“Time to make this place my own.” She spied the stepladder that had been left by the painters in the corner. She grabbed a hammer and a nail. She’d never hammered anything in her life, but there was always a first time for everything.
“I can do this,” she said, as if trying to reassure herself. How hard could it be to hammer a nail into a wall? She had this. Except where she wanted to put the nail in was a little out of her reach for the stepladder. So she climbed to the very top of the ladder and held the wall for a bit of balance. Her perch was precarious, but all she was doing was hammering in one nail and it wasn’t that big of a drop down to the carpet.
She lined up the nail and held the hammer, ready to drive the nail home.
“Did you check for a stud?” a male voice asked from behind.
“What …?” Sarah turned, surprised that someone had snuck into her office and she hadn’t heard them, but in the process of turning around she forgot what a precarious perch she had on the top of the stepladder and lost her footing.
Sarah closed her eyes and waited for her backside to hit the floor, but instead she found herself landing in two very strong arms and being held against a broad, muscular chest.
“You shouldn’t stand on the top of a …” He trailed off.
“Who are you to tell me …?” Sarah opened her eyes and bit back a gasp as she stared up at the most stunningly handsome man she’d ever seen. Brown hair, with just a bit of curl, deep blue eyes and a neat beard, which just added to the ruggedness of his face.
Those blue eyes of his were wide with surprise and then she had the niggling sensation that she’d seen this face before, but couldn’t recall when or where.
“What in the name of all that’s good and holy were you doing up there with a hammer?” he demanded as he quickly set her down on her feet and took a step back from her as if she were on fire.
“Excuse me?” she asked. Who did this guy think he was?
“I’m telling you that wasn’t a smart move climbing up on that ladder. You could’ve killed yourself if I hadn’t showed up.”
“Why did you show up? Who are you?”
His blue eyes flashed and he crossed his arms, fixing her with a stare that was meant to frighten her. Well, it didn’t scare her.
“I’m here to take you out.”
“Out? I don’t believe I made any dates with anyone since I arrived in town.”
He smirked. “Not on a date, darling. Though if I were to go on a date with someone, you’re quite the fetching thing.”
“Fetching? Darling?”
He held up his hands. “Look, I was teasing. I’m not interested in dating coworkers, let alone headstrong doctors from out east. I’m to take you out on the skis to show you some of the private residences being built and how to access them.”
“Oh.” She was slightly disappointed. Not that she had any interest in dating a mountain man, but a fling might’ve been fun. Especially since this mountain man was deliciously handsome.
Don’t think like that. You’re here to prove yourself, not date.
Sarah didn’t date.
Her parents had tried over and over, setting her up with the right sort of man. Well, in their eyes anyway. It was just easier to concentrate on work and not bother with dating, romance or sex.
All the right kind of men Sarah had dated briefly in her early twenties were all wrong. It never felt right. There was never that spark or connection one was supposed to feel when falling in love with someone, but then again, since she’d never experienced it, maybe it was just a myth.
Men seemed to gravitate to her because she was a socialite and came from money. It was all about status for them, and as she was too focused on her career, she never pursued a man on her own and she never made the time to look for a man beyond her parents’ circles.
Single life was so much easier.
And lonely.
“Do you know how to ski?” he asked disparagingly, breaking her chain of thoughts.
“No.” Then she groaned inwardly at the thought of going back outside in the cold.
“I thought as much,” he said condescendingly. “Well, I’ll give you a few minutes to suit up so we can head out.”
It was the tone that sparked a vivid memory for her suddenly. She could see those dark blue eyes glittering above a surgical mask. Defying her.
Get out of my OR!
Not on your life.
No way. It couldn’t be him. It just couldn’t be him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Don’t like the cold?”
“It’s not that. I think I know you.”
He smiled. “Do you?”
“What’s your name?” she asked.
Don’t be him. Don’t be him.
Then he grinned like the cat who’d got the cream. “Dr. Luke Ralston.”
Damn, but then she was ticked. She’d put that memory of her time in Missoula far from her mind, not giving it much of a second thought because, really, what did it matter? She was in New York, let Luke Ralston have Montana.
Besides, Shane Draven had pulled through.
It was all trivial. Except now she was in Montana, working on their patient’s uncle’s resort and Dr. Luke Ralston was her coworker? This was a totally messed-up situation. Something she was not comfortable with.
“You knew exactly who I was.”
Luke shrugged. “Not at first, but when you fell into my arms it all came back to me.”
“And you didn’t say anything? Like, maybe, ‘Hey, we know each other, we’ve worked together before’ or something like that?”
He shrugged again and then hooked his thumbs into the belt loops on the waist of his tight, tight jeans. “What does it matter?”
“It matters a lot. You’re a jerk!”
“Why am I a jerk? I mean, I did save you from probably concussing yourself or something.”
“You were the guy I talked to in the hallway in Missoula. When I asked who Dr. Ralston was, you said you didn’t know where he was. You lied to me.”
“I didn’t really want to argue with you in the hallway. I was on my way to the ICU to check on my patient. To make sure he pulled through surgery.”
“He was my patient.”
He grinned, smugly. “I brought him down off that mountain. He was my patient. You were just a locum surgeon. You didn’t stay to make sure he made it through the night. You headed back east, to wherever you came from. I knew nothing about you and I didn’t trust you. Of course, now you’re going to be a regular here in town.”
“Had I known there was a Ralston in Crater Lake I would’ve turned the job down.”
Luke chuckled. “You must’ve taken this job on an impulse, then.”
“Why do you say that?”
“If you’d researched Crater Lake you’d realize the family practice in town is run by a Ralston. I wasn’t really hiding my identity. Not in my town.”
Damn. He was right.