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Once he’d dropped Fred off at Brett’s, Thomas rounded the corner of Front Avenue and the Copper Mountains came into view. He pulled over into the parking lot of the Graff Hotel and stared at their natural beauty.
The jagged peaks jutted into the grey sky. The crisp white snow, a stark contrast to the thick, gloomy clouds that hovered over them.
A loud growl erupted from his stomach and he could think of nowhere else he wanted to eat than Main Street Diner. “Can’t think straight right now.”
Deciding it was far too cold to walk from the Graff to Main Street Diner, Thomas drove the short distance and found a space no more than thirty feet from the famed Copper Mountain Chocolates and only a block from the diner. When he turned the car off, he noticed a familiar figure in his rearview mirror exiting the pharmacy. “Lucy?”
That sent his heart racing and him scrambling for the door handle. He easily crossed Second Street, but had to wait for the light on Main.
As soon as the crosswalk signaled for him go, he beelined to the corner of Main and Second, but before he could get by the pharmacy, Carol Bingley came barging out of the store. “Dr. McAvoy! Dr. McAvoy! I needed to ask you something.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He tried to pay attention to where Lucy went, but Carol kept asking questions and pulled his gaze away. By the time he looked up, he didn’t see her anywhere. “Dammit.”
“And by the way, this man doesn’t speak very good English, and I’m concerned he won’t take the medicine correctly, even after Dr. Lucy—”
“It’s Dr. Davidson.” The mention of her name immediately caught Thomas’s attention. “Wait. What?”
She pursed her lips. “Yes, she was on her way to the diner when I waved to her to come in. She told the man the directions in Spanish.”
“Then why are you asking me about this?” He said a silent thank you that the good doctor’s compassion for this family extended beyond the ER doors. “Ms. Bingley—”
“Carol.” She beamed.
“Ms. Bingley, I trust Dr. Davidson.” The wind whipped by, but Carol seemed unaffected by it. At least they were under the awning and he wasn’t getting soaked by wet ice. “We should all be grateful that she’s taking the extra step to make sure the family understands how to take the medication in Spanish and English.”
“I guess. I mean, she did pay for his medication.”
“She paid for it?” Thomas shoved his hands farther in his pockets as a slowly growing admiration for his colleague grew and the cold seeped deeper. “I trust Dr. Davidson and so should you.”
“Yes, I guess I’m old-fashioned. I prefer a man as my doctor.”
Nice that sexism is still alive and well in Marietta. “Doesn’t mean you can’t trust her.”
She recoiled slightly, but then went doe-eyed. “Dr. McAvoy, can you explain to me how steroids work again? Maybe you should take some for that lip swelling or I’ve got some really good lip balm for sale. Two for four dollars.”
After a quick lesson on the mechanism of steroids, he went in, shook the patient’s father’s hand. The man, graciously reciprocated as the child held his hand and played with a Hot Wheels car as he ran it up and down his father’s arm into the air, and then ran the car up his own arm and across his face.
By the time Thomas made it to Main Street, his lip was painfully numb, but at least he had two brand new lip balms in his pocket. Orange and cherry.
Every place has got someone like Carol Bingley. The eyes and ears of the town whether you want them or not.
The wall of hot air laced with the smells of butter and sausage caressed his face when he opened the door of the diner.
This is probably what heaven smells like.
A sea of people for the lunchtime crowd, but he immediately noticed a good-looking redhead at the counter.
And what heaven looks like.
Luckily, the chair next to her sat empty. “Is this seat taken?”
She turned and sweetly smiled. “Not at all. How’s your lip?”
“Hurts like hell.” He sat down without taking off his coat and held up his purchase. “Got some lip balm to help.”
“Carol got you too, huh?” She reached over and brushed some of the snow off his shoulder. “What flavors did you get?”
“Orange and cherry.”
“I got strawberry and grape.”
The idea of tasting the strawberry or grape Chapstick off her full lips had him shifting in his seat.
“Your lisp seems to have resolved.”
“I don’t sound like Elmer Fudd any m-more.”
“I like Elmer Fudd. I think he’s adorable. Slightly deranged, but adorable.” She winked.
His insides fluttered at her playful flirtation. “I’ll kweep that in mind.”
“Fabulous.”
Without asking, Flo set a cup of coffee and a glass of water in front of him and filled it just an inch short of the rim. “I’ll get your milk, Doc.”
She paused before leaving. Her eyes narrowed on his lip. “And a straw.”
“Thanks, Flo.” He coughed, then cleared his throat.
Lucy stirred her coffee in lazy circles. “Guess you’ve been here a few times.”
“A few.” Since Jade’s kitchen’s capability only covered anything you could microwave or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. “The pot roast is one of my favorites, but the French toast is good too.”
“They really are. Have you tried Gabby’s breakfast tacos?”
“I haven’t had good breakfast tacos since I worked in San Diego.”
“When was that?”
“I was there before I came here.” He nervously tapped his thumb on his forearm as the dull pain in his shoulder and his ribs ached, pains that appeared every time he thought of his disastrous assignment there.
“I’ve been to San Diego. Loved it. Beautiful weather, so much sun.” She smiled brightly. “My sister Susan and I had the best time last summer. Spent almost the entire time on the beach.”
“They do have good beaches.” Picturing her in a swimsuit had his jeans fitting uncomfortably tight.
“We only had one day at the zoo. I didn’t get to spend enough time there, but I’d love to go back. Why were you there?”
“Work. Rehab.”
Her eyes darted to his shoulder. “Right, you did mention that this morning.”
His shoulder pinched him and his rib caught in mid-breath, making him flinch. “And you mentioned you had three siblings, right?”
“Peter, Susan, and Edmund.” She grabbed her phone and held up a picture of the four of them. “Sadly, they’ve all become infatuated with the weather since I’ve moved here. Winter is far different where they are.”
“What do you mean?” The four smiling faces on her phone made the corner of his mouth curl up. “Nice.”
She tapped her phone frantically, her eyes wide. “Every time I talk to them now, Peter holds his phone up to the computer screen and says ‘Luce, it’s twenty-seven degrees there today. Did you know that?’ As if I haven’t been outside at all.”
“They must miss you.” A nugget of sadness settled in his chest knowing no such group wondered so much about his day. He and his parents talked, but he had no siblings or even close cousins.
Placing the phone on the counter, she patted it before moving her hand away. “I miss them too, but it was time for a new adventure. Something that was my own.”
“I get that. Wanting to carve your way in the world.” More than you know. Before Thomas would let himself elaborate, he tapped the menu before opening it. “Surprised I haven’t seen you here before.”
“I’m in here several times a week, so yeah. I figure we would have run into each other before now.” She shrugged. “Guess it’s all about timing.”
“Probably.” After scanning the menu he had memorized, he tucked it back next to the napkin dispenser. His still uncooperative lip got in the way when he tried to blow on his coffee. “I’m gonna spill this.”
Her hand rested on his arm before he attempted to take a sip. “You need a straw.”
As if on cue, Gabby walked by and without breaking her pace, handed Thomas a straw. “Milk?”
“That’d be great, Gabby, but I think Flo—”
Within seconds, Flo had a small pitcher in front of him.
Slowly, he poured in the milk, watching it blend in with his favorite drink to make the perfect mix of dark and light.
Lucy cocked her head. “Only milk? No cream or sugar?”
“Milk is enough.”
“Café au lait, then.”
“Oui.”
“Très bien.”
Hearing her speak French made his skin tingle. “You spoke French.”
“Oui, c’est vrai.” She giggled before popping back a slice of what looked like Gabby’s famous orange cinnamon bread.
He had to consciously tell himself not to playfully grab her arm and kiss up it like Gomez Adams did to his wife, Morticia. “Nice. How many languages do you speak?”
“Only English and Spanish. I know a few words of French. Enough to get me into trouble at Mardi Gras.”
Before talking to Lucy today, Thomas hadn’t realized how much he’d missed good one-on-one banter in a nonmedical setting. Something casual. Fun. Sexy. “Been to Mardi Gras, huh? The one in New Orleans?”
She sat up proudly. “Sure have. Got the beads to prove it.”
The hard burn of cold water up his nose made him choke. He wouldn’t ask what color beads she had since the only way the famed black beads were acquired by women, were if they flashed their boobs. The image of her perfect breasts, only made his jeans pinch him in the tenders.
“You okay?” She patted his back.
“Laissez les bons temps roulez.” He coughed and dried his face with a napkin.
“En effet!”
“You win. I’ve run out of French words.”
“Me too.”
He liked seeing this side of Lucy. The casual, relaxed side. One she rarely showed when they were working. Unlike a lot of women he’d met over the years, she didn’t hide her intelligence, her strengths.
He’d worked with plenty of nurses and physicians over the years who’d turned into giggling airheads outside of work, only because they were afraid a man might be intimidated by their intelligent minds.
Not Lucy. She seemed to not only be proud of it, but appeared to love her knowledge base and want to share it with anyone who’d listen.
“Where’d you learn Spanish?”
“Went to school in Florida. Took every class I could in high school and college, Did some of my clinicals in the predominately Spanish speaking parts of town.”
“She’s pretty good.” Gabby smiled as she walked by with a tray full of food.
“What about you, Thomas. What language did you take in college?”
“I took computer programming as a second language.” Might as well have shown her my lifetime nerd card right there. Save her the trouble of letting her kick my ass right now.
Her eyes sparkled and she leaned forward. “Really? Computers, huh?”
The sultriness of her voice surprised him. Maybe she has a thing for nerds.
The idea made Lucy a whole lot more interesting. He tapped his cold fingers on the hot ceramic surface of the coffee mug until he could tolerate holding it without pain. “I couldn’t learn an entire language, no matter how hard I tried. But if it was all numbers, I’m good.”
“Interesting.”
Her appreciative stare caught him off guard, making him wonderfully uncomfortable. “I thought you’d be sleeping off that twenty-four hour shift you finished this morning.”
“I took a power nap back in my room. Trying to stay up a bit longer so I can sleep tonight. Too wired to sleep much today, anyway.”
“These swing shifts’ll screw you up. I’m back at noon tomorrow and have to figure out when to sleep. You?”
“At ten tomorrow for a six week evaluation. Dr. Sinclair and Dr. Watson want me to see where I’m falling short. My guess is one of my employee evaluations will have a few less than complimentary things to say about me.” She finished off her coffee. “But it is what it is when you’re the boss, right?”
“Right.” Mentally, he cringed knowing who might have given her a less than complimentary review. “Lucy, I think you’re doing a great job.”
Her face lit up. “Really? I especially appreciate that coming from you.”
“Why especially?”
She stirred her coffee with a spoon. “There are rumors that you’re also in the running for the director position.”
Her honesty amused him. “You’re direct aren’t you?”
“No other way to be, really. Time is short. No need wasting it guessing.”
The corner of his mouth curled up. He liked this woman. A lot. “Those rumors are false. I am not in the running for the ER clinical director.”
His pride punched him in the stomach knowing his endurance would fall short for the position.
“I’m glad to hear that, but to be honest, I’d think you’d be all for it.”
“I’m under temporary contract. I have no plans to stay in Marietta.” Although, sitting here, talking to her, made him wonder what would happen if he extended his contract a month. Three months? Six? A year?
Her shoulders fell slightly and she flipped a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her perfectly freckled face. “Right. Temporary.”
His heart skipped a beat at her reaction. Is she disappointed?
Flo arrived, a full coffee pot in hand before he could ask Lucy anything more. “She drinks more coffee than I thought someone her size possible.”
“It’s my ambrosia.” Lucy took a healthy swig as soon as Flo cleared the coffee pot out of the way.
Pulling her pencil out from behind her ear, Flo asked, “Breakfast or lunch, Doc?”
Inhaling the luscious aromas of bacon, sugar, and coffee, his mind ran chaotic with possibilities. “I’m feeling daring. You choose.”
“You got it.” As soon as she dropped the order, Flo attended to new customers who’d seated themselves at a booth by the window.
Gabby talked to a group in the corner as Casey happily took care of the customers at the counter.
“You know, I’ve worked a lot of places,” Thomas began.
“I understand three a year for the past five years.” Lucy turned toward him. “That’s a lot of moving around.”
“Bad habit. Dad and Mom were both in the air force so I’m used to it.”
“Oh, wow. That would make for a lot of moving.”
“I think eighteen months was the longest we ever stayed anywhere until they retired on the East Coast. DC.” His lip throbbed and he needed sleep, but he didn’t want to miss the chance to talk to her more.
“How old were you?”
“Twelve.” And the geekist kid on the planet.
She leaned forward. “That had to be exhausting at times, especially in middle school. How did your siblings feel about it?”
Her interest in him made the corner of his mouth twitch. “Only child.”
Her forehead furrowed. “Oh, I guess that could have been lonely.”
“Not always. We lived in some cool places. Hawaii, Korea, Washington DC, England, Germany.” The warmth of the diner permeated his coat. He shed his jacket and hung it on the back of his chair. “But what I wanted to say about the diner was, it feels good to be here. Like a place I’d want to come back to again and again.”
“Yes, I know that feeling quite well. It’s nice to find a place where you’re always wanted, welcomed. Where they smile when you come in the door.”
“Sounds like you’re describing home.”
“I guess I am.”
His eyes locked with hers as her words sank in. Even he had a hard time believing he’d professed such a possibility. Staring into her eyes, he questioned his want to move on, to keep changing and never setting down roots.
I wonder.
The bell rang for another order, breaking his introspection.
Cocking her head, Lucy looked at her watch. “I thought you were working until noon.”
“Gavin sent me home. Said I was scaring the patients with my split lip.”
“Oh, it’s eleven. I didn’t realize it was so late. Who’s covering for you?”
“Tom Reynolds is supposed to come in about now. Gavin said he’d cover until Tom arrived.” He took a gentle sip of his coffee through the straw, but moving his lip made it hurt worse. He mentally pushed the pain away. He had to get more coffee in his system or he’d be in full Godzilla crushes Tokyo mode.
She leaned forward, staring at her handy work. “There’s some pretty good bruising. You take any Motrin or Tylenol for it, yet?”
“Nope.”
“Ice?”
“Other than the wind? No.” The sweet caffeine layered on his tongue and he relished the buzz.
Grabbing her purse, she produced a bottle of extra strength Tylenol and handed two pills over to him. “Take these.”
“And call you in the morning?” he punned.
“Sure.”
When her cheeks flashed a hint of scarlet, his mind raced with endless possibilities. “Lucy, would you—”
“Hey, Dr. McAvoy!” A large man waved to Thomas from across the room.
Thomas waved back. Although he’d treated the man, Thomas couldn’t be sure when or for what so he gave the canned response. “Doing okay?”
“Doing great.” He began to leave, but his eyes went wide and headed straight for them.
Every muscle in Thomas’s body clenched as the man approached, but the patient went right by him and threw his arms out to give Lucy a hug. “Good day, Dr. Lucy. How are you?”
She responded in kind. A radiating, gorgeous smile on her face. “I’m good Mr. Richards. How’s your knee doing?”
The older man hopped a couple of times. “Real good, Dr. Lucy.”
“Well, look at you. You’ll be back to line dancing in no time.”
Leaning in, he lowered his voice. “I really appreciate you helping me so much. Dr. McMasters didn’t do near as much as you did.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yes, not a shot or pill, nothing for my pain.”
Thomas wasn’t the least bit surprised to hear the previous director of the ER had done little. Jade mentioned more times than not, the man had been counting the days before he retired and pretty much checked out when it came to doing anything to help his patients.
Lucy gave Mr. Richards an encouraging pat on the arm. “I’m glad we could get you back on your feet.”
“I followed up with Mr. EJ just like you said. He gave me some good exercises I can do and I’ve been doing them three times a day, just like he said. I can get up and down without hurtin’ most days.”
“I bet your sweet pups, Frankie and Annette, are loving that. You can walk them okay, now?”
“I can. They are so happy to be out with me, not that I can walk far right now. Too cold.” He dramatically shivered, then laughed.
How in the hell does she remember his dogs names? I can’t remember what I had for breakfast yesterday. Thomas watched her talk to the man as if he were an old friend. While he’d worked with her, he couldn’t believe how she always remembered every patient, every diagnosis, and every detail about their visits.
Jade’s got it all wrong. Lucy will be a great director.
Mr. Richards gave them each a respectful nod. “I did get your bill Dr. Lucy and more than glad to pay it. Glad Dr. McMasters didn’t send me one from my visit back before Thanksgiving.”
Lucy cocked her head. “He didn’t?”
“No, guess he figured he didn’t do anything, so he didn’t bill me. Hospital said there’s no charges for my visit and something about the chart not being completed.”
“To be fair, there are a lot of charts that need to be reviewed. I’ll do some research on that for you, Mr. Richards.”
“Don’t feel the need to send me a bill, Dr. Lucy. I’m good with nothing since that’s all McMasters did. A big, fat nothing.” The man extended his hand to shake with both doctors. “Good to see you, Dr. Lucy. I’ll leave you to your breakfast.”
“Watch out for those icy patches on the sidewalks.” She gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
“Will do.” Mr. Richards turned back towards Thomas. His bright smile turned into a grimace. “Wow, Doc. Junior really got you good, didn’t he?”
The question caught Thomas off guard. “How did you—”
“That kid has a quick punch, but he’s a bit of a punk when he’s hit first.”
I’ll keep that in mind. “I didn’t say...”
The man waved off Thomas’s concern. “When Poppy called it in, it came in over dispatch and Betty heard the whole thing. She told Carol at the pharmacy and now everyone knows.”
Thomas smirked at the effectiveness of the small-town grapevine. “I’ll keep that in mind, Mr. Richards.”
He whispered, “Be sure you do. That kid’s been bad since the day he came out of his mama. I’m sad to say, he’ll be that way until the day he dies.”
“Hopefully, he didn’t give Deputy Logan too much trouble.” Flo shook her head. “He’s got a knack for that. Sad for his sister, though. I know she’s always trying to do the right thing.”
“Yep, she does.”
“Who’s his sister?” Lucy inquired as she finished the last piece of toast.
Crap.
Flo smirked. “Jade Phillips.”
A strangled wheeze sounded to his left as Lucy grabbed her coffee mug.
Thomas grabbed a napkin and handed it over to her. “You okay?”
“Jade? As in nurse practitioner, Jade?” She sputtered as she grabbed the napkin and dried her face.
“The very same.” Flo pointed to the door. “Henry, your ride is leaving.”
“See you later, Docs.” Mr. Richards waved and left without waiting for their response.
More orders arrived in the kitchen window and Flo excused herself when another group of customers came in.
Lucy settled back in to her seat and took a few slow deep breaths before placing the wad of napkins on her now empty plate.
“Better?”
She nodded and didn’t say a word. Her jaw clenched, her lighthearted mood gone. “Mr. Obnoxious is Jade’s brother? Isn’t she a friend of yours?”
Shit. “Yes, but I hadn’t met the guy until a couple of hours ago.”
She dabbed at her mouth. “I’m sure that’ll be awkward for her when she finds out he gave you that fat lip.”
“She already knows.” And when she found out, she should have kicked his sorry ass to the curb.
“She does? Oh, right because Betty—”
“No. When I was at her house—”
“That’s right. You’re staying with her.”
Thomas didn’t expect to hear snark in Lucy’s voice.
Annoyance maybe, but not snark. The idea saucy Dr. Davidson might have a twinge of jealousy made him silently cheer.
“Jade and I have been friends for years. Since we were kids. She’s the one who asked me to take an assignment to Marietta.”
“That’s right. Ethan said she asked you to come help with her dad’s place.”
“She called about six months ago, after her father died.” His stomach growled again and he tried to quell it with his coffee, but spilled some on his clothes when he pressed the mug to his wounded lip to take a drink.
Lucy grabbed a napkin and blotted the front of his shirt at each word. “Right. Fixing. Her. Dad’s. House.”
Dammit. “Yes, but—”
Frustration dripped from her words. She wadded up the napkin and tossed it beside her plate. “You’re together?”
“No.”
“No?” She swallowed hard. “Were together?”
“No. I owed her a favor.”
Her eyes narrowed on him. “What kind of favor?”
For a reason he couldn’t quite explain, he found great amusement in her wanting to know about his relationship with Jade. It gave him an inch of hope that she might want to get to know him better because Lucy had certainly caught his attention. “Jade and I have never been intimately involved or married if that’s what you’re wanting to know.”
Her eyes went wide as her face pinked. “I didn’t ask you that.”
“No, ma’am, you didn’t.”
“What is it, then?”
“Because she saved my life.” He tapped his shoulder and ran his hand under his arm, across his left ribs.
“She saved your life?” Her eyes darted to his shoulder as a look of understanding washed across her face. “She was there?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Wow.”
Gabby snatched a large plate of food out of the pass-through window and placed it in front of Lucy. “Here ya go.”
“Gabby, can I get a to-go box. I’m really tired.”
Damn. “Lucy—”
“I was wondering. You’ve been up a long time. Give me a second.” Gabby disappeared behind the wooden doors leading to the back.
A sadness settled in Thomas’s chest. “You don’t have to go.”
“It’s fine. I just had no idea you and she were, um, so, um, connected.”
“It’s not like that, Lucy.”
Waving him away, she shook her head as she dug through her purse. “It’s fine, Thomas. You’re an adult. It’s nothing you have to explain to me. Really, you don’t.”
Tentatively, he slid his hand closer to her on the counter. “I think I do.”
She placed money next to her plate and put on her coat. “Your life is your life. I have to get going. I’m really, really tired.”
“Lucy.”
“I need to get some sleep.” As soon as Gabby returned with the to-go container, Lucy dumped her food inside and sloppily closed the lid. “I’ll see you at work, Dr. McAvoy.”
When she hit the door, his food arrived, but his empty stomach sat still and his appetite vanished.
