The Most Eligible M.D. (The Bachelor Bet #3) Read online

  Oh, how she wanted this man.

  Letter to Reader

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Books by Joan Elliott Pickart

  JOAN ELLIOTT PICKART

  THE BACHELORS:

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Epilogue

  Copyright

  Oh, how she wanted this man.

  He was a near stranger, yet she was a stranger to herself, as well. Her life, all she knew, all she felt, was narrowed down to when she’d opened her eyes in the woods and seen Ben.

  “No past,” he said, close to Megan’s lips. “No future. Just now.”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “Just now. I want you so much, Ben.”

  “Ah, Megan, I want you, too, but...” He shook his head. “No, this is wrong. You have a life beyond this moment. I can‘t—won’t—take advantage of you. I’m so afraid you’ll regret it if we—”

  “I won’t. I promise you that. Don’t you see? This is our time, yours and mine. It’s like a precious gift that has been given to us. You said it yourself. No past. No future. Just now. To do with as we choose. Together.”

  “Together,” he said, then his mouth melted over hers.

  Dear Reader,

  As you head for your favorite vacation hideaway, don’t forget to bring along some Special Edition novels for sensational summertime reading!

  This month’s THAT’S MY BABY! title commemorates Diana Whitney’s twenty-fifth Silhouette novel! I Now Pronounce You Mom & Dad, which also launches her FOR THE CHILDREN miniseries, is a poignant story about two former flames who conveniently wed for the sake of their beloved godchildren. Look for book two. A Dad of His Own, in September in the Silhouette Romance line, and book three. The Fatherhood Factor, in Special Edition in October.

  Bestselling author Joan Elliott Pickart wraps up her captivating THE BACHELOR BET series with a heart-stirring love story between an amnesiac beauty and a brooding doctor in The Most Eligible M.D. The excitement continues with Beth and the Bachelor by reader favorite Susan Mallery—a romantic tale about a suburban mom who is swept off her feet by her very own Prince Charming. And fall in love with a virile Secret Agent Groom, book two in Andrea Edwards’s THE BRIDAL CIRCLE series, about a shy Plain Jane who is powerfully drawn to her mesmerizing new neighbor

  Rounding out this month, Jennifer Mikels dehvers an emotional reunion romance that features a rodeo champ who returns to his hometown to make up for lost time with the woman he loves and the son he never knew existed, in Forever Mine. And family secrets are unveiled when a sophisticated lady melts a gruff cowboy’s heart in A Family Secret by Jean Brashear.

  I hope you enjoy each of these romances—where dreams come true!

  Best,

  Karen Taylor Richman

  Senior Editor

  Please address questions and book requests to:

  Silhouette Reader Service

  U.S : 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

  Canadian: PO. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont L2A 5X3

  JOAN ELLIOTT PICKART

  THE MOST ELIGIBLE M.D.

  For Debra Robertson,

  Thank You!

  Books by Joan Elliott Pickart

  Silhouette Special Edition

  *Friends, Lovers...and Babies’ #1011

  *The Father of Her Child #1025

  †Texas Dawn #1100

  †Texas Baby #1141

  ‡Wife Most Wanted #1160

  The Rancher and the Amnesiac Bride #1204

  ΔThe Irresistible Mr. SincLair #1256

  ΔThe Most Eligible M D. #1262

  Silhouette Desire

  *Angels and Elves #961

  Apache Dream Bride #999

  †Texas Moon #1051

  †Texas Glory #1088

  Just My Joe #1202

  ΔTaming Tall, Dark Brandon #1223

  *The Baby Bet

  †Family Men

  ‡Montana Mavencks: Return to Whitehorn

  ΔThe Bachelor Bet

  Previously published under the pseudonym Robin Elliott

  Silhouette Special Edition

  Rancher’s Heaven #909

  Mother at Heart #968

  Silhouette Intimate Moments

  Gauntlet Run #206

  Silhouette Desire

  Call It Love #213

  To Have It All #237

  Picture of Love #261

  Pennies in the Fountain #275

  Dawn’s Gift #303

  Brooke’s Chance #323

  Betting Man #344

  Silver Sands #362

  Lost and Found #384

  Out of the Cold #440

  Sophie’s Attic #725

  Not Just Another Perfect Wife #818

  Haven’s Call #859

  JOAN ELLIOTT PICKART

  is the author of over seventy novels. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys watching football, knitting, reading, gardening and attending craft shows on the town square. Joan has three all-grown-up daughters and a fantastic little grandson. In September of 1995, Joan traveled to China to adopt her fourth daughter, Autumn. Joan and Autumn have settled into their cozy cottage in a charming small town in the high pine country of Arizona.

  THE BACHELORS:

  Brandon Hamilton:

  Age 35. Hotel owner. 6 ft., nicely built. Black hair, dark

  eyes. Principled, protective...powerfully attractive.

  TAMING TALL, DARK BRANDON,

  June 1999, Silhouette Desire

  Taylor Sinclair:

  Age 36. Accountant. 6 ft., trim. Light brown hair, brown

  eyes. Self-confident, smart, stylish...sexy.

  THE IRRESISTIBLE MR. SINCLAIR,

  July 1999, Silhouette Special Edition

  Ben Rizzoli:

  Age 35. Doctor. 6 ft., rugged. Black hair, dark eyes.

  Private, precise, proud...purely potent.

  THE MOST ELIGIBLE M.D.,

  August 1999, Silhouette Special Edition

  These bachelor best friends have bet that marriage and family will never be part of their lives.

  But they’ll learn never to bet against love....

  Meet Brandon, Taylor and Ben

  in bestselling author Joan Elliott Pickart’s

  engaging new miniseries

  Chapter One

  Free.

  She repeated the word over and over in her mind like a mantra, her mood becoming more euphoric with each silent chant.

  Dashing among the trees in the wooded area, she stopped to scoop up an armful of the brightly colored autumn leaves that had created a crunchy carpet beneath her feet. She threw the leaves into the air, laughing in delight as some were carried away by the crisp breeze.

  It had been over two years—two years—since she’d felt so young, so vibrantly alive, happy, and so blessedly free.

  A cloud moved over the sun that had been filtering light down through the branches of the trees, casting a dark shadow over the woods, and dimming her exuberant frame of mind.

  She stilled, wrapping her hands around her elbows in a protective gesture, and drew a sharp breath as a shiver coursed through her.

  He would find her.

  And he would silence her.

  Despite the carefully detailed plan of escape that she h
ad executed, he had power, money, and resources at his fingertips.

  He would find her.

  He would never allow her to get the better of him.

  “No,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Oh, no, please, no.”

  Panic crashed over her in a bone-chilling wave, pushing aside all rational thoughts. She started to run, tears blurring her vision as she raced on, stumbling at times, then catching her balance and continuing, still gasping for breath.

  She heard a strange noise and was only vaguely aware it was her own whimpers of fear.

  Scrambling up a huge boulder, she felt the skin tear from her fingertips, leaving droplets of blood on the jagged rock. A sob caught in her throat as she reached the top of the enormous stone, then...

  “Oh, God,” she said, screaming, the terrified sound carried away by the increasing wind.

  She was falling... falling... falling...

  Down. Branches of trees whipping at her. Stones bruising her slender body. Tumbling.

  Down...

  Ben Rizzoli strolled leisurely through the woods, managing to blank his mind and simply enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of nature’s gifts.

  He inhaled deeply, savoring the pungent aroma of overripe apples on beds of moist soil and fallen leaves and the sweet scent of pine trees mingled with the last wildflowers of the season still blooming in puddles of sunshine.

  A sassy squirrel appeared ten feet in front of him, causing Ben to chuckle as the feisty, furry creature delivered its chattering opinion of his invading its domain, then scampered away.

  Birds chirped, others sang in concert, some flew close to the ground, searching for food offerings.

  The leaves on the multitude of trees were a kaleidoscope of rich autumn colors: orange, red, yellow, and varying shades of brown. Those that had already fallen scattered in all directions as Ben walked through them.

  As each season changed in Prescott, Ben decided that this one was his favorite. But when the next followed, he’d reconsider, convinced that the new treasures of nature were the best there were.

  He’d gone through that rather silly ritual during all the years he’d grown up in the small town nestled in the mountains.

  Prescott was only a hundred miles above the valley below, where hot, bustling Phoenix was located. But Prescott was a world away from the busy, nonstop city.

  Prescott was home. He’d been back almost three years now, having sold his lucrative medical practice in Los Angeles to return to his roots.

  But at thirty-five, he was the only Rizzoli left in Prescott. His parents were deceased; his four older brothers and two older sisters living all across the globe.

  Sure, he missed his folks, but his brothers and sisters? He barely knew them, the majority having already left home by the time he was born. He had been a very late-in-life surprise to his rather dismayed-at-first mother and father, who, at the time, had been grandparents to children several years older than their newest offspring.

  He had, for all practical purposes, been an only child, basking in the undivided attention of doting parents. He’d had a wonderful childhood, as close to perfection as it could be.

  Fantastic memories, Ben thought, continuing his trek through the woods. Easy to remember these days, too, as some of his best friends from his youth had also returned to live in Prescott.

  Brandon Hamilton was back, having restored Hamilton House into a successful, beautiful replica of a turn-of-the-century hotel. Brandon had married Andrea, and they were expecting their first child

  Man, oh, man, the mischief he and Brandon had gotten into as kids, along with their buddy, Taylor Sinclair. Taylor was married, too, and his wife, Janice, had an outlet of her feminine apparel boutique, Sleeping Beauty, located in the lobby of Hamilton House. Taylor and Janice drove up from Phoenix on a regular basis to check on the store, and all of them—the whole gang—got together to share a meal.

  That gang included Jennifer Mackane who’d come home a widow with a newborn son. Joey was nearly five years old already. And cute as a button.

  One by one they’d come home. Each having their reasons for returning. Each structuring a life, a present and future, here where their roots were.

  Future, Ben’s mind echoed, and he frowned. Don’t do it, Rizzoli. He wasn’t going to spoil this picture-perfect walk in the woods by dwelling on what awaited him in the future, the horror of it, the frustration and anger, and the occasional waves of self-pity that suffused him.

  “No, damn it,” he muttered.

  He was learning, slowly, how to live for the moment, to soak it up, savor it, be grateful for it. It wasn’t easy to exist this way, not by a long shot. It erased hopes and dreams, and left an empty, dark void within that he prayed he’d find a way to fill with inner peace.

  So far, he thought dryly, he was doing a lousy job of accepting his fate. A real lousy job. As busy as he was practicing medicine, socializing with his friends, enjoying solitary hikes such as this one, it was always there, the hard truth, the stark facts, hovering like a menacing monster capable of beating him into bleak and depleting depression.

  “Knock it off, Rizzoli,” he ordered himself.

  He came to a huge boulder, shifted to lean his back against it, then gazed up at the brilliant blue sky dotted with fluffy, white clouds. There was a crispness to the wind that whispered through the trees he’d emerged from, a reminder that winter was on the way. Snow would fall, transforming Prescott and the surrounding countryside into a fairyland of beauty.

  “Then that will be my favorite season,” he said, smiling at his fickleness.

  A bird swooped low, catching Ben’s attention. As he turned his head to follow the bird’s flight, his gaze fell on the boulder. His smile changed into a frown as he shifted for a better look.

  Drops of blood, he thought, touching one with a fingertip. It was dry, but it was still bright red. The trail went up the rock and disappeared from view over the top.

  Was there an injured animal on the other side of the tall stone? he wondered. He knew for a fact that there was a steep drop-off beyond this row of rocks. It wasn’t a straight shot down, though; the decline was cluttered with bushes, small trees and rocks. If the animal had not fallen far, he might be able to reach it, to help it, to keep it from dying out here all alone.

  With a decisive nod, Ben took several steps backward to get a moving start on scaling the boulder, then scrambled up, his hiking boots gaining purchase while his fingers suffered scrapes from the rugged rock.

  At the top, he flattened onto his stomach and peered over the edge, his heart immediately beginning to beat a wild tempo and his eyes widening at what he saw more than thirty feet below him.

  It was a woman.

  Lying ominously still, she was on her back. Her legs were bent to one side, her arms flung out at odd angles.

  She was wearing jeans, tennis shoes and a cotton blouse that was torn in several places. Her short, curly dark hair was snagged by the branches of the bushes, and her face was dirty and streaked with blood.

  “My God,” Ben whispered.

  He glanced around quickly, deciding on the safest, but definitely the fastest, way to reach the injured woman. Pushing himself upward, he turned and lowered himself over the side of the boulder, grabbing rough bushes to stop his descent.

  Moving carefully, he made his way downward, testing his footholds before allowing his full weight to drop.

  What had this woman been thinking? he thought as he continued downward. The drops of blood on the boulder gave evidence to the fact that she’d torn her fingers while scaling the rock.

  Already hurt, why hadn’t she stopped, quit climbing, gone back down and hiked in another direction?

  But, no, she’d obviously struggled to the top of the boulder and flung herself over it, unaware of the drop-off on the other side.

  Dumb, really dumb, Ben thought, taking a much-needed breath. Well, that was beside the point. The important thing now was to reach the woman, discove
r how badly she was injured, then determine the best way to get her back up to the top from where she had fallen.

  Slowly... Closer now...closer... Almost there... A few more feet...

  Ben braced his feet on the bushes and rocks on the far side of the woman, then tentatively released his hold on the bushes above. Satisfied that he was on a fairly firm foundation, he dropped to one knee and placed the fingertips of one hand on the woman’s slender neck.

  “Thready pulse,” he murmured, then tapped her lightly on one cheek. “Hello? Come on, pretty lady, wake up and open your eyes. This is a heck of a place for an afternoon nap.”

  The woman didn’t move.

  “Damn,” Ben said. “She’s out cold.”

  A check of the back of the woman’s head revealed a good-size lump beneath her silky, black hair that was matted with blood. There was a smattering of blood on a rock directly under her head.

  “That answers that,” Ben said, frowning.

  With hands skilled by many years of practicing medicine, Ben examined the rest of the woman’s body, finding no broken bones.

  He was probably dealing with at least a concussion, that much was clear. The woman was young, maybe twenty-five or twenty-six, which was in her favor.

  She was about five-foot-five with a small frame, very delicate. If anything she was a tad underweight.