On Thin Ice

One The newborn calf lay curled in the straw at its mother's feet while the proud mama started licking it clean. Outside the glowing warmth of the birthing barn, night pressed icy black fingers against the windows, and snow lay thick on the ground. Exhausted but triumphant, Dr. Lily Munroe tried to ignore the itchy, someone-was-watching-her sensation on the back of her neck, a creepy feeling she'd had off and on for several hours. She patted the cow's russet-colored rump. "You have a beautiful bouncing baby boy. Good job, Peaches." "Peaches?" a familiar husky voice said behind her. "She's not a pet, Doc." The straw at her feet rustled as Lily whirled around, hand to her throat. "Damn it! You scared me to death!" Tall, dark and annoying. Derek Wright. With one shoulder resting against the planked wall, he looked as though he'd been there awhile. His physical presence was like a hard punch to Lily's chest, and her stomach did its usual betraying flip-flop at the sight of six foot four inches of pure, potent male. His lean, handsome face was ruddy with the cold, his glossy dark hair mussed sexily by the wind she heard howling outside. Beneath her fingertips she felt the hard pounding of her heart, and hoped to hell Derek couldn't hear it. And if he could that he'd attribute it to the fright he'd just given her. The adrenaline rush made her feel light-headed. She ruthlessly tamped down her body's visceral reaction to the sight of him as she started cleaning up her instruments and other birthing paraphernalia from around the stall. "Sorry," he said, voice silky. "Didn't mean to spook you." He didn't look the least bit sorry, and she shot him a dark look. His lips twitched. "You're hell on a man's ego, Doc." "There's nothing wrong with your ego. It's healthy as a horse," Lily told him. The breathless, heart-stopping feeling would fade if she took deep breaths and got a grip. "Maybe you should wear a bell around your neck when you skulk. Or whistle. Or stomp or something." She bent to pick up the obstetrical handles and chains she'd used earlier and sealed them in a bag to sterilize later. "I wasn't skulking. I was waiting for you to finish what you were doing so I didn't distract you." Oh, he distracted her, all right, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing it. Had it been the subconscious awareness of Derek watching her that she'd felt for the last few hours? She couldn't imagine him staying quiet for that long. She met his eyes. Zing went the strings of her heart. She wished her heart and brain would get into sync. "I'll have you know I have a reputation for being very light on my feet," he told her, suave as always. His dark blue eyes twinkled beneath midnight brows. "Have to be to sneak out of all those bedrooms, huh?" He shook his head and smiled. A smile, Lily noticed, that didn't quite reach his eyes. "No sneaking. No bedrooms. I dance like Fred Astaire," he told her immodestly. He probably did. For such a big man he did move with surprising grace. "Good for you. Could you dance back a bit? You're spooking Peaches and the baby." They both looked at the cow and calf. Neither had noticed the two humans invading their space. Derek gave her a slow, assessing look. &Adair, Cherry is the author of 'On Thin Ice', published 2004 under ISBN 9780345475794 and ISBN 0345475798.