Her Hometown Hero(25)

"You're my drug, Sage, and you're all I need," he said, trapping her against the wall.

"Then you're going to have to get used to going through withdrawal."

"Come with me to the party."

"I can't. I have a date already." Her knees were practically shaking,  because she had no doubt that date or no date, she was still liable to  fall into Spence's arms if the lighting was low and she had too much  eggnog again. And if he was close by, she had a feeling she'd need a lot  of eggnog to get her through the night.

"Cancel. You won't have nearly as much fun with whoever you've chosen to  go with," he said, clearly confident that she'd do just that.

"Sorry. Can't. Don't want to, either. Now if you'll just move away, I want to head home. I have a date to get ready for."

His brow furrowed but he took a step back.

"Good-bye, Dr. Whitman," she said as she opened the door.

"Who's your date?" he asked, stopping her again.

Wow, if she were more of a fool, she might actually believe he was jealous. No. There was absolutely no way.

"His name is None of Your Business," she said before turning to exit again.

"I don't like that answer, Sage. I don't like it at all. I don't think  this date of yours can in any way satisfy you. I think, as a matter of  fact, that I'm the only man capable of bringing you to the heights of  pleasure you so desperately deserve to be brought to." He boxed her in  again.

"Really? Because you failed once."

She'd obviously left him speechless because she finally managed to get  away. Without another word, she left the exam room and waited until she  was in the women's locker room before taking in a decent breath of air.

Her last words to him had been meant to hurt, and now she was worried  that she'd indeed hurt him. What was wrong with her? Oh, she hoped this  night wasn't an utter disaster. As she looked in the mirror and felt the  pounding of her heart, she had a feeling that's exactly what it was  going to be.





Spence sped down the long drive that led to his childhood home. He had  his own place now, but he found himself spending a lot of his time back  on the ranch, as did his brothers.

This was home, the place he'd received a second chance. This was  security. No matter how many years he'd aged, no matter how much success  he had, there was always going to be a small part of him that was the  frightened boy nobody wanted.

The snow continued to fall as he pulled up to the large ranch house with  the inviting wraparound porch, now all decked out in lights that he and  his brothers had hung. Yes, there were plenty of Whitman employees who  could have done the work, but it was something the four of them took  pride in doing each year.

It was time to get some advice from his dad, because he sure couldn't  seem to figure anything out on his own. He suddenly felt the  insecurities of that young teenage boy who didn't have a thing to his  name.

He was falling for Sage and he didn't understand it. This wasn't the  right time. His life was mapped out already. He'd planned on finding the  perfect wife when he reached forty, and he was only thirty-four, then  they'd have two kids-a boy and a girl, of course-and they'd live a  picture-perfect life. The emotions he was feeling now were far from  perfect. They were erratic and confusing and they didn't mesh at all  with his future plans.                       
       
           



       

For one thing, Sage looked like she'd rather hit him than make love to  him. For another, she constantly refused when he asked her out. Was it  too much to ask that she return his affection? He was trying to make up  for his mistake here. He didn't even know why he still was. There were a  slew of women who would jump to go out with him. He'd never had a  problem obtaining a date.

So why didn't he just cut his losses and move on? That was why he'd come  home today. His dad would have the answers. Spence would walk away from  this visit knowing whether he should transfer back to Seattle full-time  or if he should throw Sage over his shoulder and take her to some deep,  dark cave where he could ravish her repeatedly until she admitted she  was attracted to him.

He liked option number two better. A big smile parted his lips as he  pushed open the front door and ran straight into Eileen and Bethel.  Damn!

With Bethel there, he could hardly talk to his father about ravishing  her granddaughter. The woman was likely to hit him over the head with a  frying pan, and she'd be smart to do just that.

"I thought I heard a car pull up," Bethel said, and she wrapped Spence up in a hug.

"The weather is so frightful I don't know how anyone is staying on the  roads," Eileen said as she stood in line for the next hug.

"The snow is fun to drive in," Spence said. "You just have to have a nice big truck." He kissed each woman on the cheek in turn.

"Well, I suppose for a younger crowd . . . We just got here a few  minutes ago. Your father was kind enough to invite us over for supper,"  Eileen told him.

Spence looked at Eileen's flushed cheeks, the glow in her eyes, and the  little squirm as she bounced on her feet, and the lights went on in his  head.

"Well then, I shouldn't interrupt," he said, intending on backing away  so his father could enjoy his meal and court Eileen at the same time.

"What a great surprise, son," Martin boomed from the top of the staircase as he began his descent.

"Hello, Dad. I was coming to chat, but it can wait. I didn't realize you  had company," Spence said, giving his dad a hug when he reached him.

"Nonsense. There's plenty of food, and the ladies wouldn't mind if my  handsome son joined us," Martin said as he threw an arm around Spence's  shoulders.

"I suppose . . ." Spence replied, but he didn't have a lot of time and he really wanted to speak to his father alone.

"We're going to go into the kitchen," Bethel said, "and see if the cook  would like any help." She took Eileen's arm and led her away.

Spence would have to send her some thank-you flowers.

"Let's have a drink while we wait for supper," Martin said, and led  Spence into the sitting room. This room was his favorite in the  house-the first room he'd entered that day Martin had brought him and  his brothers to their new home.

He'd been served the best hot chocolate he'd ever had, and in the  fanciest cup he'd ever seen. There was also a tray of tiny  sandwiches-with the crusts cut off, which was great since he hated  crusts. Martin had laughed and said he'd make sure to have lots of  kid-appropriate snacks ready to go. He'd kept his promise, always having  chocolate in his secret drawer and fresh-baked cookies daily. This had  been a wonderful home to be raised in.

"What has you driving all the way out here in such weather? I can see  something's on your mind," Martin said as they both sat down.

"Yes. I needed to talk to you about some personal stuff, and I guess I'd  best be kind of quick because I don't want it to be taken the wrong way  by Bethel and Eileen." He was hesitating, though he knew he should just  spit it out.

"There's nothing you couldn't say in front of those women. They are  loyal," Martin said. But suddenly the man's cheeks turned pink. "What  have you heard about me?"

For the first time in his life, Spence saw his father squirm before him.  "It's about me, Dad," he said quickly. He hardly wanted to force his  dad to admit to something he might not be ready to talk about yet.

Martin recovered instantly. "Well, of course it is, Spence. What else  could it be about?" He put two fingers of scotch in a glass and drank it  down.

"I . . . well, I've been around Sage a lot . . ."

"That's my boy! I knew if I could just get the two of you together, it  would all work out." Martin stopped suddenly, and his cheeks colored  again, this time for an entirely different reason.

"What?" Spence was dumbfounded. What was his dad talking about?                       
       
           



       

Martin coughed. "Uh . . . nothing. You go on."

"You have some explaining to do, Father," Spence said, knowing he should sound more firm, but oddly he was only curious.

"Well, you know, my friends and I were just thinking that you boys  aren't getting any younger. We weren't trying to meddle or anything. We  were just . . . putting two available adults together." His words came  out stronger, even huffily, at the end of his small speech, almost as if  he felt he was the victim here.

"You're matchmaking?" Spence said, his voice rising sharply.

"I've done nothing of the sort. So what if we kind of pushed for Sage to  accept the offer for this hospital? And I was feeling mighty ill when  you decided to take the ER position here."