Paradise Valley Read Free Page A

son. Though the deep sincerity of your offer touches me.”
    Everyone laughed but for an indignant Paul. “Aw, come on, I was really nice about that! Sir.”
    “You were a peach,” Walt said, knowing he was getting a little grumpy. “I’ll just sit here and have dinner with Jack.”
    “Where’s Muriel, Walt?” Mel asked.
    He was tired of explaining about this, and it hadn’t been all that long. “Making a movie,” he said unhappily.
    “Really? How exciting! Since she was looking forward to a long break from that, it must be quite an important film.”
    “Yeah, so she says. Jack Whatshisname is the star.”
    “Jack What’s…Jack who?”
    “You know. Big star. Cuckoo’s Nest guy…”
    “Nicholson? Holy shit,” Mel said.
    “Melinda, we were going to stop saying shit in front of the kids,” Jack patiently reminded her, glancing over his shoulder toward David in the backpack.
    “Oh shit, I forgot. But, Walt, that’s really something, isn’t it? I mean, he’s huge. This must be a thrill for her.”
    Walt got a fairly dangerous gleam in his eye. “I suppose she’s thrilled to the heart of her bottom.”
    “Well, no wonder you’re so pissy,” Mel said with a laugh. “Jack, since everyone’s clearing out, I’m going to get some dinner from Preacher to take home. I’ll get the kids fed and settled. Can you sneak away quickly if I get a call? Since Cameron’s headed for Grace Valley, I need to be on call for medical emergencies.”
    “Don’t worry about it, Mel,” Mike said. “I’m going home, I’ll back you up. If you get a call before Jack locks up, just holler. I’ll walk over and sit with the kids.”
    “Thanks, Mike. Jack? Want to help me get loaded up?”
    “Sure, babe. Let me get this little guy into his jacket and I’ll give you a hand. Walt, I’ll have your dinner in a minute.”
    “Take your time,” he said. “I have a beer to finish.” And wounds to lick, he thought.

    Cameron Michaels found himself in a very unique position—trying to court a woman who was pregnant with his twins. They met a few months ago in Grants Pass when a series of strange circumstances brought them together. It was a night of unforgettable bliss. Neither of them thought they’d ever see the other again.
    He’d been at the Davenport Hotel Steak House because that’s where he and the partners in his former pediatric practice liked to have dinner together every other month or so and she was there for one of her best friends’ wedding. Nikki Jorgensen had married Joe Benson and the reception was at that hotel; Vanni was the matron of honor and Abby an attendant. One thing led to another and Abby fled to the hotel bar to escape all that true love and mush at the reception. Cameron had no idea some of his friends from Virgin River were in the banquet room when he met Abby in the bar. It was a fling—the kind of fling Cameron thought he’d outgrown and Abby had never before in her life considered. And of course it had to lead to pregnancy, something they were both carefully trying to prevent.
    When she came to Virgin River to sit out her pregnancy, Cameron was the last person she expected to run into. But Cameron had ties to Virgin River and loved the place. He had known old Doc Mullins, deceased a few months ago, Mel and Jack Sheridan, Vanni and Paul. He saw a chance for a change of lifestyle and decided to give Virgin River a year. No small part of that decision was the fact that he couldn’t find the woman he’d had a wonderful night of love with. How strange that he ended up in the same town she’d chosen to hide out in. Cameron was certified in family practice and pediatrics and his service to Virgin River was invaluable.
    Right now the complications in his relationship with Abby were extreme. Abby was in hiding because she’d been legally married when she met Cameron, though she hadn’t seen her husband in almost a year. The husband was a semifamous rock star who’d had her sign a prenup