Second Time Around. Carol Steward
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clinic. Before she knew it, all the children were crowded around.
“Shh,” Emily prompted. “We must be very quiet.”
Ricky listened for a minute, then expertly moved the stethoscope. She wanted to cry at the extent of his knowledge of the workings of the instrument, which came from more hands-on experience than any child his age should have.
“I don’t hear anything, Dr Emily.” He frowned. “I think you have a broken heart.”
A deep chuckle rumbled behind them. “An insightful young man.”
Emily’s heart raced at the sound of Kevin’s voice.
The little boy’s brown eyes grew larger. “Wow! There it is. It’s beating as fast as Thumper’s paw. ’Member, in Bambi?”
“Are you twitterpated, Dr. Emily?” a precocious little girl asked.
“Twitterpated?”
“You know, in love.” The little girl sighed. “Like Bambi and Faline.”
Emily felt the blood rush to her cheeks. “No, I’m not. We’d better let someone else have a turn now, Ricky.” She gave him a hug and watched as he ran across the room…to Kevin.
Kevin knelt down and spent several minutes in conversation with the child. From the corner of her eye, Emily watched, angry at herself for paying Kevin any attention.
The other preschoolers filed past, and Emily helped them listen to each other’s hearts beating. Ricky moved back to the circle of children after giving Kevin a high-five. Then Kevin visited with a parent, while Emily finished talking with the children and gave them the disposable masks and hats.
Then she turned the stage over to Kevin. He leaned close as Emily walked past. “Any time your heart needs a jump start, let me know.”
“You’d be the last person I’d call,” she mumbled, wishing she could dispel her reaction to him. Emily silently joined the parent volunteer in the back of the room. She and the other woman listened as Kevin told about the construction business, demonstrating with a toy log set.
The children were mesmerized by the rugged-looking man with the contagious smile and rumbling laugh. Other than the uncustomarily clean blue jeans, he looked every bit the brawny construction worker. A red-plaid flannel shirt over a blue T-shirt and a bright yellow hard hat completed the irresistible image. His strong hands moved the tiny logs with the same delicacy one would use to move fine china.
All the little boys proclaimed they, too, wanted to be builders after his enthusiastic description of tearing walls apart and building others. The energy in the room began to escalate.
“Why did you become a builder?” The teacher prompted the conversation back to the subject, her calming voice reminding the children to listen.
“My father was a builder, and it was something I always enjoyed. It’s hard work, but I like bringing families together in a new home,” he said.
It was obvious that he loved talking to the youngsters. The children drilled him with questions, and he took time to answer each one. He still had his way with kids.
Emily wondered why he hadn’t married. Coming from a family with six children, he had wanted to have at least four of his own. He had chivalrously promised Emily that he’d support them all, yet that wasn’t enough for Emily. She wanted a career of her own, one through which she could provide for her family, if necessary. She wasn’t about to watch history repeat itself.
Emily stared critically at Kevin. Why was he here? How had he, of all people, come to be asked to speak to the preschool?
Kevin smiled lazily, then winked at her before saying goodbye to the preschoolers. She realized the desperate attempts she was making to taint her image of the only man who could touch her heart with a mere glance.
The children would be leaving soon, and this was Kevin’s only chance to talk to Emily alone. As he exited the preschool room, he nodded for her to join him outside. He could see her reluctance.
“Why are you here?” she demanded as soon as the door closed behind them.
He folded his arms across his chest and smiled. “I heard there was a damsel inside with a broken heart. Thought I’d come to the rescue.”
“Very funny.”
He smiled. He had decided after the confusion at the wedding that he needed to find out if she was still interested—if that had been the reason for her tears. He challenged himself to make her laugh. Or at least smile. She had a beautiful smile. “Actually, I was just waiting for the rescue breathing.”
Her eyes were clear as green ice. “I’m serious.”
“It’s obvious that hasn’t changed.”
Emily put her hands on her hips and waited. She had changed from the college co-ed he’d fallen in love with, he thought. Her shyness had matured to a quiet confidence, her insecurities had been replaced by a calm determination, and her wide-eyed look of fear reflected a love that hadn’t died.
“Okay, the truth,” he continued, hoping that reflection was wrong. “I’m working on developing a new image.” He started to tell her about the bid, but she took an abrupt step toward him and flashed him a look of annoyance.
“I really would have thought you’d grow up a little in eight years.” She turned and walked back inside.
“Just as I thought, you can’t handle the truth,” he mumbled, once she had turned the corner and disappeared from sight.
Kevin recalled Laura begging him to come talk to the preschoolers. He glanced through the narrow slat of a window into the preschool and watched as a little boy clung to the teacher, doing whatever he could to get her attention. There was no question in Kevin’s mind that Laura was trying to set him and Emily up again.
“Better luck next time, lady.”
Chapter Three
The conference room was filled with the aroma of gourmet coffee and glazed doughnuts. Sunlight filtered in through the broken slats of the blinds. The chief of staff addressed the doctors and board members, summarizing the top three clinic renovation proposals. At the mention of a small independent builder, Emily let out a quick gasp.
Her colleague Bob Walker leaned close. “What’s wrong, Em?” he whispered. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Ignoring him, Emily examined the different bid summaries with a sudden urgency. Why hadn’t she considered this possibility earlier? Muffled voices buzzed around her. Her heart rate increased. He wouldn’t dare.
Dr. Bob Walker pushed a note in front of her, a barely legible invitation to join him for dinner scrawled across the prescription pad. Sending him a reprimand from the corner of her eye, she scrunched the note into a tiny ball and tossed it into the trash can.
She thumbed back through the folders and, with a sudden chill of comprehension, looked again at the unbelievably low bid. Kevin was vying for this job. That’s why he had been so confident he’d be seeing her again.
“Emily? What are your feelings about the bids?”
“Yes, Emily, what are you thinking?” Bob added, a mischievous glint in his eye.
Still dismayed, she cleared her throat and brushed a stray hair off her forehead. With a quick appraisal of the spreadsheets before her, it was hard to argue the obvious. “Since the project committee is behind on fund-raising, I’ll admit it does make this incredibly low bid very appealing.”
The other committee members nodded. Dr. Roberts agreed, adding, “With the incentives City Council is offering, I think it’s critical that we make the commitment now. Sonshine Medical Clinic is finally gaining the support we need.”
Emily closed the folder, suddenly aware of what the outcome of this vote