The M.D. Next Door

But no, that didn’t sound right. She’d shared a meal with Alice and her dad, hardly with Seth alone.

Maybe it had been too long since she’d been out for an adult evening, considering the little tingle still lingering inside her as a result of Seth’s parting smile.

“Honey, we have to do something with that hair! “

Alice lifted a hand self-consciously to her riotous mass of curls in response to Madison’s blunt assessment. “I guess it needs a trim.”

Madison laughed softly and patted Alice’s shoulder. “Sweetie, you need more than a trim. You need a good cut and style. The walk-in place upstairs is hit-and-miss, but I know which stylists there can be trusted. Let’s get up and see how long the waiting list is.”

Frowning, Meagan followed in her younger sister’s wake, as she usually did when Madison took charge. “Um, Maddie? I’m not sure we should get her hair cut without her father’s permission.”

Alice looked over her shoulder with a frown. “I’m not a baby, Meagan. Dad lets me choose how to wear my own hair—well, as long as I don’t get a mohawk or dye it purple or anything,” she added with a little laugh.

Because Meagan had no intention of sanctioning either of those options, she decided maybe a simple haircut wouldn’t be so bad.

As she had expected, Madison and Alice hit it off immediately. No surprise. Everyone liked Madison, with her ebullient warmth and contagious laugh. A second year psychiatry resident, Madison wanted to specialize in adolescents. Their brother said it was because Madison had never really grown up, herself, an accusation with which Madison cheerfully agreed.

Slim and animated, Madison had shoulder length hair that was naturally the same rather mousy brown as Meagan’s. Like Meagan, she dyed it a more interesting shade, though Madison had gone even blonder than Meagan’s honey color. Madison’s eyes were a shade lighter blue and her features, at least in Meagan’s opinion, were a little more classically pretty. Madison never seemed to run out of energy or enthusiasm, which had come in handy during medical school and her first year of residency.

They were lucky enough to arrive at the walk-in salon at a lull in business. One of the stylists Madison knew and trusted just happened to be available. Madison and the stylist, Kiera, put their heads together for a lengthy and serious-looking consultation while glancing sideways at Alice, who shifted her feet self-consciously.

“You know you don’t have to let them do anything you don’t want,” Meagan reminded the girl.

Alice nodded resolutely. “Madison’s so pretty. She’ll know what I should do.”

And then she added quickly, “I’d trust you, too, of course. You’re pretty, too.”

Meagan laughed, patting Alice’s arm to show there’d been no offense taken. Meagan, too, thought her younger sister was beautiful. “Thank you, but Madison’s the one who knows all the latest styles and fashions. That’s why I asked her to join us today.”

They both looked at Madison, who had dressed in a trendy top and skinny jeans with wedge-heeled sandals for their shopping excursion. Typically, Meagan’s look was more classic—a crisp white shirt with jeans and comfortable loafers. The traditional style worked for her, but Alice needed a guide for younger fashion.

Leaving Alice in Kiera’s capable hands, Meagan and Madison sat side by side in the waiting area.

“So, how good-looking is Alice’s dad?” Madison asked with a grin.

Meagan lifted an eyebrow. “Why?”

Madison laughed. “He must be cute for you to agree to spend a morning shopping with his teenage daughter. You’ve never really liked shopping.”

“I was glad to have an excuse to get out of the house for a few hours, but mostly I just wanted to help Alice. She’s a very sweet girl. This has nothing to do with Seth.”

“Oh. He’s very cute.”

Meagan studied her sister in exasperation. “What brought you to that conclusion?”

Her expression mischievous, Madison replied, “I could tell by the way you said his name. Seth. My guess is that he’s quite the catch.”

Meagan sighed. “If you’re interested, I’ll arrange an introduction.”

“I’ve got no time for a fella right now, but there’s nothing holding you back. Go for it, sis.”

Meagan couldn’t help smiling in return. It was hard not to be amused when Madison teased so good-naturedly. “He’s just a neighbor. A busy single father, at that. You know how I feel about dating guys with children. Too many potential complications in my schedule that’s already hectic enough.”

“Chicken.”

“Cluck, cluck.”

“You’re hopeless, Meagan. What’s it going to take to make you pay a little attention to your own needs, for a change?” Madison’s smile disappeared abruptly. “You nearly let yourself die because you wouldn’t stop long enough to take care of your own health.”

Because she knew her illness had frightened her sister, Meagan replied patiently. “I didn’t almost die, Maddie. I went to Meilin as soon as I realized I needed attention.”

“It took you too long to reach that realization. Because you were so busy taking care of everyone else.”

“Look who’s talking, Dr. Baker. Who’s training to spend the rest of her life taking care of troubled kids?”

“A job,” Madison said with a wave of her hand. “I don’t plan to spend my every waking moment doing it. That was one reason I chose psychiatry over surgery, remember? Better hours.”

Knowing career demands had much less to do with her sister’s choice than the calling of her heart, Meagan didn’t even bother to argue that point. “This is an academic conversation, anyway. Seth and I spent all of an hour together, and that hour was mostly focused on Alice. It’s not as though he asked me out or anything.”

“And if he should?”

Meagan shrugged, trying to hide the little ripple of nerves that coursed through her at the suggestion. “I doubt he will. I’m Alice’s friend, not Seth’s.”

“Mmm.”

She didn’t even ask what her sister meant by that enigmatic murmur. Instead, she glanced toward the chair where Alice was being worked on. “Ouch. That looks like a lot of hair falling.”

Madison shrugged dismissively. “She needed a good cut. She has pretty hair, but you couldn’t even see her face in that mop of curls. Wonder how her dad feels about contact lenses.”

“We’re not getting her contact lenses today.”

Laughing, Madison shook her head. “I’m not sure we could arrange that on such short notice, anyway. Just saying.”

Meagan was relieved that the conversation had drifted away from her dating life—or lack of one. Maybe she privately agreed that it was time for her to get back into the social scene, and had thought about doing so quite a bit during the past few days but that didn’t mean she regarded every single man she met as a viable partner. No matter how intriguing Alice’s father might be.

Seth arrived home just over half an hour before he was scheduled to drive Alice to her party. He was rather proud of himself for concluding his work early enough that he didn’t have to make a mad rush to get her there. He had time to change and have a cold glass of tea before they walked out the door.

“Alice?” he called out as he walked into the kitchen from the garage, dropping his car keys on the counter and setting his brief case on the kitchen table. “I’m home.”

“Hi, Dad,” she called from another room. “Just a sec, I’m almost ready.”

He could hear Waldo barking from out in the backyard. The dog must have heard Seth’s car. Seth decided to spend a little time with the mutt while Alice was at her party. It wouldn’t hurt to get a head start on those obedience lessons, he figured, and he knew the dog would enjoy the extra attention, though Alice had probably played with him all afternoon after her shopping excursion. She sure loved that dopey—

His thoughts drifted off to stunned silence when his daughter walked through the kitchen door.

She made a slow rotation in front of him, her smile self-conscious and satisfied. “How do I look?”

“You look …like a teenager.” His voice sounded a bit husky even to him.

Her smile flashed even brighter, braces gleaming. “Sweet.”

He couldn’t decide at first exactly what was different about her. There seemed to be several changes. Her hair, for example. The wild mop she had always bemoaned but he’d thought impishly cute had been shortened, layered and tamed into softer curls framing her face and just brushing her nape. While still youthful, the new style was a little more sophisticated than before.

She was wearing makeup. Not enough for him to object to—just a touch of glitter on her eyelids and a little clear gloss on her pretty pink mouth.

Her new dress was a halter style, baring her slender shoulders and arms, but still modestly styled. A yellow satin cummerbund with a jaunty bow separated the black surplice top from the flared white skirt with three rows of narrow black ribbon at the hem. Her shoes were black, with lots of straps and low platform bottoms that gave the illusion of heels even though they weren’t too high for her age. All in all, a very pretty and appropriate outfit—for a teenager, he thought again, swallowing hard.

Her smile wavered a little. “Don’t you like it, Dad?”

“You look beautiful,” he told her simply.

She beamed again. “Really?”

“Yes. Uh—you couldn’t find a ruffled pink dress with puffy sleeves and a lace pinafore?”

“Daddy.”

He laughed wryly. “Just teasing, sweetheart. It’s not easy for a dad to admit his little girl is growing up. I guess we’ll have to see about an appointment for those contact lenses you’ve been begging for. We’ll get you some as soon as school’s out for the summer, which will give you plenty of time to get used to them before fall semester starts.”

She almost bounced in pleasure, pushing her glasses up on her nose as if in eagerness to be rid of them. “I was going to remind you about that. Madison said I have pretty brown eyes and it’s a shame to hide them behind glasses.”

“Madison is right.” He opened the fridge and pulled out a canned drink. “So you had a good time on your girls’ outing?”

He’d already talked with her since she’d returned; he’d made her promise she would call as soon as she was home safely. She’d chattered excitedly about the shopping excursion until he’d had to disconnect the call and return to his client.

“I had a great time. Madison is really fun and cool and she knows everything about fashion. And Meagan always makes me laugh with her little comments about stuff. I got my hair cut and then I tried on a lot of dresses and then we had Chinese for lunch—Meagan treated us—and then Madison bought me this bracelet from a little booth out in the center of the mall.”

She showed off a band of small black stones tied with a yellow ribbon to match her dress. “I paid for the dress and shoes and haircut with my debit card, like you told me. And I stayed on the budget you gave me. The dress was on sale! Twenty percent off. Madison says she never pays full price when she can find a sale.”

“Well, that’s—”

“And Meagan said she’ll take me shopping again sometime if I want her to. I said a lot of my clothes are getting too little because I’m getting taller and I’m going to need some new shirts and shorts and stuff for summer.”

“Nina can take you shopping whenever you need to go,” he reminded her, hoping she wasn’t expecting Meagan and Madison to be her personal shoppers now. “I’ll talk to her about giving you more leeway in choosing your own clothes. Or I can take you, though I’ve got to admit I don’t know a lot about what’s in style for girls your age.”

She waved a hand, looking unenthused by either prospect. “Anyway, at lunch we were talking and I said some of my friends think you’re hot, which is, you know, kind of gross, and Madison laughed and said she’d already heard you were cute. And then she looked at Meagan and laughed some more, so I think Meagan told her you’re cute. Which you are, for a dad, I guess.”

Seth had gotten totally lost in that rush of words, but he pulled one phrase out of the babble. Meagan told her you’re cute.

Seriously? He sipped his cold soda thoughtfully, a nice feeling expanding inside his chest. Meagan thought he was …?

Scowling, he set the can on the counter with a thump that made drops of cola spray from the opening. He wiped up the spill with a sponge, berating himself for acting like a teenager, himself.

“I’ll run up and change into jeans, then I’ll drive you to the party,” he said, concentrating on the business at hand. “Don’t forget to take your cell phone in case you need to reach me for any reason before I’m supposed to pick you up.”

She rolled her eyes a little—the long-suffering teen expression more marked now that he could see her face better. “I’ll be fine, Daddy. We’ll have plenty of chaperones.”

He trusted in that. He sent his daughter to a highly-respected private school with strict rules of behavior and an outstanding academic record. The administrators approved parties and social activities for the students, but they were well supervised. Uniforms were required for classes. The dress code for parties was more lenient, but attendees were still expected to dress tastefully whether for one of the casual jeans-and-tees events or a dressier affair like tonight’s.

He was doing his best to make sure his daughter made it safely through these risky years, he thought wryly on his way to his bedroom. Which didn’t guarantee, of course, that she wouldn’t go wild or get into the wrong crowd or all those other possibilities that would keep him awake nights if he dwelled on them.

He was relieved that Meagan and her sister had helped Alice choose an appropriate outfit. Not that he’d worried too much that they wouldn’t. Judging from Nina’s initial assessment and his own impressions of Meagan so far, she was rather conservative, herself, and could be trusted to serve as a good role model for Alice. At least, he hoped he was right about that.

And she thought he was—

He sighed heavily.

Apparently, it had been much too long since he’d been with a woman.

Meagan felt a bit self-conscious entering the school auditorium Tuesday evening. She figured most parents and students at the private academy knew each other, and would probably wonder about this stranger who had wandered in to attend the junior high choir concert. The turnout was certainly good. She had arrived almost twenty minutes before the program was to begin and the parking lot was already almost full.

Accepting a program printed on a folded sheet of red paper, she entered the auditorium. Rows of fold-down wooden seats arranged on a sloping concrete floor faced an elevated stage draped in black and burgundy velvet. Most of the seats were filled. The noise level was quite high, with people talking and laughing, children chattering, a few toddlers shrieking, almost drowning out the generic recorded music playing from surrounding speakers. She was glad she’d decided not to dress too formally; her green knit top and casual khaki pants fit in very nicely with the other attendees.

She had deliberated for quite a while before she’d decided to attend this event. Alice had mentioned at lunch Saturday that she would be singing in a choir concert this evening. She’d said she would have to wear her required choir dress but she would wear her new shoes with it. Rather wistfully, she had added that her father wouldn’t be able to attend this end-of-the-year concert.

“He’s only missed a couple of my school programs before,” she said quickly, in case Meagan or Madison formed a poor opinion of her beloved father. “He hates having to miss them, but he said he’ll be in a big meeting in Hot Springs Tuesday and he doesn’t think he’ll be back in time for the concert. They always start at six because the teachers want to get home early. Sometimes my grandparents from Heber Springs come to my concerts and things, but they can’t come this time. But Nina’s going to be there. She said she loves to hear me sing.”

Meagan had told herself there was no need for her to attend the concert. Alice would probably be perfectly happy with Nina there to appreciate her performance; she seemed very fond of the housekeeper who’d been employed by Seth for several years. Would it really mean much to the girl to have her neighbor—a woman she’d known for only a week—applauding in the audience?

But somehow Meagan had found herself in her car that evening, headed for the school. As hard as Alice had tried to hide it, she was obviously disappointed that her dad wouldn’t be there. Meagan doubted that she made a suitable replacement, but maybe Alice would appreciate having another friend in the audience, anyway. Besides, it was another excuse to get out of the house for an evening. And how bored was she getting that a junior high choir concert sounded more interesting than another night of reading and TV?

She really needed to get back to work soon.

Thinking she might sit with the housekeeper during the concert, Meagan had looked for Nina when she’d arrived, but couldn’t find her in the crowd. She assumed Nina had taken a seat close to the front.

Because she hadn’t wanted to wander up and down the aisles searching for Nina, she chose a seat closer to the door instead. She thought she’d be able to see well from there, though a child a few rows ahead of her kept standing up in his seat. Other than the empty seat next to her, the section was full. People around her laughed and talked and waved at acquaintances across the auditorium. Feeling a bit like an imposter among all the friends and family members waiting for the concert to begin, Meagan smiled and nodded to the older woman sitting beside her, who murmured a greeting in return then turned away to chat with her companions.

“Excuse me, ma’am, is this seat taken?”

In response to the polite question only minutes before the concert was to begin, she glanced up automatically from the program she’d been studying to assure the speaker that the seat was free. The words died when she saw who stood in the aisle, smiling down at her.

Seth’s hair was a little tousled, she noticed, and he looked just a bit disheveled, as if he’d rushed to get there. He wore a beautifully tailored gray suit, more formal than most of the more casually garbed audience, but he’d loosened the blue-and-silver tie at the collar.

Definitely cute, she thought, remembering the teasing conversation with her sister. And when he took her up on her gestured invitation and dropped into the seat beside her, he was close enough that their arms brushed when he shifted his weight.

The concert had just gotten even more interesting.

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