A Doctor for Keeps (Harlequin Special Edition),Used

Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Desi wished she had a flashlight as she crept around the side of the ancient house in the dark. A thorn from an equally old and gnarly bush snagged her Tshirt, puncturing her skin."Ouch!" She immediately regretted her outburst since it was almost midnight. Where did Gerda say that painted rock is?Her grandmother, a woman Desi had met only a few times in her twentyeight years, had earlier instructed over the phone where the extra house key was hidden. Determined not to wake up Grandma Gerda, she tramped through the overgrown grass and shrubbery along the side of the house, searching for the mark.Success! A brightly patterned rock nestled against the wooden gate stood out under the moonlight like fluorescent paint under black light. As she'd been told, she searched along the bottom for the small stickon box holding the house key, hoping there weren't any nighttime creepy crawlers around. Just as she retrieved the box and opened it, the assaulting aroma of nightblooming jasmine tickled her nose. Sneezing with gusto, she dropped the key and got on her hands and knees to search for it, grateful there was a full moon.A few seconds later, with key in hand, she emerged out of the thick overgrowth between two houses, heading for the huge wraparound porch belonging to her maternal grandmother. But not before tripping on a brick along the walkway. She lurched forward, swatting at the night for nonexistent support and letting fly a few choice words.A bright light blinded her just as she stopped teetering and regained her balance."Who's there?" A distinctly deep and masculine voice came from the vicinity of the light.She shielded her eyes with her forearms. "I'm Mrs. Rask's granddaughter. Who're you?"The light lowered, allowing Desi to see a huge shadow, making her wish she'd kept up those kickboxing classesjust in case."I'm Kent, Gerda's nextdoor neighbor." The man stepped closer, studying her, as though he didn't believe her story. "I've never heard about a granddaughter."Why would she expect otherwise? Wasn't she supposed to be the secret granddaughter? Especially since a Scandinavian stronghold like Heartlandia along the Columbia River in Oregon probably wasn't used to people like her."Are you saying you're Ester's daughter?" His voice, a moment ago deep and intriguing, had jumped an octave higher. He must have known who her mother wasor had been."Yes. Could you please turn off that light and not talk so loud? I don't want to wake my grandmother. I had no idea how long the drive from Portland to Heartlandia would be." On a whim, and for future reference, she'd taken a detour through the big city just to see it, suspecting her father might still live there. Determined not to spend extra money for a motel, she'd made a decision to drive straight through tonight. "Took me two and a half hours. And what's Oregon got against streetlights, anyway?" she said in a raspy whisper. "Thought I'd driven into a black hole on Highway 30 for a while there." She fussed with the leaves that had stuck to her shirt and her hair, and brushed off the dirt from her hands, then reached out. "I'm Desi Rask, by the way."Stepping closer, with her eyes having adjusted to the dark again, she realized how tall the man was. At five foot nine it was hard to find many men to look up to. He had to be at least six foot three. And blond. As in Nordicgod blond. "Kent Larson." He accepted her hand and shook it; hers felt incredibly petite inside his grasp. "Your mother used to babysit me before"He stopped without completing the sentence. Before she ran away from home. Yeah, Desi knew the story. Her mother, the pianobar queen of the Midwest, had finally cleared up most of the missing pieces before she'd passed."Desdemona? Is that you?" a reedy voice called out."Kent?"Succeeding at doing what she'd hoped to avoidwaking up her grandmotherDesi turned toward the porch to face her for the first time since