One Night Before Christmas

He stepped into the seating area. The space had a rustic feel to it that matched the rest of the building. The two sofas and couple of chairs looked comfortable and inviting.

“Your bedroom is through here.” She pushed two French windows wide to reveal a large bed. “This is my favorite part of the suite.”

He didn’t say anything. She turned and looked at him. Dalton raised a brow. A blush crept up her neck.

“Um, I like the view from here is what I meant to say. The falls are incredible.”

Dalton moved to stand in the doorway. A large window filled the entire wall. He could just make out the snow falling from the light coming from below.

“There’s an amazing view of the falls from here. Now you can say you saw the falls.”

“So do you stay here often?”

She glared at him. “What’re you implying, Dr. Reynolds?”

“I was implying nothing, Dr. Hyde. I just thought you must have stayed overnight if you were that well acquainted with the view.”

“This suite is sometimes used for meetings. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to be getting home. I’ll be here at eight-thirty in the morning to pick you up.”

“Why not earlier?”

“Because the X-rays won’t be ready until nine. So just enjoy your evening. If you need anything, ask for Mark.”

“I shouldn’t call you?” he said in a suggestive tone, just to see how she would react. Dr. Hyde pursed her lips. Was she on the verge of saying something?

After a moment, she looked through her handbag and pulled out a card. She handed it to him. “If you need me, you may. Good night.”

The door closed with a soft click behind her.

Why had he needled her? It was so unlike him. Maybe it was because she’d questioned his clothing decisions. She’d been polite about it but there was still an undercurrent of humor. Could he possibly want her to feel a little out of sorts too? He had to admit it had been interesting to make her uncomfortable.

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_36374df6-a1aa-5e8a-baa8-0521c97a444f)

MELANIE PULLED IN front of the Lodge at eight-thirty the next morning. The snow had stopped during the night but the sky was overcast as if it would start again soon. She’d left last night uncomfortable about Dr. Reynolds’ suggestive manner. She wasn’t feeling any better about being his hostess this morning.

When his dark shapely brow had risen as if she were proposing she might be staying the night with him, she’d been insulted for a second. Then a tinge of self-satisfaction had shot through her that a male had noticed her. She’d had her share of boyfriends when she’d been young but recently the men attracted to her had become fewer. They seemed frightened by her position or were only interested so they could meet either one of her famous brothers or one of the Currents players. The one that she had loved hadn’t truly cared for her. She’d known rejection and wanted no part of it.

There had been one special man. He was a lawyer for a player. She couldn’t have asked for someone who fit into her family better. He lived and breathed football. They had even talked of marriage. It wasn’t until he started hinting, then asking her to put a good word in with her father when an assistant manager’s job came open that she realized he was using her. When she refused to do so, he dumped her. It had taken her months after that to even accept a friendly date. After that experience she judged every man that showed any attention to her with a sharp eye. She wouldn’t go through something like that again. Dr. Reynolds might flirt with her but she would see to it that was all that would happen. A fly in, fly out guy was someone she had no interest in.

She entered the lobby to find Dr. Reynolds waiting in one of the many large armchairs near the fireplace. Was he fortifying himself for the weather outside? She smiled. He had looked rather pitiful the night before in his effort to stay warm.

This morning his outfit wasn’t much better. Wearing a dress shirt, jeans and loafers, he didn’t look any more prepared for the weather than he had yesterday. In reality, it was unrealistic to expect him to buy clothes just to fly to Niagara Falls to see Rocket but he would be cold. However, he was undoubtedly the most handsome man she’d ever met. His striking good looks drew the attention of a couple of women who walked by. He had an air of self-confidence about him.

His head turned and his midnight gaze found her. His eyes were his most striking attribute. The dark color was appealing but it was the intensity of his focus that held her. As if he saw beyond what was on the surface and in some way understood what was beneath.

His bags sat on the floor beside him. She didn’t have to ask if he had plans to return to the sun and fun as soon as possible. If Rocket needed surgery he would have to go to Miami to have it done. She hoped that wouldn’t be the case but feared otherwise.

“Dr. Reynolds, good morning,” she said as she approached.

He stood, picked up his shoulder bag and slipped it over his neck. Grabbing his other bag, he walked toward her.

Apparently he was eager to leave. She stepped closer. “Have you had breakfast?”

“I ate a couple of hours ago.”

So he was an early riser. “Then we can go.” Melanie turned and headed back the way she had come. By the time she settled behind the steering wheel, he’d placed his bag in the backseat and was buckling up.

As she pulled out onto the main road, he said, “Well, at least it isn’t snowing.”

“No, but the weatherman is calling for more. A lot more.”

“Then I need to see Mr. Overtree’s X-rays and get to the airport.”

“Only eight more days. You must be in a hurry to get home to your family for Christmas.”

“No family. I’ll be working.”

“Oh.” Despite her family’s year-round focus on football, they all managed to come together during the holidays. Sometimes it was around Christmas Day games, but they always found a time that worked for all of them. Her brothers had wives and children, and the crowd was rowdy and loud. She loved it. Melanie couldn’t imagine not having any family or someone to share the day with. Even though much of the work fell to her. The men in her life expected her to organize and take care of them. She’d never let them know that sometimes she resented them taking her for granted.

They rode in silence for a while. He broke it by asking, “How much longer?”

“It should be only another ten minutes or so.”

The sky had turned gray and a large snowflake hit the windshield. By the time she pulled into the team compound it had become a steady snow shower. Instead of parking in the front, this time she pulled through the gate to the back of the building and parked in the slot with her name painted on it. Thankfully, her spot was close to the door so they wouldn’t have far to walk.

Dr. Reynolds huddled in his coat on their way to the door. With his head down, he walked slowly as if in an effort not to slip on the ice and snow. Melanie stayed close behind him. She had no idea what her plan was if he started to go down. Inside, they both took off their jackets and shook them out.

“I’ll take that,” Melanie said. Dr. Reynolds handed her his overcoat. Their hands brushed as she reached for it. A tingle of awareness went up her spine. Shaking it off, she hung their coats up on pegs along the wall and headed down the hall. “This way.”

“I assume Mr. Overtree’s X-rays will have been sent to your computer in the exam room. The MRI as well.”

“Yes.”

She made a turn and went down another hallway until she reached the Athlete Performance Area and pushed open one of the swinging doors and held it. She let him have the door, then continued into the room. Rocket, Coach Rizzo and her father were already there.

Her father gave her a questioning look. She shrugged her shoulder. Surely her father wouldn’t push Dr. Reynolds to agree to let Rocket play if the test indicated that he shouldn’t. As team doctor, she had the final say anyway. She would refuse to be a team player if it came down to Rocket’s long-term health. Moving on to her desk, she flipped on the computer. She pulled up Rocket’s chart. “Dr. Reynolds, the X-rays from last week and his most recent ones are ready for your review.”

Giving her what she could only describe as an impressed look, Dr. Reynolds seemed to appreciate her being efficient and prepared. For some reason that made her feel good. The kind of respect she didn’t feel she received from her father. She stepped away from the desk to allow him room. When the other men moved to join them, she shook her head, indicating they should give Dr. Reynolds some space. Despite that, her father still took steps toward her desk.

“Thank you, Doctor. You’ve been very thorough,” Dr. Reynolds said to her.

It was nice to be valued as a fellow medical professional who was more interested in the health of the player than whether or not the team won. She and Dr. Reynolds were at least in the same playbook where that was concerned.

In her mind no game was worth a man losing mobility for the rest of his life. A player’s heath came first in that regard. She was sure her father and the coach didn’t feel the same. More than once she’d been afraid that there might be repercussions from them if she placed a player on the disabled list. Even the players gave her a hard time about her being overly cautious. As their doctor, the players’ health took precedence over winning a game. Rocket had his sights set on being the most valuable player. He might agree to anything to get it. Even playing when he was injured. Sometimes she felt as if she had the most rational mind in the group.

Dr. Reynolds took her chair. He gave that same concentrated consideration to the screen as he seemed to give everything. With a movement of one long finger, he clicked through the black-and-white screens of different X-ray angles of Rocket’s knee. He studied them all but made no comment.

He turned to her. “Did you have a MRI done?”