The Doctor's Christmas Wish. Renee Ryan

and these others, to you?”

      “Because I happen to have the perfect volunteer opportunity for your particular skill set.”

      He shot her a wary glance. “What sort of opportunity?”

      “Village Green’s annual Christmas parade needs you.”

      Silence met her words.

      “The committee is short at least two members.”

      More silence.

      Keely searched his face, but the man was good at hiding his emotions when he wanted to be. At least he hadn’t said no. Yet. She gave him her sweetest smile. “Don’t you want to give back to your community? Wasn’t that the point of your email to Hardy?”

      “How much time are we talking about?”

      “Just over three weeks.”

      “Uh-huh.” His gaze neutral, he passed the phone back to her. “What would I be doing on this committee, precisely?”

      “That would be up to the parade coordinator to decide.”

      “Who’s the coordinator?”

      She beamed at him. “Me.”

      His eyes widened. “So I’d be putting my life in your hands for the next three weeks?”

      “A bit of an exaggeration but yes, in a manner of speaking that’s precisely what you’d be doing.”

      He leveled her with a dark look, no doubt meant to intimidate her. The gesture had the opposite effect.

      Keely would probably wonder over her nerve for years to come, but in that moment, she couldn’t help herself. She moved in close, lifted herself onto her toes and pressed her lips to his ear. “Afraid?”

      “Not even a little,” he clipped out, sounding as though he was forcing the word past jagged glass.

      She’d clearly hit a nerve, which had been her goal. Gloating would be in poor taste. So she stepped back and, deciding to soften her approach, explained that much of the work was already done. “We’re just finalizing details at this point.”

      He appeared to consider her request. That was when Keely knew she had him.

      This is crazy, she told herself. She needed to spend less time with Ethan, not more. It wasn’t too late to let him off the hook, to let them both off the hook.

      Instead she found herself nudging him along. “So, I can count on you?”

      He nodded.

      Giving him no time to change his mind, she shot out her hand. “Welcome aboard, Dr. Scott. Our first meeting is Wednesday night, seven o’clock sharp.”

      * * *

      The following afternoon, Ethan took a break between patients and escaped into his office with the idea of reducing the never-ending stack of unanswered phone messages.

      He’d barely read through the first one when his mind wandered back to a single moment from last night. In Keely’s kitchen, when she’d asked him to stay for dinner. He hadn’t planned on accepting. He still wasn’t sure why he’d agreed to stick around.

      One moment he was introducing Baloo to Flicka. The next, he’d been transported to another time, another home, another life. Every instinct had urged him to grab his dog and bolt, before the memories became unbearable.

      And yet he’d accepted her invitation.

      Things had gone downhill from there.

      Now he was committed to working on the town’s annual Christmas parade, in a position that would require him to take orders from Keely. Part of him couldn’t imagine a worst-case scenario. Another part actually looked forward to watching the woman in action. Something about Keely intrigued him.

      She ran her restaurant with efficiency and poise. Whenever a problem arose, she simply dug in and did what was needed. He was becoming more comfortable around her, thinking of her in familiar terms. Not quite friends, nothing so simple.

      Then there was Flicka. She was a sweet kid, yet full of a silent, underlying despair that made him want to erase her pain.

      A portion of the ice around his heart chipped away, leaving him feeling raw and vulnerable, missing the family that had been ripped away from him.

      He spun his chair around and took in the view of his hometown. Village Green was all dressed up for the holidays, a virtual winter wonderland straight off the front of a Christmas card. Along shoveled walkways, storefronts were decorated with garland and twinkling lights.

      The festive decorations did nothing to ease Ethan’s gloominess. This would be his second Christmas without Tracy and Samantha. Still wallowing in grief from their sudden deaths, he’d found last Christmas lonely and depressing.

      Admittedly, Ethan wasn’t as sad this year. Yet he wasn’t at peace, either. He couldn’t shake the notion that he was at a crossroads in his life. The sensation had been growing over the past few months.

      A rustling sound from the doorway had him spinning back around. His medical partner Connor hovered on the threshold of his office, his attention engrossed on the tablet in his hand.

      “Got a minute to discuss a patient?”

      Ethan checked the watch he’d worn in the military and continued to wear as a symbol of where he’d been and how the past had shaped the man he’d become. “Sure.”

      His next patient wasn’t due for twenty minutes.

      “I’ll keep it brief.” Connor stepped fully into the office, then shut the door behind him.

      Ethan felt his jaw tighten. He recognized that look on the other man’s face. He’d seen it often enough during their long-standing friendship to know whatever Connor had to say, Ethan wasn’t going to like it.

      He made his way around the desk. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he leaned back on his heels and waited.

      Connor dropped his gaze back to the tablet. Ethan studied his partner’s bent head as he punched at the screen. They’d been friends longer than Ethan could remember. They’d played on the same sports teams and run in the same crowd.

      But while Ethan had alternated between keeping his siblings out of trouble, working two jobs and earning his college degree before joining the military, Connor had taken the traditional route of college, medical school and marriage to his childhood sweetheart. Sheila’s death had hit Connor hard, leaving him to raise his twin daughters on his own, until he’d found happiness a second time around with Ethan’s sister, Olivia.

      Throughout the years, even with time and distance between them, Connor and Ethan’s friendship had remained strong.

      When Connor became a widower, Ethan had been there for him. After Tracy’s accident, Connor had given Ethan a reason to come home, by selling him half of his already thriving medical practice.

      At last, the other doctor lifted his head. “I saw a new patient this afternoon. Felicity O’Toole.”

      Ethan’s heart thumped extra hard as two simultaneous emotions moved through him. Relief that Keely had brought Flicka into the office. And insult that she’d made the appointment with Connor and not him.

      With Connor being the father of twin daughters Flicka’s age, it made sense Keely would want him to be the child’s primary care physician. Nevertheless, if Ethan had any doubt as to whether the woman still held the past against him, he now knew she did.

      He was suddenly regretting his agreement to work on the parade with her. If she wanted to, she could make his life difficult, or at least uncomfortable. Except Keely was never spiteful and he’d given his word.

      Surely the next three weeks wouldn’t be too terrible.

      “Keely specifically requested that I let you know she’d