Orchard Valley Grooms Read Free

you phoned Dr. Winston?”
    “Yes. Luckily I was able to get hold of him, and he drove out, pretending to drop in out of the blue. He knew the minute he saw Dad that it was a heart attack. He immediately gave him a couple of aspirin. Then he sat down on the porch and had a cup of coffee with him.”
    “He drank coffee while our father was having a heart attack? ” Valerie wasn’t finding this doctor too impressive.
    “I believe it was what saved Dad’s life,” Norah said, her eyes flashing a protest. “Dr. Winston convinced Dad to go to the hospital voluntarily. It wasn’t until he’dbeen admitted that he suffered the worst of the attack. If he’d been at home arguing, no one could’ve done anything to save him.”
    “Oh.” That took some of the heat out of Valerie’s argument. She suspected she was looking for someone to blame—in an attempt to ease her own guilt for having ignored Norah’s concerns about their father.
    The door Betty had walked through opened, and a tall dark-haired man came toward them, his expression serious. Valerie couldn’t help noticing how attractive he was. In fact, the man had movie-star good looks, but good looks with nothing soft or insipid about them.
    “Hello,” he said, his voice deep and resonant. “I’m Dr. Winston.” He held out his hand.
    “Valerie Bloomfield,” she responded briskly, placing her hand in his. She’d always been taught that it was impolite to stare, but she couldn’t stop herself. Her father’s physician didn’t look much older than her own thirty-one years. “Excuse me,” she said, not glancing at Norah, who would, she suspected, immediately leap to Dr. Winston’s defense. “I don’t mean to be rude—but how old are you?”
    “Valerie,” Norah groaned under her breath.
    “I just want to know how long he’s been practicing medicine. Good grief, Norah, this is our father. ”
    “It’s quite all right,” Dr. Winston said, smiling at Norah. “If David was my father I’d have a few questions myself. I’m thirty-six.”
    Valerie found it hard to believe, but she couldn’t verywell insist on seeing his birth certificate. Besides, her thoughts were muddled and she was exhausted. Now wasn’t the time to question his qualifications. “How’s my father?” she asked instead.
    “He’s resting.”
    “When will I be able to see him?”
    “I’d rather you didn’t go in right away.”
    “What do you mean?” Valerie snapped. “I’ve flown across the country to be with my father. He needs me! Why shouldn’t I be able to go to him?”
    “It’s not a good idea just now. He’s sleeping for the first time in nearly twenty hours and I don’t want anything to disturb him.”
    “I think you should wait,” Norah seconded, as if she feared Valerie might be on the verge of making a scene.
    Valerie sighed; her sister was right. “Of course I’ll wait. It’s just that I’m anxious.”
    “I understand,” Dr. Winston said. But he spoke without emotion. He led them to a room not far from the nurses’ station. Two well-worn couches faced each other, and several outdated magazines littered the coffee table that stood between them. There was a coffeepot in one corner, with powdered creamer and an ample supply of disposable cups.
    Norah sat first, raising both hands to her mouth in an effort to hide a yawn.
    “How long have you been here?” Valerie asked, realizing even before she asked that Norah had stayed at the hospital all night. Her youngest sister was exhausted.“Listen, kid, you go on home and get some sleep. I’ll hold down the fort for a while.”
    Norah grinned sheepishly. “I used to hate it when you called me kid, but I don’t anymore.”
    “Why not?” Valerie asked softly, resisting the urge to brush a stray curl from her sister’s forehead. She wasn’t the maternal type, but she felt protective toward Norah, wanting to ease her burden.
    “You can call me kid anytime you like because that’s exactly the way I