by Lynne Gentry
A few hours later, Maddie peered over the nurse’s shoulder for a sneak peek at the computer. The speed at which Parker’s lab numbers were improving was a thrill greater than any she’d had during her infectious disease fellowship. Knowing what she’d learned had the ability to save lives proved she’d chosen the right course.
Maddie waited until the nurse left the room then dug out her stethoscope from her backpack. She plastered the bell to Parker’s hairy chest. “No crackling of the lung bases. Abdominal distension drastically reduced. Fever not gone, but abating.” If the proper course of antibiotics continued doing its work, Parker could avoid the complications she’d been dreading. She raised her head and eyed him soberly.
Concern narrowed Parker’s eyes. “Well?”
“Typhoid kills over twenty million people a year.” She folded her stethoscope, relishing the concern on Parker’s face. “You aren’t going to be one of them.”
“Don’t look so disappointed.” The strength in Parker’s voice pleased her nearly as much as her proper diagnosis and treatment.
She slipped the stethoscope into her backpack. Parker’s olive complexion showed none of the yellowing signs of jaundice. Dark stubble shadowed his square chin. His mop of dark curls needed a trim, or at the very least a good shampoo and a comb. He was thinner than he’d been at Momma’s wedding, but his eyes, dark and flecked with gold, could still see into her soul. She squirmed ever so slightly and the shift broke the hold his gaze had on her. “Is there someone we should call?”
“My parents.”
“Besides Kathy and Ryan.”
His eyes slid to the window. “When can I get out of here?”
Instead of addressing his change of subject with the head-on inquiry a secret child deserved, she took a different tactic. “I know you’re feeling better, but I’d like you to complete a short, five-day course of antibiotics. Once your blood and stool cultures are sterile, you’ll be free to return to your ranch or roam the jungles of Guatemala.” She should leave her answer there, professional and succinct, but she couldn’t. “Except you’re not free, are you?”
He gaze whipped back to her. “No.”
“Shouldn’t you call Isabella’s mother?”
“Easier said than done.”
“The woman’s entitled to know that you’ve taken her child to America and that she’s okay.”
“Don’t tell me how to raise my daughter.”
“Why are you being so shady about Isabella? That’s not like you. Did you sleep with Gabriella and have to—”
“Whoa.” His raised palm told her she’d crossed the line. “How do you know Gabriella is Isabella’s mother?”
Her eyes darted toward the phone on his tray table. “I . . . I might have seen your screensaver and put two and two together.”
He snatched his phone. “Last time we talked, you made it pretty clear you would live your life, and that I should live mine.”
“You know, my initial prognosis might have been wrong.” She crossed her arms. “You’re condition has obviously progressed to a paranoid psychosis because last I checked, we may have gone our separate ways, but I thought we’d parted as friends.”
“Friends keep in touch.”
“You could have texted me.” Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out, her heart thumping in protest to his accusations, “Hey, Momma.”
“Dr. Boyer is wondering where you are.”
“Shoot!” Maddie glanced at the clock. Seven fifteen. “I forgot all about him.
“You won’t get a second chance to make a good first impression. There are limits to my influence.”
“I’m proof of that, aren’t I?” Maddie clicked off her phone. “I’ve got to go, Parker.”
“So what else is new?” His head fell back on the pillow.
She let herself get lost for a moment in those deep, dark eyes. But the warmth had been replaced with a cool distance. Shaking off the chill seeping into her bones, she said, “Don’t try getting out of that bed on your own.”
“You’d be amazed what I’ve learned to do on my own. I think I can handle a few steps to the john.”
“Maybe, but if you fall, then you’ve got to handle me...and you’ve never been able to do that.”
He didn’t smile at her teasing. “Guess that fancy doctor’s fixin’ to find out he can’t handle you either.”
Hard headedness had carried her through life as a preacher’s kid, the disadvantages of graduating from a small Christian college, the exhausting demands of med school, and her mother’s constant attempts to plan her life. Had her heart hardened, too? “Promise me you’ll give yourself a couple of days, okay, Parker?”
“You promise to get me back to my little girl sooner rather than later, and I promise not to bother you again.” He rolled over and faced the window, leaving her with no choice but to charge toward her next battle.
CHAPTER SIX
Maddie whipped into the parking slot beside the shiny black convertible. She ripped the ponytail holder from her hair and fluffed her curls. She flipped open the mirror on her sun visor and dragged a swipe of lip gloss across her lips. The effort was more than the arrogant Dr. Boyer deserved, but some of her Texas roots were too deep to yank. Any southern girl worth her salt was well-practiced in the art of winning more flies with honey, which was the only reason she hadn’t given Parker the tongue-lashing he deserved. She and Parker would never be lovers, but she was determined to help her oldest and dearest friend get back on his feet...whether he wanted her help or not. And if helping him find his way back to their friendship meant acting a southern-girl-fool to gain hospital privileges from the bottom-feeder she was meeting for dinner, then so be it.
Stepping inside the diner was like stepping back in time. A time Maddie hadn’t revisited since her daddy’s death. The jangle of the bell above the door jarred loose memories of her father marching her up to the counter, plopping her on one of the bar stools, and spinning spin her until the world blurred. The aroma of fried fish and stout coffee joined the sting of unshed tears. She stopped at the Please Wait to Be Seated sign.
“Be right with you, Maddie.” Ruthie, the diner’s owner, lumbered out from behind the counter. Ruthie’s hair, now almost as white as the crisp apron cinched around her expanding middle, was pulled back in the same teased-up French twist she’d worn since the 50’s. “Didn’t expect your Momma to let you miss a meal at her table.”
“I meeting Dr. Boyer.”
Ruthie’s brows crept higher and her eyes cut to the back booth where Dr. Boyer waited, impatience deepening fine lines at the corner of his eyes. “No wonder he’s been watchin’ the door like a horny bull waitin’ on the gate to be left open.”
Maddie swallowed a snicker at a saying she hadn’t heard in years and decided she’d enjoy making him wait a little longer. She nodded toward the welcome sign. “This new?”
“Angus had it installed before he left.” Ruthie pulled a menu from a wooden rack by the cash register. “The boy thought it would speed up our service and add a touch of class to the joint.”
“Your grandson still making his special brownies?”
Ruthie chuckled at Maddie’s mention of the Christmas service and the marijuana-laced treats that had made Momma and Maxine higher than kites. “He learnt a good lesson on that one. He’s decided to stay out of the kitchen. Been studying business at that fancy college in Abilene.” A proud grin reached Ruthie’s tired eyes. “Graduates with honors this Saturday.”
“Good for him.”
She leaned in close and whispered, “Wouldn’t have happened if a couple of someones we both know and love hadn’t seen what I saw in the boy and paid his way.”
Ruthie’s gratitude was a pinprick to Maddie’s conscience. Saul and Momma had done so much with the windfall of Daddy’s investments and people loved them for it. “Hope you’re closing the diner and going to Abilene to help him celebrate.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Your mom
ma and Saul offered to drive me.” Ruthie’s eyes cut to the back booth where Dr. Boyer was suddenly very focused on the menu. “Don’t know why Mr. Too-big-for-his-britches is botherin’ to read the specials. He orders the same thing every time. Steak and a dry baked potato.”
“Better get me over there before he does something crazy.”
“Like order the catfish?”
“I was thinking a hamburger with the works.”
Ruthie shook her head and lowered her voice again, “Supposedly, his only vice is fast women.”
“I know for certain he likes fast cars.”
“You don’t say.” A sly grin tugged the corners of Ruthie’s lips. “I think you and that little red thing you’re drivin’ can take him easy enough.” She handed Maddie a menu. “Please tell me our Parker’s going to pull through.”
“The Story sisters activated the prayer chain, didn’t they?”
Ruthie snorted. “The twin treasures would never let something as dangerous as a tropical disease go unchallenged by the Lord.” Ruthie’s faith was surprisingly enviable.
“I’ve said all I can say about my patient, Ruthie.”
The diner owner’s eyes narrowed. “I thought we were talkin’ about your friend, not just another patient.”
Were they still friends? From the way Parker was refusing to talk to her about Isabella or anything else that mattered, it felt as if she’d lost her friend. For good.
“Let’s get this showdown on the road,” Maddie whispered.
As Ruthie worked her way across the diner, pushing in chairs and straightening napkin holders, Maddie was once again reminded how hard it was to keep anything private in this town.
Ruthie straightened at Dr. Boyer’s booth. “Here’s the rest of your party, doc.” She whipped out the towel tucked in the back of her apron and swatted away the crumbs on the empty bench seat across from the doctor dressed in a crisp blue button-down and expensive red silk tie.
“Thank you, Ruthie.” In an unexpected gesture of gallantry, Dr. Boyer scooted from his seat, stood, and extended his hand. “Thanks for agreeing to conduct business after hours, Dr. Harper.” If Maddie hadn’t Googled the man, she might not have known his emphasis on conduct business was as much an effort to protect his reputation from the Mt. Hope rumor mill as her own.
“I always enjoy a good burger and a chocolate shake.” Maddie shook his hand with the confident grip her father had taught her, then slid into the seat. “Sorry I’m late. Traffic.” She’d never been good at joking and from the lack of amusement in his incredibly blue eyes she hadn’t improved in that area. “Okay, I got caught up—”
“Holding your sick friend’s hand, right?”
“Right.” Knowing he’d kept tabs on her made her a little unsettled. “I’ll have my usual please, Ruthie.”
The seasoned waitress frowned. “We’ll see how you do on the burger and shake before I bring out the pie.” Ruthie looked at the doctor. “You havin’ your usual, doc?”
He handed his menu to Ruthie. “I think I’ll have what Dr. Harper’s having tonight.”
If Ruthie was surprised by the doctor’s order, she kept her poker face. “How do you want that burger cooked?”
“Anyway you decide will be perfect, Ruthie,” he said with a wink.
Now he’d gone too far. Oozing charm all over her was part of this cat and mouse game they were playing. Pretending he was charmed by Ruthie was . . . well, it was maddening, that’s what it was.
Maddie bit her tongue, waiting until Ruthie had the shake machine whirring too loudly to overhear the tongue-lashing she intended to give this guy. “Learn your charm practicing in Dallas, Dr. Boyer?”
His fixed stare was a laser. “You could have blamed your lack of punctuality on the New York or Washington subway system.”
This guy was no one’s fool. “Okay, so we’ve Googled each other.”
Eyes still honed on her, he carefully unrolled his silverware from the paper napkin. “Then you’re probably wondering why a maternal-fetal specialist would leave a high-profile, lucrative practice for a start-up program in an underfunded and poorly equipped West Texas hospital?”
“I’m not wondering.”
His smug smile melted. “If you should decide to practice medicine rather than sit behind a microscope at the CDC...” His eyes became surprisingly transparent, clear of any attempt to hide the huge lawsuit and the ugly media coverage that had followed his misdiagnosis of a high profile woman’s pregnancy complications. “...you’ll learn that losing your first patient on the table sticks with you.”
Unexpected compassion at his honesty deflated her plan to threaten him with exposure if he didn’t grant her wishes. “I don’t think anybody avoids those first-year mistakes.”
“From what I’ve seen, you’re pretty sharp, Dr. Harper. Bringing Parker Kemp home was a good call.”
This was not at all how she expected this conversation to go. “Does that mean I have privileges?”
“Full.”
“Don’t you have to run it past the board?”
“Done.”
“Apparently you make executive decisions as fast as you drive.”
The corner of his lip raised in a half-smile. “The board is a generous group of men and women who believe in giving everyone a chance.” He didn’t say second chance, but from the change in his demeanor she got the impression he considered coming to Mt. Hope an opportunity he did not take for granted. “Hometown girl was an easy sell.”
“Funny how one person’s hell can be another person’s heaven.”
“I take it fighting for hospital privileges in Mt. Hope wasn’t high on your bucket list.”
“Kicking the bucket would have been preferable to practicing medicine in this one-horse town.”
“Want me to deny your request?”
“Trust me, neither of us want to explain that one to Momma.”
“Leona Levy’s a remarkable woman. Her contributions keep us one step ahead of our creditors.”
“I didn’t realize Momma was carrying the hospital’s entire financial burden—”
“No one does.”
“Ah. Loose lips sink ships, right?”
“People don’t want to drive to bigger cities for their medical care, but they will if they get spooked. An understaffed and out-of-date facility puts lives at risk.”
Feeling the need to offer an olive branch, she said, “I can work the family clinic for free—”
“Get your patient past the danger zone and then we’ll work out your clinic schedule and pay scale.”
Men never came out and said she was too pushy, too smart, too intimidating... they just walked away. Why wasn’t Robin Boyer following suit? “I’ve been monitoring Parker’s labs and adjusting his treatment accordingly.”
Dr. Boyer didn’t seem the least bit surprised or put off by her assertive actions. Her confession, in fact, raised the corner of his lip again, this time in pleased interest. “And?”
“He’ll live...if I don’t kill him first.”
“Sounds like you two have...history. You sure you can keep your feelings out of the treatment mix?”
“He kissed me.”
Robin cocked a brow. “Before or after you hopped a plane to Guatemala?”
“It was in second grade.”
“First love sticks with a person longer than losing your first patient.”
“Parker’s sudden display of affection was simply an overreaction to a bike wreck. An emotional response to my bloody ankle. Hardly a first-love scenario.”
“Then why did he come to your defense today?”
Why had he? “We grew up together. We were best friends.”
“Were?” His raised brows implied there was more to the story.
Even if there had been more to the story of Maddie and Parker—which she’d made sure there never had been—she knew better than to let her guard down. Why had she told this man about the ridiculous kiss a boy had given her years ago?
She was in the middle of mentally searching for a small-talk diversion when Ruthie showed up with two steaming plates and a couple of frothy shakes.
“Burgers. Medium well. Condiments on the side.” Ruthie set the frosty mugs before them. “Y’all don’t start in on me about needin’ pie until these plates are clean. You hear?”
Dr. Boyer stared at the huge mound of curly potatoes and the slab of charred meat on a Texas-sized bun. “Like the sign says, folks are as generous as the dust here in Mt. Hope.” He smiled at Maddie. “Last one done with their burger buys the pie.”
“You don’t have to eat all of that.”
“And you could have secured hospital privileges without agreeing to the clinic work.” He grabbed the ketchup bottle. “It’s not so bad here, you know?”
“Wait until all this beef plugs your arteries.”
He took a bite and rolled his eyes in delight. “Definitely worth a heart cath.”
He had a point. She’d been so busy searching the horizon for her future she’d failed to consider the things she loved about her past...like having a restaurant owner know her name and what she liked to eat before she ever opened her mouth. What a strange feeling to see her hometown through the eyes of newcomer.
Maddie lifted her shake mug. “To the advancement of modern medicine, Dr. Boyer.”
He picked up his mug and accepted her toast. “Robin.”
“Maddie.” She smiled as their mugs clinked.
Momma was wrong. A girl could catch just as many flies with honesty.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Maddie hurried through the quiet hospital halls, her step lightened by how well her meeting had just gone with Dr. Boyer. She’d misjudged Mt. Hope’s new chief of staff by more than the miles his convertible had put between them. Besides being ridiculously handsome, he was smart, fair, and obviously not intimidated by her abilities. She couldn’t wait to tell Parker that, thanks to Dr. Boyer, he was stuck with her until he was well enough to be released.
She barreled around the corner and nearly collided with the tall beauty knocking on Parker’s door. “Nellie?”
