He sat down and took a slug of his coffee.
It was still too early to make calls, so he shot out a few emails including one to the detective he’d met at the baby shower. It was a long shot, but you never knew which rock you overturned would make the difference.
Chapter Twenty-Four
EVEN THOUGHNatalie arrived at Paul’s address early the next morning, he was already sitting at the gate waiting on her.
Wearing a lovely gray suit this morning, he looked sharp in his red-and-gray-striped tie. Natalie took notice of his leather loafers. They looked high-dollar—the kind that lasted a good long time. She doubted the little store on Main Street carried those.
She’d pulled right up next to the scooter. She got out of the car and walked around to open his door. “Good morning, Paul. I saved you a couple of steps this time.”
“I’m quite able to make it to the car.”
“I know. I saw that yesterday.” She resisted the urge to help him. “Iamon time, aren’t I?”
“You’re early, which I appreciate.” Finally, he treated her to a crooked smile that made one gray woolly eyebrow climb toward his hairline.
“Oh, good. I was afraid you’d been waiting.”
“Not long.”
He walked to the car, lowered himself into the back seat,then swung his well-clad feet in with a grunt. He settled his cane next to him and then looked at her.
She smiled and shut the door. All this man needed was a little time. He was moving around slowly but just fine with no assistance.
Natalie got in the car and readjusted the rearview mirror so she could see him back there. “I have that we’ll be going to the medical tower in Roanoke this morning. Is that correct?”
“It is.”
“All righty. I’m just going to put that in my GPS, and we’ll be off.” According to her paperwork, his appointment wasn’t until eleven thirty. They had time to spare. “Would you like me to turn on some music for the ride?”
“No, thank you.”
“Okay. I enjoy the quiet too. No problem.”
He wasn’t very talkative, but then she wasn’t here to entertain him, simply to get him from point A to B and back again. She’d try to keep to herself unless he spoke up.
It was a long, quiet ride, except for the input from the GPS voice, who thankfully kept her on track. The ride was mainly a divided highway with little traffic all the way to the town of Roanoke.
Just beyond the “Welcome to Roanoke, Virginia” sign they passed several antique shops. She made a mental note of them, knowing it would be a fun place for a day trip when Sheila came to visit. On the way to the medical tower, there were trendy restaurants and a supercute farmers’ market area.Maybe next year, I’ll do a container garden and grow my own fresh veggies.
She’d never had much of a green thumb, but then she neverthought she’d live in a cabin in the mountains, either. The funny thing was, despite the hot mess she was in, she felt stronger than ever being in this new place all on her own. Even if she made a few mistakes, there was nothing she couldn’t correct on the second try.
The GPS announced, “You’ve arrived.”
Natalie pulled into the parking lot. “Well, Paul, it looks like with the combination of me being a little early to pick you up and the cushion they added to the schedule, we’ve got some time on our hands. Can I treat you to a cup of coffee somewhere to kill some time?”
He shook his head. “I’m having some blood work done, so I can’t eat or drink anything.”
“Well, that’s a bummer.” She twisted around in her seat. “Especially this late in the morning.”
“Yes, they don’t seem to really care about that,” he said.
“If you ever need someone to help schedule your appointments, just let me know. I’m good at that kind of stuff too. They don’t care because they aren’t the ones sitting there parched with a grumbling stomach at near lunchtime, but I’m great at fighting for your convenience.”
His eyes widened with embarrassment. “Did you hear my stomach?”
“Oh no. I was just making a generalization. I was a nurse for years. I’ve seen it all.”
