Montana Mistletoe Baby. Patricia Johns

see the waiting room from where she stood.

      “Is that your mom?” Barrie asked.

      Melissa nodded.

      “Let’s bring Cody out to the waiting room, then,” Barrie said. “You can take him home before he wakes up all the way. He’ll be groggy for a few hours, but when he does wake up, you need to make sure he stays off this leg, okay?”

      Melissa nodded. “Dr. Jones?”

      “Hmm?” Barrie removed the IV and pressed some gauze over the puncture.

      “I was wondering if you might need some help. I’m not asking for a job—I know I’m not old enough for that. But I could help out, and I’d really like to learn...”

      Barrie shot the girl a smile. “I’ll give that some thought, Melissa. I might be able to find something for you to do. And you’d have to get your mom’s permission, of course. I’m going to be talking to the 4-H girls next week, so I’ll see you then, too.”

      “Are you really?” Melissa asked. “That’ll be cool.”

      “I’m looking forward to it.”

      Barrie set aside the last of the equipment and they wheeled the dog into the waiting room. Barrie was surprised to see both Jennifer Hartfield and Curtis standing by the line of chairs. He stood there like a tank—hat off but legs akimbo as he looked around. That dark gaze still gave her pause, even after all these years, and she shoved back those familiar feelings. Attraction had never been their problem. She gave Curtis a nod.

      “Is there a problem with Betty’s herd?” Barrie asked.

      “Nope. Just came by.” That dark gaze warmed, and she swallowed. Why did he have to do that? They weren’t married anymore, and he had no right to go toying with her emotions when she was trying to work. She turned a smile to Jennifer.

      “Cody is going to be fine,” Barrie said, and she began explaining the care he’d need at home while his leg recovered. Jennifer and Melissa listened as she finished her explanation, and after Jennifer had paid the bill, they prepared to transfer Cody to the back of their SUV.

      “Mom, Dr. Jones says that I might be able to help her out some time,” Melissa said.

      Jennifer’s smile tightened. “Oh, did she? We’ll talk about that later.”

      “But I could learn about being a vet, Mom, and—”

      “Melissa...” There was warning in Jennifer’s tone, and Barrie glanced between them. It didn’t look like Jennifer was on board with this.

      “Mom, you said that if a vet were willing to have me around—” Melissa started.

      “I said if Dr. Berton were willing to have you around,” Jennifer said, her gaze flickering toward Barrie and then back to her daughter. “But we couldn’t get in to see Dr. Berton, so you’ll just have to wait.”

      Barrie knew exactly what this was about—her pregnancy. Jennifer was a church lady through and through, and this pregnancy offended every sensibility she had. But now was not the time to offend a paying customer. Besides, there was more to Jennifer’s story than simply being the mayor’s wife and a Sunday school teacher... There was a whole story there that most people didn’t know—but Barrie did. She and Jennifer had been close friends when they were fourteen-year-olds in the eighth grade, and when Jennifer disappeared for the rest of the school year, Barrie might have been the only one who knew where she really went.

      “It’s okay, Melissa,” Barrie said. “Dr. Berton is a very nice man.”

      “But I don’t want to go with Dr. Berton,” Melissa said with a shake of her head. “I like Dr. Jones. She’s a girl. And she’d know stuff about being a female vet, Mom.”

      “I said no!” Jennifer cast Barrie a pointed glare. “Could you just leave my daughter alone?”

      Jennifer’s expression wasn’t angry, it was scared, and Barrie understood exactly why. Melissa was her only child...that most people knew about. And this was a delicate situation.

      “Why?” Curtis’s deep voice reverberated through the room. They both turned to find Curtis standing there, arms crossed over his broad chest, steely gaze trained on Jennifer.

      “Excuse me?” Jennifer slammed a hand on her hip and shot him an icy look.

      “Why is Barrie such a bad choice?” Curtis asked. “As your daughter pointed out, she’s a female vet. She’s incredibly good at what she does.”