Читать книгу Her Forever Family - Mae Nunn - Страница 10

Ben hadn’t chased after a woman in a lot of years. A lifetime ago the female football groupies had been plentiful. And certain women had become regulars at his speaking events. Now that a reasonable period of mourning had passed, ladies were overtly showing interest he was still not prepared to return.

But this chasing he was doing today was in the physical sense. The moment Ben realized he’d mistaken Doctor Stone for a general EMT, he’d promised Ethan he would return right away and had taken off down the corridor. A power walk turned to a trot as Ben left the air-conditioned building to be enveloped by the warm Texas afternoon. He darted for the south side of the complex in the direction of the helipad and closed the last fifty yards in an easy sprint, thankful he hadn’t given up running when he’d given up the game.

Two volunteers in familiar jumpsuits stood sentry by the expensive chopper, but there wasn’t a redhead with a big dog in sight.

“Excuse me,” Ben called. “Do either of you know where I can find Doctor Stone?”

One of the men turned to respond, his eyes widened with the recognition Ben had come to expect but never took for granted. “Oh, Mr. Lamar, it’s you. Listen, we’re so grateful things worked out with your son.”

“Thank you.” Ben shook hands with both rescue workers. “I can’t tell you fellas how much I appreciate the incredible job you did getting my boy out of danger.”

“All in a day’s work, sir.” The man whose name tag identified him as Harry shrugged off Ben’s praise. “If you’re lookin’ for the Rock, she and Simba are probably huntin’ down a grassy spot.”

“The Rock?” A play on her last name, maybe? What’s the deal with private jokes today?

“Sorry,” Harry apologized for the confusion that must have shown on Ben’s face. “That’s our nickname for Doc Stone because she’s so solid under pressure, especially if a kid’s involved. She wouldn’t hear of anybody else making that pick up.”

Ben shrunk another few inches. Not only had he insulted the lady’s ability and the pedigree of her animal, he seemed to have insulted her integrity as well.

“Please, guys,” he pleaded. “Don’t take off with Doctor Stone on board until you know we’ve spoken. I might have offended her and I need to apologize.”

“You got it. But whatever it is, don’t sweat it too much. It takes an awful lot to rile up the Rock.” Harry was reassuring.

Ben wanted to be comforted by the comment, but evidence so far was to the contrary. Something in his gut told him there was a doghouse in his future. With a natural aversion to the entire canine breed, that was the last place he wanted to be relegated. He prepared to head for the front lawn of the expansive medical plaza.

“And Mr. Lamar,” Harry continued, “I want you to know you’ll get my vote if you decide to throw your helmet into the ring for that Congressional seat.”

“I’m counting on that,” Ben answered as he began to stretch his legs, once again back in the chase.

“Did you get my joke, Sid?” Ben heard Harry question his co-worker. “Helmet instead of hat? It’s a football thing. You’re a golfer. You wouldn’t understand.”

Ali pretended not to notice Benjamin Lamar striding toward her in fancy cowboy boots that must have cost him a pretty penny. Ignoring him was a challenge considering he was tall, tanned and very easy on the eye. The man already got more attention than the law allowed, and with good reason. He was capital H-O-T!

The last thing he needed was another drooling female.

“Excuse me! Doctor Stone!” he called out. Twenty-five yards still separated them.

The ridge of thick hair on Simba’s back stiffened. She grumbled, a threatening sound deep in her chest.

“You don’t care for him, do you, girl?” It was amusing but puzzling. Simba was such a lovable and easygoing hound. Her reaction signaled that she sensed the presence of danger. Or fear. Was it possible the big, bad football star could be afraid of a dog? Just in case, Ali quieted Simba with a hand signal.

“Doctor Stone.” He trotted to her side, then eyeing Simba he backed up two steps. “Thanks for waiting on me.”

“Actually, Mr. Lamar, I was waiting on my mongrel to do her business.”

“I apologize for that comment.” He lowered captivating blue eyes and ducked his head in a manner that had publicly charmed Texans for two decades. If rumor of his political aspiration was true, he’d soon be using that humble gesture to convert interested females into registered voters.

“It was a dumb thing to say, but what I know about dogs wouldn’t fill a Dixie cup. There was zero chance I’d recognize a working animal.”

“Hmm, and I always thought the ‘Service Dog, Do Not Pet’ emblem was a pretty good clue.”

Probably for the first time, he took a long look at Simba and noticed her embroidered orange vest. Most people asked to pet a service animal as soon as they realized they weren’t allowed to. This guy didn’t. In fact, he shifted his weight away another step.

He was close to a strikeout, or whatever football players do when they blow a big chance. Ali wasn’t impressed with his sports celebrity, she thought his positive living mantra was simplistic, she didn’t approve of his politics and she had reason to question his parenting skills.

“You don’t like dogs, do you?” she asked.

“They don’t care much for me either, so it’s mutual. I don’t take it personally.”

“That’s probably a good thing. Political campaigning requires thick skin.” Something he’d need to soothe his ego when he lost if her vote counted for anything.

“Well said.” He nodded. “But that’s not the subject I tracked you down to discuss.”

She checked her watch, knowing the crew was waiting. “If you were a paying client I’d start the meter, but the first one’s always a freebie. What do you want, Mr. Lamar?”

His handsome head snapped back at the tone in her voice. Good! After what he’d put his son through, she wanted to shake the confident man till his teeth rattled!

“Since time appears to be money to you, Doctor Stone, I’ll be brief. First, and most important, I want to thank you for bringing Ethan safely home to me.” Lamar pointed toward the E.R. “That boy is the center of my life and I’ve been sick with worry these past few days. You righted my world when you hoisted him out of that canyon and I’ll never forget your bravery.”

Now, as she bothered to look beneath the very appealing exterior, it did appear he hadn’t slept in a while. Okay, it was Ali’s turn to stare humbly at her steel-toed boots. Before she could ask for forgiveness for being a jerk, he hurried on.

“Second, I believe you called this meeting.” He fished a scrap of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. “This says you wanted to have a word with me.” He looked at his heavy, gold wristwatch. “I need to be with my son, so please make it quick.”

The small amount of guilt she’d been feeling toward the famous linebacker crumbled like a vanilla wafer between Simba’s molars.

“I’m a psychotherapist and I deal primarily with kids who’ve suffered traumatic loss or abuse—”

He held his palm outward to silence her. “Ethan already has a therapist, several in fact. If you were going to pitch your services—”

“Your son’s condition is not in my area of expertise,” Ali blocked his interruption with one of her own. “But it took me less than sixty seconds to realize how terrified Ethan is of being left alone or, worse, being sent away. I think it’s unconscionable that your therapist suggested you allow your son to attend that wilderness camp. Any idiot who feels that was the proper way to treat Ethan should be strung up and used for a punching bag.”

“Uuf!” He bent at the waist and grabbed his gut.

She had no idea how to interpret his action. “Are you in pain?” she asked the obvious.

“Only if you consider a low blow painful.”

Lamar stood tall. He folded arms any man would envy, stretching his black T-shirt tight across a broad chest. Then he raised his chin and stared her down from a height that forced her to look up. His eyes were dangerous slits of blue ice.

“I guess I deserved it since I’m the unconscionable idiot who thought sending Ethan to camp was a good idea.”

Ali’s belly quaked in a way that never happened when she was suspended a couple thousand feet above the earth from the bottom of a rescue line. This person looming over her was both manly and menacing, celebrated in a sport where intimidation was a minimum daily requirement. It was his right to call the shots on treatment. Ethan was his son.

She should back down, apologize for overstepping her bounds. Still, Ali completely disagreed with the man’s approach and wouldn’t sleep a wink tonight if she thought the boy could be sent back into a dangerous situation.

“Sir, I respect you as Ethan’s father and support your right to make decisions about his future. That said, since I was engaged in his rescue I have every intention of following up on the welfare of my patient. I’ll be keeping my ear to the ground for any news on this case.”

“Take a number.” Lamar walked away from any further discussion.

“Simba, heel,” Ali called. She hurried to catch the aggravating man. “Wait up, Lamar!”

“Going my way, Stone?” He didn’t as much as glance over his shoulder.

“As a matter of fact, I am. I told Ethan I’d be right back.”

“I don’t know what he found so funny about that.”

She smiled to think she’d coaxed an appropriate response from Ethan. “He was amused?”

“Laughed out loud. And with his weird sense of humor that’s something he doesn’t do often. What did you whisper to him, anyway?”

“I told him Simba and I needed to go for a walk before one of us marked our territory right across the toes of your handmade boots.”