The Doctor's Christmas by Marta Perry Read Free Book Online Page A

long way off, and the world seemed to move in a lazy circle.
    He was going to kiss her. She couldn’t let that happen. She had to stop it.
    But she couldn’t. Whatever her reasonable, responsible brain said, her body had an entirely different agenda.
    It didn’t happen. Grant seemed to wake himself, as if from a dream.
    â€œWell, maybe we’d better say good night.” There was something almost questioning in the words.
    â€œYes.” She could only hope she didn’t sound as stupid as she felt. “Good night.”
    She turned and ran after the children, knowing she was trying to run from herself.
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    Grant let out a sigh of relief as Maggie closed the outer door of the clinic behind the final patient on Monday afternoon and snapped the lock. She flipped the sign to Closed, not that it would actually stop anyone.
    â€œAre we really done for the day?”
    He’d been busier than this in the hospital emergency room, of course. Certainly he’d worked longer hours, especially as an intern. But somehow the clinic seemed a heavier responsibility, maybe because there was no one here to back him up except Maggie.
    â€œThat’s the last of them.” Maggie gathered files from the desk. “Congratulations.”
    He lifted an eyebrow, trying not to think about how soft her lips looked, or how he’d almost made the mistake of kissing them on Saturday night. “For what?”
    â€œThat was a good catch on Elsie Warner’s pregnancy. Some docs wouldn’t have seen it.”
    He shrugged. “Hopefully it will be nothing, but the ultrasound will tell us for sure. Better to be forewarned than caught unprepared.”
    It had been routine, of course. There was no reason to feel elated at the glow of approval in Maggie’s eyes.
    â€œWell, you did a good job. And you’ve been accepted. That steady stream of patients means that the word has gotten around that you’re okay.”
    He considered that, ridiculously pleased. “Sure it wasn’t just the lure of a free checkup?”
    â€œI told you, they don’t take charity.” She nodded toward the desk’s surface. “You now have three jars of preserves, two of honey, a pound of bacon from the hog the Travis family just slaughtered and a couple of loaves of homemade bread.”
    He took a step nearer to Maggie, reminding himself not to get too close. He didn’t want to feel that irrational pull of attraction again, did he?
    â€œSo deluging me with food is the sign of acceptance in Button Gap?”
    â€œIt is.” Her full lips curved in a smile. “Don’t tell me the big-city doc actually appreciates that.”
    â€œHey, nobody ever brought me honey before.” He picked up a jar, holding it to the light to admire the amber color. “You sure this is safe?”
    â€œOf course it’s safe.” Her exasperated tone seemed to set a safety zone between them. “Toby Watkins’s bees produce the best honey in the county.”
    â€œWell, I can’t eat all this stuff on my own, and you have kids to feed. We’ll share.”
    â€œYou could take some back home to Baltimore with you when you go. Give it to your family.”
    He shook his head. “My mother doesn’t eat anything but salads and grilled fish, as far as I can tell.” He grimaced. “She might gain an ounce.”
    He tried to picture his cool, elegant mother in Button Gap. Impossible.
    â€œYou live with your family, do you?”
    â€œNo.” He clipped off the word. The Hardesty mansion, as cool and elegant as his mother, hadn’t been a place anyone could call home in years. But he wouldn’t tell Maggie that.
    â€œI have an apartment close to the hospital. It only made sense to be nearby when I was doing my internship and residency.”
    â€œWill you stay there when your month here is up?”
    â€œWell, that depends.” He put the jar down, and