Excerpt of A Midwife Crisis by Lisa Cooke

“How’s it coming with the fiancé choosing?” John asked in an attempt to slow Katie down a little. At this rate, she would finish with her task of helping him with his office before the locals had a chance to come to him for medical care. She set a stack of books on a table and frowned. “Not well, I’m afraid.” “What’s wrong?” She turned toward him, her brows furrowed with frustration. “I can’t seem to make a decision. They all have good points and bad ones, and I don’t know what to do.” “I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually.” “Would you help me?” Help her? Damn. He’d intended to distract her, not advise her. “How could I possibly help you do that?” She took a seat on a stack of books to expound on her dilemma. “I’ve been thinking that maybe I need to make a list of what’s important in a husband then I could use that to sort them out.” “Sounds like a good plan.” And not one that required his help. “But I’m not sure what a good husband should be like. I’ve never had one.” “Neither have I,” he reminded, hoping she’d leave him out of this. “No, but you’ve been married. What’s important in that relationship?” What’s important in a marriage? Love? Trust? Sex? Hell, he couldn’t point out the last one. “I think that changes according to the individual. You’ll have to decide for yourself what’s important.” Then again, stopping to make a list would take up considerable time. He knew he was going to regret this. “But, I think making a list is a good idea. I’ll help anyway I can.” “Now,” he pulled a chair up to the desk and motioned for her to sit, “shall we begin?” Katie took a seat and wrote the names of her fiancés down the side of a sheet of paper, starting with Randy and ending with Freddie. “I’m not sure where to start.” He shrugged and scooted another chair up to the opposite side of the desk to face her. “I guess you should start with what you think you want in a husband.” Tapping the pen against her chin, she stared off for a second to think. “He’d have to be smart. Not too smart, but I don’t want a man who can’t think or cipher.” “Intelligence seems like a good quality.” “I agree.” She wrote it on her list. He’d hoped by giving her the task of actually doing the writing, it would take a little longer, but her quick and fluid writing dispelled that hope. “How about money?” he asked. “I want him to be willing to work, but he doesn’t have to be rich, just not too poor. I want my kids to have things if they need them.” “So... not too smart. Not too dumb. Not too rich and not too poor?” She frowned. “I’m not doing very well, am I?” “Not too.” “Oh.” “But maybe if you keep going, you’ll be able to narrow it down a bit.” Nodding, she looked off again before she said, “I think he should be handsome.” He remembered her telling him he was handsome, and his heart picked up a beat. “And why should that matter?” “If I’m going to look at a man for the next 50 years, I want to enjoy it.” “Fair enough. Does it matter if he’s too handsome?” Her cheek dented with its dimple as she responded to his teasing. “A man can’t be too handsome.” “Ah.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “Just too dumb?” “Some of them are.” He chuckled. “I think I’ve met a few of those, myself.” “Then you understand my concern.” She studied her paper again then with a lift of her pen in an unspoken “ah ha”, she added, “He has to be kind. I won’t tolerate a man who isn’t kind to me or my children.” “Nor should you.” “And he should love me.” “I thought you said love wasn’t important.” “I said I didn’t have to love him. I didn’t say anything about the other way around.” John laughed and Katie’s beautiful eyes shined. For a second, he got lost in them, but, enough of that nonsense. Katie was a means to an end, nothing more. Clearing his throat, he pulled his gaze away from hers and asked, “Is that all you need on your list?” “No,” she answered, unexpectedly turning serious. Her voice was hesitant and intimate and if he had any sense, he’d let her answer drop. But the room was quiet and the woman intriguing, so he did a stupid thing and asked, “What’s missing?” She lowered her gaze to her paper, her cheeks suddenly turning pink as she answered, “He has to be a good kisser.” Kisser? His eyes riveted to her mouth as he thought of kissing her full, soft lips. Her tongue darted out to moisten the lower one, and he felt it in his gut...or maybe a little lower. Would she like his kiss? He suspected he would like hers very much. Squeezing his eyes shut, he attempted to jerk his mind back from its sidetrack. He had no business even thinking about kissing Katie Napier, but for some reason he was incapable of thinking about anything else.