Struck By The Texas Matchmakers

“Hi, honey, I’m home.”

Jeff laughed as he said those words, somehow believing Diane would understand his little joke as he walked inside the kitchen.

That belief disappeared when a loaf of bread flew through the air and plopped against his face—courtesy of Diane.

“Do you know what everyone in town is saying? They think we’re sleeping together. They think I’m trying to catch you. Everyone in the grocery store thinks I’m a kept woman!”

Which explained her reaction to his teasing. “Ah. I guess my words weren’t too funny, huh?”

“Oh, you were hysterical,” she replied, slight tears in her eyes. “Aren’t you worried about what everyone thinks is going on here?”

“No. I mean, we’re both adults, single. If people want to believe we’re—” He broke off, unable to even talk about sleeping with Diane without reacting to the thought.

“Pretty soon they’ll be expecting wedding bells!” Diane exclaimed with a groan.

Jeff felt a groan coming on himself. Because the thought of Diane and him and wedding bells wasn’t creating the same reaction at all….

Struck by the Texas Matchmakers
Judy Christenberry

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Judy Christenberry has been writing romances for fifteen years because she loves happy endings as much as her readers. A former French teacher, Judy now devotes herself to writing full-time. She hopes readers have as much fun reading her stories as she does writing them. She spends her spare time reading, watching her favorite sports teams and keeping track of her two daughters. Judy’s a native Texan, but now lives in Arizona.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

Chapter One

She’d hoped this day would never come.

Diane Peters shook herself, determined not to think in those terms. After all, most people would consider her to be a lucky woman.

Fresh out of law school, she’d just been offered a position with the most prestigious law firm in the area.

The area of Cactus, Texas.

It wasn’t that she didn’t like Cactus. It was her hometown, and she had a lot of good memories from her childhood. Her family had never been wealthy, but they’d been happy. She and her five brothers and sisters had shared adventures and laughter.

When she was thirteen, however, her father had died suddenly. Her mother had been a great cook and housekeeper, a devoted wife and mother. But she was a disaster as a breadwinner.

Diane sighed as she slowed down for the curve in the narrow road that led to her childhood home. Suddenly she threw on her brakes. A car rested half in the ditch, half on the road, the driver side crushed.

Diane frowned. The car hadn’t been there when she’d driven by an hour ago. As she slowed to a stop, a small face appeared at the back window.

A child? Someone was in the car? She slammed her old Volkswagen sedan into Neutral, pulled up the handbrake and jumped out of the car. Then she ran for the other vehicle.

“Are you all right?” she cried before she even got to the car.

The toddler, whose face she’d seen from the road, pressed her face against the glass, smearing it with big, fat tears.

Diane wanted to cuddle the baby to her, but she saw the other two occupants. The fact that the driver and the little boy in the back seat weren’t moving made them her first priority.

Without opening the car door, she called, “Just a minute, baby,” before she turned around and ran back to her car to find the cell phone her sister Katie and her husband, Gabe, had given her. Thank God.

She dialed Doc’s number, grateful she still remembered it.

“Doctor’s office.”

“This is Diane Peters. There’s been a wreck on FM 29. A lady and two children are hurt. I don’t know what to do. Can Doc come?”

“We’ll get help to you. Have you called the sheriff’s office?”

“No, I—”

“We’ll call for you. Help should be there soon.”

The click in her ear reminded Diane to move. She tossed the cell phone into her front seat and rushed back to the car. The driver door wouldn’t open. The back door, though slightly damaged, did open partially after she tugged on it for several minutes.

The toddler grabbed for her.

Diane’s first inclination was to hold the baby, but she left her buckled in the car seat to see if she could help the others. The lady driver was unconscious. She’d bled quite a lot, but the bleeding appeared to have stopped. Diane felt helpless. She could quote laws, but she knew nothing about serious injuries.

She turned her attention to the little boy. Reaching across the child seat, she touched his denim-clad leg. “Are you awake?” she asked.

He stirred but the only response was a moan. She didn’t see any blood, however, so she didn’t know anything else to do. She’d read that moving an injured person could cause more problems. Since it was summer in Cactus, she didn’t even have a jacket she could use to help prevent shock.

“Mama, Mama!” the little girl cried, trying to cling to Diane.

She managed to release the clasp holding the child in place and lifted the little girl into her arms. “There, sweetie, it’s going to be all right.”

She hoped she was telling the truth, but she prayed Doc would get there soon. The older gentleman was such a comfort, always seeming to know what to do.

As she cuddled the little girl against her, she heard the sound of a car speeding toward them. “Please let that be Doc,” she prayed, moving to the edge of the road.

She was disappointed when it came into view. Doc drove an old red pickup. This vehicle was a navy blue Suburban. Cactus was too small to be able to afford paramedics and all the emergency equipment of big cities. But maybe the driver would stop anyway. She waved and relief flooded her when he braked to a stop. At least she wouldn’t be alone anymore.

“Is she hurt?” the man asked briskly almost before he was out of the car.

“Not badly, I think. Not like the other two,” she said. “The doctor is on the way, but—”

“I’m the doctor,” he snapped, not slowing as he hurried to the car.

Diane stared after him, shocked. Doc was no longer in Cactus? Surely he hadn’t died. Katie or her mother would’ve told her. But then they hadn’t said he’d moved away either. She knew about Samantha, Mac Gibbons’s wife, who had come to Cactus to be Doc’s partner, but—

“Come help me,” he ordered.

Diane hurried over, still dealing with the surprise.

“Set the little one on the grass and help me get the boy out. He’s got a broken arm and I don’t want to do more damage than I have to.”

It was difficult to free herself from the toddler sobbing in her arms, but she promised she’d be right back with her brother. Then she hurried to help the doctor.

“Can you manage to handle his legs? He’s heavier than he looks.”

Diane didn’t waste time telling him she’d been raised on a farm and had helped pay for college working at the airport as a ticket agent which included shifting luggage. She nodded.

Gently they transferred the boy to the patch of grass where his sister was sobbing.

“Stay with them and hold his arm against his body until I can stabilize the woman.”

Before Diane could agree, he’d disappeared into the car again. But she wasn’t complaining. She was relieved the man seemed to know what he was doing. Sitting down on the grass, not caring about any grass stains on her new dress, she let the little girl snuggle into her lap while she gently held the little boy’s arm against his chest.

“Shh, baby, you’re all right,” she comforted.

She felt more sure of that when she heard the siren that meant someone from the sheriff’s office was on the way. She hoped it was Cal Baxter, the sheriff himself.

By the time the Blazer halted, the doctor was beside it. Diane saw Cal get out. He nodded in her direction, taking in the children, before the doctor urged him back to the wreck.

The boy moaned and his eyes fluttered open.

“Be still, honey, the doctor’s helping your mama right now,” Diane said, hoping the words would help him, but they only reminded her smallest charge that she didn’t have her mama. Which, of course, brought on renewed sobbing.

More sirens sounded. Diane was startled as an ambulance appeared. She hadn’t realized Cactus had an emergency vehicle.

By the time the ambulance came to a halt, Cal and the new doctor had gotten the woman out of the car. The ambulance driver brought out a stretcher and they placed the woman upon it and moved her straight to the ambulance.

As soon as she was put inside, Cal pulled out his cell phone. “Tell Sam the patient’s on her way. Here’s Jeff to give you the details.” He handed the phone to the doctor and came to Diane’s side.

“Hello, Diane. Need some assistance?”

“Yes, please,” she said. “The doctor said to keep the boy’s arm still and this little lady is upset.”

Cal reached for the little girl. With two little ones of his own, he knew how to handle them. Diane shifted the boy’s head into her lap and cuddled him against her, hoping her body heat would help him. She brushed his brown hair off his face and dropped a kiss on his brow.

The doctor reached them with a blanket under his arm and Cal asked, “Did the lady come to?”

The man shook his head and knelt beside Diane. “How’s he doing?”

“He seems to be in a state of shock,” she said quietly.

The doctor spread the blanket over the little boy.

“Do you need me to go with you to the clinic?” Cal asked. “I’ll have to do an investigation and try to find out their identities, but I can call a deputy to get started while I go with you.”

“I’ll help, too,” Diane offered.

The doctor gave her a sharp look. Then he shifted his gaze to Cal.

She stiffened. He didn’t think she was trustworthy enough? She was used to everyone knowing her and her family, and his questioning her ability irritated her.

Cal said quickly, “Diane Peters, Katie’s sister.” Then, taking the doctor’s agreement for granted, he said, “Thanks, Diane. I appreciate that. We can contact relatives a little faster that way.”

The doctor nodded and stood. “I’ll transfer the baby seat and get the other stretcher.”

As soon as the doctor had moved away, Diane hurriedly asked, “Who is he? Where’s Doc?”

“That’s Jeff Hausen. Doc is still in town but he’s the medical examiner now. He’ll probably be at the clinic helping Sam when you get there. He pitches in for emergencies.”

“Oh.”

“Okay, Cal,” the doctor called, “bring the little one over here.”

When Cal started toward the Suburban, the little girl’s cries went up an octave as she reached over Cal’s shoulder for Diane. The doctor frowned at Diane, taking her by surprise. He left Cal and came to Diane’s side with the stretcher.

“Why didn’t you tell me you knew them?” he demanded.

Diane stared at him. “I don’t. I’ve never seen them before.” What was wrong with the man? First he didn’t trust her and then he accused her of being irresponsible?

He didn’t respond to her statement. Instead, he gently moved the little boy onto the stretcher. “Are you up to carrying one end?” he asked.

Diane nodded and struggled to get up, her legs having gone to sleep. Suddenly, strong hands closed around her waist and lifted her to her feet.

“Are you okay?”

Embarrassed, she nodded again and bent over to reach for one end of the stretcher.

“Maybe you’d better go comfort the baby and let Cal come help me,” the doctor suggested.

There he was, dismissing her again. “I can manage,” she assured him, her shoulders stiff.

Though he gave her a careful look, he nodded and reached for his end of the stretcher.

JEFF HAUSEN HAD BEEN in Cactus for a year. He knew most of the citizens by now, and he’d even begun to be accepted by the older members of the community. Though he supposed he’d be called the “new” doctor until he was eighty.

But he’d never met Diane Peters.

He’d heard of her, of course. Gabe and Katie were his friends. When he’d visited Cactus to talk with Doc, he’d met Katie…and been attracted to her, in spite of his intentions.

Gabe, however, had rushed his beloved Katie to the altar to stake his claim. The Peters family, Katie’s family, was large, but Diane and Raine had remained in Lubbock, the nearest large city, except when they returned for Katie’s wedding.

“How badly hurt is their mother?”

Her question jolted him. He realized they’d reached the back of his Suburban. He laid his end of the stretcher on the floorboard and climbed in. The racks he’d had installed to hold a stretcher would come in handy.

“Bad,” he muttered in answer.

Once the boy was settled, he climbed back out.

“Do you want me to stay back here with him, or ride with the little girl?”

“The baby,” he replied. “She’s getting hysterical and this little guy should be all right until we get there.”

She nodded and hurried around to the back door where the baby was screaming.

The immediate lowering of the sirenlike screams showed he’d made the right decision. He stepped to Cal’s side. “You going to get some help?”

“No, probably not. I’ve got the woman’s purse. There wasn’t much in the trunk but some remnants of a picnic. Red paint on the car. I’ll be back to the office shortly.”

“Okay, I’m taking these two in. I imagine the woman will need a lot of work, so I’ll be tied up for a while.”

With a nod to Cal, he strode to his vehicle. “Everything okay?” he asked as he climbed in.

“Yes,” Diane Peters said quietly. She was sitting as close to the baby seat as possible, but he didn’t have to tell her to keep the baby buckled in. Instead, her arms were cuddling the little girl, soothing her as best she could.

He started the car and made a U-turn. Then he sped toward the clinic.

WHEN THEY REACHED Cactus, Diane saw Doc waiting for them.

His comforting presence made her feel more settled.

“You got this covered?” Dr. Hausen asked as soon as they were unloaded.

“Yeah, and Sam’s getting everything ready.”

Doc had always sent his more serious patients into Lubbock for treatment, but the clinic had been enlarged, and both doctors were young and well-trained.

After the other doctor had disappeared, Diane said, “Things have changed a lot since I’ve been gone.”

“For the better. Sam and Jeff make a great team.” Even as he talked, he was examining the boy. Then he asked one of the nurses to x-ray him.

“How about I check out this little angel now,” he suggested, holding out his arms.

The baby had settled down as long as Diane held her. But Doc’s offer didn’t sit well with her. She clung to Diane’s neck, her sobs starting again.

“Well, we know her tear ducts are working well,” Doc said wryly. “Why don’t we sit down over here,” he suggested, waving to several chairs.

As she held the little girl, soothing her as much as she could, Doc listened to her heartbeat, checked her eyes and ears and felt her head.

“I think she has a mild concussion, probably a bad headache. I’m going to give her a mild sedative which should help the pain and maybe settle her down. Do you want me to have them set up a bed for her?”

Diane frowned. “Maybe I’d better continue to hold her. And keep her near her brother. She’s happier when she can see him.”

“You’re a good girl, Diane, just like your sister. Are you staying home now?” he asked as he opened a cupboard.

Straightening her shoulders, she replied, “I’m staying.” She didn’t feel she had a choice. Katie had given up her dream of college when their father died and spent the next ten years putting her siblings through school. Now she was married with a new baby. It was time for Diane to take some of the burden from Katie’s shoulders.

Doc paused, frowning at her over his shoulder. “You happy about that?”

“Of course. I’ve already been offered a job with Mac and Gabe.” She worked hard at the enthusiasm. “Since Rick Astin moved here, there’s a lot more work.”

“Yeah, he’s made a big difference. He paid for the improvements around here, including the ambulance. Nice, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It sure came in handy today.” The little girl screamed when Doc approached her again, a needle in his hands.

“She’s obviously been to the doctor and gotten shots before,” Doc said calmly over the noise she was making. “That’s good.”

The nurse returned with the X rays as Doc administered the shot. By the time he’d finished examining them, the baby had subsided in Diane’s arms, her lids drifting closed, her breathing becoming more even.

“Good, she’s quieted down,” Doc said, checking the little girl again. “We’re going to set the boy’s arm. Then we’ll settle him into a room and you can take his sister in there, okay?”

“Sure, Doc. I’m going to call Mom while you’re doing that, so she won’t worry.”

“Good.”

Her mother was alarmed when Diane called. Gabe had called Katie after the interview, to tell her how things had gone, and she’d called their mother, so Margaret had been expecting Diane home an hour ago.

“I was so worried,” she exclaimed.

“Sorry, Mom, I’m fine. But I found a wreck, with the people injured and I came back to Cactus to help with them.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. But you’ll be home soon?”

“I don’t think so. I’m holding the little girl. She’s maybe two. The mother is being assessed, so I think I’ll stay with the children until we know something.”

She hadn’t realized she’d made a conscious decision until she’d answered her mother. But she couldn’t abandon the sweetheart in her arms. Or the little boy. He couldn’t be older than four. If she had children that age, she’d want—but she didn’t intend to have children. She’d already made that decision.

She settled in a chair in the waiting room, asking the receptionist to let her know when they put the boy in a room. She wished she knew the children’s names.

A few minutes later, Doc came and got her, escorting her and the baby to a small room with a comfortable chair near the bed.

“You sure you can stay?” he asked.

“Yes, of course. Uh, the new doctor, is he good?”

“Very good. Why? Did he do something you didn’t like?”

“No! Of course not. But I didn’t know we had a new doctor, so it kind of shocked me.”

“We’re lucky to have him. He was working in Houston. Came highly recommended. ’Course, he frustrates the matchmakers, you know.”

Diane noted his grin. His own wife was part of the original group of matchmakers who had made Cactus a hotbed of romance. “What have Flo and her friends been doing?”

“Trying to find someone for the ‘new’ doctor to marry. You know how they are. But Jeff won’t have anything to do with their attempts to elevate his social life.”

“Why not?”

“He’s recently widowed. Doesn’t seem interested in other women.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. But he’s a good doctor. He’ll do his best for these little tykes’ mother.”

IN ADDITION TO A concussion, the woman had several broken ribs and a broken collarbone. Jeff, and his partner, Samantha Gibbons, spent a long time trying to put things right.

When their patient was wheeled away to recovery, Samantha sighed as she stripped off her gloves. “Good job, Jeff.”

“Thanks. You, too. We work well together. That’s been a joy this past year.”

She smiled and nodded. “It’s been a good year.”

“Well, not when you were out having that little boy. At least not for me. But I’ve heard he’s the handsomest boy in Cactus.”

“You’ve been talking to Flo again,” Samantha said with a smile.

“Or Mac.”

“Or Doc. He’s always treated Florence and Mac as his family since his own wife died, but after marrying Florence, he watches over us like a hawk. And is just as prejudiced as the rest of us.”

Her smile told him she didn’t object.

“Speaking of kids, I’d better check on the two little ones we brought in with her,” he said, nodding in the direction the nurses had gone with the patient.

“How bad were their injuries?”

“I don’t believe the little girl had much wrong with her. The boy had a broken arm and probably a concussion.”

“I’ll go with you,” Samantha immediately said.

One of the things he liked about his partner was her dedication to her job. But with two babies of her own and a husband, he knew she was ready to go home. “I’ll check on them. You go take care of your own crew.”

“Thanks, Jeff. I’m hoping Flo will have cooked for us. She spoils me.”

“With good reason. You’ve given her grand-babies. You know that’s the goal of every woman in Cactus. I just wish they’d leave me alone,” he added with a sigh.

“Which reminds me. I heard Diane Peters stopped to render aid. You’ll have a lot in common with her soon.”

“I will?” he asked, surprised. Not that he objected. He’d noticed today that she was an attractive woman, like her sister, only a little more sophisticated.

“Well, she’s single and coming back to Cactus. She’ll be working with Mac as soon as she passes the bar.”

“So, the fact that we’re both single is what we have in common?”

“Ah, no. The fact that both of you will be in the sights of the matchmakers is what you’ll have in common.” Sam paused before a big grin appeared on her lips. “Hey, maybe they’ll match you two up and take care of both of you with one wedding!”

“No!” Jeff protested with more volume than he realized.