Free Bluebonnet Belle by Lori Copeland

and considered getting up and shutting the door again, with a loud slam.
    Drumming her fingers, she shifted her gaze to the strange-looking hat on the coat rack.
    Pfft , she thought. His, no doubt .
    She studied the odd hat a moment or two, then curiosity drove her to get up and examine it more closely.
    Silliest-looking hat she’d ever seen in her life. No brim. No shape to the crown. Just round and flat. What would possess a man to buy such a frivolous thing? She picked it up, turning it over in her hands. Why, it looked like a navy-blue, oversized pillbox!
    Glancing up, she focused on the closed door of the examining room. Maybe it belonged to his patient.
    No.
    No self-respecting man in Dignity would be caught dead in this, nor anyone from Dallas, for that matter.
    On impulse, April stepped in front of the small, gilt-framed mirror on the wall and removed her hat. Perching the foolish-looking thing on her head, she studied her reflection. The hat teetered atop her curls like a loose cap on a medicine bottle.
    Utterly ridiculous.
    Turning it first one way, then another, she laughed out loud at the picture she presented. Wouldn’t you know that he’d wear something this absurd? Why, if the local men saw him, he’d be run out of town on a rail—
    â€œCan I help you?”
    â€œOh!” She jumped, sending the ludicrous hat flying.
    Dr. Fuller stood in the doorway, staring at her as she scrambled to pick it up off the floor.
    â€œSorry,” she murmured.
    His gaze slowly traveled the length of her sprigged cotton dress. For some insane reason, she was glad she had worn blue this morning. Henry said it was most becoming to her.
    â€œIt’s you—the woman who sells Pinkham’s compound?”
    â€œYou know very well who I am, Doctor .” How dare he play innocent with her! Did he think he could tell Grandpa about her activities and expect her to roll over and play dead?
    His implacable expression showed no indication of betrayal. “Do you want something?”
    She did, but his unexpected appearance drove all thoughts from her mind. There he stood, leaning against the door frame as if he’d been there all the while observing her. His jacket was off, his shirt stretched across his broad shoulders in a distracting fashion. His hair was mussed, as if he’d run his fingers through it.
    Studying her with heavy-lidded eyes, he waited.
    What was it about this man that made rational women lose their minds? It was infuriating, that’s what it was. Simply infuriating.
    When she realized he was waiting for her to state her business, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Is this your hat?”
    His gaze was unwavering. “Yes.”
    A smug smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. “I thought so.”
    She hung the hat back on the rack, embarrassed that he’d caught her making fun of it. Now what she had to say to him wouldn’t carry the same impact.
    â€œIs there something you wanted?” His eyes refused to leave her, bringing a rush of color to her cheeks. “Other than to make fun of my hat?”
    â€œActually, I’m here on a personal matter.” She adjusted her dress, repositioned her own hat on her head, then smoothed the sides of her hair, trying to bolster her courage. She hated confrontations, but this man inspired them. She could not, would not, allow him to think he could interfere in her life and get away with it.
    Awareness dawned in his eyes, and he straightened. “Oh…I see. Step into the examining room, please.”
    She didn’t have all day, and this wasn’t a social visit. She could state what she had come to say out here just as easily. And she was about to do so when he took her by the arm and ushered her into a small room lined with cabinets and reeking of rubbing alcohol.
    Wrinkling her nose, April glanced around the place, uneasy with his close proximity. “Aren’t you with