Page 93 of The Doctor's Irreplaceable Love

They both turned when the door opened, and Harper came bustling in.

She grinned at Ford."Well, look at this.You're another MacFarland, aren't you?I can tell just by the look of you."

Ford chuckled."I am.You got me.And you must be Shelley's friend."

Harper stepped forward."That's me.I'm Harper.It's nice to meet you.Which one are you?No, let me guess..."

Shelley held her breath, hoping that Harper wouldn't mention Cash or his visit.

She had to smile, though, at the way Harper looked Ford up and down, and he shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.His eyebrows drew together in a slight frown, and Harper laughed.

"Don't you scowl at me.I'm not checking you out—just trying to figure out which one you are.And by the look on your face, I'd say that you're Ford."

Ford let out a chuckle."What does the look on my face have to do with it?"he asked.

Harper shrugged, grinning."Harsh, rugged...happily broody.You're the dark and broody one, right?"

Shelley put her head in her hands, half smiling, half cringing as she waited for Ford to reply.

To her relief, he laughed again."Apparently I am.Yeah, I've heard myself described that way a time or two."

"Well, I have to say, it suits you.And I'll also say that it's a pleasure to meet you."Harper’s smile dimmed a little."And I hope I didn't offend you."

He chuckled as he held out his hand to shake with her."It'd take a lot more than that to offend me.It's nice to meet you, too."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too," Harper returned.

Ford stood back."I'd better be on my way.I need to get to the post office before it closes.If you ladies need any help getting moved into the cottage, I'd be happy to help—any of us would.And Trip knows how to get hold of me."

He turned to leave and tipped his hat at them when he reached the door.

After he'd gone, Harper fanned her hand in front of her face.

"Wow.They really do breed them like that out here, don’t they?I mean, you could say that there’s a whole herd of sexy cowboys around here.”

"I suppose you could say that," Shelley agreed.

Harper rolled her eyes."You absolutely can.And it's true.Your only hesitation is because you only have eyes for one of them.Did he get caught up at the hospital?I thought he might have been back by now.Thought you guys might have gone home.I was planning to just drive by and make sure your cars had gone, but when I saw yours still here..."

"He said he'll call me when he's leaving the hospital.I just got finished drawing up the ad.I was thinking about going home.How was your afternoon?"

Harper grinned."I've had a whale of a time.I told you that you should have come with me.I went down to the bakery.I really like that place.Spider and Rocket have done such a good job there.It's a great little business.And I really like those guys.They make me feel like it's possible to become a part of this place even when you start out as such an obvious outsider."

"Yeah, I suppose I haven't thought about it that way," Shelley said."But I know the two of them came here from California.And between that and the fact that they look the way they do, I can see how they might have had trouble fitting in—or being accepted."

"Exactly," Harper agreed."If those guys can fit in, I can do it too.And I got to hang out with Candy for a while.She was all done in the kitchen for the day.Apparently..."Harper laughed."The boys—can you believe that?She calls those two giants her boys—apparently that's their ritual at the end of her working day.Since she's in there early in the morning to start baking, they make her finish work, sit down, and have a coffee and a pastry with them before she leaves for the day.Isn't that awesome?

"Oh, and Frankie came in too—Spider’s fiancée.I like that girl.She's a real firecracker.And she asked if I wanted to learn to ride a horse!She said that Laney’s going to teach you, and if I want, we can all get together, the four of us, and she'll teach me too."

Shelley raised her eyebrows."You?You're going to learn to ride a horse?"

Harper gave her an indignant look."Why not?"

Shelley had to laugh."Because you're a New Yorker.You're the definition of a New Yorker."

"So?People ride horses in Central Park.Why shouldn't I learn?Now that I'm out here in the West, it's what people do; I want to assimilate."

"Hey, I wasn't knocking it," Shelley said."You just surprised me, that's all.It'll be something fun that we can do together.And I do like Laney and Frankie a lot.I love that they've offered."

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