Page 74 of The Doctor's Irreplaceable Love

“Err, hi,” Emmett muttered once he’d recovered from the shock.“I… it doesn’t matter.I’ll come back another time.”

“Hey!It’s not a problem.I’m glad you’re here.Is everything okay?”

Emmett’s brow furrowed as he looked at Trip.“Yeah.Everything’s fine.I just… I’m done with my calls for the day.Since I was passing, I thought I’d come tell you that Alana got the part, so I might need to take you up on the offer of help.”

“That’s great.Is she excited?”

“She is.”Emmett nodded at Shelley and Anita and touched the brim of his hat at Harper.“I apologize for interrupting your evening, ladies.I’ll be on my way.”

“Have you eaten yet?Do you want to join us?”Trip asked.

“I’m good, thanks.I’ll be on my way.”

Trip raised an eyebrow at Anita.

“There’s huckleberry pie,” she told Emmett.

“I’m good, thanks all the same.”

Trip was fascinated by the way Emmett shot a sideways glance at Harper and then snatched his hat off his head, as if he’d only just remembered he was still wearing it.

When Anita gave him an inquiring look, Trip knew what she was thinking and nodded.

“I made a backup,” she told Emmett.“I always do in case of emergencies.If the first one doesn’t turn out, all is not lost.And if it does, the second one goes in the freezer.You should take it—and if you say no, I’ll tell the girls that you turned it down.”

Emmett let out a short laugh.“Do you want to make my life a living hell?”

“No, I want you to take the pie and enjoy it with the girls.”

Emmett glanced at Trip, and he nodded.“Maybe they’ll be more excited to come up here again after they’ve tasted Anita’s huckleberry pie.”

“Be careful what you wish for—they’ll be here all the time.”

“You sure you don’t want to stay for a while?”

“No, I’ll be on my way.You guys have a good evening.”He followed Anita to the pantry, and Trip didn’t miss the way Harper’s gaze tracked him as he left.

“And who, may I ask, was that?”she asked, voice casual but eyes alight with curiosity.

It only dawned on him then that he hadn’t introduced them.“Sorry, that was Emmett.He’s a friend of mine.A veterinarian.”

“He’s one of Trip’s group of friends that I told you about,” Shelley told her.

When Anita came back, she was alone.“He said he had to go,” she explained.

Trip exchanged a look with Shelley—it seemed that she’d noticed the flash of disappointment that had crossed Harper’s face, too.

Anita smiled at them.“Do we want to stand around here all night, or should I dish up this pie?”

“I vote pie now, please,” said Harper.

Trip and Shelley nodded their agreement.

~ ~ ~

After dinner, the three of them moved to the den.Shelley was glad that they’d been able to convince Anita to go home.She must have worked all day on that wonderful dinner, and Shelley didn’t want her to have to stay even later to clean up.They were perfectly capable of doing it themselves—although for now, they were lounging around, recovering from eating so much delicious food.

Harper took a sip of her wine.“You’re going to have to tell me where you buy this, Trip.I love it—and I’ve never considered myself to be a big fan of Shiraz.”