The Baby Who Stole the Doctor's Heart by Dianne Drake Page A

he asked was about Fred. Stupid dog means everything to him. Fred’s all he has.”
    â€œAnd I can’t keep him,” she said, feeling bad. She had so much…her daughter, her sister and family, her friends. Yet Richard Whetherby had…his dog. Even that status was in jeopardy if she couldn’t find a place for that dog to stay. “Which means I may have to send him to a shelter, and I suppose they’ll take care of him for a while, but…”
    â€œI told him I would,” Mark said, almost in passing.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œThe dog. I’ll take care of him.”
    Now, that surprised her. She truly hadn’t expected the man who didn’t want human involvement to take in a dog. But still waters ran deep, didn’t they? Or, in Mark’s case, diverted way off the main course of the river. It pleased her, actually, that he could show a little humanity for something outside his job, and she wondered what other surprises he might be hiding. “He’s very friendly,” she said. “Likes to be carried.”
    â€œHe’ll walk, if he expects to live with me.”
    Scowl popping out now, but not the one she normally saw. More like one he was trying to force.
    â€œHow did you see Richard lying on the footpath, in the snow? It was dark, and he was a good fifty feet off the road. I didn’t see him and I’ve got good eyesight.”
    â€œTraining,” he said, resisting her offer of handing over the dog. “I’ve practiced my skills of observation more years than I care to count.” That’s all he said, then he turned and walked toward the exit, taking about ten steps before he turned back to see if she was following.
    She was, but slowly. With each step she was looking around. Practicing her own skills of observation. Looking at the various pieces of equipment sitting along the hall walls. Gazing into the various emergency exam rooms to studywhatever she could see there, trying to memorize it so she could look it up when she got home.
    He watched her studying the things he took for granted. There was such fascination splashed all over her face…something he remembered in himself years ago. Something so far in the past he’d forgotten that he was once just like Angela was…eager and anxious to learn. Except he didn’t have the natural skills she did. He’d seen those skills this evening. Observed the way she’d been put into a dire situation and seen how she’d responded, not only to instruction but to her own instincts.
    It was nice when he’d been that enthusiastic. It had felt like the whole world was just waiting to happen, and he envied her that. But for him it was gone. More than that, he didn’t want that feeling rekindled, and being around Angela he could almost feel the beginning of the embers. “Are you coming?” he asked, but not impatiently. He wanted her to savor the moment, to linger in the face of her first victory. In the years to come, that would be important for her. She wouldn’t forget it.
    Neither would he.
    Â 
    â€œWould you like some hot tea, coffee, hot chocolate? With brandy?” She climbed out of the truck, still clinging to Fred. “And I have a fresh apple pie if you’d care for a piece.” It was the polite thing to do. She didn’t expect he would accept, as the short ride home from the hospital had been tense. Actually, much more than tense. Brutal. Once the truck door had shut, and the engine had been engaged, the cold silence had slipped down, and in that mile-and-a-half ride, it had turned into a frozen block of ice that chilled to the bone. She’d hoped for some chat, maybe for some feedback of what she’d done…right or wrong. But in the darkness of the truck’s cab, even though she couldn’t make out the detail of his face,she could certainly make out the hard set of it. No mistaking the intent either. He didn’t