by Fiona West
Could Be Something Good
Timber Falls, Volume 1
Fiona West
Published by Tempest and Kite, 2020.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
COULD BE SOMETHING GOOD
First edition. May 29, 2020.
Copyright © 2020 Fiona West.
Written by Fiona West.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
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
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
EPILOGUE
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CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
Acknowledgments
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CHAPTER ONE
“A LITTLE TO THE LEFT.” Ainsley gestured over with her hand.
Sweat dripping down his light skin, Daniel shuffled forward slightly as his dark-haired brother mirrored his movements, stepping backward.
“Hmm. Is that too far?” The petite blonde tapped her fair chin, standing in the middle of her apartment’s living room. “Can you move it back to the right?”
“Take your time, Slick, it’s not like this is heavy or anything,” Daniel quipped, grinning, adjusting his hold on the modern gray IKEA couch.
“You’re being compensated, aren’t you?” Ainsley said, crossing her arms.
Daniel shook his head at her. “Buchanan, these hands are made to treat patients, not move furniture.” He paused when her gaze dropped to the floor. “Of course, your baked goods more than make up for it.”
She sighed and threw up her hands. “Okay, good enough. Come get your pay.”
He made eye contact with his brother Kyle, and they both gently set down their sides in unison. Despite being brothers, they didn’t look much alike: both were about the same height (six foot one), but the resemblance ended there. Kyle took after their father with his dark hair and brown eyes, while Daniel’s dirty blond hair and blue eyes looked more like their mother’s. Kyle’s hair was short, messy, but he did nothing to fix it. Daniel’s longer style was sliding out of the high top knot he’d put it in last night, and he took a moment to fix it before he followed them into the kitchen. Kyle, still wearing the suit he’d worn to the hospital, had already polished off his first brownie. Daniel shook his head in mock astonishment when he caught his brother watching Ainsley bend over to get the milk from the fridge. Kyle’s narrowed eyes told him he was not happy to be caught staring, and Daniel chuckled. They both fixed their faces into a placid neutral as she turned back to them.
“I really appreciate this, you guys,” she said, as she tipped the milk carton. “Did I mention that? I appreciate you.”
“What are best friends for?” Daniel asked, bumping her shoulder with his. “I’m here for you. And Kyle’s here for brownies.”
His brother lifted one dark eyebrow as he reached for another treat. “I’m here for her, too. I just know a good thing when I see it.” Ainsley and Daniel both grinned at him.
“So you’re getting a new roommate, huh?”
She nodded, gesturing to the living room with her glass. “Just wanted to move things around in case she has furniture.”
“Is she new in town?”
“I think so? I don’t know.” Ainsley pulled out a package of chicken thighs and piled red peppers and sweet onions on the counter.
“Didn’t you interview her?” Kyle asked, and Daniel heard the discontented edge in his voice.
“Now, now, Grumpy,” Daniel said, grabbing another brownie, “Ainsley’s an adult. She wouldn’t cohabitate with anyone who’d harm her, I’m sure. And if she does, we likely won’t know until it’s too late, anyway.”
“It’s Timber Falls,” she said, rolling her eyes. “What’s going to happen? Is she going to drown me in the Santiam River? Bury me in the national forest, never to be heard from again?”
“A lot could happen,” Kyle insisted.
“Kyle, the only town more boring than this is actually named Boring.”
“What does she do, your roommate?” Daniel asked through a giant bite. “Does she work in town?”
“She’s a doula, I think. Or a midwife, maybe? Can’t remember. Some kind of caretaking profession.” She turned to Kyle. “See? Very safe.”
“Or she has access to the medications to kill you in your sleep,” Kyle muttered, but only Daniel heard him; Ainsley was too busy searching her cupboards for a package of corn tortillas.
“We should probably get going,” Daniel said, wiping the crumbs off his hands and shirt, glancing with masked amusement at his brother. He didn’t say the rest of what he was thinking: We should probably get going before Kyle starts audibly growling at the idea of someone living with Ainsley who isn’t him.
“Oh,” she said, her face falling, “I thought you were staying for fajitas? We have to celebrate your new residency thing!”
“Kyle’s got important brooding to do, I think.”
“Can’t you just stay for dinner?” she pleaded. “I’m trying out a new recipe and I need guinea pigs. Please?”
Kyle met Ainsley’s gaze briefly, then looked away. “You got any beer?”
Five fajitas, a Sprite, two more brownies, and a rom com later, Daniel headed down the stairs of Ainsley’s apartment, rubbing his overfull belly with regret. Somehow, he’d ended up on the couch in the middle between his rather agitated older brother and his very oblivious best friend.
Daniel grinned at him. “You wanna talk about Ainsley?”
Kyle’s face gave away nothing. “Nope.”
“Okay. But I hear that too much pining can give you hives.”
“You’re the worst doctor in the world.”
“Just because you’re not a resident anymore doesn’t mean you know everything, Dr. Durand. Severe emotional stress can be a trigger.”
“I’m not distressed. There’s nothing to feel distressed about.”
“That’s funny,” Daniel said, as he unlocked his Volvo and slid inside, “because you seemed pretty distressed about her living with an unapproved roommate.”
“It’s just a stupid thing to do,” he griped. “You’ve got to vet people.”
Daniel nodded, starting the car. “But you know Ainsley. She’s better at getting in over her head than all the city kids falling into Detroit Lake every summer.”
Kyle grunted in what Daniel assumed was agreement.
“If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll stop by and meet the roommate next week.” Daniel kept all hints of teasing out of his voice.
“It’s not about how I feel; it’s about her not letting a serial killer move into her second bedroom.” Kyle paused. “And get some references from t
he woman, for God’s sake.”
“I feel like Ainsley might take issue with you calling her roommate’s references . . .”
“I’m not going to call them, I’m just going to internet stalk them to see what kind of people they are.”
“Kyle.” His brother turned to look at him. “Just ask her out already.”
He turned back to the window. “She doesn’t see me that way.”
Daniel wasn’t so convinced; she never made an effort to hang out with Kyle one-on-one, but she often suggested that Daniel bring him along. As far as he knew, she didn’t date because she was “too busy.” The busyness was largely of her own making, since she was on almost every committee in town that it was possible to join. If something was cooking around Timber Falls, Ainsley had her spoon in it.
Kyle had been “secretly” pining for her for about eight years now. It was the worst-kept secret in the Durand family, and no one could figure out why he never did anything about it. Their oldest brother, Philip, had asked him once and been met with grunting and several days of stony silence, so they’d mostly left him alone about it.
Since Kyle had descended into thoughtful silence, Daniel did a little thinking of his own. He loved Ainsley—of course he did. But the idea of dating her was laughable. They were far too alike. And he enjoyed spending time with her, obviously, but he wondered if he wasn’t leaning on her friendship a little too heavily for female companionship. He’d gone on lots of casual dates, had some casual hook-ups, but hadn’t had an actual girlfriend in years. There were lots of reasons for this, of course; there was always a reason when you were in medical school. Even his undergrad had been tough academically—though the amount of time he spent biking and reading comic books probably hadn’t helped his studies. But he would do something about that, the dating thing. Just as soon as he figured out who to ask.
He glanced over at Kyle, who was still ignoring him completely. It was too easy to mess with him; if he had feathers, they’d be constantly ruffled where Ainsley was concerned.
“Well, if you’re not going to ask her out,” Daniel drawled, “maybe I should.”
Kyle snorted. “Ha.”
“Ha? What ‘ha’?”
“She’d never go out with you.”
Daniel pulled into the driveway of the two-story white farmhouse they shared. “How can you be so sure?”
“Go ahead. Ask her.” They both sat there as he texted. His phone swooshed.
“Well?”
Daniel cleared his throat. “She replied with a gif of a baby falling over laughing. Then she asked if I’d been kidnapped and this was some kind of signal that I needed help.”
Kyle grinned, then got out of the car and sauntered inside, whistling.
CHAPTER TWO
DANIEL WAS AT THE HOSPITAL early on Friday; he had first-week jitters and didn’t want to chance being late. He loitered outside the conference room where his residency group was meeting, having already finished checking his patients. Dr. Udawatte and Dr. Trout seemed nice. It was just the three of them; rural residency programs were always smaller, so that’s what he’d expected. Less funding available than for the big programs, even though the need for doctors was greater here than in the big metropolitan areas. He watched people moving around with the kind of paced intentionality he thought medical professionals possessed in greater measure than most people. Well, maybe not counting moms of small children. They seemed to know it was a marathon. If only doctors could wear yoga pants all day, too.
“Excuse me.” A tall blonde woman swept past him shouldering an oversized canvas bag that was stuffed to the brim, talking with a dark-haired woman next to her. Her hair was damp, and the scent of lavender lingered in the air behind her. Daniel Durand was too sensible to believe in love at first sight . . . but there was something about this woman. He couldn’t begin to put his finger on it. Her no-nonsense gait? Her curvy hips? The slight gravelly quality to her voice?
Daniel suddenly knew he had a soul for the first time, and its first order of business was declaring that it had found its mate. The pull toward her was planetary: he felt like a meteor drawn to her by an immense gravity the likes of which he’d never felt before. She’d only said two words to him, but he had butterflies in his belly like they’d just stayed up all night talking. He felt itchy to somehow do just that; he wanted to talk to her so badly, he felt it like a hunger, like he hadn’t eaten in days. And God help him if she smiled at him.
The woman and her friend paused near the elevators, and Daniel caught sight of his brother and waved him over.
“Who is that?”
“Who?”
“The blonde.”
Kyle squinted down the hall. “Oh. That’s Winnie. She’s a midwife.”
“Why haven’t I seen her before?”
“I don’t know,” he said slowly, “do you need glasses?”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “I have glasses, as you already know.”
“Have you ever thought about laser . . .”
Daniel walked away while Kyle was still talking.
“Hi,” he said, interrupting the other nurse she was talking to. “I’m Dr. Durand.”
Her eyebrows made a deep V. “No, you’re not. I’ve met Dr. Durand. Twice.”
“I’m the older one’s son and the younger one’s brother, Daniel Durand. The other Dr. Durand,” he said, smiling. He offered his hand, but she didn’t take it.
She did not seem amused. “Well, Other Dr. Durand, you’re interrupting my conversation with Nurse Lopez.” She turned back to her colleague.
Rebuffed? Was he being rebuffed? Strange. And troubling . . . very troubling. He walked slowly back to where Kyle was watching him with silent amusement.
“You need water or something to put out those flames?”
He frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. “She said I was interrupting.”
“Yeah, she’s not interested in you, man. You’re gonna have to change up your moves if you want Winnie Baker to like you.”
“Baker? As in, related to Dr. Baker? My attending physician?” That’s not good.
He nodded. “Her mother.”
“I’m not sure ‘mother’ could really apply to Dr. Baker,” Daniel said, lowering his voice. “I mean, ‘mother’ conjures up images of warm blankets and freshly baked treats and lunch box love notes.”
“That doesn’t seem like her thing.”
“Whose thing?” Both brothers jumped.
I should’ve known better, thought Daniel, turning to face their father.
“What are you doing here?” Kyle asked; he always recovered a little faster.
“Just checking on my boys.” Evan Durand grinned. “I was in the neighborhood.”
“Snooping, you mean,” said Daniel, nudging him with his shoulder. He could see in his peripheral vision that Drs. Udawatte and Trout had just entered a patient’s room. “I should get back to my group.” He left them chatting in the hall, glad that his dad hadn’t witnessed his apparently foolish intention to introduce himself to the lavender woman. Perhaps it was only foolish because he’d jumped in too quickly, as usual. A little reconnaissance first . . . maybe that’s what the situation called for. Then again, his attending’s daughter? Was that a good idea?
It had taken a year longer than he’d wanted to get back to Timber Falls—he’d been at OHSU in Portland the year before for his first year of residency. But thanks to his dad pulling some strings, he’d gotten Santiam for his second year of residency. There was a huge need for rural physicians, so this new rural residency program was a great way to give doctors a taste of the job, as well as open up more postings. Santiam had gotten a grant just a few years ago.
He’d narrowed his focus to family medicine his first year and was enjoying the opportunity to see patients of all ages, but he liked kids especially; pediatrics was a little less intense than cardiac and emergency, a little more intense than podiatry and dermatology. Then again, doctors had to manage both patient and pa
rent when working with kids.
He joined Udawatte and Trout in Mr. Helsing’s room. To his surprise, of his current patients, he looked forward to seeing Mr. Helsing a little more than the others, even though Kyle and his dad both told him that he shouldn’t have favorites. For one thing, he was seventy-four, but he didn’t let that keep him from hitting on all the nurses—respectfully, of course. It was how Daniel secretly imagined himself as an old man. You couldn’t walk out of Perry Helsing’s room without laughing, and Daniel respected that the man could keep a sense of humor while facing bronchitis. He’d be going home soon, and Daniel was going to miss him.
His attending physician, Dr. Baker, walked in, her cool gaze surveying her interns, then straightened her black pencil skirt under her white coat. Now that he knew they were related, he could see the strong resemblance between Dr. Baker and her daughter, the soulmate who’d just given him the brush-off.
“Mr. Helsing,” Dr. Baker greeted him, businesslike as usual.
“Good morning, Dr. Baker, you’re looking lovely today. What’s the prognosis?” He winked at Dr. Udawatte. “Heard that on Diagnosis Murder once.”
Tharushi grinned at him, but sobered when Dr. Baker placed the diaphragm of her stethoscope against his chest and listened to his lungs. She motioned for all of them to do the same. Daniel was last in line.
“The prognosis is good,” Dr. Baker replied. “Your chest X-rays came back clean. We’re going to start you on another dose of antibiotics, just to be sure.” She turned to leave and the other two followed her.
“Well, with four doctors instead of one, it was bound to be good.” Mr. Helsing dropped his voice so only Daniel could hear. “Hey, send that nurse in here, will you?”
“Which nurse?” Daniel asked, mimicking the man’s hushed tone.
“The blonde one, the big girl. The baby catcher.”
Everyone else had shuffled back toward the door, and he lengthened his steps to catch up with them.
“If I figure out which one that is, I’ll do that.”
“Tell her I’m short on Vitamin U.”
