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The lack of security made him uneasy. She could come in some morning and find the place destroyed. Worse, she wouldn’t be safe here.
“So when are you getting to the rest of this work?” He ran a hand along the sash of a double-hung window, where years of condensation had softened the wood. “Medical clinics are prime targets, so you need better security.”
“You’re right. My brother-in-law, Rafe, is the local deputy sheriff, and he stopped by yesterday. He said the same thing.” She braced her hands on her hips and surveyed the room. “Maybe the hardware store would have locks of some kind.”
He tipped his head toward the door. “With that big glass pane, another lock wouldn’t help. You need a new door.”
“I agree, but the town won’t go for that. Nobody really wanted this building to begin with. Old Doc Grimes died without heirs and was behind on his taxes...so the city finally took it over. The council’s not interested in investing much in the place.”
“Without maintenance, it won’t be worth anything.”
“They hope I’ll stay around and buy it. If I don’t, I suspect they’ll give up trying to find a doctor and just tear the place down.” She paused, then added with a half-smile, “They did fix the roof, though.”
Remembering what Ed had said about her wealthy family, he gave her a curious look. “Maybe you can strike a deal. Your father could finance the work, and if you leave later on, the council would have a building worth selling. They could repay him with interest.”
She visibly stiffened at the mention of her father, and her warm expression turned cool. “Nice idea. AssumingIhad the cash.” She pointedly glanced at her watch. “School must be out now. I hope Annie and Charlie are adjusting well here.”
He didn’t need to be told twice—he’d stepped across some invisible line and this was a blatant hint to leave. “They’re doing fine.” He headed for the front door of the clinic. Hand on the doorknob, he looked back. “Good to see you, Jolie.”
From the lift of her chin, he expected a frosty response. But when she spoke, her words were gentle.
“It must be hard for them, coming into a small town as a new students. Acceptance is a difficult thing. If your kids have problems and need to talk...well...” She gave a small gesture with her hands, palms up.
“Thanks.”
Her perception surprised him. As a daughter of the richest man in the state, she would have had the best clothes, the right vacations. Even if some of the locals resented her father, prominent social standing surely would have been hers from the cradle.
He’d almost told her that he could help fix up the place.
But she certainly didn’t need any help from a newcomer. If she needed help, all she had to do was call her father.
GOOD JOB, MAXWELL. You’ve just alienated your only neighbor for three miles.
But that inner voice reminded her that it was probably a very good thing.
As neighbors, they would be running into each other a lot, and he was possibly the most attractive man she’d ever met. She didn’t need to guess where that would lead.Nowhere.
Lost in thought, Jolie wandered to the front of the clinic and idly flipped through the empty appointment book.
Her track record with romantic relationships was abysmal. Friendly distance was fine—but romances invariably ended in disappointment. And at the age of thirty-three, without a single serious relationship under her belt, she knew nothing was going to change.
Her return to Montana, on the other hand, might help heal a family situation that had been rocky for years. It could happen—Jolie was willing to try. Maybe her sisters, Thea and Cassie, and their younger brother, Bobby, were also willing to try. Maybe even Robert was ready to put differences aside.
A tentative knock sounded at the front door.A patient?Jolie was halfway there when a young woman pushed it open a few inches and peered inside.
“Is this—uh—the new doctor’s office?”
She looked as though she was ready to turn and flee. “Yes, it is.” Jolie gave her an encouraging smile. “Come on in.”
“Well, I...” Her voice trailed away. She appeared frightened and unsure and even a little embarrassed.
“I don’t bite, honest.”
The girl hesitated a moment before coming in and sitting down at the edge of one of the waiting room chairs, her head bowed. Her tangled auburn hair fell like a curtain around her face.
Jolie had the sudden, eerie feeling that this delicate girl had spent the past day and night outside. Even with a jacket on, her thin frame emphasized the slight roundness of her belly. Four or five months along, maybe.
Jolie took a chair across from her. “My name’s Jolie Maxwell. What’s yours?”
