AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Shoot, I need to think of him as Dr. Wyatt when I’m at work so I don’t call him the wrong name.
The guy notices me standing there. “Well, hello. You’re not Helen. I’m Dr. James Brady. Call me James,” he adds. “OrDoctor. Or whatever you want.”
Dr. James’ tone is flirty and I’m not sure I’m reading the room right, but it’s almost as if I can feel Dr. Wyatt Uptyatt—Dr. Wyatt—bristle all the way from over here.
I hold out my hand to Dr. James and he takes it, holding it for a few long seconds. Before I can turn it into a handshake, Dr. Wyatt taps the counter of the front desk and we turn to look at him.
“This is our new receptionist, Marlow,” he practically barks.
Dr. James squeezes my hand tighter. I think he’s distracted at this point, so I try to pull my hand back, but it doesn’t work.
“Amelia, are you able to help Marlow get started?”
“Sure thing,” Amelia says, smiling wide at me. “Good to see you again, Marlow.”
“You too.” I smile back, relaxing when she seems happy to see me.
“Excellent. We’ll let you two get to work then,” Dr. Wyatt says.
When Dr. James makes no move to let go of my hand, Dr. Wyatt puts his hand on his shoulder and gives him a little shake and says something under his breath.
It sounded a lot likeshe’s married,but I can’t be sure. What I do know is that Dr. James’ hand drops out of mine as Dr. Wyatt pulls him away and steers him down the hall.
Dr. James turns to look back at me and lifts his hand up in a wave. “Nice to meet you, Marlow,” he calls.
Amelia goes over the list of things I’ll be doing as patients come in and out. We stop and direct them to the right place and I see a few people I met at Grinny’s birthday party and from working on Sofie’s stables. When Amelia has to attend to a patient, Linda steps in where she left off. I like both women. Amelia is friendly and easygoing, a little younger than me, I think, with light brown hair, full round cheeks, and a sweet smile. Linda is married and has two adult children, but she and her husband, Bill, moved here from Tennessee a few years ago, so we bond over being the Southern newbies around here. Linda loves a good gossip session, if the way she tells me tidbits about every person she knows who walks in is any indication.
When she starts asking me a bunch of questions about myself, I’m hesitant to spill right away since I can already see it might not stay in a vault, but she’s so sweet and funny, she manages to pull it out of me anyway.
“So, you have a beautiful little girl,” Linda points at the small frame of Dakota I set next to the computer. “What about a beautiful man to make the picture complete?”
I make a face as I laugh. “We’re complete without a beautiful man, trust me.”
Linda shakes her head and then nods, her brows furrowed as she emphatically pats my hand. “Girl, that is right. We don’t need no stinkin’ man to complete us, do we?” She pauses for a second and leans in. “But thereisa man in your life, isn’t there? I’m all for independence and all that, but come winter, when it’s time to shovel, I want a little muscle in my life. And that’s not the only muscle I want neither, if you know what I mean…” She throws her head back and laughs, and I can’t help but join in.
Unfortunately, she’s looking for my answer when we stop laughing.
“I’m in the process of getting a divorce, hopefully the quickest one possible.”
Linda’s forehead moves into a thousand creases as she makes the saddest face. “I am so sorry, I had no idea. I should have never said that. You must be devastated.”
“Oh no, it’s okay,” I say, waving it off. “Honestly, I’m more frustrated at myself for not leaving him sooner than I did.”
Throughout our conversation, I keep thinking about Dr. Wyatt covering the bill for his car. I can’t believe he did that…especially when I’ve been so snarly with him. Well, it went both ways, but…that was really generous of him.
My cell rings and I hurry to turn the sound off.
“It’s okay,” Linda says. She looks around. “If you need to take that, go ahead. No one’s here anyway and you’re picking up everything so fast.”
It’s my mom and I don’t want to talk to her, but I owe her a call. Maybe if I tell her I’m at work, it’ll make the conversation go better.
“If you’re sure it’s okay. I won’t be long at all.”
“It’s fine,” Linda says. She rolls to the other side of the reception desk and puts the files away that she’d taken out to show me how to input certain things.
“Hello?” I say, annoyed with how tentative I sound.
“What is this I hear about a divorce?” my mom says.
