place go unused while we wait for the other doc.” He put a hand on the tailgate and vaulted into the truck bed. “Come on, Winks, grab the other end. Let’s get this thing moved and be done with it.”
“That’s the trouble with Horace Cookson,” Pop began, “always letting his mouth get ahead of his brain. We don’t need that doctor gal, always too smart for—”
“Shaw, how good to see you again.” Jessica emerged from the office. She carried a basket with her and crossed the sidewalk. “Would you care for a doughnut? I bought them at the bakery.” She flipped open the napkin covering the pastries and lifted the basket so that he could reach it.
Cole glanced up from the trunk. The old man actually looked sheepish. He’d always been a pushover for sweets. “A doughnut…” Derailed from his complaining, his attention shifted.
“How have you been?” she asked, nodding at the swan-neck deformity of his fingers as he took a treat. “It looks like that arthritis is still giving you trouble.”
“Well, it don’t get better with age, does it?” Pop snapped, taking a big bite.
She smiled, ignoring his cranky behavior. “No, but it can subside—I mean, it can improve sometimes, especially when the weather is good.”
His scowl deepened and he swallowed. “Ditch water, girlie! I already know that.” Then to Cole he added, “What did I tell you? Doctors ain’t no help, and the new ones don’t know any more than the old ones.”
“It’s too bad that you won’t stay active and get out more often,” she went on. “Amy mentioned that you spend a lot of time in the parlor, making Susannah wait on you. The condition gets worse if the patient just sits.” Jess had always been good at that, putting the old man in his place.
“ Sits! By God—”
Winks’s hoot of laughter gurgled with phlegm.
Cole turned away to hide his grin.
Pop poked the rest of the doughnut into his big, rectangular mouth as color rose in his weathered face. “That’s what I tell ’em at home, that I’m as good as ever. But they try to keep me nailed to my rocker.” Crumbs and powdered sugar flew. “They say I’m too old and stiff to do anything else. Susannah is trying to turn me into an invalid with all her fussing and coddling. Huh! I can still whup ass and I’ll prove it to any man who’s willing to try me. And that goes for you, too, youngster!” he said to Winks, who was not much younger than Pop.
He wheeled Muley around and took off at a trot toward the farm, which was probably joint-jarring for both horse and rider.
Jessica waved as the old man left, amused and relieved to be rid of him. She knew he’d never really approved of her, and after she’d left Powell Springs the first time, he’d been downright rude during her visits home. But she wasn’t going to lurk behind the lace curtains covering the office’s bay window and listen to him criticize her.
She turned and caught Cole actually smiling at her. It was a familiar smile that pulled at her heart. “Pretty good, Jess.”
“He’s still a rough old cob, isn’t he?” She watched the dust stir around Muley’s retreating hooves.
“Yeah, well, he didn’t get better with age, either. He treats us all like ten-year-olds, and tries to run the world.”
“But now I’m worried that I’ve brought down the roof on poor Susannah. Maybe Amy too, for telling on him.”
He took hold of his end of the trunk and lifted it. “Don’t let him fool you,” he said, his shirt clinging to his torso. “He’s a glutton for their attention. And Amy can sweet-talk him into just about anything. She can sweet-talk anyone. It’s part of her charm.”
As she watched Cole and Winks finesse the trunk through the narrow doorway, her gaze landed on the back of Cole’s neck, where his sweat-damp hair curled below his collar. Unwillingly, she let her perusal slide down his lean, broad back, then lower to the seat of his jeans, just before he disappeared into
“That’s the trouble with Horace Cookson,” Pop began, “always letting his mouth get ahead of his brain. We don’t need that doctor gal, always too smart for—”
“Shaw, how good to see you again.” Jessica emerged from the office. She carried a basket with her and crossed the sidewalk. “Would you care for a doughnut? I bought them at the bakery.” She flipped open the napkin covering the pastries and lifted the basket so that he could reach it.
Cole glanced up from the trunk. The old man actually looked sheepish. He’d always been a pushover for sweets. “A doughnut…” Derailed from his complaining, his attention shifted.
“How have you been?” she asked, nodding at the swan-neck deformity of his fingers as he took a treat. “It looks like that arthritis is still giving you trouble.”
“Well, it don’t get better with age, does it?” Pop snapped, taking a big bite.
She smiled, ignoring his cranky behavior. “No, but it can subside—I mean, it can improve sometimes, especially when the weather is good.”
His scowl deepened and he swallowed. “Ditch water, girlie! I already know that.” Then to Cole he added, “What did I tell you? Doctors ain’t no help, and the new ones don’t know any more than the old ones.”
“It’s too bad that you won’t stay active and get out more often,” she went on. “Amy mentioned that you spend a lot of time in the parlor, making Susannah wait on you. The condition gets worse if the patient just sits.” Jess had always been good at that, putting the old man in his place.
“ Sits! By God—”
Winks’s hoot of laughter gurgled with phlegm.
Cole turned away to hide his grin.
Pop poked the rest of the doughnut into his big, rectangular mouth as color rose in his weathered face. “That’s what I tell ’em at home, that I’m as good as ever. But they try to keep me nailed to my rocker.” Crumbs and powdered sugar flew. “They say I’m too old and stiff to do anything else. Susannah is trying to turn me into an invalid with all her fussing and coddling. Huh! I can still whup ass and I’ll prove it to any man who’s willing to try me. And that goes for you, too, youngster!” he said to Winks, who was not much younger than Pop.
He wheeled Muley around and took off at a trot toward the farm, which was probably joint-jarring for both horse and rider.
Jessica waved as the old man left, amused and relieved to be rid of him. She knew he’d never really approved of her, and after she’d left Powell Springs the first time, he’d been downright rude during her visits home. But she wasn’t going to lurk behind the lace curtains covering the office’s bay window and listen to him criticize her.
She turned and caught Cole actually smiling at her. It was a familiar smile that pulled at her heart. “Pretty good, Jess.”
“He’s still a rough old cob, isn’t he?” She watched the dust stir around Muley’s retreating hooves.
“Yeah, well, he didn’t get better with age, either. He treats us all like ten-year-olds, and tries to run the world.”
“But now I’m worried that I’ve brought down the roof on poor Susannah. Maybe Amy too, for telling on him.”
He took hold of his end of the trunk and lifted it. “Don’t let him fool you,” he said, his shirt clinging to his torso. “He’s a glutton for their attention. And Amy can sweet-talk him into just about anything. She can sweet-talk anyone. It’s part of her charm.”
As she watched Cole and Winks finesse the trunk through the narrow doorway, her gaze landed on the back of Cole’s neck, where his sweat-damp hair curled below his collar. Unwillingly, she let her perusal slide down his lean, broad back, then lower to the seat of his jeans, just before he disappeared into
Similar Books
