Kissed By The Country Doc. Melinda Curtis

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СКАЧАТЬ that made her pale red hair look blond. At Ella’s nod, the preteen put Penny in her lap and they tobogganed down the hill.

      Penny’s joyful shriek combined with the hill full of happy children and the cocoon of being with Monroes made Ella want to sing with happiness. She wasn’t quite brave enough to belt out a tune in front of an audience, so she hummed, starting with Grandpa Harlan’s call to action, “Are you ready, Hezzie?”

      “Now that we’re here, what’s your plan of attack?” Sophie didn’t take her eyes from her boys, who were prone to find trouble. “How are you going to evaluate the value of Second Chance in the middle of winter?”

      “I have the plat map of the parcels before Grandpa Harlan purchased them and the deeds, but—” Ella waved to Penny “—I didn’t count on everything being buried in snow. I have to look at the state of each roof, the electrical, the plumbing.” And more. Ella sighed, not wanting to let down the family. “Do you think Shane will shovel a path to all the buildings for me?”

      “He would if you told him we’d get out of town quicker.” Sophie pushed her sunglasses higher on her nose. She’d braided her light brown hair into two short pigtails that stuck out from either side of her knit cap like dangling earrings.

      The wind kicked up powder, sending it swirling around their feet.

      “Sophie, did you notice Grandpa Harlan wrote that letter around the time Bryce died?”

      “I did, but...” Sophie gripped Ella’s arm. “What are you thinking?”

      “That I... That Bryce’s and my situation or the way we blindsided the family...”

      Sophie squinted at her. “That you’re the reason Grandpa Harlan had us all fired?”

      Ella nodded.

      “Just like a Monroe.” Sophie hugged Ella fiercely. “Listen, Grandpa Harlan was Grandpa Harlan right up until the very end. He made sure we’d remember him forever.” She released Ella, but held on to one of her hands. “You are not to blame. But it still stinks. It’s times like these—when I’m unemployed and about to be homeless—that I wonder if I made the right decision getting a divorce.”

      “You did.” Sophie’s ex-husband had been a piece of work. Ella spared her a glance. “I meant to ask how your date went last week.”

      “What a disaster.” Sophie shook her head. “The guy didn’t know the difference between a Picasso and a Matisse. One of the boys swiped my lipstick out of my purse and left me a toy car instead. And my cell phone died so I couldn’t even pretend to receive an emergency text from you.”

      “But...was there any chemistry between you?” Ella tucked the memory of a chemical reaction to a doctor’s soulful blue eyes to the back of her mind.

      “Chemistry?” Sophie’s bare hands fluttered in the crisp air before she stuck them back in her deep pockets. “I don’t have the energy for chemistry or any of your love-at-first-sight luck. I’m just looking for someone who shares the same interests that I do.”

      A big gray truck with a snowplow attachment on the front stopped on the road nearby. Three boys tumbled out, dropped backpacks in the snow and raced to join their friends. The woman driving the truck waved and drove slowly on, clearing a path on the road and making a wide turn at the crossroads to return the way she’d come.

      “Now there’s a woman after my own heart.” Sophie’s cheeks were red from the cold. “She has three boys and she plowed a path to a sled hill to keep peace in the family.”

      “Your boys are angels.” Ella stomped her feet to keep her toes warm, nearly missing Sophie’s raised eyebrows. “Okay, they’re angels and a caution.”

      Gabby took Penny’s hand and began the climb back to the top, dragging her blue plastic sled behind her. The twins were trying to tug the inner tube away from one another.

      “Alexander! Andrew!” Sophie yelled. “Share or we’ll go inside.”

      The twins tried once more to wrest the inner tube free, and then climbed up the slope together, holding it between them.

      “Mitch mentioned something about the passes to civilization being closed.” Sophie’s gaze was still on her boys. “What happens if someone needs the emergency room?”

      “Maybe that’s why they have a doctor in town.” Ella had successfully avoided thinking about the handsome doctor for longer than ten seconds—thirty, tops—all morning. Now she recalled the firm muscle of his leg and blushed. “I was more worried about having enough food and heat if we were snowed in. How long did Mitch say the passes will be closed?”

      “Five days.” Sophie frowned. “Or was it ten?”

      Ten days? Ella hoped Penny’s cough went away.

      Gabby and Penny reached the rise where Sophie and Ella stood just as a man rang a bell at the top of the hill. “Who’s coming to school today?”

      “You have optional school here?” Ella asked Gabby.

      “We have independent study, but yeah, Mr. Garland is available to help us for a few hours every day, so it feels more like regular school.” Gabby shrugged. “At least, what I expect regular school is like.”

      “You’ve never been to a traditional school?” Sophie asked, brown eyes wide behind her glasses.

      “Nope. My dad moved me here when I was less than a year old.” Gabby positioned the sled at the top for another ride down, sat on the blue plastic and then helped Penny into her lap. “Last ride before school, Penny.”

      “Schoo?” Penny rolled off Gabby’s lap onto the packed snow. “I go schoo.” She got to her feet and reached for the girl’s hand. “I go.”

      “Okay.” Gabby stood, braces on display as she smiled. “You can help me with math.”

      “I don’t think so,” Ella said gently. “Penny’s too young for school.” Not to mention she’d be a distraction to the learning environment.

      Penny pouted, crossed her arms over her chest and muttered, “I go.”

      “No,” Ella said, just as gently and firmly as the first time.

      Sophie’s twins leaped on the blue sled and barreled down the hill, screaming in delight. When they reached the bottom, they fell over sideways and tried to pelt each other with snow.

      “I wish my boys were interested in school,” Sophie murmured.

      “Mr. Garland won’t mind.” Gabby swung Penny into her arms. “At least let her come see.”

      Penny stuck out her lip at Ella.

      “Okay.” Ella relented, clearly beaten. “Are you coming, Sophie?”

      “Not yet.” Sophie waved off Ella. “I’m going to stay and let the boys burn off some energy.”

      They stopped for Gabby’s laptop and schoolbooks, and then followed the other children to the Bent Nickel, saying good morning to Mitch, who was clearing a path СКАЧАТЬ