Whispering Hearts Read Free

then smiled back. “Oh! Doctor Wolfstrom. Please come in.”
    The staff knew he was a doctor? That meant the Montgomerys must have mentioned him before, even though this was his first visit to the house. Maybe Rachel had spoken of him.
    â€œIf you would wait here for a few moments…” The woman nodded to him, then walked briskly from the foyer toward the back of the house.
    A mix of emotions churned within him. Worry and hope battling in his chest. He couldn’t wait to see Rachel—to know she was all right.
    Well, physically, at least. Mentally and emotionally, she had to still be reeling from what had happened to her, no matter what her psychiatrists said.
    When she was discharged from the hospital, she had seemed fine. Too fine. People didn’t swing from a psychotic break to everything is roses after a few weeks of therapy—no matter how intensive it was.
    But she had her doctors convinced the medicines were working. Garrett wasn’t sure she was taking them.
    He had noticed her working on the doctors at the hospital. Doctors with heavy caseloads and light experience when it came to one Miss Montgomery. She had pulled out all the stops. Nobody could turn a head like Rachel. With her vibrant personality and warm smile, her natural charm beat his best efforts by a million miles. To make things worse, she was insanely gorgeous, eyes the pale blue of a morning sky and hair as gold as the sun.
    Yeah, he had it for her pretty bad. At least he owned it.
    â€œMrs. Montgomery will see you in the tearoom.”
    â€œI was hoping to talk to Rachel.”
    The woman was already walking back through the house. Garrett followed.
    â€œMiss Montgomery is resting currently. But her mother would love to speak with you.”
    Garrett felt a trickle of sweat run down his back that had nothing to do with the heat wave making this summer even worse than usual. How did anyone stand living in the city?
    He ducked to avoid smashing his head on the door’s lintel as he took the single step down into the tearoom.
    Mrs. Montgomery was sitting at a small round table covered by a pristine white cloth. She was holding a tiny teacup and matching saucer, which she set on the table with practiced ease.
    Everything about her was fake—from the long, perfect nails on the ends of her fingers to her sculpted and dyed hair. Blonde, of course. Her eyes weren’t altered, though. They were the same pale blue as Rachel’s. Seeing that bit of Rachel in Mrs. Montgomery fortified him for the encounter.
    â€œDr. Wolfstrom!” She extended a hand to him, the faintest hint of a Southern accent lacing her voice. “It’s so good of you to call on us.”
    â€œMa’am.” He took her hand and bowed over her, kissing the air near her cheek. “I apologize for not letting you know I was coming.”
    â€œDon’t you worry about that. We’re always happy to see you here.”
    Garrett didn’t doubt it. Rachel’s jokes about her mother wanting a doctor for a son-in-law had been reinforced every time he met Mrs. Montgomery. Too bad Rachel wasn’t interested. Whether it was an act of rebellion or just a personal choice in Garrett’s case was a mystery. A mystery too painful to try to unravel.
    He sat at the table feeling like a full-grown gator in a ten-gallon fish tank. Mrs. Montgomery was built like a porcelain doll, tiny and delicate. It just made him feel worse.
    Rachel was taller than both her parents. And she worked out. She had muscle to her and an athletic frame, though she usually dressed to hide it. Usually.
    When they had been working together fixing up his house, she’d mostly worn shorts and tank tops. He hadn’t been able to ignore the tempting curves and lines of sinew on her body. Or the way her smile hit him all the way down to his toes.
    He cleared his throat and pushed the memories from his mind. Now was not the time.
    â€œI was hoping I might