Randall Honor

“I’ve seen that on TV, but I wasn’t sure that was the truth,” Toby said. “Elizabeth likes that show, ER.”

“Have you seen a table? For the breakfast area?” she asked, staring at the empty space.

“Nope. He really doesn’t have much. But we still have some boxes of books. Talk about heavy!”

“Maybe we should tell him about the table and chairs Aunt Megan took in last week. She didn’t want to put them in the store. She was hoping to find someone to take them off her hands,” Tori pointed out.

“Hey, good idea,” Russ said. “They weren’t bad, just not old. Aunt Megan only wants antiques in her store. Maybe Abby and I will give him the table and chairs for a housewarming present.”

“You’re going to give him a present because you’re his landlord?” Tori asked. “Do you think that’s necessary?”

“Not necessary, no, but I think it would be nice,” Russ said.

“Anybody home?” Red’s voice called.

They all turned around to find him standing on the doorstep, Mildred right behind him.

“Come in, Red. The doctor’s not here. He had an emergency,” Toby said.

“We heard. It was bad. They had a couple of fatalities,” Mildred said. “I talked to Anna.”

They all lamented such a horrible accident. Then Mildred asked Tori to put the lasagna in the refrigerator. “We thought the man could use some dinner that’s already prepared. I’m sure he won’t have any groceries yet.”

“That’s so thoughtful, Mildred,” Tori said.

“Here’s the chocolate cake, too,” Red said, extending his offering.

“I know he’ll appreciate it, Red.” Tori put the cake plate on the bare cabinet.

“I guess he’ll get in late tonight. Maybe Elizabeth and I will buy some groceries to fill up the pantry for our housewarming gift,” Toby said. “I’ll call her.” He pulled out a cell phone and moved away from the rest of them.

Tori moved to the door. “Well, I left the office unmanned. I’d better go back.”

Russ stopped her. “Go lock it up and come help us. No man should come in late from that kind of work and find everything a mess. Poor guy doesn’t have a wife.”

“That would be a good way to get to know him, Tori,” Mildred suggested, enthusiasm in her voice.

Uh-oh. The Randall family was famous for its matchmaking, but Tori didn’t want any part of it. Especially with a man who was leaving in four years. “No, I don’t think I can spare the time.”

“Sure you can,” Russ insisted. “Abby will come by after school, and she’ll help you.”

Toby joined them again. “Elizabeth will be by, too. She and Abby agreed to do some grocery shopping.”

Tori was feeling trapped, but at least she wouldn’t be alone. And it would be terrible to find everything just dumped after dealing with a horrible wreck. “Fine. I’ll go close up.”

Once she’d locked the doors downstairs, leaving a note on the door, she went back up the stairs. The main bedroom had a nice bedroom suite all put together. It looked new, with its king-size bed, dresser and bedside table. When she started opening boxes, she found one marked “bedroom” and opened it. Inside were a set of new sheets, and a navy comforter with flecks of maroon forming a pattern. Very masculine.

“I’ll take the sheets to my apartment to wash before I make up the bed. Want me to bring back a pitcher of lemonade?”

Her cousins enthusiastically agreed to that offer.

When she returned, she brought the lemonade, along with what cookies she’d had in her cookie jar. She knew her cousins’ appetites. Especially Casey, Russ and Rich’s baby brother. At eighteen, he was still a growing boy.

“I called Aunt Megan,” she said as they fell upon the snack. “She said she’d be glad to donate the table and chairs just to get rid of them. She’ll be there another hour if you want to go get them.”

Russ stood up. “I think we can get them and be back here before the girls arrive,” he said to Rich.

“No problem,” Rich agreed. “I brought my truck.” The two of them left.

“That sofa is a sore spot, isn’t it?” Casey asked. “I mean, I’m no expert on decorating, but it’s an eyesore.”

Toby laughed. “You’re right.”

“I bet Mom and Dad would like to give him a new sofa.”

“No,” Tori said firmly. “We can’t do that without asking him. And it isn’t necessary for everyone to give him presents.”

“Everyone gave Russ and Abby presents when they moved into their new house.”

“Yes, but everyone knows them. No one knows the doctor. He’s a city man.” She didn’t want to say bad things about him.

“Poor guy,” Casey said. “I’d hate living in a big city.”

“I think he prefers it. He’s leaving in four years.” She needed to keep reminding herself of that. As good-looking as he was, she felt sure he’d have a lot of feminine company while he was here, but she had no intention of involving herself in a temporary relationship. Especially with someone who didn’t respect her.

Casey was still frowning.

“Are all the boxes up here?” she asked, starting to open another one.

Casey groaned and Toby downed his glass of lemonade. “Come on, boy. The lady is cracking the whip.” Both of them headed down the stairs.

Tori continued staring at the sofa. She suddenly remembered a sofa cover she’d used in college. It was royal blue and she thought it would fit the sofa. She hurried next door and searched through her hall closet. She brought it back to the doctor’s apartment, along with several pillows in a blue, green and maroon print. The guys were making a second trip.

“Where did you go?”

“Over to my apartment. I’ll have a surprise when you get back.” As soon as they were out of sight, she slipped the cover over the sofa. It fit perfectly. Then she added the two pillows.

Toby and Casey entered the room, each carrying a box. When they saw the sofa, they set the boxes down and stared.

“You found a new sofa?” Casey asked.

“Of course not. It’s an old cover I used in Laramie.” All of them had attended the University of Wyoming in Laramie.

“Nice job, Tori. It looks a hundred percent better.”

“Thanks, Toby, but that scarred coffee table is the only other piece of furniture he has.”

“Yeah,” Toby agreed. “But maybe he’ll buy some more soon.”

“I think he should buy a TV. He’s only got that little black-and-white thing,” Casey said in disgust. “Man, he’s really roughing it.”

“You’re spoiled, Casey,” Toby told him, laughing.

IT WAS ALMOST TEN O’CLOCK when Jon returned to the parking lot. None of his belongings were still on the gravel. He didn’t know if the Randalls finished the job for him, or if someone had come along and taken what they wanted.

He trudged up the stairs, bone tired. He hadn’t had time to do any grocery shopping. Doc had told him to come back to his house tonight, but Jon was looking forward to puttering around in his own place. He’d skip dinner tonight and eat breakfast at the café in the morning.

Tomorrow was Friday. He’d have the weekend to settle in. He sighed. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any more emergencies of the magnitude of today’s crash for a while.

He placed the key in the lock and swung open the door. The interior was lit with the soft light of a lamp, inviting and warm. He smiled in pleasure. Then he remembered he didn’t have a lamp like that.

Frowning, he reached for the light switch near the door. The kitchen was to his right, behind a wall, but there was a dining area after the kitchen. He discovered a table and chairs he didn’t own.

Had he accidentally come into the wrong apartment? He looked around nervously. If he had, whoever lived here would think he was a burglar. He backed up until he was outside his door. Nope, there was the other door on the left.

What was going on?

He entered his apartment again. This time he made it to the living area. The ugly sofa he’d inherited from another med student had been replaced with a royal blue sofa, the same shape, but with colorful pillows on it. It almost looked fashionable. And there was a stuffed chair and ottoman that he didn’t own. A floor lamp with a built-in round glass table cast a soft glow about the room.

He went to the biggest bedroom. This would tell the tale. If the bedroom suite that his father had given him as a graduation present was there, he was in the right place.

He let out a deep breath. It was there. But the bed was made, looking so inviting he had to fight himself to keep from falling into it. He went back to the kitchen. Figuring he could use his hands as a way to get a drink of water from the sink faucet. He at least needed that before he went to sleep.

Much to his surprise, he discovered his dishes, the few he had, all nicely stored in cabinets that had a shelf lining in place. There hadn’t been any shelf lining there yesterday.

There was a note on the cabinet.

“There’s lasagna in the fridge. Put what you want to eat on a paper plate and microwave it for two minutes. There’s a pitcher of lemonade, too. And Red made you a chocolate cake to welcome you to Rawhide.”

His mouth watered when he caught sight of the cake. And lasagna? He opened the fridge and saw the square dish. He whirled around, ready to heat some up at once. Where were the paper plates?

He opened the pantry door and discovered fresh bread, many cans of food, coffee in a can to be perked and instant coffee in a jar that was caffeine free. And paper plates.

Who had performed this miracle? There was a tea-kettle on the back of the stove for heating water. He filled it at once and turned on the burner. Even though it was June, a good cup of coffee would hit the spot.

He heard the faint sound of a television next door. He went outside and knocked on his neighbor’s door. If the guy had helped, or seen who had done this, he’d like to thank them.

He heard hesitant steps come to the door. He was all ready to ask his questions when the door opened. Until he found himself facing Victoria in a long nightgown topped by a matching robe.

“Victoria! What are you doing here?”

“I live here. I’m your neighbor, Dr. Wilson.” She didn’t appear to be surprised.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s none of your business where I live.” She started to close her door.

“Wait! I want to ask you—” He stopped as he heard the kettle whistling. “I’m heating water. Can you come with me?” he asked, not waiting for an answer. But he was remembering several remarks by both Anna and Doc. In particular, Doc. Talking about what a cute couple he and Victoria made.

Once he was back in his kitchen, he got down a second cup and put instant coffee in both of them and added the hot water. He took both cups to the new table and put them down. His neighbor was just coming into his apartment. “I’m going to warm up some lasagna. Do you want some?”

“No, thank you. I’m about ready to go to bed.”

“There’s also chocolate cake. I don’t know how good it is, but it looks delicious.”

She hesitated, then said, “Thanks. I’ll have a piece of cake. And it is delicious. Red made it.”

Tori moved into the kitchen, noticing for the first time the weariness on the man’s face. She’d talked to her mother and heard about the difficult day. She’d also listened to a lot of praise for the doctor’s medical skills and also his concern for his patients.

“Here, I’ll heat up the lasagna and cut the cake. You go sit down and drink your coffee,” Tori said.

“Thanks.”

She put some lasagna in the microwave and cut two pieces of cake. By that time, the lasagna was done. Taking it to the table, she slid it in front of the doctor, along with a fork. Then she went back for the two pieces of cake.

For several minutes, the doctor ate the lasagna. Then he looked up. “I have some questions for you.”

“What?” Tori answered calmly.

“Who is Red?”

“Red’s kind of our grandfather and Mildred’s his wife, sort of our grandmother.”

“Why do you say it like that? Are they or aren’t they?”

“Red is a cowboy who raised my dad and his brothers after the youngest of them was born, after their mother’s death. So he’s family even if he’s not really a Randall.”

“And they brought this food over?”

“Yes, to welcome you to Rawhide.”

“And the food in the pantry? The new furniture?”

“The chair and ottoman is from Aunt Megan and Uncle Chad.”

“Randalls?”

She nodded. “The table and chairs are from Russ and Abby. The food in the pantry and the coffeepot are from Toby and Elizabeth.”

“Randalls?”

She nodded.

“The sofa?”

“That’s your sofa,” she began, but he interrupted.

“That’s not my sofa. My sofa is an ugly print that a dump wouldn’t even want.”

She put down her fork and walked over to the sofa. She slipped the sofa cover up so he could see underneath. “This is a sofa cover I had left over from college.”

“I see.”

“There’s a homemade quilt on your bed, too. It’s a gift from Rich and Samantha, his wife. She made it last winter, taking lessons from his grandmother.”

“And she made up the bed?”

Tori felt her cheeks flush. “No, I washed the sheets and made the bed. We all figured you’d be too tired when you got in tonight.”

“You were right, of course, but I didn’t expect such generosity. I’ll be glad to pay everyone for—”

“These are gifts, Dr. Wilson. We’re not asking for money. Everyone wanted to make you feel welcome, and to make your job easier. Life would be much harder for all of us if we didn’t have a doctor here. Surely you know that.”

“I know that I’m not going to work for free. So I don’t expect anyone to give things to me. While I appreciate the thoughtfulness, it makes me feel obligated to your family.”

“Obligated? You think we’re going to want free medical help?”

“It happens to doctors all the time. If I go to a party, people ask me to diagnose a spot on their arm. Or a sore muscle they got from running, so they won’t have to go to an office and pay for professional care.”

Tori ground her teeth and took a deep breath. “I can assure you, Dr. Wilson, that my family will not refuse to pay for medical care. If you talk to Doc, you’ll discover that we pay our bills on time! Or maybe you should ask his accountants. Oh, wait, that’s me!” She gave him a fierce glare.

“Look, don’t take offense, but this isn’t normal in Chicago. I’m uncomfortable with all this.”

“So I can see. But we’re not from Chicago, and things are different in Rawhide.”

“I know they are. That’s why I want to make everything perfectly clear. No matter how much your family does for me, or gives me, and no matter how many ‘wifely’ things you do for me, I have no intention of marrying you.”

Without another word, Tori stood and walked out of the apartment.

Chapter Three

Jon got up at six the next morning, having had a good night’s sleep, thanks to the Randall family. He regretted what he’d said to Victoria the previous night, but he had to clear things up before the family did more for him. He wasn’t sure why Victoria was hard to marry off—she was certainly beautiful and hard-working—but Doc and Anna were certainly working hard to get him interested in her.

At least he knew she wasn’t like his mother. But he had no intention of marrying her. In four years, he was going back to Chicago. Back to a normal way of life.

He fixed his own breakfast before he headed to the clinic. He wanted to check his patients first thing this morning.

After doing rounds, he was pleased with the progress his patients had made. The clinic was completely full, with two beds to each room. A couple of the people could have gone home, if they’d lived in Rawhide, but none of them did, so all twelve were tucked away.

He told the nurses he was going back to his apartment and run some errands and would return at ten. He needed to buy a phone and plug it in so he could be reached if needed. And he wanted to talk to Russ Randall about his accounting needs. He hoped there wouldn’t be any problem about him and Victoria, now that he’d explained himself. Otherwise he didn’t know what he’d do.

Doc had explained that the only other bookkeeper in Rawhide wasn’t reliable or trustworthy. So that left his landlord. He liked Russ, but they had to have everything clear.

The accounting office opened at nine o’clock, and he was waiting when Victoria came down the stairs from her apartment. She didn’t even speak to him or acknowledge his presence in any way. He followed her into the office.

“Good morning, Victoria. When does Russ get in?”

“When he wants to.” Her words were cold and she didn’t look at him. Obviously, she was unhappy with him.

“Victoria, I didn’t mean to upset you last night. I just wanted everything clear. Doc and your mom—”

“You achieved your goal. However, marrying you was never my plan. You have no need to worry.”

He was about to question her when the front door opened and Russ entered. “Jon! How’d you manage last night? Everything to your satisfaction?”

“It was wonderful, but I was a little embarrassed about all the help.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. We just wanted to make you welcome. I figured yesterday was a tough one.” He grinned, then asked, “Are you here to see me or Tori?”

“You, please, Russ, if I may, before I go back to the clinic.”

“Sure. Come on in.”

Once he was seated in front of Russ’s desk, Jon got right down to business. “I need to hire you to do my books.”

Russ grinned. “Doc must’ve told you about Abe. He’s a nice old man, but he does love to talk.”

“Yeah. I hope you won’t hold it against me that I wanted to check things out before I made a commitment.” That was a nice way of saying they weren’t his first choice.

“No problem. We’re kept pretty busy by our regular customers.”

“But you’ll take me on?”

“Sure. Tori has a system worked out that—”

Uh-oh. Here we go again. “Russ, I want to be clear about this. I want you to handle everything for me. Not Victoria.”

For the first time he found a less than cordial look on Russ’s face. “Why?”

“I don’t have a lot of faith in women accountants, especially one as pretty as your cousin.”

Russ continued to frown. “No one ever complains about working with Tori. She’s brilliant.”

“Look, I’ll be brutally frank. I think your family has lined me up as your cousin’s future husband, but I have no intention of marrying while I’m here. I’ll be glad to return the gifts I received yesterday, except the cake and the lasagna. I’m sorry, but I’m going to remain a bachelor as long as I’m in Rawhide.”

Russ stared at him. “You think—but we were—have you said that to Tori?”

“I didn’t want any misunderstandings,” Jon said stiffly.

Russ threw back his head and roared with laughter. “Oh, mercy,” he finally said as his chuckles lessened. “Is she mad at you?”

“Oh, yeah. No woman likes to be rejected. But it’s not her…exactly.”

“Glad to hear it.” He leaned forward. “Listen, Jon, what we all contributed to your home yesterday was to welcome you. Nothing else.”

“But Doc and Anna—”

“Ah, well, I can’t help what they said. Doc announced to the entire town he intended to get you married to a local girl so you’d stay instead of leaving. So you’ll probably have a lot of women hitting on you. But I imagine that happens to most single doctors.”

By the end of that speech, Jon was frowning in consternation. “I can’t believe he did that!”

“Then you don’t know Doc. Or this community. Matchmaking is a popular pastime.”

“I guess I’d better have a personal discussion with Doc,” Jon said grimly. “I thought it was just your family that thought—I apologize.”

“If it will make you feel any better, Tori has told everyone she’s not interested in marrying you. I think you’re safe there.”

It surprised Jon that Russ’s words didn’t make him feel better. “Why?”

Russ appeared surprised, too. “Why? She didn’t say. I don’t think she’s ready to marry. She’ll only be twenty-four in September. She’s got plenty of time.”

Jon wasn’t going to ask any more questions. He didn’t want to convince her cousin he was interested in her. “Okay, good. Now, about my bookkeeping.

You’ll do it?”

“No.”

His brief answer startled Jon. “Why not?”

“I do most of the ranching cases. I have some soft ware that Tori’s dad created. Tori does the retail stuff.

And that includes Doc’s business. You’ll have to ask her to take you on.”

“But I can’t—” Jon stared at Russ, not happy with the alert interest in his eyes, the smile on his lips.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Somewhat. I suspect Tori may enjoy it even more.

Especially if you made her mad.”

“Oh, yeah, I made her mad. What do I do if she turns me down?”

“I don’t know, man. Send her flowers?”

“But that would make people think I want to date her. Then I’m in trouble again.”

“Yeah.” Russ’s grin grew even wider.

Jon huffed and puffed, but Russ didn’t offer any other suggestions. Jon finally stood. “I might as well get it over with.”

TORI WAS WORKING on the feed- and general-store books. The two sisters who owned it had signed on as customers over a year ago. Tori kept their books and issued paychecks for their employees. But she looked up when Russ’s door opened. She hadn’t forgotten who was in there with him.

“Tori,” Russ said, a big grin on his face, “Jon wants to talk to you.”

The look on Jon’s face didn’t say he was happy about that fact. She’d make it easy for him by turning him down at once.

“Sorry, I’m busy right now.”

Dead silence followed her announcement, but no one moved. Finally she looked up.

The doctor didn’t wait for any more encouragement. “I need to ask you to take on my accounting, like you do Doc’s.”

Tori shifted her gaze to Russ. He silently nodded, letting her know he thought it was a good idea. Of course he did! More income and no embarrassment. For him. Did he know what the doctor thought?

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Dr. Wilson. I get the feeling you don’t have much confidence in my abilities.” She’d worked hard to be accepted as an equal to Russ.

“Your cousin and Doc both assure me you’re more than competent. I’d appreciate your help.”

She drew a deep breath. “I suppose I could…as long as you realize our relationship is strictly business.” Her voice had hardened as she finished. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t nice to throw his words back in his face, but it sure felt good.

He cleared his throat. “I think that sounds fine.”

“Fine,” she agreed. Then she pulled a copy of a form she’d developed to set up an account. “Please fill out every blank on this form and mail it back to me. Then, at the end of each week, you’ll turn in your patient files and I’ll set it all up. I assume you’ll be using the same scale as Doc?”

“Probably so. I’ll check with him. Can I drop this off when I’m finished? It seems silly to mail it when I live upstairs.”

“I thought you would prefer as little contact as possible. However, if you want to shove it through the mail slot, I’ll handle it.” She would prefer not to have any contact, just so everyone in town would get the hint.

“Thanks.” He turned around and offered his hand to Russ. Her cousin shook it and thanked him for his business. Then he turned and looked at her.

After a moment’s hesitation, he extended his hand to her, too. “Thanks for taking me on.”

She shook his hand reluctantly. But she would be professional. “Of course. Let me know if there are any problems.”

With a nod, he hurried out of the office.

“You were kind of hard on him, weren’t you?” Russ asked.

“Do you know what he assumed when he discovered all we’d done for him?”

Russ shrugged his shoulders, telling her nothing.

“The arrogant man decided it was bribery to get him to marry me. It seems Mom and Doc have been pushing him in that direction!”