A Doctor In Her Stocking

Nothing, she told herself quickly, adamantly. That’s what she wished. She wished absolutely nothing. The last thing she needed in her life right now was a curiosity about a man she would never have a chance to investigate further or know better. Because after tonight, he’d be out of her life for good.

And even if, by some wild miracle, their paths crossed again, he wasn’t a man for her. She was a pregnant waitress who was barely managing to keep her life together. He was a successful doctor who’d clearly enjoyed every advantage life had to offer.

And even if by some even wilder miracle he took an interest in her, he wasn’t her type at all. Not just because of their social and economic differences, but because his attitude toward life in no way mirrored hers. Mindy was the kind of person who looked for the good in others, who hoped for the best, who expected that everything, eventually, would work out. This man clearly felt completely opposite. Even if there might be a spark of hope and a kindling of goodwill deep down inside him, he obviously didn’t nurture that tiny flame. He didn’t seem to truly believe in it. He didn’t act upon it. He and Mindy would never get along.

Like there was any chance of them getting together in the first place, she thought morosely.

He inhaled deeply before speaking, something that brought her attention back to the fore, where it belonged, and Mindy got the definite impression he really wished he was anywhere but there. Then, very quietly, very slowly, very reluctantly, he said, “Since it looks as if you’re about to lose your home, I want you to stay at my place.”

Mindy couldn’t have been more surprised by the offer—Ha, some offer, she echoed derisively to herself once it settled in—and she was helpless to hide her reaction. Her mouth dropped open in amazement, her eyebrows shot right up to her hairline and she uttered a loud sound of total and utter disgust.

“You want me to what?” she demanded, fairly spitting the words.

He, in turn, seemed genuinely surprised by her vehement response. But he repeated, “You can stay at my place. Here in Cherry Hill. It’s like five minutes away from the diner. You’ll be very comfortable there.”

For another long moment Mindy only stared at him, unable to believe what was happening. These guys had seemed so nice, she thought. So decent. So warm and kind. Was she a lousy judge of character, or what? Then again, recalling the kind of man she had married, was she really surprised that she’d been so easily duped by these two?

Boy, this was what happened when a person looked for the good in everybody and always expected the best, she thought further. She got herself slapped silly by the fates.

She mentally counted to ten before she said anything more, in an effort to halt her rising temper. “Oh, I get it,” she finally said, proud of herself for somehow managing to keep her voice level. “No good deed goes unpunished, right? I did something nice for someone and now I have to pay for it, is that it?”

It was clearly not the reaction Reed had been expecting, because he reared his head back some and frowned in clear confusion. “What are you talking about?” he asked. “Pay for it? I thought I was offering you something you need. What’s the problem?”

“Something I need?” she echoed, incredulous. “Hey, the last thing I need is for some guy to be looking to make me his…his…” She swallowed with some difficulty. “His kept woman,” she finished in a lower voice, proud of herself again for finding a term that was socially acceptable—sort of—for what he was proposing.

He eyed her with confusion again. “Kept woman?” he repeated. “What on earth are you.?”

His question trailed off at a bark of laughter that erupted from the other side of the table. When Mindy turned to look at Seth, she saw him fighting back laughter-with a tremendous amount of effort but without much success.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“You,” he replied without compunction, barely restraining his chuckles. “Thinking that Reed wants you to be his…his…his kept woman.” He punctuated the observation with another ripple of laughter. “Oh, that’s rich. Wait’ll they hear about that one at the hospital. I can’t wait to tell the nurses in CCU.”

Now Mindy was really confused. She turned her attention from Seth to Reed, only to find the latter growing red in the face. Really red. For a moment, she thought the reaction was caused by his anger and outrage. Then, suddenly, she realized he was embarrassed.

“Uh…isn’t that what you were proposing?” she asked.

Seth laughed harder, and Reed grew redder. “No,” he finally said, not looking at her. “That wasn’t what I was proposing at all.”

“Then what?”

“I apologize, Miss Harmon—”

“Mindy,” she corrected him automatically.

He dipped his head forward to acknowledge that he had heard her but he still continued, “Miss Harmon. I suppose I should have phrased my offer a little differently.”

“Yeah, I’ll say,” Seth remarked, still chuckling. “Oh, that’s a good one. Reed having a kept woman in his apartment. Why ‘keep’ one when there are plenty pounding on the door to get in and take advantage of him? Hey, I can name a half dozen nurses right now who’d like to keep him in their apartments. Man, oh, man, I think this is the funniest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

Reed wished he could share Seth’s point of view, but frankly, what Mindy had said was the most humiliating thing he’d ever heard in his life. She thought he intended to set her up at his place and take advantage of her sexually? Her? A pregnant woman? A pregnant woman on the rebound? Just how lonely and desperate did she think he was?

As quickly as the question formed in his head, Reed shoved it aside. He wasn’t lonely or desperate, he assured himself, no matter what she seemed to think. Nor was he the kind of sicko creep who would use a woman in Mindy’s situation and condition to satisfy his own longings. She was right, he thought. No good deed went unpunished.

“What I meant, Miss Harmon,” he began again, “is that, even though I live just outside Philadelphia myself—west of Philadelphia, I might add—I have a condo here in Cherry Hill that I keep for those occasions when I work late or get snowed in or what have you. Ninety percent of the time it’s empty. Donna gave us the impression that you don’t have any other family you might be able to stay with—”

“No, I don’t. But that’s really none of your—”

“Then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t take advantage of my condo. Until you find a new apartment of your own, 1 mean. This time of year, it’s got to be difficult to find a place to live, and you might very well wind up having to put your things in storage, so—”

“I rent a furnished apartment,” she interrupted him. “I have very few things to store. That’s not likely to be a problem.”

“Okay,” he went on, “but it still must be difficult looking for a place this time of year.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “It has been. Frankly, I’m not sure I will find a place by the time I need to be out of my apartment. But something will turn up,” she assured him halfheartedly. “It always does.”

He hesitated only a moment before asking, “What if it doesn’t?”

Mindy glanced down at the backs of her hands, unable to meet his gaze. “I’ll worry about that when…if…it happens.”

“It won’t happen if you take advantage of my condo,” he pointed out. “And there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t.”

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