Read Online A Midnight Clear by Hope Ramsay - Free Book Online Page A

people had noticed his ineffective courtship of the town florist. That was slightly humiliating. “Okay, what should I do? I can’t exactly send her flowers, can I?”
    “Why not?”
    “Because she’s—”
    “Buy them at the FTD florist in Allenberg and send them to her with something romantic on the card. Write the card yourself too. The note’s the important thing. Teri needs more than a little shove to jump into the pool again. She’s convinced herself that no one could ever be interested in her.”
    “So I gather.”
    She gave him a warm smile and reached across the table to pat his hand. “Everyone here loved Doc Cooper. And it’s hard for folks to change. But I want you to know that I approve of you sending Lillian to see a specialist, and I approve of you telling Arlo Boyd he needs to go on a diet. And also, I’m bringing my aunt in next week for her annual checkup. She’s getting real old. I’m worried about her.”
    “Everyone gets old, Mrs. Randall.”
    “Oh, for goodness sake, call me Savannah. And, really, Tom, when it comes to courting a woman, you just need to be persistent. Teri has built a wall around her heart and then dug a moat just to be sure. I can see you’ve already shaken the foundations of that wall. You just need to keep up the siege.” She leaned in again and spoke in a near-whisper. “And it’s perfectly okay to play dirty.”
    “Play dirty?”
    “Go for her most vulnerable spot. The one thing she’s foolishly trying to protect.”
    “Aiden?”
    Her smile lit up her face like a dozen flaming candles. “You are a very smart man. I’m a mother, Doc. I’ve learned the hard way that being a mother means letting go of your baby from the very moment he comes into your arms. If you do your job right, you have to let him take falls and experience disappointments and, well, help him grow up. That’s hard for any mother. But a mother with a sick or special child—well, it’s nearly impossible. And I have a strong feeling that you understand exactly what I mean.”
    “You’re talking about my childhood, aren’t you? But how could you possibly know…”
    Savannah pushed up from the table. “Don’t ask me how I know things, Doc. I don’t even understand it myself. But I have a strong feeling that your childhood will give you all the answers you need. God bless you, Doc, for seeing the truth about Teri. And Lillian.
    “And welcome to Last Chance.”
    *  *  *
    Teri’s front doorbell rang just as she was putting away groceries. It was 6:00 p.m. on the Saturday before Christmas. She was dog, dead tired. Everyone and their brother wanted their Christmas flower arrangements. She was sick to death of red roses, red carnations, and red poinsettias. In fact, she was starting to see red when she closed her eyes.
    So it was kind of surprising, and maybe a little bit like falling into the Twilight Zone, when she opened her front door to find Jasper Wilkins, the delivery guy for her competition, standing on her porch holding a vase with a dozen white roses in it.
    No red roses, red carnations, red holly berries. Just white roses.
    “Hey, Teri,” Jasper said with a big, slightly toothless grin. “These are for you. Looks like you’ve got yourself a not-so-secret admirer—the new doc in town.” He handed her the vase. “Looks like you’re in for a very merry Christmas.” He winked before he turned and headed back to his panel van.
    Oh boy, everyone in town was going to know that the new doc had sent the local florist a dozen white roses. White, for goodness sake. Hell, she only ever used white roses in bridal bouquets.
    Although she had to admit that a dozen white roses in a simple vase made a real statement. She put the flowers on her dining room table not knowing precisely what to think. No one had ever sent her flowers. Ever. Not even her ex-husband. Not on Mother’s Day, or Valentine’s Day, or their anniversary.
    She hadn’t ever expected flowers from anyone. She had