Page 15 of Protected By the Mountain Man

I jump when I hear my name coming from my opposite side. I swivel to see Doc Pearce looking at me from the door to the kitchen, a bemused expression written over his face.

“Uh, yeah?” I’m surprised to find myself oddly out of breath.

The doctor’s lips twitch. “Want to join me in here?” He nods into the kitchen. “I could use your opinion on the roast.”

“Um, sure.” I look at Mariah to see if she’ll mind being abandoned, but she and Quinn are laughing so hard at something that Mariah’s hiccuping and both Billy and Kiri are staring at her.

“Are you okay?” I ask, chest clenching with concern.

She waves me off, still laughing as she shakes her head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Quinn just—“ she hiccups “— made the funniest joke—“ another hiccup “—about breastfeeding—“

She cuts off, still laughing hysterically waving at me. Neck hot as I try not to think about Mariah’s breasts, even in the most innocuous scenario of feeding her little one, I shove my thumb at the doctor.

“I’m going to go help if that’s okay?”

She nods, catching her breath and wiping tears from her eyes. “Sure, babe, whatever you need.”

I freeze.

Babe.

She called mebabe.

Her babe? Or is it just a term of generalized affection? Either way, I’ll take it.

She doesn’t seem to notice that she’s caused every hair on my body to stand on end or my blood to freeze in my veins. She’s asking Quinn about mastitis when Doc Pearce clears his throat behind me.

That breaks the spell. I stand and flee to the kitchen.

“You, uh, need help with the dinner?” I ask, wiping my damp palms on my jeans.

The doctor shakes his head, smiling. “Nope, dinner’s fine. You just looked like you needed a lifeline.”

I grimace. “Was it that obvious?”

He fixes me with a shrewd look. “Mariah didn’t seem to notice, if that’s what you mean.”

The back of my neck flushes so hot that the heat bleeds up to my cheeks, turning what’s visible above my beard red and rosy. “I mean — I’m just helping her out — for her brother—“ I stammer.

The doctor smiles kindly. “You’re doing a good thing. A generous thing. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have any feelings tied up in it.”

“Shouldn’t it?” The doc is touching on something that’s been bugging me. If I was really helping Mariah out of the goodness of my heart, I wouldn’t have these hungry feelings for her.

Would I?

“These things can be complicated.” He chuckles. “Believe me, I know.”

Of course the man would. His situation with Quinn wasn’t all that different from the one I find myself in with Mariah. “So what did you do?”

He shakes his head. “I tried to play it cool until I was no longer able to. Then the choices were either to tell Quinn how I felt, or abandon her and Kiri.” His jaw hardens. “And there was no way in hell I was going to do the latter.”

I nod, heart suddenly feeling like it just might burst. I’d forgotten that I’m not alone, that Doc Pearce has walked this path — or one similar to it — before me. “That’s exactly how I feel. About not abandoning them, I mean. But…” I hesitate. “I didn’t expect this. To feel like—“ I gesture vaguely. “To feel all this. Whateverthisis.”

He claps me on the shoulder. “I understand completely.”

“It’s unreasonable, right?” I press. “To feel so strongly about someone I barely know?”

“Maybe. But love isn’t always reasonable.” He looks at me thoughtfully. “Does she feel the same as you?”

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