Page 29 of Waiting for Devon
“No,” Devon snapped. “I left my phone in the limousine. And Lincoln was too busy helping me.”
“Take it easy, Shane,” Reed murmured. Devon shot him a look of gratitude.
“We are grateful you’re home safe and sound, although I intend to berate Lincoln for not responding to our calls,” Jasper informed her.
“Please don’t,” Devon pleaded. “I kept him busy running back and forth to the hospital and to the grocery store for other starving families. Sir,” she continued, her eyes lighting with eagerness, “helping those who needed me so desperately tonight made me realize I have had my fill of tea parties and sewing circles. I wasn’t born a socialite and have no desire to become one. I am a doctor. Practicing medicine is what I was born to do. It’s what I desire most in this world.” She let that sink in for a moment as she took a deep breath. “There is great need for proper medical care in that poverty-stricken community. I can provide care, sir, and I have the means to do it.”
“What do you mean, Miss Brooks?” Jasper inquired as he cocked a brow.
“I want to turn one of the abandoned buildings into a free clinic. And I’d like your financial support to help me build it and keep it running.”
Excitement colored her tone and turned her cheeks pink. Reed thought she never looked more beautiful.
“Youwhat?” Shane exploded with angry disbelief. He grabbed Devon’s upper arms and spun her around to face him. “What the hell are you thinking? You’re not going to be…”
Reed rose from his perch on the sofa and towered over his younger brother. “Take your hands off her, Shane,” he ordered in a low but tightly controlled voice. “The Barrington men do not manhandle the women they love.”
Again, Devon threw him a look of gratitude as she stepped away from Shane and rubbed her arms. “I know what you were going to say,” she began in an accusatory tone. “You were going to say I’m not really a member of the family. If that’s true, Shane, why did you ask me to marry you, and why did I give up my career and agree to come here? Didn’t you say what was yours was also mine? Isn’t that what marriage is about?”
Shane glared at Devon as she turned back to Jasper. “Please help me open this clinic, sir,” she begged. “It’s the right thing to do. Children are dying without food and medical attention. Please. I’m not asking for myself but for a community in need.”
Jasper probed the earnest expression on her face and turned toward Reed for confirmation as he stared at Devon, who returned his penetrating gaze without flinching.
“Give her the clinic,” Reed told his father.
“Don’t I have a say in this?” Shane demanded.
“No,” came the simultaneous response from Blair, Reed, and Devon.
“You aren’t going to have any support, Miss Brooks,” Jasper pointed out. “You have alienated many of those with the means to help.”
“I won’t need any help in the beginning.” Devon sensed a victory. “I can do it alone, if I have to. As word spreads, I’m sure other members of the greater community will offer their services.”
“I’ll help Devon,” Blair volunteered as she squeezed Devon’s hand. “I want to help.”
“Thank you, Blair. Your support means everything to me.”
Both women gazed at Jasper as he remained thoughtful, pondering his next move. Catching Reed’s nod of approval, Jasper made up his mind.
Squaring his shoulders, he announced, “You may have your clinic, Miss Brooks. A construction crew will await your instructions in the morning. If you will excuse me, there are phone calls to make concerning which piece of property to purchase for your clinic, and I’ll need to consult with my team of bankers and lawyers.”
Before he exited the living room, Jasper turned to offer one last remark. “I don’t compliment others very often, Miss Brooks, so consider yourself fortunate when I say I admire your audaciousness, your tenacity, and your selfless commitment to those in need. Good night, everyone.”
When he was gone, Blair and Devon burst into excited laughter and hugged each other.
Shane, however, said from between clenched teeth, “I’ll speak to you later, Devon.” Then he followed his father out the door.
Reed nodded his head at his sister and Devon before he, too, left the room.
Chapter Nine
“Well, Devon, wejust had our first argument. I think it played pretty well considering it was completely unplanned. Seriously, though, what’s going through that head of yours?” Shane asked when he confronted her in her bedroom thirty minutes later. “This afternoon you were willing to walk away after a week, and now you’re planning free clinics for the poor. It seems to me you’re wasting my father’s time and money because you won’t be here long enough to see it finished. Why don’t you tell Dad you’ve changed your mind?”
Devon shook her head and flopped onto her bed. “No matter how this phony engagement turns out, I’m not walking away from the clinic. I will stay in Dallas until it’s completed and staffed. Who knows? I may even choose to remain in Texas and run the clinic myself.”
“Really? I thought you couldn’t wait to get back to San Francisco.”
“I know. But that was before I realized how much good I can do here in Dallas. It’s your turn to be supportive, Shane. You made an ass of yourself earlier.”
