The Doctor Wears A Stetson (Contemporary Western Romance) (17 page)

Cameron laughed. "I think we better get
something to eat. We used a lot of calories last night and you
don't have many reserves."

Jessie jumped up, opened the refrigerator
and rummaged around, trying to ignore the quiver in her stomach
that had nothing to do with lack of food. "You think I'm too
skinny? Is that what you're trying to tell me?" She stared at the
meager contents on the glass shelves. She needed to go grocery
shopping. She needed . . .
oh my
.

Cameron pulled her away from the fridge and
into his arms, kicking the refrigerator door closed. "I don't think
you're too skinny. I think you're perfect. Beautiful. Sexy."

"You think I'm sexy?" Jessie leaned her head
on his shoulder, breathing in his clean masculine scent and feeling
his steady heartbeat against her ear.

"Oh, yeah, sweetheart. I think you're damned
sexy." He bent down and kissed her.

When his stomach growled, Jessie pulled away
and smiled, poking a finger against the massive chest. "You're
hungry too, buster. Don't deny it. Can't live on love alone, you
know."

Cameron picked her up and carried her to the
bedroom. "We can try, can't we?"

"Put me down," she protested, laughing as
she flung her arms around his neck. "We need food. I'm
starving."

He let her slide to the floor. Her body
rubbed slowly against his. The erotic friction caused her robe to
come undone.

"Let's go to the cafe for breakfast, brunch
or whatever." Cameron slipped the robe from her shoulders and
kissed her, caressing her breasts with gentle fingers. "But first,
let's take a shower and get dressed."

"A shower? As in, together?" Jessie floated
on a sea of sensation as his hands worked their magic over her
body. Anticipation ignited a fire in her veins.

"Definitely together," Cameron said, as he
steered her toward the bathroom door.

"I can't eat another bite." Jessie pushed
her plate away and wiped her mouth. She watched Cameron sop a
fluffy biscuit in Sarah Sue's famous cream gravy. He glanced at her
and winked. Jessie's heart flip-flopped. The love she felt for him
burst the seams of her heart. Their time together was precious.
Would Cameron miss her after he left?

Sarah Sue walked up and refilled their
coffee cups. "Y'all want any dessert?"

"None for me, thanks," Jessie said.

The waitress put her hand on her hip and
frowned.

"Something wrong?" Cameron asked, throwing
down his napkin and glancing at Jessie.

"Well now, I was just wondering why Jessie
is here instead of over at the football field."

"Oh my gosh!" Jessie said. "I completely
forgot."

Cameron looked from her to Sarah Sue.
"Forgot what?"

"Why darlin', you
have
been away too
long." She shook her finger in his face. "It's
homecoming
.
You know? The Big Game. This afternoon. Three o'clock?"

Jessie shoved away from the table. "What
time is it?" she asked Cameron.

"Almost two. Why?"

"I'll tell you why," the waitress said.
"Jessie is one of Salt Fork's best feature writers. She interviews
the coaches and players and writes a real nice column about the
game. I always look forward to reading it." She set the coffee pot
down and totaled up the bill. "It's surprising Jessie forgot. Never
has before. Maybe she had other things on her mind." She handed the
bill to Cameron. "Not that I don't think it's great you two are
spending time together--"

"Sarah Sue, thanks for reminding me." Jessie
felt a blush stain her cheeks. Her friend was notorious for minding
other people's business. She turned to Cameron. "I really need to
get over to the stadium. How could you forget? You came back for
homecoming, didn't you?"

Sarah Sue snorted. "Of course, he didn't
come back for homecoming, darlin'. Never bothered coming before.
Any blind fool knows why he's here."

Jessie's cheeks grew redder. She turned and
walked quickly out the door.

Cameron took care of the bill. He tucked an
extra twenty in Sarah Sue's pocket and kissed her cheek. "Thanks. I
think."

"Always like to help people dear to me. And
Jessie's very dear. You two make a mighty fine couple. Don't go
breaking her heart again, you hear?"

"Again?"

Sarah Sue grabbed the coffee pot. "Never
mind, darlin'. Go on now, Jessie's waiting."

Cameron turned to leave.

"You're a fool if you let her get away,
Cameron McCade," she called when he reached the door.

"I know it," he said over his shoulder.

"Know what?" Jessie stood just outside the
entrance.

He took her elbow and led her to the car.
"That I'm a fool." He placed a finger on her mouth. "Don't ask.
Let's get to the stadium."

The bleachers were almost packed when they
pulled into the parking lot. Jessie tied her notepad around her
neck. "You get the seats while I do the interviews. I like to sit
up high. Fifty-yard line."

Cameron smiled. "So you can see the whole
field?"

"Exactly. You wouldn't be making fun of me
again, would you?" she asked. "I know this isn't as exciting as a
professional game, but it's important to people around here. It
used to be important to you, too."

She opened the door and climbed out. Cameron
leaned over the console and stared up at her. "Hey, Jess?"

Turning back, she bent to look at him, a
question in her eyes.

"I love it when you throw my past in my
face. Don't ever change." He brushed a finger against the soft skin
of her cheek.

"You said that to me once before," she
said.

"Did I? When?"

She straightened and dug a pen from the
bottom of her purse. "You figure it out, Cameron." Jessie closed
the door and disappeared through the gates leading to the football
field.

Cameron engaged the alarm system on his car.
The Jag looked out of place in the middle of all the pickups and
farm vehicles. Just as he felt out of place, had
always
felt
out of place. Except for this visit. This visit was different
somehow what with seeing Jess and making love to her. What the hell
was he going to do about her?

At the ticket booth, he slapped some bills
down, his mind on Jessie. "Two, please."

"Hey, Cameron." Patti Garrison smiled
through the glass enclosure. "If one of these is for Jessie, I know
just where she likes to sit."

"You sell tickets often?" He shoved the
money under the window.

"Every game." She counted change and handed
him the tickets. "My oldest is on the team, and Bubba's head
coach."

"Bubba's the coach?" Cameron took the
tickets from her. She sounded so proud and content.

"Sure is," Patti said. "They hired him after
he graduated from Tech. We married while we were both at college
and decided to come back home so we could raise our kids in Salt
Fork."

"And you're happy here?" Cameron asked.

She shrugged. "As happy as one might expect,
I guess. I didn't think so at the time, but breaking up with you
was one of the best things that could have happened. I have a good
husband and five great kids. And I enjoy living in Salt Fork."

"I thought . . . Jessie said . . ." Cameron
shook his head, trying to straighten out his confused thoughts.

"I know what Jessie must think." Patti
leaned forward and looked him in the eye. "But believe me, it
wasn't
my
heart that was broken when you left town."

He gripped the tickets in his hand. "What do
you mean by that?"

Patti moved back. "Nothing. Forget it. Enjoy
the game. Your mom and Tyler are already up in the stands. Austin
and Kelsey, too. Dallas better hurry or he'll miss the kickoff.
Nice seeing you, Cameron. I've got tickets to sell, and there's a
long line behind you."

He glanced over his shoulder and stepped
away from the booth. Patti's words disturbed him. Sarah Sue's
warning replayed in his mind. Both women seemed to think he had
broken Jessie's heart when he'd left town. But how could that be?
They had barely known each other back in high school. He'd been
aware of her crush on him, but it certainly hadn't been strong
enough to warrant a broken heart.

Pushing through the crowd, Cameron slowly
made his way to the grandstand, stopping to exchange greetings with
old friends. Small town friendliness, Jessie would say. It wasn't
so bad. He must be getting soft--or
old
. Or maybe Jessie was
getting to him. Yeah, Jessie was definitely getting to him.

"Hey, Cameron! Up here."

Shading his eyes against the blinding
afternoon sun, Cameron searched the crowded bleachers. High up in
the stands, he spotted his two brothers, Tyler and Austin, sitting
with his mom. A quick glance at his ticket stubs told him all he
needed to know. He took the steps two at a time.

"Well, well. Isn't this cozy?" he said. He
hadn't expected to share his date with his family.

Austin slapped him on the shoulder and
grinned. "Isn't it, though?"

Ruth pulled Cameron down onto the seat next
to her. "Sit down, Cam. It's not what you think. We always sit up
here at the games. The view's great, and it's fun watching Jessie
jot down notes for her stories." She buttoned the collar of her
jacket and looked at the cheerleaders down below. "You didn't come
home last night."

"No," he said, feeling like he was sixteen
again.

"Jessie's a good girl. I don't want to see
her get hurt."

"No one's going to get hurt, Mom." Everyone
thought he was a heartbreaker, even his mother.

"You don't know that," Ruth said. "I told
you she cares for you. If you spend the night at her place and then
just go back to Houston--" She shook her head. "I'll never
understand these modern ways. It wasn't like this when your father
and I were young."

"Times change," Cameron said.

"
People
don't change."

"Let up, Ma," Tyler said, rolling his eyes
at his brother.

"Hey, Grams!" Kelsey ran up the steps toward
them with a snack tray loaded with sodas, popcorn and nachos. "They
were out of Spanish peanuts, so I got cashews instead. If you don't
want them, I'll eat 'em." She climbed over the bleachers, dodging
people right and left, concentrating on balancing the tray and
getting to her seat.

"Here, let me help you." Austin took the
tray from his daughter.

"Thanks," she said and flopped down beside
him. Leaning around, she smiled at Cameron. "I saw Jessie, Uncle
Cam. She'll be here in a minute." Kelsey waved to someone sitting
lower in the stands. "There's my teacher, Miss Rogers. She's so
cool. I'm going to say hello to her." She jumped up and was gone in
a flash.

"Does she ever stay in one place for more
than a minute?" Cameron asked, watching his niece down below.

Austin shook his head and grinned. "No,
she's a ten-year-old whirlwind that never stops."

Cameron eased a cramp in one of his legs. "I
wonder what's keeping Dallas?"

"I don't know," Tyler said. "He left the
house at dawn. I took Ma to Abilene this morning, then came
straight here. Something must have come up. He'll be here, though.
He never misses a game."

Ruth set her bag of popcorn on her lap. "Did
you see Patti?" she asked Cameron.

He looked at her out of the corner of his
eye. "Yeah, I saw her at the bonfire last night and at the ticket
booth just a minute ago."

Ruth let out a long sigh. "Her son is on the
varsity team. I wish I had a grandson on the team. I wish I had a
grandson, period. Or another granddaughter or two." She sighed
again.

"Don't start that again," Cameron said.
"You'll have more grandkids one of these days."

Austin put his arm around Ruth's shoulders.
"Maybe Kelsey will try out for the team when she gets to high
school. She's a fine little athlete."

"But she's a girl!" Ruth said. "Don't you
dare go putting such notions into that child's head. Soccer is bad
enough. Football is too rough for a girl."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Austin said.
"Kelsey has a lot of speed. She'd make a darn good running
back."

"Who'd make a good running back?" Jessie
asked, scooting past Cameron and sitting between him and Ruth. She
handed him a cup of hot cocoa.

"Oh, Jessie," Ruth cried. "Austin wants
Kelsey to play football!"

Jessie patted Ruth's hand. "He's just
teasing you, I'm sure." She frowned at Austin, then winked at
Cameron.

"How'd the interviews go?" Cameron blew the
cocoa before taking a sip. He hadn't realized Jessie was so close
to his family. Close enough to soothe his mother's feelings and
scold Austin in the same breath. He'd known she was on friendly
terms with them; she'd been invited to Ruth's birthday party. But
he'd been too busy that day to see her interact with any of
them.

"The interviews went great," Jessie said,
warming her fingers on her cocoa cup. "Bubba says there's a slim
chance we might win today."

"Only a slim chance?" Cameron asked.

Jessie nodded. "The team hasn't had a
successful season this year. Things are different than when we were
kids and you were playing."

Everything seemed to be different since they
were kids, Cameron thought. Or was it the same? His attraction to
Jessie had been strong back then. His feelings for her now were
getting completely out of hand. "What's their record?"

"They've won one and lost six," she said,
sipping her cocoa and gazing around the stands.

"Damn." Times
had
changed. Salt Fork
had made it to the play-offs his junior and senior year.

Kelsey climbed over everyone's legs to
return to her seat and grabbed her plate of nachos and took a bite,
then licked the gooey cheese from her fingers.

"Kelsey, don't lick your fingers," Ruth
scolded. "Where are your manners?" She handed her granddaughter a
paper napkin.