Excerpt of Doctor's Orders by Sharon De Vita

Cooper's Cove, Wisconsin Mid-February

Something was wrong.

Cassie Miller's version of a mother's "early warning system" squealed in alarm as she glanced out the large plate glass window of her beauty salon, scanning Main Street and the crowd of kids for her six-year-old daughter, Sofie.

School had let out almost half an hour ago, and kids bundled in heavy winter clothes romped along the snow- packed street, dodging fresh snowflakes, ignoring the frigid cold, laughing and joking, grateful to be set free for another day.

But Sofie wasn't with them, Cassie realized nervously. The school was less than two blocks away, and her twelve-year- old nephew, Rusty, was supposed to walk Sofie from school to the shop every day after school.

But they were now almost half an hour late.

And it wasn't like Rusty or Sofie to just not show up or to not call if they were going to be late. Both were incredibly bright, responsible kids and knew the rules and how their mothers' worried about them.

Something was wrong.

Being a single parent, Cassie had worked hard to curb her instincts to overprotect her precious only child, but Sofie was a smart little girl who'd never given her a moment's worry.

Until now.

Cassie would have closed the shop and gone looking for Sofie herself, but she still had one more appointment this afternoon. She had just purchased the salon and was trying to garner all the business she could, and closing in the middle of the day without notice wasn't exactly a sound business practice.

Nervously gnawing on her lip, Cassie forced herself to take a deep breath. Okay, Cass, get a grip here, she scolded herself, closing her eyes for a moment to calm down. Sofie's fine.

She was worrying needlessly. After all, Cooper's Cove, Wisconsin, was the real-life version of Mayberry where everyone knew everyone else, and where she herself had grown up.

The move back home to Cooper's Cove a month ago hadn't been impulsive, Cassie reminded herself, and Sofie had been as excited about the move as she.

It was a new beginning for both of them, a chance to come home, to be near family, to set down roots, and for Cassie to finally have a chance to realize her long-held dream of owning her own business.

It had been a well thought-out, intricately planned and perfectly executed move. She wasn't a woman who ever leapt before she looked, at least not anymore.

She'd leapt once, when she was young and naive and didn't know any better, and had nearly been done in by the pitfalls and perils of jumping so blindly. It wasn't likely she was ever going to do that again.

Feeling unbearably edgy when there was still no sign of Sofie after another few moments, Cassie rubbed her damp hands down her beige-and-brown uniform, then walked to the empty receptionist desk and picked up the phone.

She'd just started to dial the number for her cousin Katie, who was Rusty's mother and worked in the newspaper office several doors down, when she heard the roar of an engine out front.

Cassie glanced up in time to see a hot little red sports car zoom to the curb and come to an abrupt stop. She frowned. Expensive little red convertibles weren't exactly the norm in Cooper's Cove, and they certainly didn't roar down Main Street in the middle of the afternoon. Especially when there were tons of school kids out and about during near blizzard winter conditions.

Unless something was wrong.

Trying to curb her growing attack of nerves, Cassie's eyes widened when one of the winged doors glided open and Dr. Beau Bradford, the town pediatrician, emerged. Unconsciously, Cassie's lips thinned in displeasure.

Although she and the doctor had both grown up in Cooper's Cove, he had been several years ahead of her in school and they'd never met until last month, when she'd brought Sofie into his office for her school physical.

He'd also been at Aunt Louella's wedding to Mayor Hannity last month, Cassie remembered with a scowl, thinking of how charming and solicitous the good doctor had been. There was something about Dr. Bradford, something in those intense blue eyes and aristocratic dark good looks, that simply got on her nerves.

Dr. Beau, as everyone called him, wasn't just the town pediatrician, he was also the only heir to the Bradford plastics dynasty. He and his aging, eccentric uncle lived in a crumbling old fortress-like house on the edge of town.

Apparently the handsome young doctor also did some moonlighting as the town Romeo, Cassie remembered with another scowl. Tales of his romantic adventures had kept the gossips in Cooper's Cove busy for many a wash and set this past month, not to mention during the weekly bingo nights at the town hall.

The good doctor was rich, gorgeous and, according to Cooper's Cove lore, very experienced.

As far as Cassie was concerned, he was cut from the same soiled, spoiled cloth as Sofie's irresponsible father had been. And the last thing Cassie needed in her life was another rich, reckless man masquerading as an adult. The mere thought infuriated her.

So what on earth was he doing here, she wondered, her scowl deepening.

Cassie wasn't certain why, but she watched in fascination as he walked around to the other side of the car and opened the passenger door.

"Oh my word!" Cassie's panic went into overdrive when her six-year-old daughter stepped out of the car.

Bundled up for the winter weather, Sofie looked like a little woolen Weeble struggling to walk and keep her balance at the same time.

Cassie's heart did a quick stutter step. She slammed the telephone receiver down and skirted the receptionist desk to head for the front door, her heart now hammering in fear.

Without bothering to grab her coat, she yanked open the door, nearly recoiling from the arctic blast of cold air that hit her.

"Sofie!" Trying to contain her panic, Cassie rubbed her hands up and down her chilled arms as a myriad of horrible thoughts flashed through her mind. "What's wrong?" She reached for her daughter, all but dragging her through the doorway. "Are you hurt, honey? Sick?" Cassie demanded, alarm tingeing her words as she ran her hands up and down her daughter, checking for fever or injuries, wanting to assure herself Sofie was safe and sound and in one piece.

"No, Mama," Sofie said solemnly, glancing up at her from under the red woolen hat that drooped down her forehead and nearly covered her big brown eyes. "I'm not hurt," Sofie said, giving her cap a shove upward with a red mittened fist. "And I'm not sick, either."

"Then why did Dr. Bradford bring you home?" Cassie demanded. Confused, her gaze went from Sofie to Dr. Beau. She hadn't even noticed he'd followed them inside.

He was standing just inside the salon, tall and broad enough to almost fill the doorway, still wearing his cashmere overcoat and his expensive, designer wool scarf. Heavy leather gloves covered his large hands, and his inky black hair was windswept and dotted with fresh snowflakes that glistened as they melted.

Her gaze met his and she immediately felt as if she were drowning in a calm, blue lagoon. There was something dangerous about his eyes.... If a woman wasn't careful, those blue eyes could just suck her in, making her blind and oblivious to reality.

She'd already had one life-altering turn with a slick, charming man, Cassie thought in annoyance, stiffening her resolve. She wasn't seventeen any longer, and she'd already learned her lesson...about men, life and just about every other pitfall in between.

"Will someone please tell me what the devil is going on?" Exasperated, her gaze went from Dr. Bradford back to her daughter. "Sofie, why are you so late? And why did Dr. Bradford bring you home if you're not hurt or sick? And where's Rusty? You know you're supposed to walk here with him every day after school, don't you?"

"Yes, Mama," Sofie all but whispered, staring down at the toes of her bright yellow Big Bird boots.

"And you know better than to get into a car with someone without my permission, don't you?" Cassie's gaze searched her daughter's face, but Sofie's chin merely drooped and she avoided her mother's eyes.

"Sofie." Gently, Cassie lifted her daughter's chin.

"Sweetheart, when you didn't come home from school on time, Mommy got very, very worried. I was afraid something terrible had happened to you."

"Something...terrible...did happen, Mama," Sofie mumbled softly, glancing up at her mother through dark lashes glistening with tears. "At school."

Cassie's heart did another stutter step. "What happened, sweetheart?" she asked quietly, stunned by the stark sadness on her daughter's face.

Sofie sniffled, again staring down at the toes of her bright yellow boots. "The kids at school...they laughed at me when I told them I'd seen red rain and that I was gonna do something real good for the science fair." Sofie lifted stricken, tear-filled eyes. "They called me a liar and then they laughed at me."

"They called you a liar and laughed at you?" Cassie repeated, stunned. Sofie had been bubbling over with excitement all week about the upcoming science fair. Science was her passion and had been ever since a former neighbor, a retired professor, had sparked her interest in the solar system.

For Cassie, a woman who had dropped out of school in her senior year to give birth, then had gone back to school at night just to get her G.E.D., the mere concept of scientific theories was a bit terrifying. But not for her brave, fearless, brilliant little girl.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart." Gathering her daughter close, Cassie went down on one knee so she was eye level with Sofie. She swallowed the lump in her throat, and lifted Sofie's drooping chin. "It's not fun to be laughed at, honey. Or to be called names. Especially by your friends." Cassie pushed down Sofie's muffler so she could talk.

"Now, tell me, sweetheart, why did the kids laugh at you?" Cassie smoothed away the stray strands of black hair that were clinging to her daughter's rosy, wind-whipped cheeks and smiled her encouragement.

Sofie swallowed, then swiped her nose with her fuzzy red mittens before answering. "Because...because...they say I'm...a brainiac, Mama," Sofie said, as tears flooded her eyes again.

"A brainiac?" Cassie repeated, and Sofie's little head bobbed up and down. "The kids tease me 'cuz they say I'm too smart." Sofie rubbed her fuzzy red fists against her teary eyes. "They don't like me, Mama," Sofie wailed, sobs shaking her slender shoulders as she threw herself against her mother, hanging on for dear life. "They don't like me so that's why I was running away."

Her daughter's words had fear siphoning the blood from Cassie's head, nearly making her dizzy. "You were...running away?" Cassie repeated, trying to keep the shock out of her voice so she wouldn't upset Sofie further. But her knees were knocking now, nearly as hard and fast as her heart.

"Yes, Mama, but Dr. Beau found me." Sofie swiped her nose again, then peeked at her mother from under her drooping red cap. "And he told me about the first-grade rule."

Cassie merely blinked at her daughter. "The first-grade rule?" she repeated dully, glancing up at the doctor in confusion.