Gabe laughed, the sound warming something inside her.“That sounds like Douglas.Though I can’t entirely blame him—Shiloh Springs’ bacon is worth breaking a few rules for.”
“Speaking of home,” Nica said, taking a sip of her wine to steady herself, “have you heard about the drama with the school board and Principal Carson?”
“Oh, you mean the controversy over the new curriculum?”Gabe leaned forward slightly.“I can’t see our good mayor kowtowing to Carson’s demands, but he’s called an emergency town meeting next week.I’m looking forward to seeing Ruby Jennings stand up and give everyone a piece of her mind.”
They both laughed, the small-town gossip creating a familiar bridge between them, despite being a hundred and fifty miles from home.When she’d chosen where she’d go to school, she’d wanted to be close enough to go home for long weekends and during breaks, but sometimes it seemed like she was a million miles away.
“I miss that sometimes,” Nica admitted.“The way everyone knows everyone’s business.It drove me crazy growing up, but now…”
“You see the value in community,” Gabe finished.“I felt the same way at Stanford.Brilliant minds everywhere, cutting-edge research, but something was missing.There was no sense of people knowing each other.Sure, I worked with some amazing professionals, and learned from the best, but I didn’t really know them.Didn’t spend time with them outside of the hospital.They were simply colleagues.”
Their food arrived—seared scallops for her, steak for him.As they ate, Nica couldn’t help but study him.The confident way he held himself, so different from the boys her age she’d dated in college.Not that there had been many of them.Her studies were important to her, and she headed home whenever she could.There was always something happening at the Big House.Each of her brothers was being bitten by the love bug and were dropping like felled trees for their soul mates.And while she loved her brothers, each and every annoying one of them, bringing home one of the guys she dated never felt right.She was holding onto the dream of bringing home the perfect man to introduce to her family.Somebody they’d not only approve of but would welcome with open arms.It might be foolish, but she wanted that whole princess moment, the whole someday her white knight would come and sweep her off her feet feeling.Having seen it with her parents every day of her life, the special bond, a love affair that never faded, never ended, she wanted that—and she wouldn’t settle for anything less.
She found the strands of gray at Gabe’s temples inexplicably attractive.The way his hands moved when he spoke about his research at Stanford—hands that had saved lives—including her father’s.She’d always found him attractive, been drawn to him, but it wasn’t until he’d come to College Station that she’d found herself wanting to get to know him; not as a friend—as an attractive man who she was curiously drawn toward.
“Why cardiothoracic surgery?”she asked suddenly.“You could have stayed at Stanford, been at the forefront of research.Instead, you came to Shiloh Springs.Our tiny hospital isn’t equipped for that specialty.We aren’t exactly on the cutting edge of medicine.”
Something shifted in his expression.“I wanted to make a difference somewhere it would be felt.In places like Stanford, there are brilliant surgeons on every corner.Plus, I needed a change.Things took a turn in California, something happened, and I needed to make some hard decisions.Decisions that led me to Shiloh Springs.”
It didn’t take much to read between the lines.Something bad happened in California, something he wasn’t ready to talk about…not yet.She found herself hoping that he’d turn to her someday, feeling confident and close enough to confide in her.
“Lucky us.We had Doc Jenkins, who was still recommending bloodletting when I was a kid.”
Gabe chuckled.“He isn’t quite that medieval, but close.”His eyes grew serious.“When your father collapsed that day and was brought into the hospital, I never expected to see Douglas Boudreau in a hospital bed so weak, so sick.He’s always been bigger than life, from the day I met him.I’m just glad we caught things in time.”
The memory hung between them.Nica rushing home from college after the call, finding Gabe in the hospital waiting room with the rest of her family, exhaustion etched into every line of his face after hours working to get her father stabilized and on his way to recovery.She knew without Gabe being there, she’d have lost her father.Something she couldn’t imagine, didn’t want to even think about.Like Gage said, her dad was bigger than life, always walked tall and towered over everyone around him.Gabe had saved her father’s life and for that alone, she’d always be grateful to the man.
“Did I ever say thank you?If you hadn’t been there…I don’t even want to think about the consequences.”
“That’s when I knew I’d made the right choice,” he said quietly.“Being able to help your family, the people in our small town, it gives me purpose.Something I haven’t had in a long time.”
The waiter cleared their plates, and Gabe ordered coffee for them.Something had changed in the atmosphere between them, as if they’d moved past the necessary small talk into more dangerous territory.
“Can I ask you something?”Nica said, her voice barely audible over the restaurant’s ambient noise.“That week I was home, after Dad’s surgery—was I imagining things between us?”
Gabe’s eyes darkened.He set down his coffee cup with deliberate care.“No,” he said finally.“You weren’t imagining anything.”
“Then why—”
“You know why, Nica.”His voice was gentle but firm.“You were twenty-six.I was thirty-eight.I was your father’s doctor.The timing was impossible.”
“And now?”Her heart thudded so loudly she was certain he could hear it across the table.
“Now I’m in College Station temporarily, traveling back and forth between Shiloh Springs and here.It won’t last.Once the cardiothoracic surgery position is filled, I’ll be sticking to patients in Shiloh Springs.You’re finishing your master’s degree.We’re still twelve years apart.”He smiled ruefully.“And I’m still your father’s doctor.”
“Those sound like excuses,” Nica said, surprising herself with her boldness.“Not reasons.”
Gabe leaned forward, close enough that she could smell his cologne, something woodsy and subtle.“They’re complications,” he corrected.“Important ones.There’s a line I can’t, I won’t cross, and right now I’m dangerously close to its edge.”
“I’m not asking you to marry me, Gabe,” she said, her cheeks flushing.“I’m just asking you to admit there’s something here worth exploring.”
The silence stretched between them, laden with possibility.The edge of the forbidden was both taboo and tantalizing.Outside, rain began to fall softly, casting wavering shadows across his face.
“If—” he started, then stopped, choosing his words carefully.“If we do this, there need to be ground rules.”
Nica’s breath caught.“Such as?”
“We keep it between us; nobody else knows.Not because I’m ashamed, but because small towns talk, and Shiloh Springs is no exception.Gossip is like candy to a toddler, and I don’t want you exposed to that kind of talk.Plus, your father is still my patient.”His gaze held hers steadily.“And we go slowly.This isn’t casual for me, Nica.”
