept me going all these
years: Barbara, Andi, Laurie, Dave and Pam.
And, as always, to Brian.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
Letter to Reader
Chapter One
Youve come back.
The young womans golden-brown eyes filled with a mix of shock and some other emotion Brett couldnt identify.
She grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the flow of people coming through the front door of the gracious Victorian home. Its about time, dont you think?
About time? Dr. Brett Elliot hadnt expected his hometown to stage a welcome parade to celebrate his return. But he also hadnt expected to be accosted at his best friends engagement party by a beautiful woman hed never seen before.
Thered been no mistaking the sarcasm in her voice. The party started at eight, didnt it? He detached his arm from her grip. People clustered in the adjoining rooms, leaving the wide center hallway quiet.
The party? Yes. She glanced toward the crowded living room of the rambling old house, where the party obviously centered. Auburn hair curled around her shoulders; creamy skin glowed against the soft coral of her dress.
No, if hed known this woman before, hed certainly remember.
Well, then, Im right on time. He probably wouldnt have ventured out at all on his first night back in Bedford Creek if he werent one of Mitchs groomsmen. He could hardly avoid the party given for Mitch and Anne, especially since it was at the Forrester place, right next door to his parents empty house. Apparently one of the Forrester sisters was a member of the wedding party.
He couldnt pretend he hadnt gotten home for it. Someone would notice his car or the light in the window. That was one of the drawbacks he remembered of life in a small town. Someone noticed everything.
So he had decided to make a brief appearance, smile at everyone and beat a quick retreat before too many questions were asked.
Nothing in that scenario included having a stranger look at him with such disapproval. He pushed down his annoyance and tried a smile. You think I should have come early, Ms.
Her eyebrows went up in astonishment. You dont know who I am?
He riffled quickly through his mental file of high school friends. Trouble was, he hadnt come back to Pennsylvania often during college and medical school on the West Coast. He was much closer since hed taken the residency at a Philadelphia hospital, but also much busier. And with his parents spending most of the year in Florida, thered been little to bring him back. People had a way of changing when you didnt see them for years at a time.
Well, lets see. You must be someone I went to school with, right?
A dimple showed at the corner of her mouth, dissipating her frown. In a way.
The smile encouraged him. She couldnt be that annoyed with him, even if hed gotten the time wrong. Something about her made him think of Angela Forrester, his high school sweetheart. One of Angelas friends, maybe?
Were you a cheerleader, like Angela?
No. Her amber eyes seemed to enjoy a secret laugh at his expense.
Youre not
Something about her eyes triggered recognition. He brushed the auburn curls back from her cheek, exposing the hairline-thin white scar.
Shed fallen from the willow tree in the backyard when she was five. Hed been the first person there, and hed held the hem of his T-shirt over the cut, convinced that at ten he was grown up enough to take care of her. That might have been the moment hed decided to become a doctor.
Rebecca. Now that he realized, of course, it could be no one else. Little Rebecca, all grown up.
She drew back casually from his touch. People do, you know.
He shook his head. Its impossible. You used to look like Orphan Annie, all frizzy red hair and big eyes.
Now she was beautiful. The idea stunned him. How could Angelas pesky kid sister look like this?
Gee, thanks. I think.
I didnt mean He was thrown ridiculously off balance. Of course Rebecca had grown up. She couldnt stay little forever.
You expected me to look like a kid. Did you think nothing in Bedford Creek would change while you were gone, that we were all just waiting for your return? Its not Brigadoon, you know.
Isnt it? Theyd done Brigadoon for their senior class play. Angela had been gorgeous in a tartan skirt. Somehow Bedford Creek had always had that Brigadoon auraisolated, hidden by its mountains, remote from his busy urban life.
Things do change. I grew up. Angela got engaged. You cant just walk back in and find everything the way you left it.
The edge in her voice startled him. Rebecca had been a quiet little tomboy, all skinny legs and sharp elbows. Shed tagged after him and Angela, always wanting to be just like them, until it nearly drove Angela crazy.
I guess things have changed. He lifted an eyebrow. Way I remember it, youd no more have argued with anyone than youd have flown off the roof.
She smiled, the flicker of antagonism disappearing, at least for the moment. I think I did try to fly off the porch once, using Moms tablecloth for a cape.
So you did. Are you still a tomboy? Teasing Rebecca felt like old times, and the tension hed been carrying around for weeks seemed to slide away. Still falling out of willow trees?
Not anymore. Her chin lifted, perhaps with pride. Im a physicians assistant now. I work with Dr. Overton at the clinic.
The mention of his old mentors name jolted something inside him. He had to see Clifford Overton soon, but he already dreaded the encounter. Doc would have to be told what had happened to Bretts fellowship. And Doc would have expectations of his own about Bretts future.
How is Doc?
A troubled look crossed her face, dimming the sparkle of her eyes. Getting old. She shook her head, as if shaking away something she didnt want to think about. Hell be excited to see you. You havent been in touch enough. She pinned him down with a straightforward look he remembered from the little girl shed been. You are here to stay, arent you?
Something tightened painfully inside him. Stay? Was that the only choice left to him? He rejected that quickly. With the end of his residency hed lost his student apartment, so coming to Bedford Creek was the logical thing to do. But as soon as he found a new fellowship, hed be gone.
When he didnt answer, Rebeccas intent gaze seemed to bore into his very soul. That is why youve come back, isnt it? To take over the clinic from Doc, the way hes always planned?
Not exactly.
Coming to the Forresters had been a mistake. He should have waited to read about the party on the social page of The Chronicle. What gave Rebecca the right to put him on the spot?
Then why are you in town? The edge was back in her voice.
For an instant he wanted to spill the whole story and get it off his chest. The thought horrified him. Nobody needed to know Brett Elliot, M.D., once the pride of Bedford Creek High School, had sacrificed the prestigious fellowship his mother had probably bragged about in every letter to her friends.
Just on a break. He took a step back. It was time little Rebecca stopped interrogating himtime he congratulated Mitch and Anne and then got out of here.
A break? She stared at him in disbelief. What do you mean, a break? Docs been waiting for you to come back.
He fought down a wave of anger. Thats between Doc and me.
She didnt seem to agree. You have an obligation here, remember? A debt to pay.
Her challenge stung, reminding him of too much he wasnt ready to face yet. My debts dont concern you, Rebecca.
Everything about the clinic concerns me. She shot the words back at him. They were suddenly on opposite sides of a chasm, glaring at each other.
Look, if you think The rest of that sentence vanished when someone bolted through the archway from the living room and flung herself into his arms.
Memories flooded him. The same perfume, the same clinging hands, the same soft voice chattering a mile a minute. Angela.
Brett! I thought I heard your voice, but I didnt believe it. Im so glad to see you, I just cant believe youre here. She threw her arms around his neck, half choking him.
He tried to disentangle himself, but Angelas words had pierced the din in the living room. In a moment he was surrounded.
He wasnt going to escape the party in the foreseeable future. And over Angelas head he saw Rebecca waiting, apparently ready to demand the answers he didnt intend to give.
Tension tightened Rebeccas nerves as she took a step back from the flurry of greetings. The quarrel that had flared up between her and Brett had taken her completely by surprise, and she needed a moment to think.
A cold hand clutched her heart. Brett couldnt be backing out of his agreement. He couldnt. She longed to push her sister out of the way, grab Bretts arm and demand that he explain himself.
Lord, whats happening here? Weve waited so long for Brett to come back. You know how much Doc needs him, how much this town needs him. Doesnt he know that?
The middle of Mitch and Annes party was no place for a confrontation. Still, she felt the rush of unasked questions pressing on her lips as if determined to get out.
She took a deep breath and pasted a smile on her face. Shed known the instant Brett walked in that his presence meant trouble. Shed seen him and felt as if someone had punched her right in the heart.
She pushed the thought away. Her long-ago feelings for Brett had been childish adoration, that was all. Not love. Shed been a kid. She hadnt known what love was.
Mitch Donovan had reached Brett, grabbing his hand to shake it, and Bretts face lit with pleasure at the sight of his old friend. Rebecca took the opportunity to get a good look at Brett, one uncolored by shock at seeing him after all these years.
Some things hadnt changed. His hair, the color of antique gold, still fell, unruly, over his broad forehead. Green-as-glass eyes warmed as he hugged Anne Morden, Mitchs fiancée. He was taller and broader than she rememberedhis shoulders filled out the dark wool blazer he woreand his skin was still tanned, even though it was fall.
He still had that cleft chin, of course, and his smile was the one that had devastated the girls of Bedford Creek High. It had probably devastated quite a few women since, too.
Everyone wanted to talk to Brett, the local boy whod made good. People were proud tiny Bedford Creek High had produced a graduate whod gone to one of the best medical schools in the country, and Bretts mother had never let an opportunity pass to tell people how well hed been doing.
Rebecca could slip away, unnoticed, out of the range of that smile and the memories it evoked.
She crossed the center hall to the dining room, trying to concentrate on the buffet. The cherry table had all its leaves in to accommodate the food her mother had insisted on. The moment shed learned Rebecca was going to be Annes bridesmaid, shed begun planning the party, maybe considering it a trial run for the parties that would accompany Angelas wedding next spring.
Rebecca checked the platters, listening to the buzz of conversation, and frowned a little. Was she the only one who noticed a faint shadow in Bretts eyes when the subject of his Philadelphia residency came up? Maybe so. Or maybe she was imagining things in the flow of chatter and good humor and congratulations.
Shed thought at the time he took the residency that he should have come home instead. After all, Doc had helped Bretts family pay for his medical-school education when theyd had a struggle to meet tuition payments. Hed helped other young people, too, but Brett was different. Hed always expected that one day Brett would take over his practice. Theyd planned it together, and the only reason Rebecca knew was because she worked so closely with Doc.
But the years had slipped away. Whenever she brought it up, Doc was philosophical. Let Brett take the residency, hed said. It would make him a better doctor when he did come back.