You have to be Ginger, he said in a voice that made her think of dark sugar and bourbon.
Aw, darlin, I should have said right off this is Ike. Come to see me this afternoon. Hes
I saw right off who he was, Gramps. He had to be the man her grandfather told her about on the phone. The one who was trying to get Gramps to sign papers. The one who was trying to take the land away from him. Gramps had implied that his doctor had started it all, was behind the whole conspiracy, to take away everything that ever mattered to him.
Ginger drew herself up to her full five-four. Youre the man whos been advising my grandfather, arent you, bless your heart. And that has to be your dog on the front porch, isnt it?
Pansy. Yes.
Pansy. For a moment she almost laughed, the name was so darned silly for that huge lummox of a dog. But she was in no laughing mood. She was in more of a killing mood. Well, Id appreciate it if youd get your dog and yourself and take off, preferably in the next thirty seconds.
Honey! Her grandfather pulled out of her arms and shot her a shocked expression.
She squeezed his hand, but she was still facing down the intruder. Its all right, Gramps. Im here. And Im going to be here from now on. Her voice was as cordial as Southern sweet tea, but that was only because she was raised with Southern manners. Ill be taking care of my grandfather from now on, and we wont need any interference from anyone. Bless your heart, Im sure you know your way to the front door.
Honey, this is Ike
Yes, I heard you say the name. She wasnt through glaring daggers at the son of a sea dog whod try to cheat a vulnerable old man. I really dont care if your name is Judas or Sam or Godfrey or whatever else. But thanks so much for stopping by.
He could have had the decency to look ashamed. Or afraid. Or something besides amused. There was no full-fledged grin, nothing that offensive, but the corners of his slim mouth couldnt seem to help turning up at the edges. You know, I have the oddest feeling that weve gotten off on the wrong foot.
You can bet your sweet bippy we have, she said sweetly.
I strongly suspect that youll change your mind before we see each other again. I promise I wont hold it against you. In fact, Im really happy youre here. Your grandfather thinks the world rises and sets with you.
Uh-huh. He could take that bunch of polite nonsense and start a fire with it. She wasnt impressed. She made a little flutter motion with her handsa traditional bye-byebut she definitely planned to see him out the door. First, so she could lock the screen doors after him, and second, to make darned sure he took the dog.
He was halfway down the hall when he called out, Pansy, going home now. And the lazy, comatose, surely half-dead dog suddenly sprang to her feet and let out a joyful howl. Her tail should have been licensed as a weapon. It started wagging, knocking into a porch rocker, slapping against the door. Pansy seemed to think her owner was a god.
Goodbye now, Ginger said, just as she snapped the door closed on both of them and flipped the lock. Obviously, locking a screen door was symbolic at best. Anyone could break through a screen door. But she still wanted the good-looking son of a shyster to hear the sound.
She whirled around to see her grandfather walking toward her with a rickety, fragile gait.
Sweetheart. I dont understand what got into you. You know that was Ike.
I know, I know. You told me his name already.
Ike. Ike MacKinnon. My doctor. I mean that Ike.
For the second time, she had an odd shivery sensation, that something in her grandfathers eyes wasnt right. Still, she answered him swiftly. You know what Grandma would saythat he cant be a very good doctor if he cant afford a pair of shoes and a haircut.
When her grandfather didnt laugh, only continued to look at her with a bewildered expression, she hesitated. She shouldnt have made a small joke.
The situation wasnt remotely funnyfor him or her. Maybe she hadnt immediately recognized that Ike was Grampss doctorhow could she? But shed have been even ruder to him if she had known. Gramps had said precisely on the phone that the doctor was behind it all. Behind the conspiracy to take the land away from him and force him to move.
Gramps, where is Cornelius?
I dont know. Somewhere. Chores. The bank or something. Her grandfather reached out a hand, steadied himself against the wall, still frowning at her. Ike is a nice man, Rachel. And youve always liked him. I cant imagine what put you in such a fuss. I cant remember you ever being rude to a soul.
She stopped, suddenly still as a statue.
Rachel was her grandmothers name.
Gramps, she said softly. Its me. Ginger.
O course, he said. I know that, you silly one. Next time, dont take so long at the hairdressers, okay?
She smiled at him. Said I sure wont, as if his comment and her reply made sense.
It didnt, but since she was reeling from confusion, she decided to change gears. Gramps was easily coaxed to settle in a rocker on the veranda, and he nodded off almost before hed had a chance to put his feet up. She was free then to stare at her car, which unquestionably was stuffed within an inch of its life.
The boxes and bags werent heavy. She refused to think about the pregnancy until she was ready to make serious life decisionsand Grampss problems came first. Still, some instinct had motivated her to pack in lighter boxes and bags. Of course, that meant she had to make a million trips up the stairs, and down the long hall to the bedroom where shed slept as a girl.
The whole upstairs brought on another niggling worry. Nothing was wrong, exactly. Shed been here last Christmas, and the Christmas before, and for quick summer weekends. But her visits had all been rushed. Shed had no reason or time to take an objective look at anything.
Now she couldnt help but notice that the whole second floor smelled stale and musty. Each of the five bedrooms upstairs had a made-up bed, just as when her grandmother was alive. The three bathrooms had perfectly hung-up towels that matched their floor tile color. But her grandparents bedroom had the smell of a room that had been shut up and abandoned for months or more. Dust coated the varnished floor, and the curtains were heavy with it.
There was nothing interesting about dust, of course. As soon as you cleaned, the dust bunnies under the bed reproducedsometimes doubledby morning. Ginger had never met a housekeeping chore she couldnt postpone. It was just a little dust was a different species than downright dirt.
The whole place looked neglected.
Gramps looked neglected.
When the last bag had been hauled from the car, her childhood bedroom looked like a rummage sale, but enough was enough. She opened the windows, breathed in the fresh air then crashed on the peach bedspread. She was so tired she couldnt think.
She was so anxious she was afraid of thinking.
In the past month, her entire life had fallen apart which she had the bad, bad feeling she was entirely responsible for. Shed been bamboozled by a guy shed lost her heart to, lost her job, shredded everything she owned to sublet her Chicago apartment, had a completely unexpected pregnancy that she had no way to afford or deal with and then came the call for help from Gramps.
Shed fix it all.
She had to.
And Gramps came first because well, because she loved him. There was no question about her priorities. It was just that she was getting the terrorizing feeling that her grandfathers problems werent coming from without, but from within.
And if anyone was going to be able to give her a better picture of her grandfathers situation, it was unfortunatelyvery, very, very unfortunatelyhis doctor.
Chapter Two
Still yawning, Ike lumbered downstairs barefoot with the dog at his heels. Pansy had woken him, wanted to be let out. He opened the back door, waited. Pansy stepped a foot outside, stopped dead, let out a howl and barreled back in the house.
Ike peered out. There happened to be a snake in the driveway. A big one. A rat snake, nothing interesting.
You live in South Carolina, he reminded Pansy. You know about snakes. You just leave them alone. They dont want to hurt you. Just dont get in their way.
Pansy had heard this horseradish before. It hadnt worked then, either. She continued to dog his footsteps, closer than glue, all the way into the kitchen. He opened the fridge, peered in and had to shake his head.
He must have left the door unlocked again last night. The proof was in the white casserole on the top refrigerator shelf, tagged with a note from Maybelle Charles. The casserole was her mamas famous Chicken Surprise recipe. On the counter there seemed to be a fancy piepecananchored on hot pads that hed have to return. The pie would definitely be from the widow five doors down, Ms. Joelle Simmons. The basket on the front porch held a peck of late South Carolina peaches. Babs, he suspected.
This was possibly the best place for a single man to live in the entire known universe. The whole town seemed to think he was too thin and incapable of feeding himself. The unmarried female population all seemed convinced that he needed a woman to shape him up. The more bedraggled he looked, the more they chased him. No one seemed to worry that he was a natural slob. Theyd all decided, independently, that the right woman could fix minor male problems like that.
The food thing had started a day after hed moved to Sweet Valleywhich was more than three years ago. It was the same day hed taken over old Doc Bradys country practice, the same day hed found this fabulous ramshackle place just a couple blocks from the center of town. Come to think of itit was even the same day his parents had expressed stunned horror that hed failed to take a cardiac surgery option at Johns Hopkins, the way they had, the way any self-respecting MacKinnon was supposed to do. His two siblings had already failed their parents by choosing their own paths, but Ike had been the worst disappointment, because hed actually decided to follow the family heritage of doctoring. Only he was never supposed to take a job here, in this bitsy town that could barely afford a doctor in the first place.
Everything about Sweet Water was perfect for him except for the minor issue with all the food. The single ladies expected their plates returned. They cooked and baked and made everything on pretty little girly-type plates that invariably had their names on the bottom. Only when he returned them, he usually had to fight to leave.
He was bushwhacked into a chair, fed something else, made to drink something else, was expected to shell out some flirtation and interest.
Ike couldnt summon the energy to be rude, but he lucked out when Pansy showed up at his door. She refused to leave him, insisted on being adopted and went with him everywhere. She really helped with shortening the visits from all the single ladies.
Upstairs was home. Downstairs was his officeas in open to any and everyone.
Old Doc Brady hadnt run it that way, but Ike did. Hed inherited some help with the place. Bartholomew had some personality issues, but he cleaned the whole first floor at night and loved the part-time work. A retired nurse named Stephie still lived in the area, and always came in if he needed extra help. And the mainstay of the office was sixty-year-old Ruby, who was a wee bit bossybut she could run a small country without breaking a sweat.
Right now, though, was his favorite time of day. He fetched a mug of coffee and the paper and ambled out to the screened-in back deck. Tuesday he had no scheduled patients until ten. Ruby would shout to let him know when she got there.
Pansy refused to come out. She was still worried about the snake.
Ike was worried about nothing. The morning was cool; hed had to pull on a sweatshirt. Occasionally he heard the regular sounds of school buses going by, cars starting to congregate behind lights, stores opening and the occasional conversation as people headed for work or breakfast.
Hed finished the paper and started his second mug of coffee when he heard Rubys voice from the front deskand then the brisk snap of her footsteps coming down the hall to the back door. Par for the course, her portly shape was draped in a wild flower print, accessorizedher word, not hisby bright pink earrings, shoes and lipstick.
Lady here to see you, Doc. Ginger Gautier. Cashner Gautiers granddaughter. Youve got a ten oclock
He glanced at his watch. It was only 9:10. If you wouldnt mind, ask her to come on back.
You mean in your office? Or in an examining room? More than once, Ruby felt obligated to explain appropriate behavior to him, always tactfully and framed as a question. Still, her tone made it clear that patients shouldnt be seen on the back porch.
But Ginger wasnt a patient. And he knew what shed come to talk about.
It was always a touchy situation when someone embarrassed themselves. It wasnt tough on the person whod been the victimhim. But it was usually difficult for the person whod done the embarrassing thing. Her.
As quickly as Ruby disappeared, he heard Gingers lighter footstep, charging fastIke suspected shed really, really like to get this meeting over with. From the open door, he could see her climb over the exhausted Pansy and step out onto the quiet back porch. She looked
Delectable.
The hair was wild. Calling it red didnt explain anything. The color wasnt remotely ginger, like her name; it didnt have any of that cinnamon or orange. It was more like dark auburn, with a mix of sun and chestnut, with some streaks of red shivering in the long, thick strands. Shed strapped it up with some kind of hair leash. In the meantime, she had silver shining in her ears, on her wrist. Today she was wearing greens. A dark green shirt, pale green pants.
There was a lot of blue in those eyes. The same blue as a lake in a storm, deep and rich.
Her face was an oval. The eyes took up a whole lot of space, dominated everything about her face. She had thin, arched brows, gloss on her lips, but otherwise he couldnt tell if she wore any makeup. She had that redhead kind of skin, though translucent, clear, clean give or take the smattering of freckles.
As far as the body well. She looked more like the kind of girl you brought home to meet Mom rather than the kind a man imagined under the sheets. But Ike was nonstop imagining that body under the sheets right now. There was a lot of music, a lot of passion, in the way she moved, the way she did everything hed seen so far. Of course, hed been celibate for too long a stretch, so maybe he was dreaming up the sizzle he sensed in her.