Page 36 of The Cajun Doctor

“I do electrical work.”

Glory, glory days!

So it was that Daniel helped most of the people, using a card table, several folding chairs, his basic medical kit, and a prescription pad. Others he referred to a doctor that he knew took on an occasional indigent patient.

And it felt damn good, to his surprise.

Even so, he put a sign outside proclaiming that the clinic would not be open for another month. Actually, never. If he was going back to medicine, it would be in the field he’d once flourished in. And he for damn sure wasn’t going into private practice requiring a gazillion dollars in malpractice insurance. As it was, he could be in big trouble just for the little bit of medicine he’d engaged in today. Even dispensing aspirin could result in him losing the license he didn’t really have yet.

Oddly, he caught himself whistling as he painted later that morning. And it wasn’t just due to the instant gratification of hard labor. He felt as if he was awakening from a deep painful sleep.

Of course, it helped that he had awakened this morning with another kind of instant gratification.

Bewitched, Bothered and Doggone Bewildered . . .

Samantha approached Bayou Rose Plantation that afternoon with trepidation. After her embarrassing dream, she didn’t want to be within a mile of Doctor Dreamy, but she’d promised Tante Lulu she would come to discuss some ideas for abandoned animals to be relocated here, assuming Daniel and Aaron were on board. Of course it would be a long time before they would be in a position to offer any services on a large scale; work would be needed on the facilities to meet health code specs and zoning regulations for the kennels. If, in fact, that would be the ultimate use made of the plantation. So, plenty of time for convincing. On Tante Lulu’s part, not hers.

As she drove up, she saw that the arched entry sign for Bayou Rose had been repaired and repainted. Farther on, she could see that the old lady had turned this into a party, as usual. The landscaping people were already hard at work, clearing away the jungle, with the help of every LeDeux in the world, it seemed. Dozens of them, of all ages. And was that . . . yes, it was that notorious snake catcher Stinky Hawkins. The Times-Picayune ran feature articles on him every other year.

Of course the first person she ran into was Daniel. As she approached, they glared at each other. He didn’t like her any more than she liked him. He seemed to think she was a spoiled rich girl who’d never struggled a day in her life. She didn’t have much use for doctors per se, especially good-looking ones, after her experience with Nick, but if he was going to have the credentials, she thought it was self-indulgent, even selfish, of him not to use those talents. Egotism, either way.

Then, at the same time, they both started to say, “I had a dream . . .”

She slapped a hand over her mouth with horror at her inadvertent admission.

“Oh, crap!” he said. “We had dreams about each other, didn’t we? The same dream.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He snorted his disbelief.

“Bite me!”

“Seems I already did.”

“Did you do something to plant those . . . those perverted ideas in my head?”

“You thought they were perverted? Even the suck and tuck move?”

She ignored his question and continued, “You’re supposedly a doctor. Bet you slipped me a pill or something.” It’s the kind of thing Nick would have done in a heartbeat, if he’d thought of it. But probably not with her. He’d want to play out his fantasies with one of his many mistresses.

“No supposed about it. I am a doctor, even if I don’t practice anymore. What you’re suggesting is criminal behavior, which I would never participate in. Nor would I need to.” He raised his chin defiantly.

“Oh, jeez. No need to get bent out of shape. I didn’t really think you gave me anything.”

He visibly tamped down his temper. “Let’s return to that ‘perversions’ discussion—”

“Please don’t.”

“I’ve never heard about that new erogenous zone . . . you know, the one you showed me in the dream. They certainly never taught that in medical school. I figured it was some Cosmo kind of thing.”

“I don’t read Cosmo. It wasn’t me who . . . never mind.”

His lips twitched with humor.

Samantha was embarrassed. Every single time she met Daniel their conversations seemed to spiral out of control. They threw sparks off each other, and she was at least partly to blame, she knew that.

Time to change the subject. Samantha inhaled and exhaled. Once again, Daniel had managed to bring out this bitchy side of her personality. Yeah, he was a doctor, but she should be able to judge people on their own merits, not by their professions. It was Nick’s fault, she decided. That was her story, and she was sticking to it. For now.