Page 38 of White Collar Rancher

A cupcake rested on her end table. Justin’s interest was riveted to the pink and green frosting.

“Vanilla bean,” a woman said from the doorway. One of the nurses. Gram smiled and waved her in, but she shook her head and smiled. “I’ll come back when your company’s gone. I just wanted to tell you that if you don’t want it, I’ll have it.”

Gram chuckled. “That good, huh? Who’s spoiling us?”

“So yummy. I guess the cupcake fairy swung by this afternoon and passed them out.” The nurse’s face sobered. “It was a real pick-me-up for the residents who didn’t have anywhere to go. The cafeteria’s pumpkin pie only goes so far.”

Justin hung on every word. Vanilla bean cupcakes with pink and green frosting. What were the odds? When had Priya made the time to do this on Thanksgiving?

His stomach hit bottom like it was full of horseshoes. Her parents and sister were out of the country. The Saunders lived in town, but what if they hadn’t invited her over? No, he couldn’t see that happening. But Priya’s mom wasn’t an only child. What if the Saunders had gone out of town? Priya wasn’t the type to latch on to anyone, to tell them she had no one to spend the holiday with.

And any family that lived close was probably like him and had assumed she had plans.

“That was so sweet of our mystery guest.” Gram rocked in her chair.

“Very,” said the nurse. “Lucille next door is a patient of hers and told us who our cupcake fairy was. Dr. Patel hung around and visited with a few people.”

“Oh yes.” Gram pegged him with her sharp gaze, like her grandma radar was going off and she knew he was way too interested in this conversation for it to be about cupcakes or someone’s goodwill. “Do you know her?”

“She’s a friend of mine.” The extremely inappropriate and ill-timed image of her hair hanging over her bare shoulders and tickling her breasts flashed through his head. The temperature of the place rose another ten degrees. “Priya. Yeah, a friend.”

“Mm-hmm.” Gram might as well have said bullshit. “I thought one of the Patel girls was your age.”

The nurse’s gusty sigh broke in. “I’ll give up my not-so-subtle begging for the cupcake.” She looked at Justin. “But seriously, if you see her, tell her thank you and anytime. Literally. Anytime. We don’t turn sweets away.”

“Do you?” Gram asked when the other woman left. “See her at all?”

“She, uh, helped me a lot when Isaiah had colic.” He was reverting to the kid who couldn’t bluff Gram about how the shop window got busted.

“That’s what I thought your dad said. She’s a doctor?”

He had to put a stop to Gram’s inquiries. The nursing home grapevine burned hot. “She is. But I’m not looking for a relationship.” He hefted the baby carrier to prove his point.

“You don’t have to be looking for a relationship if it finds you first.”

“Thanks, Gram.” Isaiah squawked. It was getting close to bottle time and Justin was living on the edge as it was by leaving the diaper bag in the pickup.

“You need to get him home. Thanks again, Justin.”

He leaned over to kiss her, then lifted the carrier so she could say goodbye to Isaiah. “I’ll try to stop by again this weekend. The boy and I are getting out of the house more.”

As he walked outside, he couldn’t help but look for signs that Priya had been there, or maybe was still around. But she wasn’t. It was almost seven. Isaiah’s bedtime was soon.

Soon, but not yet.

Was she home?

Last Thanksgiving, Brigit had stormed out of the house when she’d realized Caleb was spending the holiday alone. Their relationship had turned a corner that weekend. But Justin wasn’t looking for one. And he didn’t want one to find him.

Still, he’d be a shitty friend if he drove home knowing she was by herself, after he’d spent the day with his siblings and their spouses and his niece and nephew. Last year, his twin had refused to let someone close to her be alone for a family holiday, while Justin had relaxed and watched football with Dad. He couldn’t do that to Priya.

Isaiah let out another half cry. His early warning wail that he’d better get a bottle or he was getting loud.

“Don’t worry, kiddo. We’ll get you your bottle a little sooner than expected.”

Headlights flashed through the sitting room. Priya frowned and unfolded herself from the couch. She’d been doing nothing but staring at the article about a doula’s place in the C-section surgery. Baking had gotten her through today. Now she needed to work on finding light reading material.

The adjustment from full-time student to full-time doctor was hard to move beyond, not to mention the drive to be the best doctor possible. Dad’s words of wisdom were suddenly…wise. Your entire life can’t be about being a doctor. It’s only part of what you are. Remember to keep the Fs in your life. Family. Friends. Fun.

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