Her Old-Fashioned Doctor by Sue Lyndon Page B

and while his doctor cousins were capable of handling his patient load, they were only able to volunteer their time every couple of weeks.
    John pulled Melissa’s hand up and kissed her fingertips, letting his mouth graze across her skin. Her lips parted and she inhaled a quick breath.
    “I know I can’t make you stay, darlin’. I just want you to be happy. The best promise you can ever make me is to be happy. To ignore the wishes of your parents and make your own path in the world, one that you find fulfilling.” He meant every word, and she must have sensed it, because her face melted as he spoke.
    “Thanks, John. I’ve got to leave soon, but I’m not ready to leave yet.” Her smile lit up the whole mountainside, and he drew her close for a kiss.

Chapter Eight
     
     
    Melissa walked around John’s property, continually lifting her face to the warmth of the morning sun peeking through the trees. As always, the quietness of the country soothed her and helped drown out most of her worries. Since coming here, the knowledge that she’d be leaving soon weighed her heart down more than her upset over Steven’s betrayal, but traipsing around outside in the fresh air without the constant sound of traffic helped mute those negative thoughts.
    She found a path on the edge of the clearing behind his cabin and ventured into the woods. To her delight it looped around his property, including the pond, and she wondered if maybe on the weekends he liked to hike in the woods for exercise. It would certainly explain his fit physique, especially his muscular thighs.
    As she came around to an opening in the trees, she spotted a faded blue canoe turned upside down but slightly tilted up against a tree. Excitedly, she flipped it over and found a paddle underneath. She skimmed the canoe for signs of damage but found it was in good shape. No holes or soft spots. Through the trees, she eyed the pond with longing.
    Technically, she’d never been canoeing before, but she’d gone kayaking on a river once and done just fine. Hadn’t flipped over accidently or crashed into any rocks. The pond was calm with no current and definitely no rocks in sight. Really, there was no danger. She chewed her lip, wondering if perhaps she should call John and ask for permission first.
    The woodshed loomed in her periphery vision, and her stomach flipped at the thought of being led there for a switching. But he’d made her promise not to go swimming alone. He hadn’t said a word about canoeing. The prospect of paddling to the center of the pond and floating while reading a book was too good to resist, and she tossed the paddle into the canoe and started dragging it toward the water. It was heavy and she was sweating from her exertions by the time she reached the pond, but she made it there without any troubles.
    She rushed into the cabin to grab a book out of her suitcase, a weathered old romance novel she’d borrowed from her grandmother and never returned, and hurried back outside. Fast footsteps carried her to the canoe, and she tossed her book in and pushed it halfway into the water. Then she jumped in and grabbed the paddle, using it to push off from the shore.
    The canoe drifted off and she smiled, surprised at how light and carefree she felt. Having grown up close to New York City, she had never really gotten to enjoy the quiet of nature. Even on family vacations she couldn’t ever seem to escape the noise and the people. Her parents liked to travel in style and the mere thought of going camping in the forest would probably give her father a heart condition and her mother a stress headache.
    Lily pads with white flowers dotted the side of the pond nearest to the woodshed. Melissa gaze at them in fascination, certain that she’d never seen lily pads in person before. Only in pictures.
    She breathed in and surveyed the surrounding woods, squinting as the sun reflected off the water rippling around the canoe. After a few minutes of taking it all