White Wedding For A Southern Belle

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_64852328-96ef-542f-a54d-f7e588694fc5)

KIEFER SPENT SOME of the late hours of his evening contemplating the curiosity of life. Who would have thought he would ever meet the leprechaun again and, even more amazing, be working with her. Life took funny twists. More than once as they’d stored supplies he’d thought about their kiss. Had that just been a onetime incredible kiss or would all hers be like that, causing that instant fire of desire? He’d like to find out but something about the all-business Ashley Marsh had said that wasn’t going to happen. What a shame.

He arrived at the clinic the next morning a couple of hours before opening time. A group of young men stood across the street even at that early hour. A ripple of alarm went through him and his gut tightened.

Was Marko trying it again?

Stepping out of the truck, he used his key fob to lock it and walked toward the front of the building. The roar of a car going too fast filled the air. By the time he had reached the door the men had started across the pavement.

Surely these guys were just trying to intimidate him. Since the day he’d seen his mother beaten by the homeless man she’d brought home for a meal, he’d been on guard where people were concerned. He was a realist. Some people were bad by nature. Defenseless he wasn’t anymore and he’d sworn a long time ago that he would never again watch another person be hurt.

Trash had been dumped in front of the door. Kiefer stepped in it to knock on the clinic door, all the time aware of the approaching group. His entire body was on alert as he formulated a plan if they attacked him. He vowed to get his own key today.

“Hey, you looking for Ashley?” the guy who led the men asked.

Kiefer slowly turned. “Yes.”

“You’ll need to go around back. The door to her place is there.”

Was the guy kidding him? Kiefer counted heads. Four to one. He wasn’t going to put himself into a position of being jumped. Before he had to make a decision about how to handle the situation, the door opened.

“Good morning, Dr. Bradford,” Ashley said with a smile. She was already dressed for the day in a pantsuit, giving her a professional and approachable air at the same time. He recognized this persona from TV. The one where she was determined to get what she wanted.

“Mornin’.”

She looked around him. “Hi, guys. Everything’s okay. Dr. Bradford is going to be the clinic doctor. It opens today.”

One of the guys said, “Okay, we were just makin’ sure you’re okay. Marko is spreading the word that he’s pissed about what you’re doing around here. We’ll get that trash cleaned up for you, Miss Ashley.” The guy dipped his head respectfully.

“Thanks, Wayne. I appreciate that.”

Kiefer shook his head as if confused. Then, indicating the garbage, he said, “Why do you put up with this?”

“Because this is my home. I’m not leaving it because someone doesn’t like me.”

She was a gutsy lady, Kiefer would give her that. Most of the women her age he knew were always looking out for themselves. How they could financially better their situation. Like Brittney. She’d certainly done a number on him. It had turned out she’d married him because he was a doctor and would be able to give her a good life. When she’d found out Josh’s bank account was even larger she’d moved on to him. Now Kiefer had no use for women other than a casual night out and a few laughs. He couldn’t trust one not to use him. As far as he could tell, they all wanted the same thing. What they could get for themselves.

“Come on in.” Ashley opened the door wide. “We need to get ready. Patients should be here soon.”

“Those guys said you live in the back.” Kiefer followed her in.

“That isn’t exactly right. The entrance to my place is there. I actually live upstairs.”

“You don’t mind living above the clinic?”

“It’s my building and my idea. The people around here needed a place to come for medical care and I had the space.”

Kiefer was impressed. She really was committed to seeing her ideas work, even to the point of financing them. Outside of his mother, few people he knew were that devoted to anyone other than themselves. How much Ashley reminded him of his mother made him feel uncomfortable. Did all her work to better the world leave Ashley with any room for anything more in her life? Did she have a boyfriend? Want children? Something to care about besides her political agenda?

That wasn’t his concern. He believed in helping people. His mother had instilled that in him, but he was still aware that some people would take advantage of you. His impression was that Ashley Marsh hadn’t learned that lesson yet.

She was saying, “I’m sorry I’m not going to be much help today. I have a speech to give this morning, a committee meeting with the local businesses and then a council meeting tonight.”

“I didn’t expect you to spend the day with me. I can handle the clinic. That’s why I was given the job.”

“I’d hoped to be here but these meetings were already on the calendar and couldn’t be moved. I just thought I could help smooth things over with the community. My neighbors can be mistrusting until they get to know you.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll have a nurse to assist me, won’t I?”

“Yes. Margaret will be here soon. She was also born and raised in Southriver. She’ll be a great help. Well, I’ve got to get ready for my day.”

Ashley left him and he started working on arranging the supplies they’d not got to the night before. Forty-five minutes later the buzzer sounded and he went to the main door. He checked out the window. After last night he wouldn’t take any chances that Marko or his gang would catch him off guard. A dark-skinned, silver-haired, heavyset woman dressed in purple scrubs stood there. He unlocked the door and opened it.

“I’m guessing you’re Dr. Bradford,” she said before Kiefer had a chance to speak. “I’m Margaret Nettles. I’ll be your nurse.”

“Nice to meet you, Margaret. I’m sure I’ll be glad of your help.”

She looked around the waiting room. “Ms. Ashley has high hopes for this clinic and I agreed to help because she’s such a fine person, but I don’t know that it’s going to work out. I’ll do my part and help you do yours. Now, can you direct me to where I can put my purse? We need to get started. You already have a couple of patients waiting outside.”

“I didn’t see anyone.”

“You wouldn’t. They didn’t come across the street until they saw me. They’ll be along in a minute.”

He glanced out the door. “But we don’t open for another hour.”

“That may be so but they’ll be here nonetheless.”

Margaret was correct. He closed the door and showed her to the office. She’d just locked her purse in the desk when the buzzer sounded.

“I’ll see to that,” Margaret announced.

“I only have the one exam room set up. I thought we’d have time to work on the other two between patients.”

“I doubt that’ll happen. Despite some in the neighborhood being against this clinic, the people around here need it. They’ll come until they’re scared away. I’ll put your first patient in the exam room.” With that she walked heavily down the hall.

What had he got himself into?

A boy of about three was his first patient. The mother didn’t look much older than eighteen. Much too young to have a child. Her hair was pulled back, which added to her look of youth. The little boy was clean but his clothes were well-worn and a little small on his chubby body.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Bradford. What’s the problem today?”

“Mikey has a bad cold.”

Kiefer could see that clearly. The child had a horribly running nose and a wet cough. Kiefer went down on his heels. “Mikey, I need to listen to your chest for a minute. This won’t hurt.”

He placed the stethoscope on the boy’s chest. His heartbeat was steady but his lungs made a raspy sound. After that Kiefer checked Mikey’s mouth and ears. Both were red and irritated.

Kiefer looked at the mother. “Mikey’s going to need antibiotics for ten days. Then I want you to come back.”