Tess had Saturdays off, so Cole worked the morning shift by himself. Around eleven o’clock, he was saying good-bye to his last client when he heard the back door slam shut. He recognized the noisy entry as Sophie’s. He peered through the pass-through from the exam room into the office. Both of his daughters, Angela in the lead, came into sight. Angela sat down at the computer while Sophie twirled one of the swivel chairs and jumped into it, trying to catch a spin. As she came around toward him, he waved to catch her eye.
She grinned at him. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hey, squirt. I’m glad you guys came up to help.”
Angela’s expression wasn’t so friendly. “We didn’t have much choice.”
“Oh?”
“Mrs. Gibbs said we needed to go outside for fresh air,” Sophie said, losing her grin. From the looks of it, she’d decided she wasn’t having fun after all.
“We need to talk, Dad,” Angela said.
“I’m done with clients. We can talk now. Come on in here, and we’ll talk while we clean up.”
Sophie leapt from the chair and scooted through the door into the exam room. Spraying and wiping tables happened to be one of her favorite jobs. Knowing the routine, she grabbed a pair of disposable gloves from the box on the counter and tugged them on. Angela followed more slowly and took a seat.
“What do you want to talk about, Angel?”
“Mrs. Gibbs.”
Uh-oh. “Okay. We should touch base on how it’s going.”
“I hate her.”
“Now wait a minute. Those are harsh words, Angie. Why are you so mad?”
“She won’t leave me alone. She’s snooping in my business.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s, like . . .” Angela used a whiny voice unlike Molly Gibbs’s but otherwise mimicking the Irish accent spot on. “What’s botherin’ ye, girl? I won’t have ye hole away up here in yer room while I’m on the job, I won’t.”
“I doubt she used that tone. And Mrs. Gibbs deserves your respect even if you’re mad at her. I want you to remember that.”
“I knew you’d take her side.”
“I’m not taking anyone’s side. Have you been in your room all morning?”
“So now I’m not allowed to be in my room?”
Cole took a moment, put some bottled vaccine back in the refrigerator, hooked a rolling stool with his foot, and brought it up to sit close to Angela. “Sure you can be in your room. But you might need some time outside of your room, too. You’ve come here on Saturdays with me before, and I appreciate your help. Why don’t you work with me next weekend?”
Angela shrugged. “I don’t want her bossing me around.”
“But she’s in charge when I’m gone, Angela. We have a lot to work out, and she’s been here less than a week. You need to be more respectful. Let’s give it some time and keep those communication channels open.”
Working on the table closest to him, Sophie echoed his last words as he said them, causing him to think he must sound like a broken record. He reached out a hand and ruffled her brown curls. She smiled.
“How are things going for you with Mrs. Gibbs?” he asked her.
She glanced at Angela, and a frown returned to her face. “I don’t like her either.”
He had to wonder if this was Sophie’s true opinion or if she was imitating her older sister. “What is she doing that you don’t like?”
“She made me turn off the TV.”
Cole nodded slowly as if considering her complaint. “Now that’s a serious offense, isn’t it?”
Sophie peered up at him, trying to suppress the twinkle in her eye. When Cole snorted, she laughed along with him. “She’s okay, I guess,” she said.
Angela scowled. “I don’t know what you think is so funny.”
“Angel, we’ve got to keep a sense of humor.” He decided to bring up what he believed to be the true issue. “You know we all miss Mom.”
Sophie sobered and looked down. Cole drew her close with one arm and she leaned against him.
“I don’t miss her,” Angela said.
“You might say that because your feelings are hurt. Mine are too, but I know I miss her. And we’ve got to have someone share in the housework and keep an eye on Sophie. Otherwise that’s going to fall on you, Angie. I thought we decided we didn’t want that. Right?”
She shrugged, avoiding his gaze.
“I know it’s different having someone new in the house. It’s hard to take direction from a new person, but I want her to be in charge when I’m gone.”
“That’s just it, Dad.”
“What?”
“Her being here makes it so easy for you to be gone.”
A pang of guilt hit him. Why did parenting have to be filled with so many moments of guilt?
“We got home from school yesterday, and you were gone. You didn’t get home until late,” Angela said.
“I was helping search for Adrienne.”
“I thought we were all going to help search for Adrienne.”
“You were in school when I got the call, Angel.”
She shrugged, evidently conceding that point.
“Look, if you have a concern, take it up with me,” Cole said. “Don’t fight with Mrs. Gibbs about it.”
“But she’s so nosy, Dad. She’s not my friend, you know. I don’t want to talk to her.”
Her argumentative tone had begun to irritate him. “That’s a poor attitude. She’s trying to be friendly, and all you’re giving back is disrespect. I thought we raised you better than that.”
Angela looked down at the floor, biting her lip.
He tried to rein in his temper. He’d been trying so hard to make a good life for these girls and got little appreciation in return. “Okay, next weekend I’ll get you up to come out to work with me instead of letting you sleep in? Would you like that better?”
Angela shrugged, refusing to look at him. Sophie stood within the circle of his arm, playing some game with her fingers. He doubted if she’d been paying attention. He squeezed her. “What do you think?” he asked her.
Doubt confirmed. “Come help me here next Saturday.”
“I want to watch cartoons.”
“Well, you can do some of that, too. Let’s have you watch TV for an hour first, then come up here.”
“Okay.”
If only teenagers were as compliant as eight-year-olds. “I have one more phone call to make and then we’ll go to the house. Angie, I put my paperwork in the box. Do you want to catch things up on the computer?”
She shrugged again but stood up to go back into the office. She loved the computer work and had taken to it like a horse to green pasture. Maybe that would pacify her.
“Thanks for cleaning tables, Sophie,” he said.
“I’m not done yet.”
“Okay. You can finish up while I make this call.” Cole pulled out his cell phone, checked the number in his records, and dialed Carmen Santiago of Dark Horse Stable.
She answered right away, obviously recognizing his number on caller ID. “Hello, Doctor.”
“How’s Diablo today?”
“About the same.”
“I got the lab results back. They aren’t exactly what I expected.”
A pause, and he could hear the concern in her voice when she spoke. “Why is that?”
“He’s hyperglycemic, and his liver enzymes are elevated, which isn’t typical with tying up. On the other hand, the enzymes we measure to detect muscle damage are elevated, which is something I’d expect.”
“Okay? What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure yet. Is he eating?”
“A little bit of hay. Not much.”
“Has he defecated?” Cole asked.
“A small amount.”
“That tells us his gut is still working. What’s his heart rate?”
“Eighty-five beats per minute. He’s still sweating but not quite as much.”
Cole thought it over. “Let’s give our treatment plan another day. I should come up tomorrow. I’ll want to run another blood sample.”
“All right. What time?”
“I’ll call in the morning and we’ll decide,” Cole said.
“Late morning will work. Perhaps you can stay for a meal.”
He needed a chance to spend time with his kids tomorrow, and he planned to take them with him. “No, thank you anyway. My kids will be with me, and we won’t be able to stay. I’ll call in the morning around eight to schedule.”
“Children? Are you married?”
He thought the question rather personal. “Divorced.”
“How many children?”
“Two.”
“I love kids. And two more would be fun.”
It was nice of her to welcome his children. “Thanks for the offer, but I’m not sure it will work out. I’ll check with the girls about their plans and get back to you in the morning. Can we decide then about lunch?”
“Sure. I hope you can join me. I would love to spend time with your daughters.”
He ended the call, and Sophie looked up at him from across the room where she’d been busily squirting and wiping the stainless steel exam table over and over. “Who was that?” she asked.
“A lady named Carmen Santiago. She’s got a sick horse.”
“Sure. I don’t know her very well, but she seems nice.”
Sophie tilted her head to the side, studying him.
“Why did you tell her you were divorced?”
What is that old saying about little pitchers and big ears? “When I told her I had kids, she asked if I was married.”
A sad expression crossed her face as she looked down at the table. “Why did she want to know that?”
Cole wondered about that himself, although he had a notion about it. “Just making conversation, I guess. It’s okay, Sophie. I have to tell people about our family some of the time.”
She nodded, her eyes downcast, as she continued wiping the table.
He crossed the room, pulled her close with one arm, and hugged her briefly to his side. “You’ve done a great job helping me clean. Let’s go home now and see what we can rustle up to eat.”
She tipped up her face, giving him a quivery smile that almost broke his heart. “Mrs. Gibbs is making soup.”
“That sounds good on a cold day. Let’s help Angie finish up so we can go.”
Following Sophie from the room, his mind jumped back to Carmen. She seemed interested in getting to know him better. He supposed someday he might find himself attracted to a woman other than Olivia. If and when that happened, he knew one thing for sure: he had these kids and their needs to consider before he made decisions about adding anyone to their family.