Clash of the Titans (1/2)

Cassie had to forcibly withhold a sigh the next morning when she realized that Ryan had beaten her to her new neighbors' house. He was a good guy, truly, but he also — well, she had noticed that he didn't like other men to be around her, especially if they were single or could be considered good-looking. And God help everyone if they were both. She'd never said anything about it because he'd never actually done anything, macho posturing aside, but his feelings about the matter were very clear.

And here was Doctor Sam Radford: good-looking and single. Living a thousand yards from her.

Great.

So Cassie braced herself to walk in on a heavy dose of testosterone, trying to fortify her mental defenses enough to keep from dumping the mug of tea she carried on Ryan's head if he went too far.

To her surprise, they were conversing civilly . . . about her. Well, at least this way, she didn't have to make an entrance.

Ryan's happiness at seeing her warmed her heart, but it was the doctor's surprised pleasure that caught her off-guard. She actually wanted to blush at what, on first glance, appeared to be interest from him. It couldn't be, of course, they hadn't spoken for a total of five minutes, but he was obviously intrigued. So to distract herself — and Ryan — from said obviousness, she tweaked him a little by showing off her knowledge of his profession, then gave him her patented 'make friends with everyone' offering of tea.

And that was where things got . . . interesting.

Sam Radford was a medical doctor, so she knew perfectly well that he was aware of the effects and dangers of caffeine. What she didn't know — and, to her consternation, couldn't sense — was if he actually was that contemptuous of alternate remedies to traditional medicine or was just trying to tweak her in return. And she knew before she said it that her discourse on caffeine would annoy him, and thus make him defensive, so she wasn't surprised or hurt by his somewhat snotty comeback about having eleven years of medical training. Or his attempt to save face.

"I love stress."

Riiight. And she was the Queen of Sheba.

Her mildly scathing rebuke about reading the pertinent medical journal clearly knocked him off-balance, though to give him credit, he gracefully conceded his loss by leaving the room. Ryan's smug expression didn't escape her, but thankfully, his only comment was on the likelihood of the good doctor actually staying in Middleton (and a laughingly true description of big city dwellers trying to become small-town folk; they had both seen that phenomenon too many times to count and very few of them actually managed to make the transition).

No, what startled her was how much she enjoyed — well, not enjoyed, that really hadn't been fun, but it had been . . . stimulating? Yeah, that was a good word. She felt energized by that encounter in a way she rarely was. Sam Radford was a bit of an arrogant know-it-all, sure, but he was also invigorating. And Cassie hadn't realized until then just how much she'd missed that in her life.

Well. This situation was definitely had potential.

What kind of potential remained to be seen.

{{**}}

Sam Radford sighed as he tried — and failed — to fix the door to his new office. He was not an impulsive man by any stretch of the imagination, but this decision to move from New York City to Middleton undeniably fit the definition of the word. And only served to prove the point about why he didn't do 'impulsive.' So between that, Nick, and his aggravating (and attractive, educated, and erudite) new neighbor, he was irritable, a feeling that only compounded his anger at being lied to in order to get him to agree to come here.

But when said new neighbor strolled through his broken office door, he couldn't even be annoyed. Chagrinned, yes, as he nearly hit her in the face with a hammer in his surprise at seeing her, but not annoyed. Actually, he felt a little sheepish, and it was because he had behaved poorly that morning and he knew it. But before he could try to apologize, she worked some kind of magic on a wild bird, gave him a business card she had clearly come prepared with, and sauntered back to her shop — getting that damned door to close behind her and leaving him flustered and more intrigued by a woman than he'd been in years.

Not that he was attracted to her. No, Sam Radford was done with dating. After the hell on earth that was his marriage to Linda (by comparison, the divorce was ice cream with sprinkles and Oreos), never mind his subsequent string of failed attempts at dating, he had sworn off women. He had proven to the world at large that he was not good at relationships and saw no need for further experimentation.

Besides, he wasn't a masochist.

But when Ryan Elliot came to see him later that day, he found himself facing the first of many conundrums he would experience in his relationship with Cassie Nightingale. Finding out that people didn't like his predecessor was no real surprise; discovering that those same people elected to trust their health to a completely untrained, non-medical doctor herbalist instead of trying to find a doctor they did like?

Okay, sure. Color him bewildered.

Especially when Ryan impl—well, no, he flat-out said that people trusted her with their health.

Sam . . . really didn't know what to do with that.

So he settled in to watch and learn, and prepared to step in when it was necessary to get these people back on the track of letting an actual, trained medical doctor look after their health.

It was a good thing he'd always enjoyed a challenge.

{{**}}

Stephanie's eagerness to meet-and-greet Sam Radford made Cassie mentally shake her head in fond amusement. She loved Stephanie, but the woman's inability to be happy with herself as a person was going to doom every attempt at a romantic relationship she tried. And Sam? Well, he was not her usual hyperactive puppy, nor was he a boy with brawn but no brain (see: Stephanie's faked enthusiasm for every sport known on earth). And he clearly hadn't dealt with whatever had happened in his last relationship that had caused the pain she'd sensed the night they met. But it was no use telling Stephanie any of that; she wouldn't listen or care. All she could focus on right now was 'good-looking and single.' The fact that he was a doctor was just icing on the cake, although she had no real idea of what that would entail. Not that Cassie did, either, but Jake had been a cop, so random calls at literally all hours of the day were familiar, as was the loneliness that came from knowing that you would always be second to whomever that call was about. It took a strong, secure, independent woman to be able to love that kind of man.

Even the fact that he had a teenage son was ignored — well, no, it wasn't that Stephanie was ignoring Nick; it was more that she didn't seem to grasp that 'Sam' was also 'Nick's dad' — something which, if nothing else, would end things before they started. But Cassie would never say anything, even if she thought it would help (and in this case, it wouldn't). No, people had to discover these things for themselves. And besides, experiencing the journey made the final destination all the more meaningful.

Still. She hoped Stephanie didn't end up accidentally hurting Sam during the thrill of the chase.

But she never thought to wonder why she wasn't concerned about Sam hurting Stephanie.

{{**}}

When Sam was tending to George that first time, Cassie tried very hard to be understanding about his attitude, because he was a classically trained, traditional Western doctor. And, to be fair, he didn't know her, and he definitely didn't know just how much effort and education she'd put into learning the craft of Eastern herbalism. She also had to admire both his professionalism and his sincere desire to help George get better, which made his frustration at not getting through to her father-in-law all the more potent for her. Unfortunately, she couldn't help him there; George had to come to him of his own volition. But she trusted Sam, at least as a doctor, which might sway George, and his genuine surprise at hearing that was . . . gratifying.

She was concerned about Grace's reaction to Nick Radford, but at the same time was philosophical about it; their lives were going to become more and more intertwined, so there was no point in trying to separate them now. And it would be good for her daughter, especially since it would help her learn to hone her gifts and use them properly. Thus far, Grace had no experience with people who said one thing, thought another, and did a third, and Nick Radford was the living embodiment of that: he was so confused and angry that Grace's gifts were going to give her one possibility, but his words were going to make that a lie, and his actions would contradict everything. Yeah, Sam's son was . . . complicated.

Of course, the same could be said for her and Sam, which was . . . not something she was looking forward to explaining to Ryan. Or dealing with, for that matter. See: did not like good-looking, single men around her.

So when she heard Ryan actually defending Sam to Martha "I never let my emotions dictate my actions" Tinsdale, she almost wanted to kiss him right then and there.

Once she got over the shock, that is.

He was definitely doing it to annoy Martha, but Cassie could feel his sincerity about Sam being a good guy, and she was so thankful to know that he thought that. It gave her hope that things with them would be okay.

When she later found herself rather vigorously defending Sam to Martha, she also found herself puzzled as to why this man she barely knew had affected her so strongly. The protectiveness she felt toward him was . . . unnerving. Thankfully, arguing Martha back down to an even keel was more than sufficient distraction from the conundrum that was Sam Radford and her errant wonderings mostly faded away.

And then Brandon joined the Middleton Police with no warning to any of his family, or even discussion, and while she was flailing mentally in fear and anger, Ryan came to see her. On hearing why she was an emotional basket base, he took her to The Bistro and bought her tea while he silently let her vent (or, well, her version of it; Cassie wasn't that big on emotional outpouring, which was something that frustrated him to no end). And when he tried to explain her feelings to her from her perspective, she almost cried, especially when he told her exactly what she would have said to someone else. He was so incredibly sweet and wanted so badly for her to be happy.

So, remembering her promise to herself to let him in more, she quietly but sincerely told him that he was a good boyfriend. His answering grin was the size of New York, but he nearly flattened her with shock when his reply kept them as 'just friends' to anyone who might hear, because he appreciated her gift to him, but he also understood that her trepidation was still there and her reasons for being discreet hadn't gone away. Affection for him swelled up so fast and strong, she nearly choked. He really was her best friend.

And she could do this. She and Ryan could make it work.

{{**}}

Sam hadn't been hit on so obviously in months. He almost wished he could be flattered.

And sure, Stephanie was attractive, but when she told him that Cassie Nightingale had been treating her for migraines — oh, so it really was the whole town — he simply could not stop the swell of indignation. Regardless of what he thought of his (striking, intelligent, well-read) new neighbor, this disturbing practice she had of treating people she was not remotely qualified to medically treat was something he needed to put a stop to. God only knew how many people had been hurt or left worse off because she simply did not possess the knowledge and training to properly care for them. And the town as a whole seemed to lack the basic self-preservation to actually visit a licensed physician.

He prescribed a standard migraine remedy for Stephanie and politely brushed off her attempt to secure a date; in his current mood, that just wasn't happening. He and Cassie Nightingale needed to have an overdue and serious conversation about their respective places in the medical field. She might be well-read (better than some of his fellow doctors, actually), but she had no training, no licensing, and no oversight. If she hurt someone or, God forbid, killed them, there was no way to know or correct the issue.

And Sam was just — not okay with that. He could not let that continue, not when he was there to provide those very services, along with the necessary resources to back them up.

So he went to Grey House as soon he got out of the office.

Her pleasure at seeing him almost dissuaded him from his anger. Almost. He tried to stay calm, he really did, but when she flat-out refused to acknowledge that what she was doing was dangerous, he lost his patience.

"I've heard this a million times," he said dismissively, rolling his eyes in irritation at yet another 'guru' trying to justify their bad decisions and dangerous actions.

"Well, have you ever actually listened?" she shot back, frustration tingeing her voice and coming close to igniting his temper. Then she had the gall to lecture him about the dangers of 'pill-popping', like he hadn't studied, trained, tested, and seen the real-life results of those pills and treatments. And when she informed him that she looked at each person as a whole person, when she knew nothing — NOTHING — about him or his methods of care and treatment, his anger really started to rise.

But when she snidely offered to 'explain' her methods and why they were better, he just — he'd had enough.

"No, thank you," he said with a chilly politeness that he used to smother his ire before he said something he would actually regret. But as he turned away, he was unable to hold back one final shot. "I'm a doctor and you — you're not a doctor."

And he stalked out, leaving her staring after him with wounded eyes.

He didn't turn back, despite the sudden, near-overwhelming, and inexplicable urge he had to pull her into his arms and apologize. He hadn't intended to hurt her, but he was right.

He was right.

But he wasn't enjoying the feeling this time.

In fact, for one of the few times in his life, 'right' was the last thing he wanted to be.