He laughed. “I know I can’t cook. One day, though, I’ll learn how. Then watch out.”
“Some men are born to be chefs. You aren’t one of them. I’ll make a salad to go with the macaroni.”
“I did that already. It’s in the fridge.”
She went to kiss his cheek, bending over him in the wheelchair. “You’re the nicest brother in the whole world.”
“I could return the compliment.” He ruffled her hair. “Listen, kid, if the surly vet proposes, you take him up on it. I can take care of myself.”
“You can’t cook,” she wailed.
“I can buy nice frozen things to heat up,” he returned.
She sighed. “As if Dr. Rydel would ever propose,” she laughed. “He likes me, but that doesn’t mean he’ll want to marry me one day.”
“You need to invite him over again and make that shrimp and pasta dish you do so well. I have it from a spy that Dr. Rydel is partial to shrimp.”
“Really? Who knows that?”
“Cy Parks told me.”
She gave him a suspicious look. “Did you try to pump Cy Parks for inside information?”
Kell gave her his best angelic look. “I would never do such a sneaky thing.”
“Sure you would,” she retorted.
“Well, Dr. Rydel knew why Cy was asking him, anyway. He just laughed and asked if there was any other inside information that Cy would like to have for us.”
She flushed. “Oh, my.”
“Cy said the good doctor talked more about you than he did about the heifer he was helping to deliver,” Kell added. “It’s well-known that Dr. Rydel can’t abide women. People get curious when a notorious woman hater suddenly starts seeing a local woman.”
“I wonder why he hates women?” she wondered aloud.
“Ask him. But for now, let’s eat. I’m fairly empty.”
“Goodness, yes, it’s two hours past our usual suppertime,” she agreed, moving into the kitchen. “I’m sorry I was late.”
“How’s the dog?” he asked, joining her at the table.
“He’ll be fine, Dr. Rydel said. The poor boy was just devastated. I felt sorry for his dad. He’d just lost his job. You could see he was torn between getting the dog treated and taking care of his family. There’s a new baby. Dr. Rydel didn’t charge him a penny.”
“Heart of gold,” Kell said gently.
“We were going to take up a collection, when Dr. Rydel reminded us that he drove a Land Rover,” she laughed. “He inherited money from his grandmother, Dr. King said, and he makes a good living as a vet.”
“That means he’ll be able to take care of you when you get married.”
She made a face. “Horses before carts, not carts before horses.”
“You wait and see,” he replied. “That’s a man who’s totally hooked. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
She smiled from ear to ear as she started putting food on the table. She’d already pushed her fears about Frank to the back of her mind. Kell was right. He surely wouldn’t risk his freedom by making trouble for Cappie again.
* * *
Dr. Rydel took her to a carnival Friday night. She was shocked not only at the invitation, but at the choice of outings.