Dancing in the Rain by Amanda Harte

anyone she’d ever met. “Obviously, you did convince your parents.”
    As Dwight shrugged, the sun glinted off one of the brass buttons on his uniform. “Not right away. At first they figured I’d grow out of it. When I didn’t and it was clear that they weren’t going to approve, I changed my tactics.” Dwight gestured toward the corner of the chateau that was reserved for officers. “No general planned his strategy more carefully than I did.” It wasn’t a boast, merely a simple statement of fact. “The first thing I did was convince Doc Sherman to let me help him.”
    “And your parents agreed to that?” It didn’t sound likely, given the way Dwight had described them.
    “Not really. They told me I could go into town when I finished my work on the farm. Then they gave me more chores to do.”
    “Yet somehow you managed to finish them.”
    Two of the nurses left their wing. When they saw Carolyn and Dwight, though they nodded a greeting, Carolyn noticed that they walked along the perimeter of the courtyard rather than taking the direct route that would have brought them close to Dwight.
    Seeming oblivious to the nurses’ shunning, Dwight continued his explanation. “I enlisted my sisters’ help. To put it bluntly, I bribed them. I used the money I earned working for the doctor to buy my sisters ribbons and lace and the other things seven young girls craved.”
    “Seven? You have seven sisters?” There were days when Carolyn thought two were too many.
    “Yes, indeed.” Dwight seemed faintly amused by Carolyn’s reaction. “I’m the oldest child and the only male.”
    The elder Mr. Hollins’ behavior suddenly made sense. “No wonder your father wanted you to be a farmer. He wants to leave the farm to you.”
    Twin furrows appeared between Dwight’s eyes as he considered Carolyn’s words. “I never thought of that.”
    Carolyn knew all about dynasties and inheritances, but perhaps that was because she had lived in a town rather than on a farm. “My father took Theo to the bank from the time he was ten.”
    “Theo, I gather, is your brother.”
    Carolyn nodded, bemused. Who would have thought that her casual question would have resulted in her standing here in the courtyard trading family histories with Dwight Hollins? “I’m from a smaller family than you,” she told him. “Martha’s two years older than me. The twins—that’s Theo and Emily—are two years younger.”
    “So you’re in the middle.” Dwight’s expression was pensive. “I sometimes wondered what it would be like to be a middle child.”
    And Carolyn had wondered what it would have been like if she’d been the oldest. “Most of the time I felt as if I had two mothers, my real one and Martha.” Carolyn remembered all the advice Martha had given her and how vehemently her older sister had protested when she had announced her intention of becoming a nurse’s aide. “Didn’t you take care of your sisters?”
    “I suppose I did, when there was time. Looking back, though, it seems like I spent every waking moment preparing to be a doctor.”
    It was odd. When he’d invited her to accompany him on his rounds, Dwight had seemed in a hurry. Now he was apparently content to stand in the sunshine, talking. “You must have had some time off,” she said. “After all, you fell in love.”
    For a second, Dwight’s expression was blank, as if he did not understand her words. Then he nodded brusquely. “Oh, yes. Of course. Louise. A doctor needs a wife like Louise.”
    Carolyn stared at him. Dwight sounded the way he had when he had explained his tactics for gaining his parents’ acceptance. It was one thing to plan your education, quite another to choose a wife according to plan. “You sound as if you had a schedule. Step one, finish medical school; step two, find a wife.” Carolyn could picture him making a list the way she did when she was going shopping.
    “Would it be so wrong if I had?” Dwight glanced down at