Flame Series #18: Physician Heal Thy Self

Chapter 2

Back to the Present

Cooper sat on his hands, bouncing his knees together in a nervous gesture. He watched his mother pace back and forth across the kitchen. The boy stared into ocean blue eyes that mirrored his own, as he and his sister waited for their mother's decision.

Kitty's gaze traveled from one of her children to the other. "That's almost two weeks, Calleigh. You're going to be at the medical seminar for four of those days." The negative shake of her head didn't look good. "I don't know-"

"He'll be with Newly while I'm in Wichita." Calleigh was too nervous to sit still and began to shadow Kitty's steps. I've written to Chester. He and Lydia are so excited about meeting Cooper. There's this great fishing hole that Chester used to take me to and Lydia is planning picnics and…oh, please momma!"

Cooper couldn't sit still any longer. He jumped down from the stool and stepped into his mother's path. "I'll be good. I promise. I'll do everything Calleigh and Newly tell me."

Kitty stopped pacing and looked down at her son. She placed her hand beneath his chin, tilting his face up towards hers. "That is the one thing I do not worry about." It was a face she couldn't help but kiss. "It's just that... I'll miss you."

Calleigh stood upright, her pretty face sporting a scowl. "What about me?"

Kitty stepped away from the boy. "You? I always worry about you-misbehaving!"

Chagrin, replaced indignant, when the girl clarified, "I meant...will you miss me?"

Kitty lightly kissed the young woman's cheek. "Of course I will miss you too. You both do realize that your dad has a say in this as well?"

"Humph. Daddy runs Dodge..." Calleigh folded her arms across her chest. "But, YOU run Daddy."

The deep hearty laugh resonating from the back door was definitely the man in question. "I should take offense to that…" He crossed the room to kiss his wife. "…If it weren't so true." He finished with a wink to his son. "Newly has already told me about the trip."

"And?" Kitty could tell by his tone, they had won him over.

"Honey, it's kind of hard to not let him go." Matt shrugged; his innocent lopsided smile was identical to the boy's beside him. "They're going to take him camping and fishing. I hear the bluegill are crowded in so thick you can just reach in and pluck them out by hand." The more he talked, the more excited he became.

Kitty's blue eyes narrowed dangerously, while her hands fell to her side. "Maybe you would rather go with them, than stay here with me?"

For a split second the marshal was caught up in the excitement, but fortunately for him, self preservation kicked in. If he wasn't smart enough to catch her tone, her stance was clear. "I...uhm...no…no! Of course not." Matt walked back behind his wife, sliding his arms down around her waist, pulling her close. "This is the only place I want to be."

"Uh-huh." Kitty could only fight off the smile for a moment. She turned back to her children with a wary sigh. "Okay, but you send me a telegram as soon as you get there." It was a good thing that Matt was still standing behind his wife to brace her slender frame when Cooper and Calleigh rushed at her for a victory hug.

TheCannonsTheCannonsTheCannons

Phoebe Cannon watched her husband weave his striped silk tie into a perfect loose knot. Slim skillful fingers smoothed down the material making sure the blunt ends were even. He slipped into the vest and hooked his watch chain through the loop. Before putting on his jacket, Darcy stood back taking an appreciative look at his reflection.

Hair, the color of summer wheat, rippled like waves through his long fingers as he brushed it back. As he turned, Darcy lowered his head bringing it up slowly, ensnaring her in his gaze. His eyes were labeled simply: Hazel; but it was more complicated than that. The combination of colors was common enough: deep brown; brilliant green; and gold flecks. It was Darcy's mood that breathed life into those colors.

Phoebe's heart was lost to that blend of soft brown and muted green. On those rare occasions when green took center stage, it meant he was in a playful mood. It was the gold that she feared. The flecks of gold that sparked in the sunlight, brought with it the abhorrent side of the man she loved. Despite his dark side, Darcy was truly a handsome man. He knew it and he used it.

The truth was, he didn't need to use it with the young woman from New York. From the first moment Phoebe Ann Kildredge laid eyes on the up and coming medical student – she was in love.

Unfortunately, Myron Kildredge did not see the young fortune hunter through the same loving eyes as his daughter. He did not become one of the richest investment men in New York, without investigating everyone and everything. Myron was less than impressed with Darcy Cannon's background. The young man's father was hung for murder and his uncle killed in a bar, while trying to shoot a lawman in the back. This was not the pedigree he wanted for Phoebe.

If Myron had only paid more attention to his daughter when she complained of being bored, she would never have volunteered to help at that teaching hospital. How could spending a few hours a day reading to sick people, lead to such a disastrous end? At least the union of his Phoebe to this Darcy Cannon felt like a disaster to her father.

Myron was a realist and he knew the world did not see Phoebe through the same loving eyes as a devoted father. She had always described herself as not quite. Eyes that were too pale to be gray but not quite dark enough to be blue. Strawberry blonde hair hardly qualified as golden and was not quite fiery enough for a red head. It was curly, but not quite stylish. All of this was wrapped up in a package that was tall and thin, but not quite willowy. Myron didn't need private investigators to tell him that the Cannon boy was after her money.

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"Phoebe?" Darcy walked the short distance between them. He realized she had been caught up in a daydream and suspected it was about himself. With arms out swept, he smiled that oh so charming smile. "Well? How do I look?"

Phoebe beamed with pride at her gorgeous husband. "You look…splendid. As always."

The handsome man leaned forward and placed a kiss to her temple. "Phoebe, you are a love."

But I want to be your love, she thought wistfully. The young heiress was not as blind as her father feared. She had no misgivings as to why Darcy had married her. But, he was kind to her. Even loving, on some level, but definitely not in love. Not in the same way that she loved him.

"The seminar starts tomorrow. Then…then we go to Garden Plains. Are you ready?" Darcy pulled the slender woman from the chair. "You did make the reservations?" Her pause caused him to hold her away from himself. "Morgan said they would only be there for a few days."

The image of that odd little man flashed into Phoebe's mind. The term, 'private detective' conjured up many images, but Vince Morgan didn't fit any of them: Average height, rail thin, with a pasty complexion that resembled a healthy corpse.

"I know what Mr. Morgan said." There was still a touch of desperation in her eyes. "Darcy, are you sure we have to do this? I mean-why can't we just leave here? We can go farther west, start a new life! It won't be like Richmond, or Boston. We can-"

"Phoebe!" His fingers squeezed around her arms, only for a second. Then in a voice that was gentle, yet commanding, he let his grip relax. "I can't have a future until I get retribution for the past; and..." Knowing exactly what it would take to sway her, he leaned down with another kiss. This one, more tender than the first, and it graced her lips. "…I need you to help me do that."

Her heart would once again override any thoughts of right and wrong. Phoebe Cannon would die for this man. She only hoped she wouldn't have to kill for him.

TBC