“In this day and age she’s hiding? Afraid to tell her parents? The teenage girls I know are proud to be unwed and pregnant.”
“You have to remember that there’re still strong moral standards in this area. Everyone knows everyone. Has an opinion about everything.”
Taylor was well aware of how those concepts worked.
Shelby continued, “Her parents, she says, aren’t going to be happy or accepting.” She moved past him. “I’d better go give her the news.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder and her gaze met his. “Shelby, I wish I could do more than say I’m sorry.”
She gave him a weak smile. “I am too,” she said, before squaring her shoulders and knocking on the door to the exam room across the hall.
Her heart was too big for her own good. For once, Taylor thought that Uncle Gene sentencing him to the clinic had been a good thing. It had allowed him to be there for Shelby today.
The girl left the clinic thirty minutes later with a gentle pat on the shoulder from Shelby and the reassurance that she’d be there if the girl needed her. Shelby said not a word as she passed him. She entered her office and effectively closed everyone out.
After preparing the clinic for the next day, Taylor knocked lightly on the office door. “You ready to close up?”
“You go on. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She needed space and wouldn’t appreciate him insisting she leave. He really shouldn’t care. All doctors ran into cases that got under their skin. The problem was that Shelby cared too deeply. For the girl. For her all her patients.
Who took care of her?
Hours later, Taylor rolled over in bed and looked at the bedside clock for the umpteenth time. It was well past midnight.
Where was she?
With a sense of relief that amazed him he saw Shelby’s headlights flash across the wall of the apartment as she pulled into the drive.
She worked far too hard, felt too much. The clinic, for all he could see, was her life. She took no down time. In his opinion it wasn’t healthy. She needed to slow down or she’d be the one needing a doctor. He knew of few doctors who worked harder than Shelby.
He didn’t want to care. No matter what happened he refused to get involved but with every day he stayed in Benton it made it more difficult to keep his distance. First it had been Mrs. Ferguson, then Mr. Hardy and now he was stressing about a workaholic tyrant of a doctor who lived in a one-red-light town. Heck, he didn’t really know how to care. He’d certainly not gotten an example of how that worked from his family. Could he have picked a more foreign emotion?
The way Shelby’s big gray eyes looked stormy when she was mad and turned soft and sad when she worried over a patient pulled at him. Even her sharp tongue didn’t squelch his anxiety for the turbocharged woman.
Reassured Shelby was safely home, Taylor rolled over and punched his pillow, knowing he could now find sleep. He’d no idea why it mattered to him what she did. Shelby had been fine before he’d arrived and she’d be fine after he left.
But who would be there for her when she needed a shoulder to lean on next time?
CHAPTER THREE
THURSDAY evening Shelby pulled into her drive well after dark. She’d stayed late at the clinic to finish some charting. Now her plan was to spend the next few hours working on grant applications. She had to find some long-term help for the clinic soon or the state would shut it down. Taylor had made it abundantly clear he wouldn’t be the answer to her problem.
The old truck rattled to a stop when Shelby shut it off. She regarded the sports car in front of her. She’d always liked nice cars but her parents were supportive but practical people who didn’t encourage that type of extravagance. Shelby couldn’t really see herself ever owning such a fancy vehicle. She was the wrong type of doctor, in the wrong area of the world, to even drive one. Still, a girl could appreciate a nice ride.
A movement in the garage window caught her attention. Taylor stood silhouetted there. He wore no shirt and was talking on the phone. Shelby’s attention was riveted to his wide shoulders that tapered to a trim waist. Sliding down in the seat, she hoped he wouldn’t see her and think she’d already gone into the house. His pants rode low on his hips. He must work out. A lot. She’d say his efforts were worth it.
Frustration welled within her. She had no business even noticing him. There could never be anything real between them. She had to keep reminding herself of that. He wasn’t staying and she refused to care then be hurt when he left. She’d barely lived through that pain before and she couldn’t do it again.
Taylor put a hand above his head and stretched. Shelby sucked in a breath. Good heavens. Her heart went into overdrive. Ignoring him was going to be much more difficult than she imagined. The tingle of desire that had lay dormant since Jim’s death had returned, heating her from the inside out, catching her by surprise. She needed to go into the house. Stand under the air-conditioning vent. Her reaction to this well-built man was way over the top.
How would she get inside without looking like she’d become a peeping Tomette? She grinned. At least she hadn’t lost her sense of humor even though she’d lost her mind. With relief, and disappointment she didn’t want to examine, Taylor moved away from the window.
Gathering her bag, she opened the truck door and slid out. Closing the door with less force than usual, she accused herself of being silly. This was her house, her drive, her neighborhood. Seeing Taylor Stiles’s chest from a distance wasn’t that big a deal. She’d even seen it up close. As a doctor she’d seen all kinds of half-naked men.
Yeah, but chests as fine as Taylor’s were few and far between. Great. Now she was starting to think like Carly. Lifting her shoulders and standing taller, Shelby walked to the back door. Why hadn’t she left the porch light on?
“I was wondering how long it would take you to get out of the truck.”
Shelby jumped, dropping her bag. “What’re you doing, sneaking up on me?”
“I wasn’t sneaking. I came down the stairs like I always do. Your mind must’ve been on something else.”
Thankful for the shadows, she didn’t want to contemplate what her mind had been on and she certainly didn’t need him to see the guilt covering her face.
“I wanted to speak to you a minute,” Taylor said.
Shelby retrieved her bag. “Could we make it quick? I’m really not up for some long discussion right now. All I want is a sandwich and to get to bed early.”
“Why don’t you get that sandwich while we talk?” He followed her up the steps. “I wouldn’t mind having one too.”
She reached inside and flipped on the light switches for the kitchen and the outside. Glancing around at him, she was relieved to find he’d pulled on a T-shirt before coming out to meet her. “Do you make it a habit of inviting yourself into people’s homes? To meals? Anyway, I thought you finally agreed to go to Vinnie’s with Carly and her boyfriend. I heard her begging you to go.”
“That was hours ago. I’ve a pretty big appetite.”
Suddenly hers was gone. Her mouth went dry. Her mind was going places it shouldn’t. That she didn’t want it to go.
“Shelby?”
“Huh?”
“Aren’t you going inside?”
Shelby opened the screen door and entered the kitchen, dropping her bag in one of the kitchen chairs. Taylor followed her.
“Hey, I still didn’t say you could come in.”
“Awe,