The Doctor Wears A Stetson (Contemporary Western Romance) (24 page)

"It was more than a crush," said Sarah Sue.
"She was devastated when you left for college."

"We barely knew one another. How can that
be?"

"Her crush and admiration turned into love,
sugar. You were a mighty handsome boy. Nice, polite and charming,
as well. A deadly combination for a young girl. Especially one with
little experience, if you know what I mean?"

Cameron felt like squirming in the chair.
This was turning out to be an uncomfortable conversation.

"What reason did she give you for turning
down your marriage proposal?" Sarah Sue asked.

"Some malarkey about not being able to have
children," he said. "I told her we could adopt. I even offered to
pay for fertility testing. How does she know the fault was hers
when she couldn't get pregnant with TR?"

"She couldn't. She just assumed." Sarah Sue
looked up at the ceiling and shook her head. "I thought I'd talked
her out of those thoughts. Jessie has always been a glum little
thing. Probably comes from losing her mama at such an early age. I
did what I could for her, but no one can replace a girl's
mother."

"You've been a good friend to her," Cameron
said. "She's lucky to have you."

"Well, thank you, sugar. That's mighty nice
of you. Now, what are you going to do about the situation?"

Cameron told her about the flowers and the
notes he'd written. "I'm trying to think of romantic things to do
to show Jessie I'm not taking no for an answer."

Sarah Sue smiled. "All those flowers
delivered and I haven't heard a thing about it. Gussie Ferguson
hasn't breathed a word to a soul."

"I asked her not to," Cameron said. "Garza
promised not to spread it about either."

"So, what's your next move?" Sarah Sue
asked, eying the wrapped package sitting on her desk.

Cameron picked it up and handed it to her.
"I know Jessie comes in here several nights a week. I want you to
give that to her, next time she stops by the café."

"What is it?"

Cameron stood and picked up his Stetson.
"You'll have to wait until Jessie opens it." He kissed her cheek
and left her gaping after him, feeling better than he had in
days.

****

Jessie felt sicker than she had last week.
In fact, she was more nauseous than ever. She'd even thrown up
yesterday morning. Sam had made her stay in the office for the past
couple of days, saying he didn't like the way she looked. Badgering
her to go see the doctor. Sam had asked her what good was there in
having a clinic in town, if she didn't make full use of it.

Well, Sam hadn't slept with the resident
physician or refused an offer of marriage from him. That made it
just a tad embarrassing to make an appointment.

After the garage closed for the night,
Jessie decided to visit Sarah Sue. Maybe have a bowl of soup and a
few crackers; something to settle her riotous stomach. If she
wasn't better soon, Jessie would be forced to see a doctor and she
didn't feel like driving the eighty miles to Abilene. She'd have to
swallow her embarrassment and make an appointment at the
clinic.

Hopefully, she could see Cameron as a
patient and they could keep things professional. Hopefully, when
she saw him, she wouldn't burst into tears. Hopefully, she'd get
well and wouldn't have to go see him.

The café was empty as usual when Jessie
stopped by after work. Nine-thirty at night and most everyone had
gone home, even the other waitress and the chef. Only Sarah Sue
stayed late at the café, catching up on paper work, trying out new
recipes. That was the only time she could cook in the kitchen
without causing an uproar with her chef. He didn't like anyone
trespassing on his domain, not even Sarah Sue.

Many a night, Jessie sat in the big kitchen
and watched Sarah Sue make pies and pastries. They'd laugh and talk
and gossip. Those times were some of Jessie's favorites.

She entered the café and spotted her friend
through the kitchen window. "Hey there, darlin'," Sarah Sue said
with a wave and a smile. "You're just in time. I have a peach
cobbler in the oven. We'll have warm cobbler and ice cream in a few
minutes. Come on back here."

Jessie swallowed and shook her head. "I'll
take a rain check on that. All I want is some soup, if you have
any."

Sarah Sue wiped her flour-dusted hands on
her apron and pulled Jessie to the table sitting near the fridge.
"You still feeling puny? You sit right here and I'll get you a bowl
of potato soup. It'll soothe your stomach, I guarantee."

"Thanks. I'd like that."

Sarah Sue bustled around the large kitchen,
opening the door of the stainless steel refrigerator, ladling a
bowlful of soup and zapping it in the microwave. In no time flat,
she set the steaming bowl in front of Jessie, with a sleeve of
crackers and a tall glass of tea.

"Eat up. Then I have a surprise for
you."

Jessie dipped her spoon in the soup and
sipped it, making sure it wasn't too hot. The creamy liquid slid
down her throat and settled in her agitated stomach, instantly
making her feel better. "This is good. Just what I need."

Sarah Sue sat down across from her. "I could
tell you what you need, but since you're so sick, I'll wait until
you're better."

"It's okay. What do you think I need?"

"A swift kick in the rear, that's what."

Jessie's head jerked up and she stared at
her friend. "Why would you say something like that?"

Sarah Sue sat back in her chair and crossed
her arms over her chest. "Cameron McCade came in here today. He
told me he asked you to marry him and you refused. I think you're
sick in the head, darlin'."

Jessie laid her spoon aside. "I believe
you're right."

"What were you thinking? You love that man
to distraction, and he loves you. I can't believe you're giving up
a lifetime of happiness and love just because you think you can't
give that man babies."

Rubbing her temples, Jessie sighed. "I'm so
confused I think that's what's making me feel so sick. I don't want
to disappoint Cameron by not giving him children, but like he said,
I'm still disappointing him by not marrying him, because he wants
me, needs me. And I need him, too." God, how she needed him.

"Of course you need him," Sarah Sue said.
"Didn't you tell me you were finished doing things you'd regret or
feel guilty about?"

"Yes, but--"

Sarah Sue lifted a hand as if to ward off
any argument. "Hear me out, Jessie. Do you regret making love with
Cameron? You were confused about that, too. Remember? Are you sorry
you slept with the man?"

"No, I'm not, but--"

"Do you love him?"

"Yes, but--"

"No buts. You love him. He loves you. Are
you sorry you refused him? Do you regret that you won't be marrying
him and living a full rich life with him? Adopting children and
raising them, if need be? Don't you regret that?"

"Yes! Okay, okay. Maybe I made a
mistake."

Sarah Sue reached across the table and
patted Jessie's hand. "There's no maybe about it. It's not too
late, darlin'. He wants you more than ever."

"And I want him. But I'm scared." Scared
spitless, in fact.

Sarah Sue patted her hand again. "Scared
he'll leave? Scared you'll lose him? Like you lost your mama and
daddy and TR?"

"Yes," Jessie whispered, realization
suddenly dawning. "I'm scared to make the commitment. Scared to lay
my heart open again."

Squeezing her hand, Sarah Sue gave it a
little shake. "You have to take risks, darlin'. Cameron's not going
to leave you again. Hell, he uprooted his life to be near you. He's
made the commitment. Why can't you? Wait right here. He left
something in my office that he wanted me to give you."

Jessie couldn't imagine what Cameron had
done now. After the two deliveries of flowers, she didn't know what
to expect.

Sarah Sue came back into the kitchen
carrying a small thin square package. "Here you go. Open it. I'm
dying to know what's in it."

Jessie held the package for a moment. Just
like she'd been hesitant to open the envelopes that arrived with
the flowers, she was hesitant to open the package.

"Well, go ahead. Open it, why don't you?"
Sarah Sue said.

Jessie tore the paper and unwrapped a gold
metal frame containing an old photograph. One taken seventeen years
ago with a younger version of Jessie dressed in an ivory-colored
prom dress looking dreamily up at her handsome escort wearing a
black tuxedo and a baby-blue shirt. The photographer had caught the
adoration and happiness Jessie remembered feeling that night.

She traced the image of the younger Cameron
with a trembling finger. She'd forgotten about the picture taken
that night. Somehow, she'd never seen it before. After Cameron had
left her and moved away, she'd been too upset to think of
photographs or much of anything else.

"Can I see?" Sarah Sue asked.

Jessie blinked away tears and handed the
picture to her friend.

"Well, I'll be. That man has a romantic
streak a mile wide. He told me about the flowers.
And now
this
. You two made a mighty fine pair back then. Looks like you
belong together, if you ask me. Is there a note in the
wrappings?"

Jessie dashed a hand across her eyes, then
searched through the brightly colored paper. "No, there's
nothing."

Sarah Sue flipped the frame over. "Here's
something."

Jessie took the frame and removed the tiny
envelope taped to the back. There was something hard inside.

What in the world?

With shaking hands, Jessie opened the
envelope and removed a small card and a key. Her heart pounded in
her chest and she had trouble breathing. She sat there, turning the
key over and over and over.

"Read the note, for crying out loud," Sarah
Sue said.

The card was upside down. Jessie turned it
so she could read the words, written in the now familiar bold
handwriting.

You already hold the key to my heart and
soul. You wouldn't accept my ring, but I hope you accept this gift.
Here's the key to something I hold dear, but not nearly as dear as
I hold you. Hope you enjoy the car. Love always, Cameron.

P.S. It's parked behind the café.

Jessie laughed and cried and held the key
against her own rapidly thumping heart.

"What is it?" Sarah Sue demanded. "What is
that key to?"

"His Jaguar. He gave me his Jag."

"Good God, he's as crazy as you are. Crazy
about you, too. You need to quit this foolishness, darlin', and put
that man out of his misery and tell him that you'll marry him."

"I can't accept the car. Can I?"
Could
she?

Sarah Sue nodded. "You can if you marry him.
Are
you going to marry him?"

Jessie looked at the note again, then at the
key, then at the old photograph. Suddenly, she felt better than she
had in months. "Yes, I am. I'm going to marry Cameron McCade!"

Cameron paced around the living room of his
new home, wondering how Jessie would react to this latest surprise.
He wondered if she'd even gone to Sarah Sue's tonight. She didn't
stop at the café every night of the week, after all.

And he wondered what her reaction would be
when she found the Jag parked behind the café. Would she be angry?
Or would she finally believe he wanted her more than anything he'd
ever wanted in his life? By giving her the Jag, he hoped she'd get
it through her stubborn brain that he was serious about wanting to
marry her and spend his life with her by his side.

The sound of a powerful engine pulling into
his driveway made him smile. He hoped like hell she had changed her
mind, because he was fast running out of ideas to convince her that
he loved her and needed her.

He went to the door, opened it and waited
for Jessie to climb out of the car. He'd told her in the note that
she held the key to his heart and soul, but she also held the key
to his future happiness. Which would it be? A lifetime of love? Or
the prospect of a bleak lonely existence?

Jessie ran up the walk and flung herself at
Cameron, wrapping her arms around his neck, laughing and crying and
kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

The heaviness in his heart lifted and he
hugged her tightly, returning her kisses, loving the feel of her in
his arms, inhaling her sweetness.

"Oh my God, Cameron! I can't believe you
would give me your Jag. And all those flowers. And the notes." She
sniffed and touched her fingers to his cheeks. "And the prom
picture. I'd never seen it before, you know. Did Ruth have it
stashed away somewhere? I'm surprised she didn't give me a copy
years ago."

He clasped her fingers with his. "I never
showed it to Mom," he said, kissing each finger in turn.

Her breath hitched at the intimate contact.
"And you've kept it all these years?"

He pulled her closer and kissed her gently.
"I took it with me when I left for college. I tucked it away in a
book for safe keeping with all the moving I was doing. I hadn't
seen it since grad school. I found it when I was unpacking some of
my things a couple of weeks ago--Hey, where are you going?"

Jessie wiggled out of Cameron's arms and
held out the keys to the Jaguar. He just stared at them, not making
a move to take them. Was she refusing him again?

"You don't need to give me your car," she
said. "I know how much it means to you."

"Not as much as you mean to me, Jess.
I--"

She held up her hands to keep him at bay.
"Please let me finish. The car is a lovely gesture, but the prom
picture is the best gift of all, better than the flowers. If the
offer's still good, I'd like to take you up on it."

"Of course, the offer's still good." He
grabbed her waist and pulled her into his embrace again. "I love
you so much, Jess." He touched her cheek and kissed her again,
loving how well they fit together. Relieved that she'd finally
agreed to be his wife.