Their Divine Doctor(Divine Creek Ranch 9)(55)

His mom exclaimed over the pie’s flaky, golden crust and applauded Emma’s efforts. She glanced at her son and winked, merriment in her eyes as Emma placed the pie on the rack to cool.

She came over to give her son a hug and whispered, “We love her, Duke. You did good.”

Emma joined them at the bar and said, “Mary, everything smells so good. Is anyone else feeling a little warm or is it just me?”

Mom patted Emma’s shoulder and said, “Call me Mom, sweetie. It is a little warm in here and you have on a turtleneck. Why don’t you and the boys take a walk outside? That should cool you down before we have dinner.”

Emma looked to Duke, and he heard Gage rise from the sofa and say, “Dad, I think I’m going to take a walk with Emma and Duke.”

“You’re sure that you don’t need any more help in the kitchen?” Emma asked.

Mom shook her head and gestured to the turkey. “The bird is resting right now. We’ll slice it when you get back. Go get some fresh air.”

After putting on their coats, Duke, Gage, and Emma headed out the door and down the front steps. The sun was bright, but the afternoon temperatures were still frigid. She hooked her arms through both of theirs and allowed them to lead her down the walk. There were people here and there, arriving or departing, loading sleepy kids for the drive home or letting them loose from their car seats to run after long drives. Christmas decorations were being put up at a couple of the neighboring houses.

Gesturing to the homes up and down the street, Emma said, “It’s like a scene from a Rockwell painting.”

Duke smiled and nodded, seeing it with new appreciation. “This is the neighborhood we grew up in.”

Emma replied, “Really? So your friends lived in these houses?”

Gage said, “Oh, yeah.” He pointed to a brown house next door to theirs. “Adam Rankin lived right next door. He was our best friend from kindergarten on. He’s in the Army and expected back from Iraq sometime hopefully before Christmas. That,” he said, smirking as he pointed to the blue house directly across the street. “That is where Jessica Silverman lived. And she—”

Crap.

Duke put a hand out to stop Gage and said, “—was my first girlfriend in sixth grade.”

“Really?” Emma said then chuckled. “Do tell.”

Duke nodded. “She broke my heart. Our relationship lasted two days. She left me.”

“She left you? For who?” Emma said with a disbelieving scoff as though the girl must have had no sense whatsoever.

“For him!” Duke chuckled and pointed at Gage. “It seems she had a thing for brooding men with green eyes.”

Emma laughed gaily, and Duke loved the sound of it and wanted to make her laugh more.

Gage said, “Yep. And we lasted for three days. She broke my heart, too. She said neither me nor Duke understood women.” Gage threw his hand in the air in a surrendering gesture.

With a giggling snort, she asked, “So, what happened? Did she just work her way down the block?”

Duke shook his head. “No. She gave Adam a go. Turns out she had a thing for blue-eyed men, too. They stuck together and got married after college. She’s expecting their second baby around Christmas,” he said, pointing to a very pregnant blonde helping a little blond-haired boy from a minivan parked at the house next door. “Hey, Jess!”

The blonde looked up and grinned widely when she saw them and waved. “Hey, guys! Happy Thanksgiving!” Her little boy was talking a mile a minute, tugging on her hand, and she shrugged apologetically as she was dragged inside. “Take care!”

“She’s lovely.”

Gage replied, “We were better off as friends. It was doomed to failure.”

“Oh?”

Gage said, “Yeah. It turns out we have a thing for a beautiful, green-eyed brunette who loves to play doctor.”

Emma nodded and clutched their arms close to her. Duke brushed his nose against her cheekbone, kissed her temple, and murmured, “And has a pervy streak a mile wide.”

Emma gave him a crooked little grin and replied, “Which you love about me.” Duke agreed enthusiastically because it was the truth. Emma turned to Gage and asked, “You slept through the night last night, didn’t you?”

Gage sighed softly and replied, “I did. No nightmares.” Gage seemed hesitant but smiled reassuringly at her, and she paused for a step to give him a soft kiss. Gage’s fingertips feathered against her jaw with great tenderness, and Duke wished they were alone in her bedroom so they could kiss her the way he and Gage really wanted to.

Emma wrapped an arm around his waist and said, “It just takes time, doesn’t it?” Gage nodded silently. “I’m glad that talking to my friend helped.”